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Globalization and the rapid growth of online-transaction through e-commerce platforms is increasing at a fast pace, not to mention the acceleration during and after the pandemic of Covid-19. The purpose with this qualitative case study of a company operating in the fragrance industry is to give a better understanding of how a company successfully succeeded in internationalizing by utilizing a B2B e-commerce strategy, and how the same company can change strategy to utilize B2C e-commerce to enter a new market which in this case are Sweden. A key factor of the company's success turned out to be the building of the customer and supplier network, and the tight collaboration with already existing giants in the market to attract suppliers in the first place. This allowed the company to provide good customer service, and a variety of products. Further, to be able to enter the Swedish market promotional activities, a customer-centric website that provides in store-like experience, close relationships with their consumers, and cooperation with brand suppliers to build a strong strategic alliance has been shown as important factors in order to succeed in a B2C e-commerce internationalization process.

[ES] En este trabajo se propone una guía para el franquiciado de una propuesta de negocio en el sector de la restauración, Tapas & Más un bar típico español. que desde sus inicios se crea con carácter internacional y cuya forma de entrada en los mercados internacionales es la franquicia. Además, en este trabajo se analizan las características del modelo de franquicia española e internacional, así como los ejemplos más representativos en España. Una vez que se ha realizado la propuesta, se estudian diferentes mercados internacionales que pueden ser de interés para la expiación del negocio., [EN] The assignment¿s objective is to create a franchisee's guide for a business proposal in the restaurant sector that was established with international expansion in sight, which form of entry to international markets is the franchise business model, the establishment is a Spanish tapas bar called Tapas & Más. This project also studies and analyses the characteristics of international franchising with emphasis in the restaurant industry as well as the most successful Spanish¿s case studies. Once the business proposal is presented, several international markets will be studied to find the most suitable one for the business internalization.

Current Higher Education students have grown up in a society characterized by the massive use of information technologies, which affects the way they expect to acquire new knowledge. In Chemical Engineering studies, in particular, traditional problem solving methods tend to bore students and, as a result, do not yield efficient learning. Fortunately, there exists a large list of software packages with specific Engineering application which, if properly used, may help create a better learning environment. Under the above premise, a project is being conducted, between 4 Higher Education institutions from 3 different countries (Spain, Portugal and Romania), on the effect that the integration of computational tools may exert on the students’ knowledge acquisition and predisposition to learn. We also aim to establish a comparative evaluation of the advantages and drawbacks of different computer software when facing typical Chemical Engineering problems. From our survey results and students’ comments we conclude that, in general, the new methodological approach engaged their interest more than the traditional one, and helped them gain knowledge on the working principles of simulations. Moreover, the use of computer software in the classroom is acknowledged by the great majority of the students as a key skill which may improve their employability prospects.

The Country-of-Origin (COO) is an important factor to be considered for startup firms in their international expansion and development. This exploratory study focuses on the influence and impacts of the COO on Born Global startups from emerging economies in their internationalization process. The research provides a general picture about the theories connected to the COO and its impacts, as well as the different contexts which are the basis for the COO construct, such as the historical, economic and international contexts. The study is based on three case companies from Brazil, founded around the year of 2010. Besides understanding the COO effects faced by Global Born firms in international markets, this study also analyzes how these companies deal with this matter when implementing their internationalization plans. Moreover, the study also assesses the Global Born firms’ internationalization path, as well as their main motivators and influential factors. The findings about the influence of COO affects in Born Global startups from emerging markets are displayed in two phases: (1) the initial stage, when consumers still have little knowledge and experience with the products or services offered by the startups, therefore relying more on first perceptions such as the COO, and (2) a secondary stage, in which the companies have already interacted in the international market, and the companies and their products and services are already known by the market in some extent. This study’s findings suggest that the COO affects the startups in the first moments of their internationalization process, however the COO influences decreases as the startups develop, interact and exploit the new markets. The findings are presented from both a within-case perspective and a cross-case perspective. Furthermore, discussion of the findings, implications and suggestions for further research are provided.

The article is aimed at investigating the modern views of scientists about the informational and methodological competence of students of pedagogical specializations via comparative qualitative research methods. As a result, the competency-based approach of students is changing through learning how to apply logic and methods of scientific and pedagogical research in standard situations and etc. In conclusion, full education is often seen as a necessary condition for achieving a comfortable standard of living, as an important factor in the progressive development of society and the economy

In order to stay competitive in the market, multinational corporations (MNC) need to expand their businesses in the international market. Sending employees to work abroad is a great way of expanding. However, having employees working abroad, brings a lot of advantages for the corporation, but it can also be a disadvantage for the corporation if the final step of international assignments, which is the repatriation process, has not been handled correctly. This thesis investigates how the managers of IKEA, Electrolux and SEB handle the repatriation process and how the repatriates experienced the process, during their pre-return period and post-return period. Our findings show that the repatriates experienced that the repatriation process was poorly conducted by the corporations due to lack of engagement from their side. On the other hand, managers of the companies felt that they handled the repatriation process very well. Therefore, it is essential that corporations prepare the employees well, before they start the international assignments, as well as help them to readjusting back in the home country. Working with practical expectations may lead to a smooth adjustment, which in turn, leads to a well-functioning repatriation process.

This paper analyzes whether business owners that simultaneously demonstrate past entrepreneurial experience and process agility have greater export propensity levels. The proposed hypotheses are tested using binary choice models relating past entrepreneurial experience and reported process agility on a unique sample of 246 Catalan business owners for the year 2010. Consistent with our theoretical arguments on the relevance of generative-based cognitive agility, results reveal that serial entrepreneurs demonstrate a greater export propensity. Additionally, we found that serial entrepreneurs who also demonstrate process agility show superior export propensity levels, compared to the group of business owners outside this ambidextrous group (first-time business owners without process agility). The findings of this study indicate that traits characterizing international marketing agility, decisional speed and accuracy, are also linked with greater export propensity levels. The added export market expansion resulting from the opportunity responsiveness of serial entrepreneurs is found to be amplified by the accuracy of internal adaptation capabilities of process agility. Therefore, the promotion of ambidextrous strategic agility coming from the complementarities between the benefits of entrepreneurial experience and adaptive process abilities is essential for increasing businesses’ internationalization, Postprint (author's final draft)

Millions of people around the developing world struggle to obtain safe, decent and affordable housing. The United States of America has substantially improved the residential construction sector by engineering new materials and developing efficient systems in wood construction. The goal of this research was to assess the potential of introducing system built wood construction system manufactured in the United States in urban social housing markets of developing countries. Peru, Ecuador and Colombia were three countries chosen for this study. Stakeholders in social housing in these three countries were interviewed to assess key aspects of traditional construction, current social housing deficits, perception of wood use in construction, and policies associated with social housing in selected markets. Findings indicate developing custom housing products for urban social housing programs can provide access to this untapped markets. Awareness about wood construction was very limited in the studied region. System built wood construction manufacturers in the U.S. were assessed to identify barriers and incentives for internationalization. Manufacturers in the U.S. also identify the need to expand their existing customer base. Findings of the survey conducted among the manufacturers identified various barriers to export. This research contributes to opening of new markets for exports of prefabricated wooden buildings in new geographical regions.

SMEs aimingto internationalize are facing multiple difficulties due to lack of network relationships, resources and experiential knowledge aswell ashigh risk and uncertainty levels. For instance, the level of ambiguity and uncertainty at the internationalization processis higher in institutionally distant markets, like Poland towards Sweden. It is important to understand how different the Polish market is, and what are the different regulations and rules that Swedish SMEs have to follow. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examinesources of ambiguities, and provide a strategic fit, by analyzing external environment in Polandand defining Swedish firm’s internal resources which impact the process of internationalization. To accomplish this purpose, the authors have conducted a qualitative research by multiple case studies involving three Swedish SMEs internationalizing in Polish market or similar foreignmarket.The theoretical framework comprisesthe theoretical concept of the strategy from IO view and RBV perspectives, external environment and internalresources and strategic fit,as well as theories regarding internationalization.Thefinal point istheoretical synthesis thatshows the relationship among these theoretical concepts. The empirical part demonstrates findings that derivefrom the interviews of case companies.Finally analysis of the collected empirical materials in relation to the theoretical frameworkselected for the topicis provided. The last chapter summarizes our findings and provides recommendations for the SMEs on what to consider when conducting successfulinternationalization process.

Nowadays, the globalization phenomena makes companies of every size think beyond domestic market. However, implement an international strategy that is efficient is not a simple task for firms. Indeed, companies have to respond to market specific context while they have different characteristics. In the literature, with regard to the adaptation/standardization of the marketing mix, most of the researches have built their theories upon the analysis of multinationals’ cases. Little attention has been paid on the cases of SMEs although in different topics of interest it has been seen that these two types of companies do not behave exactly the same ways. Therefore, this thesis aims to find the reasons affecting the SME’s decision of adapting/standardizing the marketing mix and how do they proceed to do so. A qualitative research has been done with one Belgian small-medium enterprise (Bruyere) that evolves in the chocolate industry and more precisely in the market of pralines. The data gathered, thanks to the interview of two managers of Bruyerre, are structured with the theoretical framework beforehand developed. The analysis and discussion section contrasts and compares the theoretical framework and the data gathered. The research brought specific and significant findings about the small-medium Belgian enterprise (Bruyerre). Beyond general factors affecting their decisions either to adapt or standardize the element of the marketing mix strategy across nations, in this case, we found that managers have to build strong relationships with their partners across nations, take into consideration the nature of their product when deciding the strategy of adaptation/standardization and be flexible for their partners’ requests.

Många butikskedjor väljer i dagsläget att etablera sig internationellt men oftar visar sig detta vara ett mer komplext projekt än väntat. Juridiska, kulturella och lokala faktorer påverkar, men många verksamheter vet inte på vilket sätt eller i vilken grad. Syftet är att identifiera, beskriva och analysera de särskiljande aspekter som uppstår för en butikskedja vid en internationell kontra en nationell butiksetablering. För att uppfylla syftet och framställa rapporten har en abduktiv ansats använts. Intervjumetoden har varit av kvalitativ karaktär. Den grundläggande slutsatsen genom arbetet har varit att det finns särskiljande faktorer mellan länder vid en internationell butiksetablering MEN dessa går enbart att identifiera genom att använda samma typ av marknadsanalyser som vid en nationell etablering. Skillnaderna mellan länderna är samma oavsett land men de kommer till uttryck på olika sätt och med olika nyanser. De viktigaste skillnaderna finns i de kulturella, juridiska och lokala dimensionerna vilket medför att det för butikkedjan blir essentiellt att vara välförberedd och välinformerad kring den förestående marknaden.