P31 - Socialist Enterprises and Their TransitionsReturn

This study is focused on relationship between external and internal impact on decisionmaking influencing international business strategies in transitional economy. Drawing from secondary and primary interview data on international business activities of 18 startups and 20 enterprises operating in the Czech Republic (including firms controlled by both domestic and foreign investors), respectively, the authors propose five strategies. In general, the findings suggest that strategies developed by domestically owned niche-focused or recent startups and those carefully guided by inbound foreign direct investors are more successful. Moreover, the more successful ( i.e., those experiencing significant domestic and international sales growth) are those who develop unique marketing strategies. Uncontrollable externalities do not appear to have an impact on firms' success or failure. The regionally oriented exporting tends to be the dominant strategy. Globally oriented export activities are relatively modest whereas outbound direct investment strategies are very minor compared with inbound foreign direct investment activities.