Internationalization process and its challenges of Finnish fast-food chains

The aim of the study is to understand and analyse key factors for starting and maintaining the internationalization process of Finnish fast-food chains and to understand the possible challenges in the foreign market after starting the internationalization process. The thesis takes a close look into the internationalization process through the capabilities of a company. The framework of the study covers the internationalization process from the dynamic capabilities’ perspective. The business aspects of the internationalization process are market evaluation, operating model, financial and human capital, and business environment. The literature review introduces the business aspects through the dynamic capabilities and the possible challenges in the internationalization process and afterwards. The dynamic capabilities are described through sensing a change, seizing opportunities, and reconfiguring the change. The methodology of the study is qualitative because the research aims to understand the internationalization process of different kinds of markets. The chosen method for the research is a multiple case study. The thematic interviews in semi-structured forms are made for leaders that had or are in the top management position in the Finnish foodservice sector. The findings reveal common steps and challenges in the internationalization process. However, there are differences between the companies depending on the markets. Therefore, the research provides a practical framework to understand the internationalization process from different market perspectives. When a company wants to internationalize, it should acknowledge the four business aspects of the internationalization process which are market evaluation, operating model, financial and human capital, and business environment. The findings reveal that the common mistake in market evaluation is the lack of a deep evaluation. In the operating model, the companies need to consider having strong management in the targeted market. This leads to the human capital perspective where the companies should find employees that share the same motivation as them. The business environment on the other hand reveals internal and external challenges. The internal challenges are related to personnel and location. In contrast, the external challenges are related to legislation and turmoil. There are three possibilities for future research. The first one is to focus on managerial capabilities for the internationalization process. The second one is to interview various people in the company to get understanding of the comprehensive internationalization process. The third possibility is to study how the company reacts and adapts to rapidly changing environments in different markets.