International opportunities : the first and other international opportunities of Malta based firms

Abstract

Internationalization plays a key role in a company’s journey towards success. Competition keeps growing over the years in every type of industry and a number of companies may not survive if they do not internationalize to grow their business further. This especially counts for Malta-based firms. Companies based in the Maltese Islands may be limited in terms of how much they can grow, since the market is quite a small one, and in some industries, competition is vast, so to grow further these companies have to enter foreign markets. The aim of this study is to perceive the companies which take part in this study from an opportunity lens, meaning that this study will focus on the international opportunities which the Malta-based companies seized to arrive where they are today, and which of these opportunities played the most important role. The role that the first international opportunity played will also be analyzed. Research on this specific subject is lacking, so it will be interesting to provide further data on it. The first international opportunity which the companies undertook has likely played a very important part in the companies’ international journey. If the first international opportunity was a failure, they may have been hesitant to seize another opportunity, while if it was a success, they may have become more motivated to go for another opportunity. The lessons learnt from entering the foreign market for the first few times has also likely paved the way for the future success which these companies have gone through. With every new opportunity, new lessons are learnt which can provide more success in the following opportunity. From this study it can be concluded that the first international opportunity does indeed play a major role in the companies’ international journey. The three research-sub questions which were tackled also provided further information on how every international opportunity is linked with one another, on the strategic significance of the international opportunities which the participants undertook, as well as the influence that the first international opportunity has on the opportunities that follow.