CASE STUDY GOOGLES COUNTRY EXPERIENCES: FRANCE, GERMANY, JAPAN.

1. Internet search engines are special sites on the Web that are designed to help people find information stored on other sites. There are differences in the ways various search engines work, but they all perform three basic tasks, one they search the Internet -- or select pieces of the Internet -- based on important words. Second they keep an index of the words where they find them. Third they allow users to look for words or combinations of words found in that index. Google's bases its revenue on advertising; therefore it needs more places to show ads to increase revenue. Its business model of Ad Words for advertising allow Google to place ads on Web properties it doesnt own expanding the companys reach. Google has consistently acquired properties to serve as venues for its ads, like Blogger and YouTube. They pioneered new product offerings that attracted audiences for its ads, such as Gmail. They offer many unique products and services to many different kinds of customers which allow them to gain a competitive advantage. The companys search tools let users search through huge amounts of information that is organized and based on relevance. They have search tools for pictures, videos, and specific types of websites like blogs. It also has numerous other products in lots of other areas of computer applications. Consumers use the free products that are financed by advertising and licensing. Google has changed the world of advertising in its attempts to connect consumers to information. Part of Google's success is due to its technology and its online advertising model. The web pages can be accessed based on search interest instead of how many times a term occurs on a webpage. The new search index is constantly updated to give the best search results possible. Since Googles search engine criteria are kept secret and it is difficult to imitate intangible products they have maintained their competitive advantage. Googles AdWords is another product that supports Googles internet-search-driven advertising. It is for advertisers who want to reach a qualified audience as efficiently as possible. What differentiates this product from the competition is that it is easy to create ad text and manage online advertising accounts without a large upfront payment. 2. Googles revenues have risen steadily from 2001 to 2008 with the revenue differential swinging towards international income in 2008. But the nature of Googles services has caused Google to have to defend itself against copyright infringement lawsuits. These were fueled by fear of U.S. dominance over the censor its search results according to government regulations. In Germany and France they removed links to pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic sites along with other controversial sites. Companies were also seeking control over their brand names and trademarked goods in paid terms. Below are the some threats which Google has to face from different countries: FRANCE:

When Google announced plans to digitize books and documents it was felt that instead of democratizing knowledge the process would strengthen U.S. power to set a global agenda. In response in March 2005 the French decided to start their own digitization project. They also stated they didnt think the only key access to their culture should be one of an automatic ranking system by popularity. They believed European ranking should reflect a European vision of culture and history. What they had not decided was if they should build their own search engine or enter into an agreement with Google. To try to secure the companys contribution, the government has recently dangled some new carrots and sticks. First, It threatened the company with an antitrust investigation. Then it proposed a partnership with Google to accelerate the development of a viable French digital library. GERMANY: In Germany, Googles email was brought to the attention of the courts. A German nationalist insisted Google had infringed on his trademarked registration of the name Gmail. He won. Google quit using the term Gmail and began googlemail. In 2006 Angela Merkel became chancellor of Germany. Under the new government, the Germans didnt officially sanction Quaero. In January 2007 they pulled out to set up their own program named Thesues. They did say there would be cooperation like workgroups with project but the collaboration with the French was over. The EU gave Germany permission to spend 120 million ($167 million) on Thesues. 22 partner organizations that were to participate in the research were to also chip in 90 million. The worlds most popular website statistical analysis system could be illegal in Germany. Government officials responsible for national data protection are attempting to ban Analytics on the grounds that it breaches privacy laws. The success of Google Analytics causes concern for German privacy protection officials. Conceivably, Google would be able to track an individuals movements throughout the web and collate information from websites that hold personal data, such as banks and insurance companies. Google could create profiles that include information about a persons interests, career, lifestyle, wealth, health, political and sexual preferences. If that individual has a Google account, the company could match a profile against a known user. The German authorities are also concerned data is moved away from the country and stored on US servers. Privacy protection laws are different in the US and, potentially, Google could move information to countries where such laws are non-existent. Theres no evidence Google is profiling users in this way, but the company is secretive about how data is collated, processed and used. JAPAN A key ministry official stated The key to Japans competitiveness has been our core technology but we need to create a new value added service that was personalized. The government was ready to spend $855 million in creating their own search engine for their people. The ministry, trade and industry organize a study group consisting of 20 Japanese electronic companies and universities. The search, engine technology was developed to compete with search engine companies like AJ Japan, Google Japan, yahoo Japan and others. The government had fears that the countrys manufacturers were falling behind in innovation. Government wanted a Japan centric search engine that would wrest back some of domestic market share & advertising

revenue that large firm were enjoying. So by not allowing Google to be a monopoly in the business. 3 The government- Sponsorship search engines in countries like Japan, France and Germany were real, because they dont wanted to create competition in domestic market. All the countries targeted search not only because it was crucial but because they were worried about U.S. dominance in information systems. Google focused on R&D in Europe. In 2007 it opened a R&D center in Poland. It tried to bolster its presence in Japan considering partnering with Japans largest mobile carrier. Googles market share in 2007 had reached 85.8%. In French and German markets it had reached 88.5% while the government search engines had not been launched yet. Google could make agreements with the respective governments. They could also discontinue expanding into markets where censorship is the governmental policy. The company could increase the competition to local search engines. The international market is important but the cultural differences are an issue. Google could continue their current policies on censorship but the strict censorship of information in other countries has also been an issue recently so it could be more profitable for them to agree to censor. Google should continue international operations in their current vein because although it can be expensive to defend lawsuits and blaze new trails ultimately Google is one of the largest and most profitable technology firms around. Google need to understand the cultural differences in all the countries where it is planning to expand its business. As discussed in class if the company have to open a business in any countries then they have to make sure they have a good knowledge of its culture and political rules. Google have to re-think its entry level strategy in any countries.