Customer Value Creation : How do external factors influence SME's customer value creation in a new foreign market? A case study of Axelent A.B.

When companies go international some factors present in the host country act like forces that might drive the company to standardize or adapt its strategies. The choices between to standardize or to adapt to local needs are of a great importance, since it can have significant impact in the company’s performance in the foreign market. In this paper these forces are characterized in country specific and industry specific factors. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of external factors in the customers’ value creation in a new foreign market, under standardization and adaptation strategies. In order to fulfill the purpose of the paper, a qualitative research was conducted using a single case study of a Swedish SME, focusing on a single product, namely machine guarding, in connection with one foreign market, Brazil. The study shows that the factors that were most influenced in the customers’ value creation were social/cultural aspects and competition, which tend to lead the company to adapt in order to fulfill local needs and to react to the competitiveness. It was also presented that economic factors and market size did not represent any influences in the standardization or adaptation strategies of the company studied. However, other external factors, as technological, political/legal and industry structure, have shown impact to some degree, whether in adaptation or standardization strategies