Business Firms Typology in context of exposure to the Covid-19 pandemic; Based on a study of Iranian seaproduct exporter firms

Familiarity with the strategies of entering global markets is one of the important components of firm success in achieving greater market share, which they use to overcome the uncertainty caused by the unknown environment, especially in critical situations. The main purpose of this study is to identify the critical success factors in the selection of strategies to enter foreign markets and has been formulated based on the study of companies exporting the country aquatic industry.

First, by studying the library of internationalization strategies of firms as well as the vital factors of success in choosing a strategy in this field, and using a mixed method research (qualitative-quantitative) in 30 companies exporting seafood through a multiple case study and tested with Theme analysis method, fuzzy Delphi technique, structural-interpretive modeling and partial least squares technique have been analyzed and prioritized. Then, businesses are categorized in terms of facing with Covid-19 pandemic, and the critical success factors for strategy selection process are examined.

Based on the research findings, the strategies used by the exporter firms are: export, foreign direct investment, license and strategic alliances. The results also show that the motivation of business managers, technological advancement level of readiness for internationalization, inter-firm relationships and innovativeness are among the vital factors of success in choosing a strategy to enter the market.

Opportunity-creator firms have innovative and global managers, and based on this, a new classification of firm managers and their approaches is presented.