A internacionalização no sector da cortiça – o caso da Portugaliacork S.A.

Abstract

In an increasingly globalized world, driven by the growing industrial professionalization in all parts of the planet and the reduction of various trade barriers, there has been an increase in business competition in all international markets. This increase in competition, combined with an insufficient internal market, has led Portuguese companies to increasingly focus on internationalization as a tool for growth. Cork, a product so intrinsically linked to Portugal and its economy, emerged as the starting point for this dissertation, in which the intention is to design a case study of one of the companies linked to this sector. In order to understand the theme of internationalization, the dissertation based its initial methodology on articles and scientific journals, aiming to create a strong and comprehensive theoretical basis. The case study of the company Portugaliacork was the option chosen to confront these theoretical data in a real context, in order to study the phenomenon of internationalization in a real context. Four foreign markets, where the company has commercial activity, were also studied so that they could be analyzed based on several theoretical concepts. Finally, a semistructured interview was made to the CEO of Portugaliacork in order to obtain informal data and compare them with the formal data provided by the company. With this dissertation it was possible to understand the need to optimize the strategic planning of companies and how it overlaps with the exclusive concept of profit maximization, being necessary to study the external markets, what characterizes them and what barriers they present. The cork sector represents an opportunity of high potential for Portuguese SMEs like Portugaliacork, provided they develop their projects based on a strategy adapted to their reality and dimension. Keywords: internationalization, cork, target markets, entry modes, case study

Date of Award	2022
Original language	Portuguese
Supervisor	MARIA TERESA RIBEIRO CANDEIAS (Supervisor)