Intangible Barriers to Russian Imports: A Case of Finnish SMEs Entering RF Markets

Abstract

A steady stream of literature observes the business internationalization phenomenon from various perspectives. This article aims to contribute by highlighting the fact that success and failure in foreign market entry often depends on the company's intangible assets such as knowledge and skills. This is especially true for Small- and Medium-Size Enterprises (SMEs) due to their limited capabilities in utilizing the few tangible resources they might have. The focus of this paper is on the experience of thirty Finnish SMEs that in 2005-08 attempted market entry in Russia. The authors come to the conclusion that in most cases the success or failure of these attempts have clearly depended upon the level of knowledge and skills demonstrated by the people involved in the process. Furthermore, the article suggests a set of consecutive steps that might constitute the basis of an SME's successful entry strategy for the Russian market. This article could be of use for both companies and business support policy makers as it sheds light on the bottlenecks and challenges in supporting SMEs' internationalization.

Large Finnish Companies in the Russian market

“…Рассматривая опыт и направления трансграничного сотрудничества, Ковалев [Ковалев, 2014] обращает внимание на развитие связей малых и средних предприятий (МСП), государственных учреждений и неправительственных организаций. Проблемы и возможности выхода финских МСП на российский рынок в условиях изменений политической и бизнес-среды отражены в исследовании Зашева и Трофименко [Зашев, Трофименко, 2017], барьеры такого выхода раскрываются в статье Зашева и Сутырина [Zashev, Sutyrin, 2012].…”