THE MOTIVATING FACTORS FOR ENTERING INTO FOREIGN MARKETS-THE CASE OF REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

The purpose of this study is to analyze the most important motives that make companies consider while operating out of their borders into other potential markets. It will also analyze the factors of internal and external environment. Therefore, the goal of this research is to analyze the motives and factors of foreign companies that have already entered Macedonia in any mode of entry by finding out the factors and motives that influenced their decision making while choosing the proper mode for that particular market. As a research methodology for collecting primary data, a structured questionnaire was used with 13 variables- motives for the internationalization of businesses. The SPSS software is used in order to analyze these variables. Cronbach Alfa is used for checking the internal reliability of variables. According to this analysis the following factors: international knowledge and experience of the company, identification of international opportunities, following competitors, international and competitive nature of the industry /the firm are considered as the most important motivating factors for the internationalization of businesses. While the following factors: economic stability, social stability, political stability, infrastructure, access to capital, аnd the level of education influence the modes of entry for companies that entered the Macedonian market.