The thesis start from general introduction to globalization but its focus is on the following areas: global buying of company inputs (sourcing), expanding on the foreign/global markets (output) and managing the risks associated with globalization (increased competition, foreign currency and raw material/inputs hedge). Overall the thesis is practical in its approach and thus it provides the real applicable approaches in terms of the management in the global economy. Despite these practicalities the thesis also aims at analyzing the more general business environment for global activities of a firm. This is realized in section on economic assessment of the market and evaluation of foreign currency fundamentals.

The thesis start from general introduction to globalization but its focus is on the following areas: global buying of company inputs (sourcing), expanding on the foreign/global markets (output) and managing the risks associated with globalization (increased competition, foreign currency and raw material/inputs hedge). Overall the thesis is practical in its approach and thus it provides the real applicable approaches in terms of the management in the global economy. Despite these practicalities the thesis also aims at analyzing the more general business environment for global activities of a firm. This is realized in section on economic assessment of the market and evaluation of foreign currency fundamentals.

The effects of foreign expansion on the market values of U.S. banks (USBs) are examined in this study. The results show that shareholders of USBs experience significant abnormal returns of -0.17 percent when banks announce foreign expansions. Abnormal returns are insignificant when the announced mode of expansion is through a representative office, are significantly positive for announcements related to branches, and are significantly negative when the announced mode of expansion is through formation of a joint venture or a subsidiary, or through an acquisition. Abnormal returns are significantly negative when banks announce expansion into developed countries, and are significantly positive when announcements relate to risky developing countries. Post-announcement changes in the total variance of returns and in the unsystematic risk of USBs are inversely related with abnormal returns. Higher wealth effects are associated with higher levels of prior overseas experience.

The aim of the diploma thesis was to describe the conditions of entry Holidays Czech Airlines the Icelandic market, specifically the establishing of direct air service from Prague to Keflavik. The thesis is divided into six chapters, which are devoted to both theoretical expectations for companies entering foreign markets, and practical sections. The general reasons which lead a company to expansion and the associated risks are described in the first chapter as well as the macroeconomic analysis of the market, the PESTEL analysis, which I used to analyze the Icelandic market. The second chapter discusses the various forms of entry the foreign markets and compares their advantages and shortcomings. The third chapter was related to the specific cooperation of airlines. The practical part of the thesis introduces companies HCA and IEX, focuses primarily on the evaluation of HCA Company based on the SWOT analysis. The following chapter is devoted to cooperation of mentioned companies. The final chapter evaluates the Icelandic market using the above mentioned PESTEL analysis.

Technological upgrading, as the key engine of Chinese economic development, does not take place in isolation, but is largely dependent on access to external knowledge sources. FDI has long been regarded as an external knowledge source because of its intra- and intercity technological spillovers. Meanwhile, both foreign expansion time-based characteristics and industrial structures could affect technological upgrading, but there is a heated debate about whether they enhance FDI spillovers in host cities. In this PhD thesis, I integrate these two streams of literature into a theoretical framework, and hope to investigate how foreign expansion time-based characteristics and industrial structures moderate both intra- and intercity relationships between inward FDI and technological upgrading in Chinese cities. Moreover, I link cluster theory to FDI spillovers, and establish a theoretical model in which government and market orientations can affect knowledge transfers and disseminations between domestic and foreign firms. Overall, this research aims to extend the existing literature by bridging literature of FDI spillovers, foreign expansion process, and industrial structures from a contingency perspective. It deepens our understandings about both intra- and intercity dimensions of FDI technological spillovers in explaining host city technological upgrading. Based on specific panel datasets from the Chinese Urban Statistical Yearbooks and the Annual Industrial Survey Database, I adopt Pooled OLS and Spatial Durbin Model to explore intra- and intercity externalities of foreign expansion process and industrial structures in FDI spillovers. My results indicate that FDI spillovers contribute to both intra- and inter-city technological upgrading in China. Irregular foreign expansion process diminishes FDI spillovers within a given city, but facilitates intercity knowledge dissemination. Cities with a high degree of related variety can reap benefits from FDI technological spillovers. However, such empirical results may change between different urban groups, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Shanghai-Yangtze River Delta respectively. Therefore, the findings of this PhD thesis not only provide convincing evidence for the debate regarding the relationship between FDI and host city technological upgrading, but also highlight government and market orientations to assist with policy making in the future.

This study seeks to contribute to entry mode literature by introducing the concept of ¡§corporate culture diversity¡¨. Compared to multinational corporations (MNCs) from developed countries, Taiwan¡¦s MNCs have shorter history of internationalization. Therefore, international learning is critical to their entry modes. We examined an original determinant of entry mode choice, proposed and tested the operationalization for a new theoretical construct, namely ¡§corporate culture diversity¡¨. In the theory of knowledge development process, it suggests that MNCs enter a foreign country initially with relatively small commitments, for instance through export, because of the high uncertainty caused by a low level of knowledge regarding the operational environment of the host country. At the later stage, as knowledge development takes place over time and the uncertainty is reduced. MNCs then gradually increase their levels of commitment to the country. MNCs are viewed to go through this sequential and incremental process of internationalization within not only a foreign country but also when they stretch out from one foreign country to another. To establish a new theoretical construct, hypotheses were developed on the entry modes in relation to cultural diversity of a firm¡¦s international experience, a step beyond the conventional theory of how national cultural differences influence entry mode choice. The hypotheses were tested within the framework of organizational learning, using data on 1,156 entries that 376 Taiwanese MNCs carried out in 41 countries and territories during 1986-2006. Additionally, a moderating effect of corporate culture diversity regarding entry modes in countries with high level of cultural distance was also specified. The result shows that not only culture distance at national level and prior experience by the MNC in a host country, but also the culture diversity of the MNC itself has a strong effect on the decision making process of entry mode choice. In addition, the research confirmed the traditional view that the amount of cultural learning needed in a particular host country is an important determinant of mode choice in foreign direct investments. However, less traditionally, the finding that corporate culture diversity that reflects the capacity of an MNC in understanding foreign cultures had a significant increasing effect on the selection of WOSs mode over JVs mode seems to provide an important contribution to this field of research. Most importantly, the novelty of the research is that we have successfully formulated an operationalization of a new construct ¡V the culture diversity at corporate level, a step beyond the national level. The culture diversity reflects the level that an MNC exposes to foreign cultures. Our result contributes to support the importance of the concept of corporate culture diversity. The operationalization of this construct has also been tested and found significant in our empirical test.

Tato diplomová práce se zabývá návrhem mezinárodní marketingové strategie pro anglickou společnost Gourmet Burger Kitchen, která by ráda expandovala na zahraniční trhy. Práce je rozdělena do tří hlavních částí. První část vysvětluje základní marketingové pojmy, určuje prvky marketingové strategie a zabývá se teoretickými poznatky jednotlivých metod a analýz. Poté je pomocí těchto analýz vyhodnocováno jak interní, tak i externí prostředí firmy. Další část diplomové práce se zabývá samotnou společností GBK, jejím vývojem a službami, které zákazníkům poskytuje. V poslední části autor shrnuje analýzu vstupu společnosti na český trh, její cíle a případné strategie.

<p>Background</p><p>Globalization has opened up new possibilities for firms of all sizes to operate internationally. In that context, especially small- and medium sized companies often have limited resources and market power, which makes efficient relationship building with new intermediaries a key component when entering foreign markets. Therefore, approaching foreign companies and potentially engaging in new business relationships should be a strategic managerial issue.</p><p>Purpose</p><p>The main objective is to analyze how Swedish SMEs in the textile industry should approach German buyers in accordance to their preferences, taking cultural differences into account, as well as maintaining and developing the relationship. The focus will primarily be on the on the stages where the initial contact has been made, thus aiming at advancing in the development process. For this to be achieved, Swedish sellers must know what values to communicate to their counterpart.</p><p>Method</p><p>A qualitative approach has been used in order answer the purpose of the thesis. We have gathered our data from ten in-depth interviews; five with Swedish sellers and five with German buyers. The essential part of the data collection was done over telephone.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>The most critical components that are found to be vital in developing a successful buyer-seller relationship include trust, satisfaction and commitment with all their related aspects. It was found that the product offer plays a critical role in the Early Stage of the relationship development process. Communication is essential for the building of trust and satisfaction and supplements the actions of commitment shown by the parties. Having an understanding on what values the counterpart appreciates and when these are especially important in the respective stages of the relationship building enables the firm to adapt its relationship marketing to the buyers preferences in a cost efficient and successful way.</p>

Background Globalization has opened up new possibilities for firms of all sizes to operate internationally. In that context, especially small- and medium sized companies often have limited resources and market power, which makes efficient relationship building with new intermediaries a key component when entering foreign markets. Therefore, approaching foreign companies and potentially engaging in new business relationships should be a strategic managerial issue. Purpose The main objective is to analyze how Swedish SMEs in the textile industry should approach German buyers in accordance to their preferences, taking cultural differences into account, as well as maintaining and developing the relationship. The focus will primarily be on the on the stages where the initial contact has been made, thus aiming at advancing in the development process. For this to be achieved, Swedish sellers must know what values to communicate to their counterpart. Method A qualitative approach has been used in order answer the purpose of the thesis. We have gathered our data from ten in-depth interviews; five with Swedish sellers and five with German buyers. The essential part of the data collection was done over telephone. Conclusion The most critical components that are found to be vital in developing a successful buyer-seller relationship include trust, satisfaction and commitment with all their related aspects. It was found that the product offer plays a critical role in the Early Stage of the relationship development process. Communication is essential for the building of trust and satisfaction and supplements the actions of commitment shown by the parties. Having an understanding on what values the counterpart appreciates and when these are especially important in the respective stages of the relationship building enables the firm to adapt its relationship marketing to the buyers preferences in a cost efficient and successful way.

Diplomová práce se zabývá návrhem marketingové strategie pro vstup internetového obchodu Alza.cz a.s. na zahraniční, konkrétně polský trh. Návrh je reakcí na dominantní postavení internetového obchodu Alza.cz na českém trhu a snaží se najít cestu k dalšímu rozvoji společnosti. V práci je pomocí analýz vyhodnoceno jak interní, tak i externí prostředí organizace. Finální návrh řešení čerpá především z uvedených analýz, navrhuje kroky které by organizace měla podniknout aby na zahraniční trh úspěšně vstoupila a obsahuje i zjednodušený finanční plán pro první rok působení firmy na trhu.