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CHAPTER 9
MARKET ENTRY AND EXPANSION
Chapter Outline
A. Stimuli to Internationalize
1. Proactive Stimuli
2. Reactive Stimuli
B. Change Agents
1. Internal Change Agents
2. External Change Agents
C. Going International
D. Export
1. Export Management Companies
2. Trading Companies
3. E-Commerce
E. Licensing and Franchising
1. Licensing
2. Franchising
F. Foreign Direct Investment
1. Major Foreign Investors
2. Reasons for Foreign Direct Investment
3. A Perspective on Foreign Direct Investors
4. Types of Ownership
Chapter Objectives
This chapter discusses on how firms continuously progress through a process of
internationalization. It highlights the benefits and repercussions of entering international markets.
The different means for entering international markets are discussed. The chapter then discusses
the responsibilities of international intermediaries. The opportunities and challenges of
cooperative market development are explained. The chapter ends with a discussion on the means
different firms adopt to overcome market barriers.
In the context of future student careers, it is also useful to highlight the management differences
between proactive and reactive firms. International success for the individual is likely to come
quicker in a proactive firm, and students looking for international advancement should look
toward such firms.
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When discussing the usefulness or helpfulness of external agents to the internationalization
process, it is valuable to spend some time focusing the discussion on what is expected of different
external agents, and what their comparative advantage is in delivering on all of these
expectations. If sufficient class time is available, it may be also of use to focus on the
appropriate/inappropriate role of government in export promotion. In this context, it is also
helpful to clearly interlink the model of the export development process with the concerns of
firms in the different international stages. Students need to understand that these concerns change
over time and are the result of the experience, the perception, and the information available to
management.
For both the topics of franchising and licensing, it is useful to pick several business activities and
present them to the class and suggest their internationalization. Taken together with foreign
market restrictions and different consumer needs abroad, students will quickly recognize barriers
to international expansion. Once this recognition has occurred, it should be counterbalanced by
demonstrating the successful licensing and franchising operations which exist (e.g., McDonald's,
Coca-Cola, etc.) and by guiding the students in their discussion to understand the factors which
have made these organizations such a success and have ensured their longer-term survival (e.g.,
economies of scale, thorough understanding of customers, proprietary technology, etc.).
In discussing export intermediaries, students need to fully understand the difference between an
intermediary which takes title to goods vs. an agent. It is helpful to explain the financial
implications of these two kinds of activities. Similarly, the benefits of shared expenses can be
highlighted, particularly if one allocates cost of a specific activity (such as warehousing) among
10 different firms. If the instructor or some international students in the class have experience
with large export trading companies, it is useful to spend some time differentiating these firms
and their cultural and historical background from U.S. export trading companies.
It is useful to start out the discussion of foreign direct investment by focusing on the economic
effects. Students may wish to think through what it means if money comes into an economy for
foreign direct investment purposes. This can be highlighted by contrasting the investment into an
existing firm with Greenfield investment. Useful in this context is also a discussion of national
security, where the attention of students can be directed toward corporate or government efforts
from abroad to purchase, for example, an entire industry.
The issue of ownership can then be discussed with a special focus on the need for control. A
stepwise approach can be helpful to us here, focusing on the different marketing functions, and
then exploring with the students different corporate activities which are sensitive to control. What
should be continuously stressed is the fact that, initially at least, in a joint venture, all partners
have a great interest in making the venture a great success. However, the definition of success
may vary from partner to partner.
The issue of management contracts can be particularly well covered from a service perspective. If
students understand that many economies are increasingly becoming service based, they will also
develop a greater appreciation for the fact that this service knowledge ought to be transformed
into something internationally salable.
Chapter Summary
2
© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Exhibit 9.1 illustrates a model of international entry and expansion.
A. Stimuli to Internationalize
Exhibit 9.2 lists the major motivations to go international, differentiated into proactive
and reactive motivations. Proactive firms go international because they want to, while
reactive ones go international because they have to.
1. Proactive Stimuli
2. Reactive Stimuli
Here firms respond to changes and pressures in the business environment rather than
blaze new trails.
In reaction to competitive pressures, a firm may fear losing domestic market share to
competing firms or losing foreign markets permanently to new competitors.
Overproduction is a major reactive motivation. Historically, during downturns in the
domestic business cycle, markets abroad provided an ideal outlet for high
inventories. Such market expansion often does not represent commitment by
management but rather a temporary safety-valve activity. Instead of developing an
international marketing perspective by adjusting the marketing mix to needs abroad,
firms stimulate export sales with short-term price cuts. As soon as the domestic
market demand returns to previous levels, international marketing activities are
curtailed or even terminated.
Stable or declining domestic sales, whether measured in sales volume or market
share, also stimulate firms to expand internationally.
Excess capacity can be a powerful motivation.
The stimulus of a saturated domestic market is similar to that of declining domestic
sales.
A final major reactive motivation is proximity to customers and ports.
In this context, the concept of psychological distance needs to be understood.
Psychological distance refers to the lack of symmetry between growing international
markets with respect to cultural variables, legal factors, and other societal norms.
Geographic closeness to foreign markets may not translate into real or perceived
closeness to the foreign customers because a foreign market that is geographically
close may be psychologically distant. Two major issues frame the context of
psychological distance:
• Some of the distance seen by firms is based on perception rather than reality.
3
© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
• At the same time, closer psychological proximity does make it easier for
firms to enter markets.
Overall, the more successful international firms are motivated by proactive—that is,
firm-internal—factors. The motivations of firms do not seem to shift dramatically
over the short term but are rather stable.
B. Change Agents
Someone or something within the firm must initiate change and shepherd it through to
implementation. This intervening individual or variable is here called a change agent.
Change agents in the internationalization process are shown in Exhibit 9.3.
C. Going International
4
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For many firms, internationalization is a gradual process. Particularly in small markets,
however, firms may very well be born global, founded for the explicit purpose of
marketing abroad because the domestic economy is too small to support their activities.
There are three major methods to enter new markets:
• Export
• Licensing and franchising
• Foreign direct investment
D. Export
In some countries, more than a third of exporting firms commenced their export activities
within two years of establishment. Such start-up or innate exporters play a growing role
in an economy’s international trade involvement.
In most instances today, firms begin their operations in the domestic market. From their
home location, they gradually expand, and, over time, some of them become interested in
the international market. The development of this interest typically appears to proceed in
several stages, as shown in Exhibit 9.4.
In each one of these stages, firms are measurably different in their capabilities, problems,
and needs. Initially, the vast majority of firms are not even aware of the international
marketplace. Frequently, management does not even fill an unsolicited export order.
Should unsolicited orders or other international market stimuli continue over time,
however, a firm may gradually become aware of international market opportunities.
While such awareness is unlikely to trigger much business activity, it can lead
management to gradually become interested in international activities.
Prime candidates among firms to make this transition from aware to interested are those
companies that have a track record of domestic market expansion. In the next stage, the
firm gradually begins to explore international markets. Management is willing to consider
the feasibility of exporting. In this trial, or exploratory, stage, the firm begins to export
systematically, usually to psychologically close countries. However, management is still
far from being committed to international marketing activities.
After some export activity, typically within two years of the initial export, management is
likely to conduct an evaluation of its export efforts. If a firm is disappointed with its
international performance it may withdraw from these activities. Alternatively, it can
continue as an experienced small exporter. Success can also lead to the process of export
adaptation. Here a firm is an experienced exporter to a particular country and adjusts its
activities to changing exchange rates, tariffs, and other variables.
Firms in different stages are faced with different problems:
• Firms at the export awareness and interest stages are primarily concerned with
operational matters such as information flow and the mechanics of carrying out
international business transactions. They understand that a totally new body of
knowledge and expertise is needed and try to acquire it.
• Companies that have already had some exposure to international markets via trial
or evaluation begin to think about tactical marketing issues such as
communication and sales effort.
• Firms that have reached the export adaptation phase are mainly strategy- and
service-oriented. They worry about longer-range issues such as service delivery
and regulatory changes.
Firms who choose to export their products may do so in a number of different ways:
5
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• They may export directly or use export intermediaries such as export
management companies or trading companies.
• They can also sell to a domestic firm that in turn sells abroad.
Market intermediaries specialize in bringing firms or their goods and services to the
global market. They have detailed information about the competitive conditions in certain
markets or have personal contacts with potential buyers abroad. Two key intermediaries
are:
• Export management companies
• Trading companies
2. Trading Companies
Today, the most famous trading companies are the sogoshosha of Japan. These
general trading companies play a unique role in world commerce by importing,
exporting, countertrading, investing, and manufacturing. Four major reasons have
been given for the success of the Japanese sogoshosha:
• These firms are organized to gather, evaluate, and translate market
information into business opportunities.
• Their vast transaction volume provides them with cost advantages.
• These firms serve large markets around the world and have transaction
advantages.
• These firms have access to vast quantities of capital, both within Japan and
in the international capital markets.
Export trading company (ETC) legislation designed to improve the export
performance of small and medium-sized firms in the United States permits bank
participation in trading companies and reduces the antitrust threat to joint export
efforts. An ETC can apply for a certificate of review from the U.S. Department of
Commerce that provides antitrust preclearance for specific export activities. Bank
participation in ETCs was intended to allow better access to capital. The relaxation
of antitrust provisions in turn was to enable firms to share the cost of international
market entry. Firms participating in trading companies by joining or forming them
need to consider the difference between product- and market-driven activities.
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3. E-Commerce
1. Licensing
Under a licensing agreement, one firm, the licensor, permits another to use its
intellectual property in exchange for compensation designated as a royalty. The
recipient firm is the licensee. The property might include patents, trademarks,
copyrights, technology, technical know-how, or specific marketing skills.
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© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
The rights conveyed are product or patent rights. Defining their scope involves
specifying the technology, know-how, or show-how to be included, the format, and
guarantees.
Compensation issues may be heavily argued. The licensor wants to cover:
• Transfer costs, which are all variable costs incurred in transferring
technology to a licensee and all ongoing costs of maintaining the agreement.
• R&D costs incurred in researching and developing the licensed technology.
• Opportunity costs incurred in the foreclosure of other sources of profit, such
as exports or direct investment.
Compensation can take the form of running royalties, such as 5 percent of the
licensee sales, and up-front payments, service fees, and disclosure fees.
Licensee compliance in the agreement should address:
• Export control regulations
• Confidentiality of the intellectual property and technology provided
• Record keeping and provisions for licensor audits
• The term, termination, and survival of rights
2. Franchising
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with an imitation of the product, the general style of operation, and even with a
similar name.
Selection and training of franchisees present another concern. Although the local
franchisee knows the market best, the franchiser still needs to understand the market
for product adaptation purposes and operational details.
Exhibit 9.7 summarizes research findings regarding the challenges faced in
international franchising.
To encourage better-organized and more successful growth, many companies turn to
the master franchising system, wherein foreign partners are selected and awarded the
rights to a large territory in which they can subfranchise in turn. As a result, the
franchiser gains market expertise and an effective screening mechanism for new
franchises while reducing costly mistakes.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) represents international investment flows that acquire
properties and plants. The international marketer makes such investments to create or
expand a long-term interest in an enterprise with some degree of control. Portfolio
investment in turn focuses on the purchase of stocks and bonds internationally. Portfolio
investment is of primary concern to the international financial community.
FDIs have grown rapidly.
Foreign direct investors, and particularly multinational corporations, are viewed with
a mixture of awe and dismay. Governments and individuals praise them for bringing
capital, economic activity, and employment and for transferring technology and
managerial skills.
At the same time, investment may lead to dependence. Just as the establishment of a
corporation can create all sorts of benefits, its disappearance can also take them
away again. Very often, international direct investors are accused of draining
resources from their host countries. By employing the best and the brightest, they are
said to deprive domestic firms of talent, thus causing a brain drain. Once they have
hired locals, multinational firms are often accused of not promoting them high
enough.
By raising money locally, multinationals can starve smaller capital markets. By
bringing in foreign technology, they are viewed either as discouraging local
technology development or as perhaps transferring only outmoded knowledge.
4. Types of Ownership
Key Terms
Safety-valve activity: Stimulating export sales with short-term price cuts in order to balance
inventories or compensate for overproduction in the short term.
Psychological distance: The lack of symmetry between growing international markets with
respect to cultural variables, legal factors, and other societal norms; a market that is
geographically close may seem to be psychologically distant.
Change agent: Someone or something within the firm must initiate change and shepherd it
through to implementation. This intervening individual or variable is here called a change agent.
Accidental exporters: Firms which become international unexpectedly due to unsolicited orders,
such as those placed via a website, requiring export; unplanned participation in the international
market.
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Born global: Firms which are founded for the explicit purpose of marketing abroad since the
domestic economy is too small to support their activities.
Innate exporters: Exporting firms which embark on their export activities within two years of
establishment.
Awareness: The stage in corporate export where a firm gains knowledge about its international
market opportunities.
Interest: The stage in corporate export where a firm shows attentiveness in its international
activities.
Trial: In this exploratory stage, the firm begins to export systemically, usually to psychologically
close countries.
Evaluation: The stage in corporate export where after some export activity, typically within two
years of the initial export, management is likely to assess its expert efforts.
Adaptation: An experienced export firm which is able to adjust its activities to keep pace with
changing exchange rates, tariffs, and other variables in the international market.
Sogoshosha: Large Japanese trading companies, such as Sumitomo, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, and C.
Itoh.
Export trading company (ETC): Legal construct designed to encourage small and medium-
sized companies that are encouraged to participate in the international marketplace; aimed to
reduce the antitrust threat to joint export efforts.
E-commerce: The ability to offer goods and services over the Web.
Licensing: An agreement where one firm, the licensor, permits another to use its intellectual
property in exchange for compensation designated as a royalty.
Transfer costs: All variable costs incurred in transferring technology to a licensee and all
ongoing costs of maintaining the agreement.
R&D costs: Costs incurred on account of research and development of licensed technology.
Opportunity costs: Costs incurred in the foreclosure of other sources of profit, such as exports or
direct investment.
Trademark licensing: Permission for the use of the names or logos of designers, literary
characters, sports teams, and movie stars on merchandise such as clothing.
Franchising: A parent company (the franchiser) grants another, independent entity (the
franchisee) the right to do business in a specified manner.
Master franchising system: A system wherein foreign partners are selected and awarded the
franchising rights to a large territory in which they can subfranchise in turn.
Foreign direct investment: It represents international investment flows that acquire properties
and plants. The international marketer makes such investments to create or expand a long-term
interest in an enterprise with some degree of control.
Portfolio investment: It focuses on the purchase of stocks and bonds internationally.
Resource seekers: Firms that search for either natural resources or human resources.
Market seekers: Corporations primarily in search of better opportunities to enter and expand
within markets.
Efficiency seekers: Firms that attempt to obtain the most economic sources of production.
Derived demand: It is the result of the move abroad by established customers. Large
multinational firms like to maintain their established business relationships and, therefore,
frequently encourage their suppliers to follow them abroad. As a result, a few initial investments
can lead to a series of additional investments.
Fiscal incentives: Specific tax measures designed by the government to reduce the burden on the
investors and thereby attract foreign investment. They typically consist of special depreciation
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allowances, tax credits or rebates, special deductions for capital expenditures, tax holidays, and
other reductions of the tax burden on the investor.
Financial incentives: Offer special funding for the investor by providing land or buildings, loans,
loan guarantees, or wage subsidies.
Nonfinancial incentives: Consist of guaranteed government purchases; special protection from
competition through tariffs, import quotas, and local content requirements; and investments in
infrastructure facilities.
Brain drain: Very often, international direct investors are accused of draining resources from
their host countries. By employing the best and the brightest, they are said to deprive domestic
firms of talent, thus causing a brain drain.
Profit repatriation: Transfer of profits, and the extent to which firms reinvest into their foreign
operations.
Joint ventures: Collaborations of two or more organizations for more than a transitory period.
Strategic alliances: One special form of joint ventures consists of strategic alliances, or
partnerships, which are arrangements between two or more companies with a common business
objective.
Complementary strengths: When one firm’s strengths (product, geographic, or functional)
complement another firm’s strengths and satisfy a joint objective.
Piggyback: One firm making use of another firm’s strength, rather than joining that firm as
equals.
Management contract: An agreement where the supplier brings together a package of skills that
provides an integrated service to the client without incurring the risk and benefit of ownership.
Research consortia: Joint industry efforts in the research and development of new products to
combat the high costs and risks of innovation; often supported by governments.
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© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
For many firms, internationalization is a gradual process. Particularly in small markets,
however, firms may very well be founded for the explicit purpose of marketing abroad
because the domestic economy is too small to support their activities. Such firms are said to
be born global.
3. What relationship exists between governments and foreign investors? Why are foreign
investors important?
4. Discuss the impact of the Internet and e-commerce in making a firm global.
5. Discuss the various advantages and disadvantages of full ownership versus joint ventures.
Full ownership:
Many firms prefer to have 100 percent ownership. Sometimes, this is the result of
ethnocentric considerations based on the belief that no outside entity should have an impact
on management.
To make a rational decision about the extent of ownership, management must evaluate how
important total control is for the success of its international marketing activities. Often, full
ownership may be a desirable, but not a necessary, prerequisite for international success.
Commercial activities under the control of foreigners are frequently believed to reflect the
wishes, desires, and needs of headquarters abroad much more than those of the domestic
economy. Governments fear that domestic economic policies may be counteracted by such
firms, and employees are afraid that little local responsibility and empathy exist at
headquarters. A major concern is the “fairness” of profit repatriation, or transfer of profits,
and the extent to which firms reinvest into their foreign operations. Governments often
believe that transfer pricing mechanisms are used to amass profits in a place most
15
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advantageous for the firm and that, as a consequence, local operations often show very low
levels of performance. By reducing the foreign control of firms, they hope to put an end to
such practices.
Ownership can be limited either through outright legal restrictions or through measures
designed to make foreign ownership less attractive—such as limitations on profit
repatriation. The international marketer is therefore frequently faced with the choice of either
accepting a reduction in control or of losing the opportunity to operate in the country.
General market instability can also serve as a major deterrent to full ownership of FDI.
Instability may result from political upheavals or changes in regimes.
Joint ventures:
These are collaborations of two or more organizations for more than a transitory period.
The two major reasons for joint ventures are governmental and commercial.
Government restrictions are designed to reduce the extent of control that foreign firms can
exercise over local operations. As a basis for defining control, most countries have employed
percentage levels of ownership.
Equally important to the formation of joint ventures are commercial considerations. Joint
ventures can pool resources and lead to a better outcome for each partner than if they worked
individually. This is particularly the case when each partner has a specialized advantage in
areas that benefit the joint venture.
Joint ventures also permit better relationships with local organizations—government, local
authorities, or labor unions. If the local partner can bring political influence to the
undertaking, the new venture may be eligible for tax incentives, grants, and government
support and may be less vulnerable to political risk.
Problem areas in joint ventures, as in all partnerships, involve implementing the concept and
maintaining the relationship. Joint venture regulations are often subject to substantial
interpretation and arbitrariness. Major problems can arise due to conflicts of interest,
problems with disclosure of sensitive information, and disagreement over how profits are to
be shared; these are typically the result of a lack of communication and planning before,
during, and after the formation of the venture. In some cases, managers are interested in
launching the venture but are too little concerned with actually running the enterprise. In
other instances, managers dispatched to the joint venture by the partners may feel differing
degrees of loyalty to the venture and its partners.
Internet Exercises
1. What programs does the Export-Import Bank (http://www.exim.gov) offers that specifically
benefit small businesses trying to export? What benefits can be derived from each?
Three programs offered by the Ex-Im Bank for small businesses are short-term export credit
insurance, working capital guarantee, and medium and long-term financing. Loan guarantees
allow small businesses that would not otherwise qualify for loans to do so. Insurance policies
add protection from loss as well as further help small businesses to qualify for loans. The
export credit insurance provided by this bank helps small businesses to expand sales and
stabilize cash flows, apart from boosting their borrowing power. The working capital
guarantee provides confidence to the lenders to provide short-term loans to small and
medium-sized businesses.
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2. Use the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development FDI database (available
under the Statistics option at http://www.unctad.org) to research the foreign direct investment
profile of a country or region of your choice.
Foreign direct investment has clearly become a major avenue for international market entry
and expansion. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development FDI database
site provides information on foreign direct investment for every country. Students may be
asked to research the foreign direct investment profile of a country or region of their choice.
This would help understand what is required to circumvent current barriers to trade and
operate in that country as a domestic firm, unaffected by duties, tariffs, or other import
restrictions.
17
© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
de ciudadano general no le queda ya otra cosa que el nombre de la
ciudad de Roma. Esta nueva organización de que tratamos no hubo
seguramente de ponerse en práctica, por lo general, de una manera
rigurosa; sobre todo, parece que quedaron fuera de la unión municipa
las antiguas familias nobles, tanto patricias como plebeyas, que no
provenían de ningún municipio, e igualmente se conservaron algunas
otras excepciones personales. Pero que el nuevo derecho de
ciudadano romano era en realidad el derecho político del ciudadano, lo
demuestra la circunstancia de que el mismo podía ir unido, tanto con e
derecho indígena de una comunidad de ciudadanos, como con el de
una comunidad de no ciudadanos: también la composición de las
tribus tuvo ahora seguramente un carácter exclusivamente personal
La exclusividad propia del derecho de ciudadano de Roma se aplicó
también al derecho indígena; nadie podía ser a la vez ciudadano de
Capua y de Puzol, o de Capua y de Atenas; pero el ateniense pudo
ahora ya adquirir el derecho de ciudadano romano sin perder por eso
su derecho de ciudadano ateniense.
Por tanto, luego que por efecto de la distribución de la ciudadanía
que originariamente residía en un solo punto, en numerosos
organismos locales intermedios diseminados por toda la península
itálica, la organización primitiva, que negaba toda independencia a las
partes del Estado, vino a parar al extremo contrario, y la comunidad de
Roma, o mejor dicho, la comunidad del Reino empezó a esta
constituida por un cierto número de comunidades sometidas a
régimen de ciudad, presentose el problema de ordena
convenientemente las relaciones que deberían guardar entre sí la
autonomía de la comunidad del Reino y la de las particulares
comunidades de ciudad; o lo que es igual, puesto que al verificarse
esta transformación fue también fijada indefectiblemente la
centralización de hecho y de derecho del poder político, se hizo
preciso determinar la cantidad de derechos que de los pertenecientes
a la antigua autonomía de las ciudades confederadas podían dejarse a
las nuevas ciudades del Reino. Lo cual dio origen al nuevo derecho
municipal, esto es, al derecho de la ciudad dentro del Estado. Los
derechos que al poder central correspondían frente a las ciudades
confederadas, no solamente no fueron disminuidos, sino que se
aumentaron: para las relaciones exteriores no se conocía la existencia
de otro Estado que la del Reino unitario, no la de ninguna particula
ciudad; y si la legislación general del Reino se había inmiscuido ya
antes, por vía de excepción, en el derecho de las ciudades (pág. 103)
ahora este fenómeno se convirtió en regular, corriente e indiscutible. E
derecho de celebrar pactos federales y las altas atribuciones que
tuvieron las comunidades confederadas en materia militar debieron
desaparecer; los municipios de ciudadanos no tuvieron facultades para
celebrar alianzas con Roma, y el ciudadano del Reino, reclutado
militarmente en Palestrina, no fue ya un soldado palestrino, sino
romano. También desapareció el derecho privativo de las ciudades
por lo menos en general. El precepto jurídico romano, hasta ahora no
aceptado por las ciudades latinas, por virtud del cual los esponsales no
producían acción, se hizo extensivo a estas cuando entraron a forma
parte de la ciudadanía romana. Es probable que continuaran
existiendo como estatutos locales algunas disposiciones que se
apartaran de las reglas generales legales; sin embargo, lo que parece
tuvo predominio fue la nivelación. Los municipios de ciudadanos
perdieron también en lo esencial la alta jurisdicción que habían
conservado las ciudades confederadas, y sus habitantes se vieron
obligados, por regla general, a comparecer y hacer valer sus derechos
ante los magistrados romanos; sin embargo, la competencia crimina
que las ciudades tenían les fue respetada en una gran extensión, y po
otra parte, es probable que para los asuntos civiles o privados de
menor importancia y para los urgentes, sobre todo para aquellos cuyo
conocimiento no se encomendaba en las antiguas comunidades de
ciudadanos romanos al pretor de Roma, sino a su vicario o
representante local, se mantuviera en la ocasión presente la
jurisdicción municipal. En todo caso, al municipio de ciudadanos se le
conservaron ciertos elementos esenciales de su anterior autonomía, y
a los que nunca los habían tenido se le concedieron ahora. El derecho
de ser persona jurídica, que según la concepción primitiva de Roma no
correspondía sino al Estado mismo, la capacidad de poseer bienes y la
de recibir herencias y manumitir esclavos los tuvieron y ejercitaron
también los municipios de ciudadanos. Los cuales tuvieron asimismo
sus magistrados, sus Consejos y sus Cuerpos consultivos, sus
Comicios para las elecciones y para legislar, su caja común, y po
consiguiente la autonomía administrativa y financiera, si bien las
atribuciones de la magistratura y las de los Comicios fueron
grandemente mermadas, como se desprende de lo que dejamos
dicho.
Resulta, pues, que la forma que el Estado unitario, compuesto de
ciudadanos de igual derecho, adquirió medio siglo antes de que la
libertad romana llegara a su ocaso, solo se aplicó en un principio a
Italia, y a esta hubo de limitarse en lo esencial, por cuanto e
fundamento de toda perfecta unión política, la comunión de lengua y
costumbres, en Italia es donde ahora hubo de tener desarrollo
completo. Pero el sistema era también aplicable al territorio
ultramarino, y poco a poco fue trasponiendo los límites de la península
A principios del siglo III de J. C., las ciudades de derecho latino y de
derecho peregrino de todo el Reino se hallaban convertidas en
municipios de ciudadanos, con lo que la confederación de ciudades
en su sentido más amplio, dio lugar al derecho de ciudadano de
Reino. Fuera de la ciudadanía del Reino no quedaron de ahora en
adelante más que los gentiles no organizados bajo el régimen de
ciudad y no pertenecientes al Reino bajo la forma de la confederación
o de la autonomía tolerada, los príncipes de los sarracenos y de los
godos, los sátrapas de Armenia, las tribus de los confines africanos y
los extranjeros residentes en las Galias y en Italia.
LIBRO II
LA MAGISTRATURA
CAPÍTULO PRIMERO
el régimen sacral