Chapter 8: Market Entry Strategies and Competitive Advantages in Poland

Jutta Emes

Abstract

The dynamically changing economic environment in Central and Eastern European (CEE) and the expected integration of some of the CEE countries into the European Union offer new business opportunities for Western companies. This chapter addresses the question of how to operate successfully in CEE markets, and particularly in Poland. Dunning s eclectic paradigm serves as conceptual framework for the analysis. It is shown that in order to gain and maintain competitive advantage in Poland, Western companies will have to plan their business strategically and choose an optimum market entry strategy. The latter involves a complex decision-making process that is examined in this chapter with the help of findings from an empirical study conducted by the author.