Case Name :      I-Star: Expanding in North America

Authors :           William Wei, Yang Xiaohua, Roger Chen, Kimberley Howard, Stanley Kwong

Source :             Ivey Publishing

Case ID :            W12132

Discipline :        General Management

Case Length :    07 pages

Solution Sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

The president of I-Star America, Inc. and vice-president of I-Star Corporation reflected on the success of I-Star in the Chinese and Japanese IT markets and the challenges of increasing market share in North America, one of the largest markets in the world. I-Star was expected to grow about 30 per cent in the next few years, and the president considered whether the strategy used in Japan could be applied to North America. Many Chinese firms that experienced success in China were less successful in international (western) markets for a host of reasons, including failure to adapt business processes and products to the new market and the perception that Chinese goods and services might be of lower quality. The president believed that I-Star’s past and future success relied on the company’s ability to innovate in creating value for its customers. He believed that with the right strategy I-Star could generate revenues of US$50-100 million and build up a cadre of more than 200 employees in the software and services division in North America. How could I-Star increase its brand awareness and presence in North America to best achieve these goals?