In the last decades, research on technology and applications for improvementsof people’s wellbeing has been increasingly important. There is an extensive amount of research on internationalization of firms, while research on life science businesses, especially startups, in a Swedish context is lacking. As seen from previous literature on the life science industry, firms are dependent on networks and long R&D processes funded by financial actors. Therefore, the aim of this research was to explore how Swedish life science businesses operate in their early phases in order to internationalize. The theoretical framework used in this research is based on the relevance of identified theories in creating a proper business model, choosing the right internationalization strategies and entry modes to the foreign markets, in addition to acquiring the relevant networks. This research used an exploratory research approach to utilize previous literature in combination with case studies to explore further on the internationalization phenomenon in the context of the studied cases. Furthermore, an abductive approach was utilized in the research from the correlations between existing theories and gathered findings, resulting in modifications in the methodology and in existing theories. The study conducted semi-structured interviews with five different Swedish companies in the life science industry. The interviewees were all in high leading positions in the studied companies. The authors of the research conducted a thematic analysis of the data to identify common patterns and themes to guide the analysis. Findings of the research showcase that Swedish life science firms are dependent on creating unique and efficient products and services, targeting markets with suitable industry, research and regulatory landscape, and acquiring access to business, regulatory and scientific networks in order to internationalize early on. This research looks at the industry of life science from a Swedish startup firm context, resulting in contributions towards the internationalization processes of firms.

Abstract Purpose: To investigate the role of dynamic capabilities in the Internationalization of born global firms from developing countries in Africa.  Design approach/Methods: The study employed a qualitative research method with a multiple case research design. Four born global firms from two developing countries in Africa were analyzed. Verification strategies were utilized to enhance the validity and reliability of the research findings.  Originality: Most of the previous research on the role of dynamic capabilities in the Internationalization of firms has attempted to operationalize empirical findings either with a single case study or multiple case studies of firms from developed countries, or multiple case studies of firms from the same sector or country. Therefore, as a reason for these paucities, this paper exists to investigate the role of dynamic capability in the Internationalization of born global from developing countries in Africa. Findings: The dynamic capability is the critical reason why and how firms stay competitive.The study found out that born globals from developing countries hire external consultants, conduct competitor analysis, utilized their local and international networks and conducts comprehensive market analysis to effectively sense market opportunities. Additionally, the firms invested substantial amounts in staff skills development, new product development, and new market development to seize opportunities. Besides, some of the firms capitalized on remote working systems, digital marketing and hiring of employees with prior international experience to effectively seize market opportunities. With regards to reconfiguring resources, all the firms utilized partnerships with leading multinational companies as a means of reconfiguring its resources to address the weaknesses within the company. To transform as an organization as well as to manage risks, most of the firms engaged in proactive decision making, diversification, utilized digital marketing and implemented digitization systems.  Keywords: Born Global, SMEs, Dynamic Capability, Internationalization, Developing Countries

Globalization is a development that allowed businesses to internationalize with ease. Startup hubs in Europe are growing and fashion is one of the most dynamic internationalizing industries. Combining the aspects of startups, fashion and internationalization led to the development of this research topic. The internationalization of fashion startups is known as a complex and difficult procedure. Nevertheless, a theory presenting factors that characterize the internationalization of fashion startups has yet to be developed. The purpose of this research study is to fill this gap. Furthermore, internationalization became a vital operation for startups in general to establish a growing business. Since the internationalization process can fail or be successful, this research investigates specific strategies fashion startups take to avoid any unexpected declining activity in foreign markets. As businesses exist in an environment, external factors will influence their processes. Additionally, businesses can take certain actions themselves and have the means to shape internationalization. Operating with a qualitative research design, eight fashion startups located in Europe were interviewed. Through semi-structured interviews, four internal and four external factors were found that characterize the process. Moreover, three actions were identified that fashion startups perform to ensure the survival of their internationalization process. Based on the analysis the internal factors: Knowledge, Resources, Entrepreneurial Orientation and E-Commerce were identified and elaborated on. On the other hand, the external factors: Networks, Supply Chain, Societal Goals, and Unexpected Events/ Crises characterize the internationalization. Risk management, resource evaluation, and flexibility will assure startups to strengthen their internationalization processes and contribute positively to the survival of the operation. Lastly, this research gives managerial, theoretical, and policy implications on what must be considered when internationalizing a fashion startup.

Due to the characteristics of software, software products have been considered products with "pure" profits which are suitable to be sold in the international market. Enterprise software is one typical type of software which is mainly sold in business market. More and more enterprise software providers are going abroad to discover opportunities for their enterprise solutions. This thesis is to try to give more suggestions on internationalization for these enterprise software providers. The empirical case is concerning the internationalization of the enterprise software provided by a Swedish software company, Company A. The case happens in the specific geographic area (China) which is far away from the domestic market, the Swedish market. Based on the business network of Company A, Software A has been successfully sold in the Chinese market. The analysis is on the basis of the empirical case and the relevant theories on internationalization. In the context of the empirical case, the nature of enterprise software has been analyzed. Enterprise software is usually tangible and customized, and the internationalization of enterprise software is more relationship-based than mass software products. The discussion about the nature of enterprise software contains the "service" nature of enterprise software, the "service" typology of enterprise software in international marketing and some features of enterprise software which are influencing the internationalization of enterprise software. By understanding the nature of enterprise software, enterprise software providers are capable of crafting international marketing strategies in their internationalization processes. For example, enterprise software providers can develop module-based software or add more self-customization functions to decrease the risks of internationalization. ii Internationalization has been discussed for a long time since the "Uppsala" model was come up in 1977. In the last thirty years, the business environment has been changing with the tendency of expanding through the network-based business relationship. The new "Uppsala" model, which was born in this new business environment, has been leaded me to analyze the success and failure in the empirical case. The internationalization of enterprise software is observed to follow the changes of the four elements in the new "Uppsala" model, in which "opportunities learning" and "trust building" are highlighted in the network-based business environment. The new "Uppsala" model is valuable for today’s internationalization to develop strategies for the more successful internationalization. From understanding the product to understanding the network, enterprise software providers can explore more international opportunities and internationalization strategies for their enterprise software instead of the traditional thinking.

Aim: The purpose of the study was to find out how clusters can assist small- and medium sized organizations to expand to the international market.    Method: A qualitative approach was used in this study where the primary data was collected with the help of semi structured interviews. The data was collected from a total of ten participants ranging from five different organizations in the region of Gävleborg in Sweden. The analysis was done with the help of concepts identified in the literature as well as new themes that was found in the empirical investigation.     Result & Conclusions: The findings in this research have shown that the clusters combined can help the SMEs to overcome obstacles related to capital, learning, innovation, networking, sales, and strategy. The clusters can also help the SMEs in terms of sustainability. The weakest link is to help the SMEs to gain social capital where the clusters abilities are low. The clusters have their niche competence and collaborate between clusters to help the SMEs in their international journey. We could also find that there are other themes emerging in the empirical findings which is related to the mindset of the SMEs and the limitations the SMEs face may be dependent of this mindset, mainly due to the manager in the organizations.    Suggestions for future research: Future studies can focus on longitudinal research in this area to be able to follow the journey of the SMEs between the clusters but also to be able to capture and compare if the SMEs and cluster are experiencing the same pros and cons of the support system. We also suggest replicate this study in another region of Sweden to see if the results can be generalized or if it is a very local context regarding the help the SMEs can gain as well as to see if the theme of mindset occur.    Contribution of the thesis: The theoretical contribution is that we have extended the knowledge around the support system known as clustering by showing that the weaker areas in the clusters was the ability to help in the barrier of social capital and that cluster can help in a good matter when it comes to capital, creating environments for innovation and organizational strategy. The theoretical contribution also showed that one cluster are not able to help in all the given areas but together the clusters are able to help the SMEs to overcome most of the barriers towards internationalization. Another theoretical contribution is the addition of the new barrier to internationalization that we named as mindset. The managerial contribution is that we have shown what areas clusters can assist the SMEs with and thereby shown that managers need to realize the opportunities that comes when they are a part of a cluster as well as they need to be able to trust in the clusters who have a great knowledge in those areas.

In recent years, the aspects of sustainability and environmental friendliness have taken on an increasingly large role in our society and due to climate change and scarcity of resources, green technologies are growing. As the consequence, this ongoing trend has affected the business environment. Companies need to adapt their strategies to a sustainable manner and take advantage of the potential opportunities generated by this change. Considering the impact and importance of Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the global business environment and economic development, this paper has therefore addressed the question of how SMEs can gain a competitive advantage by implementing a green marketing strategy and how far possible advantages can be used for the internationalization of these companies. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five German and Swedish case companies to investigate to what extent they are implementing a green marketing strategy, if they have reached any competitive advantages generated by this strategy, and whether these competitive advantages have contributed to a smoother internationalization process. To answer these questions, the case companies are positioned on the green marketing matrix proposed by Ginsberg and Bloom (2004) which is the basic concept for analyzing the respective strategy, then case studies’ attitudes regarding the aspect of sustainability, competitive advantages raised from implementing a green marketing strategy and their potential impacts on internationalization process are analyzed. According to the empirical findings, the case studies have registered a tremendous change in customers' behavior regarding green behaviors in society, which emphasizes the need to implement a green business strategy. Particularly, applying a green marketing strategy enables companies to achieve several competitive advantages which help them develop an optimal position against competitors and even exploit them in their internationalization process.

It is generally well understood that venture capital (VC) is an important and significant source of financing for small firms. Questions revolving around the increased likelihood of a firm backed by Venture Capitalists (VCs) to be export oriented have yet to be fully explored. Responding to this research gap, a sample of Canadian VC backed firms is used to compare the performance of Canadian VC firms in terms of facilitating internationalization among their portfolio companies. The particular reference of this study is Export Development Canada (EDC), a crown corporation mandated to promote export among Canadian firms. This research finds that EDC as a VC investor and export-oriented consultant has no association with the increased probability of exporting. Also, stage of the investment does not show any relationship with internationalization. These results run contrary to previous speculation that syndication of VCs increases the probability of internationalization among portfolio firms.

As developed markets have become saturated to a greater extent, companies have instead targeted emerging economies. In recent years, a substantial number of companies have recognized the opportunities in the Sub-Saharan market, which has led to an increasing number of foreign firms entering this market. Nevertheless, companies are still experiencing numerous challenges in relatively unexplored markets like the Sub-Saharan region. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate challenges for Swedish manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) when entering the Sub-Saharan African market. Additionally, the thesis will examine how these challenges affect the entry modes as well as further market commitments. The aim is to provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that influence the choice of entry mode of SMEs in volatile environments. This study has adopted a qualitative research method with an abductive approach to allow for an elaborate and flexible research process. The empirical data have been collected from multiple cases, by conducting five semi-structured interviews. The outcome of this thesis demonstrates that the major challenges in the Sub-Saharan market are related to underdeveloped institutional frameworks. Although, by cooperating with institutional actors and providing valuable resources to the local environment, firms are able to relieve institutional pressures. Finally, innovation, adaptability, and flexibility are vital factors that influence the extent to which companies are able to commit to the Sub-Saharan market.

Entrepreneurship is the key to a functioning society and global economy. To be entrepreneurial means not only to see and discover opportunities, but also to develop and refine these opportunities. There is evidence saying that entrepreneurship is not equal for men and women. Sweden is considered a strong and stable country with values that promote gender equality, but even in this country there are societal structures and phenomena that sometimes hinders female entrepreneurs from reaching the same success as male entrepreneurs. The aim of this thesis is therefore to explore Swedish female entrepreneurs and the challenges they face when conducting international business. Furthermore the thesis will try to explore what challenges they face in foreign market entry due to their gender as well as try to provide future female entrepreneurs with information on how to avoid or handle the challenges they might face due to their gender. There is a gap in literature regarding this subject.  The reviewed literature presents the international business environment and internationalization as well as entrepreneurship and the opportunities thereof. It also presents the occurrence of gender inequality in business. The conceptual framework is to illustrate how all parts are connected to the subject and to each other like a circular cycle. To ensure thorough research a qualitative method with an abductive approach is used. Both primary and secondary data have been used. The empirical data was collected through interviews with five Swedish international female entrepreneurs from different industries. The analysis was made by cross examination of the empirical data and the literature. Female entrepreneurs face challenges in international business but can often choose to use it as an advantage. There are social structures that need to change for the business environment to become more equal both in Sweden and internationally.

Digitalized companies are adding complexity to the theory of internationalization. In order to gain momentum in a foreign market, knowledge about specific regional aspects and customers’ behavior is crucial. In a modern business environment, data supports decisions, enhances performance, and contributes to innovative business models. Due to its unique characteristics, data is perceived as a hidden, yet valuable asset. In this thesis, I am comparing the role of data in two types of companies in a qualitative empirical study of German ventures. As a company intern data gathering practice, truly digital firms are expected to take advantage of digital platforms in the context of internationalization. Information and Communication Technology companies are supposed to collect data by enhancing their physical products with Internet of Things applications or -interfaces (Lee and Lee, 2015; Monaghan et al., 2020). I am arguing that the process of internationalization is driven by data, in both types of companies. My results are indicating that digital platforms are the primary method of gathering information about foreign markets. The importance of Internet of Things increases on a subsequent stage, during the process of internationalization. An integral perception of data and its versatile areas of application can create a nourishing ground for business opportunities.