Your firm has been a leader in several lines of fast-moving consumer goods. The firm has been following a localization strategy. Your products have been distributed in a number of foreign markets and regions, and they are distinct enough in local markets to respond to national tastes and preferences. Competition, however, has become more intense, with many competitors using lower cost structures to undercut your prices and still satisfy your customers. The firm must decide what kind of strategy it needs to follow to meet the demands of the local markets as well as the increased competitive pressures on cost.

a. Pressures for local responsiveness may make it difficult to leverage skills and products associated with a firm's core competencies from one country to another.
b. Localization strategy is the most appropriate strategy when there are substantial differences across nations with regard to consumer tastes and preferences, and where cost pressures are not too intense.
c. Transnational strategy is the most appropriate strategy when the firm simultaneously faces strong pressures for both cost reductions and local responsiveness.
d. A firm facing low pressures for local responsiveness and few pressures to contain costs might best pursue a(n) international strategy.
e. Markets are dynamic, and any firm will face competition. In time, international and localization strategies tend to become less viable, and managers need to orient their companies toward either a global standardization or transnational strategy.