Globalization can be a driver of added value through four main processes:
- Research and development. Expanded competitive pressures provide additional incentives to innovate, particularly through new products, materials, and manufacturing techniques.
- Input costs. Expanded opportunities are available to find locations reducing input costs such as labor, raw materials, capital (taxation, exchange rates), or regulations.
- Transportation. The capacity to move materials across large distances enables a wider distribution of parts and finished goods.
- Sustainability. Improving the environmental performance of production, distribution, and consumption in terms of material and energy use as well as environmental externalities such as emissions and wastes.