Tato diplomová práce se zabývá návrhem a analýzou strategie vstupu společnosti RENOCAR, a.s. na slovenský trh. Práce obsahuje přehled související literatury s důrazem na publikace, které se zabývají problematikou internacionalizace firem a vstupem společností na zahraniční trh. Analytická část zkoumá momentální situaci na trhu s automobily v České a Slovenské republice a stručně představuje toto průmyslové odvětví z evropského pohledu. Pomocí základních finančních ukazatelů pak hodnotí současný stav ve společnosti RENOCAR, a.s. Na základě výsledků získaných z výše uvedených analýz, autor ve třetí části práce navrhuje a kriticky analyzuje strategii expanze společnosti.

The necessity of sustainable transitions has become more and more acknowledged in recent years. From these changes, specific markets have recently been emerging which are closely tied to sustainable development. An industry which is particularly critical for enabling such transitions is the food industry where the current eating patterns have been linked to an array of issues with the considerable reliance on animal-based products often pointed out as a major concern. From a raising awareness and technological changes, a market has arisen which aims at supplying proteins from alternative sources to animal exploitation. By inquiring this specific market referred to as the Alternative Proteins (AP) market, the core objective of this thesis is to extend the knowledge regarding markets associated with sustainability. More specifically, recognizing the rapid-evolution of such markets, the inquiries are directed towards the entry mechanisms as it is seen as key dynamics influencing the evolution of such markets. An in-depth understanding of market entry regarding diverse dimensions including motivations, barriers and entry strategies could thus be achieved. Recognizing a shortcoming in the scientific understanding of stakeholder collaboration as an entry strategy, an emphasis on these collaborative entry strategies prevailed in our investigations. Eight firms having recently or longer ago entered the AP market have been interviewed to provide the empirical material for the thematic analysis. The theoretical framework was built around the resource-based view (RBV), supplemented by other theories including Creating Shared Value (CSV) and Porter’s classification of barriers which granted an enhanced theoretical lens to arrive at significant insights resulting from our inquiries. New entrants were thus found to have both financial and social/ environmental dimensions embedded in their entry motivations. It was also concluded that the adoption of collaboration as an entry strategy predominated across our sample which was explained by the assumption that markets linked to sustainable development have intrinsic circumstances forcing companies to collaborate to a larger degree. Moreover, the findings provided evidence of firms striving for a fit between the entry barriers and their entry strategies by devising the latter in accordance with their perception of barriers. Lastly, an essential contribution resided in the application of RBV in the context of market entry as this enabled the approach of market entry through a distinct angle broadening both the knowledge on market entry and RBV.

To meet the European Union’s target of climate neutrality by 2050 ambitious measures need to be taken. The electricity sector is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions globally, which makes it an important sector to decarbonize. For this to happen, fossil fuels must be replaced by renewable energy sources. A relatively new way of generating renewable electricity is through solar parks, which is a technology that has seen rapid growth in the last decade. A solar park consists of a large collection of photovoltaic modules which converts solar energy to electricity which is later transferred to the grid. However, numerous external factors, such as permit-processes, grid capacity, social acceptance and land availability, can hinder the deployment of solar parks.  The solar park market which was previously driven by small regional players is demonstrating a shift towards large multinational companies. Companies may therefore need to enter new, foreign markets to remain competitive. A country which might be attractive to enter is Germany due to their ambitious targets for solar energy. Thus, the objective of this thesis is to investigate the external environment of the solar park market in the German region Lower Saxony, and its implications on foreign companies’ entry strategies. Two highly controlled entry modes are considered: entering through a joint venture, i.e. with a partner, or with a wholly owned subsidiary. The examined conditions are: regulatory, technical, social, geographical, and economic. A literature study was conducted to frame the different conditions and the empirical evidence was collected mainly from grey literature but the information was also supplemented by interviews with specialists within the area. By analyzing the external conditions, a number of drivers and barriers for establishing solar parks in the region are identified and discussed. Further, the possibilities for a foreign solar park company to enter the market are discussed based on the identified drivers and barriers.  One of the main drivers is the promising potential, due to the region’s ambitious targets for solar parks, an expected increase in electrification as well as the halted use of nuclear and current phase out of coal. This will open a large share of the electricity production that needs to be covered, which gives solar parks the opportunity to gain large market shares. Additional drivers are the high public acceptance and the high electricity price, which enables a faster payback time on investment. One of the most significant barriers in the region is the lack of clear permit processes for establishing solar parks. Permit processes are handled on a local level, which means that they can differ between communities and be rather lengthy due to lack of resources in the communities. Another key barrier is the difficulties of accessing attractive land in Lower Saxony considering the importance of the agriculture sector resulting in competition of land. These barriers make Lower Saxony a rather uncertain market. However, an increasing amount of land is being released for solar park developments and the permit processes are anticipated to be clearer in the near future.  The promising potential of the solar park market speaks in favor of entering the market with a wholly owned subsidiary due to the possibilities for a high return. The market uncertainties, such as unclear permit processes, uncertainties within the policies for solar parks, and the difficulties of accessing suitable land areas, are also in favor of entering with a wholly owned subsidiary due to the strategy’s flexibility. However, it has been found that having local connections is important since there are many processes with high local involvement, e.g., in the permit processes and land acquisition. This indicates that entering through a joint venture with a local partner might be more suitable for a foreign company when entering the solar park market in Lower Saxony. Entering through a joint venture is also a faster way to enter a rapidly growing market, which enables the company to become an early player and obtain larger market shares.

The hospitality industry has experienced significant changes in its competitive environment over the past 30 years, driven by the growth of alternative accommodations, the widespread use of the internet for searching and booking accommodations, and the adoption of asset-light business models. In this new competitive landscape, hospitality firms struggle to gain a competitive advantage, particularly as they lack rare and inimitable resources, which are considered crucial for achieving competitive advantage according to resource-based view literature. This dissertation explores three sets of strategies that enable hotel firms to attain a competitive edge despite their resources being non-rare and easily imitated by competitors. The first essay examines the potential for hotel firms to benefit from competitors' resources by co-locating with them. Although this strategy has been widely studied in organizational research, recent developments in the competitive market, such as internet adoption and the growth of short-term leases, have not been considered. Evidence suggests that internet adoption decreases the likelihood of low-level hotels entering markets with high-level hotels and negatively moderates the positive effect of branded hotels on independent hotels' performance, as well as nullifying the effect of low-level hotels on high-level hotels' performance. Additionally, short-term leases impact hotels' decisions and performance, as hotels tend to avoid co-locating with short-term leases with similar price points, and short-term leases can appropriate positive agglomeration externalities created by high-level hotels. The second essay investigates whether hotels can outperform competitors by gaining an advantage in resource appropriation through entering the market with a dual-branded hotel. Results indicate that a competitive advantage is achieved when at least one brand in the composition possesses better resources than competitors. Lastly, the third essay concentrates on the potential for hotels to leverage tacit knowledge transmission to increase the difficulty for competitors to imitate them. Findings reveal that the closer a hotel or short-term lease is to the nearest accommodation managed by the same hotel management company or host, the higher the chances of achieving a competitive advantage. Moreover, short-term leases can base their competitive advantage on idiosyncratic knowledge transferred from the platform, and they can compete in size with incumbent hotels if they have a high concentration of ownership in the market. / Doctor of Philosophy / The lodging industry has undergone numerous changes in the past 30 years, with the widespread adoption of the internet, the growth of the short-term lease market, and the implementation of asset-light strategies significantly impacting how hotels compete locally. This dissertation examines various market-entry strategies that can enable hotel firms to achieve a competitive advantage in local markets. The first essay explores the advantages of co-locating with competitors. Results indicate that previously identified benefits, such as reduced search costs for customers leading to higher performance for clustered competitors, have been diminished or nullified by the extensive use of the internet for searching and booking hotels. Independent hotels may still gain agglomeration advantages by co-locating with branded hotels, but the benefits are substantially reduced due to internet usage. Furthermore, the presence of different levels of short-term leases in the market affects hotels' entry patterns, which tend to diverge from short-term leases. Additionally, low-level short-term leases tend to capture agglomeration benefits created by high-level hotels, resulting in decreased performance for low-level hotels. The second essay investigates the optimal strategy for entering the market with a dual-branded hotel. Results show that, overall, adopting a vertically diversified strategy (i.e., where one of the two brands in the composition is of a higher class compared to the other) is preferable, with the higher class above the market's average class and the lower class below it. Conversely, the least effective strategy is to adopt a vertically diversified approach where both brands are below the market's average class. The third essay examines knowledge sharing among hotels and short-term leases managed by the same hotel management company or short-term lease host. Findings suggest that accommodations should be located near other properties managed by the same entity to facilitate operating knowledge transmission through face-to-face interactions, coordination among units, and the easy transfer of key personnel. Additionally, the study found that hotels should carefully consider entering a market with a high concentration of short-term lease ownership, as a higher concentration of short-term leases owned by the same host leads to lower hotels' RevPAR in the market.

Many companies from around the world enter the global market. The firms have to specialize in order to sustain their competitiveness. Many Taiwanese companies are export-oriented. The major export markets are Japan, the US and Europe for those Taiwan companies. But these markets are mature and the growth rate is low unlike Russian market. That is why many Taiwan companies entered or plan to enter Russian market. Due to the fact that Russia is a potentially big market and geographically far from Taiwan-ROC, and a fast developing economy, establishing business in Russia is certainly interesting. According to the Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs Taiwan- ROC, mutual trade in 2009 posted US$2,9 billion, Bureau of Foreign Trade (2010). While many companies show great interest in entering the Russian market, there still seems to be some kind of hesitation due to the special nature of the Russian market. In this thesis I will focus on an emerging Russian market and its appeal to foreign companies, namely Taiwanese company such as Asus which made its path into Russian market. Target is to describe Asus initial entry strategies. Problem Statement There are many external factors affecting entry strategies picked up by firms around the world. Legal, political, cultural and institutional factors are just some of the many factors that should be dealt with when operating business on a foreign turf. Many people want to know more on Russian market business experiences, it is hard to find any particular works/papers which can describe a current situation and lead them to commercial success. Russian Federation is a very complex region with its own traditions and business culture. What particular Foreign Operation Methods should a company choose? Indeed choosing right FOM represents a critical component of international business activity. Once described as a ”frontier issue” in international business, researchers as well as practitioners now regard it as fundamental to any discussions about international business strategies and the performance by companies in the international arena. Purpose Despite the fact that in Russian Federation the cost of opening a business is higher than in most other countries and many other destabilizing factors, Asus has found its path to success. How was it possible? What are the lessons one can learn from that experience? The purpose of the thesis is to find out the success factors of Asus as well as study its entry strategy. The research purposes of this paper are as follows: 1. To review the related literature of Entry Strategies 2. To study Russian market 3. To analyze Asus initial entry strategies and analyze its Russian business