Strategic risk management for international business development of a processing cucumber industry in the Caribbean.

摘要

Resources in the Caribbean are often overlooked by U.S. vegetable processors and Caribbean exporters because investment risks appear greater or less manageable than those in more developed countries. Investments in experiments that acquire comparative data for international trade and foster business alliances are generally considered speculative. Investment decision-making is imprecise without this initial speculative investment in research and development to acquire experimental data. The assessments of international business development projects are generally focused upon reasons projects may fail. Assessments generally underemphasize the constructive processes of experimentation that can guide exporters to successful investments.;A catalyst for regional economic development is collaborative experimentation by exporters and nations. Nations can attract firms to develop local human resources by reducing a firm's costs for information, experimentation, education, and infrastructure investments. Firms in industries vital to a country's economic development can acquire these resources controlled by government at reduced costs and satisfy private investment risk and return criteria. Firms with strong development and risk management skills plus adequate risk capital can conduct production and marketing experiments in developing countries and strategically manage risks of development projects to acquire global competitive advantage.;This development project formed international strategic alliances (ISAs) to facilitate collaborative experimentation, hedge risk-bearing burdens and stimulate Caribbean agricultural investments. Comparative data were acquired from an experiment in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The experiment led to the identification of critical influences of prices, costs and conditions to sustain a processing cucumber industry in these countries. A Monte Carlo simulation model was constructed to compare a U.S. cucumber processor's investment risk and return solely in Mexico to diversified investments that include Caribbean production. The optimum investment strategies were: (1) diversified purchasing by U.S. processors from Mexico and the Caribbean with ISA transport constraints; and (2) diversified products marketing by cucumber growers. Purchasing contracts by U.S. processors were a critical catalyst for starting an industry, however, the strategy required variations to manage export marketing-risk of Hispaniola growers for mutual development of the cucumber industry. The ISAs transferred technology to manage risk. Haitian growers acquired the capacity to manage production and export risks.