INTERNATIONALIZATION OF SMEs IN CENTRAL FINLAND : Case: Jykes’ International Services
Ilmarinen, Paula (2010)
Ilmarinen, Paula
Savonia-ammattikorkeakoulu
2010
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2010121618531
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2010121618531
Tiivistelmä
The thesis deals with the small and medium enterprises in Central Finland, and their use of services which support international operations. There are organizations providing international services, and these organizations were also studied. These various organizations offer diverse services which assist the enterprises on their expansions to abroad. There are three main research questions which were studied. The primary goal is to cover the enterprises’ awareness of international services. Also studying the satisfaction of the enterprises to international services and organizations providing these services was one of the research questions. The final part of the research was to study the in-ternational services of Jyväskylä Regional Development Company Jykes Ltd.
The study was done as a quantitative research and it was conducted by a questionnaire. The ques-tionnaire was sent to the active clients of Jykes. It was conducted as an internet query by using a program called Typala. There were 144 enterprises which received the questionnaire and 69 an-swered to it. This gave the answering rate of 47,9%. The research indicated that the awareness of the international services was relatively good. The information channels were also proper for most of the enterprises. The mostly used organizations were Jykes, Finnvera and ELY-centres (Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment) which are all active organizations. The mostly used services for enterprises with international operations were financing and funding, and fairs and exhibitions. For enterprises with no international operations they were financing and funding, and partners and connection searches.
The state of Jykes services was also good. Most of the enterprises knew their services and were also satisfied with them. The services which needed improvements the most were market researches and information and guidance. These are the ones Jykes should concentrate on developing.
The organizations providing the international services need to continue marketing their services and have to operate actively. They should co-operate more and develop their services into co-operation also. Jykes needs to listen to the client more and to develop their services to meet the need. This thesis can be used as an information package for both enterprises and organizations offering interna-tional services. The international services could be researched more closely.
The study was done as a quantitative research and it was conducted by a questionnaire. The ques-tionnaire was sent to the active clients of Jykes. It was conducted as an internet query by using a program called Typala. There were 144 enterprises which received the questionnaire and 69 an-swered to it. This gave the answering rate of 47,9%. The research indicated that the awareness of the international services was relatively good. The information channels were also proper for most of the enterprises. The mostly used organizations were Jykes, Finnvera and ELY-centres (Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment) which are all active organizations. The mostly used services for enterprises with international operations were financing and funding, and fairs and exhibitions. For enterprises with no international operations they were financing and funding, and partners and connection searches.
The state of Jykes services was also good. Most of the enterprises knew their services and were also satisfied with them. The services which needed improvements the most were market researches and information and guidance. These are the ones Jykes should concentrate on developing.
The organizations providing the international services need to continue marketing their services and have to operate actively. They should co-operate more and develop their services into co-operation also. Jykes needs to listen to the client more and to develop their services to meet the need. This thesis can be used as an information package for both enterprises and organizations offering interna-tional services. The international services could be researched more closely.