Entry barriers of small and medium‐sized software firms in the Japanese market

Ojala, Arto; Tyrväinen, Pasi

doi:10.1002/tie.20167

Cited by 23 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Economic downturn negatively affected businesses’ competitiveness all over the world. As such, although international growth has become a matter of high importance even for SMEs (Rowden, ; Zain & Ng, ), the Global Enterprise Survey Report 2010 revealed that access to finance became a main barrier to internationalization and export for 23% of Asia‐Pacific SMEs, 28% of Gulf SMEs, 16% of UK globally engaged SMEs, 30% of SMEs from other EU countries, and 19% of SMEs from the United States (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales [ICAEW], ; Ojala & Tyrväinen, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of External Finance Availability on SMEs’ Decision Making: A Case Study of the Emerging Market of Poland

Steinerowska-Streb

Steiner

2014

Thunderbird Intl Bus Rev

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This article explores an understanding of the entrepreneurial behavior of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Poland, one of the emerging markets of the European Union, during the recent period of economic slowdown. It considers the role of accessibility to external fi nancial resources in shaping decisions undertaken by such enterprises. The hypothesis is that, in a period of economic slowdown, SMEs that have difficulty in accessing external sources of fi nancing adopt different strategies than those that have free access to those resources. The fi ndings indicate that access to the external sources of fi nancing is a statistically signifi cant factor determining decisions of SMEs in relation to employment reduction, price reductions on goods/services, suspension of previously planned investments, and an increase in the level of salaries. Consequently, the study is important as it considers factors that impact the success and survival of SMEs in the emerging market; it is also unique, as it investigates these aspects in the recent period of the global economic downturn.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of External Finance Availability on SMEs’ Decision Making: A Case Study of the Emerging Market of Poland

Steinerowska-Streb

Steiner

2014

Thunderbird Intl Bus Rev

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“…Firstly, although Japan has the world second largest software market after the U.S. the Japanese market attracted fewer entries than its market would warrant. This may be due to that Japan is a fairly distant country culturally from the U.S. and as it is commonly known, the Japanese market has been is a quite demanding country to enter for foreign software firms (Ojala and Tyrväinen, 2007b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Market entry decisions of US small and medium‐sized software firms

Ojala

Tyrväinen

2008

Management Decision

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate market entry decisions of the US software SMEs by analyzing the impact of the most obvious factors (cultural distance, geographical distance, country risk, and three market size variables) in traditional internationalization theories to target country selection. By investigating the influence of these commonly cited macro‐level factors, this study proposes the best indicator for market entry decisions of the US small and medium‐sized software firms.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a quantitative research approach applied to a sample of 100 US small and medium‐sized software firms.FindingsEmpirical findings in this study indicate that vertical (software) market size in a target country is the best single indicator for market entry decision and in themselves explain 63 percent of market entries. Thus, the findings in this study suggest that the vertical market size gives a better explanation for market entry decisions of software SMEs than the earlier widely used variables.Research implications/limitationsIntegrating earlier findings related to firm‐level factors with findings of macro‐level factors will help theory development and will facilitate obtaining a more holistic view of internationalization of knowledge‐intensive SMEs.Practical implicationsFindings in this study imply that managers should take an active role when they develop network relationships for the market entry. If a firm takes a passive role in networking, it might lose market opportunities available in the leading markets and end up in countries where the real market potential is low.Originality/valueThis paper highlights vertical market size, which has been largely ignored in earlier studies, as the most important indicator for international market entry decision.

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“…The study also revealed that communication problems were finance-related, as well, because visiting customers and requirements of face-to-face communication, in terms of installing and after-sales services, were needed in that context (Bell 1997). In their study related to software SMEs' entry barriers in the Japanese market, Ojala and Tyrväinen (2007b) found that most of the entry barriers could be associated to the firm's internal factors and the sales process. These factors included communication problems, recruitment of capable employees, and finding of right contact persons.…”

Section: Problems Related To Start-up and Internationalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Entrepreneurship training for new ventures

Ojala

Heikkilä

2009

Int Entrep Manag J

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Several studies in the field of international entrepreneurship have indicated the inadequacy of public policy support for new ventures and called for more tailored training programs. This paper introduces a training program created for new ventures in Central Finland and analyzes its benefits and shortcomings using a qualitative case study.The findings reveal that the training program provided useful knowledge on how to develop a business further and how to make it understandable and attractive to a funder.However, the findings also indicate that there is a need for cultural adaptation: the training program developed originally for U.S. new ventures was not fully adapted for the needs of Finnish entrepreneurs. The program mainly focused on risk taking, raising funds from capital markets in the U.S., and entering into the U.S market soon after the establishment. This was in contrast to the Finnish entrepreneurs' strategies: they preferred to grow their business in a more controlled and profitable manner. Thus, although knowledge-intensive new ventures operate in global environments, the training provided for them should take into account the cultural differences and the local way of doing business. Keywords: Entrepreneurship training, new ventures, international entrepreneurship, small firms, Finland 2 IntroductionResearch related to rapidly internationalizing, knowledge-intensive SMEs has been of increasing interest since 1990s. These firms, known as "international new ventures" (INVs) or "born globals" seek for growth opportunities and resources in international markets very early on in their life-cycle (Bell et al. 2003;Oviatt and McDougall 1994).This phenomenon has also been boosted by the rapid expansion of global venture capital funding in the millennium shift (see e.g., Green 2004).As it is commonly known, these kinds of firms are very beneficial to the local economy as they create most of new jobs, open new market sectors, and develop new products and services. For instance, in the OECD countries, over 95 percent of all firms are SMEs and they employ 60 -70 percent of workforce (OECD 2000). These SMEs are increasingly becoming involved in technology-intensive industries to reach for global markets with their innovative products. However, there are also many constraints that might hinder or even prevent small firms in their attempts to reach the opportunities available for them in foreign markets. These include, for instance, the lack of financial and human resources and skills needed in their local services. For these reasons, researchers have called for more tailored institutional support and training to facilitate the growth of small and innovative new ventures (Bell 1997;Bell et al. 2003Bell et al. , 2004Crick and Spence 2005;Dimitratos and Jones 2003;Rialp et al. 2005;Spence 2003). In Central Finland, we answered to this request by implementing a training program for our local growth- Internationalization of new venturesIn the late 1980s, researchers (e.g., Ganitsky 1989;McDougall 1989) Howe...

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Entry barriers of small and medium‐sized software firms in the Japanese market

Cited by 23 publications

References 41 publications

An Analysis of External Finance Availability on SMEs’ Decision Making: A Case Study of the Emerging Market of Poland

An Analysis of External Finance Availability on SMEs’ Decision Making: A Case Study of the Emerging Market of Poland

Market entry decisions of US small and medium‐sized software firms

Entrepreneurship training for new ventures

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