Russia is a rapidly growing market with enormous potential for international companies. In many industries competition is underdeveloped as Russian local companies are often unable to satisfy constantly growing demand of the market. On the other hand, international enterprises hesitate to enter the market due to its complexity and difficulties like e.g. bureaucracy and corruption. The aim of the present bachelor thesis is to define main challenges of the Russian market with the help of a modified PESTEL model which emphasizes political, economic, social, and legal aspects of the market. Having identified the main market challenges exporting, joint ventures and foreign direct investments as means of market entry are assessed in terms of coping with these challenges. As an outcome of the theoretical section, a model assessing the chosen entry modes is developed together with a list of challenges of the Russian market. The developed theoretical model is applied to a Swedish automotive industry through conduction of semi-structured interviews with key representatives of a number of Swedish enterprises operating in Russia. After the empirical analysis, the theoretical model is reviewed and the main challenges of the Russian market experienced by the interviewees are stated. Moreover, the most common entry modes within the Swedish automotive industry are identified. This thesis will be applicable both for students who would like to learn about different entry modes and ways of analyzing foreign markets through a theoretical framework, and for Swedish companies that aim to enter the Russian market and need to understand its challenges in order to avoid failures in the initial stage and gain ideas about the most suitable entry mode for them.

Exports of Eritrean fishery products, for which the European Union is the largest market, has an important share in the socio-economic development of the country. It is very important to earn foreign currency and provide employment opportunities by encouraging local and foreign investors in the sector. The export of fish from Eritrea mainly targets markets of developed nations where food quality and safety standards are increasing rapidly. During the last decade there has been more focus on the application of more stringent quality and safety regulations according to international norms. This paper investigates the determinants of quality in global fish businesses. The paper provides an overview of all the factors that characterize international fish market regulations with special emphasis given to the EU markets. It also investigates the general quality and safety policies of the Eritrean Marine Products Company (EMPC). The paper findings show that the EMPC face some difficulties that may hinder its competitiveness in the global fish market. The paper examines the activities and resources of the three actors, that is the EMPC, European Union Inspectors and Fish Inspection and Quality Control Division, which have a significant contribution to the quality of fish exported from Eritrea. The impact of cooperative strategy or the networking model among the three actors to quality fish exporting from the country is investigated. The study supports the formation of cooperative strategy among these actors in that it is positively related to the export performance of the processing firms with higher compliance to standards. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

No description available.

Employing a representative sample of small- and medium-sized enterprises, this study examines the performance of immigrant-owned business ventures (IBVs) and firms owned by non-immigrants. The study also presents a comprehensive profile of Canadian IBVs. Anecdotal evidence has suggested that many successful growth-oriented firms have been started and managed by immigrant entrepreneurs. Immigrant business owners are also thought to bring to business start-up unique managerial acumen and social capital derived from diverse experiences and international networks. To date, however, there remains a lack of substantive evidence regarding the performance of immigrant-owned ventures. The study also considers the performance of comparable groups of new firms owned by non-immigrant entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on the relationship between firm internationalization and enterprise performance. The results lend support to arguments that owner-level factors influence the process of internationalization among SMEs and that, compared to non-immigrant business owners, immigrant business owners retain entrepreneurial acumen that is conducive to the internationalization of young ventures. The implications of the findings for research and policy are considered.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Middle East, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa))--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2008. / Thesis Advisor(s): Looney, Robert E. "December 2008." Description based on title screen as viewed on February 2, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-70). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1966. / Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 299-314).

No description available.

Employing a representative sample of small- and medium-sized enterprises, this study examines the performance of immigrant-owned business ventures (IBVs) and firms owned by non-immigrants. The study also presents a comprehensive profile of Canadian IBVs. Anecdotal evidence has suggested that many successful growth-oriented firms have been started and managed by immigrant entrepreneurs. Immigrant business owners are also thought to bring to business start-up unique managerial acumen and social capital derived from diverse experiences and international networks. To date, however, there remains a lack of substantive evidence regarding the performance of immigrant-owned ventures. The study also considers the performance of comparable groups of new firms owned by non-immigrant entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on the relationship between firm internationalization and enterprise performance. The results lend support to arguments that owner-level factors influence the process of internationalization among SMEs and that, compared to non-immigrant business owners, immigrant business owners retain entrepreneurial acumen that is conducive to the internationalization of young ventures. The implications of the findings for research and policy are considered.

This study describes how firms in the agro processing industry within South Africa vary in terms of their types of innovation based on whether or not the firm exports into a developed context or supplies only into the local South African market. In conjunction with this the research attempts to describe who these firms engage with in order to develop their most significant innovations. Empirically this research set out to establish whether or not exporting firms differed considerably with regards to how they innovate relative to firms which only supply into the regional domestic market. This could provide insights as to whether either group could learn from one another and develop a collaborative relationship whereby a mutually reinforcing innovative model could be developed to support overall industry growth. The central argument here is, given that the agro processing industry employs a large portion of the South African work force, any innovations which can create long term sustainable volume growth for the industry need to be taken advantage of. Thus not only does the South African agro processing industry need to develop innovative networks domestically but also internationally.Chi squared and t-test were run on the responses of the firms belonging to the export or domestic categories. The results overwhelmingly suggest that in respect of innovativeness, the domestic suppliers do not differ from those that opt to export into the developed world. However the firms belonging to the domestic group differ considerably with regards to who they collaborate with for their innovations when compared to the export group. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Given the increasing interest in international entrepreneurship and an increasing reliance of emerging economies on exporting to reach global markets, an investigation into internationalising firms in emerging economies is vital. Not only do these firms face pressures arising from the liability of smallness, foreignness, and resource limitations, but they also need compensating advantages in order to viably compete on the international stage. This study contributes to the international entrepreneurship literature by analysing the relationship between entrepreneurial intensity and capability, taken as independent variables, and their effect on international performance, taken as a multi-item dependent variable. The study uses a sample of 117 South African exporting firms of any size, industry, and/or age. Furthermore foreign environmental conditions within which these firms operate are measured in terms of their impact/moderation on the relationship between the independent variables and international performance. The study examines entrepreneurial intensity, which is a measure of the level of entrepreneurship in a firm that looks at both the degree and frequency of events with respect to innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking. The study also examines three entrepreneurial capabilities – namely social capital, human capital, and technology - that can enhance a firm’s international performance. Performance consists of two dimensions – namely economic performance and export intensity. Export intensity is a proxy of international intensity, measured as a ratio of foreign sales as a percentage of total sales. In this study, the dimensions of social capital that are measured are social interaction, relationship quality and network ties. Social capital is analysed in relationships among firms and their foreign actors/contacts. Social capital is also analysed as a multidimensional asset inside the business relationships comprising of both strong and weak ties, and implemented by the firms with their international partners or contacts. Social interaction and relationship quality corresponds to inter-organisational strong ties whereas network ties correspond to weak ties. iii Human capital consists of three dimensions – namely foreign institutional knowledge, foreign business knowledge, and internationalisation knowledge – based on the conception of foreign market knowledge. The two aspects of technology that are measured are technology distinctiveness and technology acquisition. The study also offers insights into key firm-level factors that influence international performance under foreign environmental conditions characterised by hostility and dynamism. Hypotheses were put forward to be tested in order to facilitate the study. To test the hypothesised bivariate relationship between entrepreneurial intensity and performance, correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between the predictors and the performance variables. Similarly, the tests were performed to examine the hypothesised bivariate relationship between entrepreneurial capabilities and performance variables. To test the impact of the environmental moderators on the efficacy of entrepreneurial intensity (EI) and entrepreneurial capability (EC), multiple regression analysis was performed. Overall the results show that EI and EC had a significant effect on both performance measures, with EC predicting stronger than EI. The results showed that different aspects of EI were associated with performance depending on the performance outcomes desired. Frequency of entrepreneurship was related to economic performance whereas entrepreneurial orientation (EO) was related to export intensity. Furthermore EI had a weakening impact under moderating conditions of increasing hostility on both performance measures. Dynamism did not moderate the relationship between EI and performance. EC had a positive impact under all moderating conditions on both performance measures. Social capital played an important role in hostile foreign environments whereas human capital was more important in dynamic foreign environments. In hostile foreign iv business environments, strongly embedded relationships did not provide benefits for advancing business whereas weak ties did. In dynamic foreign environments, internationalisation knowledge (prior internationalisation experience) was associated with both performance variables whereas foreign institutional knowledge (FIK) and foreign business knowledge (FBK) were not found to be important. The overall comparison revealed that in the foreign market environment, entrepreneurial capabilities were more important predictors of performance than entrepreneurial intensity. This suggests that entrepreneurial firms must possess compensating advantages in order to compete viably in unfamiliar markets abroad if they are not strong on innovation, proactiveness, and taking risks. Knowledge-based factors encourage initiative and flexibility among managers to gain influence over vital resources. However the challenge remains for the firms in emerging economies to adopt technology and act entrepreneurially. The results suggest that exporting firms in emerging market countries should pursue an entrepreneurial posture in order to achieve higher export intensity and engage in frequent product, process, and service enhancement activities if the objective is to achieve economic performance. Furthermore, the study found that entrepreneurial capability among South African exporting firms is positively related to performance. The study found that in order to improve their export intensity, human capital and social capital are among the most essential capabilities for organisational perfomance, whereas technology was not. The purpose of this research was to perform an empirical investigation on three main constructs - namely: entrepreneurial intensity, entrepreneurial capabilities, and the environmental dimensions - among South African exporting firms and the relationship of these factors with international performance. This study integrates the role of entrepreneurial intensity and capability in international entrepreneurship and their effects on performance of exporting firms within an emerging market context. v In line with theoretical studies in international entrepreneurship, this study reinforces the strategic role of entrepreneurial capabilities such as social capital and human capital in enhancing international performance. The role of EO and technology acquisition is also acknowledged.