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118 Harvard Business Review November 2010The Globephotography: Stefano G. Pavesi/Contrasto/ReduxThe surprising global successof Spanish companiesproves the value of goodold-fashioned networking.by Mauro F. Guilln andEsteban Garca-CanalCountless companies from emergingeconomies hesitate to jumpinto international marketsespecially those in the developed worldbecause they see themselves as hopelesslyflawed. While many are every bit as savvyand profit-oriented as traditional multinationals,theyre painfully aware thatthey dont have cutting-edge technologies,dominant brands, or novel products.And the process of building those kinds ofadvantages looks long and daunting, evenfor companies that possess the necessarycapital. So they remain at home, profitablebut unable to live up to their full potentialand vulnerable to foreign competitors.Yet theres really no good reason theyshould sit on the sidelines of global competition.Our research shows that companieslacking strong technological knowledge orbrand assets can still succeed in overseasmarkets by drawing on other capabilities.If theyre smart about how and wherethey venture abroad, global hopefuls cansucceed by harnessing mundane capabilities,such as people skills and operationalknow-how, that theyve been honing athome for years. A look at some of Spainsmultinationals shows how. Althoughthe Spanish economy soured during theworldwide downturn, with GDP decliningand unemployment hovering around 20%,How to Conquer NewMarkets with Old SkillsABOVE The worlds biggest bridal-wearmaker, Pronovias, is one of Spains 2,000multinationals. It sells 480,000 dresseseach year and has a presence in 75countries.many of the countrys approximately 2,000multinationals are thriving abroad, even inwealthy economies, without technologicalor brand-related advantages.In examining the international expansionof Spanish firms over the past 25 years,we found that the leaders used acquisitionsto extend their reach but focused them onjust a few industries and geographic areas.They then strengthened their positionsby drawing on their homegrown politicaland networking skills, project executionknowledge, and vertical integration expertisecapabilities that many companies inemerging markets also possess.In the process, the Spanish firms wereable to bypass the slow, incremental expansionstrategy that multinationals havetraditionally pursued. As we will see, speedwas a critical factor in the international successof several Spanish companiessomethingother companies looking to go globalshould keep firmly in mind.Late Bloomers BecomeGlobal GiantsSpanish companies made few significantinvestments abroad until 1986, when thecountrys integration into the EuropeanEconomic Community began dismantlingthe barriers to trade and competitionwith the rest of Europe. Atthat point, Spanish companies inelectricity, water, oil, gas, transportation,telecommunications,and banking started making majorcross-border acquisitions. Thepace of acquisition picked up afterSpains adoption of the euro in the late1990s gave Spanish companies increasedaccess to capital for ventures in other partsof the world.Some of todays best-known Spanishmultinationals are offshoots of that firstburst of globalization. As of 2009, Telefnicawas the worlds fifth-largest telecommunicationsprovider in terms of revenue,and Santander the fourth-largest bank.Four Spanish firms (ACS, FCC, Ferrovial,and Abertis) topped the list of the worldslargest transportation-infrastructure developersand managers; Iberdrolawas the largest producerof wind power; Acciona thelargest developer of windfarms; and Sol Meli the biggestresort-hotelchain.Look more deeply, and youll find Spanishfirms among the world leaders in thefood-processing and apparel industries.Viscofan is the largest producer of artificialcasings for the meat industry, and Freixenethas been the worlds number onemaker of sparkling wine for more than twodecades. In textiles and clothing, Spain isthe home of global denim leader Tavex(now merged with Brazils Santista); andPronovias, the planets largest bridal-weardesigner and manufacturer. Though Spainhas never produced global contenders incapital-intensive industries such as chemicals,metals, electronics, and automobiles,a handful of Spanish companies are formidablecompetitors in related niche marketssuch as automobile components (GrupoAntolin), stainless steel (Acerinox), andwind turbines (Gamesa).As they went global, Spanish firmstended to avoid the risky and expensivestrategy of opening their own facilitiesabroad, instead favoring alliances, jointventures, and acquisitions.Banco Santander, for example,used acquisitions to build itsposition as Latin Americaslargest retail bank, then purchasedthe UKs Abbey andother major institutions inEurope and the United States.And acquisitions in Europe, Asia, and theAmericas made Grupo SOS the worlds biggestolive oil company and Ebro Puleva theworlds largest producer and marketer ofrice and second-largest producer of pasta.Spains multinationals also tended tofocus their foreign expansion efforts bygeography. Nearly 90% of Spains outwardforeign direct investment has been aimedat Latin America or Europe. This targetedapproach to expansion helped companiesbalance their desire for global reach withthe need to upgrade their capabilitiesa dual challenge emerging-economycompetitors nowface. Latin America was a regionwhere Spanish companieshad natural advantages, suchas cultural similarities, shared language,and connections, and nearby markets elsewherein Europe afforded opportunities toincrease sales and develop new capabilities.After establishing a beachhead there, Spanishfirms then made selective investmentsin other advanced countries, such as theUnited States, to sharpen their technologicaland marketing skills. Through everyphase of expansion, they relied heavilyon old-school, time-honored businessabilities.Parlaying Political SkillsInto GrowthHistorically, many industries in Spain, suchas banking, utilities, highway construction,and transportation, have been heavilyregulated, with high-ranking officials holdingthe authority to make or break deals.As a result, numerous Spanish companiesbecame adept at navigating what at timeswas a highly complex process of obtaininglicenses. They learned not to react passivelyto policy risks but to actively managerelationships with local officials and forgepersonal connections to gain informationthat allowed them to anticipate shifts. Thatpolitical savvy has helped them achieve remarkablesuccess outside the Iberian peninsula.In transportation-infrastructure management,for instance, seven of the worlds10 largest private companies are from Spain.In fact, our research reveals, some Spanishfirms have deliberately chosen to operatein countries where government officialspossess broad powers to grant licenses andissue regulations, precisely because of theirpolitical expertise.Take the bus-service company AutomvilesLuarca, SA (which is now partof the UK company National Express).Founded in 1923 in a fishing village, ALSAgrew by gradually adding routes aroundthe country, obtaining new licenses orbuying companies that owned licenses inThe worlds fourthlargestbank,Santander, built itsposition throughacquisitions in LatinAmerica, Europe, andthe United States.The worldsfifth-largest telecomcompany,Telefnica, racedahead of rivals byrapidly November 2010 Harvard Business Review 119the process. In 1964 it began extending itsbusiness model to other countries, establishingan OviedoParisBrussels route.As demand rose and highways improved,ALSA started to add international routeselsewhere in Europe. Acquisitions playeda key role in the companys growth, but sodid other factors, including operating efficiencyand service innovation. The firminvested heavily in training and bus maintenanceand established a Supra nonstopintercity service, offering luxury coacheswith larger seats and more legroom.In the 1980s, ALSA sought to apply itsknow-how to running bus routes in distantcountries. Its first important foray was intoChina, though the choice was somewhatserendipitous. On a trip to investigate importingan innovative Chinese toothpasteinto Spain, founder Jos Cosmen discoveredanother opportunity, in the form ofChinas underdeveloped transportationservices. (The toothpaste turned out tobe less promising than it had appeared.)Through a joint venture, the company beganoffering taxi transportation servicesnear Hong Kong, where foreign investorswere allowed to operate as minority partners.ALSA considered this joint venturea good platform from which to learn howto operate in China and build relationshipsnot only with local partners but also withgovernment administrators, who have toapprove every project developed in thecountry.By the time the Chinese governmentgave foreign investors the freedom to operatebus services, in 1990, ALSA was fullyprepared to be the first mover. It created anew joint venture to run a route betweenBeijing and the rapidly industrializingcoastal city of Tianjin. It offered servicesthat China had never seen before, such asregular schedules and modern coacheswith comfortable seats. New joint ventureswere set up to operate routes betweenBeijing and Shanghai. The company thenmoved to smaller cities. Step by step, it replicatedits business model, eventually introducingspecial services like the ImperialClass, a version of Supra. To overcome thesubpar infrastructure, ALSA formed morejoint ventures, which built bus stations, assembledbuses, and developed and managedmaintenance facilities.Political skill and expertise in licensingwere critical to the companys successin China, where the process of obtaininglicenses is far more complex than in othercountries. One of the joint ventures promotedby ALSA, for instance, required fouryears of preparation and approval. Chinais by far the most successful internationalexpansion project ALSA has undertaken.The company has become such an experton the market that it has established animport-export subsidiary that helps othermultinationals operate in China.Cynics might ask whether Spanishcompanies are drawn to certain countrieschiefly by the ease of lobbying or bribingofficials, but a strategy based on targetingmalleable government agents isnt sustainable.Spanish firms have shown that theyare willing to use every possible resource todefend their interests abroad, sometimeseven battling foreign governments in courtover decisions and regulations.The downside of operating in placeswhere government officials are free to negotiatethe terms of a foreign corporationsentry is that those officials also have theauthority to renege on such agreementswithout opposition from the legislature orthe judiciary. A few Spanish firms learnedthis lesson the hard way and, once bitten,became noticeably shy. For example,the water-managementcompany Aguasde Barcelona (now part of Frances Suez)invested heavily in Latin America in the1990s but withdrew from certain countriesthere after facing increased regulatoryproblems.Adding CapabilitiesThrough NetworkingMany Spanish companies have showna knack for piggybacking on the operationsof established multinationals. Thatapproach allows firms to build verticaland horizontal networks that help thempenetrate foreign markets, deepen theirknowledge, and gain access to competitiveresources.Gamesa, in wind energy, is a case inpoint. Founded in 1976 as a maker of autoparts and military ordnance, it developedexpertise in aerodynamics and electricalmachinery and transformed itself into awind-energy company. It has managed tobecome one of the worlds largest windturbinemanufacturers, with an operationalpresence in 20 countries and throughoutEurope, Asia, North America, and NorthernAfricaand yet it has never been a technologyleader. Instead, Gamesa has used itsnetworking skills to grow, relying on alliancesfor both capability building and marketaccess.Contrary to appearances, generatingelectricity from wind is an exceedinglycomplex activity, involving turbine manufacturers,farm developers, distributors,and regulators. The viability of wind powerdepends on a number of factors, rangingfrom technology to demand, and from regulationto the structure of competition.During the 1990s, Gamesa signed anagreement with the Danish firm Vestas,the worlds leading wind-turbine manufacturer,under which Vestas took a 40% equitystake in Gamesa and the Spanish com-Cumulative Outward ForeignDirect Investment, 1980200840302010% OF GDP1980 200838%33%SpainDevelop edWorldAverageThe globe120 Harvard Business Review November 2010HBR.ORGpany obtained technological licenses forsophisticated components. By the time thecompanies parted ways, in 2002, Gamesasengineers had managed to acquire the experienceneeded to design its own turbines.Within six years the company obtained orapplied for 118 patents.Gamesa has also used its networkingskills to become more active in wind-farmdevelopment, forming agreements with localpartners in the UK, Japan, India, China,and Australia. This strategy has divertedfinancial and managerial resources fromR&D and manufacturing, but it has boostedGamesas growth abroad. About 20% ofGamesas installed capacity and 60% of itsnew installations are now outside Spain. In2009 Gamesa ranked fourth in the worldin cumulative wind-power turbine installations.It is the biggest foreign wind company(as measured by cumulative installations)in China, its largest market.The Execution EdgeOne of Spanish enterprises most potentglobal weapons has been project executionspecifically, the ability to set upplants or complex facilities quickly and atlow cost.Telefnica exemplifi es this capability. Itwas a state monopoly until the deregulationthat followed Spains entry into the EuropeanEconomic Community. At that point,competition from new entrants forced thecompany to rapidly improve its service andmeet demand that had gone unsatisfi ed foryears. Between 1986 and 1999, Telefnicainstalled about 10 million new residentialand business lines in Spain, more than doublingits infrastructure.The company was quick to target LatinAmerica for expansion. It established operationsin Chile fi rst and, by the end of the1990s, had entered Argentina, Venezuela,Puerto Rico, Peru, and Brazil. Telefnicasproject-execution skills served it well in itsnew markets. As it took over privatized andacquired companies, Telefnica knew howto make rapid and cost-effective investmentsin infrastructure, fi ll unmet demand,and improve service, just as it had done inWWW.STANFORDEXECUTIVE.COMChange lives. Change organizations. Change the world. Spain. Its competitors from North America,accustomed to a more mature market, wereless prepared to take advantage of theseopportunities.“When it comes to installing a million accesslines in record time, no onecan beat us,” former TelefnicaInternacional chief executiveI馻ki Santillana once told theNew York Times. “We have thebest ditch-digging technologyaround.”Once it had established asolid base in Latin America,Telefnica expanded throughout Europe,eventually becoming the fifth-largest telecomoperator in the world. Through an equitystake in China Netcom (now China Unicom,after a 2008 merger), it has become aplayer in China as well.Achieving Efficiency withVertical IntegrationIn the area of operational organization,Spanish multinationals have demonstratedan uncanny ability to integrate verticallyand deliver a wide variety of new productsquickly to global markets. The Spanish retailchain Zara is a well-known example of abusiness that combines innovative design,manufacturing flexibility, seamless dist