Seen from the perspective of the manufacturer (international marketer), market entry modes can be classified into three groups:

• export modes: low control, low risk, high flexibility;
• intermediate modes (contractual modes): shared control and risk, split ownership;
• hierarchical modes (investment modes): high control, high risk, low flexibility.

It cannot be stated categorically which alternative is the best. There are many internal and external conditions that affect this choice and it should be emphasized that a manufacturer wanting to engage in global marketing may use more than one of these methods at the same time. There may be different product lines, each requiring a different entry mode.