Export performance has an important role for firm survival, profitability and growth. Given these benefits and the challenges that firms may face when exporting, scholars have dedicated considerable efforts to understand the factors that enable export success. The current study investigates the role of experiential foreign market knowledge and exporter-importer (EI) relationship quality for export performance. A conceptual model involving the relationship between the role of experiential foreign market knowledge, E-I relationship quality and export performance satisfaction is developed and empirically tested using data from 264 Thai exporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Findings suggest SME managers' knowledge of foreign customers, culture and political environment have a positive influence on E-I relationship quality and satisfaction with export performance. Drawing upon the relational exchange theory, goodwill trust was found to be the most significant aspect that builds long-term E-I relationship quality. Secondly, the findings show that calculative approach (e.g. commitment based on cost and benefits) is a mainstream type of commitment between exporters and importers. However, a personalised tie between the exchange partners has a positive influence on commitment, resulting in the affective commitment to E-I relationship. Thirdly, in a collaborative business partnership, decision-makers emphasise information exchange and coordinating actions for taking strategic decisions, which are informed by the feedback recived in their collaboration. In addition, the study finds that political instability negatively moderates the link of competence trust and information exchange on export performance satisfaction. Theoretical, managerial and policy implications of these findings are discussed and areas for future research are proposed.

The purpose of this thesis is to study the internationalization process by investigate how Rockworth Public Company Limited manage internationalization in Indian market efficiently. Additionally, we aim to improve our understanding and knowledge in international business comprehensively.

Background     International trade could be seen as the phenomenon beating the resources imbalance among countries in the global market. Therefore, our seeking the competitive advantage of Thailand is to the orchid which is viewed industrial drop of country to increase expansion of export and generate income for Thailand. Moreover, Thailand is one of the leaders which have exported the orchids to foreign countries. For this reason, we would like to study factors which affect to make a decision of Thai entrepreneurs to export the orchid to Swedish market. Problems         How market knowledge and entrepreneur characteristics influence on Thai entrepreneurs in order to make a decision on internationalization by exporting Thai orchid to Swedish market? Purposes          The main purpose of this research is to explore how external and internal factors as market knowledge and entrepreneur characteristics influence on the decision making of Thai entrepreneurs to internationalize by exporting Thai orchid to Swedish market. Methodology This master’s thesis is based on a qualitative approach which is used by semi-structured interview to conduct Thai entrepreneur’s perspectives on export the orchid to Swedish market while the secondary data is collected from website, article, and journal to utilize material for this thesis. Conclusions      We found that the market knowledge as external factors influence to the entrepreneur decision making as the encouragement in term of sufficient knowledge while the lack of market knowledge also lead to the discouragement of internationalization decision making. Moreover, several entrepreneur characteristics could encourage and help entrepreneur in order to make the decision to internationalize while some characteristics are not influence to the decision making of entrepreneur.

Over the years so many academic literatures has revealed that increased number of firms have seen internationalization as a means to gain and sustain competitive advantage and even increase economic of scale, and this has led many western companies to emerging markets. In this paper we discovered that among the pool of Swedish firms, only the MNEs have seen Nigerian market attractive to internationalize to, but just a few of the Swedish SMEs has expanded to the Nigerian market. This research was conducted by doing a qualitative study with the use of phenomenological research approach, during our investigation on the functions of intermediaries in Swedish SMEs internationalization to Nigeria market.Furthermore, we were able to understand the importance and functions of the different marketing intermediaries’ in Swedish SMEs internationalization to Nigeria market. These intermediaries equip the Swedish firms with the required objective knowledge of the Nigerian market, updating them with recent development of the opportunities and threats involved in the Nigerian marketing environment, and linking these Swedish firms to the required government departments, distributors, agent/broker, customers, middle men etc, thereby impacting them with the experiential knowledge. Moreover, it is important for firms to have objective or pre-market knowledge of a particular market before entering that market, but this knowledge is regarded as non-helpful knowledge to firms. But the experiential knowledge is acquired over time in the market, which is regarded as the helpful knowledge. It is evident that the intermediaries equip these firms with both objective and experiential knowledge.Although the opportunities in some emerging markets are very attractive, but the threats in these markets are other factors firms also put into consideration before internationalizing to these markets. This is why thorough market research has to be done so that firms can create effective marketing strategies when they want to expand their marketing activities to emerging markets. Despite the risk and uncertainties involved in doing business in foreign countries, still yet companies selling global products do not have any choice than to internationalize their marketing operations.

New product development and management are critical to the long-term success of the firm. New product development is also an area where the firm needs to improve performance. Two important new product decisions are selecting new concepts and estimating their future market potential and demand. Forecasting is a critical activity in supporting these two decisions. Unfortunately, forecasting is an activity where firms often struggle to be proficient. Recent advances in forecasting methods offer opportunities for improvement. One of the techniques is prediction markets, an emerging methodology that taps collective intelligence. Despite widely reported application and promise of prediction markets, they have yet to be adopted in marketing practice or examined in marketing academia. This dissertation addresses two research questions: do prediction markets produce better marketing forecasts than methods traditionally employed by firms, and if they do, how do they do it? To answer these research questions, two field studies are completed. The first is an empirical test of prediction markets compared to traditional forecasting methods implemented within a Fortune 100 firm. The second, based on a post survey, is an analysis of how market knowledge factors in combination with prediction markets design factors produce superior results. Study I finds that prediction markets do provide superior results in 67% of the forecasts and reduce error levels and ranges. Study II finds that out of several design factors, prediction market forecast accuracy is driven most by new information acquisition and knowledge heterogeneity. These findings contribute to MSI 2012-2014 Research Priorities and calls in the marketing literature to develop, better, real-time, intelligent decision support tools to help solve problems of the big data era and support improved demand forecasting. / Business Administration/Marketing

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An increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expand their businesses into foreign markets. Some SMEs begin to operate abroad soon after their establishment. These so-called born globals demonstrate a more rapid internationalisation compared with other SMEs. This thesis develops a deeper understanding of the internationalisation process of SMEs, by studying how born globals and other SMEs develop foreign market knowledge during the international expansion. The internationalisation process is divided into three phases; the pre-firm internationalisation phase, the initial internationalisation phase and the continued internationalisation phase. Based on a qualitative study of 14 biotech SMEs and a questionnaire survey of 188 SMEs from various industries, new insights on the internationalisation process of SMEs and born globals are presented. By extending the analysis of SMEs’ internationalisation to a phase prior to their establishment and by continuing to follow these firms during their operations in foreign markets, the findings of this thesis show how the knowledge and personal networks of key individuals relate to the firm’s development of foreign market knowledge. The thesis also advances the understanding of how an SME develops foreign market knowledge from its business network relationships. In summary, the result of this thesis shows that a rapid expansion in several foreign markets can hold back an SME’s development of foreign market knowledge and lead to difficulties in developing the firm’s operations in the continued internationalisation phase. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2009. Sammanfattning jämte 6 uppsatser

台灣高科技公司一直以來，在OEM/ODM領域有卓越的表現，隨著毛利逐步被壓縮之際，越來越多的我國廠商終於認知到，透過自有品牌（OBM）的建立是提升企業價值很重要的方式。但是，若要由OEM/ODM 跨入OBM，台灣廠商最缺乏的莫過於對「市場知識」的了解。本研究藉由對神達公司（近幾年內自有品牌Mio掌上型電腦/PDA上快速發展至全球前三大）的深入個案研究，探討「市場知識」的產生與能力建構之議題，並得到以下結論： 1、市場知識的來源似乎是很多元的;而對於剛採自有品牌策略之廠商的初期階段來說，似乎是較不完整的。 2、從事代工為主要業務型態的廠商，轉向發展自有品牌初期時，影響其市場知識來源的因素，受到內部因素(組織既有核心能力)影響及牽制的成分較多。 3、從事代工為主要業務型態的廠商，轉向發展自有品牌初期時，對其在取得完整市場知識的思考與運作上有所阻礙。儘管如此，組織既有核心能力對其所需要的部份市場知識仍有所助益。 4、企業在發展自有品牌的過程中，在取得市場知識與建構市場知識能力上似乎展現出「學習」的歷程。而在市場知識能力與行銷能力的建構上似乎又與高階主管的態度以及組織相關的管理有關。 5、除了本研究將「市場知識」定義為「關於顧客與競爭者的有系統、有意義且有用之知識」。從個案中發現，市場知識除了顧客與競爭者之外，其他環境因素也相當重要，例如政府的管制、社會文化的趨勢、科技的改變的趨勢等。 6、台灣資訊硬體製造能力，若能結合數位內容的創意，透過軟體與硬體的結合，似乎能創造更有價值和差異化的產品並創造更大的競爭優勢。 / Most of the high-tech corporations of Taiwan have remarkable performances in the OEM/ODM fields. Due to the compressing gross profit, more and more corporations realize that building own brand is a very important way to promote the enterprise value. However, if they want to make strides from OEM/ODM to OBM, the most deficient thing is the understanding of “Market Knowledge”. Through the case study of “MITAC international corp.”, we discuss the issue of the creation and the construction of ability of “Market Knowledge” and obtain the following conclusions. 1、The sources of “Market Knowledge” are diversified and they can be obtained by many different ways. For the new entered corporations in the OBM field, their sources of “Market Knowledge” are less complete at the initial period stage. 2、At the initial period stage of the OEM/ODM corporations in transformation to OBM, the factors which affect the sources of “Market Knowledge” are more affected and limited by the internal factors: the “Organizational Core Capabilities”. 3、At the initial period stage of the OEM/ODM corporations in transformation to OBM, they have the hindrance of the thinking and operation of obtaining the complete “Market Knowledge”. But, the “Organizational Core Capabilities” still can give some help in getting partial “Market Knowledge”. 4、In the process of obtaining “Market Knowledge” and establishing “Market Knowledge Capabilities”, there seems to be having some processes of “Learning”. And at the part of establishing “Market Knowledge Capabilities” and “Marketing Capabilities”, there seems to be having relationships with the senior managers’ attitudes and organizational management. 5、In this research, we define the meaning of “Market Knowledge” as the systematical, meaningful and useful knowledge which is about the customers and competitors. But from the case study, we find that “Market Knowledge” is not only about the customers and competitors, other environment reasons also have important impacts on it: the restrain of the government, the tendency of the society culture and the changes of technology. 6、If the OEM/ODM corporations can combine their hardware manufacturing capability with some contents of software, it seems a good way to them to create more values, more diversified products and more competition advantages.

The subject of internationalization of Born Global small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that start cross-border business operations shortly after the company’s foundation has received growing scholarly attention in the last decades. Although the research of the influence of the market knowledge - information a firm has about a specific foreign market, on internationalization decisions was developing rapidly to account for the challenges of the established internationalization theories, multi-factor comprehensive analysis of the influence of all the interlinked factors of the market knowledge remains overlooked by research. Therefore, the main purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of the impact of foreign market knowledge on the decisions of business-to-business (B2B) Born Global SMEs regarding when, where to, and how to internationalize, and concerning the ways of operating in the foreign market(s). To fulfill the purpose of the paper, the authors carried out a qualitative multiple case study with six Born Global SMEs working in the deep tech industry which has started international operations up to one year after the establishment. Fieldwork consisted of 14 virtual interviews with the Marketing Managers and Founders of the firms. The results of this study show that the process through which the studied B2B Born Global SMEs internationalize is very similar among all companies: it starts between a few weeks up to one year after the inception of the company, and it follows a typical progressive process (first, the firms have one of their employees or external representatives physically going to the foreign market of interest; then establish the partnerships with local companies; later appoint a local representative to the market, and lastly establish a subsidiary company). Next, the research illustrates that the studied Born Global SMEs acquire foreign market knowledge from external parties by the method of grafting. Furthermore, the study also concluded that there are three groups of factors of the foreign market, which are categorized based on the firms’ perception of the factors’ influence on decisions of B2B Born Global SMEs about when, where to, and how to internationalize. These groups are: important (economic opportunities, networks, political context), disregarded (language, culture, and legal regulations) and overlooked (political context, legal regulations, and language) factors. Lastly, such foreign market knowledge factors were found to influence the decisions of B2B Born Global SMEs’ about ways of operations in the foreign market(s): political situation, economic opportunities, and legal regulation impact the companies’ decisions about operations in the foreign market(s).