How can joining an association of producers help SMEs internationalize? : the case of APOMA - Associação de Produtores de Ovos Moles de Aveiro

• Autor(a) principal: Pires, Ana Carolina Dionísio
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/20673
• topic: Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão

In an increasingly globalized world, many are the factors that facilitate the internationalization of businesses. Convergence of consumer preferences and improvements in communications and transportation are just some examples. Looking at the case of SMEs specifically, research has shown that internationalization is the path for long-term survival and profitability. Still, many firms look at internationalization with skepticism given the many barriers (internal and external) they can face when trying to reach foreign markets. There are several ways SMEs can overcome these barriers, one of them being the establishment alliances. Following these lines, this thesis focuses on the challenges faced by SMEs when internationalizing and how establishing an alliance and, more specifically, joining an association, can help them overcome their challenges. To answer the research question this thesis studies a Portuguese association, APOMA – Associação de Produtores de Ovos Moles de Aveiro, which helped and continues to help SMEs reaching foreign markets. The overall conclusion is that, in fact, APOMA had a positive impact in the internationalization processes of the firms to it associated at the level of the firms’ resources, costs and investments, legal protection of the product, increase of the expiration date of the product, promotion and getting orders.