GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: THE CASE OF SHERWIN-WILLIAMS

Abstract

The analysed company for the current study is Sherwin-Williams, which operates in the paint and coating industry. Sherwin-Williams was established 150 years ago in Cleveland, Ohio, the USA (Cooke 2016); with the company’s headquarters still located in Cleveland. The company manufactures, distributes, and sells different paints, coatings, and related products in the global market, which covers 120 countries (see Figure 1). However, its focus markets are the USA, Canada, and Latin American countries. Additionally, the distribution of human capital of the company and the fact that 78% of employees are recruited in the USA highlight the concentration of the company on the U.S. market (Sherwin-Williams n.d.a). Nonetheless, the company adapts its products and business operations to the host market, recruiting local managerial staff (Sherwin-Williams n.d.b). Moreover, the company diversifies its products and groups them into three segments: Americas Group, Consumer Brands Group, and Performance Coatings Group through wide distribution networks (see Appendix A).