Internationalization Process Management: Foreign Entry Modes of Czech Companies

The foreign market entry selection is highly significant for the company's future performance. Selecting the right foreign entry mode is an important decision, which demands a lot of resources and thorough planning. The factors influencing company's choice of entry mode are divided into two main groups subsuming external and internal factors. External factors consist of determinants regarding the company's environment while the internal ones are determined by the company's specific factors. The objective of this paper is to present an application of the entry modes of the selected Czech entrepreneurial subjects. The companies included in the study are those that have undertaken internationalization activities and are incorporated in the Czech Republic. There were a total of 297 enterprises that participated in the research. The research method was an oral questioning and the main instrument was a questionnaire. A relatively low degree of Czech companies' - that have undergone internationalization has resulted in the dominance of the least advanced forms of internationalization expansion, mainly exports with a small share of more advanced forms of foreign direct investments and a very low level of forms of international cooperation. Czech companies are in decision about the choosing the foreign entry mode influenced by the many factors. The greatest influence on the choice of foreign entry mode has entry mode variables. Entry mode variables constitute variables assessment characteristics of particular entry mode. Among the characteristics can be included flexibility of the method, risk of the method and degree of the method control.