tastes in a country that can be the basis for new products (Deligonul et al. 2008; Foss and Foss 2000). elsewhere Deployment of intangible assets International marketers essentially have two types of resources at their disposal generic and strategic. Generic resources are process-specific the and obtainable from the market. Examples are production hardware, software, capital, and labor. Strategic ak technology, company-specific or idiosyncratic to their resources are Companies can en- owners. They are not directly transferable. w- either develop them organically or acquire them by to acquiring their holders. By their very nature, strategic in resources are complex and tacit, and they generate superiority eir advantages that are critical for competitive MNEs will need to cultivate and accentuate their ate strategic assets in response to the four forces. Most ole promising in the international context are symbol assets (such as brands, trademarks, etc.), downstream assets pertaining to the market (such as an idiosyncratic distribu- tion system, global presence, footprint, etc.), relational assets (such as long term partnerships), and innovation assets (such as patents). These assets are especially critical in the international context where generic resources are er widely available and provide elusive advantages. In n contrast, strategic assets render the firm with idiosyncratic it competitive leverage and create value in different ways.