International expansion strategies : A research efficient framework and its application to the 10 EU accession countries

Establishes frameworks do not allow tho easily measure the proliferation of various international expansion strategies with readily available data. Therefore, a new framework is created and tested within the scope of a larger research project. As one part of this project, this article provides some preliminary insights on the expansion strategies that foreign companies employ towards the 10 EU accession countries. In a first step, an exploratory analysis addresses the question of what strategies are predominantly employed in the accession countries, where the respective foreign companies originate from, and what industries are especially affected by those strategies. This analysis indicates that the accession countries are on a average still mostly regarded as export markets. Yet especially Estonia, Hungary, and Slovenia partially function as globally integrated platforms. In a second step, a confirmatory analysis tests the determinants of the strategies as predicted by the framework. This analysis suggests that for these countries, hidden trade barriers have a stronger impact on strategic choice than straightforward import duties. Also, the location of globally integrated platforms depends more on local technological know how than on wage levels.