Uber’s future depends on international growth, but currently they are experiencing international challenges within their non-U.S. markets. I will introduce their brief history, explain their current challenges, international expansion plans, their strategy plans, and a few insights on how they can achieve greater success in international markets. Predominantly, Uber has brutally underestimated the challenges of operating in countries that embody totally different economic, political, and cultural environments. Their definitive goal is to become one of the only international ride-hailing company, however they didn’t realize all the major setbacks they would come across internationally. Quick Uber HistoryUber headquarters is“located in San Francisco, California and operates in 632 other citiesworldwide” (Uber Technologies Inc., 2017). In conjunction, “Uber has expandedto more than 80 countries since its June 2010 initial launch in San Francisco,California” (Hyder, 2014).  Uber was“founded March of 2009 by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp” (Uber TechnologiesInc., 2017).  Uber Technologies, Inc.“provides e-commerce services for car hire and the company offers a websitewhich develops applications that allow users to request a car for hire from anymobile device text message while serving customers worldwide” (Bloomberg,2017). Moreover, the company was originally an idea that Travis Kalanick andGarrett Camp originated, while encountering some trouble attaining a cab. Theiridea was to simply invent something that with the tap of a button you could geta cab/ride and not have to struggle like they did. Stated on the Uber website,“What started as an app to request premium black cars in a few metropolitanareas is now changing the logistical fabric of cities around the world. Whetherit’s a ride, a sandwich, or a package, we use technology to give people whatthey want, when they want it” (Uber Technologies Inc., 2017). Uber not onlyprovides rides to their customers, but they also provide men and women a way toearn money by letting them use their own vehicle to give their clientelesrides. Also, noted on the Uber website, “for the women and men who drive withUber, our app represents a flexible new way to earn money. For cities, we helpstrengthen local economies, improve access to transportation as reliable asrunning water, everyone benefits” (Uber Technologies Inc., 2017). Current Challenges Uber was the first major ride-hailingcompany with mobile on-demand transportation. As competition started to intensify,Uber strategized on how to remain number one in this market area. They realizedin recognition of the risk posed by these followers into the market, theyneeded to rapidly and aggressively grow both domestically and internationally.However, along the way “Uber’s expansion was met with both excitement and majorblocks resulting from lawsuits, technological limitations, and governmentregulation” (Hyder, 2014). Ubers expensive push into china endedabruptly in 2016, when its domestic rival Didi Chuxing announced it hadacquired Uber China and more recently Uber merged with Yandex, marking its exitfrom another major international market, Russia. Governments, drivers, and passengerslaunched a seemingly endless stream of lawsuits and taxi firms organizedprotests in Europe and South America as they recognized their business wereunder threat. Ubers legal and ethical conduct was put under further scrutinywhen their drivers argued that they were being exploited as part of the sharingeconomy. Additionally, I will list some initialchallenges Uber faced within these following countries. As mentioned in Recode article written by JohanaBhuiyan, “in Russia, it was a fierce opponent willing to play the subsidy gamethat drove the company out, while it was regulatory issues that has stymied itin Europe” (Bhuiyan, 2017). Also, in Denmark, where “Uber announced it wasleaving in March, it was new regulations that required it to act more like ataxi company, requiring that drivers install things like meters in their cars.The company said it plans to revive its operation in Denmark when laws change”(Bhuiyan, 2017). Following in Spain, “the company had been previously banned incities across the country, Uber has continued to face protests from taxidrivers in these cities” (Bhuiyan, 2017). France currently had legal disagreementswith Uber regarding they should be treated as a taxi service hence controlledlike one too which then charged Uber for being an illegal taxi service(Bhuiyan, 2017). In many more places like, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan,and Thailand they have all charged Uber penalties for operating on their landillegally. In regard to India and China, “they are similar markets in terms ofboth size and the cost of undercutting prices to maintain or grow demand.Expansion within the region on its own would require significant capital”(Bhuiyan, 2017). These are just a few of the many different challenges Uber hasbeen faced with since branching out internationally. International Expansion and Strategy PlansAstonishingly, in less than eight yearsUber has accomplished expansion in more than 450+ markets all over the worldand is continuously growing. As stated in an article, “expandinginternationally has involved a series of changes to the mobile application andbusiness model in order to localize it to the market and culture. Uber has hadto make changes to accommodate different languages, currencies, and distancemeasures (e.g. miles vs. kilometers)” (Hyder, 2014). As cited by Hyder shementioned, “Travis Kalanick wrote about Uber’s international expansion in ablog posting: as we started expanding, it became clear that individual citieswere the unique factor in our launches. Each city is unique in itstransportation pain points, its density, its transportation alternatives,regulation, even its transportation culture” (2014). Moreover, Uber first tried implementingwhat worked in the U.S. and applied some of those techniques to respectivecountries however, they were one of the companies that learned the hard way,realizing that what may have worked in the U.S. wouldn’t work elsewhere. Statedin an article written by Suhas Manangi, “the young tech company has committed aclassic globalization mistake: it naively assumed that its business model andmarket approach, which ultimately solidified its market-leading position in theU.S., could translate just as seamlessly to other countries. It severelyunderestimated the challenges of operating in countries that embody totallydifferent economic, political, and cultural environments” (2017). What Uber predominantly saw was the commontransportation problem within many countries that required a solution. Asspecified in an article, “localization is a key ingredient of Uber’s AsiaPacific (APAC) marketing strategy as it battles to stay ahead of regionalcompetition. However, localization goes beyond services which might includecash payments for some emerging markets where credit cards are not feasible, orin China, where Uber has partnered with Alibaba’s Ali-pay system – thepreferred payment method of Chinese consumers” (Manangi, 2017).Correspondingly, this article mentions “Uber calls its globalization strategy“launch playbook,” a list of business strategies and operating guidelines thathave been complied by an internal team of about forty employees. At the sametime, Uber is smart to have flexibility in different markets that local Uberleaders can adapt and not have the same features everywhere” (Manangi, 2017).Examples of this include, UberCHOPPER in Shanghai, UberBOATS in Istanbul, andUberAUTO in New Delhi, India. Recommendations for Greater Success InternationallyFollowing the six quick rules of thumb fordoing business across cultures is a strategy Uber should incorporate. They needto be prepared, be considerate of time, establish trust, understand theimportance of language, respect the culture, and understand components of theculture they are in.  As stated by Balland Geringer, “knowing your customer is just as important in the world as it isin your hometown. Each culture has its logic, and within that logic are real,sensible reasons for the way they do things” (2013). Uber needs a “businesspersonwho can figure out the basic pattern of the culture which in turn will beincreasingly effective interacting with foreign clients” (Ball & Geringer,2013). Furthermore, for greater success internationally,Uber should be more careful in looking at its practice and policies therefore,considering if they are appropriate to incorporate in each specific country.China, India, and Europe differ in many ways from their home country, Uber willhave greater success if they ask for permission to operate in specificcountries instead of just intruding and then consequently finding out they weredoing business illegally. Doing so will then convey respect to those countriesregulations and organizations. As mentioned previously, aggressive entrytactics should be eliminated and instead Uber should initially invest timebuilding solid relationships with the various unions within the country. Another tactic Uber should integrate ispreparation and planning. Uber generally did not produce a plan before goinginternational they just learned and adapted as they went resulting in costinefficiency. Which, reverts back to the six quick rules of thumb, rule numberone, being prepared is key. In order to help Uber with better preparation withplanning, they should follow the global strategic planning process asreferenced by Ball and Geringer, “global strategic planning provides a formalstructure in which managers (1) analyze the company’s external environment, (2)analyze the company’s internal environment, (3) define the company’s businessand mission, (4) set corporate objectives, (5) quantify goals, (6) formulatestrategies, and (7) make tactical plans” (2013). Lastly, instead of withdrawingfrom the countries that already have a big advantage over Uber, because oftheir already existing taxi companies within the local country, they shouldinstead try partnering with its local rivals. Simply because trying to doeverything on their own is a strategically challenging, hence the reason whythey have backed out of multiple countries. ConclusionTo conclude, Uber has had to overcome manychallenging obstacles along the way of becoming an international business.Failing to plan, failure to fit local market objectives, and learning fromtheir mistakes are all topics resulting from expanding internationally. Uberneeds to respectively appreciate and keep in mind while operating in differentcountries, their different economic, political, and cultural environments. Also,“providing customization to local markets is an expensive task requiringsignificant financial backing and of the mind share from the senior executives,hence the need for a carefully thought out strategy for global expansion isrequired” (Manangi, 2017). Their goal is to maintain number one withininternational ride-hailing companies, but with all the competition andchallenges in today’s world there is potential in them losing thissustainability if a new direction in strategic planning is not met. ReferencesBall, D. A. (2013). International Business: The Challenge of Global Competition (13th ed.).New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Bhuiyan, J. (2017, July 14). It’s a Hard World After all in Uber’s Path to Global Domination. Retrieved February 13, 2018, from https://www.recode.net/2017/7/14/15964808/uber-global-domination-yandex-didiBloomberg L.P. (2017). Uber Technologies Inc: Company Profile – Bloomberg. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/profiles/companies/0084207D:US-uber-technologies-inc Hyder, Y. (2014,February 7). Case: Uber. Retrieved February 13, 2018, from http://soumyasen.com/IDSC6050/Case15/Group15_index.htmlManangi, S. (2017, August 1). Uber’s Global Expansion Strategy – “ThinkLocal to ExpandGlobal” – Will it Work for Startups? Retrieved February 13, 2018, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ubers-global-expansion-strategy-think-local-expand-work-manangiUber Technologies Inc. (2017). The Uber Story. Retrieved fromhttps://www.uber.com/our-story/Get Help With Your EssayIf you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!Find out more