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Characteristics of a successful marketing strategy for Indian software companies to enter the Western-European market

Ridder, Martijn de (2010) Characteristics of a successful marketing strategy for Indian software companies to enter the Western-European market.

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Abstract:The Indian software industry is one of the fastest developing industries. Since other markets are seeded, more and more Indian software companies are trying to enter the Western-European market. Given their low salaries, Indian software professionals are attractive for Western-European companies. The collaboration between Indian and Western-European companies contains some risks and problems. Therefore, we want to find out what are the characteristics of a successful marketing strategy for Indian software companies to enter the Western-European market. The market entry strategy for foreign markets can be divided in three stages; market selection, entry mode selection, and operationalizing the market strategy. Important aspects of the market selection are; the number of relationships in a market, and the psychic distance to a market. In the entry mode selection; relationships, and the level of internationalization are of importance. During the operationalization of the market strategy it is important to establish and maintain relationships with partners. The internet is an important tool used during this last stage. The Indian software industry is a fast growing industry, growing over 30 percent a year. The year 2000 problem was a great opportunity for the development of the industry. Characteristic of Indian software companies are their high technology products and the fact they are highly export orientated. Further Indian software companies have limited resources, but are able to enter psychic distant markets. Less is known about the Western-European market. There is a need for outsourcing, facing the high demand for skilled software professionals from countries like Germany, Franc and The United Kingdom. The Western-European market itself is a developed market. The biggest software industry in the market is that of Ireland, with 25.000 people working in IT. In this study a model is developed about the characteristics of a successful marketing strategy for Indian software companies to enter the Western-European market. Those characteristics are based on what is found during the literature review. The characteristics from the model are; lower psychical distance, develop relationships, create knowledge of the market, determine the asset investment and risks, develop and maintain relationships, use first non-equity modes, and reduce the price level. To test our model an in-depth case study at Helios Solutions, an medium sized Indian software company, is used. The in-depth case study tests our model in practice by taking a look into a single company. The study followed a time period of 3,5 months. During this period we have collected and analyzed data by conversations with the CEO, employees and partners. All the results are reported in our study and matched with our model. The most important results from this study and implications for future research are; the difference between Indian companies and Western-European partners in meeting deadlines and quality standards; the importance of the internet in the daily business of Indian software companies; and the use of native workers by Indian software companies to contact partners in the Western-European market.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Industrial Engineering and Management BSc (56994)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/60862
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