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Paper info: Project Business As A Distinct Market Entry Mode: A Conceptual Discussion

Title


Project Business As A Distinct Market Entry Mode: A Conceptual Discussion

Authors


Maqsood Sandhu, Richard A. Owusu and Soren Kock

Place of Publication


The paper was published at the 19th IMP-conference in Lugano, Switzerland in 2003.

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Abstract


This paper proposes and elaborates that project business should be seen as a distinct market entry method, or mode of international business. The paper discusses the contributions of various strands of received international market entry theory ? on one hand the Uppsala Internationalisation Model, and the contributions made to it by the Transactions Costs Perspective as well as Dunning's Eclectic Paradigm; and on the other hand the Network Approach to International Market Entry ? regarding the modes of international market entry. Our research and analyses show that the characteristics and demands of international project business are so distinct that only its clear demarcation as a distinct international market entry method enables us to adequately expose its nature, demands, and importance. We agree that a single project sale is a temporary form of direct involvement in a foreign economy. However, it provides opportunities for network interactions in a way that makes it an important jump pad for continuous project or other business in the foreign economy. Our conceptual analyses based on a literature review and the evidence of many case studies confirm the distinctiveness of project business and lead to the proposition that it should be considered as a separate market entry mode. By so doing research, teaching, and management implications will develop the correct analytical and normative approach necessary to correctly deal with it. Keywords: International Project Business; Internationalisation; InternationalMarket Entry Modes, Network, Relationships.