THE STRATEGIC DECISIONS IN THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF CZECH LARGE ENTERPRISES AND SMEs
ŠÁRKA ZAPLETALOVÁ *
Department of Business Economics and Management, School of Business Administration in Karvina, Silesian University in Opava, Univerzitní nám. 1934/3, 733 40 Karviná, Czech Republic.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Many significant changes in economic as well as non-economic spheres have recently proven to be a strong stimulus for a number of entrepreneurial subjects to develop new strategies so as to strengthen their positioning not only on domestic but also on foreign markets. The transition process of the Czech economy, including its involvement in international exchange, and the developing globalization process mean that Czech companies have rapidly begun to internationalize their activities. The opening of new markets such as in the Czech Republic has created the potential for company expansion and investment. The objective of this paper is to compare the internationalization of Czech large enterprises and SMEs. The companies included in the study are those that have already undertaken internationalization activities and are incorporated in the Czech Republic. The findings of the comparison show that the company size affects only the speed of internationalization of Czech companies. The choice of geographical coverage and entry mode is not affected by company size.
Keywords: Strategic decisions, internationalization, large enterprises, small enterprises, Czech companies, entry modes, geographical sub-regions