TABLE 1 Indicators of Globalization, 2002

 Manufacturing

a

 Retail/Wholesale

a

 Banking/Insurance

a

 Total

a

 GER 

Global

b

 GER Global

b

 GER Global

b

 GER 

Global

b

Percent of companies 

with establishments 

abroad 

35.7 27.6 

41.6 22.2 

29.9  23.3 

39.5 

23.9 

Percent of companies 

with headquarters 

abroad 23.6 

12.0 

7.6 

6.4 

17.1 

11.0 

11.6 

8.5 

Mean percent of total 

sales from abroad 

18.2 

14.6 

14.8 

11.4 

13.0 

8.1 

15.3 

12.1 

Mean percent of total 

procurement 

spending from 

abroad 29.0 

24.0 

23.6 

20.8 

2.1 

4.6 

23.0 

20.3 

Degree affected by 

competitors abroad 

Low 60.4 

47.3 

64.1 

77.2 

80.7 

82.8 

64.6 

68.3 

Moderate 14.9 

20.8 

15.4 

14.2 

13.2 

7.7 

15.1 

15.7 

High 24.8 

31.9 

20.5 

8.6 

6.1 

9.5 

20.2 

18.0 

Notes:

a

Responses were weighted based on the total number of establishments by employee size within the sector for each 

country.  

 b 

Consists of weighted survey responses in 10 countries combined: United States, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, 

Denmark, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Japan.   

Source:  CRITO Global E Commerce Survey, 2002 

In comparison to the global sample, all analyzed industry sectors are above average with regard 

to the percentage of foreign establishments, headquarters, or sales from abroad. International 

diversification enables and increases the number of foreign business contacts, which is also 

observable when focusing on the percentage of procurement from abroad, which is above the 

global average in Germany, with the exception of the banking/insurance sector.

In spite of strong international competition, German industry seems to be well positioned in the 

global sample in the manufacturing and banking/insurance industry, where the intensity or 

impact of high competition is below average. Possible reasons are a highly competitive 

manufacturing industry and a national oriented banking/insurance market in Germany. 

Competitive pressure in the retail/wholesale sector was already mentioned and was found to be 

above the global average. The retail/wholesale sector is currently involved in centralization 

processes and merger and acquisition (M &A) activities. Global players such as Wal Mart and 

others increase the pressure on the national market together with successful international e 

commerce firms in the B2C area. 

Based on the above findings, observations and discussion, we offer four propositions: 

Proposition 1: Close international trade connections together with strong 

international competition increase and reinforce the diffusion of standardized electronic 

transactions in Germany. Globalized firms with establishments abroad deploy e 

commerce applications more often than local firms. 

The impact of globalization is not only observable within large firms but also among strong and 

innovation friendly German SMEs (Mittelstand), which are of high importance for ICT diffusion 

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