Initial selection of international markets applied to a digital consulting firm: BIKO

Abstract

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are highly interested in increasing their international presence. Deciding which markets best suit a company is an important task. For this purpose, a revision and adaptation of previously suggested International Market Selection methodologies is conducted and applied to Biko, a local SME in Navarre. A method in order to pre-select international markets will be suggested. After carrying out a factor analysis, clustering and ranking will be combined. The use of this systematic method, which takes into account the experience and industry specific knowledge of the firm, allows decision makers to choose not only according to their intuition but also basing on relevant data. Apart from reducing costs by discarding unsuitable countries, this approach provides a clear, useful view of international opportunities, showing untapped markets, enabling synergies among countries and monitoring the current markets where the company is established. A range of possibilities will be proposed to the firm in order to successfully ensure a better approach to their international market selection process.