The document discusses international entrepreneurship, outlining its importance, strategic issues, entry methods, and barriers faced by entrepreneurs operating across national boundaries. It highlights the complexity of international business compared to domestic operations, emphasizing factors such as economic, political-legal, cultural, and technological environments. Additionally, it covers various market entry options including exporting, licensing, and joint ventures to navigate these challenges and better leverage local knowledge.

1. Module: Entrepreneurship
Topic: International Entrepreneurial
Opportunities
Week 4
Kashif Ali
Department of Business Administration
kashifali@uosahiwal.edu.pk
1

2. • To identify the aspects and importance of
international entrepreneurship.
• To identify the important strategic issues in
international entrepreneurship.
• To identify the available options for entering
international markets.
• To present the problems and barriers to
international entrepreneurship.
• To explain the aspects of th entrepreneurial
process.
Learning Objectives

3. • To explain the differences between
entrepreneurial and managerial domains.
• To explain the organizational environment
conducive for entrepreneurship.
• To identify the general characteristics of an
Entrepreneur.
• To explain the process of establishing
entrepreneurship in an organization.
Learning Objectives (cont’d)

4. International
Entrepreneurship
• International entrepreneurship is the process
of an entrepreneur conducting business activities
across national boundaries.
• It is exporting, licensing, or opening a sales office in
another country.
• When an entrepreneur executes his or her business
in more than one country, international
entrepreneurship occurs.

5. Importance of International
Entrepreneurship
• International business has become increasingly
important to firms of all sizes.
• The successful entrepreneur will be someone who
understands how international business differs from
domestic business and is able to act accordingly.

6. International Vs Domestic
Entrepreneurship
• Whether international or domestic, an entrepreneur
is concerned about the same basic issues sales,
costs, and profits.
• What varies is the relative importance of the factors
being considered.
• International entrepreneurial decisions are more
complex due to uncontrollable factors.

7. Uncontrollable Factors
• Economic
• Political-Legal Environment
• Cultural Environment
• Technological Environment

8. Economic
• Creating a business strategy for multiple countries
means dealing with different levels of economic
development and different distribution systems.
• There are still many difficulties in doing business in
developing and transition economies due to:
– Gaps in the knowledge of the Western system
regarding business plans, marketing, and profits.
– Widely variable rates of return.
– Differences in the accounting system.
– Communications.

9. Political-Legal Environment
• Multiple political and legal environments create
different business problems.
• Each element of the international business strategy
can potentially be affected by multiple legal
environments.
• Laws governing business arrangements also vary
greatly in the 150 different legal systems and
• sets of national laws.

10. Cultural Environment
• The impact of culture on entrepreneurs and
strategies is significant.
• Understanding the local culture is necessary when
developing worldwide plans.

11. Technological Environment
• Technology varies significantly across countries.
• New products in a country are created based on the
conditions and infrastructure of that country.
• Different theories to determine the consumers’
intention to use Technology
– Technology Acceptance Model
– Theory of Reasoned Action
– Theory of Planned Behaviour
– Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior etc.

12. Strategic Issues
• The allocation of responsibility between the U.S. and
foreign operations.
• The nature of the planning and control systems to be
used.
• The appropriate organizational structure for
conducting international operations.
• The degree of standardization possible.

13. Strategic Issues (Cont’d)
• With experience in international operations,
entrepreneurs tend to change their approach to
responsibility.
– Stage 1: In the first stages the entrepreneur
typically follows a highly centralized decision
making process.
– Stage 2: When success occurs, it is no longer
possible to use completely centralized decision
making process.
– Stage 3: Decentralization is scaled back and
major strategic decisions are again centralized.

14. Strategic Issues (Cont’d)
To understand what is required for effective planning,
reporting, and control, the entrepreneur should
consider:
• Environmental analysis.
– Market characteristics.
– Marketing institutions.
– Industry conditions.
– Legal environment.
– Resources.
– Political environment.

15. Strategic Issues (Cont’d)
• Strategic planning.
• Structure.
• Operational planning.
• Controlling the marketing program.

16. Entering International Markets
• The choice of entry method depends on the
goals of the entrepreneur and the company’s
strengths and weaknesses.
• Exporting
• Non Equity Arrangements
• Direct Foreign Investment

17. Entering International Markets
• Exporting
– Indirect exporting involves a foreign purchaser
in the local market or using an export
management firm.
– For certain commodities, foreign buyers seek out
sources of supply.
– Export management firms, another indirect
method, are located in many commercial centers.

18. Entering International Markets
• Exporting
– Direct exporting through independent
distributors or through one’s own overseas sales
office is another entry method.
– An independent foreign distributor directly
contacts foreign customers and takes care of all
technicalities.
– Entrepreneurs who do not wish to give up control
over marketing can open overseas sales offices
and hire their own salespeople.

19. Entering International Markets
Non equity arrangements
• Non equity arrangements allow the entrepreneur to
enter a market without direct equity investment in
the foreign market.
– Licensing involves a manufacturer giving a foreign
manufacturer the right to use a patent, trademark, or
technology in return for a royalty.
– This arrangement is most appropriate when the
entrepreneur has no prospect of entering the market
through exporting or direct investment.
– The process is usually low risk and an easy way to
generate incremental income.

20. Entering International Markets
Non equity arrangements
• Non equity arrangements allow the entrepreneur to
enter a market without direct equity investment in
the foreign market.
– Licensing involves a manufacturer giving a foreign
manufacturer the right to use a patent, trademark, or
technology in return for a royalty.
– This arrangement is most appropriate when the
entrepreneur has no prospect of entering the market
through exporting or direct investment.
– The process is usually low risk and an easy way to
generate incremental income.

21. Entering International Markets
Direct Foreign Investment
– Minority interests
• Joint venture: Two firms get together and form a third
company in which they share the equity.
• Joint ventures have been used by entrepreneurs in two
situations:
– When the entrepreneur wants to purchase local
knowledge and an established facility.
– When rapid entry into a market it needed.

22. Entering International Markets
Direct Foreign Investment
– Joint venture
• Motives for the significant increase in the use of joint
ventures:
– To share the costs and risks of an uncertain project.
– To gain synergy between the two firms.
– To obtain a competitive advantage.
– To enter markets that pose entrance difficulties

23. Entering International Markets
Direct Foreign Investment
– Majority interests
• The majority interest allows the entrepreneur to obtain
managerial control while maintaining the company’s
local identity.
• In technical sense anything over 50% of the equity of
the firm is majority interest.
– 100 percent ownership: One form of 100 percent
ownership is mergers and acquisitions, but the
entrepreneur needs to have a general understanding of
the benefits and problems of mergers as a strategic
option.

24. Entering International Markets
• 100 Percent Ownership
– A horizontal merger is the combination of two firms
that produce closely related projects in the same area.
– A vertical merger is the combination of firms in
successive stages of production.
– A product extension merger occurs. when acquiring
and acquired companies have related production but
do not have directly competing products.
– A market extension merger is when two firms produce
the same products but sell them in different areas.
– A diversified activity merger is a conglomerate merger
involving the consolidation of two unrelated firms.

25. Barriers to International
Entrepreneurship
• General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT)
• Increasing Protectionist Attitudes
• Trade Blocks and Free Trade Areas
• Entrepreneur’s Strategies and Trade
Barriers

26. Barriers to International
Entrepreneurship
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
– GATT is a multilateral agreement with the objective of
liberalizing trade by eliminating tariffs and import
quotas.
– In each round, mutual tariff reductions are negotiated
between member nations. Members can ask for
investigation of violations.
– While GATT has helped develop more unrestricted
trade, its voluntary membership gives it little authority.

27. Barriers to International
Entrepreneurship
• Increasing Protectionist Attitudes
– Support of free trade increased significantly due to the
rise in protectionist pressures in many countries.
– The persistent U.S. trade deficit has strained the
world trading system.
– The economic success of a country (Japan) perceived
as not playing by the rules has also strained the
trading system.
– In response many countries have established bilateral
voluntary export restrictions.

28. Barriers to International
Entrepreneurship
• Trade Blocks and Free Trade Areas
– Groups of nations are banding together to increase
investment between nations in the group and exclude
others.
– The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico reduces
barriers and encourages investment. The Americas,
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay have
created a free trade zone between the countries.
– The European Community (EC) is founded on the
principle of supra-nationality, with member nations not
being able to enter into trade agreements on their own
that are inconsistent with EC regulations.

29. Barriers to International
Entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneur’s Strategies and Trade Barriers
– Trade barriers pose problems for entrepreneurs who
want to become involved in international business.
– Trade barriers increase the costs of exporting projects
to a country. Voluntary export restrictions may limit the
ability to sell products in a country from production
facilities outside the country.
– An entrepreneur may have to locate assembly or
facilities in a country to conform to the local content
regulations.

30. Entrepreneurial Partnering
• One of the best methods to enter an international
market is to partner with an entrepreneur in that
country.
• These foreign entrepreneurs know the country and
culture and therefore facilitate business transactions
while keeping the entrepreneur current on business,
economic and political conditions.
• This partnering is facilitated by understanding the
nature of entrepreneurship in the country.
• Three areas of particular interest to U.S.
entrepreneurs are Europe, the Far East and
transition economies.

31. Sources of New Ideas
• A sound idea for a new product or service, properly
evaluated, is essential to successfully launch a new
venture.
• Some of the more frequently used ideas for new
entrepreneur include
– Consumers
– Existing companies
– Distribution channels
– Federal government
– Research and development.

32. Sources of New Ideas
• Consumers
– Determine their wants/needs.
• Existing companies
– See if there are ways to improve upon products and
services in the market.
• Distribution channels
– Elicit suggestions from channel members.
• The Federal Government
– Check the Government’s Patent Office files.
• Research and Development
– Conduct your own research & development.

33. 1. Hisrich, R. D., Peters, M. P., Shepherd, D. A., (2017),
Entrepreneurship. McGraw Hill Education. New York
Reference Book /Reading
Material

34. In case of any query feel free to contact:
kashifali@uosahiwal.edu.pk
Any Questions?

35. Thank you