No description available.

No description available.

<p><strong>Title: </strong>The influence of network relationships in the internationalization of SMEs</p><p> </p><p><strong>Authors: </strong>Andersson, Arvid & Helander, Anna</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Tutor:</strong> Karlsson, Tomas</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Date:</strong> June, 2009</p><p> </p><p><strong>Background</strong>: The world has become globalized, resulting in a rapid increase in international trade. Also many SMEs actively internationalize. At the same time, networks are increasingly replacing traditional markets. In the internationalization process of SMEs it has through research been confirmed that firms are influenced by network relationships in their internationalization process.</p><p><strong>Problem</strong>: Choice of foreign market and market entry mode are crucial decisions SMEs make in their internationalization process. It has been found that network relationships affect SMEs in these decisions. However, the research within this area has been focusing heavily on knowledge-intensive SMEs. Scholars call for further research in relation to other industries, as well as a more specific investigation of what kind of different network relationships that affect choice of foreign market and of market entry mode.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how SMEs’ choice of foreign market and market entry mode is influenced by different types of network relationships.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A multiple case study strategy was applied and four SMEs were included in the sample. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, (three personal and one telephone interview), and complemented with secondary data. The respondents were the CEOs of the case firms. The collected data was categorized and each case firm was analyzed, followed by cross-case comparisons.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings in this thesis show that all case firms had been affected by network relationships in the choice of foreign market and/or choice of market entry mode. Generally the findings conformed to a certain degree to previous findings concerning SMEs in knowledge intensive industries. Further, it was found that network relationship influence was more frequent in the choice of foreign market. In this decision, firms which had taken a proactive approach were mainly infuenced by strong and formal relationships. Firms taking a reactive approach were mainly influenced by weak and informal relationships. Concerning entry mode, it was only weak, informal relationships which had influenced the decision.</p><p> </p>

Title: The influence of network relationships in the internationalization of SMEs   Authors: Andersson, Arvid &amp; Helander, Anna     Tutor: Karlsson, Tomas     Date: June, 2009   Background: The world has become globalized, resulting in a rapid increase in international trade. Also many SMEs actively internationalize. At the same time, networks are increasingly replacing traditional markets. In the internationalization process of SMEs it has through research been confirmed that firms are influenced by network relationships in their internationalization process. Problem: Choice of foreign market and market entry mode are crucial decisions SMEs make in their internationalization process. It has been found that network relationships affect SMEs in these decisions. However, the research within this area has been focusing heavily on knowledge-intensive SMEs. Scholars call for further research in relation to other industries, as well as a more specific investigation of what kind of different network relationships that affect choice of foreign market and of market entry mode. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how SMEs’ choice of foreign market and market entry mode is influenced by different types of network relationships.   Method: A multiple case study strategy was applied and four SMEs were included in the sample. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, (three personal and one telephone interview), and complemented with secondary data. The respondents were the CEOs of the case firms. The collected data was categorized and each case firm was analyzed, followed by cross-case comparisons. Conclusion: The findings in this thesis show that all case firms had been affected by network relationships in the choice of foreign market and/or choice of market entry mode. Generally the findings conformed to a certain degree to previous findings concerning SMEs in knowledge intensive industries. Further, it was found that network relationship influence was more frequent in the choice of foreign market. In this decision, firms which had taken a proactive approach were mainly infuenced by strong and formal relationships. Firms taking a reactive approach were mainly influenced by weak and informal relationships. Concerning entry mode, it was only weak, informal relationships which had influenced the decision.

This report is investigating the subject of foreign market entry for service companies. Service firms differ from manufacturing firms since they have a low degree of tangible assets and resources and therefore service firms have to manage and develop their intangible assets to be competitive. Foreign market entry for service firms are a quite unexplored area, and forces that is connected to the subject has to be explored. The purpose of this paper is to identify motives for foreign market entry decision, and central issues a service company should consider before entering a foreign market.   The theoretical framework in the research reports is provided in the literature review chapter. The literature review contains different authors’ opinions about the subject. The theoretical framework is divided into four different sub-headings that are connected with foreign market entry. The authors did a qualitative single case study with an IT-service firm competing on the Swedish market. The empirical data was collected from five respondents at the chosen company. The primary data from the respondents was gained from in-depth interviews and the secondary data was collected from annual reports and internal documents. One conclusion in the study is that there can be a lot of different motives for an entry on a foreign market. The different motives that is stated in the study has a common denominator which is that they can all lead to increased profit in the long run. Other findings are that a service firm has to consider certain external and internal forces in the foreign market entry decision process. The external and internal forces are also linked to the choice of entry mode. The authors provide a model in the conclusion chapter which explains the foreign market entry process and the connection between the different forces.

Today’s business environment is growing at an increasing pace, pushing firms to internationalize. Foreign market entry has thereafter been a well-researched field by scholars. International market selection and entry mode choice are key strategic decisions a company must deal with when entering a foreign market and members of management team are entrusted with the responsibility of these complex decisions that will set the direction for the company. There have been many studies showing that internationalization is a sequential and gradual process leading companies to spread their activities to more markets that are geographically and culturally distant. These processes are involving riskier and more committed modes of entry. However, research concerning strategic decision making has shown that decisions made by management were not always rational and are influenced by external and internal factors which in turn influence the choices managers make. Market entry strategy fits into a broader theoretical subject which is the one of “strategy” and decisions. Following the principle that realized strategies are the result of planned and unplanned decisions, this research investigates how strategy related to foreign market entry emerge in a multinational company, with a specific interest in the decision-making process. A case study was conducted at a multinational company in a B2B context and the research is based on a qualitative approach, with empirical data collected from 10 in-depth interviews. After the empirical data was analysed it was concluded that strategy is not to be seen as a linear and sequential process nor as a set of objectives set in time. Foreign market entry strategy is the result of decisions involving market selection, entry mode choice, and product portfolio, and is subject to adjustments since it is affected by its internal and external environments.

This paper explored the requirements and subsequent competencies needed for an emerging market SME to operate in the developed markets on design, development and manufacturing projects. This was analysed by first exploring the differences in the requirements of the two markets and then determining what competencies a typical SA company would have to acquire to be competitive in the DM. The case was explored through a study of an SA SME operating in the design and development market, who was in the process of internationalising into the US and European markets. Data was gathered through a desk analysis of specifications from each market as well as in-depth interviews with the firm’s key decision makers and customers from each market. The first outcome was that there was a difference in the requirements of the two markets, namely the level of detail and sophistication of the DM specifications, the greater need for a competitive product in the DMs, both in pricing and functionality, the requirement for socially ethical practices and that EMF products need to overcome the negative COO effects. The final outcome was that EM SME’s needed to improve on their current competency set, namely an adaptation of the development process, sourcing practices and improvement in technical competencies. The firm also developed a method of introducing their product to the DM, such that the COO effect was reduced. This was done through the use of SA OEM’s and DM MNE’s supplying SA. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Diplomová práce se zabývá analýzou forem vstupu na zahraniční trh v odvětví dřevostaveb zaměřenou na konkrétní firmu D.E.E.D. a.s., a její případný vstup na Ukrajinský trh. Využití metodologie forem vstupu na zahraniční trh pro střední firmu by měla následně ukázat, zda na trh vstoupit či ne, a jakou formu zvolit. Výsledky budou dále také srovnávány s podobným trhem, kde firma již působí. Na tomto základě bude navrženo efektivní využití a postup do budoucna.

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.

Globalization has driven the internationalization of both SMEs and large enterprises and has caused new opportunities and challenges to emerge. As a result of these new challenges, such as increased foreign competition, or due reasons such as lack of international experience, change in strategy, or dissatisfaction about their performance, many internationalized firms withdraw from their international operations. Permanent exit of international markets may not always be the best option. Re-entering these markets can be rewarding as the intangible resources gained from their initial internationalization experience may facilitate their international market re-entry, thereby having an advantage over newly internationalizing firms.   The main purpose of this study is to contribute to the concept of the re-internationalization process. This is done by exploring the relationship between international heritage and the different stages of the re-internationalization process, which consists out of: the initial internationalization experience, de-internationalization, the international time-out stage and the firm’s international market re-entry.   Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that SMEs apply international heritage differently, based on their level of resource commitment to the international market. This study shows that firms with a higher level of resource commitment tend to apply their international heritage on a global level, whereas firms that commit less resources only apply their international heritage in the market in which the international heritage was gained. Furthermore, while the disruptiveness of the market exit varied between the case companies, all four firms continued to commit resources to the exited market, albeit to varying degrees. Lastly, the empirical findings show that the role of international heritage is not a facilitating one, but that it causes the firm to be more careful.