This research study concerns entrepreneurial startups that converted into internationalization by implementing an export business strategy. MASApparel and Dilma Tea companies in Sri Lanka, two leading companies, were selected to illustrate the export strategy for business expansion in foreign markets. The research focuses on how both companies achieved their foreign markets and their continuous successful presence in the industry even now by doing. The study begins with a comprehensive discussion of the theory of competitive advantage, business strategy, and entrepreneurial internationalization. The terms examine both conventional and contemporary views of business strategies implemented to gain a competitive advantage to expand in the international market. A review of the basic concepts of entrepreneurship and internationalization proceeds with a detailed review of the literature on the competitive advantage of the business strategy. Various local and global influences are identified in the export strategy for the internationalization process. The selected two case's findings are presented, and the evidence is based on considering implementing an export business strategy for business internationalization.

[pt] As tecnologias digitais têm desempenhado um papel fundamental na redução das barreiras à internacionalização nas últimas décadas. Através de tecnologias digitais de comunicação (TDC) de baixo custo, tais como websites e plataformas de mídias sociais, empresas de todos os portes podem agora conectar-se facilmente com clientes de praticamente todo o mundo. Isso motivou muitas firmas a iniciarem sua internacionalização, principalmente através de exportações. No Brasil, o número de empresas que iniciam ou reiniciam suas exportações vem aumentando a cada ano, tendo crescido 76 por cento de 2013 a 2021, e a digitalização é provavelmente um fator que contribuiu para essa tendência. No entanto, muitas empresas não conseguem persistir na jornada internacional, e a cada ano cerca de um quarto da base de exportadoras brasileiras do ano anterior deixa de exportar. Esses dados do Brasil refletem dois fenômenos globais que têm conquistado crescente atenção acadêmica: a internacionalização digital e a desinternacionalização. Contribuindo para ampliar o conhecimento sobre tais fenômenos, este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o uso de TDC por exportadoras brasileiras de micro e pequeno portes, classificando-as em função do uso dessas tecnologias e analisando a relação entre tal uso e a interrupção da atividade exportadora das firmas. Utilizando-se métodos quantitativos e dados coletados de uma amostra inicialmente composta por 601 empresas brasileiras de micro ou pequeno portes que exportaram, de forma contínua ou não, entre 2017 e 2021, foi desenvolvida uma taxonomia para classificar as exportadoras de acordo com o respectivo uso de TDC. Aplicando-se regressão logística, confirmou-se a relação inversa entre tal uso e a interrupção das exportações, sendo o uso de idiomas estrangeiros na comunicação digital uma variável significativa no modelo testado. Os resultados evidenciam a importância do uso de idiomas estrangeiros na comunicação digital da firma para que sua internacionalização seja duradoura. / [en] Digital technologies have played a key role in reducing internationalization barriers over the past few decades. By leveraging affordable digital communication technologies (DCT) such as websites and social media platforms, businesses of all sizes can now easily connect with customers from all over the world. As a result, many firms have been motivated to start internationalizing, often through exporting. In Brazil, the number of companies starting or restarting their exports has grown by 76 percent from 2013 to 2021, and digitalization is likely a contributing factor to this trend. However, many companies still struggle to maintain their international presence, with around a quarter of the previous year s Brazilian exporter base stopping their exporting activities annually. These data from Brazil reflect two global phenomena, the digital internationalization and deinternationalization, which have garnered increasing academic attention. Contributing to broaden the knowledge about such phenomena, this study aimed to evaluate the use of DCT by Brazilian micro- and small-sized exporters, by classifying the firms based on their DCT usage, and by analyzing the relationship between such usage and the interruption of export activities. Using quantitative research methods and data collected from a sample of 601 Brazilian micro- or small-sized firms that exported, continuously or not, between 2017 and 2021, a taxonomy was developed to classify exporters based on their use of DCT. Applying logistic regression analysis, the inverse relationship between such usage and the interruption of exports was confirmed, with the use of foreign languages in digital communication being a significant variable in the model. These findings highlight the importance of using foreign languages in a firm s digital communication to ensure lasting internationalization efforts.

The aim of master thesis is to create and adapt for Lithuanian case a theoretical conception that lets mass media companies to internationalize their activities. It is based on the analysis of Lithuanian and foreign authors’ methodological and methodical literature and the results of empirical research. Master thesis consists of the extensive analysis of Lithuanian mass media market, covering internationalization and concentration level, financial situation, problems and trends of the market. Furthermore a study was done to determine potential markets of expansion for Lithuanian mass media companies and a survey, which shows how consumers react to media outlets from different countries. Thesis consists of 8 parts: introduction, internationalization as a key in expansion of mass media business, theoretical study of internationalization process in expanding mass media business, methodology of empirical research, empirical research on the internationalization of mass media companies in the international context, possibilities for mass media companies to go through internationalization process, conclusions, references. Thesis consists of: 81 p. text without appendixes, 11 tables, 11 pictures and 64 bibliographical entries. Appendixes included. / Magistrinio darbo tikslas - sukurti ir pritaikyti Lietuvos atvejui teorinę koncpeciją, kuri leidžia žiniasklaidos bendrovei internacionalizuoti savo veiklą. Koncepcija yra paremta lietuvių ir užsienio autorių metodologinės ir metodinės medžiagos analize bei atliktų empirinių tyrimų duomenimis. Darbe buvo atlikta išsami Lietuvos žiniasklaidos rinkos analizė, apimanti internacionalizacijos ir koncentracijos lygius, finansinę situaciją, rinkos problemas ir tendencijas. Taip pat buvo atlikta studija, siekiant nustatyti potencialas rinkas plėtrai Lietuvos bendrovėms bei apklausa, kuri parodo, kaip skirtingai vartotojai reaguoja į žiniasklaidos bendrovės kapitalo kilmę. Darbą sudaro 8 dalys: įvadas, internacionalizacija kaip esminė grandis žiniasklaidos verslo plėtrai, teorinė internacionalizacijos procesų plečiant žiniasklaidos verslą studija, empirinių tyrimų metodologija, žiniasklaidos verslo internacionalizacijos tarptautiniame kontekste empiriniai tyrimai, žiniasklaidos verslo galimybės įgyvendinti internacionalizaciją, išvados, naudoti informacijos pasiūlymai. Darbo apimtis: 81 psl. teksto be priedų, įskaitant 11 lentelių ir 11 paveikslų, 64 informacijos šaltiniai. Atskirai pridedami darbo priedai.

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate how Start-Ups from Switzerland pattern their expansion to foreign markets and how prevalent traditional internationalization models are among Start-Ups. In order to conduct the research, the term Start-Up has been defined in comparison to other forms of enterprises. The first part of the literature review has been conducted regarding key concepts within the field of international business such as psychic distance or the choice of the right entry mode. The second part of the literature review has been conducted regarding relevant traditional internationalization theories as well as the international entrepreneurship theory, as counterpart to traditional internationalization theories. The theories have resulted in a conceptual framework that reveals the relations between the different theories. The thesis is built on a qualitative approach on the basis of a multiple case study by means of three interviews with Swiss Start-Ups. Further the thesis has followed a deductive approach to first build a profound knowledge about the internationalization process of Start-Ups. The authors of this thesis consider a good pre understanding of the research area as relevant to observe a pattern from the empirical observations. In the analysis chapter the differences and similarities between the theory and the empirical findings were discussed. The structure of both chapters, empirical findings and analysis, are structured in accordance with the conceptual framework. On the basis of the analysis, the conclusion chapter presents the responses of three research questions. Further the final chapter consists of theoretical and practical implications and recommendations as well as limitations and ends with proposals for a further research.

Due to strong growth in the virtual business environment, online internationalization has become a topic of high interest. This makes it necessary for firms providing software online to carefully investigate and understand barriers and differences in countries before entering them. Further, companies expanding abroad face a variety of differences compared to their home market, which has to be carefully understood in order to succeed internationally and to avoid misinterpretations. This thesis took a qualitative approach and was based on six semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions, all performed with CEOs, founders or managers with explicit knowledge in the online internationalization phase of their firms. The insights from the interviews acknowledge which differences and barriers the firms faced and how they perceived them. The outline and result of the study were based on the four dimensions of cultural, administrative, geographic and economic challenges. The result showed that the cultural and geographic dimensions were barely perceived as barriers by the firms, the administrative dimensions moderately, whereas the companies clearly perceived the economic dimensions as barriers in their internationalization processes. Additional findings of the study were the importance of cultural leadership, hierarchies & decision-making processes, high-density clusters and pricing strategies.

Unidades de P&D de subsidiárias podem realizar atividades de apoio à operação de subsidiária, melhorando o processo de produção e prestar assistência na venda dos produtos. No entanto, em alguns casos, eles também podem desenvolver novos produtos e processos. A literatura sobre este processo de decisão é escassa, especialmente nos países em desenvolvimento. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar a influência da capacidade tecnológica e dos custos de P&D da unidade de P&D da subsidiária na decisão quanto ao grau de complexidade tecnológica atribuído às subsidiárias de multinacionais estabelecidas no Brasil. Para tanto, foram estabelecidos os seguintes objetivos específicos: Definir uma escala de vários graus de complexidade tecnológica para as atividades de P&D de subsidiárias de multinacionais que operam no Brasil, tendo como referência a literatura pertinente e os achados da pesquisa empírica; Analisar, sob o ponto de vista dos gestores das subsidiárias, a influência da capacidade tecnológica (utilizando indicadores relativos ao número de patentes geradas e utilizadas pela subsidiária, processo de desenvolvimento de produto, intensidade de P&D e nível da equipe de P&D) e de custos de fazer P&D (utilizando indicadores de custo de aquisição e manutenção de máquinas e equipamentos, remuneração do pessoal local e insumos para P&D) no grau de complexidade tecnológica das atividades de P&D atribuído pela matriz da multinacional às respectivas subsidiárias; Analisar, sob o ponto de vista dos gestores das subsidiárias, a influência do tamanho e do tempo de existência da subsidiária no grau de complexidade tecnológica das atividades de P&D atribuído pela matriz às subsidiárias; e Desenvolver e testar a significância estatística de um modelo conceitual de análise da influência das capacidades tecnológicas e dos custos de P&D, tendo como referência os respectivos indicadores citados anteriormente, formulando e testando as hipóteses referentes ao número de patentes geradas e utilizadas pela subsidiária, desenvolvimento de produto, intensidade de P&D, nível da equipe de P&D, custos de fazer P&D, tempo de existência da subsidiária, e tamanho da subsidiária. Para isso, desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa envolvendo duas fases: qualitativa e quantitativa. Na fase qualitativa, foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com especialistas da área de P&D de empresas multinacionais. Na fase quantitativa foram aplicados questionários (90 respostas válidas foram obtidas), através de um levantamento eletrônico, aos gestores de subsidiárias de multinacionais, direta ou indiretamente envolvidas na área de P&D. A técnica de análise multivariada que foi utilizada para testar a significância do modelo conceitual da pesquisa foi a regressão logística multinomial, sendo adequada às exigências metodológicas da investigação. Os resultados encontrados apontam para a viabilidade estatística do modelo conceitual da pesquisa, com ressalvas em relação a alguns indicadores que não foram significativos ao nível de 5%, e com forte influência do indicador relativo ao fato de o nível da equipe de P&D ter as habilidades interpessoais necessárias para lidar com projetos mais complexos, envolvendo diferentes equipes e culturas. / R&D units of subsidiaries can perform support activities to the operation of subsidiary, improving the production process and provide assistance in selling the products. However in some cases they can also develop new products and processes. The literature regarding this decision process is scarce, especially in developing countries. The objective of this research was to analyze the influence of technological capability and R&D costs of the R&D unit of the subsidiary in the deciding the degree of technological complexity attributed to the subsidiaries of multinationals established in Brazil. To this end, the following specific objectives were established: to define a scale of several degrees of technological complexity for the R&D activities of subsidiaries of multinationals operating in Brazil, having as reference the pertinent literature and the findings of the empirical research; to analyze, from the point of view of the managers of the subsidiaries, the influence of technological capacity (using indicators related to the number of patents generated and used by the subsidiary, product development process, R&D intensity and R&D team level) R&D (using indicators of the cost of acquisition and maintenance of machinery and equipment, remuneration of local personnel and inputs for R&D) in the degree of technological complexity of the R&D activities attributed by the parent company to the respective subsidiaries; to analyze, from the point of view of the managers of the subsidiaries, the influence of the size and time of existence of the subsidiary in the degree of technological complexity of the R&D activities attributed by the parent to the subsidiaries; and to develop and test the statistical significance of a conceptual model for the analysis of the influence of technological capabilities and R&D costs, based on the respective indicators mentioned above, formulating and testing the hypotheses related to the number of patents generated and used by the subsidiary, development R&D intensity, R&D team level, R&D costs, subsidiary lifetime, and subsidiary size.. For this, a research involving two phases was developed: qualitative and quantitative. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews with specialists in the R&D area of multinational companies were carried out. In the quantitative phase, questionnaires were applied (90 valid responses were obtained), through an electronic survey, to managers of subsidiaries of multinationals, directly or indirectly involved in the R&D area. The multivariate analysis technique was used to test the significance of the conceptual model of the research was multinomial logistic regression, which was adequate to the methodological requirements of the investigation. The results found point to the statistical feasibility of the conceptual model of the research, with reservations regarding some indicators that were not significant at the 5% level, and with a strong influence of the indicator related to the fact that the level of the R&D team has the skills interpersonal skills needed to deal with more complex projects involving different teams and cultures.

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2018-08-13T12:26:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 André Daudt dos Reisl_.pdf: 892854 bytes, checksum: bfdcabf865063fa082e791fdad02b209 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T12:26:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 André Daudt dos Reisl_.pdf: 892854 bytes, checksum: bfdcabf865063fa082e791fdad02b209 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-25 / UNISINOS - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos / Este trabalho teve como objeto de pesquisa analisar os fatores que influenciam a internacionalização de operações de e-commerce do setor calçadista brasileiro para a América do Sul, mais especificamente para a Argentina, Chile e Colômbia. Este estudo também buscou identificar as principais barreiras para a internacionalização destas empresas, níveis de controle exigido por elas e a proposição do modo de entrada mais adequado. Para alcançar tais resultados, foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo qualitativa que obteve, durante o processo de coleta de dados, entrevistas com profissionais especialistas em comércio eletrônico para a América do Sul e executivos de indústrias calçadistas que trabalham com marca própria, possuem operações de e-commerce no Brasil, já exportam para os mercados em questão nesta monografia e que possuem interesse em internacionalizar seus negócios digitais. Os resultados encontrados foram de que os fatores externos como infraestrutura de logística e telecomunicações, serviços de apoio, formas de pagamento eletrônica e propensão do consumidor são similares aos padrões do mercado brasileiro. Entretanto, no âmbito de legislações locais há muita divergência, transformando este fator num entrave operacional. Aliado a isso, as empresas brasileiras exigem um nível de controle alto sobre gestão comercial e de marca, fazendo com que o modo de entrada mais adequado nesse cenário seja modos contratuais com controle compartilhado, numa modalidade de franquia ou licenciamento. / The research objective of this monography is to analyze the influence factors of the internationalization of e-commerce operations from the Brazilian footwear industry to South American countries, more specific to Argentina, Chile and Colombia. This study also seek to identify the main barriers for these companies internationalization, which are the control required by them and the more suitable entry mode proposal. To achieve these results, it was done a qualitative field research with a data collection composed by interviews with professionals specialized in electronic commerce in South America. Also, executives from the footwear industry, who work with their own branded products, have e-commerce operations in Brazil, are exporters to Argentina, Chile and Colombia and have interest in internationalize their e-commerce to those countries were interviewed. The results findings were that the external factors such as logistics and telecommunication infrastructure, related services, electronic payment options and consumer propensity were similar to the Brazilian standard. However, there were many discrepancies regarding local legislation, making it the main barrier for the internationalization of those companies. In addition, Brazilian companies demand a high-level control under the commercial and brand management, making the more suitable entry mode option the one with share control over the operation, like a licensing mode.

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2018-09-24T17:40:44Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Paulo Ricardo Schuch_.pdf: 3644349 bytes, checksum: c578043a36586dddeccda984c32d66aa (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-24T17:40:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paulo Ricardo Schuch_.pdf: 3644349 bytes, checksum: c578043a36586dddeccda984c32d66aa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-27 / Nenhuma / O desenvolvimento do Agronegócio Brasileiro tem desempenhado um papel fundamental na produção de recursos para o País e para o mundo. Tem sido o setor com maior taxa de crescimento econômico e o principal responsável pelo superávit da balança comercial brasileira. O Agronegócio possui uma longa e robusta cadeia de valor, envolvendo várias indústrias, dentre estas, a indústria de Insumos e a indústria de Equipamentos Agrícolas. Estas indústrias tem sido alvo de processos de internacionalização, por iniciativas de investidores e empresas transnacionais com sede no exterior, com o interesse de acessar os segmentos de mercado atendidos por estas empresas ou mesmo, a expansão de empresas já instaladas no País. O Investimento Externo Direto (IED) tem sido utilizado por estes investidores e empresas transnacionais para o alcance deste objetivo. Esta dissertação investigou quais são os fatores de decisão para o Investimento Externo Direto no Agronegócio Brasileiro, nestas duas indústrias, bem como a sua hierarquização, ordenando desde os fatores de maior, até os de menor relevância. Adicionalmente, esta pesquisa possibilitou a compreensão das diferenças e semelhanças entre estas duas indústrias. O conhecimento dos fatores de decisão permite o entendimento de quais são os motivos, causas, razões, fontes, condições, elementos, princípios e aspectos a serem considerados no processo de tomada de decisão para o Investimento Externo Direto, dando causa a alguém para tomar uma determinada decisão ou realizar uma dada escolha. A hierarquização destes fatores nestas indústrias possibilita o entendimento das motivações e preocupações dos Executivos destas indústrias no processo de decisão para Investimento Externo Direto. Esta pesquisa socorreu-se à bibliografia para a coleta dos fatores de decisão para o Investimento Externo Direto. A validação destes fatores, o agrupamento destes fatores em seis grupos e a construção do roteiro de entrevistas foram possíveis, com a realização de entrevistas a alguns especialistas do Agronegócio. A hierarquização destes grupos de fatores, as semelhanças e as diferenças entre as duas indústrias estudadas, foram possíveis através de entrevistas com os Executivos destas duas indústrias. As principais contribuições desta pesquisa foram o conhecimento dos fatores de decisão, o seu agrupamento em seis grupos de fatores e o conhecimento da hierarquia destes grupos no processo de tomada de decisão para o Investimento Externo Direto nas indústrias de Insumos e Equipamentos Agrícolas, bem como diferenças e semelhanças entre estas duas indústrias. Como sugestão para o aprimoramento e, para novas pesquisas, esta dissertação sugere coletar dados com empresas que ainda não possuem investimentos e com outros stakeholders destas indústrias. Adicionalmente, este estudo pode ser fonte de consulta e inspiração para novas pesquisas em outras indústrias do Agronegócio brasileiro. / The development of Brazilian Agribusiness has played a fundamental role in the production of resources for the Country and World. It has been the sector with the highest economic growth rate and the main responsible for the surplus of the Brazilian trade balance. Agribusiness has a long and robust value chain, involving several industries, among them, the Inputs Industry and the Agricultural Equipment Industry. These industries have been a target for internationalization processes, through initiatives of investors and transnational companies with headquarters abroad, with the interest of accessing the market segments served by these companies or even the expansion of companies already installed in the country. These investors and transnational companies have used the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to reach this goal. This dissertation has investigated the Decision Factors for Direct Foreign Investment in Brazilian Agribusiness in these two industries, as well as its hierarchy, ordering from the major factors to the least relevant ones. Furthermore, this research has revealed the understanding of the differences and similarities between these two industries. The knowledge of decision factors allows the comprehension of the motivation, causes, reasons, sources, conditions, elements, principles and aspects to be considered in the decision-making process for Foreign Direct Investment, that motivate someone to take a decision or make a specific choice. The hierarchy of these factors in these industries makes possible the understanding of the motivations and concerns of Executives of these industries in the decision process for Foreign Direct Investment. This research has supported by bibliography from the collection of Decision Factors for Foreign Direct Investment. The validation, the grouping of these factors into six groups and the construction of the interview script were possible with the support from Agribusiness specialists. The hierarchy of these factors groups, similarities and differences between the responses of two industries focused were possible through interviews with the executives of these industries. The main contributions of this research were the knowledge of the Decision Factors, their grouping into six groups of Factors and the knowledge of the hierarchy of these groups in the process of decision making for the Direct Foreign Investment in the Brazilian Industries of Agricultural Inputs and Equipment, as well as differences and similarities between these two industries. As a suggestion for improvement and for further research, this dissertation suggests to collecting data from companies that have not local invested and other stakeholders of these industries. In addition, this study can be a source of consultation and inspiration for further research in other Brazilian Agribusiness industries.

Unidades de P&D de subsidiárias podem realizar atividades de apoio à operação de subsidiária, melhorando o processo de produção e prestar assistência na venda dos produtos. No entanto, em alguns casos, eles também podem desenvolver novos produtos e processos. A literatura sobre este processo de decisão é escassa, especialmente nos países em desenvolvimento. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar a influência da capacidade tecnológica e dos custos de P&D da unidade de P&D da subsidiária na decisão quanto ao grau de complexidade tecnológica atribuído às subsidiárias de multinacionais estabelecidas no Brasil. Para tanto, foram estabelecidos os seguintes objetivos específicos: Definir uma escala de vários graus de complexidade tecnológica para as atividades de P&D de subsidiárias de multinacionais que operam no Brasil, tendo como referência a literatura pertinente e os achados da pesquisa empírica; Analisar, sob o ponto de vista dos gestores das subsidiárias, a influência da capacidade tecnológica (utilizando indicadores relativos ao número de patentes geradas e utilizadas pela subsidiária, processo de desenvolvimento de produto, intensidade de P&D e nível da equipe de P&D) e de custos de fazer P&D (utilizando indicadores de custo de aquisição e manutenção de máquinas e equipamentos, remuneração do pessoal local e insumos para P&D) no grau de complexidade tecnológica das atividades de P&D atribuído pela matriz da multinacional às respectivas subsidiárias; Analisar, sob o ponto de vista dos gestores das subsidiárias, a influência do tamanho e do tempo de existência da subsidiária no grau de complexidade tecnológica das atividades de P&D atribuído pela matriz às subsidiárias; e Desenvolver e testar a significância estatística de um modelo conceitual de análise da influência das capacidades tecnológicas e dos custos de P&D, tendo como referência os respectivos indicadores citados anteriormente, formulando e testando as hipóteses referentes ao número de patentes geradas e utilizadas pela subsidiária, desenvolvimento de produto, intensidade de P&D, nível da equipe de P&D, custos de fazer P&D, tempo de existência da subsidiária, e tamanho da subsidiária. Para isso, desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa envolvendo duas fases: qualitativa e quantitativa. Na fase qualitativa, foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com especialistas da área de P&D de empresas multinacionais. Na fase quantitativa foram aplicados questionários (90 respostas válidas foram obtidas), através de um levantamento eletrônico, aos gestores de subsidiárias de multinacionais, direta ou indiretamente envolvidas na área de P&D. A técnica de análise multivariada que foi utilizada para testar a significância do modelo conceitual da pesquisa foi a regressão logística multinomial, sendo adequada às exigências metodológicas da investigação. Os resultados encontrados apontam para a viabilidade estatística do modelo conceitual da pesquisa, com ressalvas em relação a alguns indicadores que não foram significativos ao nível de 5%, e com forte influência do indicador relativo ao fato de o nível da equipe de P&D ter as habilidades interpessoais necessárias para lidar com projetos mais complexos, envolvendo diferentes equipes e culturas. / R&D units of subsidiaries can perform support activities to the operation of subsidiary, improving the production process and provide assistance in selling the products. However in some cases they can also develop new products and processes. The literature regarding this decision process is scarce, especially in developing countries. The objective of this research was to analyze the influence of technological capability and R&D costs of the R&D unit of the subsidiary in the deciding the degree of technological complexity attributed to the subsidiaries of multinationals established in Brazil. To this end, the following specific objectives were established: to define a scale of several degrees of technological complexity for the R&D activities of subsidiaries of multinationals operating in Brazil, having as reference the pertinent literature and the findings of the empirical research; to analyze, from the point of view of the managers of the subsidiaries, the influence of technological capacity (using indicators related to the number of patents generated and used by the subsidiary, product development process, R&D intensity and R&D team level) R&D (using indicators of the cost of acquisition and maintenance of machinery and equipment, remuneration of local personnel and inputs for R&D) in the degree of technological complexity of the R&D activities attributed by the parent company to the respective subsidiaries; to analyze, from the point of view of the managers of the subsidiaries, the influence of the size and time of existence of the subsidiary in the degree of technological complexity of the R&D activities attributed by the parent to the subsidiaries; and to develop and test the statistical significance of a conceptual model for the analysis of the influence of technological capabilities and R&D costs, based on the respective indicators mentioned above, formulating and testing the hypotheses related to the number of patents generated and used by the subsidiary, development R&D intensity, R&D team level, R&D costs, subsidiary lifetime, and subsidiary size.. For this, a research involving two phases was developed: qualitative and quantitative. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews with specialists in the R&D area of multinational companies were carried out. In the quantitative phase, questionnaires were applied (90 valid responses were obtained), through an electronic survey, to managers of subsidiaries of multinationals, directly or indirectly involved in the R&D area. The multivariate analysis technique was used to test the significance of the conceptual model of the research was multinomial logistic regression, which was adequate to the methodological requirements of the investigation. The results found point to the statistical feasibility of the conceptual model of the research, with reservations regarding some indicators that were not significant at the 5% level, and with a strong influence of the indicator related to the fact that the level of the R&D team has the skills interpersonal skills needed to deal with more complex projects involving different teams and cultures.

During the past decade, advances in information technology have facilitated the rapid international expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Cloud computing has enabled a new wave of firms to offer services on the web regardless of geographic distances. The aim of this study is to explore how cloud computing affect the external variables network and culture in the internationalization process of an SME. In order to explore the impact on these external variables, a qualitative case study is carried out on a business-to-business SME offering cloud services within small and open economies. The findings explain why closeness was important and why the cloud service firm was limited to a gradual internationalization process although the technology has the potential to break this pattern or accelerate it. The results from this study are valuable for scholars since the internationalization process of cloud service firms is an under-researched area. It is also useful for cloud service SMEs when making strategic decisions in the internationalization process.