earliest schools of thought concerning the way in which the firm begins to internationalize its operation. The theory presents an idea that the operation of the firm will follow an establishment chain, which is a sequence of stages with gradually increasing commitments. The four development stages were identified as stated below (Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul 1975): 1. 2. 3. 4. no regular export activities export via independent representatives (agent) sales subsidiary and production/manufacturing
The theory assumed that the principal obstacles are reduced by incremental decision making and learning about the foreign market and operations (Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul 1975). Increased market knowledge is supposed to lead to increased market commitment and vice versa. Johanson and Vahlnes classification of knowledge is based on the way it is acquired (Penrose1959, p.53): one type, objective knowledge, can be taught; the other, experience or experiential knowledge, can only be learned through personal experience With experiential knowledge, emphasis is placed on the change in the services the human resources can supply which arises from their activity experience itself can never be transmitted, it produces a change-frequently a subtle change-in individuals and cannot be separated from them. Johanson and Vahlne (1977) believe that experiential knowledge is critical in the internationalization context and the experiential knowledge makes it possible to perceive concrete opportunities- to have a feeling about how they fit into the present and future activities. Furthermore, in 1990, Johanson and Vahlne argued that the market experience gained from the current activities is to a large extent country specific, i.e. it can be generalized to other country markets. Other researchers (Porter 1991) took the idea further and suggested that performing activities create firms internal assets such as skills and experiential knowledge, which in turn can be used to predict the entry mode for new foreign markets. But it should be noticed that the stage model has been criticized as being too deterministic (Reid, 1983; Rosson, 1987; Turnbull, 1987): the firm will start at stage A and then go to stage B etc. Reid (1983) argues that the firm has the option of making a strategic choice as to modes of entry and such a choice is contingent on market conditions. In addition, studies (Sharma and Johanson 1987) have shown that the establishment chain is not valid for service industries. 2.1.2 Entry mode and Dunnings eclectic explanation Dunning (1980) suggested that the firms choice of entry mode depends on its ownership-specific advantages, internalization-specific advantages and location-specific advantages. Ownership advantages are firm-specific assets and skills. Assets are reflected by the firms size and multinational experience and skills by the

firms ability of product differentiation (Dunning 1993). Ownership advantages need to be both unique and sustainable in order to provide the firm with a competitive advantage in the entry mode selection (Brouthers et al. 1996). Internalization-specific advantages refer to the multinational enterprises (MNEs) ability to transfer ownership-specific advantages across national borders within its own organization rather than exploiting the advantage by selling it (Johanson and Vahlne 1990). The internalization-specific advantages are concerned with the cost of choosing a hierarchical mode of operation over an external mode (Dunning 1988). Finally, the location-specific advantages reflect how attractive the specific country market is, and the attractiveness of a country has been characterized in terms of its market potential and investment risk (Root 1987). Measures of location-specific advantages include similarity in culture, market infrastructures and the availability of lower production costs (Dunning 1993). The eclectic framework presents a multi-theoretical approach for the study of foreign entry mode: international trade theory, resource-based theory and transaction cost theory are the basic theories used. (Andersen 1997). 2.1.3 Entry mode and the transaction cost analysis model In the last decade, the transaction cost analysis model has become fairly popular in the entry mode investigation. Anderson and Gatignon (1986) treat the choice of entry modes from the perspective of choosing the degree of vertical integration of international business. The analysis approach seems extremely effective in explaining vertical integration decisions and has been adopted to predict entry mode for manufacturing firms as well as for service firms. But the most relevant point here is that the approach, compared with the establishment chain, includes hybrid modes (e.g. inter-firm cooperation and vertical cooperation). In summary, the establishment chain describes the entry mode decision as a time-dependent process. The explanation of a particular is based on some prior state or a sequence of some prior states (Zaltman et al. 1973). While the other frameworks above attempts to predict a firms entry mode based on the analysis of a set of relevant factors. However, these theories all together identify a number of factors that may be helpful in understanding the strategy chose by BBK Company in its internationalization process. 2.2 The network theory In this section, the network concept, network perspective on internationalization, network perspective on foreign market entry and international expansion are reviewed to get a general understanding on the connection between network and internationalization process.

2.2.1The network concept Since the concept of network may have many different meanings in various contexts, we shall clarify our use of the network concept. We define business network as sets of interconnected business relationships, in which each exchange relation is between business firms conceptualized as collective actors. (Anderson et al.1994). All firms are engaged in a limited set of business relationships with important customer and supplier firms, which, in turn, have relationships with still other firms. Thus, every firm is part of an unbounded business network (Ford 2002). 2.2.2 Network perspective on internationalization A network view assumes that international business takes place in a network setting, where business actors linked to each other through business relationships, thus a business enterprise becomes international through connecting actors in different countries (Adersson & Johanson, 1997) and internationalization means that the firm establishes and develops network positions in foreign markets (Johanson & Mattsson, 1988). However, it will be extremely difficult for a newcomer to establish a position of some sort in an existing network by reason of the long-term and stable relationships among the actors inside the network, thus building up relationships with at least one actor inside the existing network becomes a prerequisite to its internationalization e.g. market entry and business expansion. 2.2.3 Network perspective on foreign market entry The entry decisions The traditional foreign market entry literature seeks to describe how firms decide which markets, if any, to enter, what modes of market entry are used, how the market entry process is planned and so forth. Root (1982, p.3) suggests a fairly typical list: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The choice of a target product/market. The objectives and goals in the target market. The choice of an entry mode to penetrate the target market. The marketing plan to penetrate the target market. The control system to monitor performance in the target market.
Root further discusses the characteristics of the product market that are considered to be important when choosing the market to operate in and that are also likely to have an influence on the other decisions highlighted above. a) The target customers: who buys the product? Who uses the product? How is the product used? Where is the product bought? Why is the product bought? When is the product bought?

The analysis of market trends, (Kotler 2005), enables the researcher to explain past levels of market size, shares and distributions channels. It helps him to understand what changes are occurring in the use of products and places him in a better position to predict the future. Market trends are the manifestation of macro factors such as economic and political influences, and micro factors such as technological changes, pricing or promotional campaigns. Market trends are useful to the researcher in setting quantitative goals for shares or awareness levels. They may point to opportunities within the distributional network or to the need for the new product development. 2.3.5 Information on customers and prospects Information (Kotler 2005), on customers or potential customers enables the market researchers to understand buyers needs; it therefore ultimately helps the company sell its products and services. A wide range of information can be collected from customers, including company size, purchasing process, area of sales, supplier selection criteria, the suppliers who currently enjoy the business etc. Customer satisfaction surveys have become important in recent years. Simple background data on customers, such as their address and product range, can be easily obtained from desk sources. Greater detail demands a fieldwork program of visits and telephone interviews that can be carried out by the internal staff or a specialist agency, depending on available resources and the objectives of the study. 2.3.6 Information on competitors Business is about beating the competition for a larger slice of the market share (Kotler 2005). It is therefore essential to know as much as possible about the competition. A competitor study should aim to show the companys total turnover broken down by product group, trends over time, company strategy, target audience, sales area, pricing policy, delivery performance, image, promotion, selling methods, company organization and production facilities, customer service quality etc. Data on competitors can be obtained from customers, ex-employees and competitors itself (Kotler 2005). A variety of desk sources can be used for a quick and inexpensive profiling of the competition. Of great value to the researcher are advertisements, brochures and press releases put out by the competition. 2.3.7 Marketing research options
According to Stevens (1997), marketers are constantly seeking for latest, up to date information on their markets at all stages of the marketing process. This ranges from market potential, brand equity, market segmentation, usage pattern, consumer profiles and attitudes. They can choose any of the three main research options to secure the valuable information needed, namely, exclusive (customized) survey, omnibus survey and syndicated studies. In an exclusive study, the marketer (or research client) can engage marketing research firm to conduct a market survey in a prescribed manner. In this case, the marketers company will bear the full cost of the survey. In return, it will specify, among other things, the survey timing, the scope and coverage of the survey in terms of the questions to be asked as well as the complexity and length of the survey questionnaire, in consultation with the marketing research firm. The marketers company claims sole proprietorship of the survey data gathered there from, no other party will be allowed to release or use the survey data without its permission. Being the sole buyer of the research, the research client can plan to include reasonably large amount of information about the industry/product/brand/ to be secured from the exclusive survey. In sum, exclusive survey is the most type of research options. On the other hand, it is the most useful since it is tailor-made and is designed to meet the exact requirements of the research clients. As opposed to an exclusive survey, which is commissioned by one single research client, an omnibus survey takes in a number of research clients who together share the field costs. Omnibus is also characterized by limited information it produces. Syndicated studies on the other hand produces large amount of information, shared by many clients, costs lower and the time constraints are set by the research company. In this research we use exclusive (customized) survey. It is commissioned by single research client, which will bear the full cost of the survey. The client claims sole proprietorship of the survey data gathered and no other party will be allowed to release or use the survey data without its permission. 2.3.8 Marketing research process A set of six steps defines the tasks to be accomplished in conducting the marketing research study (Kotler 2005). These include problem definition, developing an approach to the problem, research design formulation, fieldwork, data preparation and analysis and report generation and presentation (see Figure 2.2). Problem definition: The logical starting point in the task to support the decision maker is trying to understand what marketing problem is being tackled. Here the researcher takes into account the purpose of the study, relevant background information, what information is needed and how it will be used in decision making. Problem definition should

Problem definition

Development of an approach to the problem
Research design development

Data collection

Data processing and analysis
Report preparation and presentation Figure 2.2 Marketing research process
2.3.9 Limitation of marketing research There are cases where the use of marketing research has resulted in failure and so it is worth examining the limitations of marketing research (Stevens 1997). If decision makers have gaps in theory knowledge, if they perceive risk and uncertainty in their decision-making and cannot find support at hand within their organization, they can gain support from marketing research. Following are the two main limitations: a) Marketing research does not make decisions: the role of marketing research is not to make decisions. Rather, replaces uncertainty, impressions or total lack of knowledge with pertinent information. b) Marketing research does not guarantee success: Research at best can improve the odds of making correct decisions. Anyone who expects to eliminate the possibility of failure by doing research is both unrealistic and likely to be disappointed. The real value of the research can be seen over long period where increasing the percentage of good decisions should be manifested in improved financial performance. 2.3.10 Internationalization and marketing research Marketing research is a tool for gaining information, in an internationalization process. Information is a key ingredient in the development of successful marketing strategies (Kotler 2005). Managers face a range of decisions problem that require collection of information in order to solve them. For example, information has to be collected to
determine what advertising theme to use, whether and how to launch products, what prices to charge, and what distribution channels to use in marketing a product. In addition, information is needed to monitor trends in environment, so that strategies can be adopted accordingly. Information is also required to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies and to assess performance. In developing international marketing strategy, information is even more important for effective marketing decisions. Lack of familiarity with customers, competitors and the market environment in other countries, coupled with the growing complexity and diversity of international markets makes it increasingly critical to collect information in relation to these markets. Information is also needed to decide which country or which market to enter and which offers the best potential not only in the immediate future, but also as the base for international market expansion. Marketing research is needed to determine whether and how far to adapt marketing strategies and tactics such as product positioning or advertising strategies across markets. Marketing research involves more than studies of specific problem or specific situations, for it prevents problems arising in the first place. There is a need for marketing research to be center of decision- making (Cowan 1994; Freeling 1994). It is a fact-finding and forecasting function that is used by all phases of marketing and even by other functional aspects of organization. 2.4 Conceptual framework As a summary of this chapter, we created a framework (see Figure 2.3) to graphically show the reader the interconnections of the core concepts reviewed (i.e. network and marketing research) e.g. they are the tools used in the internationalization process to ensure smooth entry and fast growth. A lot of topics can be developed under each of the concepts, however, in order to achieve the purpose of our research within limited period, we worked out a few relevant items under each concept, e.g. key actors in the target network, networking activities and role of networking and influencing factors for the concept of network; marketing research in our paper will focus on variables such as market trend, competition and B2Bcustomers. The sub sections under each variable are developed under agreement with BBK Company, which help us further to limit the scope and increase the focus of the study (refer to Item 1.4, Chapter One) The framework also helps to demonstrate how our research questions are worked out from the two sections under focus e.g. the first research question of this paper is related to the concept of network and the second question is relevant to marketing research. Finally, we use the framework to guide our research in collecting and analyzing data,

questions in a general form. Also the interviewer has some latitude to ask further questions in response to what are seen as significant replies. Mostly, all questions in the interview schedule are asked and a similar wording is used from interviewee to interviewee. In our research, interviews and surveys are used to gather primary data. For personal interviews a set of semi-structured questions was prepared for the meetings. Interviews are conducted via telephone or other intermediate devices or personally, also called face-to-face interviews. Personal interviews are an excellent way of collecting primary data, as the interviewer has more control in a face-to-face situation and the method offers flexibility during the interview. On the other hand this method can also be costly and time-consuming. Also to point out that the interpretation made by the researcher plays a significant role for analyzing the answers in a correct way. 3.4.2 Secondary Data Secondary data are, data already collected for the same purpose or for another reason and may be of high value when trying to solve a specific research problem. This data, called secondary data, ranges from statistics and studies of books, articles, journals and other documentation from mass media. In this paper, data have been collected from the Internet, library at Mlardalens University, Stadsbiblioteket in Vsters, BBK Electronics Corp. Ltd annual reports and information brochures. While choosing the B2B customers and competitors we have conducted Internet research and surveys. Yin (1994, p.91) states that a major strength of case study data collection is the opportunity to use many different sources of information. He further suggests that the use of multiple sources is called triangulation, which allows the researcher to acquire multiple measures of the same phenomenon, which adds to the validity of the scientific study (ibid.) Thus, we have tried to use as many different sources as possible in our data collection process. 3.5 Sample selection According to Merriam (1998), generally there are two basic types of sampling, probability and non-probability sampling. However, Saunders and Lewis (2000) argue that non-probability sampling is best used in for example case studies and market surveys, which is when a deeper understanding of a problem is required. Since a deeper understanding of the market problems BBK Company may encounter is required to serve the purpose of this study, we have therefore chosen non-probability sampling. Non-probability sampling can be conducted through quota, judgment, convenience and purposive sampling. A quota sample is when demographic characteristics of interest are represented in the sample in the same proportion as they are in the
population and they are selected purposively. Judgment sampling is when the researcher tries to draw a representative sample of the population by using judgmental selection procedures. In convenience sampling the only criteria for sampling units is the convenience of the researcher. A purposive sample is purposefully selected to be non-representative, to achieve some specific objective(s). (Tull and Hawkins, 1990) In this thesis, sampling has been conducted through the purposive sampling method, which has allowed us to use our judgment to choose sample companies e.g. target B2B customers and the competitors that best enables us to answer the second research question stated in item 1.4, Chapter 1. Though hundreds of companies may exist in England DVD player market, we cannot study all of them considering the time and resource constraints. For the customer data collection` part, we will only introduce two or three companies. This is because we feel that it is enough for having a general understanding of potential customers, especially, their policies, requirements and purchasing procedures. However, in the customer analysis and conclusion` part, we have chosen to base our subject analysis and conclusion on the information gathered from multiple companies investigated, mainly through e-mail surveys. And also our sample companies are limited to certain bigger cities with higher concentration of consumer electronics business activities, such as London, Liverpool and Manchester. This choice of sample selection is illustrated in Figure 3.1. 3.6 Data analysis According to Alvesson & Skldberg (1994), there are three ways to draw conclusions from the analysis of the information and data collected. They are the inductive, deductive and abductive approaches. In an inductive way, general conclusion is drawn from empirical findings. This approach is commonly used when there are a few established theories in the field of research and the aim of the research is to form a new theory. In deductive approach, already established theories and literature are used as the foundation of the research. And when using the abductive approach, the researcher starts in empirical findings, but do not reject theoretical pre-conceptions. The observations from the studies are compared with the theoretical frame of reference. In this research we adopt the deductive approach (illustrated in Figure 3.1). We study the already established theories in the field of internationalization, networking and marketing research. This provides a good foundation in forming the interview questions and collecting other empirical data, which will be used to draw the conclusions. 3.7 Quality Standards Since a research design is supposed to represent a logical set of statements, it is also

feasible to judge the quality of any given design according to certain logical tests. There are four tests when judging the quality of the design of a research: construct validity, internal validity, external validity and reliability. (Yin 1994) Validity decides whether the investigation measures what it is supposed to measure or not (Svenning 1999). More specifically, construct validity is about establishing the correct operational measures for the studied subject. It is particularly complicated to develop in a case study since the researcher is normally subjective when collecting data. (Yin 1994). We have used a tape recorder and took notes during the interviews to increase the construct validity. The notes taken were also regarded as a backup of the tape material. Moreover, Yin (1994) presents three tactics available to increase the construct validity. The first is to use multiple resources of evidence during the data collection. The second tactic is to establish a chain of evidence in the data colleting process. The third tactic is to prepare a case study report, which will be reviewed by the key informants. Firstly, the resources of evidence used in this thesis are documents; interviews and surveys and thus the information received from them can be double-checked to avoid any conflicts. Secondly, to establish a chain of evidence for an external observer to be able to follow the source of any evidence throughout the whole thesis, that is, to trace the steps in either direction (Yin 1994, p.198). References have been made to all resource used in this paper. Finally, after each interview, our notes were sent back to the interviewee by email for further confirmation. Internal validity concerns about the problem of creating causal relationship between variables in an explanatory case study (Yin 1994). However, this thesis is mainly exploratory, we tool little consideration on its internal validity. External validity is whether the findings can be generalized or not. But high external validity is difficult to obtain because people might be lying or answering incorrectly (Wiedersheim-Paul and Eriksson 2001). In our case, firstly we ensure that the respondent is the correct person to interview, and also we check whether this person has been truthful or not through various ways. For example, after the interview with the responsible manager of a physical shop in England, if he/she said in the interview that he/she could market our product in the shop at a certain price, then the responsible sales person of the BBK Company will formally contact the person for contract issue. Reliability on the other hand, has to do with whether the investigation will get same results if made by other researchers at other point of time or not (Saunders and Lewis 2000). The goal of reliability is to minimize the errors and biases in a study (Yin 1994). We have increased the reliability in the thesis by sending out an interview guide to help the interviewee prepare for the interview. The time set aside for the interview was short enough to keep the interviewee alert and interested, and

at the same time it was long enough to keep the interviewee relax. If because of some reason, the interview was not complete, we set another time at the interviewees convenience to continue the questions left. Furthermore, a tape recorder was used during the interview, and one person that was not interviewing took notes. This made it possible to double-check the answers after the interview. As mentioned before, we sent our notes back via emails to the interviewee for further confirmation on the answers. He or she reviewed the data from the interview and corrected some places. This also gave us opportunity to include questions we had forgotten to ask during the interview. Besides, though one or a few websites/articles attached as resource reference behind some information and/or data (e.g. trend, competition, B2B customers etc), we in fact compared a lot of different viewpoints /websites and consulted BBK Companys experienced marketing/sales staff in order to be closer to the real situation and improve the reliability of the information presented in our paper.

4. Data Collection

In the previous chapter, the methodology used in this research was presented and in this chapter, the relevant data and information collected from our research will be presented. This chapter includes two sections, network and marketing research. The information and/or data displayed under each section are mainly from interviews and Internet / email surveys. 4.1 Network In this section, data and /or information on two aspects are presented, one is key actors in the target network and the other is BBK Companys trial networking activities. 4.1.1Key actors in the target network The key actors (see Figure4.1) in England DVD player market include manufacturers, business incubators/public agents, retailers, distributors and customers / users. As to BBK Company, all the DVD player manufacturers active in England including both local and foreign brands are its competitors, for example, TAG (local), Meridin (local), Arcam (local), Philip, Panasonic, and Sony etc. Business Incubators/ public agents here refer to those companies that help young companies or new brands/products survive during the startup period and grow into successful businesses in England. Business incubators /public agents usually have very close relationship with the local /regional government and various marketing channels. Besides, business incubation in England seems to grow steadily with the local governments great support. In 2004, the governments Small Business Service (SBS) announced that 500,000-worth of grants would be used to set up business incubators across England (Business incubators get cash injection 2004). Lots of
business incubators are located in England but with quite different field and scope of services e.g. biotechnology, international business, medical, technology and service etc. However, a few business incubators (Small Business Notes- United Kingdom Business Incubators 2006) that may be helpful to BBK Company are selected and listed at the end of this paper (see Appendix A). Retailers and distributors, in this network, act as the main channels connecting the manufacturers and final customers or product users, e.g., physical and online shops selling digital Audio/Video product (see Appendix B). Finally, customers / users are people who consume the good and service.

Strategy Pioneer's core business has long been audio/video equipment. Pioneer seeks to become a leading global enterprise in the DVD industry. Their key selling point is innovativeness features, quality, performance and ease of use. Quality Pioneer tries to position itself as a cheaper alternative compared to Sony/Panasonic but possess good quality (Pricerunner 2006). Sales area A global corporation, which do business through a number of retailers and dealers. Target audience Target audience is everyone who is interested in cheap & quality products. Price Pioneer also has several DVD players/recorders in the market. In England, a product that has similar features as BBK Companys OPDV971H, is Pioneer DV-380S multiregion, which costs in the range of 69.95 - 79 (Pricerunner 2006). Customer service Their customer service is good (Pricerunner 2006). Peekton French electronics manufacturer, which produce Audio, Video, Photo products (Peekton 2006). Strategy Peekton is focused on providing cheap products, with relatively average quality. Their key selling point is low price. Quality Cloning is wide spread in DVD player market. Many sources suggest that Peekton is good at cloning products by other manufactures. Their 6003 player is a clone of the BBK967, manufactured by BBK. The quality is average (Pricerunner 2006). Sales area Their area of sales is mainly in Europe. In England they do business through a number of online retailers. Target audience Target audience is everyone who is interested in cheap products. Price
Peekton also have very limited DVD players/recorders in the market. In England, a product that has similar features as BBK Companys OPDV971H is Peekton PK6005 MKII, which costs in the range of 35 - 40 (Pricerunner 2006). Customer service Their customer service is good (Pricerunner 2006).
Table4.1 Comparison of Selected Competitors
Rough Company Market share Panasonic >10% Innovativeness, quality, performance and ease of use Sony >10% Innovativeness, quality, performance and ease of use Pioneer <10% Relatively quality products Peekton <5% Totally focused on cheap products & good cheap Strategy
Target audience: quality price Quality products Global. In England: vs. Sales Area Quality

(compared

OPDV971H with estimated cost range of 120.00-150) DVD-S49EG-S multiregion

Customer service

retailers & dealers.

Excellent

105.95 -139 (same cost range as PDV971H) DVP-NS52 multiregion
Quality products Less & quality more

Global.

England:
79 -79.95 (40% cheaper than PDV971H) DV-380S multiregion
cheaper price Cheap products
69.(45% cheaper than PDV971H) PK6005 MKII
Mainly in Europe & by online retailers.

Average

Business goods are often purchased by trained agents who must follow certain purchasing policies, constraints and requirements. They focused on getting a better purchase. This means that business marketers must put greater effort like, providing the customer with technical data about their product or convincing their advantages over competitors products etc. Multiple sales calls: Because more people are involved in the B2B selling process, in most cases it requires multiple calls or even months before you get an order. Derived and fluctuating demand: The demand for business goods is derived from the demand for consumer goods. Economic factors such as interest rates, consumer spending, level of production and investments, must be closely monitored by the potential suppliers. There is also a fluctuating nature of demand because, a small increase in consumer demand leads to a much higher increase in business demand and vice versa. 5.2.3 Competition Entering into a new market requires a keen understanding of the competitive situation on that market. For BBK Company in England, like many other electronic manufacturers, the competition grows more intense by each year. Some of them have already established an operation in the market, while others are positioning themselves to enter. We have global corporations with strong brands trying to enter in to new market segments, online competitors seeking cost efficient ways to expand distributions, companies with brands designed to provide low price alternatives etc. Undoubtedly the electronics industry is seeing some intense competition nowadays. The competition that BBK Company faces in England in the DVD player market can be summarized as follows: we have true global players like Sony, Panasonic and pioneer, with many years of retailing and wholesaling experience in consumer electronics; Peekton is a relatively new player with limited experience, and focuses on selected markets; Sony and Panasonic, focus on being at the higher end concerning the price and quality, therefore seen as the premiere brands. While pioneer occupies the middle grounds and Peekton has the cheapest option. Peekton, being relatively new in the market, is focused totally on price differentiation and sacrificing other attributes like quality. Global players like Sony and Panasonic have invested heavily in marketing their brands for many years. Their brands are considered as easily marketable by many retailers and distributors. Besides, they have a wide network of distribution channels, logistics support, marketing and sales teams, effective brand extensions (manufacture mobile phones to TV) etc. According to our analysis, BBK has chosen to position its DVD player OPDV971H as

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The companys supplier selection criteria
(Criteria in scale of importance. 1= low & 4=high) price supplier reputation product reliability service reliability supplier flexibility x x x x x
2. Electronics-online The companys purchasing process
yes centralized commoditization multisourcing geographically concentrated x x x x no
Centralized= purchasing is done by one specific unit. Commoditization = care only about the price Multisourcing= several sources are used to compare these candidates
Appendix D List of Interviewees
1. Mr. Pan Min, marketing manager of BBK Electronics Scandinavia AB 2. Jan, professional salesman of BBK Electronics Scandinavia AB 3. Charlie Manson, Charlie Manson, Professional buyer of Empiredirect 4. David, Professional buyer of Electronics-online
Appendix E Interview Guide/ Interview Questions
Target Customer (B2B Market analysis) Under this section of market research, we have chosen min 4 customers, at least 2 of which are online based. 1. Who? a) How many target consumers are there? (Internet) b) Finding general informations about the company, including their annual sales figure. (Internet, annual reports) c) How is the purchasing process, in terms of centralization, commoditization, multisourcing and suppliers geographical location. (E-mail survey)
yes centralized commoditization multisourcing geographically concentrated no
2. Where? a) Which are their area for sales? 3. Why? a) Finding out customers supplier selection criteria (in terms of price, supplier reputation, product reliability, service reliability, supplier flexibility). (E-mail survey)
(Criteria in scale of importance. 1= low & 4=high) price supplier reputation product reliability service reliability supplier flexibility 3 4

(Interview, Internet)

Additional materials for Telephone Interview: 1. Would you be interested in our DVD player (OPDV971H)? If yes then, 2. What is your policy concerning the pricing of a product? 3. What is your demand on the quality issues of a product? 4. What is your demand on the customer service issues of a product?