engleski

Export Strategies of Croatian Companies

Exporting to the foreign markets is quite often a challenge for the Croatian companies. More dynamic joint European market as well as fast development of technology and advances in globalization demand from a successful company to become truly international and seek its fortune on the international markets. This is especially true for the Croatian companies that operate on small domestic market and need international expansion in order to grow, develop and become competitive. Main goal of this paper was to identify and analyze the efficiency of export strategies of Croatian companies. Statistical data regarding Croatian exports in the past ten years have been analyzed in order to gain insights into the structure and trends of Croatian exports. Qualitative empirical research using in-depth interviews have been conducted on a sample of experts and managers, in Croatian companies, that are in charge of export and international development of business operations. Research results point toward strong correlation between successful export strategy of a company and its overall competitive performance and this is in turn identified as prerequisite for its successful growth and development. Such companies displayed a high level of technological sophistication and a significant investment in knowledge as one of the key success factors of the business. On average, such companies employ highly educated staff in all departments and show more emphasis on adaptation to specific requirements of targeted international markets. Results have shown that speed of delivery, tender price and the customization of the product are of the highest importance for the business performance on international markets. The most common form of export is direct export, although some companies appear in foreign markets through intermediaries, agents, and other companies.

export strategies; competitive performance; Croatia; internationalization

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