This thesis is dedicated to the estimation of the potential of African continent for the automotive market entry. The work starts with the introduction of key internationalization, market assessment and market entry theories. Author then conducts a general analysis of automotive industry and evaluates the competitive forces that are shaping it nowadays. The research continues with the identification and evaluation of key drivers of Africa's future growth. Final practical part of the thesis is presented in the form of comparative study of four African countries: Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia, that according to the author present the highest market potential for automotive in Africa. Country comparison and ranking is conducted by the application of PESTLE framework. In the end Egypt is identified as a preferred country and a list of recommendations on the automotive market entry strategy for Egypt is provided.

This study is concerned with developing a new methodology or "tool" with the use of existing market, research techniques which should enable a firm to measure its market potential and test the validity of its existing market segments.

Abstract   Title: Importance of estimation of market potential- a case of Sandvik Tooling   Level: Bachelor Degree in BusinessAdministration, 15 ECTS-Credits in Marketing   Author: Mi Tegnér   Supervisor: Akmal Hyder   Date: 2011-05   Aim: The aim of this thesis is to study in which waySandvik Tooling and certain other international companies’ measure and estimatethe market potential   Method: I have used a qualitative method. This meansthat I have focused on the big picture rather than solely on parts from thecollected material. The qualitative method was based on interviews with 12respondents, both within Sandvik AB and with employees from other internationalcompanies. Furthermore, I have made an interconnection between my empirical andtheoretical part in order to draw conclusions on the findings.   Result & Conclusions: The study shows some importantfactors, which may affect a company´s effort to measure and estimate the marketpotential. They are; gaps may easily appear when customers and companies havedifferent views on quality, price and productivity, too large amounts ofinformation, the importance of new ideas and perspectives. A company canminimize their problems and any errors within the collected material if theywork after similar framework, consisting of clear structures and methodologies.   Suggestions for future research: Future research could be to do asimilar study, to identify methods to measure and estimate market potential forSandvik Tooling but within an international setting. Then compare this resultwith my result to see in which way the perception of market potential differsin the different countries.   Contribution of the thesis: From my research, I have got an understandingthat the process of measuring and estimating companies market potential is notan easy mission. Especially among the companies, which consist of differentbusiness areas, product areas and segment areas. I hope the study will beinteresting for the employee´s working with market potential and businessdevelopment, to see that people within the same company may have differentviews about this subject. I also believe that managers in general would benefitfrom this study, to understand that their employees would like to see a moresimilar framework within the company, when it comes to measure and estimatemarket potential. During this thesis, I found a deficiency of scientificarticles about the subject, measuring a company´s market potential. It had beeninteresting to see if my results corresponded to previous results in the samesubject.   Key words: business areas, benchmarking, estimation,market potential, market shares, measuring

O presente trabalho busca observar aspectos associados à Nova Geografia Econômica, aplicados ao Brasil através de três ensaios. No primeiro, intitulado “O impacto do mercado potencial sobre os salários nos estados brasileiros, de 2001 a 2009”, estimou-se através de dados em painel em três métodos, painel com efeitos fixos, a metodologia de Hausman-Taylor e o um painel dinâmico utilizando o estimador de Arellano e Bond (1991), um modelo semi-estrutural derivado de Krugman (1991), onde se observou o equilíbrio de curto prazo de um modelo centro-periferia aplicado ao Brasil. Em todos os casos, o mercado potencial, variável diretamente relacionada aos fatores chave da Nova Geografia Econômica, sendo que se podem destacar os ganhos de escala da aglomeração e os custos de comércio, apresentaram impacto positivo sobre os salários regionais. O segundo ensaio, cujo título é “Migração e mercado potencial: uma análise para os estados brasileiros de 2001 a 2009”, observou através da fundamentação teórica de Tabuchi e Thisse (2002), uma aplicação utilizando dados em painel do modelo de Crozet (2004), em que o mercado potencial dos estados afeta o fluxo de migração entre os mesmos. Nesse caso, embora o efeito do mercado potencial tenha apresentado resultado de acordo com a literatura, observou-se um papel importante dos fatores não observáveis, que podem ser associados às amenidades e a heterogeneidade individual no que concerne a escolha sobre migrar, sobre o fluxo migratório mencionado. Por fim, o terceiro ensaio, que se intitula “Decomposição em componentes não observáveis e a dinâmica salarial em regiões metropolitanas brasileiras”, observa os padrões de tendência, ciclo e sazonalidade para seis regiões metropolitanas brasileiras, para o período 2002-2014, utilizando uma estimação com filtro de Kalman. Através da metodologia empregada, pode-se afirmar que a dinâmica dos salários regionais difere em todos os aspectos citados e também em termos de ajuste do modelo. / This study aims to observe aspects of the New Economic Geography, applied to Brazil through three essay. In the first, entitled "The impact of the potential market on wages in the Brazilian states, 2001-2009", was estimated by panel data in three methods, panel fixed effects, the Hausman-Taylor methodology and a dynamic panel using the estimator of Arellano and Bond (1991), a semi-structural model derived from Krugman (1991), which also produced the short-run equilibrium of a core-periphery model applied to Brazil. In all cases, the market potential variable directly related to the key factors of the New Economic Geography, and can highlight the scale economies of agglomeration and trade costs, had a positive impact on regional wages. The second essay, entitled "Migration and potential market: an analysis for the Brazilian states from 2001 to 2009," noted with theoretical basis of Tabuchi and Thisse (2002), an application using panel data model of the Crozet (2004 ), wherein the potential market conditions affecting the migration flow therebetween. In this case, although the effect of the potential market has shown a result according to the literature, there is an important role for unobservable factors that may be associated with features and individual heterogeneity as regards the choice of migrating on migration flow mentioned. Finally, the third test, which is entitled "Decomposition on unobservable components and wage dynamics in Brazilian metropolitan areas," notes the patterns of trend, cycle and seasonality for six urban areas for the period 2002-2014, using a estimation with Kalman filter. Through the methodology used, it can be said that the dynamics of regional wage differs in all the above aspects and also in terms of model fit.

O presente trabalho busca observar aspectos associados à Nova Geografia Econômica, aplicados ao Brasil através de três ensaios. No primeiro, intitulado “O impacto do mercado potencial sobre os salários nos estados brasileiros, de 2001 a 2009”, estimou-se através de dados em painel em três métodos, painel com efeitos fixos, a metodologia de Hausman-Taylor e o um painel dinâmico utilizando o estimador de Arellano e Bond (1991), um modelo semi-estrutural derivado de Krugman (1991), onde se observou o equilíbrio de curto prazo de um modelo centro-periferia aplicado ao Brasil. Em todos os casos, o mercado potencial, variável diretamente relacionada aos fatores chave da Nova Geografia Econômica, sendo que se podem destacar os ganhos de escala da aglomeração e os custos de comércio, apresentaram impacto positivo sobre os salários regionais. O segundo ensaio, cujo título é “Migração e mercado potencial: uma análise para os estados brasileiros de 2001 a 2009”, observou através da fundamentação teórica de Tabuchi e Thisse (2002), uma aplicação utilizando dados em painel do modelo de Crozet (2004), em que o mercado potencial dos estados afeta o fluxo de migração entre os mesmos. Nesse caso, embora o efeito do mercado potencial tenha apresentado resultado de acordo com a literatura, observou-se um papel importante dos fatores não observáveis, que podem ser associados às amenidades e a heterogeneidade individual no que concerne a escolha sobre migrar, sobre o fluxo migratório mencionado. Por fim, o terceiro ensaio, que se intitula “Decomposição em componentes não observáveis e a dinâmica salarial em regiões metropolitanas brasileiras”, observa os padrões de tendência, ciclo e sazonalidade para seis regiões metropolitanas brasileiras, para o período 2002-2014, utilizando uma estimação com filtro de Kalman. Através da metodologia empregada, pode-se afirmar que a dinâmica dos salários regionais difere em todos os aspectos citados e também em termos de ajuste do modelo. / This study aims to observe aspects of the New Economic Geography, applied to Brazil through three essay. In the first, entitled "The impact of the potential market on wages in the Brazilian states, 2001-2009", was estimated by panel data in three methods, panel fixed effects, the Hausman-Taylor methodology and a dynamic panel using the estimator of Arellano and Bond (1991), a semi-structural model derived from Krugman (1991), which also produced the short-run equilibrium of a core-periphery model applied to Brazil. In all cases, the market potential variable directly related to the key factors of the New Economic Geography, and can highlight the scale economies of agglomeration and trade costs, had a positive impact on regional wages. The second essay, entitled "Migration and potential market: an analysis for the Brazilian states from 2001 to 2009," noted with theoretical basis of Tabuchi and Thisse (2002), an application using panel data model of the Crozet (2004 ), wherein the potential market conditions affecting the migration flow therebetween. In this case, although the effect of the potential market has shown a result according to the literature, there is an important role for unobservable factors that may be associated with features and individual heterogeneity as regards the choice of migrating on migration flow mentioned. Finally, the third test, which is entitled "Decomposition on unobservable components and wage dynamics in Brazilian metropolitan areas," notes the patterns of trend, cycle and seasonality for six urban areas for the period 2002-2014, using a estimation with Kalman filter. Through the methodology used, it can be said that the dynamics of regional wage differs in all the above aspects and also in terms of model fit.

O presente trabalho busca observar aspectos associados à Nova Geografia Econômica, aplicados ao Brasil através de três ensaios. No primeiro, intitulado “O impacto do mercado potencial sobre os salários nos estados brasileiros, de 2001 a 2009”, estimou-se através de dados em painel em três métodos, painel com efeitos fixos, a metodologia de Hausman-Taylor e o um painel dinâmico utilizando o estimador de Arellano e Bond (1991), um modelo semi-estrutural derivado de Krugman (1991), onde se observou o equilíbrio de curto prazo de um modelo centro-periferia aplicado ao Brasil. Em todos os casos, o mercado potencial, variável diretamente relacionada aos fatores chave da Nova Geografia Econômica, sendo que se podem destacar os ganhos de escala da aglomeração e os custos de comércio, apresentaram impacto positivo sobre os salários regionais. O segundo ensaio, cujo título é “Migração e mercado potencial: uma análise para os estados brasileiros de 2001 a 2009”, observou através da fundamentação teórica de Tabuchi e Thisse (2002), uma aplicação utilizando dados em painel do modelo de Crozet (2004), em que o mercado potencial dos estados afeta o fluxo de migração entre os mesmos. Nesse caso, embora o efeito do mercado potencial tenha apresentado resultado de acordo com a literatura, observou-se um papel importante dos fatores não observáveis, que podem ser associados às amenidades e a heterogeneidade individual no que concerne a escolha sobre migrar, sobre o fluxo migratório mencionado. Por fim, o terceiro ensaio, que se intitula “Decomposição em componentes não observáveis e a dinâmica salarial em regiões metropolitanas brasileiras”, observa os padrões de tendência, ciclo e sazonalidade para seis regiões metropolitanas brasileiras, para o período 2002-2014, utilizando uma estimação com filtro de Kalman. Através da metodologia empregada, pode-se afirmar que a dinâmica dos salários regionais difere em todos os aspectos citados e também em termos de ajuste do modelo. / This study aims to observe aspects of the New Economic Geography, applied to Brazil through three essay. In the first, entitled "The impact of the potential market on wages in the Brazilian states, 2001-2009", was estimated by panel data in three methods, panel fixed effects, the Hausman-Taylor methodology and a dynamic panel using the estimator of Arellano and Bond (1991), a semi-structural model derived from Krugman (1991), which also produced the short-run equilibrium of a core-periphery model applied to Brazil. In all cases, the market potential variable directly related to the key factors of the New Economic Geography, and can highlight the scale economies of agglomeration and trade costs, had a positive impact on regional wages. The second essay, entitled "Migration and potential market: an analysis for the Brazilian states from 2001 to 2009," noted with theoretical basis of Tabuchi and Thisse (2002), an application using panel data model of the Crozet (2004 ), wherein the potential market conditions affecting the migration flow therebetween. In this case, although the effect of the potential market has shown a result according to the literature, there is an important role for unobservable factors that may be associated with features and individual heterogeneity as regards the choice of migrating on migration flow mentioned. Finally, the third test, which is entitled "Decomposition on unobservable components and wage dynamics in Brazilian metropolitan areas," notes the patterns of trend, cycle and seasonality for six urban areas for the period 2002-2014, using a estimation with Kalman filter. Through the methodology used, it can be said that the dynamics of regional wage differs in all the above aspects and also in terms of model fit.

South Africa’s sluggish economic growth and limited structural transformation are at the core of the country’s high levels of unemployment and poverty. Why some countries are able to grow and others not has been the subject of much academic debate, with recent literature throwing fresh light on the phenomenon by exploring the relationship between growth and a country’s productive structure. It is argued that countries’ heterogeneous productive structures stem from differences in entrenched capabilities and know-how in producing and marketing a very specific set of products. Investigating and comparing what countries actually produce and how this supports economic development yield valuable insights into why countries differ and what their transformation priorities should be. In this study a new analytical approach is adopted to determine the potential growth paths of South Africa’s broader agricultural sector, the so-called agro-complex. Comprising 1 456 primary and processed products as well as production inputs within the food, feed and fibre segments, this broad sector makes an important contribution to economic development through its direct and indirect linkages with other economic sectors as well as its relatively high labour absorption rate. The wide-ranging economic challenges that South Africa faces have clearly gripped the country’s agro-complex. A growing dependency on imports of higher value, processed food has led to deteriorating terms of trade, while limited innovation and diversification in agricultural exports (coupled with a high proportion of re-exports) is seriously constraining the positive impact that the agro-complex could have on the country’s growth rate. In this study, the productive structure of the agro-complex is analysed through the application of the ‘product space’ framework. This methodology investigates the relatedness between products as reflected in the conditional probability of a product being exported in tandem with another product, considering all global trade flows. The proximity value, the measurement of relatedness, between all 1 456 products is used to arrive at the structure and visible evidence of an agricultural product space network. This structure allows potential diversification pathways to be analysed. Research has shown that a country’s diversification process involves moves along pathways to nearby - and thus related – ‘new’ products, which simplifies the redeployment of existing productive capabilities and knowledge. These pathways are identified according to three strategic values, namely structural transformation, market potential and employment creation. The potential for structural transformation is determined by using a product-level measure of complexity, with higher level complexity (i.e. upgrading) going to the core of structural transformation. The potential market demand is determined by examining the prospects for import substitution; producing re-exported products locally; producing new, high-potential export products; and diversifying into new markets with existing export products (with the latter two categories evident in the results of a Decision Support Model (DSM)). Finally, the potential for employment creation is analysed in the light of labour and human capital intensities at product level. The study found that South Africa’s position in the agricultural product space is relatively dispersed. This position is characterised by a proportionally high level of core competencies within the primary agricultural cluster and a limited amount of vertical linkages. Furthermore the analyses showed that, especially the products for which South Africa has developed a significant high level of specialisation such as plums and wines are located in the sparser, less promising, parts of the agricultural product space. Notwithstanding, a total of 60 realistic diversification opportunities are within “reach” from the countries core competencies in the agro-complex. The analysis on structural transformation established that the level of product complexity within the agro-complex is more important for economic development than product diversity per se. It was revealed that South Africa only ranked 69th globally with regards to the complexity of its agro-complex. It was determined that upgrading within the forestry and agro-processing of food clusters hold the most potential for improving this position. The investigation into the potential for diversification driven by market potential revealed fore mostly that the potential for substituting imports as well as re-exports with local production is limited. The market prospects for exporting “new” products and expanding the export destinations of existing products within the agro-complex is much more favourable. It was estimated that most employment creation could be derived from diversification within the primary agricultural cluster although its number of opportunities are limited. Diversification within both the primary agricultural and agro-processing of food clusters was found the have to most favourable prospects for developing the level of human capital within the agro-complex. Based on all three strategic values, the most promising diversification opportunities are located within the forestry cluster. The range of realistic opportunities within the five clusters of the agro-complex form the core for developing product-level diversification strategies. This will ultimately strengthen the position of the agro-complex and boost South Africa’s growth path for the next decade. Hence, the main contribution of this study includes the determination of the structure of South Africa’s agro-complex from a product perspective and its implications for potential growth and development. / PhD (International Trade), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

South Africa’s sluggish economic growth and limited structural transformation are at the core of the country’s high levels of unemployment and poverty. Why some countries are able to grow and others not has been the subject of much academic debate, with recent literature throwing fresh light on the phenomenon by exploring the relationship between growth and a country’s productive structure. It is argued that countries’ heterogeneous productive structures stem from differences in entrenched capabilities and know-how in producing and marketing a very specific set of products. Investigating and comparing what countries actually produce and how this supports economic development yield valuable insights into why countries differ and what their transformation priorities should be. In this study a new analytical approach is adopted to determine the potential growth paths of South Africa’s broader agricultural sector, the so-called agro-complex. Comprising 1 456 primary and processed products as well as production inputs within the food, feed and fibre segments, this broad sector makes an important contribution to economic development through its direct and indirect linkages with other economic sectors as well as its relatively high labour absorption rate. The wide-ranging economic challenges that South Africa faces have clearly gripped the country’s agro-complex. A growing dependency on imports of higher value, processed food has led to deteriorating terms of trade, while limited innovation and diversification in agricultural exports (coupled with a high proportion of re-exports) is seriously constraining the positive impact that the agro-complex could have on the country’s growth rate. In this study, the productive structure of the agro-complex is analysed through the application of the ‘product space’ framework. This methodology investigates the relatedness between products as reflected in the conditional probability of a product being exported in tandem with another product, considering all global trade flows. The proximity value, the measurement of relatedness, between all 1 456 products is used to arrive at the structure and visible evidence of an agricultural product space network. This structure allows potential diversification pathways to be analysed. Research has shown that a country’s diversification process involves moves along pathways to nearby - and thus related – ‘new’ products, which simplifies the redeployment of existing productive capabilities and knowledge. These pathways are identified according to three strategic values, namely structural transformation, market potential and employment creation. The potential for structural transformation is determined by using a product-level measure of complexity, with higher level complexity (i.e. upgrading) going to the core of structural transformation. The potential market demand is determined by examining the prospects for import substitution; producing re-exported products locally; producing new, high-potential export products; and diversifying into new markets with existing export products (with the latter two categories evident in the results of a Decision Support Model (DSM)). Finally, the potential for employment creation is analysed in the light of labour and human capital intensities at product level. The study found that South Africa’s position in the agricultural product space is relatively dispersed. This position is characterised by a proportionally high level of core competencies within the primary agricultural cluster and a limited amount of vertical linkages. Furthermore the analyses showed that, especially the products for which South Africa has developed a significant high level of specialisation such as plums and wines are located in the sparser, less promising, parts of the agricultural product space. Notwithstanding, a total of 60 realistic diversification opportunities are within “reach” from the countries core competencies in the agro-complex. The analysis on structural transformation established that the level of product complexity within the agro-complex is more important for economic development than product diversity per se. It was revealed that South Africa only ranked 69th globally with regards to the complexity of its agro-complex. It was determined that upgrading within the forestry and agro-processing of food clusters hold the most potential for improving this position. The investigation into the potential for diversification driven by market potential revealed fore mostly that the potential for substituting imports as well as re-exports with local production is limited. The market prospects for exporting “new” products and expanding the export destinations of existing products within the agro-complex is much more favourable. It was estimated that most employment creation could be derived from diversification within the primary agricultural cluster although its number of opportunities are limited. Diversification within both the primary agricultural and agro-processing of food clusters was found the have to most favourable prospects for developing the level of human capital within the agro-complex. Based on all three strategic values, the most promising diversification opportunities are located within the forestry cluster. The range of realistic opportunities within the five clusters of the agro-complex form the core for developing product-level diversification strategies. This will ultimately strengthen the position of the agro-complex and boost South Africa’s growth path for the next decade. Hence, the main contribution of this study includes the determination of the structure of South Africa’s agro-complex from a product perspective and its implications for potential growth and development. / PhD (International Trade), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The aim of the theses is to find out whether the same marketing strategy can be applied on both Czech and Slovak market or whether it should be created for the both markets separately. In the analytic part I compare the situation on the Czech and Slovak market as for economic, social and cultural environment and I analyze market potential and competitive environment. At the end I analyze the position and activities of two big players on both markets.

Abstract  Background:   The main aim of the research is to focus on the market potential of the cosmetic brands in the market of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao (ABC islands). These islands are located in the Caribbean Sea in front of the coast of South-America. Before starting to expand, international companies first search for potential suitable markets to invest in. This thesis attempts to find out if there is a potential market for the cosmetic products of the companies on the ABCislands. 　 Purpose: The purpose of the Master thesis is to find out if there is a potential market for new cosmetic products on the ABC islands. To achieve the purpose, the research addresses the market potential analysis.  Conclusion:   The market of Aruba and Curacao offer a great number of potential clients and a good future prospect. These findings are also supported by research that was conducted in 2007 by the Icongrouponline.  Majority of the consumers on the islands are willing to try new professional cosmetics products. Additionally, the tourism industry plays an important role when assessing the market potential on these islands for professional cosmetics products.  Key words:   Internationalization, market selection, market potential and development, entry mode, cosmetics products, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao