Influences of Firm Characteristics and the Host Country Environment on the Degree of Foreign Market Involvement

Against thε backdrop of the increasing trend towards
economic globalisation, many intemational firms are indicating
that decisions on how to enter foreign markets remains one of
the key strategic challenges confronting them. Despite thε rich
body of literature on the topic, the fact that these challeng않
havε continued to dcminate global marketing sσategy
discourses point to someevident lacunae. Accordingly, this
paper considers the variables, categorised in terms of frrm
contexts (standardisation, market research, competition,
structure, competitive advantage) and host country-contexts
( economic development, cu}tural differences, regulation d
political risk), which influence the degree of involvement of
UK companies in overseas markets.