Cultural Perceptions and Internationalization. Russia and Finland

Due to globalization of economy, links between regions of northern countries have become increasingly important. The book describes the experience of Finnish and Russian SMEs in internationalization with a focus on cultural perceptions. The aim of the research is to analyze factors of SMEs¿ internationalization in the case of Finnish and Russian SMEs from the perspective of cultural differences, and to found out how cultural perceptions can affect the process of internationalization. The main data collection method will be semi-structured interviews with representatives of Finnish and Russian SMEs, operating in both Russia and Finland for not less than 3 years. Discourse analysis has been chosen as the main methods of the thesis. The research results will increase the knowledge of how SMEs¿ internationalization is progressing in Russia and Finland and how cultural perceptions affect it. This research can help companies and organizations to identify the important factors that help to improve international business opportunities between Russia and Finland.