- Adequate funds
Global strategy requires substantial funds – perhaps US$ 1 billion. Even relatively new companies have needed substantial finance for marketing, business set-up costs and just running a business.
- Quality
All the leading world brands offer quality and set up procedures to ensure that this is maintained over time.
- Lengthy time horizon
Global strategies have been built over a number of years. Even relatively new companies have taken time to become established. The majority of global companies were originally begun in one country and then extended over time.
- Senior management commitment and effort
The Chief Executive Officer and his team need to believe that the benefits of a global strategy are greater than the costs. The team then needs to work to achieve this or the strategy will fail.
- Innovation
This may mean investment in R&D. It may involve re-thinking some other aspect of the value chain or some other aspect of business. But some form of innovation will be invaluable in building a global strategy.
Beyond these factors, many companies need to consider whether they need to develop and adapt their resources for national markets: the classic case of a local as well as a global strategy. You can read more about this in Chapter 19 of Lynch Strategic Management.
Here is a video about the global restaurant company McDonalds that has faced this local/global decision and adapted its key resources accordingly.