Exploring the Business Development Process of Swedish Firms in the Baltic States and Poland

On the basis of internationalization theory, a model is developed to study the business development process of Swedish firms in the Baltic States and Poland. The model focuses on two aspects of behavior: the pre-entry and positioning of the firms. The results, based on an investigation of 40 firms, indicate differences in the pre-entry behavior between large and small firms. Strategic considerations were the most important factors that influenced the large firms' decision process while personal motives were more often the main motive among small firms. The subsequent positioning behavior, in terms of knowledge development and commitments,was influenced by the network of large firms while small firms had to gain knowledge by utilizing external factors or finding information on their own.