Qatar, being a favorable region for the development of small and medium-sized businesses, provides local SMEs with sufficient conditions to advance domestically and internationally. One of such businesses that have gained popularity and developed into an international program is IAID, an institute that promotes creative training services for children and adolescents in music, dance, and arts. According to the official statistics, today, IAID provides training to over 1,200 students and reaches over 80 nationalities (“We are globally recognized,” 2021). Despite the fact that IAID is a Qatari company, it is actively promoted in the international market and seeks to expand its range of influence by involving different countries in its network.
To date, IAID has not changed its SME status, but the organization is doing its best to internationalize its work. In particular, IAID is expanding its activities to Asian countries and engaging target audiences from the UAE, the Philippines, Oman, India, Kuwait, Singapore, and other states (“IAID appointed as an exclusive regional representative,” 2021). The systematization of the approach to the provision of related services is one of the successful strategies of IAID. The business combines a number of creative directions within one platform and builds a productive environment for the development of children’s and adolescents’ creative potential. One of the recent achievements is the creation of a productive partnership with the Asia Pacific Dance Association, a large internationally recognized organization (“IAID partners with Asia Pacific Dance Association,” 2021). These results of active market work prove IAID’s interest in an internationalization strategy and its strong prospects for working in the global market.
The activities of the business in question can be considered not only from the perspective of its internationalization strategy but also from the standpoint of effective asset management work. According to Alyafei (2021), the success of many Qatari SMEs is attributed to the efficient allocation of the resource base through adaptation to specific market conditions and sustainable orientation. The art sector is not easy to capitalize on due to its creative focus and insufficient investment potential. In other words, attracting sponsors and ensuring sustainable development is complicated by the fact that there are no guarantees of stable profits and sufficient customers. However, according to the official figures, in 2018, IAID took the 7th position in the list of the most successful Qatari SMEs, beating many businesses from the list of more than 800 companies (“IAID is ranked as the 7th top SME in Qatar,” 2021). Therefore, active work to promote the company at the international level has proven its effectiveness and gained recognition in the domestic market.
Given its current success, IAID has broad potential to expand its business opportunities and achieve better outcomes. The SME is increasing its spectrum of influence regularly and aims to create new conditions for promoting creativity among talented youth. These objectives are valued highly in an era of massive competition and aggressive markets, and the enterprise can enhance the reach of its business by following an effective expansion strategy.
The case of IAID, the well-known and successful Qatari SME involved in the creative education of talented youth, confirms that an effective internationalization strategy can gain recognition and expand its sphere of influence. However, at the moment, the business in question focuses on the Asian market while the western direction can also be covered. IAID has the potential to become a global organization with representation in many countries. Today, Qatar is a business-friendly region due to the demand for local services driven by technological advances and a strong financial base (Chabani, 2021). At the same time, the field of art is not the main area of interest for investors, and building an effective business strategy for internationalization is an urgent task. Assessing the reasons for moving to the global market, barriers to internationalization, and specific steps to apply shape the main focus of this analysis.
Reasons for the Need to Enter the International Market
Developing a tailor-made internationalization strategy for IAID is an essential task in light of the specifics of its business. As Dominguez (2018) argues, most modern SMEs trying to enter new markets focus on the prospects for expanding exports and trade in new directions. Nonetheless, with regard to the IAID case, the specifics of its work do not correspond to traditional business practices involving tangible assets. In order for the SME to gain recognition globally, the enterprise should establish partnerships with different regions by opening new educational branches and performing its success to demonstrate the principles of work. Thus, IAID needs a personalized approach to internationalization due to the difference between its business and traditional entrepreneurial models promoted by global corporations.
Another reason to enter the international market and realize business opportunities productively is the enterprise’s ongoing interaction with numerous countries in the Asian region. Diop et al. (2017) analyze the Qatari market and note that the local culture of involving the population in non-profit projects is high due to the existing religious factors and the advanced level of social development provided by a sustainable economy. This means that, in addition to successful partnerships in the east, despite its possible distinctive cultural values, Qatar is a favorable country for business interactions with western states. Balawi (2021) argues that Qatar, along with several other countries in the Arab region, has an advanced entrepreneurial ecosystem with broad potential, including international perspectives. The researcher highlights the country’s high private equity, which allows local SMEs to count on free and active work in a dynamic and competitive market with the potential to enter the international arena (Balawi, 2021). Therefore, from an economic perspective, IAID should develop and promote an individual internationalization strategy because the current conditions favor it.
In the context of working in a specific sector, IAID should ensure that its influence is sustainably expanded by identifying the most promising directions. According to Elbanna et al. (2020), internationalization solutions are often limited by the lack of investment information, tight time frames, and some other factors. However, for the SME in question, these restraints are irrelevant. IAID carries out activities for creative education and the promotion of art among young people, which does not require utilizing innovative tools and emergency adaptation to specific market conditions. In addition, as Elbanna et al. (2020) remark, SMEs can face challenges if technological factors form the backbone of their businesses. Trends are constantly changing, and the challenge for small and medium-sized companies is to build sustainable decision-making frameworks to minimize risks and get the most out of the resources available. However, IAID does not work with digital or other assets, which allows it to promote a tailor-made internationalization strategy and use personally designed methods to engage target audiences. Therefore, in view of these advantages, the SME should enter the international market and use its current potential comprehensively to achieve lofty goals.
Barriers to Developing a Sustainable Internationalization Strategy
Although IAID has a tailor-made business niche and offers unique services to its target audience, developing an internationalization strategy can be challenging. When analyzing SMEs from a globalization perspective, Paul (2020) mentions the institutional, capability, and human resource barriers. For IAID, the first type of challenge is relevant because the SME has sufficient assets and human resources to operate sustainably. According to the author, the institutional theory involves comparing specific norms of the social structure with the characteristics of behavior within individual communities (Paul, 2020). This reasoning is objective in the context of the business in question. In their research, Rahman et al. (2020) argued that “the institutional framework of a country included different dimensions of natural environment such as regulatory dimensions (national government policies), cognitive dimension (shared social knowledge), and normative dimension (value system)” (p. 214). This means that individual cultural constraints can hinder the expansion of IAID’s business. In this regard, the assessment of the features of promotion to target regions is necessary. The analysis of the factors affecting business expansion needs to be carried out to ensure smooth internationalization and avoid failure due to institutional constraints.
Another barrier to take into account is the current economic indicators of the regions for expansion. Hawawini (2016) highlights that Qatar is a good investment destination, including in the education sector. Local organizations invite investors to locate their centers in the country, which is normal practice in a market economy. However, with regard to promoting Qatari SMEs, difficulties may arise with the willingness of individual countries to accept the IAID’s operating principles. For instance, Saleh et al. (2021) give the example of Vietnamese SMEs and note that local businesses often face export barriers due to the conventions of modern trade regulations and restrictions imposed on policymakers by the authorities. For Qatar, such restrictions are unacceptable since the state claims to be internationally recognized and seeks to attract as many investors as possible. Consequently, IAID may face not only cultural but also legislative challenges in developing an internationalization strategy, which, in turn, can impede business growth.
As a result, in order to overcome the aforementioned barriers successfully, IAID needs a sustained internationalization strategy that addresses potential challenges and constraints to avoid the risk of losses. According to Ali and Ahamat (2018), for many Qatari businesses, globalization provides more development opportunities than threats due to stable resource bases, a good reputation in the local and neighboring markets, and a wide range of partnerships. However, when taking into account the specifics of the SME under consideration, profit capitalization is not its key goal, and an individual development plan is necessary, which does not involve utilizing traditional methods of strengthening market positions. Such business concepts as strategic planning, return on investment, and some other conventional approaches can be ineffective in planning an expansion mode. Thus, while taking into account the specifics of the business in question, an individual program should be drawn up to ensure the effective internationalization of IAID’s business and help the SME overcome the complexities of interethnic work.
A Market Entry Strategy for IAID: Relevant Steps
Since, based on the above analysis, the Western market has been identified as a potential way to expand IAID’s business, appropriate steps should be taken to cover the conventions of entrepreneurial activities in countries of this direction. Within the framework of the considered conditions and the specifics of the SME’s work, individual principles should be followed. Thus, a market entry strategy for IAID may be based on the following stages:
- Building partnerships with foreign groups. Osmani et al. (2020) consider such a concept as collaborative innovation and note that the creation of international networks with the involvement of similar businesses is a potentially convenient practice for SMEs. Despite the fact that IAID’s business is largely built on a non-profit basis, providing a financial background for working in Western countries is imperative. Nakos et al. (2019) state that alliances are valuable “to form specific links with external partners” (p. 604). Therefore, collaborating with other businesses promoting creative youth education services can help grow IAID affiliates overseas.
- Another urgent step is to attract modern media resources as channels for the popularization of IAID’s services. According to the Oxford Business Group (2016), media platforms are the promising tools of the marketing industry since most developed countries use digital resources as the main instruments for analyzing the preferences of the target audience. The popularization of the activities of the business in question should take place in the context of creating a clear proposal among the target population. As the Oxford Business Group (2016) states, “SMEs are bedrock of any successful economy,” and this thesis should be taken into account (p. 86). The more productive the promotional activity will be, the greater is the likelihood of customer engagement, which not only strengthens IAID’s position in the Western market but also proves the effectiveness of marketing efforts in an international context.
- Adapting the business’s services to the current market preferences. While taking into account the aforementioned institutional barriers, the adaptation of services or changes in the current principles of interaction with youth can help the Qatari SME to conquer more of the Western market. Safari and Saleh (2020) note that, when expanding operations, this is crucial to anticipate success rates based on the end market but not current results. In other words, the specifics of a new business environment are more important than those promoted within the familiar market. Therefore, combining the principles of working with target audiences by following a cross-cultural context is a must for IAID, and Al-Ali Mubarak et al. (2020) confirm the value of this approach. Reaching the interests of the general public is the key to recognition in a new environment with its traditional principles, including cultural and behavioral patterns.
Conclusion and Summary Table
IAID is a Qatari SME providing creative education services to talented youth, and in the domestic market, the business has been successful. However, to expand its influence, an effective internationalization strategy needs to be developed with an emphasis on the western direction because today, the SME cooperates with many Asian countries. In Table 1, the main steps to apply are highlighted, as well as their potential outcomes. For IAID, relevant barriers are to be overcome to meet the interests of a new audience and gain recognition as a global market participant, which is in line with the goals of sustainable entrepreneurship.
Table 1. Summary Table.
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