Those who watched “The Hundred-Foot Journey” would remember the many clashes and frictions that happened because of culture differences. The movie tells the story of an Indian family who opens a restaurant in a small French village, directly across the street from a Michelin-starred French restaurant. The clash between the Indian father and the French chef when they first open across the street is a good visual metaphor for CAGE framework.
Designed by Pankaj Ghemawat, Indian-American economist, this framework is a tool businesses use to understand how different a foreign country is from their home market. It helps them answer the question: “How difficult will it be to do business in this new country?”
So if we want to apply this framework on the movie, it will be something as the below:
How can businesses use CAGE Framework?
- Identify target markets for expansion.
- For each target country, analyze its CAGE distance relative to your home country.
- Work on prioritizing markets, so countries with a lower overall CAGE distance are typically “safer” and easier to enter. They often represent the best opportunities for initial international expansion.
- For markets with high distance in a specific dimension, develop strategies to bridge that gap.
High Cultural Distance? Partner with a local firm or hire local managers.
High Administrative Distance? Lobby for trade agreements or invest in legal expertise.
High Geographic Distance? Invest in efficient logistics or local production.
High Economic Distance? Adapt the business model or product pricing.
CAGE Comparator
You can refer to this amazing CAGE Comparator, a free tool to help users analyze the effects of distances and differences between many countries around the world. https://globalization.stern.nyu.edu/cage?country=USA&indicator=mx
Here’s how you can use this tool: For example the CAGE distance between China and Egypt is said to be 8473, that number represents a score calculated using the CAGE Framework. This score is a high number which means If you’re a business considering expansion or collaboration between those two countries, then huge localization efforts are needed. You’ll likely need local partnerships, cultural adaptation, regulatory navigation, and strategic market entry planning.
But don’t worry, you don’t need complex calculations to make use of the CAGE Framework, even a simple reflection on the four dimensions can uncover valuable insights.
Sometimes, a 100-foot physical distance can hide vast differences of cultural, legal, and strategic separation. But if your company learns to map and bridge those gaps, like the characters eventually do in the film, success could eventually materialize.
