This research focuses on internationalisation and e-commerce in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a significant part of the New Zealand economy. Based on interviews in ten SMEs, this study explores the internationalisation process and adoption of e-commerce in these enterprises. Both phenomena are examined separately to explore relevant issues, followed by consideration of the interrelationship between the two phenomena. Ten case studies of New Zealand SMEs engaged in international business were conducted. Qualitative data was collected in semi-structured interviews with key members of each SME. The interview data were supplemented with secondary data sources, including publicly available information on the firms and their activities. A within-case and cross-case analysis was performed based around the three research foci identified above. The research findings reveal that while there is a high level of confidence among the SMEs studied for internationalisation, e-commerce adoption in these firms was at a medium level of maturity. Facilitators and inhibitors of both internationalisation and e-commerce adoption are presented. A major contribution of the study is the consideration of the mutual effects between the two phenomena, in order to raise awareness of internationalisation and e-commerce in SMEs and their significance for SMEs’ competitiveness.

The micro-enterprise (MCE) represents by far the largest category of businesses in most industrialised economies but until now it has not been recognised as an important participant in the foreign market. Much has been written about how larger firms internationalise through the gradual acquisition of knowledge and resources, although there is a paucity of literature on how the MCE exploits international markets often despite the absence of such acquisitions. This thesis proposes that building a portfolio of relationships is critical in facilitating both market entry and subsequent outcomes. A more detailed investigation of this process helps reveal precisely how MCE internationalisation is largely a function of its specific relationship building efforts.Employing a multiple case study approach, in-depth interviews were held with founders and directors from seven MCE's, purposely selected from three main centres of commercial activity in New Zealand. Interview participants were encouraged to provide detailed longitudinal retrospections of their firm's internationalisation journey, with a particular emphasis on precisely how resource constraints were overcome during this process. All interviews were recorded and transcribed, and together with other confirmatory data sources, these formed the canon of evidence used for ongoing analysis and interpretation. The whole research process was an iterative one with observations made from earlier cases being challenged and refined through the consideration of data from subsequent cases.Several key findings emerged from this study. Firstly, internationalisation is of considerable significance to the MCE in that it expands product and market opportunities, improves operational competencies, and provides an outlet for the achievement of both financial and relational goals. Secondly, key relationships developed during this process include internal, manufacturer/supplier, distributor, support, EPO, and end-user types. Thirdly, MCE's gravitate towards adopting either a social exchange (characterised by trust, commitment and social norms) or transaction cost analysis (characterised by contractual mechanisms) approach to developing these relationship types. Critical to this finding though and previously unobserved in the literature, is that within the context of a social exchange or transaction cost analysis approach, governance (bilateral or unilateral/market) may be observed as a separate construct. Finally, the MCE adopting a social exchange approach overall achieves more robust international outcomes particularly in respect to increased cost efficiencies and new market opportunities.Although no statistical inferences can be drawn from the findings of this study, some important generalisations to theory can be made in respect to the manner in which small firm internationalisation is currently modelled. It is suggested that this research has begun to address the issue by proposing that the quality of relationships is central to the success of the smallest of internationalising concerns. Specifically, sequential knowledge, network, and resource based views, need to better incorporate the moderating role that the relational paradigm has on international progress. To this end it has been demonstrated that the precise underpinnings of the relationship can have a determining effect on both the rate and cost of international progress. Furthermore, managers may also benefit from these findings by improving both their relationship filtering and nurturing processes.

In this study l investigate the Singaporean characteristics of broadcast media internationalisation. I ask the question &quote Does Internationalisation lead to homogenisation and commercialisation of the television culture in Singapore or does it give way to more diversity, thus stimulating cultural differentiation?&quote . I articulate the constraints and/or tensions of supranational regulation, foreign policy, regional and intraregional alliances upon communication and the cultural and social effects as they impact on and respond to production, programming, scheduling and output in Singapore. I explain how Singaporean Television media culture takes part in the processes of globalisation, and how it challenges existing cultures and creates new and alternative symbolic and cultural communities, within the context of regional communication. In this thesis 1 conclude that whilst Singapore definitely does not have equity in information, wealth or resource flows it is attempting to liberalise. To do so, the government recognises that serious inadequacies and imbalances must be addressed and that the path to greater political and economic growth is through an actively informed public. Despite regulatory restrictions on data flow and technical and service ownership, Singapore is encouraging regional alliances, depoliticising cultural differences and concentrating on economic imperatives to build mutual knowledge and understanding, multilateral agreements, collective ownership, mutual exchange and cooperative dissemination.

Depuis les années 1990, à l'instar des autres capitales méditerranéennes, Tunis s'oriente vers une programmation plus stratégique de son développement, dont le projet urbain est la clef de voûte. Parmi les aménagements urbains les plus visibles de ces dernières années, l'urbanisation de la lagune constitue le chantier le plus important du Monde Arabe : 2 600 ha de réserves foncières, situées en coeur de capitale et en majorité gagnées sur le plan d'eau, sont en cours de lotissement, et ce, jusqu'en 2040-2050 pour les dernières tranches opérationnelles ! <br />De façon à réactualiser et à compléter un certain nombre d'analyses publiées sur Tunis au cours des années 1980, la thèse de Pierre-Arnaud Barthel brosse à grands traits les dynamiques urbaines actuelles de cette métropole émergente marquée par une franche accélération de la fabrication de la ville légale et illégale, mais aussi par une recomposition des modes d'action de l'État liée à l'implication croissante des acteurs privés et internationaux. <br />Ce travail s'adresse à un public intéressé par les questions urbaines et d'aménagement pour lequel des clés de compréhension des enjeux actuels dans le Grand Tunis sont proposées. Il constituera une ouverture sur un contexte métropolitain d'une capitale du Sud. En proposant une analyse fouillée de la mise en projet de la lagune qui est emblématique de nouveaux modes de faire la ville, ce mémoire fournit également l'occasion de contribuer à la thématique du " waterfront development " très bien connue dans la littérature existante au sujet des ports maritimes et villes fluviales des pays riches, mais relativement méconnue pour les fronts d'eau sud-méditerranéens.

Cette thèse explore l'influence de l'internationalisation de l'enseignement supérieur européen dans la construction d'une Université «contingente ». En partant de l'analyse de Richard Bagnall – qui identifie une «tendance des universités à mieux répondre aux exigences et aux attentes immédiates de ceux qu'elles servent, à mieux répondre aux préférences expresses de leurs marchés respectifs, à mieux répondre au désir collectif et individuel, à dépendre plus directement des contextes culturels dans lesquels elles s'insèrent», cette étude essaie de présenter une approche critique du rôle de l'internationalisation en tant que moteur et conséquence de cette situation de dépendance quelque peu nouvelle que semble vivre l'Université actuellement. Le cadre de Bagnall est élargi pour inclure l'examen de Bill Reading qui constate l'université en ruines (University in Ruins ) et la possibilité de développer une « nouvelle idée » de l'Université par le biais d'une approche «éthique » différente de l'internationalisation de l'enseignement supérieur. La recherche analyse les différentes définitions de l'internationalisation dans le contexte de l'enseignement supérieur. De plus, à travers le rapport de l'enquête menée en 2005 par l'AIU (2005 IAU Global Survey ), elle essaie de comprendre les différentes motivations (raisons d'être) présentées par les établissements d'enseignement supérieur (EES) pour développer des politiques/stratégies internationales. Ces différentes approches de l'internationalisation sont considérées dans le contexte de la mondialisation et de l'européanisation en ce qui concerne les politiques d'enseignement supérieur.

<p>Background: During the past years the increasing internationalisation has not only affected companies but also universities. This development is due to the Bologna Declaration which prescribes a harmonisation of the higher education in Europe. The declaration implies a tougher competition, but also a higher degree of co-operation among European universities. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine how LiU can make use of thenetwork approach in the process of internationalisation, in order to cope with the changes that the Bologna Declaration implies. </p><p>Realisation: We have carried out a total amount of 17 interviews. To complement these interviews, secondary data about the Bologna Process and LiU have been extracted from the internet and other information material. </p><p>Results: LiU should take advantage of the opportunities provided by the Bologna Process in order to further internationalise. The most favourable way of networking for LiU would be to be a part of relatively small and complementary networks. The promotion and facilitation of the communication between partners, but also within the university, is crucial. Use, and constantly develop, the competitive advantages in order to seek possible network partners and to attract students, teachers and researchers.</p>

<p>Do the corporate cultures have to integrate in an international merger? In March 1999, the two large Nordic IT companies, Tieto of Finland and Enator of Sweden, announced their intentions to combine their businesses. The new entity was to have over 10,000 employees and net sales of more than 1 billion Euro. TietoEnator (TE) was to become one of the leading suppliers of IT services on the European market. The combination was announced as a Merger of Equals – the merging companies being of about the same size, and operating mainly in their respective home markets, thus avoiding competition with each other. The authors´ interest to this case has emerged from the fact that company fusions generally, and international mergers of equal partners in particular, are considered as high- risk projects. </p><p>The issues discussed in this paper are expected cultural differences between Finland and Sweden, and between Tieto and Enator; differences in management style and market structure and buyer behaviour between the two companies, and differences in the industry environments and business climates of Finland and Sweden. </p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze the TietoEnator´s merger process from two perspectives: the cultural perspective and the strategy perspective. The main objective is to exemplify some theories in organizational and strategic research by connecting the theories to the significant events of the TietoEnator merger case. Five executive employees of TietoEnator in Sweden give their personal view on the merger and the development of the company. The strategic (vision, mission, and strategy objectives) statements of the company before, during, and after the merger are compared and analyzed. </p><p>Conclusions: the cultural distance should not only be considered as a negative issue. The paradox of cultural proximity, where two neighbouring cultures show significant cultural differences, is according to our findings not expected to lead to serious problems if handled in a constructive manner. Selective integration and leveraging the positive tensions between the different cultures is the key to success in internationalisation through merger.</p>

<p>The organisational forms of companies have undergone a transformation from a hierarchal structure towards a network based form. The network form has proven to be the best structure for the current competitive environment. With technological advancements in almost every area it has become almost impossible to produce everything “in-house” and still stay competitive. This has caused an increase in the degree of outsourcing parts of the value chain to suppliers. Therefore, the competition has now moved from between companies to between entire value chains. For a manufacturing company, with a large part of the value chain outsourced to suppliers the task of setting up production in a new market brings forth new questions such as: is it possible to move an entire value chain to a new country? The purpose of this thesis is to explore what factors influence the construction of a strategic network of suppliers of a manufacturing company when entering a new market. The purpose was divided into two research questions: How is the internationalisation process performed in a strategic network situation and what factors influence the construction of a supplier structure in a world based on networks? Three multinational companies with a large part of their value chain outsourced to suppliers were chosen for interviews: Ericsson, Scania and Volvo Truck Corporation.</p><p>The internationalisation process of a manufacturing company is conducted as follows: the first step is the decision to enter a new market followed by a rather quick set up of a production plant. In this initial phase of the establishment, everything or almost everything is imported which is possible due to a global network of suppliers. The last step depends on the strategic objective with the establishment, either importing will continue or a complete organisation will be established in the country. A complete organisation is in this aspect when the company makes large investments inthe market and starts constructing a supplier network, surrounding sales and marketing functions. Factors influencing the internationalising process are: degree of networking, the type and structure of the network surrounding the company; level of knowledge, the accumulated experience of operating in foreign markets; type of market, the characteristics of the market and degree of commitment i.e. will an entire organisation be built up or will importing suffice.</p>

<p>The retail sector is at the forefront of internationalisation activities. It is especially the case for German and French retailers that operate respectively 27,8% and 20,6% of non domestic outlets in Western Europe. Stating this, the grocery retailers have also drastically changed their orientation, from domestic to multinational players since two decades: a relatively new and important subject that needs to be taken into account. Within this frame, Casino and REWE Group are good examples of internationalisation since both have the same size internationally but do not operate in the same area and do not seem to have the same strategy regarding their global activities.</p><p>The aim of the research is to find outstanding characteristics in the internationalisation strategy of European grocery retailers, via the case of Casino and REWE Group. In order to illuminate this aim, Porter's (1980) ‘Structural Analysis of Industries’ is going to be used to the grocery retailing sector following a previous demonstration of Colla (2003) and other field-specific theories. After pointing out the similitude between the two companies in their domestic markets, several dimensions have been taken into account to analyse the differences when going international such as geographical spread, branding, channel selection, and ownership.</p><p>We have identified two different internationalisation strategies, through the case of these retailers. Thus, we have drawn a dichotomy in the European food retailing industry internationalisation strategy between what we named ‘umbrella organisation’ and ‘unifying organisation’. The latter is characterised by a unified branding strategy, operating few formats, looking for full control of its operation abroad via direct takeovers or organic growth, and looking for harmonisation of its operations abroad. On the opposite, an umbrella organisation operates numerous banners abroad. It is mostly looking for a multi-format offer, enters countries via overtime capital acquisition and gives more independence to its affiliates worldwide.</p>

<p>Historically the research of International Business and the internationalisation of companies have been concentrated to large, mature companies with extensive resources to deploy in new markets. Since the 90’s a big field of research has though been on so called born globals, or international new ventures. In this thesis I will take up where this research is today and I will deal with the issue of new entrepreneurial ventures that internationalise from a very early stage of their existence From the theory five factors are retracted; 1) The Entrepreneur; 2) Identified Opportunities; 3) Entry/ Establishing mode; 4) Deployed Resources and 5) Local Challenges and from this the theoretical model is created. The following empirical study is made on Swedish entrepreneurs that have established in China during the last decade and the model seeks to answer why and how the entrepreneur established in China. The model is constructed to be usable for research on entrepreneurs from any market entering any other market. This specific study on Swedish entrepreneur in China merely fills the function of illustrating the use of the model, as the sample is too small to generalize.</p>