The Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company's (3M) has a successful export strategy.In 2007, 3M generated more than 60 percent of its revenues from outside the United States.The company often uses exports to establish an initial presence in a foreign market, only building foreign production facilities once sales volume rises to a level where local production is justified.

To learn more about 3M and its international strategy, go to {http://www.3m.com/}.

• \Why do you think 3M initially enters markets on a small scale?
• How does the firm's strategy fit with the philosophy that exporting is not an end in itself, but merely a step on the road toward establishment of foreign production?