Impact of joining the European Union on competitive advantage according to the position of the company in the value chain

The paper examines the impact of the EU enlargement in 2004 and ongoing integration inside the EU from the point of view of Estonian enterprises that had, before the EU enlargement, more focused on markets outside the EU compared to enterprises that at that time in their international business efforts had positioned themselves more actively in value chains inside the EU. The research question is: How Estonian companies see their competitive advantages in the EU and what impact of EU-related changes they consider important depending on their position in the value chain? In order to find the answer to the research questions, questionnaire survey and follow-up interviews were conducted in 87 Estonian companies representing 7 industries. Results of the survey highlight different perceptions of changes that are related to the European integration by enterprises involved in value chains inside EU and enterprises that have developed business operations in countries that do not belong to EU. The latter see a threat in external trade barriers with non-EU countries but at the same time consider the free movement of capital an important positive implication of EU membership. Enterprises that focus their international business outside EU stress in their competitive advantage vision value chains and networks with reliable partners even more than enterprises that are mainly operating at the EU markets. Adapted from the source document.