(a) The key stakeholders are customers, employees, suppliers, and regulators.
(i) Interests of stakeholders:

• Customers: Look for appropriate, safe, and reasonably priced products plus excellent customer service.
• Employees: Wish for a steady job and decent pay/conditions.
• Suppliers: Are interested in sales volume and price, fair payment terms, and long-term relationships.
• Regulators: Wish to see the company complying with relevant rules and engaging with ideas for further improvement.

(ii) There is good corporate governance when an organization is properly directed and controlled. This involves two issues – good performance in terms of value creation, resource utilization, and risk management; and conformance which means complying properly with relevant regulations and being accountable and trustworthy. The company should operate in a manner that serves the best interests of its stakeholders including its shareholders and investors by performing well economically.

Good corporate governance is intended to manage the agency problem which is that directors act as agents of the company but may find their interests conflicting with those of the company. Directors are in a privileged position and are likely to act to serve their own interests at the expense of shareholders and other stakeholders.

(b) It is important for the management of Star Bloom Foods Ltd to consider many factors before deciding on which mode of entry into the international market would be suitable. The factors are discussed as follows:

(i) The firm’s marketing objectives: It is critical for the management of Star Bloom Foods to consider its international marketing objectives relating to how much it wants and can sell in overseas markets – i.e., volume – the timescale and coverage of market segments. If Star Bloom Foods expects overseas sales to be low in volume, or if the products are only to be on sale for a limited time period, then setting up an overseas production and distribution facility would be inappropriate. In this case, exporting would be an appropriate strategy. On the contrary, if management intends to cover a large segment of overseas markets as well as operate for a long time then establishing an overseas production and distributing outlet would be an appropriate mode of entry.

(ii) The firm’s size: A small firm is less likely than a large one to possess sufficient resources to set up and run a production facility overseas. It is important for management of Star Bloom Foods to consider whether the resources of the company could provide the investment capital and organizational ability to set up an overseas production facility. It would also need to consider whether it can support the costs of continuing operations. If not, then overseas production facility would be precluded as an appropriate entry mode. Management would have to consider a mode of entry that requires a relatively lower investment in terms of cost and human resource ability.

(iii) Mode availability: A firm might have to use different methods of entry to enter different markets. Some countries only allow a restricted level of imports but will welcome a firm if it builds manufacturing facilities which provide jobs and limit the outflow of foreign exchange. It is important for management to consider the policies of different overseas governments through research. This will inform it of what kinds of entry modes are available for it in each overseas market it seeks to enter.

(iv) Mode quality: In some cases, all modes may be possible in theory, but some are of questionable quality or practicality. The lack of suitably qualified distributors or agents, for instance, would preclude the export, direct or indirect, of high technology goods needing installation, maintenance and servicing by personnel with specialist technical skills. Whatever mode management are considering, it is important for them to put it to the practicality test.