An Assessment on Strategic Factors Determining Foreign Firm Market Entry in the Telecommunication Industry in Rwanda: A Case of Airtel Rwanda

Abstract

This study sought to assess strategic factors that determine foreign firm market entry in the telecommunication industry in Rwanda. To achieve this, four objectives were formulated. To evaluate the influence of centralization of decision-making in choosing appropriate foreign firm market entry, to examine the influence of the firm size in selecting foreign market entry, to analyze the influence of organization culture in choosing foreign market entry and to determine the influence of international experience in selecting foreign market entry. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaire. A sample size of 54 respondents was used. A simple random sampling technique was used because each member of the population had an equal chance of being included in the sample. The target population was 120. Data collected was analyzed through SPSS version 21. The study revealed that Airtel used more than one entry strategy to venture into business to probably enhance market entry. The study concludes that organization characteristics had positive and significant relationship with market entry where centralization of decision making lead Airtel with 26.9%, size of the firm lead Airtel with 33.2%, organization culture lead with 20.1% while international experience lead Airtel with 23.3. The study recommended that telecommunication companies should carry out research on the entry strategies before venturing into international market to ensure they use the appropriate entry strategy to enhance the organization performance. The study also recommends that the management should evaluate the factors to consider when choosing an entry strategy thoroughly so as to make sure they know the market very well and that the management must evaluate the factors influencing the choice of market entry modes. This is to ensure that they choose the best market entry strategy.