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.

Date May 31, 2011 Course Name: Masters Thesis in Marketing, 4FE02E, 15 hp, Spring 2011 LinnaeusUniversity,Växjö,Sweden Program Masters in Marketing Authors: Rubaiyat Raihan 840812 Shah Azeem 761210 Tutor: Engelbert Weiss Examiner: Sarah Philipson Title of the Paper: The specificities of market entry strategies into a developing country Problem Statement: “What are the specificities of market entry strategies into a developing country?” Purpose: To understand the market entry strategy of high tech product like energy efficiency light for the developing country taking into consideration the aspects discussed under problem discussion. Delimitation: In our thesis paper, we are only discussed about the energy saving industry and more specific the light manufactures. Also, our paper is discussed only about the market entry strategies and entry barrier, not to measure the effect of it. Methodology: The project is based on primary data retrieved in connection with the theoretical framework. A qualitative approach of research and questionnaire has been considered to reach the desirable result. Conclusion: After investigating the factors of energy efficiency light industry, we can conclude that it will be a good idea for a company to expand their business in developing country as the industry and the countries have a lot of potential to offer. An Investment entry mode (Joint Venture) has been suggested. Suggestion for Further Research: This research was focused on market entry strategy and entry barriers of energy efficiency light manufacturer, not the effect of entry barriers. Therefore, the next step should be to make in order to examine the effect of the barriers discussed in this research. Key Words: International market entry strategies, energy efficiency light industry, entry modes and entry barriers.

Globalisation has taken the world by storm by opening opportunities for new markets and easier communication. The general economic climate during the last decade is one reason to this, and the impact has resulted in internationalisation as a key strategy for survival. This has affected many kinds of industries and companies, not least new venture firms. There is today a competitive market climate where companies need to have a strategic advantage to succeed. One advantage could be to increase customer value through the selection of communication channels and sales channels, which has resulted in the following research objective: The purpose of this study is to examine how international market entry decisions based on customer perceived value can affect the choice of communication and sales channel strategies for new venture firms in a B2B context. This study has been of exploratory descriptive kind where a qualitative data collection has been conducted through in-depth interviews with five gemmologists active worldwide. The results of the research were varied since the respondents had different opinions, but some conclusions could still be made. The findings suggest the use of a multiple channel strategy regarding sales channel. The study also highlights the importance of 1) Building and cherishing customer relations, 2) Looking up potential resellers or distributors, 3) Communicating a solution and not a product and finally 4) Focus on internet advertising rather than paper and television. Since this study has been of qualitative kind, one suggestion for future research is to make a quantitative study of the same study to confirm the previously mentioned findings. These findings are due to the nature of the study only implications, but a quantitative study would make them generalizable. / Globalisering är ett område som tagit världen med storm, detta genom att förenkla kommunikation och öppna möjligheter till nya marknader. Det ekonomiska klimatet i skrivande stund är en av faktorerna som har påverkat detta, vilket har resulterat i internationalisering som en viktig strategi för överlevnad. Detta har påverkat många typer av industrier och företag, inte minst startups. Dagens konkurrenskraftiga marknadsklimat medför att företag behöver ha någon slags strategisk fördel för att lyckas. En fördel kan vara att öka kundvärdet genom val av kommunikationskanaler och försäljningskanaler, vilket lett till följande syfte för denna studie: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur marknadsbeslut baserade på kundvärde kan påverka valet av kommunikations- och försäljningskanaler i ett B2B-sammanhang. Denna studie har varit av förklarande och beskrivande slag, där en kvalitativ datainsamling har genomförts genom djupintervjuer med fem gemmologer som är aktiva på en internationell marknad. Resultaten av studien var varierade då respondenternas åsikter skildes, det gick dock trots detta att dra en del slutsatser. Resultaten indikerar att användning av en hybrid försäljningsstrategi vore optimal. Studien belyser också vikten av att 1) Bygga upp och värna om kundrelationer, 2) Söka potentiella återförsäljare eller distributörer, 3) Sälja en lösning istället för en produkt och slutligen 4) Fokusera på internetannonsering i stället för tidningar och tv. Då denna studie har varit av kvalitativt slag är ett förslag till framtida forskning att göra en kvantitativ studie av samma ämne för att bekräfta resultaten. Resultaten är i nuläget endast indikationer medans en kvantitativ studie skulle göra dem generaliserbara.

In the wake of globalization, an increasing amount of firms must consider internationalization strategies to remain competitive. The strategic decision of where to expand is complex by nature. This is particularly true for retailers, and despite this being generally accepted, relatively little is in fact known about retailers ́ choice of foreign markets. Hence, this study investigates international market selection (IMS) strategies of Swedish retailers with global operations. The purpose of this study is twofold; first, to explore which criteria Swedish retailers use upon making international market selection decisions and investigate the relative importance among these criteria. Second, to assess the possibilities of creating a weighted IMS model for retailers, which can be use as guidance for marketing practitioners. The research questions which will be answered are: How do Swedish international retailers select foreign markets? What are the possibilities of creating a weighted IMS model for retailers? The study embraces a qualitative strategy with an exploratory research approach and a multiple case study design. Through extensive literature review, a conceptual framework is constructed, and subsequently developed, post gaining insight in practitioners’ reasoning. The empirical data was gathered through interviews with managers of Swedish retailers with international presence, as well as strategy consultants who routinely work with strategy conformation for Swedish retailers. Our findings show that criteria which influence IMS decisions among Swedish retailers are quite similar among firms and can be arranged under three main categories; market attractiveness, psychic distance and internal factors. Moreover, as a result of the empirical findings, we suggest previous IMS research lack one important factor which influences the IMS decisions, namely “gut-feeling”/coincidence. The relative importance among factors proved to vary among firms. Consequently, four concepts aiming at explaining the variations were developed. The four concepts include firm size, firm objective, industry of the firm, and ownership structure. Finally, with support from respondents, we arrived at a conclusion suggesting that construction of a weighted IMS model for all types of retailers is unfeasible. However, if the scope is limited to only include firms of similar characteristics as proposed by the four concepts, such model could potentially yield solid validity.

如何成長，是企業尋求永續經營所關心的永恆主題；如何國際化則是企業在經濟全球化時代面臨的挑戰。國際購併作為企業的擴張模式，同時兼具了企業追求成長和國際化佈局的內涵和效果，是歐美企業經常使用的成長策略和國際市場擴張策略。尤其在廿世紀的九○年代，全球化的風潮和跨國企業（MNCs）的全球化佈局，助長了跨國購併的盛行。 中國大陸在地理上緊鄰台灣，自1978年改革開放後，經濟呈現高度成長，除了是開發中國家首位國際對外直接投資（FDI）的目的地之外，更是全球最大的新興市場和製造工廠。惟與國際購併作為對外直接投資的主要模式比較起來，外資透過購併來經略中國市場並不普遍，在成交金額上僅佔5.5%，這主要是因為中國相關的購併法律環境還不健全、市場機制不成熟、資本市場也未全面開放所導致。因此，跨國購併目前並不是進入中國投資的主流模式。近年來，中國政府加強改善購併相關環境的工作，一方面使得購併活動蓬勃發展，另方面也讓外資得以在中國以購併方式經略中國。 本論文「以成長策略為經，以國際市場進入模式為緯」探討台資企業在中國大陸的購併策略，研究的出發點主要是關懷台商如何以及能否以購併策略來經略中國市場，並探究是否成功。由於過去與此相關的研究相當稀少，本研究可以定位為初探性研究，研究主要採取個案研究法，並在對三個個案研究公司從事購併的高階主管進行深度訪談，以及次級資料蒐集的輔助下，實證研究有幾項結論發現，分述如下： 一、台商以購併方式在中國大陸投資的主要考量是：如何以時間爭取市場空間。簡言之，面對大陸新興市場的高速成長，時間價值取得了投資策略思考的主導地位，形成了廠商以併購方式在中國投資的策略。當廠商面對快速成長的新興市場，購併是快速進入市場的最佳相配適策略。尤其當「時間對市場」變得相當重要的時候，購併是進入一個新市場最迅速的投資方式，此時併購相對於其他投資方式有其獨具的優勢。 在時間上，併購既有廠房確實比新建投資來得快速，進一步拿購併與投入新建廠房的兩三年內相比，在主併公司良好的整合策略配合下，開出新產能和建立新市場，其績效也比自建新廠來得好。以購併作為成長策略，主併公司借助了外部的力量而得以跳躍成長，省卻了以自己內部實力從事創新和開發所需的時間，其成長曲線不同於內部成長策略的S曲線。 二、海外購併投資同時是台資企業國際化的成長策略和海外市場的進入模式。國際併購作為台商的海外市場進入策略，通常兼具有策略性購併的特質，且都是以追求快速成長為目標。併購策略具有台資企業國際化歷程的中繼或過度性質特徵。易言之，在進入策略上，台商和許多其他國家國際企業一樣，採取了從低涉入到高涉入、資源投入從低到高、控制從低到高的模式，而購併模式在國際化過程中，往往是一個過度性質的中繼站，接著再以自建新廠的方式繼續投資，而且多是獨資的方式為之，此乃內部成長策略和外部成長策略兼採的市場進入方式；不過，亦有持續地單以併購與合資等外部成長方式作為投資的模式，來進行國際化的佈局。 購併投資若駕馭得當，可以達成企業設定的成長策略目標，但應考慮經營環境的內外變化，以規避快速成長所帶來的風險。企業外部環境的風險和內部經營能力對購併的影響，當主併公司的企業經營能力不能駕馭經營環境面臨的高度風險挑戰，將把獲來的資產化成為泡沫，一切成為烏有；若是企業能力優良，並且擁有低風險的經營環境，則購併後的主併公司將呈現蛙跳成長，成長快速。若是主併公司的經營能力和經營環境風險有相適應的發展，則呈現穩定的成長狀態，但公司宜加強經營能力，以防風險係數提高，造成公司難以應付的危機出現。 三、在購併整合和是否達成購併目標上發現：（一）購併後的整合端視主併公司與被併公司在資源互賴需求和組織獨立需求高低而決定。這點印證了Haspealagh and Jemison提出的資源整合矩陣觀點。（二）購併後若發生股權變動的情況，亦可能導致整合文化的變化，這說明了購併後整合模式具有動態變化的特性。（三）如果購併方是具有經營優勢的企業，被併者是家虧損企業，則通常購併後整合的主導模式是順向整合的吸納式。（四）整合模式與被併購方的母國和主併公司的母國是否為同一國家沒有必然的關聯。（五）購併雙方規模的大小或許也會影響整合的方式，在三個個案實例中，大對小進行購併都出現了吸納式整合模式，說明了其間的關聯性，但這層關係可能是建築在中介變數的影響下才成立的。筆者認為，主併公司的經營優勢或所有權優勢可能是中介變數，這才是影響主併公司採取吸納式整合模式的關鍵。（六）台商從事購併的整合活動都是從交易後才開始的現象。這和西方在目標公司選擇過程中，或交易談判時即開始進行的習慣有明顯的不同。因此，以「購併」─所透露的「先購後併」意義來形容台商購併的經歷應是較適宜的。（七）當購併達成了公司的策略目標或合併綜效，可以為公司創造價值或增值；反之，則會為公司帶來價值破壞，嚴重者甚至毀滅公司所有價值，將購併成長而來的價值付之一炬。（八）購併成功的可能性來自於整合和時間因素的作用，在購併後短時間內（通常在二年以內）發生整合效益，則購併成功的可能性高；若是購併後經歷了一段長時間（通常在二年以上）而未獲得整合效益，則購併以失敗告終的可能性高，也就是成功的可能性低。 四、台資企業以國際併購方式進入中國大陸市場投資是條可行的方式，但由於是外資購併，影響其成敗的因素多元，在購併決策和購併後整合經營時仍須謹慎應對，才能確保成功的可能性。在中國大陸經濟的持續成長、國有企業的轉型與改革和外商購併法制環境趨於健全之際，台商以購併進入中國投資是可以考慮的方式，尤其是對跟隨者和後進者來說，更是一個追求快速成長者的較佳選擇，或許可以透過此投資方式，取得與先驅者並駕齊驅或迎頭趕上的機會。但投資者也應考慮在中國大陸從事購併可能的風險。尤其，中國大陸的政經環境不可預期因素較多、資訊的不對稱和不夠透明化、產權（股權）問題的限制、公司治理結構的制約、司法救濟的不足、法律與文化差異等仍是外資購併大陸企業的障礙，這是想要以購併投資中國公司所必須考慮的問題。 總之，透過購併來達成公司成長，須在明確的公司願景和成長目標下，審視自身的能力與條件，以及外在環境的變化，根據需要制定一套可行的購併策略，再確實執行，並做好整合工作，購併才能增加公司的價值，以成長達到公司追求的願景。 / Keeping growth has been the core issue for corporations seeking continuous operations whereas internationalization poses a new challenge in this global era. International mergers and acquisitions (M&As) as a means for corporations aiming at business expansion are common occurrences, especially in the late 20th century when multinational companies (MNCs) were aggressively seeking global presence and expanding overseas operations. Mainland China, geographically adjacent to Taiwan, has been implementing its economic reforms since 1978 and grew rapidly as the new powerhouse of the world in manufacturing as well as in consumption. China has inevitably become one of the top-tier for foreign direct investment (FDI) among all developing countries. International M&As/ Cross-border M&As, however, have not been commonly utilized as vehicles by foreign investors to penetrate China’s market. In the year of 2000, international M&As only represented 5.5 % of the total FDI in China, mainly resulted from the strict regulations on its immature market mechanism and capital market. In light of the Chinese government’s recent attempts to improve its investment environment, including the deregulation of M&As, and to attract foreign investment via M&As, this research project focuses on Taiwanese enterprises’ M&As strategy in Mainland China in line with seeking continuous growth and through internationalization. Major emphasis on investment avenues Taiwanese enterprises to be the best situations of taking advantage in penetrating Chinese markets, and whether Taiwanese enterprises gaining better access to the Chinese market via M&As. In the past, the volume of research in this field is comparatively low; therefore, this research can be regarded as an exploratory study. With in-depth case studies of three selected Taiwanese enterprises that have adopted M&A strategy to enter the Chinese market, based upon my studies, key findings below. 1.“Time Saving" would be the major concern in taking M&A as approach for Taiwanese enterprises to invest in Mainland China. That is to say, to enter a rapidly growing market like China within the shortest time period has not only become the key successful factor (KSF) but also the theme center while envisioning its investment strategy. M&As are under most circumstances, considered as the most suitable and fastest strategy to enter the market, within the shortest time frame, especially when “time” is considered as KSF, and crucial element. Therefore, compared to other FDI avenues, M&As indeed have their unique edge. In terms of saving time, acquiring an existing operation is more effective than starting from ground zero, i.e. building new facilities. Given the identical time frame, with good strategic planning from the home country, the buy-in approach has advantages in boosting up capacity, creating new markets, avoiding high expenses caused by inefficiencies in the start-up period. Parent companies are more likely to have a leap in growth by taking acquisitions with assistance from the external and the growth curve would be different from the S curve. 2.M&As become the major growth strategy for Taiwanese enterprises to approach both purposes of internationalization, and entrance of overseas markets. That cross-border acquisitions of Taiwanese enterprise vehicles to enter overseas markets usually combines two characteristics, strategic acquisitions and rapid growth. M&As often act as a transition point for most Taiwanese enterprise in internationalization process. In other words, Taiwanese enterprise entry policy, like that of the MNCs counterpart, tends to take modules of starting from a low involvement to high, from a low degree of investment to high, and from a low level of control to high; The internationalization process is most often initiated by M&As, followed by increasing investment in constructing new facilities with full ownership. Applying such a policy to enter a foreign market utilizes both internal and external forces to obtain a company’s growth whereas a number of companies, after M&As are completed, prefer strategic alliances with external parties to sustain internationalization. As companies reach their desired growth goals and objectives via well planned investment strategy in the first stage, such as M&As, they should constantly be aware of any subtle changes in the investment environment in order to reduce potential risks arising from any rapid expansion and growth. In a relatively low-risk investment environment, steady growth is anticipated if the parent company is well managed and capable of adapting to environmental changes. That is to say, a parent company should always enhance its operating capability in order to mitigate risks from the ever- changing environment. 3.Can M&A strategy be applied to achieve goals and objectives? Here’s the brief of my thesis conclusion. (1) Post merger integrations (PMI) depend on the degree of interdependence between parent company and acquired company, such as resource supplies and organizational structure, which has matched Integration Matrix Theory by Haspealagh and Jemison. (2) Stock shares reallocations after acquisitions may result in the changes of integrated corporate culture, which illustrates that PMI is subject to variation. (3) When a parent company benefits from the operating over its acquired company, the PMI module is usually in the form of forward integration. (4) There are no correlations between the country origins of the parent company and the acquired company. (5) Scales of the parent company and the acquired company may influence PMI modules. Correlations are defined via these 3 case studies that absorption mode occurs when the parent company has operating advantages over acquired company. Based on the study result, the parent company’s operating advantages or scale over the acquired company are key elements for the occurrence of absorption mode. (6) Unlike enterprises in the USA or Europe where integrations usually begin during M&A negotiation or the process of searching for acquiring targets, Taiwanese enterprises normally start integration process after the acquisition deal is completed. (7) Additional value is created only when M&As comply with a company’s goals and objectives; otherwise, negative impacts from M&As apply. (8) How and when to integrate may be two key factors for a successful acquisition. The study indicates that integration would have a higher chance of success if the process is initiated within two years’ time frame after acquisition. 4.It is recommended that Taiwanese enterprises’ take on M&A as an approach to enter the Chinese market. However, many factors may attribute the results of M&As. The strategic forming and the PMI need to be carefully planned. Mainland China’s investment environment is improving, especially in the deregulation upon FDI’s M&As activities. With its increasing volumes of governmental entities’ reforms and transform actions, as well as its continuous economic growth, M&As strategy is indeed an alternative for Taiwanese enterprises to enter Chinese markets. Such strategy benefits market followers the most as resources and market entry can be obtained within the shortest time frame, and eventually to compete with other market frontiers. Nevertheless, investors should take risks into consideration, comparatively, there are higher levels of uncertainty in its economic and legal environments, restrictions toward ownership and organizational structure, shareholder limitations, culture and legal differences, as well as controlled information channels and sharing. In summary, to reach continuous growth via M&As, strategy should be in line with company goals and objectives. Such strategy should only be made with intensive evaluation of one’s capabilities and environmental circumstances, followed by well planned implementation and integration. By doing so, M&As will create additional value toward companies’ goals and objectives in seeking continuous growth.

本論文探討主題為文化創意產業之國際化，首先透過文獻探討方式，了解文化創意產業、企業國際化、新創事業、企業核心資源能力等議題內容；第二階段則透過個案訪談與次級資料的搜集與整理，對研究個案企業之發展歷程與國際化相關策略作一介紹；第三階段則將先前探討之文獻、研究與研究個案之國際化模式作分析、比較，歸納出命題並提出本研究之結論。 2002年行政院提出「挑戰2008：國家發展重點計劃」，明確將「文化創意產業」列為台灣未來重點發展產業，然綜觀目前國內有關文化創意產業之研究多以整體產業發展、文化創意產業與地方/社區經濟發展等相關主題為多，甚少有研究以文化創意產業為主體，針對其國際化議題做探討。本研究針對此議題，選擇以獲得行政院文建會所遴選之文化創意產業成功企業之法藍瓷有限公司為研究個案。法藍瓷成立至今僅有五年歷史，然憑藉著優異的設計創意與產品品質，產品上市不久即榮獲海內外各項大獎肯定，目前在海外市場約有五千多個銷售點，遍及美國、歐洲、紐澳地區、大中華地區與日韓等市場，年營業額約一千兩百多萬美金，是目前台灣文化創意產業裡，海外市場發展相對較成功者。 本研究結論簡述如下： 一、文化創意產業進入國際市場時，應考量本身資源能力，彈性地選擇最適合的 進入方式。 二、文化創意產業國際化的過程中，仍然適用於一般產業依各地比較利益不同而 將價值鏈各環節活動安排在不同地區之模式。 三、文化創意產業進行國際化時，除了研發、創意的掌握，亦應同時強化品牌行 銷能力培養與通路的建立。 四、國際化的資源能力可以在企業經營活動的動態過程裡逐步累積，企業若能 將國際化過程所習得的知識與經驗整理吸收，未來踏入一個新的國外市場 時，對於經營業務的推動與策略的形成將有相當幫助。 關鍵字：1.文化創意產業 2.國際化動機 3.國際市場進入模式 4.新創事業 5.工藝類文化創意產業 6.核心資源能力 / The cultural industry has been considered as the most promising industry for the future economic energy sources for many countries. However, with the limited market size in Taiwan, Taiwanese cultural industry also needs to go international for a bigger market. The purpose of this research is to understand the internationalization of cultural industry in Taiwan. As an exploratory research by case study method, the research consists of four aspects：（1）the characters of cultural industry；（2）the internalization of business；（3）the newborn business；（4）the core competence of a company. Through primary data collection, such as in-depth interview and secondary data collection from other researches and publications, the research chose Franzcolletions as the study focus. Conclusions drawn from this research results are： 1. When going globalization and entering into a foreign market, the cultural industry should take account of its own resources and capability, and thus being flexible choosing the most suitable entry mode. 2. During the process of globalization, the cultural industry will arrange the value chains activities which following the comparative advantage theory like other industries. 3. In addition to R&D, the cultural industry should also strengthen marketing ability and building up the distribution channels. 4. The cultural company can accumulate its resources and train up the core competence through the internalization process. Learning from the previous experiences, a cultural company can form a thorough strategy when entering a new foreign market in the future. Key Words：Motivation of Internationalization；International market entry mode；the cultural industry；Newborn business；Core competence.