A Study on the Foreign Entry Strategy of Korean Mineral Water Industry

한국 생수산업의 해외시장진출 전략에 관한 연구

It should be unthinkable to not provide water at survival of any living things. Water is too a basic element for development for a country. Currently, the global market of mineral water is growing rapidly. This study, I conceptualized mineral water as bottled water. In particularly, bottled water has seen huge global growth for the last few years. The annual growth rate of the market in the period 2005-2009 was 5.9%. Following a surge in obesity and subsequent health and wellness trends, many consumers are switching from sugary soft drinks to healthier alternatives. Therefore, the global bottled water market is one area which has big potential for growth, but price competition is getting intensified among multi-national and domestic firms. Korean providers too are faced with strong competition in growing domestic market. The bottled water market has presence of multinational provider like Nestle, Danone and Coca-Cola, which collectively account for 35.1% of the world market share in 2009. On the basis of a market orientation approach, this article looks at changing environments in the world mineral water industry and attempts to describe foreign market entry strategy of the Korean mineral water industry. The market orientation provides strong norms for learning from customers and competitors, is instrumental in creating a superior value for buyers, innovating successfully, and generating excellent firm performance. So firms should consider a strategic planning in basis on market orientation before they enter foreign markets. Some discussions were made about managerial implications for Korean bottled water providers.