Product Overview

Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), needs to determine how the league should proceed in pursuing an international growth strategy. Traditionally, American football has trailed other sports such as basketball in terms of global participation and fan interest. However, under Goodell's leadership, the NFL has played an increasing number of games outside the United States, launched a variety of international marketing programs, and experienced record global viewership. It is Goodell’s responsibility to act in the best interests of the 32 league owners who have chosen him as commissioner. The increasing popularity of the NFL outside the United States causes Goodell to wonder just how far the league should go in expanding internationally in the upcoming years. This case focuses on global management, the integration of business strategy, and organizational design in a setting where there is no proven answer or playbook to be followed. The NFL, like many larger and highly successful American organizations, is not lacking for funds, resources, or international opportunities. Yet it is still challenged by the complex task of expanding a highly US-centric product to other parts of the world where people do not have the same familiarity with its offerings. The case offers an opportunity for students to apply fundamental global management skills—cultural and environmental analysis of countries, organizational structure design, and strategy formulation—in an engaging and visible setting. The material in this case also provides instructors an opportunity to compare and contrast the international strategies and operations of the NFL with other organizations. Comparisons can be made to other professional sports leagues (such as the National Hockey League [NHL], National Basketball Association [NBA], Major League Baseball [MLB], Formula 1, and various professional soccer leagues) as well as to prominent multinational organizations of other types.

Learning Objectives

- Describe the challenges faced by organizations seeking to expand internationally and manage a workforce originating from a broad range of countries. - Analyze national cultural differences using common measures developed by Geert Hofstede and the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) project and identify their relevant implications for management. - Analyze the organizational structure of international organizations and evaluate alternative organizational structures. - Compare and contrast the nature of professional sports organizations with other types of organizations.