In order to delve deeper into the actual nature of regional or global strategy, there are some fifty firms studied in detail in one part or another of this book. The first half of this chapter provides a summary of this more detailed case work derived from the overall data analysis of the 380 large firms for which data or regional sales are available. Table 10.1 lists fifty of these firms. There are five global firms; nine bi-regional firms; six host-region oriented firms; twenty-one home-region firms; and two near miss global firms. In addition seven firms outside of the top 500, but discussed in this book, are included at the end of table 10.1. To illustrate the profound lack of globalization and the reality of regionalization, and in order to derive useful lessons for managers and scholars of international business, we analyze the strategies of these fifty firms. We also discuss rival firms and when appropriate attempt to analyze their strategy.

We now discuss the basic strategic positioning of these fifty firms in the first major theoretical framework developed earlier in the book. This is the regional matrix of the first half of chapter 3. This chapter serves both to summarize previous discussion of these firms and to help provide a synthesis across all the major cases. The second half of the chapter further develops analysis of the strategy and structure of large firms operating regionally, with a special focus on Nestlé and its lines of business.