Internacionalization of service firms: the case of consultancy firms and distance learning in the health and social care sector

Abstract

In this globalized world that we live in, internationalization has become an important phenomenon in the business environment. Nowadays, most companies aspire to expand their businesses abroad, no matter if they provide manufactured goods or services. In general, marketing has always been taught and studied from a manufacturing-only perspective. However, the truth is that the services sector has become one of the most important economic engines in today’s world, and its relevance is increasing. In fact, we live in a service economy, where services represent a 30 percent of the total world trade and, in territories like the European Union; they share the 50 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Despite its importance, the internationalization of service firms is a marketing field that still needs more research to be done, since its theories and studies have traditionally been created exclusively from a manufacturing perspective. The present Master’s Thesis will analyze the internationalization of service firms through the case of Índice Formación y Consultoría, a consultancy firm from Valencia which is planning on expanding its business to the United Kingdom. The company is specialized in the health and social care sector, and provides, not only consultancy services, but also distance learning courses for health and social care professionals in search of improving their training. The case study will create a marketing plan which will go through the main internationalization steps that the company should follow in order to complete the initial stage of internationalization according to the firm’s profile. The analysis will also describe its internal features and external factors that are likely to influence the internationalization process.