[pt] O propósito deste estudo é descrever e analisar o processo de internacionalização da Pipeway Engenharia, uma empresa de base tecnológica do ramo de inspeção de dutos (óleo e gás), que iniciou suas atividades em 1998. A análise do estudo de caso foi realizada à luz das diversas teorias referentes ao processo de internacionalização de empresas, divididas em Teorias Econômicas e Teorias Comportamentais. Entre as Teorias Econômicas, a análise se baseou principalmente no Paradigma Eclético de Dunning (1988). Já entre as Teorias Comportamentais, foram utilizados o Modelo da Escola de Uppsala, a Teoria das Redes e Rede de Subsidiárias, a Teoria do Empreendedorismo Internacional, assim como a literatura que trata do fenômeno das Born Globals. Fez-se necessária também uma breve análise do Mercado de Petróleo e das características do Comprador Organizacional, já que ambos fazem parte do ambiente competitivo em que está inserida a empresa em estudo. Os dados da empresa foram obtidos através de pesquisa documental e de quatro entrevistas com os principais sócios da empresa, que versaram sobre o processo de internacionalização (motivações, histórico, dificuldades encontradas, como foram superadas, situação atual). Como resultado final foi possível estabelecer uma cronologia no processo de internacionalização da Pipeway Engenharia, suas semelhanças e dissonâncias, enquadrando-a ao longo do tempo em diversas características das teorias de internacionalização apresentadas. Por fim, o estudo também identificou fortes indícios de que a Pipeway Engenharia pode ser classificada como uma empresa pertencente ao fenômeno Born Global dada a quantidade de características apresentadas em comum com este fenômeno. / [en] The subject of this work is describe and analyze the internationalization process of Pipeway Engineering, a technology basis company from duct inspection (oil and gas) business that have began your activities in 1998. Case study analysis was performed considering many theories about internationalization process in companies, shared in Economics Theories and Organizational Theories. On the economics theories, the analysis was based mainly in Dunning Eclectic Paradigm (1988). On the organizational theories, were used Uppsala Internationalization Model, Network Theory and Subsidiaries Network, International Entrepreneurship Theory, as well as papers about born global phenomenon. It was also necessary an analysis about Oil Market and the characteristics of the Organizational Purchaser, once both of them are part of the competitive environmental were is inserted this studied company. Company`s data were got from documental research and four interviews with mainly company partners, that had talked about internationalization process (drivers, historic, difficulties and as these were solved, current situation). As final result, it was possible establish a chronology of Pipeway Engineering internationalization process (similarities and dissonances) and classify it, in a timescale, using several characteristics of the showed internationalization theories. At last, this study also identified strong evidences that Pipeway Engineering can be classified as a company from born global phenomenon, because of the amount of characteristics in common with his phenomenon.

Tornando da uno studio all’estero, gli studenti fanno spesso riferimento all'esperienza usando aggettivi superlativi e potenti: "fantastico", "la migliore", "che cambia la vita". Tuttavia, quando si tratta di parlare con potenziali datori di lavoro, in genere non sono in grado di articolare le conoscenze e le competenze che hanno acquisito, in modi che abbiano rilevanza per il posto di lavoro o che i datori di lavoro possano apprezzare appieno. Questo studio ha valutato l'impatto di una sessione di riflessione facilitata da educatori sulla capacità degli studenti di migliorare la qualità del modo in cui parlano dello sviluppo individuale di competenze all'estero. E’ stato utilizzato un disegno di ricerca con misurazioni ripetute; un sondaggio pre e post sessione ha valutato l’effetto di una sessione di intervento facilitata di un'ora a cui hanno partecipato studenti universitari statunitensi ed europei che avevano studiato all'estero per almeno un semestre accademico; un gruppo di controllo ha completato i due sondaggi a distanza di una settimana senza partecipare alla sessione. In entrambi i sondaggi, è stato chiesto agli studenti di riflettere sulla propria esperienza per identificare le competenze dimostrate all'estero e di fornire un esempio (creando un racconto basato sulla formula STAR). La previsione era che la capacità auto-percepita degli studenti di (1) riflettere e (2) identificare le competenze, e di (3) acquisire fiducia e (4) mostrare preparazione in previsione di colloqui di lavoro sarebbe aumentata post-intervento (sessione). Questi quattro fattori costituiscono la misura di valutazione, basata sulle risposte a quattro dichiarazioni valutate su una scala Likert a 7 passi. Una seconda previsione anticipava un aumento della qualità delle storie dei soggetti post-intervento (usando una rubrica di 5 livelli per la valutazione), a seguito cioè dell’apprendimento di una migliore pratica per rispondere alle domande del colloquio di lavoro (la formula STAR). In linea con le previsioni, i risultati hanno supportato un miglioramento post-intervento della percezione degli studenti rispetto alla propria capacità di riflettere e identificare competenze, sulla propria fiducia e sul livello percepito di preparazione in previsione dei colloqui di lavoro post- laurea. Per il gruppo di controllo non si è osservato alcun cambiamento dalla condizione PRE a quella POST, mentre si è osservato un significativo aumento dei punteggi PRE-POST per il gruppo sperimentale. Nel confronto tra gruppi, non sono state osservate differenze tra il gruppo di controllo e sperimentale pre-intervento (sostenendo così omogeneità tra gruppi). Tuttavia, sono state trovate differenze significative tra i gruppi post-intervento, con un sostanziale aumento dei punteggi di valutazione per il gruppo sperimentale sulle quattro dimensioni della Misura di Valutazione (Assessment Measure) rispetto al gruppo di controllo. I risultati hanno inoltre confermato la seconda ipotesi secondo la quale il gruppo sperimentale avrebbe mostrato un aumento significativo della qualità delle storie a seguito dell'intervento rispetto al gruppo di controllo, il quale ha mostrato una leggera diminuzione dei punteggi dal pre al post sondaggio. Questo studio fornisce evidenza a sostegno degli sforzi di coloro che nell’educazione terziaria gestiscono programmi simili alla sessione di riflessione (intervento) valutata in questa ricerca e che stimolano gli studenti a riflettere sullo sviluppo delle competenze acquisite durante periodi di studio o lavoro all’estero e ad imparare a parlarne in un modo che verrà apprezzato dai potenziali datori di lavoro durante i colloqui. Questo studio evidenzia inoltre il contributo della mobilità studentesca internazionale rispetto all’incremento dell’employability dei partecipanti. / Students returned from studying abroad often refer to the experience in superlatives and powerful adjectives – “awesome” “the greatest”, “life-changing.” However, when it comes to talking with potential employers, they typically cannot articulate the knowledge and skills they gained in ways that have relevance to the workplace, or that employers can fully appreciate. This study assessed the impact of a facilitated reflection session on students’ ability to increase the quality in how they speak about having developed skills abroad. Using a repeated measures design, a pre- and post-session survey was tied to a one-hour facilitated intervention session attended by U.S. and European undergraduates who had studied abroad at least one academic semester; a control group completed the two surveys a week apart without attending a session. In both surveys, students were asked to reflect upon their experience to identify skill(s) demonstrated abroad and to offer an example (by crafting a short story based on the STAR formula). The prediction was that students’ self-perceived ability to (1) reflect upon and (2) identify skills, and to (3) gain confidence and (4) show preparedness in anticipation of job interviews would increase post-intervention. These four factors make up the Assessment Measure, based on the 7- point Likert responses to four statements in the pre- and post-survey. There was a second prediction that there would be in increase in the quality of experimental subjects’ stories at post- intervention (using a 5-level rubric for rating), after having learned a best practice for answering job interview questions (i.e., the STAR formula). The findings supported the predicted increase in the students’ perceived measures of reflecting and identifying skills and of their confidence and preparedness in anticipation of interviewing for jobs upon graduating. Within groups, there was no change in the Control mean from PRE to POST while there was a significant increase for Experiment. Between these two groups, there were no differences observed pre-intervention (thus supporting the homogeneity of groups). Critically, the differences found post-intervention support the significant effect of intervention – with the experiment group’s POST score on the four dimensions of the Assessment Measure greater than the POST score of the control group. The findings supported the second hypothesis as well – that the experiment group would show an increase in the quality of their stories after the intervention compared to the control group (which showed a slight decrease in scores from pre- to post-survey) and resulted in a between-group comparison that was significant. This study provides support for the efforts of those in higher education who conduct programming such as the reflection session (intervention) in this research which prompts students to consider their skill development from studying or interning abroad and to learn to speak about it in ways that employers will value, especially in the interview process. This study also supports the contribution that international student mobility makes in increasing participants’ employability.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) can effectively bridge the cultural gap between their home market operations and internationalized operations in advanced markets like Sweden, particularly with regards to adapting recruitment strategies to secure top talent in the new business context. The authors aim to expand the existing ‘springboard framework’ for internationalization by multinational enterprises originating in emerging market countries which are increasingly reshaping the global competitive landscape. The study interviewed seven managers with extensive experience working in both advanced and emerging markets, and five top talent from two of the highest ranked Swedish business schools. The study found that for EMNEs cultural distance is a secondary consideration when expanding to advanced markets and their main focus is showcasing their value proposition to clients, customers, and top talent alike. From the experience of the executives interviewed for this thesis, top talent prioritizes organizational and managerial values that a company imbibes and the career progression that it provides over remunerations. This was confirmed by the top talent we interviewed who repeatedly spoke about how important career opportunities and organizational values were for them. The findings from our thesis contribute to expanding the field of cross- cultural management theory by supplying a qualitative study of EMNE adaptation for internationalization. They also contribute to the recruitment literature by demonstrating how EMNEs have to adapt their HRM systems to the local environments in order to gain the attention of and acquire the local top talent.

The process by which a firm internationalizes has long been a topic of discussion in academia. Several models, hypotheses, and theories have been created to explain how a company expands and sells its products to a new market. However, each industry and pathway to internationalization has yet to be explored. The arms trade industry is a highly complex and controversial field as it carries with it numerous political and defense implications. The purpose of this study is to analyze the internal strategies and processes by which an MNE within the arms industry performs a successful internationalization. Furthermore, it will challenge current internationalization theory and literature by providing new insight into this process. Hence, it is essential to explore the internal strategies, networks, and factors involved to enhance our understanding and contribute new methods to the scientific community. The study followed an abductive approach with a qualitative method has been performed through a single case study analysis. Semi-structured interviews with C-suite executives are conducted to collect data from Armscor Global Defense. There were several findings from this thesis. Some of our conclusions were that personal relationships are more important than distance when internationalizing. Another conclusion for the defense sector is that companies should not rely on governmental relationships. Companies in the defense sector also invest a lot of time and money in physical meetings, despite the possibility of virtual meetings.

With the FinTech industry being one of heavy expansion, geographic markets have thus far reached varying levels of maturity. This is suggested to favour Born Global firms (BGs) as a common rationale behind their non-domestic inception is to exploit maturity differences among markets. How FinTech BGs internationalize is hence an alluring topic, and albeitFinTech having risen to being amongst the most prominent areas of finance, FinTechmarket expansion has been granted little academic focus. Moreover, amid FinTech BGs often being equity financed and high growth, and the recent years’ favourable capital market conditions combined with surging FinTech valuation multiples, a need for strategically sound market expansion processes may not have existed. Recent trends are however conveying similarities to the dot com crash, and a new climate may be looming, justifying more research within the subject. This thesis hence aimed to enhance the understanding of how FinTechs internationalize in an industry characterised by BG opportunities, and to understand how FinTech BGsshould derive entry strategies to new markets. Through embarking from the academia, a conceptual framework was formed with variables believed to exert influence on FinTech BGs’ market expansion. A qualitative case study of a Swedish FinTech BG was thereafter conducted, examining its applicability,to understand how the BG status affect market expansion endeavors, and how such endeavors should be planned. The findings suggest that the geographical division of FinTech BGs’ ecosystems is the primary source of competitive advantages, and that one should leverage these in expansion endeavors. The thesis further argues that the value encompassed in technology opens opportunities for financially constrained expansion. It moreover adds to the discussion about entry modes in service industries, and argues that there is no vested interest in having distinctive lines among entry modes, and that they should be viewed as compliments. Finally, the study argues that valuation and funding should be granted larger focus in internationalization research. The findings suggest that BGs can exploit the geographical division between M&A targets and their own investors in search of arbitrage opportunities, a topic inviting further research. / Till följd av FinTech-industrins snabba expansion har geografiska marknader uppnått olika mognadsgrader. Ett sådant klimat påstås vara Born Global-företag (BGs) till gagn då deras utländska grundande ofta motiveras av att utnyttja mognadsskillnader mellan marknader. Hur FinTech BGs internationaliserar är därmed ett intressant ämne, men trots att FinTech har vuxit till ett av de mest framträdande områdena inom finans har FinTechs marknadsexpansion beviljats lite akademiskt fokus. Vidare, då FinTech BGs tenderar att vara kapitalfinansierade och snabbt växande, samt med hänsyn taget till de senaste årens starka börsklimat och höga värderingsmultiplar, har ett behov för en strategisk sund marknadsexpansionsprocess kanske inte funnits. Nya trender visar dock på likheter med IT-bubblan, och ett nytt klimat kan därmed vara förestående, vilket motiverar fler studier inom ämnet. Detta arbete syftade därmed till att förbättra förståelsen för hur FinTechs internationaliserar i en industri som kännetecknas av BG-möjligheter, samt att förstå hur FinTech BGs bör utforma en strategi för att expandera till nya marknader. Genom att ta avstamp i akademin skapades ett konceptuellt ramverk innehållande variabler som ansågs påverka FinTech BGs geografiska expansion. En kvalitativ fallstudie på ett svenskt FinTech BG genomfördes därefter, där dess tillämpbarhet undersöktes för att förstå hur BG-kännetecken påverkar marknadsexpansion, samt vad som bör tas i beaktande när sådan expansion planeras. Resultaten tyder på att FinTech BGs geografiskt utspridda ekosystem är deras primära källa till konkurrensfördelar, och att man bör dra nytta av detta när man internationaliserar. Studien argumenterar vidare för att det värde som finns i teknologin öppnar upp möjligheter till marknadsexpansion under finansiella begränsningar. Dessutom adderar rapporten till diskussionen gällande metoder för inträde på nyamarknader inom serviceindustrier, och argumenterar för att det inte finns ett egenintresse med tydliga avgränsningar mellan olika metoder utan att de bör ses som komplement. Slutligen argumenterar studien för att företagsvärdering och finansiering bör bli givna större fokus inom internationaliseringsforskning. Resultaten tyder på att BGs kan utnyttjadet faktum att förvärvskandidater och deras egna investerare befinner sig i olika geografieri sökande efter arbitragemöjligheter, ett område som bjuder in till vidare forskning.

Sustainability and eco-innovation trends in business are increasingly diffused globally. The quest for sustainable materials to overcome the alarming global tendency of plastic ubiquity is one of the main reasons for such trends. It draws the attention of international actors in the business ranging from a big incumbent multinational company to a small but international firm. The phenomenon of a small firm that quickly becomes global is pervasive and contributes crucially to the global economy. Due to the born global (BG) novelty, internationalization in BG firms has been elaborated primarily in a general context, excluding the firms and industry-particular characteristics. The study aims to understand the internationalization process of a BG firm equipped with an eco-innovation context at the early stage in the biocomposite industry, using an effectual approach as conceptual lenses. The conceptual lens creates interplay among the combined international business area,  international entrepreneurship, and emerging eco-innovation field through the embedded effectuation principles. The study embraces an inductive case study approach which involves 12 participants from international actors and members of BG firms in semi-structured interviews. Furthermore, the industrial context of the study revolves around the biocomposite industry and its network to view eco-innovation nuance. The research found that Eco-innovation technology competence becomes the available means to internationalize for BG firm. Moreover, it is concluded that the effectuation theory is reliable both to be used by researchers in analyzing the phenomenon and dominantly used by the entrepreneur in internationalizing their business in uncertain time such as the early stage of internationalization. BG firm utilizes the contingencies through a learning process iteratively but at a quick pace due to their alliance with the network, but the business form is more effectually transformed instead of incrementally changing and well-planned.  The use of a formal causation approach was present yet limited during the process. The findings of this study add to the existing literature of internationalization by incorporating eco-innovation, as well as bridging the gap between eco-innovation, international business, and entrepreneurship literature.

During the past two years, the pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has impacted where a big share of the world’s employees conducts their work. Governments around the world have encouraged people to stay at home as much as possible, in the hope of slowing down the infection rate of the virus. Companies around the world have therefore encouraged their employees to work from home. The change has been rapid and unusual for a lot of people. The purpose of this thesis is to examine what the effects of working from home has had on employees and what parameters may make it sustainable long-term. When investigating this matter further, a set of sub-questions has been identified in hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the topic and to answer the question of How can working from home be sustainable long-term? This paper is a qualitative research that follows an inductive approach. The literature review provides relevant theoretical background, which has then been the foundation for the analysis and conclusion. The theories provided covers leadership, motivation, efficiency, gender equality, government support, and internationalization. The conceptual framework then provides a deeper understanding of how each of these theories relates to the main question and its sub-questions. The authors have then examined secondary data such as articles from trusted journals as well as government records in a systematic literature review. An analysis of the findings in the systematic literature review in correlation to the theories has then been made to each sub-question. The concluding chapter then ties the thesis by answering the main question of this subject.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to extend the knowledge on how Swedish companies canbecome more embedded in the Chinese market by building relationships with political actors. Research question: How do Swedish managers develop and maintain relations with politicalactors in China, and how do they perceive the outcomes from such relations? Method: Qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. Results: The results of the study shows that managers initially use local middlemen orconsultancies to get in contact with political actions. Further, they participate in variousactivities to build upon and develop that relationship, something that is argued by therespondents to be more time-consuming and extensive than in western countries. The outcomeof having these relationships is that firm could gain a competitive edge and the managers tobecome more efficient in their role. Contribution: This study contributes with additional research to the Extended BusinessNetwork and relationship building with non-business actors in China from a Swedishmanagerial perspective.

Thesis advisor: Rebecca Schendel / Thesis advisor: Geraldo R. Blanco / Internationalization, understood as the strategic integration of intercultural and international aspects into the function and process of higher education, has been of interest to nations and higher learning institutions worldwide for the past two decades. One area of particular focus within such efforts is regionalization, as exemplified by the European Bologna Process. However, regionalization is not simply a part of internationalization. There are significant differences between regionalization and internationalization in terms of objective, approach, and implications. These differences are arguably particularly salient in post-colonial contexts, yet few studies have examined the two phenomena within any African system of higher education. To address this gap, this thesis examined the factors affecting the internationalization and regionalization initiatives adopted by universities in Rwanda, paying particular attention to how the two phenomena intersect and how stakeholders perceive the potential benefits. The findings reveal that institutional representatives strongly recognize the benefits of both approaches but also experience tensions between the two. The study also highlights a number of challenges affecting the ability of Rwanda universities to adequately take advantage of the potential benefits of regionalization. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

El objetivo de la presente investigación es analizar cada una de las 4 dimensiones del modelo Uppsala, “reconocimiento de oportunidades”, “posición de la red de contactos”, “aprendizaje, creación y construcción de la confianza” y “decisiones de relación de compromiso”, las cuales son empleadas por las agro exportadoras hacia Estados Unidos de palta Hass en Ica. Hallando así, diferentes variables dentro de estas dimensiones que se emplean para lograr la internacionalización del agro exportador iqueño. El enfoque de la investigación es mixto, se comenzó con un análisis cualitativo donde se usó como herramienta la entrevista a profundidad, realizada a 6 expertos para poder validar las variables más destacadas dentro las 4 dimensiones establecidas en Uppsala. Luego se realizó el análisis cuantitativo, en donde la herramienta que se empleó fue una encuesta aplicada a las 10 empresas agro exportadoras de palta Hass iqueñas pertenecientes a la población total de la investigación. Analizamos los resultados aplicando el modelo de análisis factorial, el cual nos ayudó a hallar perfiles de las agro exportadoras por cada dimensión. Los resultados obtenidos concluyen que las dimensiones “reconocimiento de oportunidades” y “aprendizaje, creación y construcción de la confianza” del modelo Uppsala son las más influyentes en la internacionalización de la palta Hass de agro exportadoras iqueñas. Asimismo, se concluyó que los factores “estudio de mercado en el país de destino”, “clientes fidelizados”, “empaque perfecto”, “tener mayores ganancias” fueron los que impactaron más en la decisión de estas agro exportadoras para internacionalizar la palta Hass hacia un mercado tan competitivo como es Estados Unidos. / The objective of this research is to analyze each of the 4 dimensions of the Uppsala model, "recognition of opportunities", "position of the network of contacts", "learning, creation and construction of trust" and "decisions of commitment relationship ", Which are used by agricultural exporters to the United States of Hass avocado in Ica. Thus, finding different variables within these dimensions that are used to achieve the internationalization of Ica's agricultural exporter. The research approach is mixed, it began with a qualitative analysis where the in-depth interview was used as a tool, carried out with 6 experts to be able to validate the most outstanding variables within the 4 dimensions established in Uppsala. Then the quantitative analysis was carried out, where the tool that was used was a survey applied to the 10 agro-exporting companies of Hass avocado belonging to the total population of the investigation. We analyzed the results by applying the factor analysis model, which helped us find profiles of agricultural exporters for each dimension. The results obtained conclude that the dimensions "recognition of opportunities" and "learning, creation and construction of trust" of the Uppsala model are the most influential in the internationalization of the Hass avocado from agro-exporters from Ica. Likewise, it was concluded that the factors "market study in the destination country", "loyal customers", "perfect packaging", "having higher profits" were the ones that had the greatest impact on the decision of these agro-exporters to internationalize Hass avocado towards a market as competitive as the United States. / Tesis