The objective of the diploma thesis is to analyze potential of the Brazilian market for Czech companies. The thesis focuses on defining the most promising areas for the Czech export and also addresses the barriers to entry that can prevent Czech entrepreneurs from successful entry into Brazil.

Furniture production in Sweden still exists on a comparably small scale. The majority, or more than 99 percent, of all furniture producers in Sweden are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with less than 250 employees. Despite their size, these firms are, to a large extent, involved in export. This is fully in line with the accelerating trend of internationalization found among firms of all sizes. However, research focused on internationalization has been primarily concentrated on larger firms, which is unfortunate considering that the vast majority of all firms within the European Union can be described as SMEs. The purpose of this research is, therefore, to extend our understanding of internationalization and performance among small and medium sized firms by explaining export involvement and performance among small and medium sized furniture producers in Sweden. This research is completed within the theoretical framework of the modified PSE model, which consists of four components: perception of export barriers, strategy competence, export involvement, and performance. A quantitative survey was conducted among 324 firms, yielding a response rate of 56 percent. The empirical data was analyzed using the methods of multiple linear regression, logistic regression, and ordinal regression. The result suggests that strategy competence, measured in terms of relatedness and market knowledge, explains the main export mode and performance among exporting SMEs. In addition, main export mode seems to explain performance. The main findings of this research are visualized through a new model, SCEMPER. Another finding is that barriers originating with the owner/key decision-maker of a firm seem to prevent firms from becoming involved in export. In addition, attitude towards export and the age of the firm appear to be important determinants of export involvement and performance among SMEs.

[pt] O propósito deste trabalho é identificar as principais barreiras à exportação que micro, pequenas e médias empresas da indústria de confecção de lingerie de Nova Friburgo encontram, ou encontrariam, para exportar seus produtos, e classificá-las em ordem de importância. O referencial teórico foi extraído da literatura existente sobre problemas de exportação publicada em livros e em artigos de revistas especializadas. Foram colhidas, através da aplicação de questionários, informações de 148 empresas, que foram classificadas por tamanho de acordo com os parâmetros do SEBRAE, e tratadas através de análise de fatores, para reduzir as variáveis e facilitar a análise dos resultados. Foram identificados cinco fatores, que representam a síntese das variáveis analisadas: (1) escassez de profissionais com conhecimento dos padrões e tendências que permitam o desenvolvimento de produtos de acordo com as necessidades do mercado; (2) falta de incentivos/assistência governamental e dificuldades para encontrar insumos com qualidade; (3) dificuldades operacionais, legais e burocráticas; (4) diferenças culturais e mercadológicas; (5) restrições de crédito e atraso tecnológico. Os resultados demonstram que a principal barreira à exportação se constitui na escassez de profissionais com conhecimento dos padrões e tendências que permitam o desenvolvimento de produtos de acordo com as necessidades do mercado. Essa e as demais barreiras foram analisadas à luz da literatura pesquisada. / [en] The purpose of this study is to identify the main export barriers that micro, small, and medium firms that produce lingerie, from Nova Friburgo, meet or would meet, to export its products, and classify them in order of importance. The theoretical references were extracted from the existing literature on exporting problems, published in books, articles and specialized magazines. Data of 148 firms were collected by means of a structured questionnaire, and were further classified by size, according to SEBRAE parameters, and treated through factor analysis, to reduce the number of variables and make easier the results analysis. Five factors that represent the synthesis of the analysed variables were identified: (1) lack of professionals with knowledge of patterns and trends that support the development of products in accordance with market needs; (2) lack of government incentives/assistance and difficulties to find quality raw material; (3) operational, legal and bureaucratic difficulties; (4) market and cultural differences; (5) credit restrictions and technological gap. The results indicate that the main export barrier is the lack of professionals with knowledge of patterns and trends to support the development of products in accordance with market needs. This and the other barriers were analysed at the spotlight of the analysed literature.

Globalisation has challenged small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to internationalise. Consequently, the academic world produced extensive publications on how SMEs approach the internationalisation process and what inhibits their export-based expansion. However, during the last decade, growing attention towards sustainability led to the creation of a new form of entrepreneurial organisation: social enterprises. Social enterprises combine an economic goal with the objective to generate a positive impact on society, focusing on social inclusion or environmental issues. The purpose of this study is to investigate if internationalisation theories on SMEs and on export inhibitors apply to social enterprises. The problem has been investigated by conducting a qualitative content analysis of interviews with C-level managers of social enterprises, with a social or environmental focus. The research contributed to validate the applicability of four internationalisation models to social enterprises. The results show a correlation between business and internationalisation maturity and the influence of the social purpose on social enterprises' internationalisation. Hence, theoretical shortcomings that need to be addressed have been identified. Lastly, the study found that social enterprises are subject to the same export barriers of SMEs. The research has been carried in collaboration with Oscar Ohlström, from Stockholm University (SU). Hence, two master thesis reports have been produced. The first is the following one and, the second has been published under the title of "Internationalizing ForProfit Social Enterprise”. Some sections of the documents have been co-written and, they are present in both reports. / Globaliseringen har utmanat små och medelstora företag (SME) att internationalisera. Följaktligen producerade den akademiska världen omfattande publikationer om hur små och medelstora företag närmar sig internationaliseringsprocessen och vad som hämmar sin exportbaserade expansion. Under det senaste årtiondet har dock ökad uppmärksamhet mot hållbarhet skapat en ny form av entreprenörsorganisation: sociala företag. Sociala företag kombinerar ett ekonomiskt mål med målet att skapa en positiv inverkan på samhället, med inriktning på social integration eller miljöfrågor. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om internationaliseringsteorier om små och medelstora företag och exporthämmare gäller sociala företag. Problemet har undersökts genom att genomföra en kvalitativ innehållsanalys av intervjuer med chefer på C-nivå för sociala företag med socialt eller miljömässigt fokus. Forskningen bidrog till att validera tillämpligheten av fyra internationaliseringsmodeller till sociala företag. Resultaten visar en korrelation mellan mognad för företag eller internationalisering och socialt inflytande på socialföretagenas internationalisering. Därför har teoretiska brister som behöver åtgärdas identifierats. Slutligen fann studien att sociala företag är föremål för samma exportbarriärer för små och medelstora företag. Forskningen har genomförts i samarbete med Oscar Ohlström, från Stockholms Universitet (SU). Därför har två masterprojekt rapporterats. Den första är den följande och den andra har publicerats under titeln "Internationalisering för socialt företagande". Vissa delar av dokumenten har skrivits samman och de är närvarande i båda rapporterna.

[pt] Economia Criativa é um conceito relativamente recente, que ainda dá margem a diferentes interpretações, mas que vem ganhando crescente atenção e apoio por parte de governos de diversos países e organismos internacionais, tendo se tornado parte importante do comércio global, na qual a participação de países em desenvolvimento vem crescendo aceleradamente: em 2015, o valor das exportações de bens e serviços criativos desse conjunto de países superou o de países desenvolvidos. No entanto, o Brasil não vem aproveitando esse crescimento, estando ausente da lista de maiores exportadores de tais itens, mesmo se considerarmos apenas países em desenvolvimento, o que sinaliza a existência de barreiras relevantes à internacionalização das empresas brasileiras integrantes da Economia Criativa. Assim, o objetivo geral do presente estudo é explorar como stakeholders de empresas brasileiras da Economia Criativa percebem as barreiras à internacionalização de seus produtos e serviços. Para isto, utilizou-se um estudo de casos múltiplos, envolvendo três empresas de pequeno e médio porte (PME) do estado do Rio de Janeiro, produtoras e exportadoras de bens criativos (joias, semijoias, bijuterias, acessórios e objetos de decoração). A pesquisa indica que, de modo geral, as barreiras internas à firma são percebidas como as mais relevantes pelas empresas analisadas, principalmente barreiras funcionais (derivadas de limitações de recursos humanos e de capacidade produtiva) e de preço. Dentre as barreiras externas à firma, além das econômicas destacam-se as governamentais, indicando a necessidade de aperfeiçoamento em regulações e programas de incentivo à exportação vigentes no país. / [en] Creative Economy is a relatively recent concept, which still gives rise to different interpretations, but has been gaining increasing attention and support from governments of several countries and international organizations, having become an important part of global trade, in which the participation of developing countries has been growing rapidly: since 2015, value of exports of creative goods and services from this group of countries exceed that from developed ones. However, Brazil has not been taking advantage of this growth, being absent from the list of major exporters of such items, even if we consider only developing countries, which indicates the existence of relevant barriers to the internationalization of Brazilian firms of the Creative Economy. Thus, general objective of this study is to explore how stakeholders of Brazilian firms of the Creative Economy perceive barriers to the internationalization of their products and services. To reach this objective, it was done a multiple case study involving three small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which produce and export creative goods (jewelry, accessories and decorative objects). Results indicate that, overall, internal barriers are perceived as the most relevant by the analyzed firms, mainly functional barriers (derived from their constraints of human resources and productive capacity), as also as price barriers. Among the external barriers, in addition to the economic ones, the governmental ones stand out, indicating the need for improvement in Brazilian current export incentive programs and regulations.

The thesis is focused on barriers to export of services in the Czech Republic. For the analysis of barriers to exports of services in the Czech Republic was selected sector of international transport. The main aim of the thesis is an analysis of selected company dealing with exports of services and defining specific measures and recommendations for eliminating the barriers with which the company meets. The partial aim of the thesis is an analysis of barriers to exports of services of Czech business entities involved in international transport. First was performed survey by questionnaires. Than was followed by analysis of selected company operating in international road transport. In this analysis was performed financial analysis, competition analysis - Porter´s model, STEP analysis, SWOT analysis and structured guided interview with company representative. The final output of this thesis was proposal specific recommendations for this company for elimination barriers by export of services.

[pt] O comércio exterior garante benefícios significativos para as nações, tanto do ponto de vista macroeconômico quanto microeconômico. Do ponto de vista macroeconômico, as exportações possibilitam o aumento das reservas cambiais e geram oportunidades de emprego proporcionando, consequentemente, melhores condições de vida. Do ponto de vista microeconômico, as exportações estimulam o desenvolvimento de vantagens competitivas, reduzindo a capacidade ociosa, elevando os padrões tecnológicos, potencializando a lucratividade, intensificando o retorno sobre os investimentos e reforçando a grandeza financeira das empresas. O desempenho das exportações das PMEs é particularmente de extrema importância, uma vez que elas são responsáveis por uma parcela significativa das atividades econômicas e podem ampliar substancialmente o resultado das exportações no nível agregado. No entanto, barreiras à exportação e falhas de mercado tendem a afetar sua capacidade de acesso aos recursos estratégicos necessários para garantir um processo de internacionalização bem-sucedido. Analisando pela ótica da Visão Baseada em Recursos (Resource Based View), a incapacidade das PMEs de obter sucesso em expandir-se internacionalmente devido à falta de recursos internos suficientes, know-how e informações sobre mercados estrangeiros, pode ser vista como uma condição de falha de mercado, endossando a participação do governo em iniciativas de promoção às exportações. A partir desse raciocínio e com base no conhecimento existente, o objetivo desta tese é contribuir para a investigação de serviços e sistemas de promoção às exportações em três ensaios. O primeiro ensaio, intitulado Serviços de Promoção às Exportações e Barreiras às Exportações da Firma: Há interação entre as duas literaturas?, visa examinar profundamente estas literaturas, apresentando, apresentando suas contribuições, lacunas e recomendações para estudos futuros. O segundo ensaio, intitulado Iniciativas de Promoção às Exportações junto a um Cluster, aborda o desenvolvimento de longo prazo de um cluster brasileiro de moda praia, utilizando o método do estudo de caso e focando especificamente nas tentativas de desenvolvimento de suas atividades exportadoras. Agentes de promoção às exportações tentaram introduzir novas práticas e atitudes em relação à cooperação entre empresas, mas não obtiveram sucesso. A questão fundamental, portanto, é buscar entender porque as empresas falharam em cooperar, apesar de várias iniciativas e investimentos realizados para promover ações coletivas. O artigo fornece algumas explicações possíveis que sugerem implicações para outros clusters brasileiros. Por fim, a conclusão fornece algumas recomendações para formuladores de políticas públicas sobre o desenho de programas de promoção às exportações. O terceiro e último ensaio, intitulado A Coordenação de Redes de Promoção às Exportações para as Indústrias Criativas, examina por meio do uso do método do estudo de caso, as diferentes abordagens adotadas por três países bem-sucedidos no apoio à internacionalização de suas indústrias criativas, a partir da perspectiva interorganizacional, com foco na coordenação de redes. O estudo fornece evidências empíricas de como diferentes abordagens, da centralização da rede de promoção às exportações à descentralização dos esforços de promoção, e de uma coordenação mais frouxa até uma mais rigorosa, podem ser usadas para promover as exportações de empresas pertencentes às indústrias criativas. Os resultados também sugerem que cada contexto pode exigir uma abordagem diferente para a coordenação das atividades das Instituições de Apoio ao Comércio Exterior. O grau de desenvolvimento econômico de cada país, os recursos disponíveis, a maturidade da indústria, bem como, questões culturais, podem desempenhar seu papel na determinação da abordagem mais adequada para cada país e setor. / [en] Foreign trade provides significant benefits to nations from both macroeconomic and microeconomic perspectives. From a macroeconomic point of view, exports allow the increasing of foreign exchange reserves and generate employment opportunities, consequently leading to improved living standards. From a microeconomic perspective, exports stimulate the development of competitive advantages, reducing idle production capacity, raising technological standards, powering profitability, intensifying return on investments, and enhancing firms financial stature. SMEs export performance is particularly of utmost importance since they are responsible for a significant portion of economic activities and could amplify substantially exports outcome at the aggregate level. However, export barriers and market failures tend to affect their capacity to access strategic resources necessary to guarantee a successful internationalization process. From a resource-based perspective, the inability of SMEs to successfully expand abroad due to their lack of sufficient internal resources, know-how, and information about foreign markets may be seen as a condition of market failure, therefore endorsing government s participation in export promotion initiatives. In accordance with this rationale and building on the existing knowledge, the aim of this thesis is to contribute to the investigation of export promotion services and systems in three essays. The first essay, entitled Export Promotion Services and Firm Export Barriers: Do These Literatures Interact?, – aims to thoroughly examine the two literatures, presenting their contributions, gaps, and recommendations for future studies. The second essay, entitled Export Promotion Initiatives in a Cluster, - approaches the long-term development of a Brazilian beachwear cluster, using the case method of investigation and focusing specifically on the attempts to develop exporting activities. Export promotion agents have tried to introduce new practices and attitudes toward cooperation among firms but failed to do so. The key issue, therefore, is to understand why the firms failed to cooperate, despite several initiatives and investments to promote collective actions. The paper advances some possible explanations, with implications to other Brazilian clusters. Finally, the conclusion advances some recommendations for public policymakers concerning the design of export promotion programs. The third and last essay, entitled The Coordination of Export Promotion Networks for the Creative Industries, examines through the use of the case method of investigation the different approaches adopted by three successful countries in supporting the internationalization of their creative industries, adopting an interorganizational perspective, focusing on network coordination. The study provides empirical evidence of how different approaches, from the centralization of an export promotion network to decentralization, and from loose coordination to tight, may be used to promote the exports of firms in the creative industries. The results also suggest that each context may require a different approach to the coordination of Trade Support Institutions activities. The degree of economic development of each country, the resources available, the maturity of the industry, as well as cultural issues, may play a role in determining which approach could be a better fit for each country and sector.