The Failure of Home Depot in China - A Case Study

Abstract

In modern business management, organizational behavior is a crucial factor in influencing the success. Especially, when considering the market performance of a business, the decision-making behavior may be an important factor. In different local conditions, organizational behavior might be a determining factor in success. The paper, by studying the case of the US Home Depot in China, attempts to analyze the behavioral factors impacting the success in the local place of its targeted market. Based on the two factors including incompetent local adaptation and the wrong entry time and entry mode leading to failure, some recommendations are made. Firstly, the company could conduct a more detailed and systematic research of the local conditions, especially the local cultural and economic features. Secondly, it is crucially important to know the exact time and the suitable entry mode. Thirdly, that the Home Depot could have study the communicative mode with the locals heavily influenced by the local cultural traditions and conventions in order to avoid blind entry strategy. To conclude, for the success of cross-border businesses, being adaptable to the local consuming habits is an important premise of the sustainable development for the Home Depot in the international market.