Internationalisation of Singapore's Companies In
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INTERNATIONALISATION OF SINGAPORE’S COMPANIES IN THE FOOD SERVICE SECTOR JAMES MOK HWEE HUAN Bachelor of Soc Sc (Honours) National University of Singapore Master of Business Administration University of Strathclyde Supervisors: Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Soutar Professor Tim Mazzarol Dr Stephen Choo This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration of The University of Western Australia Business School 2021 THESIS DECLARATION I, James Mok Hwee Huan, certify that: This thesis has been substantially accomplished during enrolment in this degree. This thesis does not contain material which has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma in my name, in any university or other tertiary institution. In the future, no part of this thesis will be used in a submission in my name, for any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution without the prior approval of The University of Western Australia and where applicable, any partner institution responsible for the joint-award of this degree. This thesis does not contain any material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text and, where relevant, in the Authorship Declaration that follows. This thesis does not violate or infringe any copyright, trademark, patent, or other rights whatsoever of any person. The research involving human data reported in this thesis was assessed and approved by The University of Western Australia Human Research Ethics Committee. Approval #: RA/4/1/8596. Third party editorial assistance was provided in preparation of this thesis by Dr John Cokley, the managing director of EduPreneur Services International in Queensland, Australia. This thesis does not contain work that I have published, nor work under review for publication. Signature: Date: 19 June 2021 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgement Chapter 1 Introduction 15 1. The rationale for the study – Why Singapore? 18 2. Justifications for a single industry study 20 3. The food service industry 21 4. The Stage: Singapore food service industry 21 5. The Actors: Singaporeans in the food service sector 23 6. Singaporean SMEs going global 28 7. The study’s objectives 31 8. The importance and contributions of study 32 9. Conclusions 34 Chapter 2 A review of the literature 35 1. The internationalisation of Asian firms 35 2. Is there an Asian variant of internationalisation? 39 3. Definition of success in internationalisation 41 4. What are the critical success factors? 42 5. The literature on the critical success factors 44 5.1 Firm characteristics determine success 47 5.2 Brand 49 5.3 Taste suitability 49 5.4 Franchise-friendly terms 50 5.5 Right overseas partner 51 5.6 Internal and external success factors 52 5.7 Capabilities 53 5.8 The role of the entrepreneur 54 5.9 Choosing the right “modus” 54 5.10 Conceptual models of internationalisation 58 6. Conclusions 60 3 Chapter 3 Research Methodology 63 1. Overview 63 2. The case study method 64 3. Criticisms of the case study method 65 4. Case study approach 67 4.1 The selection of cases 68 4.2 The interview protocol 70 5. Data collection 71 6. Data analysis 72 6.1 The Leximancer analysis 74 6.2 The QSR NVivo analysis 76 6.3 The validity and reliability of findings 77 7. Ethical considerations 79 8. Conclusions 79 Chapter 4 The “Aspirants” 81 1. Introduction 81 2. Singapore’s “aspiring” food service companies 81 3. The Leximancer analysis 82 4. The NVivo analysis findings 86 5. Critical success factors – four basic rights 88 5.1 Right fit 88 5.2 Right food 89 5.3 Right location 90 5.4 Right partner 91 6. The five key “KNOWs” – competencies and capabilities 92 6.1 Know your capacity 92 6.2 Know yourself 93 6.3 Know your “enemies” 95 6.4 Know your allies 96 6.5 Know your advocates 96 7. Road maps to success 98 8. Implications and conclusions 100 4 Chapter 5 The “Actives” 101 1. Introduction 101 2. Singapore’s “active” companies venturing overseas 101 3. The Leximancer analysis 104 4. The NVivo analysis findings 107 5. Critical success factors – The four “Rights” 109 5.1 Right appeal and offering 109 5.2 Right alignment 111 5.3 Right team 112 5.4 Right foundation 112 6. The four “Pillars” (key competencies and capabilities) 113 6.1 Building the brand 114 6.2 Building the framework with overseas partners 115 6.3 Building the foundation 116 6.4 Building the team 117 7. Road maps to continuing success 118 8. Implications and conclusions 121 Chapter 6 The “Achievers” 123 1. Introduction – “Singapore’s food service SMEs going places” 123 2. Singapore’s food service achievers 124 3. The Leximancer analysis 126 4. The NVivo analysis findings 129 5. Critical success factors – The four “Global Perspectives” 131 5.1 Global aspirations 133 5.2 Global branding 133 5.3 Global adaptation 134 5.4 Global support 135 6. A global mindset – five core competencies and capabilities for globalisation 137 6.1 Restructure networks 138 6.2 Realign support structure 139 6.3 Rebrand 140 6.4 Readapt the food, service and products 140 6.5 Rekindle working relationship with overseas partners 141 7. Global success maps 142 8. Implications and conclusions 146 5 Chapter 7 The “Acquirers” 149 1. Introduction 149 2. Acquirers of Singaporean brands 150 3. The Leximancer analysis 151 4. The NVivo analysis findings 152 5. Critical Success Factors – The seven “Ss” 154 5.1 Suitable brand 154 5.2 Suitable owner and owner’s openness 156 5.3 Suitable business and operations 157 5.4 Suitable concept, taste and products 158 5.5 Suitable adaptation 159 5.6 Suitable terms 160 5.7 Suitable location 160 6. Road maps for the acquirers 161 7. Implications and conclusions 163 Chapter 8 The “Advisers” 165 1. Introduction 165 2. The Advisers 166 3. The Leximancer analysis 166 4. The NVivo analysis findings 168 5. Critical success factors – The four keys to success 171 5.1 Brand and concept 171 5.2 Food and adaptation 173 5.3 Market selection 174 5.4 Partners and people 176 6. Advisers’ views on the Singaporean companies’ critical success factors 177 7. Implications and conclusions 185 Chapter 9 The Cross-Case Analysis 187 1. Introduction 187 2. The cross-case analysis: output and findings 187 3. Perception of concept importance by categories 190 4. A discussion of the results 192 5. Implications and conclusions 201 6 Chapter 10 Discussions 203 1. Introduction 203 2. Critical success factors 205 2.1 Readiness for internationalisation – a key to success 207 2.2 Moderating factors affecting success in internationalisation 207 A. Past internationalisation experience 207 B. The suitability of food concept, taste and products 209 C. Domestic success is a key to brand acquisition in overseas markets 210 D. Administrative efficiency and host country risk management 211 E. Local adaptation 211 F. Market entry mode 213 G. Franchise-related terms 214 H. Brand power 214 I. The importance of the right overseas partner 216 J. Market selection 218 K. Implementation strategies 220 2.3 An Asian model of internationalisation 221 2.4 Future trends that will impact on internationalisation 222 3. Implications and conclusions 226 Chapter 11 Conclusions and Recommendations 227 1. Contributions 227 2. Limitations 232 3. Recommendations for future research 233 4. Recommendations for Singaporean companies 235 5. General recommendations 240 References 243 Appendices 256 Appendix 1: A list of food service companies that venture out of Singapore 257 Appendix 2: The semi-structured interview guide 261 Appendix 3: The consent form 268 Appendix 4: The list of Aspirants 272 Appendix 5: Suggested diagnostic tools for Aspirants 280 Appendix 6: A list of website links 283 Appendix 7: The Leximancer analysis: dashboard insight report 288 7 LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Food & beverage companies that had an interest or ventured overseas 23 Table 1.2 Top 10 companies that ventured overseas 26 Table 2.1 Four strategies for internationalisation 36 Table 2.2 Research papers on critical success factors in internationalisation 45 Table 2.3 Summary of relevant articles from the past 20 years 61 Table 3.1 Cases based on the typology of internationalising companies 69 Table 4.1 The Aspirants 82 Table 4.2 The ranked concept list 85 Table 4.3 The top 20 relevant words for the Aspirants 86 Table 4.4 The Top 10 Leximancer themes and NVivo words 87 Table 4.5 Strategies for internationalisation for the Aspirants 98 Table 5.1 “Active” Singaporean food service companies 102 Table 5.2 The Actives 104 Table 5.3 The ranked concept list 106 Table 5.4 The top 20 words for the Actives 107 Table 5.5 The top 10 Leximancer themes and NVivo words 108 Table 5.6 Strategies for the “Actives” 118 Table 6.1 The top Achievers among Singaporean food service companies 124 Table 6.2 The Achievers 126 Table 6.3 The ranked concept list 128 Table 6.4 The top 20 words for the Achievers from NVivo 130 Table 6.5 A comparison of the Top 10 Leximancer themes and NVivo words 131 Table 6.6 Strategies for the Achievers 143 Table 7.1 The Acquirers 150 Table 7.2 The ranked concept list 152 Table 7.3 The top 20 relevant words for the Acquirers 153 8 Table 7.4 The top 10 Leximancer themes and NVivo words 154 Table 7.5 The Acquirers’ Road maps 161 Table 8.1 The Advisers 166 Table 8.2 The ranked concept list 168 Table 8.3 The top 20 relevant words for the Aspirants 169 Table 8.4 The top 10 Leximancer themes and NVivo words 170 Table 8.5 Strategies recommended by the Advisers 177 Table 9.1 The number of participants by category 188 Table 9.2 Prominence scores by category 191