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abstract: Entering a new market in the construction industry is a complex task. Although many contractors have experienced the benefits of expanding their market offerings, many more have had unsuccessful experiences causing hardship for the entire organization. Standardized decision-making processes can help to increase the likelihood of success, but few specialty contractors have taken the time to develop a formal procedure. According to this research, only 6 percent of survey respondents and 7 percent of case study participants from the sheet metal industry have a formal decision process. Five sources of data (existing literature, industry survey, semi-structured interviews, factor prioritization workshops, and expert panel discussions) are consulted to understand the current market entry decision-making practices and needs of the sheet metal industry. The data help to accomplish three study objectives: (1) determine the current processes and best practices used for market entry decision-making in the sheet metal industry, (2) identify motivations leading to market entry by sheet metal contractors, and (3) develop a standardized decision process that improves market entry decision outcomes. Grounded in a firm understanding of industry practices, a three-phased decision-making framework is created to provide a structured approach to guide contractors to an informed decision. Four industry leaders with over 175 years of experience in construction reviewed and applied every step of the framework to ensure it is practical and easy to use for contractors. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Civil Engineering 2016

A large number of changes in the world of business has led to increased attention directed towards business-to-business (B2B) branding. Companies have gradually shifted their marketing efforts to the Internet and social media in order to create brand awareness when entering new international markets. Existing research and literature on how content creation can be used when entering a new market is, however, scarce. This thesis therefore identifies and describes how digital content creation has been, and can be, used when entering a new foreign market in order to create brand awareness. To achieve this, interviews with marketing directors in internationally operating companies were conducted in a qualitative manner. The results reveal that all the companies use digital content marketing when entering a new market, confirming pre-existing theories. It was also revealed that creating brand awareness is the most challenging part when entering a foreign market. It became evident that engaging the target audience and encouraging user generated content using DCM is both beneficial and effective when entering new foreign markets.

<p><strong>Title: </strong>The influence of network relationships in the internationalization of SMEs</p><p> </p><p><strong>Authors: </strong>Andersson, Arvid & Helander, Anna</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Tutor:</strong> Karlsson, Tomas</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Date:</strong> June, 2009</p><p> </p><p><strong>Background</strong>: The world has become globalized, resulting in a rapid increase in international trade. Also many SMEs actively internationalize. At the same time, networks are increasingly replacing traditional markets. In the internationalization process of SMEs it has through research been confirmed that firms are influenced by network relationships in their internationalization process.</p><p><strong>Problem</strong>: Choice of foreign market and market entry mode are crucial decisions SMEs make in their internationalization process. It has been found that network relationships affect SMEs in these decisions. However, the research within this area has been focusing heavily on knowledge-intensive SMEs. Scholars call for further research in relation to other industries, as well as a more specific investigation of what kind of different network relationships that affect choice of foreign market and of market entry mode.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how SMEs’ choice of foreign market and market entry mode is influenced by different types of network relationships.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A multiple case study strategy was applied and four SMEs were included in the sample. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, (three personal and one telephone interview), and complemented with secondary data. The respondents were the CEOs of the case firms. The collected data was categorized and each case firm was analyzed, followed by cross-case comparisons.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The findings in this thesis show that all case firms had been affected by network relationships in the choice of foreign market and/or choice of market entry mode. Generally the findings conformed to a certain degree to previous findings concerning SMEs in knowledge intensive industries. Further, it was found that network relationship influence was more frequent in the choice of foreign market. In this decision, firms which had taken a proactive approach were mainly infuenced by strong and formal relationships. Firms taking a reactive approach were mainly influenced by weak and informal relationships. Concerning entry mode, it was only weak, informal relationships which had influenced the decision.</p><p> </p>

Title: The influence of network relationships in the internationalization of SMEs   Authors: Andersson, Arvid &amp; Helander, Anna     Tutor: Karlsson, Tomas     Date: June, 2009   Background: The world has become globalized, resulting in a rapid increase in international trade. Also many SMEs actively internationalize. At the same time, networks are increasingly replacing traditional markets. In the internationalization process of SMEs it has through research been confirmed that firms are influenced by network relationships in their internationalization process. Problem: Choice of foreign market and market entry mode are crucial decisions SMEs make in their internationalization process. It has been found that network relationships affect SMEs in these decisions. However, the research within this area has been focusing heavily on knowledge-intensive SMEs. Scholars call for further research in relation to other industries, as well as a more specific investigation of what kind of different network relationships that affect choice of foreign market and of market entry mode. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how SMEs’ choice of foreign market and market entry mode is influenced by different types of network relationships.   Method: A multiple case study strategy was applied and four SMEs were included in the sample. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, (three personal and one telephone interview), and complemented with secondary data. The respondents were the CEOs of the case firms. The collected data was categorized and each case firm was analyzed, followed by cross-case comparisons. Conclusion: The findings in this thesis show that all case firms had been affected by network relationships in the choice of foreign market and/or choice of market entry mode. Generally the findings conformed to a certain degree to previous findings concerning SMEs in knowledge intensive industries. Further, it was found that network relationship influence was more frequent in the choice of foreign market. In this decision, firms which had taken a proactive approach were mainly infuenced by strong and formal relationships. Firms taking a reactive approach were mainly influenced by weak and informal relationships. Concerning entry mode, it was only weak, informal relationships which had influenced the decision.

Background: For Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME), international expansion is important strategy for growth. However, considering the facts that SMEs often are characterized by limited personal and financial resources, and that new international markets pose challenges in terms of differences in for instance culture, language and political systems, international expansion is a risky business. We argue that there might be an easier way for SMEs to enter challenging markets and regions through establishing in a springboard country. Such a country is characterized by a possibility to in a westernized context accumulate learning about countries in the rest of the region and also to develop and utilize networks. At the moment, Asia is a rapid developing region and is expected to contribute with two thirds of the world’s GDP in 2050. Hence, the Asian region provides immense opportunities for companies, however particularly for SMEs, also severe challenges. We argue that Swedish SMEs could learn how to overcome these challenges establishing in the westernized Singapore, hence finding an easier way when entering more difficult Asian countries. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore the phenomenon of SMEs expanding their international activities via a springboard country. This will be done by studying how Swedish SMEs perceive that their establishment in Singapore has affected (1) the development of their networks with other actors in the Asian region, and (2) their accumulation of knowledge and experience regarding doing business in Asia. Method: In order to fulfil the purpose, we have conducted a qualitative multiple case study including seven Swedish SMEs that are established in Singapore. We have primarily used semistructured telephone interviews for our data collection. Conclusion: We found that there is support for the existence of the Springboarding phenomena. We can conclude that Swedish SMEs, by being established in Singapore, can develop and utilize their networks as well as gaining general market knowledge of other countries in the Asian region. We can also see tendencies regarding how these benefits associated with the Singapore establishment can decrease the perceived uncertainties of doing business in other more difficult Asian counties.

La Organización Industrial trata sobre la interacción estratégica entre empresas. ¿Cómo toman las decisiones las empresas cuando tienen en cuenta la reacción del resto de empresas? El objetivo es comprender mejor la decisión de las empresas y las consecuencias de éstas en la competencia del mercado. En el capítulo 2, investigo la interacción estratégica entre cooperación en investigación y desarrollo (I+D) y las fusiones posteriores. Se presenta un modelo teórico que relaciona redes estables de cooperación en I+D con decisiones de fusión, seguido por la competición en el mercado de productos. El resultado es que las fusiones y la cooperación en I+D son complementarias. Esto significa que hay fusiones que sólo existen porque las empresas construyen ciertas redes de cooperación en I+D. Si las cooperaciones no fueran permitidas, entonces las empresas elegirían no fusionarse. Otro resultado que obtengo es que hay cooperación entre empresas que no existirían si las empresas no se anticiparan a las posteriores fusiones. También encuentro que la cooperación con las empresas que no se fusionan son las relaciones claves, contradiciendo la intuición de que las empresas crean relaciones que se sustituirán por una fusión en un estado posterior. La consecuencia es que las empresas no fusionadas ganan poder de veto sobre la fusión y sólo permitirán ésta si la empresa resultante de la fusión no es demasiado competitiva. En el capítulo 3 presento un modelo para entender mejor cómo compiten las empresas de Capital de Riesgo con diferente acumulación de experiencia, y porque cooperan en los estadios iniciales de la financiación de riesgo. Considero que la decisión a cooperar la toman las empresas financiadoras, pero debe ser aprobado por el dueño del proyecto. Los resultados dicen que hay ganancias de bienestar resultantes de la cooperación porque las uniones de Capitalistas de Riesgo evalúan proyectos más efectivamente y proveen servicios con mayor valor añadido. Cuando se toma en cuenta al empresario, los Capitalistas de Riesgo no pueden apropiarse todas las ganancias derivadas del proyecto. El empresario se queda con parte del proyecto porque tiene la alternativa de no fusionarse. Así que presento un modelo de cooperación sin colusión. Otro resultado que encuentro es que los proyectos con mayor potencial son más probables de llevar a uniones, y que las mayores inversiones no llevan necesariamente a mayor cooperación. A través de un análisis empírico realizo un test para comprobar las conclusiones teóricas y obtengo que proyectos con tanto un mayor potencial como una mayor inversión tienen mayor probabilidad de resultar en una unión de capitalistas de riesgo. Finalmente, en el capítulo 4 se analizan las decisiones de las empresas sobre el momento de entrada de éstas en el mercado. Específicamente, analizo como estas decisiones se ven afectadas por las creencias de las empresas sobre la situación de la demanda y de la competencia. Otra contribución del artículo es estudiar si las empresas tienen incentivos para distorsionar las creencias y ser más optimistas sobre el estado de la demanda. Este capítulo considera un modelo de decisión sobre el momento de entrada endógeno con información incompleta sobre la demanda. Muestro que con empresas Bayesianas existe un único equilibrio Bayesiano perfecto donde las empresas con creencias optimistas producen en el primer periodo, mientras que las empresas con creencias pesimistas sólo producen en el segundo periodo. También encuentro que cuando las empresas pueden elegir ser demasiado confiadas, eligen no serlo. Sin embargo, les produce una ligera mejora tener la opción de elegirlo. / Industrial Organization concerns the strategic interaction between firms. How do firms take decisions when the reactions of others are taken into account? The goal is to better understand firms' decisions and their consequences in market competition. In chapter 2, I investigate the strategic interaction between research and development (R&D) cooperations and subsequent mergers. I present a theoretical model linking stable R&D cooperation networks with the decisions to merge, followed by the product market competition. I find that mergers and R&D cooperations are complements. This means that there are mergers that only exist because firms construct certain R&D cooperation networks. If cooperations were not allowed, then firms would choose not to merge. I also find that there are cooperations among firms that would not exist if the firms did not anticipate subsequent mergers. I also find that cooperations with non-merging parties are the key links, contradicting the intuition that firms create links to substitute for a merger at a later stage. The consequence is that the non-merging firm gains veto power over the merger and will only enable it if the resulting merged company is not too competitive. In chapter 3 I present a model that sheds light on how differently experienced Venture Capital firms compete and why they cooperate in the early stages of venture financing. I consider that the decision to cooperate is made by the financiers, but it must be approved by the owner of the project. I find that there are welfare gains from cooperating because syndications of Venture Capitalists evaluate projects more effectively and provide more value-added services. When the entrepreneur is taken into account, Venture Capitalists cannot appropriate all the gains from a venture. The entrepreneur retains part of the project by keeping the competition outside option. Therefore I present a model of cooperation without collusion. I also find that projects with greater potential are more likely to be syndicated and that larger investments do not necessarily lead to more cooperation. I test these two implications in an empirical analysis and find that projects with both a larger potential and a larger investment are more likely to be syndicated. Finally chapter 4 analyzes firms' decisions about the entry timing in markets. Specifically, I analyze how these decisions are affected by firms' beliefs about the state of the world. A second contribution of the paper is to study whether firms have incentives to distort beliefs and to become optimistic about the state of demand. The paper considers an endogenous timing model with incomplete information about demand. I show that with Bayesian firms there exists a unique perfect Bayesian equilibrium where firms with optimistic beliefs produce in the first period while firms with pessimistic beliefs only produce in the second period. I also find that when firms could choose to be overconfident they choose not to be. Nevertheless, they are weakly better by having the option to do so.

Business model is a concept that has gained increasing attention in recent years. It is seen as a firm’s ticket to success and has been studied by researchers and managers alike to find the ultimate template for prosperity. Little research has, however, been conducted on the necessary adjustments of a business model in the case of new market entry. Globalization has inspired companies to grow internationally, and firms increasingly look for new markets to capture, and China has become one of the most attractive markets for western firms. Existing theory claims that business model adjustment is necessary when expanding globally. Hence, our aim is to research how a firm’s business model adjusts when entering a new market. We also aim to further develop existing theory on the interrelation between business model elements, and see how change in one element influences other connected elements. We have conducted a qualitative exploratory case study using the business model of a European e-commerce company on the verge of entering China. To reach the purpose of the thesis we have conducted interviews with employees of the studied company to understand their current business model, previous changes when entering new markets and the expectations on China’s influence on the business model. We have also collected information on the Chinese market through interviews and secondary sources. The gathered data has been analyzed in accordance with theories concerning culture, consumer behavior and business model features. The results of the data gave us a foundation for researching the influences of culture on the business model. Through increased knowledge in the area of business models, information on the Chinese culture and market, and theoretical findings regarding e.g. culture and consumer behavior, we have been able to analyze how cultural aspects influence business model elements. We found potential links between cultural traits of the Chinese market and the market’s consumer behavior and preferences. The conclusion of the thesis states that the elements primarily affected by new market entry are target customer, relationships, partnerships and capabilities. The two first are influenced by the changing consumer preferences (culture) whereas the final two are operational and affected by the organizational changes necessary when entering a new market. We also found change in value configuration, distribution channel and cost structure as a result of the adjustments made in the previously mentioned elements. Due to the lack of information on other markets, apart from the European, it has, however, been difficult to draw generally applicable conclusions on cultural influence on the business model.

The trade today consist of global trade. Businesses are exercising cross-border activities and businesses tend to establish themselves in foreign markets. Many choices and factors affect a business choice of country to enter, and its choice of form of establishment in the new market. Therefore the thesis will examine the market entry strategy of the four Swedish businesses Lundalogik AB, Infobric AB, Funded-by-me AB, and PayEx AB in the information technology (IT) industry that have established their businesses in Norway. The authors believe that Norway is an interesting country to study as it is one of Sweden's most important ex-port markets and the IT-sector stands for approximately 13% of all Swedish exports towards the whole world. The purpose with the thesis is to explore and understand the market entry strategy used by the above mentioned four Swedish IT-businesses when entering the Norwegian market. With help of the purpose of the thesis the authors intend to answer what the underlying reasons for the four businesses were when entering the Norwegian market and its choice of form of establishment. As this is an explorative study the research method applied is an inductive approach with influences from the grounded theory. An inductive approach is when observations help to formulate a theory whereas the grounded theory is when a theory is discovered from social research. The reason why an inductive approach is better suited for the thesis is due to the flexibility in deciding which theory to choose after analyzing the primary data. After analyzing the four case studies it can be concluded that no pure internationalization strategy exists among the companies, instead a variety of customer follower and market seeker strategies are common. Moreover, the choice of form of establishment has many factors. Credibility, market knowledge, design of business and existing business relationships were the four most common factors identified by the authors affecting the case studies‟ choice of form of establishment.

This report is investigating the subject of foreign market entry for service companies. Service firms differ from manufacturing firms since they have a low degree of tangible assets and resources and therefore service firms have to manage and develop their intangible assets to be competitive. Foreign market entry for service firms are a quite unexplored area, and forces that is connected to the subject has to be explored. The purpose of this paper is to identify motives for foreign market entry decision, and central issues a service company should consider before entering a foreign market.   The theoretical framework in the research reports is provided in the literature review chapter. The literature review contains different authors’ opinions about the subject. The theoretical framework is divided into four different sub-headings that are connected with foreign market entry. The authors did a qualitative single case study with an IT-service firm competing on the Swedish market. The empirical data was collected from five respondents at the chosen company. The primary data from the respondents was gained from in-depth interviews and the secondary data was collected from annual reports and internal documents. One conclusion in the study is that there can be a lot of different motives for an entry on a foreign market. The different motives that is stated in the study has a common denominator which is that they can all lead to increased profit in the long run. Other findings are that a service firm has to consider certain external and internal forces in the foreign market entry decision process. The external and internal forces are also linked to the choice of entry mode. The authors provide a model in the conclusion chapter which explains the foreign market entry process and the connection between the different forces.