Born global in action: the potential Internationalization of a medical technology start-up to a complex business environment within a highly regulative Industry
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School of Business |
Master's thesis
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Authors
Date
2020
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Strategy
Language
en
Pages
109 + 22
Series
Abstract
This thesis focuses on exploratory research to determine a potential market entry strategy to the Indian market for LAKKA Health Oy, the case company for this research. The main objective of this thesis is to understand the plausibility of the Indian market for LAKKA with their hypoglycemia detection wearable device. In particular, the aim of the research is to determine the potential sales and marketing channel strategies that LAKKA can use in India to gain optimal visibility and sales potential. The literature review details the literature on born global internationalization coined under the term international entrepreneurship (Oviatt and McDougall, 1994). The section also includes discussion in regard to specific sales and marketing channel strategies tailored for start-ups internationalizing. The chapter concludes with an illustrative conceptual framework of the literature in regard to a potential market entry strategy for a MedTech start-up entering the Indian market which is later linked to the empirical findings in the discussion section. The empirical research was done using the qualitative research method. In particular, the research concentrates on an exploratory, single intensive case study. The case company in question is LAKKA Health Oy, a Finnish start-up currently developing a hypoglycemia detection wearable device with interest in quick internationalization to several target markets, one being India, once the product is ready. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with internal employees of LAKKA as well as experts in the areas of India, the Healthtech industry and lastly successful internationalizing SMEs. The findings underline several key themes for the start-up to consider when internationalizing to India. The main themes include the market complexity of India, benefits of an Internet-based sales channel strategy and niche target marketing, and lastly the homogeneity of digital consumer behavior. The discussion ties together the findings from both the literature and empirical research, with emphasis on how the conceptual framework can be applied to the case of LAKKA and their potential market entry to India. The discussion is divided into sub-sections to answer the main research question and sub questions. In particular, the discussion concludes the best fitting approach to enter the Indian market. Insights and suggestions into what sales and market channel strategies aid in the ability to gain visibility and sales in India are also provided. The thesis concludes with beneficial managerial implications for the case company to consider with the Indian market and beyond.Description
Thesis advisor
Seristö, HannuKeywords
international entrepreneurship, born globals, market entry strategy, medical technology start-ups