Foreign implementation strategies and export modes ::the case of Swiss manufacturing multinational firms

The desire to strengthen exports may encourage some companies to acquire subsidiaries abroad. In doing so, they become multinationals that can rely on the knowledge, distribution networks, etc. of sister firms to more easily overcome certain barriers, whether legal, economic or cultural. On the basis of this observation, the objective of this paper is threefold. Firstly, it aims to understand, from a diachronic perspective, how the process of anchoring Swiss manufacturing companies abroad is proceeding. Secondly, it tends to capture, as accurately as possible, the different modes and strategies of exports that these multinationals deploy to export to international markets in a sustainable way. The aim is therefore to identify the channels that these companies use to strengthen their exports, taking into account in particular the area in which they are active, but also to assess the investments they need to absorb export knowledge. Thirdly, our paper questions to what extent the way these multinationals operate can be imitated by SMEs