Problem Formulation
Internationalizing the Small and Medium Sized Firm – four cases
The development in today’s economy seems to force companies to enter foreign markets in a faster mode than ever before (Andersson & Gandemo 1993). The recent boom in the market accelerated this trend1). Being at a company that has chosen to internationalize is not an easy situation. There are no manuals and books to read that explain what you should do. Both authors have experience from internationalization processes and have seen the difficulties connected with setting up a business in a foreign country2). When investigating the theoretical literature on the area, according to the authors, there seems to be an absence of material dealing with the more practical implications of going international when being small. Many researchers and theories deal with large companies and if at all discussed they treat SME’s as embryonic versions of large companies; this is criticized by Andersen (1999). Andersson & Gandemo (1993) question the lack of studies on SME’s that establish a physical presence in other countries. All this taken together serves as a major problem.
