European integration and internationalization strategies of food firms--a survey of entry strategies into the German food industry

The realization of the European Common Market has some important implications on strategic decisions of agro-food firms serving European markets. A wide range of new opportunities is coming along with additional threats, particularly an increase in competition among domestic and international firms. To respond to these changes and to achieve the necessary "strategic fit," many firms are internationalizing their operations. This paper presents some key factors that are important for foreign market entry and development and identifies possible impacts of different entry modes on the competitiveness of a firm. Industry specific factors, such as market growth, size, and quality as well as entry barriers are used to analyze actual entries of foreign firms into the German agro-food industry for the period 1985 to 1991. Results indicate that the conceptual framework developed is appropriate for explaining the strategic objectives of firms, which are reflected in the entry strategy actually chosen.