This research examines the strategic management issues which must be addressed by The Walt Disney Company in the

1990s. A particular emphasis is placed on the company's transnational expansion operations. The Walt Disney Company is the direct successor to the business founded by Walt Disney in Hollywood in the 1920s (Moskowitz, Katz, and Levering, 1985). In 1991, Disney is (1) a major producer of motion pictures, (2) the owner and operator of a cable television channel--The Disney Channel--and of a television station--KCAL-TV, (3) a producer and marketer of video tapes, music tapes, music records, and publications, (4) a licenser of rights for merchandise production and marketing, (5) the owner and operator of major amusement theme parks in California and Florida, (6) a joint venturer in the ownership and operation of Euro Disneyland in France, and (7) a licenser of Tokyo Disneyland (Swort, 1991). Walt Disney World in Florida includes the Magic Kingdom Theme Park, Epcot Center, and Disney-MGM Studios. Feature film, television, and video productions are produced under the Buena Vista, Touchstone, and Hollywood Pictures names. Disney merchandise is sold through both catalogs and Disney Stores retail outlets. Theme parks and resorts contribute 48.8 percent of Disney's total revenues, while film operations contribute 39.8 percent, and consumer products and merchandise contribute the remaining 11.4 percent (Swort, 1991). The Walt Disney Company has the difficult problem of having to manage rapid growth and maintain that growth in order to satisfy stockholders and analysts. Although the company has foundered at several times during its long history (during the 1950s and late 1970s, for example), it has always managed to return not only to its previous level of success, but to reach new levels. Currently, the company is grappling with a foray into the European theme park market where it is coming to terms with the vastly different expectations that Europeans have with respect to theme parks and their employment. This research explores the issues at EuroDisney and how the company can overcome them. Different companies have different corporate cultures, but the corporate culture which has evolved at Disney is one of an autocratic, if benign, leader who is able to engender tremendous loyalty and results from his employees. In the beginning of the company, that leadership was provided by Walt Disney, who fostered a family atmosphere, but who was nonetheless a creative and sometimes stern taskmaster. Disney pioneered the concept of theme parks (as opposed to amusement parks), but used the power of television to promote the concept. Disneyland became world famous not simply because it was the first park of its kind to feature a tie-in to movie characters, but also because of the television program which beamed images of the park and its founder into the livingThe Walt Disney Company, founded by Walt Disney, is one of the world's premier entertainment conglomerates, with annual revenues of $27 billion. Associated in consumer's minds as a family entertainment company, the company is run by CEO Michael Eisner who over the past two decades turned the company around since its dismal earnings in 1984 when he took the helm. After a long string of success, however, the company has stalled and Eisner was recently removed as the Chairman of the Board at a stockholder's meeting of over 3000 shareholders.

The main problem is that Disney earnings have declined annually since 1997 and the stock is currently trading at 1994 levels. Many blame Eisner's leadership as the cause behind Disney's stalled performance, despite his having turned the company into a moneymaker for the first dozen years of his leadership. The shareholders who gave a no vote to Eisner, ousting him as Chairman of the Board, argue that company is not efficiently operating. Forced into retirement, Roy Disney maintains the company is overextending itself by extending its brands, including acquisition of cable channels, international theme parks, and others.