This study aims to explore what capabilities that are involved in the formation and early performance of firms that internationalize in an early stage of their development. More specifically, the antecedents of identification and exploitation of business opportunities are explored and linked to specific capabilities. For this purpose, an exploratory-inductive case study is employed to allow for new capabilities to be identified. The analyzed data largely confirms the insights already reached in academic research, in particular the centrality of networking capability in the process of entrepreneurship. As for international business opportunities, the study highlights the importance of creating opportunities to meet with prospective international customers and suggests the importance of absorbing knowledge about these markets so as to reduce cultural distance. The main virtue of this study though, is that it provides a practice-oriented perspective on the process of international entrepreneurship. / Denna studies syfte är att utforska vilka förmågor som bidrar till grundandet av och prestationsförmågan hos företag som söker sig till internationella marknader i ett tidigt skede av sin utveckling. Mer specifikt utforskas vilka händelser som ligger till grund för att affärsmöjligheter identifieras och exploateras; dessa händelser kopplas sedan till specifika förmågor. En induktiv och explorativ studie begagnas i detta syfte för att möjliggöra att ej tidigare upptäckta förmågor kan upptäckas. Analysen av datan bekräftar de insikter som tidigare har nåtts inom forskningsområdet, framförallt betydelsen av ”networking capability” i entreprenörskap. När det gäller internationella affärsmöjligheter betonas vidare vikten av att skapa möjligheter till att träffa presumtiva kunder och det föreslås att det är av vikt att tillägna sig kunskap om dessa marknader i syfte att överbrygga kulturellt betingade kunskapsluckor. Studiens främsta förtjänst är att den ger ett perspektiv på det internationella entreprenörskapet som ligger praktiken nära.

This qualitative study utilized surveys, interviews and document review to explore the transition experiences of international students at a large, public research university, specifically as it relates to their persistence and success. Within the context of challenges that they face, the study examined factors that the students perceived as jeopardizing their success and further explored both institutional and personal factors these students perceived as enhancing their success and persistence. Findings revealed that academic challenges tended to occur during the first year and included teaching styles, course-load/assignments, language issues, time management and understanding the US academic system. Social and cultural challenges included homesickness, cultural misunderstandings, culture-shock and language barriers. Daily living challenges included transportation, finances, food, visa/immigration issues, job restrictions and housing. The study results also indicated that students utilized a blend of coping strategies, support systems and personal strengths to overcome these challenges and persist. More specifically, students identified campus involvement, family support, friend support and university support services as integral to their success. The findings from this study have implications for faculty, as well as student affairs, international services and orientation practitioners as they identify international student needs and challenges as well as factors that positively impact international student persistence and success.

[pt] Essa pesquisa visa analisar o processo de internacionalização de empresas incubadas de base tecnológica e o papel do período de incubação nesse processo. O referencial teórico foi baseado nas teorias comportamentais da internacionalização de empresas e em entrevistas com especialistas da área. Foram analisadas quatro empresas, da Incubadora Tecnológica da PUC-Rio, utilizando o método do estudo de caso. A partir da análise dessas entrevistas foi possível observar que, em relação ao processo de internacionalização, duas teorias comportamentais predominam: a Teoria das Redes e a Teoria das Born Globals. Com relação a influência do período de incubação no processo da internacionalização, percebeu-se que, especificamente para o processo de internacionalização dessas empresas, o fato de ter sido incubada foi pouco relevante. Entretanto, para o processo de formação da empresa como um todo, o período de incubação foi identificado como importante, sendo o ambiente de network da incubadora e a associação à credibilidade da universidade os fatores mais relevantes para as empresas. Assim, essa pesquisa buscou contribuir para ampliar a discussão sobre a internacionalização das empresas incubadas de base tecnológica, que exercem um importante papel na economia do país. / [en] This research intends to analyze the internationalization of incubated technology-based companies and the influence of the incubation period in this process. The theoretical model was based on behavioral theories of the companies internationalization and interviews with specialists in entrepreneurship and internationalization. Were analyzed four companies of the Technology Incubator at PUC-Rio, using the method of case study. From the analysis of these interviews was possible to observe that, for the internationalization process, there is two predominant behavioral theories: the Theory of Networks and Theory of Born Globals. Regarding the influence of Incubation period in the process of internationalization, it was noticed that, specifically for the internationalization process of the companies, the fact of having been incubated was unremarkable. However, for the formation process of the company, incubation period has been identified as important, being the network environment of the incubator and the association s with the University, the factors most relevant to businesses. So, this research wished to contribute to the discussion about the internationalization of companies incubated basic-technology, which is an important role in the economy.

[pt] A globalização dos mercados transformou o cenário mundial de negócios, levando muitas empresas a ultrapassar as fronteiras geográficas de seus países visando expandir e aumentar a sua competitividade. No Brasil este movimento tem crescido nas últimas décadas, impulsionado por diversos fatores. O presente estudo investigou o processo de internacionalização de uma grande empresa brasileira do setor de moda, a Marisol S.A., posicionada como gestora de marcas. Objetivou-se compreender as suas motivações, o modo como este processo se desenvolveu e os fatores que influenciaram a expansão internacional, sob o enfoque das principais teorias propostas pela literatura. O estudo foi de natureza qualitativa, utilizando-se o método de estudo de caso. Foram realizadas entrevistas com os principais executivos da empresa e levantados dados secundários. Foi possível traçar a evolução do processo de internacionalização da empresa, identificando etapas e eventos importantes, assim como os motivos que determinaram suas principais ações, confrontando-se tais resultados com a literatura sobre o tema. / [en] Market globalization has transformed the global business landscape, leading many firms to go beyond geographical borders of their countries in order to expand and enhance their competitiveness. In Brazil, this movement has grown in recent decades, driven by several factors. The present study investigated the process of internationalization of a large company in the fashion sector, Marisol S.A., positioned as manager of brands. The objective was to understand its motivations, the way this process has evolved and the factors influencing the international expansion, from the standpoint of the main theories proposed in literature. The study was qualitative in nature, using the case study method . Interviews were conducted with key executives and secondary data was collected. It was possible to trace the evolution of the internationalization of the company, identifying milestones and important events, as well as the reasons for its main actions, confronting these results with the literature on the subject

[pt] O presente estudo tem por objetivo investigar mudanças no padrão de internacionalização de empresas Born Global. Alguns aspectos da internacionalização – tais como motivações, critérios para seleção de países e modos de entrada – foram analisados, bem como fatores que possam ter impulsionado mudanças na atuação internacional. Por fim, foi investigado se as empresas continuam com uma lógica de expansão, como nos primeiros anos, ou se estão tendendo para uma consolidação de posições. A revisão da literatura concentrou-se em elementos teóricos da internacionalização de pequenas empresas – empreendedorismo internacional e o modelo de Effectuation – além de estudos sobre evolução organizacional sob a perspectiva de Punctuated Equilibrium. Como a evolução das empresas Born Global é um fenômeno ainda pouco estudado (tendo a literatura sobre essas empresas se concentrado basicamente nos estágios iniciais de sua internacionalização), optou-se por realizar um estudo qualitativo com uma amostra de julgamento composta por três empresas, as quais atendiam aos critérios citados na literatura para caracterização de empresas como Born Global. Foi possível observar que, mesmo após vários anos após sua investida inicial no mercado internacional, a empresa pode continuar em expansão, embora haja uma tendência de apresentar também uma lógica da consolidação. Elas não buscam apenas o simples crescimento, mas rentabilizar os resultados, bem como vem utilizando critérios mais seletivos para a aceitação de clientes, seleção de países e tomada de decisões sobre o modo de operação no exterior. Como aplicação ao mundo empresarial, este estudo evidencia a busca por uma operação que minimize custos, o aproveitamento de oportunidades que podem ser de curto prazo, a atuação junto a parceiros (networks) e a receptividade para fusões ou aquisições. / [en] This study aims to investigate changes in the pattern of internationalization of Born Global companies. Some aspects of globalization - such as motivations, criteria for country selection and entry modes - were analyzed, as well as factors that may have driven changes in international operations. Finally, we investigated whether companies continue with a logical expansion, as in former years, or are trending toward a consolidation of positions. The literature review focused on theoretical elements of internationalization of small businesses - international entrepreneurship and the model of effectuation - and studies of organizational change from the perspective of Punctuated Equilibrium. How the evolution of Born Global companies is a little studied phenomenon (with the literature on these companies basically concentrated in the early stages of internationalization), we chose to conduct a qualitative study with a sample of trial consists of three companies, the which met the criteria cited in the literature to characterize companies like Global Born. It was observed that, even after several years after its initial foray into the international market, the company can continue to expand, although there is a trend also present the logic of consolidation. They seek not only the simple growth but profitable results, and have been using more selective criteria for customer acceptance, selection of countries and making decisions on the mode of operation abroad. As an application to the business world, this study highlights the search for an operation that minimizes costs, take advantage of opportunities that may be short-term relationships with select partners (networks) and receptivity to mergers or acquisitions.

Nowadays, with the big background of economic globalization, economic isolation became impossible, therefore,internationalization is necessary for development of enterprise. IKEA is a Swedish multinational group which wasfounded in 1943. Under the big background of economic globalization, IKEA sizes every opportunity to entryforeign markets And nowadays IKEA had already become the world wide largest furniture retailer since 2008.IKEA actually has already entered into Chinese market as early as 1998 .The success of IKEA in Chinese marketis very outstanding. But it’s not difficult to find on IKEA strategy map of China that the most retail stores areconcentrate distributed in the first-tier cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong. And there are very less retailstores in Chinese inland cities and some of areas are still the market vacancy. China as a country who has themost population on the world is never lack of purchasing power. Therefore, a reasonable marketing strategyshould be analyzed to help the expansion of IKEA in Chinese market.The research purpose of this thesis is to analyze a reasonable marketing entry strategy of IKEA for the furtherexpansion in Chinese market. This research would follow the classical foreign market entry strategies analysiswith three steps. And the research focus on answering these three questions: Where should be selected as newtarget market location of IKEA in China? Which entry mode of IKEA should be applied in the future Chinesemarket? Which factors would influence IKEA timing of entry in Chinese market? Which is through the multiresearch method.Summarizing IKEA marketing entry strategy in China is a gradual process. IKEA should firstly select the marketlocation in the areas with lower cultural distance and high level of GDP and GDP per capital, and then graduallyexpand in to the areas with relatively higher cultural distance and relatively lower level of GDP and GDP percapital. And in general, this process also could be viewed as the expansion from the eastern costal area to theinland cities of China. And the gradual “internationalization” of IKEA in Chinese market also reflected on theentry mode choice. From the “joint venture” run to the coexisting of “joint venture” and “wholly ownedsubsidiary”, and finally run to the “wholly owned subsidiary” as the only entry mode of IKEA in Chinese market.Finally, as for the timing of entry, IKEA should catch the “window of opportunity”, accumulate “near marketknowledge” and pay attention to “world-of-mouth” to remain the good reputation of IKEA in China to completethe earlier entry as a gradual process with the “stepwise internationalization” into Chinese new target market.

The main aim of this research is to develop a conceptual model that describes the way managers make decisions about internationalizing. It also tries to explain under what conditions managers will be risk-seekers and under what conditions they will be risk-averse, and as a result which groups of strategies and tools they will choose to use when internationalizing. This investigation focuses on the field of behavioural economics in opposition to leading paradigms in the IB field that concentrate on the neoclassical economic theory. This research uses an interdisciplinary approach that combines the behavioural economics approach and theories drawn from the field of entrepreneurship, IB, market relations, industrial organization, RBV and institutional theory, in order to develop a comprehensive theoretical framework that can explain from the senior manager's perspective when and why s/he chooses certain variables and not others. The findings link the manager's perception of his position vis-à-vis his industry reference point (IRP are defined as any variable that highlights a particular objective, seems capable of establishing a reference point, and as a result, creates a framework for organizational/individual decision making) and his decision making in the area of risk management, learning, and product adaption and development. The findings indicate that managers below their IRP display innovation when developing new marketing/distribution channels, and share their knowledge with partners. Nevertheless, they demonstrate low awareness of risk management. In contrast, managers above their IRP focus on the organization's existing technology and marketing and distribution channels and avoid adjusting their products to the market needs and sharing knowledge with distributors. On the other hand, they adopt an active risk management strategy.Additionally we link between the manager's perceptions of his position vis-à-vis his IRP and his choice of entry mode strategy. The findings indicate that a number of differences exist between managers below their IRP and managers above their IRP. Managers below their IRP use positioning strategies but use TCA or institutional strategies very little. In contrast, managers above their IRP use TCA or institutional strategies but will hardly use positioning strategies at all. The two types of managers use network strategy and RBV, but each group uses different factors within the theories. The research makes a number of important contributions to study of the IB sphere, particularly to the fields of research relating to the internationalization of BG companies, which is a relatively new field of knowledge. Today there is no comprehensive theoretical framework explaining the way BG companies internationalize and the reasons they choose one strategy or tool over another when entering foreign markets. The present research attempts to establish a conceptual model that describes the way managers make internationalization decisions. It does so by importing a new discipline from the field of behavioural economics into the IB field, which is deeply wedded to the tradition of neo-classical economics and integrates it with existing strategies in the field to create a conceptual model that mediates between traditional IB research and the BG research stream.

The purpose of this study is to examine how the internationalization process in small firms impacts their resource base renewal. The relationships between organizational learning, dynamic capabilities, operational capabilities and resources are empirically examined to determine the impact of internationalization on changes to the firm’s resource base. The empirical analysis follows a multiple case study research methodology and is based on in depth case studies of four internationalized professional service firms in Ontario. Cases include born-global and born-again global firms, exemplifying both location-based and knowledge-based services. The study finds evidence supporting the relationships between internationalization, organizational learning and planned change via dynamic capabilities, as well as internationalization, organizational learning and ad hoc problem solving. Findings also suggest that the firms’ repetitive use of ad hoc problem solving when faced with similar situations leads to the creation of dynamic capabilities. This research adds to the existing body of literature on services, international entrepreneurship and strategy by responding to a call for empirical examination of organizational learning within the RBV and DC constructs. Furthermore, it also applies a novel theoretical framework with which to examine the impact of small firm internationalization and their strategic renewal. By doing so, this thesis extends the RBV and DC perspectives to small service firms. Findings demonstrate a need to further continue this research path to gain greater understanding of the change processes that occur during the evolution of the firm’s resource base, as pertains to small knowledge-intensive service firms.

My paper tries to cover as many fields of internationalization as possible. It is a look at the very actual situation after the financial crisis but also comes with some predictions about the close future. Public and worldwide organizations such as WTO are a critical point in my analysis, as well as country penetration strategies. My objective was to determine where globalization has leaded us, in which direction and more importantly in which countries. Also, it is explained how complex can be a multinational in different countries and the important aspects of control in between subsidiaries. Not to be forgotten, the most recent kinds of investments and revamped international strategies

This Master thesis' aim is to compare the export policy in the Czech Republic and Finland. The foreign trade of the Czech Republic and Finland is analyzed in the first chapter with respect to the territorial and commodity structure. The second chapter deals with the export policy of the Czech Republic, its development, conceptual solution and institutional background. The third part describes the export policy in Finland. Both policies are compared in the fourth chapter based on their defined goals, priorities and tools that are being used. The final part of this chapter analyses the export promotion from the Czech and Finnish SME's point of view.