AUTHOR
Backlund, Gunnar; Suikki, Sabrina

DEPARTMENT
Business Administration and Social Sciences / Industrial marketing and e-commerce

SUMMARY
The purpose with this thesis has been to study SMEs’ internationalization. The process, which SMEs go through when selecting international markets, and what external and internal factors influence this selection have been studied. Furthermore, SMEs’ choice of foreign entry mode has been studied and what external and internal factors influence this choice. A case study has been conducted on AB Älvsbyhus that is the market leader in the Swedish woodhouse industry. The case study is based on the theory discussed in the thesis which then is compared with AB Älvsbyhus actions. Our findings show that AB Älvsbyhus internationalization behavior does not exactly match that in theory. During our research study we also found that there has not been laid sufficiently attention on companies which proactively initiate their international activities. Our conclusion is that each and every company must be analyzed individually on the basis of their specific prerequisites and abilities, in order to gain a better understanding of the company’s internationalization.

ISSN 1404-5508 / ISRN LTU-SHU-EX--05/119--SE / NR 2005:119