Replication strategy

Replication is a growth strategy involving the creation and the operation of a large number of similar outlets that deliver a product or perform a service. It become popular in the service environment, but is becoming more and more diffused for industrial companies. For this reason, McDonalds with its 30.000 retail units in 119 countries on 5 continents is the most quoted example of replication strategy, but Intel with its request to develop identical factories around the world and its explicit mission of ‘Copy exactly’ is a meaningful exemplification too. The diffusion of the replication strategy is strictly linked with the phenomenon of globalization: global market, global customers and global production sites increase impressively the scope of this strategy and the global replicated image of the company reinforces more and more the visibility of this strategy (Ritzer, 1996)