The diploma thesis focuses on the issue of the international marketing mix of a Czech company entering the German market. It specifies the motives and forms of entering the foreign market and defines the individual components of the international marketing mix. It contains a suggestion for a suitable form of entry, elaboration of an international marketing mix of the company and based on a survey of competitive prices of selected products, it recommends choosing a suitable pricing strategy when entering a foreign market.

This master thesis deals with a choice of suitable strategy for entering the eastern market for K.L.M company. In theoretical part of thesis, there is described a meaning of international trade and international marketing. Practical part consists of an analysis of internal and external factors of examined company, on which the choice of specific market for expansion including the form of entering is based. At the end of the thesis, there is also an analysis of risks which can influence entering foreign market.

Because of an increased Globalisation, it is no longer a question whether or not to operate on an international level. Globalisation refers to the fact that companies do not only compete with local companies; they also compete with companies that invade the domestic market. The international participation establishes a coercion to deliver a competitive international marketing. Guidelines for Internationalisation and international marketing have been done on the basis of the premise of big companies. Hence, when it comes to small and medium-sized B2B companies this thesis contributes with additional information.   The purpose is to explore how small and medium- sized B2B companies market themselves in an international context. Understanding how these companies have come as far as they have come, how these companies perform on the international market and how they act to reach new markets. This has been explored through literature revolved around major steps in internationalisation and standardisation or adaptation of the marketing mix in the context of SME and B2B.     The study is based on three case studies of three Swedish international small and medium-sized B2B companies. The research approach was abductive, and the empirical collection was of qualitative form. The empirical material was collected through in-depth semi structured interviews with knowledgeable representatives from international small and medium-sized B2B companies. The interviews were complemented with secondary data.   Findings reveal that even though the three companies are in stage three in their internationalisation, there are differences in regard to how active they are internationally. Regarding how the companies internationalises, these companies internationalised because of a demand abroad or the benefit of increase profit. These companies mainly used waterfall approach and entered countries one by one with the exception of one company who used sprinkler approach. Also, these companies entered countries that are similar and close compared to the domestic country Sweden. Furthermore, these companies entered a market through Direct Export in forms of subsidiaries and own or locally agents. Furthermore, insights in standardisation and adaptation of the marketing mix were revealed, where product and place were adapted by all companies. Price and promotion were adapted in two out of three companies and standardised in one company. Connected to the context of the study, being a small and medium-sized company was not a crucial limitation for the companies’ internationalisation. Additionally, regarding the context of B2B, quality & design, Long-term customers & Word of Mouth showed to be the most important key factors for B2B companies that operate internationally.

This thesis reports research in the Country-of-Origin (COO) area of international business, into the postulated phenomenon of Negative Image. Image has been regarded as a potential purchase decision influencing factor but to date not investigated in-depth. Research was carried out in the business to business area, across cultures and between developed and developing countries, using an example from Zimbabwe. The primary research methodology comprised semi-structured elite interviews with Zimbabwean footwear exporters and UK footwear importers. A questionnaire incorporating sections on topics related to the international image of manufactured goods exporters based in Third World countries was also administered to the UK footwear importers. This dealt with political, commercial and image aspects of importer-exporter relationships and also addressed directly the issue of Third World businessmen's image. Results from the field work demonstrate that the Negative Image of Third World manufactured goods exporters directly affects importer decision making and that Negative Image has an exclusively negative impact. Data from inductive analysis of interviews and supporting correlations arising from the questionnaire were used to construct a model of the relationships and formalise the concepts and constructs of Negative Image. These included disparities in exporter and importer expectations of quality, price, delivery and performance. In addition unreliability, inefficiency, professionalism, lack of both marketing skills and social conversation contribute to the phenomenon. A potential conflict was identified at the individual level between personal and professional perspectives and a reciprocal Negative Image of importers was identified from the Zimbabwean exporters' perspective. Suggestions are made regarding the key factors in exporter-importer relationship development and conclusions are then drawn suggesting that improvement to levels of importer-exporter contacts and information flows can be useful in ameliorating the Negative Image effect. Scenarios for image improvement are offered at government, firm and individual levels. Finally, limitations of the research are discussed and recommendations for further research are given

The purpose of this thesis is to describe how the factors influence the level of adaptation and standardization of a marketing strategy and subsequently analyze how the factors influence the level of adaptation and standardization of Swedish MNCs’ in the German market. The relevant factors for the decision towards standardization and adaptation are found out using a framework composed by Viswanathan & Dickson (2007). The factors chosen are homogeneity of customer response to the marketing-mix, transferability of competitive advantage, homogeneity of economic freedom and decision variables.   This thesis does so in a deductive and qualitative approach using Swedish retailer Clas Ohlson as a case study. Underlying this is a contextualized and interpretivist point of view. Data was collected through focus group interviews with German and Swedish students and complemented through data mining.   An analysis of the empirical data shows a high homogeneity of customer response to the marketing-mix, the possibility of transferring the competitive advantage and a high homogeneity of economic freedom was discovered. When applying the frame of reference on the empirical data, Swedish MNCs, especially Swedish retailers, are recommended to choose a high degree of standardization for their IMS in the German market. It was discovered that the used framework does to some extent not cover a wish proposed by the German participants calling for a partial adaptation of the international marketing strategy. This disproves the assumption underlying the frame of reference as the majority of factors suggest standardization, yet from a consumer perspective, there is the wish to partially adapt. In the conclusion managerial implications, limitations and research implications are mentioned as well.

Marketing research is an important part of marketing, it delivers information which can be used to support decision making, for creation of plans and strategies, and also for their subsequent evaluation. Monitoring the current market, competitors and consumer behaviour, marketing research creates a competitive advantage, increases the level of certainty and reduces the level of risk to the business. It is essential that the marketing research is conducted in a professional manner. The dissertation work of Libuše Laschoberová provides readers with one document which analyses marketing research in a complex way -- it comprises of detailed information about this market and its environment in context, basic theory, brief description of historical development, selective important data, international comparison, up-to-date trends, prediction, data and opinions of marketing research agencies and experts in this field. There are also practical examples which illustrate some theoretical findings. It is focused on analysis of the contemporary state of this branch, prediction of future development and international comparison. In a practical business environment this would help to gain a deeper understanding of the market research process via the collective and structured information contained in this dissertation. The analysis was conducted independently and objectively. From a practical point of view it is an especially important section which describes the possible future trends in the market. It enables the business to adapt to these trends, create appropriate strategies and therefore prepare the firm for likely future developments. The essential part of this dissertation is based around two separate research projects which resulted in new, previously unknown data. The obtained information confirmed the assumed hypothesis and brought experts' opinions on selected issues. It can be concluded that: 1) Czech firms change their point of view on marketing research -- they are beginning to understand its benefits and use them to their own advantage. 2) Clients' requirements for quality and professionalism of marketing research are increasing. 3) The percentage of international marketing research is growing, whereas the number of projects on national level is in decline.

[pt] O ambiente dinâmico e em constante mudança exige que as empresas sejam cada vez mais rápidas para responder eficazmente aos desafios. A estratégia empresarial hoje se preocupa em olhar para dentro da empresa, e verificar se ela tem condições de mover-se rapidamente pra aproveitar as oportunidades que o mercado oferece. A aprendizagem organizacional e a criação de conhecimento são determinantes para o sucesso da empresa nesse novo ambiente. O presente estudo define doze fatores-chave que podem estimular a aprendizagem e a criação de conhecimento dentro das empresas. Em seguida, verifica como esses fatores-chave são aplicados em quarenta empresas brasileiras de médio e grande porte. Finalmente, relaciona o grau em que esses fatores são aplicados e o desempenho de mercado das empresas. / [en] A very dinamyc and constantly changing environment forces companies to be faster and faster in responding efficiently to market demands. Corporate strategy nowadays is more worried about thecompany inside, to verify if it has conditions and necessary skills to move quickly and take advantage of market opportunities. Organizational learning and knowledgde creation are key elements to company sucess in this new environment. The present study defines twelve factors which favors organizational learning and knowmledge creation. After that, verifies how those key factors are applied in fifty medium and big sized Brasilian companies. Finally, it makes a correlation between the way those factors are applied and the companies market performance.

[pt] O presente trabalho é uma proposta para a criação de uma arquitetura geral de memória corporativa. A mesma tem três camadas: fontes, middleware e repositórios. Primeiro, criou- se um modelo conceitual de negócio baseado em teorias de administração de negócios e organizadas sob uma abordagem de ontologias, esse modelo denominou-se de Organizational Baseline (OB). Segundo, utilizou-se as abordagens de sistemas multiagentes como meio para organizar nossa proposta de arquitetura. O OB é o principal repositório onde se armazena informação relevante da organização, a qual é extraída a partir dos sistemas legados, bancos de dados, sites na internet ou mesmo elicitadas dos seres humanos por meio de entrevistas e formulários. O modelo conceitual está baseado nas abordagens de análise estratégica positioning e emphasizing efficiency, junto com a análise de funções e o estudo do gerenciamento da qualidade total. / [en] This work presents a proposal for building corporate memory architecture. It has three layers: sources, middleware and repositories. First, we create an conceptual enterprise model, named Organizational Baseline (OB), based on theories of business management and organized in accordance with an approach of ontology. Second, we use multi agents system as a means to organize our proposal of architecture. The OB is the main component, where we store whole relevant information for the organization; it can be extracted from legacy systems, databases, Internet sites or human beings. The conceptual enterprise model is based on constructs elicited from positioning and emphasizing efficiency views of strategic analysis, together with function analysis and total quality management.

[pt] O café é hoje o segundo maior gerador de riquezas no planeta, ficando atrás apenas do petróleo. Dentre os US$ 91 bilhões movimentados anualmente pelo mercado do café, apenas 9% ficam com os países produtores. No Brasil, maior país produtor e exportador de café verde, os pequenos produtores buscam, através do cultivo de cafés especiais (como o café orgânico) e da produção de cafés industrializados, a valorização do produto exportado, melhorando assim a rentabilidade das exportações. No entanto, são poucas as empresas brasileiras desse porte que conseguem se consolidar no mercado internacional, principalmente no segmento de cafés industrializados. Diante desse cenário, tornar-se relevante analisar as empresas desse perfil, que já exportam, para identificar as estratégias adotadas para a comercialização do produto no mercado internacional e os resultados obtidos através delas. Para isso, um estudo de caso foi realizado com 2 empresas exportadoras de café orgânico, ambas objetivando atuar tanto no segmento de cafés verdes quanto no de industrializados. O resultado da análise aponta que, apesar de embora a estrutura pequena e familiar afete negativamente os negócios, principalmente no que diz respeito ao comprometimento financeiro e gerencial do negócio, e do fato de adotarem estratégias diferentes, ambas conseguem ser bem sucedidas na exportação do produto in natura. Ainda assim, não há como identificar qual das duas é mais bem sucedida nesse segmento. Já no segmento de cafés industrializados essa dúvida é eliminada, pois apenas uma das empresas consegue exportar seu produto. Por fim, constatou-se que, independentemente das estratégias adotadas pelas empresas, o ambiente externo às organizações é consideravelmente mais vantajoso para a exportação de café verde do que de café industrializado. / [en] Coffee is the world`s second biggest wealth producer, but only 9% remain with the coffee producers. In Brazil, world`s major producing country and exporter of green coffee, the small and medium producers, through the harvesting of special coffees (such as the organic) and through the production of industrialized coffee, try to increase the value of their exported products. By doing so, they expect to increase their profitability. However, few small and medium size Brazilian organizations are able to successfully establish themselves in the international marketplace, especially in the industrialized coffee segment. Given this situation, it becomes relevant to analyze the companies with this profile, that already export, in order to identify the strategies adopted by them for commercializing the product in the international marketplace, and also to identify the outcomes obtained by the adoption of these strategies. In order to do that, a case study was conducted with two Brazilian organic coffee exporter companies, both aiming at both coffee segments, green and industrialized. The analysis` outcomes indicate that, although the small and family-run business characteristics affect the export business in a negative way, especially when regarding the necessary financial and managerial compromises, and the fact that each adopts different international marketing strategies, both are successful in exporting the green coffee. Still, it cannot be determined which company has the best performance in this segment. This doubt does not exist when analyzing the industrialized coffee segment, since only one of the studied companies is successful in exporting its product in this segment. Lastly, it was revealed that, independently from the strategies adopted by the companies, the external environment, which surrounds the studied organizations, present far more advantages for the export of the green coffee, rather than the industrialized.

[pt] Em um cenário de complexidade e incerteza, frente às novas tecnologias e mudanças no ambiente empresarial, as organizações têm procurado identificar oportunidades de crescimento e desenvolvimento. A competitividade e sobrevivência nesses mercados complexos e dinâmicos é diretamente proporcional ao saber das organizações. Torna-se mais competitivo quem sabe mais, quem sabe aprender, e quem aprende mais depressa. O desafio das organizações é tornarem-se sistemas melhores de aprendizagem. Esta contingência fez emergir as chamadas organizações de aprendizagem, promovendo o desenvolvimento de soluções e respostas mais criativas e inovadoras, uma vez que conseguem mobilizar mais rapidamente seus recursos. Esta pesquisa estuda se o conceito de organizações de aprendizagem pode ser associado a uma das divisões da maior empresa fabricante de aparelhos de telefonia móvel do mundo. Para atingir este objetivo, este estudo procurou comparar o conceito de organizações de aprendizagem à prática desta organização, baseado na percepção de funcionários e gerentes em 14 características identificadas no estudo de Carvalho e Leitão (1999). Os resultados deste estudo foram comparados com os obtidos no estudo de Sampaio (2006), que havia concluído que os conceitos de economia de comunhão e de organização de aprendizagem possuem afinidade. / [en] In a scenario of complexity and uncertainty, facing the new technologies and changes in the corporate environment, many organizations have been trying to overcome their learning disabilities on an effort to face new challenges and, therefore, identify opportunities for growth and development. Competition and survival in these dynamic and complex markets are directly proportional to the knowledge of the organizations. Becomes more competitive the one who knows more, who knows how to learn - and who does it faster. The challenge for these organizations is to become better learning systems. This environment caused to emerge what we call Learning Organizations, encouraging the development of more creative and innovative solutions and answers, since they can mobilize their resources in a faster pace. The purpose of this research is to study how Learning Organizational concept can be associated to a division of the largest mobile phone manufacturers in the world. In order to reach this objective, this study contrasted Learning Organization concept with the practice of this organization, based on the perception of employees and managers on 14 cultural carachteristics identified in Carvalho e Leitão (1999) study. The results of this study were compared to the results obtained in Sampaio (2006) study, which has concluded that communion economy concepts and learning organizations have affinity.