Internationalisation of an Austrian SME with a sales agent to Mexico and the USA in the automotive sector

Abstract

Many Austrian small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector opt for expanding to further markets. Especially for the automotive industry, Mexico and the USA are attractive locations. The purpose of this paper is to identify a strategy for an Austrian SME in the automotive sector for its business expansion to Mexico and the USA. Therefore, factors influencing the expansion strategy, as well as operational measures increasing the success rate of the company are identified. Additionally, it is analysed if a combined market entry and strategy formulation for both countries is recommendable. The aim is to present solid results regarding how the company should tackle the upcoming challenges for its strategic direction of internationalisation. For this purpose, a literature review and an empirical qualitative study were chosen as a main method. Based on the results of the study the company is provided with recommendations on how to design its strategy and which factors are to be considered when opting for the two markets. Based on the research the company is advised to consider both markets as individual and parallel processes.