EURODISNEY CASE STUDY
Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua
Hotel and Restaurant Management
International Marketing Strategy
Case 2-1
The Not-So- Wonderful World of Euro Disney* - Things Are Better Now at Paris DisneyLand
Angelica Lopez
Eucaris Mitre
Prof. Donaldo Fong
Due date: October 23, 2014
1. What factors contributed to EuroDisney’s poor performance during its first year of operations? What factors contributed to Hong Kong Disney’s poor performance during its first year?
The biggest factors that contributed to the poor performance during the first year of EuroDisney’s operations were:
a) A bad and poor understanding of the marketplace and b) the issues and the cultural differences between two nations and two differing approaches to business and life.
The factor that is very relevant was ethnocentrism of the American leaders counterbalanced by French national insecurities. The powerful and perhaps arrogant leadership style of Michael Eisner contributed to the problems. Even so, the problems were wider than that. Assuming that people would come from all over Europe as part of the business plan but failing to comprehend how diverse those consumers would be was another major part of the problem. Even though Europe has recently united as the European Union, they have been strongly distinct and independent cultures for centuries.
Disney failed to understand the French national character, their insecurities over cultural invasion after having been an occupied nation twice in the last century and their deep commitment to maintaining their identity and liberty. The arrogance of the French is based on insecurity as a global minority and the arrogance of the Americans was based on a wide open optimism and global success. The collision of the two ‘arrogancies’ was “formidable” as the French say.
2. To what degree do you consider that these factors were a) foreseeable, b) controllable by EuroDisney, Hong Kong Disney, or the parent company Disney?
A study in history and
Hotel and Restaurant Management
International Marketing Strategy
Case 2-1
The Not-So- Wonderful World of Euro Disney* - Things Are Better Now at Paris DisneyLand
Angelica Lopez
Eucaris Mitre
Prof. Donaldo Fong
Due date: October 23, 2014
1. What factors contributed to EuroDisney’s poor performance during its first year of operations? What factors contributed to Hong Kong Disney’s poor performance during its first year?
The biggest factors that contributed to the poor performance during the first year of EuroDisney’s operations were:
a) A bad and poor understanding of the marketplace and b) the issues and the cultural differences between two nations and two differing approaches to business and life.
The factor that is very relevant was ethnocentrism of the American leaders counterbalanced by French national insecurities. The powerful and perhaps arrogant leadership style of Michael Eisner contributed to the problems. Even so, the problems were wider than that. Assuming that people would come from all over Europe as part of the business plan but failing to comprehend how diverse those consumers would be was another major part of the problem. Even though Europe has recently united as the European Union, they have been strongly distinct and independent cultures for centuries.
Disney failed to understand the French national character, their insecurities over cultural invasion after having been an occupied nation twice in the last century and their deep commitment to maintaining their identity and liberty. The arrogance of the French is based on insecurity as a global minority and the arrogance of the Americans was based on a wide open optimism and global success. The collision of the two ‘arrogancies’ was “formidable” as the French say.
2. To what degree do you consider that these factors were a) foreseeable, b) controllable by EuroDisney, Hong Kong Disney, or the parent company Disney?
A study in history and