<p><strong>Background</strong></p><p>This thesis is conducted for Husqvarna AB with the aim to map the Laotian market for them in terms of market potential for forestry power equipment. In order to provide decision material for further action I was asked to give a description of the Laotian forestry sector; research potential harvesting volumes; analyze the competitive situation; describe the general business conditions in Laos; and provide some insight as to how Husqvarna can enter the Laotian market.</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Method</strong></p><p>The method I have used for collection of information is two-fold. The empirical data has mostly been derived via interviews with forestry officials and companies involved in forestry. The theoretical review and collection of secondary data has been performed by research of books, journals, reports, newspapers and online sources. The research methodology can accordingly be labelled "the actor approach" which methodology is based on understanding social entireties. An important element in this approach is a process referred to as the hermeneutic circle - a process in which new knowledge is continuously incorporated into the understanding and used as base for further research. An important part of the method is my personal experience of Laos, from which I consider myself being able to base some conclusions.</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Theoretical Review</strong></p><p>Foreign market entry can generally be made in four modes: Exporting, licensing, joint ventures, or sole ventures. Foreign market entry strategies may involve adapting the marketing strategy. It may also necessitate product adaption.</p><p> </p><p>Market entry in developing countries will most likely mean being exposed to unfamiliar environments. The general business conditions might be very different from the home market and constitute higher levels of trade barriers and sociocultural distance may be difficult to deal with.</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Case Study, Conclusions and Reflections</strong></p><p>The highlights from these two chapters include:</p><ul type="disc"><li>Laos offers foreign investors to use any of the four market entry modes.</li><li>Doing business in Laos receives a low international rating, especially in terms of labor restrictions. It also has rather high trade barriers.</li><li>Laos is developing its commercial tree plantation sector and estimates suggest that the harvesting volumes will be increasing rapidly in the coming 10-15 years.</li><li>Importing and selling forestry power equipment is restricted. Laos does not yet have any authorized dealer for chainsaws. This provides for interesting opportunities.</li><li>The market is flooded with cheap, illegally imported, Chinese chainsaws, but it is questionable whether this actually constitutes any competition to Husqvarna, being a high quality brand. The Chinese chainsaws might however soon increase in terms of quality and be more competitive.</li><li>Obtaining an import and sales license for outdoor power products may be a rather lengthy procedure but once in place would mean being the first authorized dealer - which might be advantageous.</li></ul><p> </p><p><strong>Recommendation</strong></p><p>Due to Laos making efforts to increase the commercial tree plantation area, the harvesting volumes will increase rapidly the coming years. The sales potential for forestry equipment will hence increase in the years to come.</p><p> </p><p>My recommendation to Husqvarna, if they have resources, is therefore to locate a dealer and enter the Laotian market. Plantations are however still mostly in the development phase. It is therefore doubtful that early entry is profitable enough to be motivated if there are other markets with higher potential that Husqvarna wants to enter.</p><p> </p>

Background This thesis is conducted for Husqvarna AB with the aim to map the Laotian market for them in terms of market potential for forestry power equipment. In order to provide decision material for further action I was asked to give a description of the Laotian forestry sector; research potential harvesting volumes; analyze the competitive situation; describe the general business conditions in Laos; and provide some insight as to how Husqvarna can enter the Laotian market. Method The method I have used for collection of information is two-fold. The empirical data has mostly been derived via interviews with forestry officials and companies involved in forestry. The theoretical review and collection of secondary data has been performed by research of books, journals, reports, newspapers and online sources. The research methodology can accordingly be labelled "the actor approach" which methodology is based on understanding social entireties. An important element in this approach is a process referred to as the hermeneutic circle - a process in which new knowledge is continuously incorporated into the understanding and used as base for further research. An important part of the method is my personal experience of Laos, from which I consider myself being able to base some conclusions. Theoretical Review Foreign market entry can generally be made in four modes: Exporting, licensing, joint ventures, or sole ventures. Foreign market entry strategies may involve adapting the marketing strategy. It may also necessitate product adaption.   Market entry in developing countries will most likely mean being exposed to unfamiliar environments. The general business conditions might be very different from the home market and constitute higher levels of trade barriers and sociocultural distance may be difficult to deal with. Case Study, Conclusions and Reflections The highlights from these two chapters include: <ul type="disc">Laos offers foreign investors to use any of the four market entry modes. Doing business in Laos receives a low international rating, especially in terms of labor restrictions. It also has rather high trade barriers. Laos is developing its commercial tree plantation sector and estimates suggest that the harvesting volumes will be increasing rapidly in the coming 10-15 years. Importing and selling forestry power equipment is restricted. Laos does not yet have any authorized dealer for chainsaws. This provides for interesting opportunities. The market is flooded with cheap, illegally imported, Chinese chainsaws, but it is questionable whether this actually constitutes any competition to Husqvarna, being a high quality brand. The Chinese chainsaws might however soon increase in terms of quality and be more competitive. Obtaining an import and sales license for outdoor power products may be a rather lengthy procedure but once in place would mean being the first authorized dealer - which might be advantageous.   Recommendation Due to Laos making efforts to increase the commercial tree plantation area, the harvesting volumes will increase rapidly the coming years. The sales potential for forestry equipment will hence increase in the years to come.   My recommendation to Husqvarna, if they have resources, is therefore to locate a dealer and enter the Laotian market. Plantations are however still mostly in the development phase. It is therefore doubtful that early entry is profitable enough to be motivated if there are other markets with higher potential that Husqvarna wants to enter.

Tato diplomová práce se zabývá návrhem a analýzou strategie vstupu společnosti RENOCAR, a.s. na slovenský trh. Práce obsahuje přehled související literatury s důrazem na publikace, které se zabývají problematikou internacionalizace firem a vstupem společností na zahraniční trh. Analytická část zkoumá momentální situaci na trhu s automobily v České a Slovenské republice a stručně představuje toto průmyslové odvětví z evropského pohledu. Pomocí základních finančních ukazatelů pak hodnotí současný stav ve společnosti RENOCAR, a.s. Na základě výsledků získaných z výše uvedených analýz, autor ve třetí části práce navrhuje a kriticky analyzuje strategii expanze společnosti.

The purpose of this thesis is to acquire knowledge of how Swedish SMEs could use Jugaad as an advantage when internationalizing towards India and as a tool for innovation. The phenomena has been identified and analyzed in relation to innovation theories and internationalization. The research has been done following a qualitative research method, resulting in a deeper understanding of how the phenomenon works and impacts Swedish SMEs. A deductive approach towards the research has been used, due to limited empirical studies of the research phenomena.   Furthermore the literature review includes theories from internationalization, international knowledge, innovation and the phenomena Jugaad. Based upon the literature review a conceptual framework where created, visualizing the relations between the theories. The conceptual framework has further been used when studying the empirical data, collected from four different sources.   The analysis addresses the similarities differences between the theory and empirical findings, based upon the structure of the conceptual framework. The last chapter is conclusion, where the results based upon the analyze, are presented. Furthermore the implications, limitations and what we suggest for further research is presented. The main theoretical implications this thesis has created an understanding of how a Jugaad mindset can enhance innovation and create new market opportunities for companies using a frugal and flexible approach. The practical implications of this thesis resulted in that the phenomena Jugaad were unknown by the respondents. However did the respondents recognize patterns that could be aligned with the phenomena Jugaad, and agreed on the fact that innovation is key to continued success?

nternational market entry strategies gained increasing importance due to globalisation. Companies became multinationals. Therefore, new challenges arose due to different market and customer requirements. One topic, which gained importance in B2B context, is customer value. Customer value can be defined as the perceived benefits a company delivers its customers in comparison to the perceived expenses. Nevertheless, no uniform definition exist. In addition to that, if there is a direct connection between B2B customer value and international market entry strategies have not been investigated yet. Therefore, this thesisprojectdeals with the influence of B2B customer value on international market entry strategies. To determine the link, following research question guides this thesis: How does B2B customer value influence international market entry strategies in Northern Europe?The research isnot only focused on Northern Europe but also on the data centre segment. The investigated countries are Norway, Ireland, UK and Finland. These countries are highly interesting for the commission partnerdue to market developments and mega trends. Furthermore, the commission partneris represented by local subsidiaries in the four countries of interest. In order to answer the research question, deep insights are generated via semi-structured interviews. Three customer groups are investigated: Data centre operator as well as owner, constructors including panel builder and system integrators as well as design consultants. The interviews are conducted either face-to-face or if necessary via telephone in the four countries of interest. The interviews include questions about B2B relationships, brand and marketing.If culture influences B2B customer value is investigated indirectly bythe questions on B2B relationship.Market intelligence questions are added in order to create a deeper understanding of the market.Furthermore, these insights also help to interpret the answers of customers. Due to the interviews, a picture of the B2B customer value in Northern Europe is created. Northern European customers value reliable suppliers who can offer quality products as well as solutions. In addition to that, the importance of global brands andmarketing of competences is determined. Due to combining the findings with the cultural dimensions of Hofstede, it is concluded that customer value differs between other countries.Hence, customer value influences international market strategies, as different customer value require distinct international market entry strategies.

Purpose - The aim of this research is to examine higher education (HE) internationalization in terms of international recruitment and academic collaboration with the focus on a single institution case study. The research investigates how the case study university conducts HE internationalization, identifies key implementation issues of HE internationalization, and develops an education-specific market entry dynamic framework. The discussion of the difference in the process of internationalization across faculties is also included. Design/methodology/approach - This research adopts the interpretivist philosophy and inductive approach, with focus of a single institution. Based on the positions and job responsibilities, the total of 20 interviewees from three key departments (Corporate, Department 2 and Faculty) were selected and 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The total of 329 pages of interview transcripts were analyzed. Other types of data collection include observation and secondary documentary data. The answers from each group were used in a comparative analysis, resulting in an overlap pattern structure that indicates the level of the university's internal integration. Data analysis strategies include content analysis, critical discourse analysis (CDA), colour coding, and categorization of meaning. Findings and contributions - The market entry dynamic framework is the main outcome of this research. This framework provides a number of education-specific modes of entry and programme delivery methods to guide institutions' internationalization. The implementation issues raised in this research indicate that the university's internal integration has a major impact on HE internationalization. These issues highlight the areas where the university needs to improve. Faculty-specific factors explain the difference in the process of internationalization across the four faculties at the case study university, and explain the reasons why the levels of internationalization are different among these faculties.

Globalization has driven the internationalization of both SMEs and large enterprises and has caused new opportunities and challenges to emerge. As a result of these new challenges, such as increased foreign competition, or due reasons such as lack of international experience, change in strategy, or dissatisfaction about their performance, many internationalized firms withdraw from their international operations. Permanent exit of international markets may not always be the best option. Re-entering these markets can be rewarding as the intangible resources gained from their initial internationalization experience may facilitate their international market re-entry, thereby having an advantage over newly internationalizing firms.   The main purpose of this study is to contribute to the concept of the re-internationalization process. This is done by exploring the relationship between international heritage and the different stages of the re-internationalization process, which consists out of: the initial internationalization experience, de-internationalization, the international time-out stage and the firm’s international market re-entry.   Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that SMEs apply international heritage differently, based on their level of resource commitment to the international market. This study shows that firms with a higher level of resource commitment tend to apply their international heritage on a global level, whereas firms that commit less resources only apply their international heritage in the market in which the international heritage was gained. Furthermore, while the disruptiveness of the market exit varied between the case companies, all four firms continued to commit resources to the exited market, albeit to varying degrees. Lastly, the empirical findings show that the role of international heritage is not a facilitating one, but that it causes the firm to be more careful.

Einleitung Der Faktor Zeit nimmt in unserer heutigen Gesellschaft einen bedeutsamen Platz in den unterschiedlichsten Bereichen unseres Lebens und Wirkens ein. Beispielsweise verbreiten sich Nachrichten weltweit innerhalb von Minuten, Reisezeiten verkürzen sich von Tagen auf mehrere Stunden (Kurpjuweit 2013) und die Hersteller von Unterhaltungselektronik verkürzen die Produktlebenszyklen um neue Produkte schneller am Markt zu platzieren (Scheimann 2011). Die Reduzierung des Produktlebens ist bei vielen anderen Produkten des Konsum- und Investitionsgütermarktes festzustellen, da die Markteintrittsstrategie den möglichen Absatz des Produktes bestimmt (Meffert et al. 2008, S. 445f.). Der Erfolg eines Produktes ist jedoch eine Folge aus unterschiedlichen Aspekten, wobei die Zeit, neben der Qualität und den Kosten, einer der Hauptparameter ist. Demzufolge ist das Zusammenspiel dieser drei voneinander abhängigen Faktoren auch im Produktentwicklungsprozess zu berücksichtigen, um die geforderten Ziele zu erreichen (Burghardt 2013, S. 23). Diese werden durch den technologischen Fortschritt, die veränderten Bedürfnisse der Kunden und den internationalen Wettbewerb bedingt (Cooper 2010, S. 8ff.). Durch den Einsatz von strukturierten Produktentwicklungsprozessen können die Zielvorstellungen abteilungs- und aufgabenübergreifend berücksichtigt und kontrolliert werden. Anwendungsbeispiele für komplexe, aber systematische Produktentwicklungsprozesse sind in der Automobil- und IT-Branche zu finden (Braess 2013; Ruf & Fittkau 2008). Für die Produkte der Sicherheitstechnik muss bei der Entwicklung, Konstruktion und Fertigung jedoch ein Aspekt gesondert betrachtet werden – die Qualität. Es sind sehr hohe Anforderungen und Ansprüche zu erfüllen, die teilweise vom Gesetzgeber festgesetzt wurden, da die Sicherheit von Mensch und Maschine zu gewährleisten ist. Im Bereich des Explosionsschutzes, welcher als ein Teilgebiet der Sicherheitstechnik gilt, ist die Einhaltung von Richtlinien und Normen bei einer Produktentwicklung für den Markteintritt zwingend erforderlich. Neue Bauteile werden u.a. durch aufwändige Prüfungen von benannten Stellen erprobt. Diese Bedingungen beeinflussen den Produktentwicklungsprozess und die Konstruktionsmethodik im Explosionsschutz fundamental und charakterisieren den kosten- und zeitintensiven Vorgang durch aufwändige Iterationen (Träger et al. 2005).

The main goal of this thesis is to set up a vital and pertinent marketing strategy for LEDON Lamp GmbH to enter the UK market with its innovative product. In order to approach the problem correctly, a review of the existing theoretical literature was performed, based on which a thorough secondary and primary research was carried out. The findings include a detailed description of LEDON Lamp GmbH and the UK market, the characteristics of the main competitors, their products and other competing technologies, the possible distribution channels and it also includes a part dealing with the characteristics of British consumers. Furthermore, the research findings are analysed using the tools introduced in the theoretical part of the thesis. Based on those findings and the analysis performed, a market entry strategy and a complete marketing mix are introduced.

Background: The increasing presence of globalization in our everyday life makes it apparent that internationalization is no longer a topic relevant only for a few multinational companies, but for essentially every company that wishes to expand or even survive in their domestic market as well as in foreign markets. In light of this, research on how firm chooses FMEM has surged, and it is evident that it is an important topic. Numerous theories and factors have been examined in order to explain what motivates the choice of FMEM, but there is notable absence in connecting the business model to the FMEM. Despite the increasing attention and prominence of the business model, to date, there is little research that looks at FMEM decisions through a business model perspective.   Purpose: The purpose of this study is to answer the calls for new aspects and theories on the FMEM research field by exploring the role that the business model has on the choice of FMEM. This study will be executed through mapping a company’s business model and FMEM choice by collecting qualitative data through interviews to find links between the business model and the entry mode.   Method: This research is conducted through a qualitative single case study, using in-depth interviews for primary data collection.   Conclusion: The results of the analysis that was based on the empirical findings derived from the data collection, led to several conclusions being drawn. Firstly, the business model of the case company has had a great impact on the choice of FMEM of that company. Secondly, apart from influencing the choice of FMEM, the company’s business model has also contributed to the company further committing to their existing FMEM. Thirdly, as long as the case company intends to operate the same business model, with the same value drivers, it is likely to continue its commitment towards its existing FMEM.