The clients' perceptions of the UK as a business location and the services of UK Trade and Investment
Iisalo, Merituuli (2010)
Iisalo, Merituuli
HAAGA-HELIA ammattikorkeakoulu
2010
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2010100113365
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2010100113365
Tiivistelmä
The first objective of this study is to discover how Finnish companies, which are interested in investing to the UK, perceive the UK as a business location. Another objective is to research how the companies perceive the services of UK Trade and Investment. The study is conducted for UK Trade & Investment (later UKTI), which is a government based promotion organization that operates internationally and offers assistance for companies, which wish to trade with the UK.
The theoretical framework is divided under two main issues: Foreign target market and service marketing. The foreign target market part concentrates on understanding different factors, which companies evaluate when they are trying to find a correct location to set up their business. Factors that relate on the companies’ own strengths and abilities to expand abroad are set aside and the concentration is specifically in the UK factors. The service marketing part researches different aspects, which comprise the service in the minds of the customers. By knowing how the customers observe these aspects, it is possible to get to know how the customers evaluate the service, and understand which the service’s strengths and weaknesses are.
The analytical approach is deductive and the research method for collecting primary data was quantitative. Data was collected through a structured online questionnaire, which was sent to 77 UKTI’s clients in March 2010. The questionnaire was open for three weeks. During this time two reminding emails were sent and phone calls were made to encourage the clients to answer. The potential respondent group was challenging, and thus, the response rate is 17%.
The findings indicate the investors perceive the UK as a rather favourable business location. The businesses situate close to their customers in the UK, and the investors believe in the UK’s growth potential and have confidence in their investments. The social and cultural environment attracts the Finnish investors, as well as the labour law. The investors seem to consider the UK as a stable legal environment, but the investors are not convinced about the economic stability. Operating costs and productivity are the least favourable factors in the market. The respondents evaluate communications and technology, transport infrastructure, and level of research and development relatively low.
Responsiveness, reliability and assurance are the most significant dimensions for the clients in UKTI’s services, and the clients evaluate UKTI’s services relatively high, especially in these factors. UKTI should contact their past clients and keep contact with their current clients, as 85% of the respondents consider they would like to receive information from UKTI also in the future.
The theoretical framework is divided under two main issues: Foreign target market and service marketing. The foreign target market part concentrates on understanding different factors, which companies evaluate when they are trying to find a correct location to set up their business. Factors that relate on the companies’ own strengths and abilities to expand abroad are set aside and the concentration is specifically in the UK factors. The service marketing part researches different aspects, which comprise the service in the minds of the customers. By knowing how the customers observe these aspects, it is possible to get to know how the customers evaluate the service, and understand which the service’s strengths and weaknesses are.
The analytical approach is deductive and the research method for collecting primary data was quantitative. Data was collected through a structured online questionnaire, which was sent to 77 UKTI’s clients in March 2010. The questionnaire was open for three weeks. During this time two reminding emails were sent and phone calls were made to encourage the clients to answer. The potential respondent group was challenging, and thus, the response rate is 17%.
The findings indicate the investors perceive the UK as a rather favourable business location. The businesses situate close to their customers in the UK, and the investors believe in the UK’s growth potential and have confidence in their investments. The social and cultural environment attracts the Finnish investors, as well as the labour law. The investors seem to consider the UK as a stable legal environment, but the investors are not convinced about the economic stability. Operating costs and productivity are the least favourable factors in the market. The respondents evaluate communications and technology, transport infrastructure, and level of research and development relatively low.
Responsiveness, reliability and assurance are the most significant dimensions for the clients in UKTI’s services, and the clients evaluate UKTI’s services relatively high, especially in these factors. UKTI should contact their past clients and keep contact with their current clients, as 85% of the respondents consider they would like to receive information from UKTI also in the future.