Foreign Entry Modes Of High-Tech Firms In Poland

The main objective of the article is to present the role and importance of foreign entry modes in internationalization process and their key determinants. Research design and methods: A quantitative research design was used. A survey was conducted on the sample of 263 firms operating in high-tech industries in the territory of Poland. To verify the assumed hypotheses the statistical instruments were used including Chi-Square test and Cramer's V contingency coefficient. Findings: The investigated high-tech firms adopt a whole range of entry modes in their internationalization process. However, research results show that the choice of foreign entry modes is determined by the size of the company, pace of internationalization and internationalization intensity (measured by TNI index), namely bigger firms, born global and firms with high internationalization index are more likely to use more advanced and entry modes characterized by high-control. Implications and recommendations: Polish high-tech companies use more advanced entry modes in comparison with whole business population. Foreign entry mode choice is a multilevel phenomenon and it is influences by a multiplicity of factors. Thus, it is also difficult to investigate empirically. However, it provides significant future opportunities for further studies that bring us closer to understanding the phenomenon of entry mode choice decision. Contribution and Added Value: The research results presented in this article are one of the first in Poland investigating internationalization and foreign entry modes of firms operating in high-tech industries. The obtained results remain in line with the majority of empirical evidence world-wide.