Hewlett-Packard Essay

In late 1995, John Peter, a marketing manager of Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific Limited, was evaluating the division's strategic options for doing business in Vietnam. The United States had lifted its embargo on Vietnam in February 1994, and the country had normalized relationships with many other countries, including China. The current economic development in Vietnam is rather slow and limited, and the infrastructures and the political-legal systems appear to be underdeveloped. However, the long-term prospects appear very bright. Hewlett-Packard's current operation in Vietnam is limited to the distribution of a small range of its products through local intermediaries. John needed to recommend whether HPAP should enter the Vietnam market in a more strategic fashion. If so, what form of market entry should be adopted, and what detailed implementation plans should be developed?

Keywords: Asian management team, communications, customer satisfaction, distribution network, diversification, economic development, economic interdependence, education, emerging economies, human capital, information technology, infrastructure, job creation, joint venture, local cultural norms, mission statement, national data communications network, social impact of information systems, state-owned enterprise, subsidiary management, technology transfer, training, values, warehousing network

Case Facts:
In September 1995, Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific (HPAP) was evaluating its long term strategic investment options for doing business in Vietnam. Analysis revealed that even though the Vietnamese information technology (IT) market was small, it represented a promising market with untapped potential. HPAP had begun to distribute some Hewlett Packard (HP) products in Vietnam. HPAP had to consider if it should enter the Vietnamese IT market in a more strategic fashion. After US withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975, the communist controlled the country. It invaded Cambodia in 1978 and resulted in