The purpose of this study was to examine the role and benefits of relational governance of international networks on the internationalization of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Africa. It explored the strategies used by African SMEs to scout, manage, and maintain their relationship with international networks and how these benefited their businesses. Four African SMEs were studied in this respect using qualitative methods and interviews as a means of data collection. Interviews were digitally conducted with the members of top management positions in these SMEs. Prior to this, a literature review was carried out on the subject matter to understand the context of the research. Data collected was analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method. Furthermore, the results of the study were presented followed by a discussion of findings that showed that relational governance has a positive impact on the internationalization of SMEs in Africa. Some of the SMEs started their internationalization by first exporting to neighboring countries and later to more distant markets. They also were seen to carry out some of their business transactions on a trust basis and manage their relationships in many ways to promote trust and commitment. This study further highlighted some theoretical contributions as it added to current literature and confirmed previously developed theories. Managerial contributions in terms of the availability of the knowledge on SMEs internationalization strategies to the SMEs as well as potential SMEs startups were also highlighted. Suggestions for further research is then proposed on replicating the study using bigger sample size, multiple sectors and not limiting the method of internationalization to only export.

Purpose – The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how networking is influenced by the choice of internationalization strategy of software firms with a born global mindset. To achieve this purpose, the following research questions were answered: How applicable is previous research on traditional internationalization strategies to born global software firms? How does networking vary between the different choices of internationalization strategy for born global software firms? Method – The research philosophy of this thesis was interpretivistic, supported by an abductive qualitative multi-method approach of exploratory character. Additionally, the data collection methods were literature studies, interviews and documentation conducted from six case companies. The collected data form the base of the developed networking and internationalization model which serves to support the general understanding of how born global software firms can internationalize and use networks to benefit their operations. Findings – By forming clusters and looking into how networking varies between the different choices of internationalization strategy, several types of internationalization strategies of born global software firms were identified, these being referred to as Nascent Global, Cautiously Global, Regionally Global and Instantly Global. Additionally, the results show that it is the choice of internationalization strategy that influences the choice of the networking activity. Nascent Global firms are firms who has not yet launched their service or decided upon internationalization strategy, they mostly network in order to strategize and plan; Cautiously Global firms operates nationally or have recently internationalized into another country, for them the networking focus lies on the process of learning to minimize the risk of mistakes or failure; Regionally Global firms are internationalizing incrementally with a regional focus and networking to access sources of knowledge; Instantly Global firms are those who are global right from inception where the focus is targeted at growth opportunities. Moreover, the findings show that Instantly Global firms are the ones that truly contradict traditional theory on internationalization strategies. Research limitations – The first limitation of this study is that we have solely focused on networking from the firm’s perspective and have not gone into the actual external network of each firm. Additionally, it would be appropriate to include a larger amount of case companies, in order to increase the level of generalizability. Nevertheless, due to limitations concerning the scale of work and time-constraints, six case companies were included. Further research – If practitioners would conduct a similar investigation of born global software firms, it would be interesting to conduct a quantitative study, analyzing potential linkages between the use of networks and internationalization. Also, since this study was cross-sectional, opportunities exist of conducting a longitudinal study, looking into how born global software firms change over time.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T20:20:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabiana Rita Dessotti Pinto.pdf: 1709401 bytes, checksum: 7329d61f1806abb025aa0cdf8913f6f3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-30 / The thesis develops a case study of Mercocities Network, an association of cities and associated member countries of MERCOSUL, and has aimed to analyze the decentralized international cooperation developed in this network as an initiative to promote local economic development. To this end, the thesis presents at first the motivations for the international actions of cities. It discusses the globalization in its economics aspects, the process of regionalization in Latin America and the impacts of globalization on cities, emphasizing essential the local economic development initiatives. Next, exhibits the characteristics of network relationships, presenting the central themes of the thesis: international networks of cities and decentralized cooperation. It analyzes the case of Mercocities network, through the description of its goals, its profile and its key initiatives. It identifies the relevant points for discussion of participation in international networks of cities. The survey results show that, despite having limitations, the cooperative participation in international networks of cities can maximize the capacity of cities in terms of public policy and impact on national and international policies of interest of the cities. Noteworthy among the limitations: the difficulty of exchanging experiences develop into effective public policies; the discontinuity of the initiatives in the network as a function of political discontinuity; the incipient participation of other civil society actors; the difficulty of evaluating results of the initiatives; and the lack of publicity in the media of the actions developed by the network / A tese desenvolve um estudo de caso da Rede Mercocidades, uma associação de cidades dos países membros e associados do MERCOSUL, e tem como objetivo central analisar a cooperação internacional descentralizada desenvolvida nesta rede como iniciativa para o desenvolvimento econômico local. Para tanto, a tese apresenta de início as motivações para as ações internacionais das cidades. Discutem-se a globalização nos seus aspectos econômicos, o processo de regionalização latino-americano e os impactos da globalização nas cidades, destacando-se as iniciativas de desenvolvimento econômico local. Em seguida, expõe as características do relacionamento em rede, apresentando os temas centrais da tese: redes internacionais de cidades e cooperação descentralizada. Analisa o caso da Rede Mercocidades, por meio da descrição dos seus objetivos, do seu perfil e das suas principais iniciativas. Identifica os pontos relevantes para discussão da participação em redes internacionais de cidades. Os resultados da pesquisa demonstram que, apesar de apresentar limitações, a participação cooperativa em redes internacionais de cidades pode maximizar as capacidades das cidades em termos de políticas públicas e de incidência nas políticas nacionais e internacionais de interesse das cidades. Destacam-se entre as limitações: a dificuldade das trocas de experiências evoluírem para políticas públicas efetivas; a descontinuidade das iniciativas na rede em função da descontinuidade política; a incipiente participação de outros atores da sociedade civil; a dificuldade de avaliação de resultados das iniciativas; e a pouca divulgação nos meios de comunicação das ações desenvolvidas pela rede

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T14:53:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabiana Rita Dessotti Pinto.pdf: 1709401 bytes, checksum: 7329d61f1806abb025aa0cdf8913f6f3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-30 / The thesis develops a case study of Mercocities Network, an association of cities and associated member countries of MERCOSUL, and has aimed to analyze the decentralized international cooperation developed in this network as an initiative to promote local economic development. To this end, the thesis presents at first the motivations for the international actions of cities. It discusses the globalization in its economics aspects, the process of regionalization in Latin America and the impacts of globalization on cities, emphasizing essential the local economic development initiatives. Next, exhibits the characteristics of network relationships, presenting the central themes of the thesis: international networks of cities and decentralized cooperation. It analyzes the case of Mercocities network, through the description of its goals, its profile and its key initiatives. It identifies the relevant points for discussion of participation in international networks of cities. The survey results show that, despite having limitations, the cooperative participation in international networks of cities can maximize the capacity of cities in terms of public policy and impact on national and international policies of interest of the cities. Noteworthy among the limitations: the difficulty of exchanging experiences develop into effective public policies; the discontinuity of the initiatives in the network as a function of political discontinuity; the incipient participation of other civil society actors; the difficulty of evaluating results of the initiatives; and the lack of publicity in the media of the actions developed by the network / A tese desenvolve um estudo de caso da Rede Mercocidades, uma associação de cidades dos países membros e associados do MERCOSUL, e tem como objetivo central analisar a cooperação internacional descentralizada desenvolvida nesta rede como iniciativa para o desenvolvimento econômico local. Para tanto, a tese apresenta de início as motivações para as ações internacionais das cidades. Discutem-se a globalização nos seus aspectos econômicos, o processo de regionalização latino-americano e os impactos da globalização nas cidades, destacando-se as iniciativas de desenvolvimento econômico local. Em seguida, expõe as características do relacionamento em rede, apresentando os temas centrais da tese: redes internacionais de cidades e cooperação descentralizada. Analisa o caso da Rede Mercocidades, por meio da descrição dos seus objetivos, do seu perfil e das suas principais iniciativas. Identifica os pontos relevantes para discussão da participação em redes internacionais de cidades. Os resultados da pesquisa demonstram que, apesar de apresentar limitações, a participação cooperativa em redes internacionais de cidades pode maximizar as capacidades das cidades em termos de políticas públicas e de incidência nas políticas nacionais e internacionais de interesse das cidades. Destacam-se entre as limitações: a dificuldade das trocas de experiências evoluírem para políticas públicas efetivas; a descontinuidade das iniciativas na rede em função da descontinuidade política; a incipiente participação de outros atores da sociedade civil; a dificuldade de avaliação de resultados das iniciativas; e a pouca divulgação nos meios de comunicação das ações desenvolvidas pela rede