Adapting Dutch and Danish Firms’ Strategies to Enter the Chinese Biotechnologies Market for Russian SMEs

This research paper is focused on a current state of Russian biotechnology sector and its potential to enter the Chinese market by adopting market entry strategies and approaches employed by Danish and Dutch biotechnology companies. The growing cooperation between Russia and China in biotechnology, driven by scientific exchanges and business partnerships, presents opportunities for Russian biotech SMEs to enter the market. In comparison to limited successful Russian cases, Danish and Dutch biotech SMEs have demonstrated effective strategies for overcoming cultural and regulatory challenges in China. Russian companies can potentially adapt and implement them to navigate Chinese biotechnology sector. The research aims to reveal effective Danish and Dutch biotechnology companies’ strategies for Russian SMEs to overcome cultural, regulatory and competitive challenges and establish competitive presence in Chinese biotechnology market. The objectives of the research include describing Russian biotechnologies sector current state, specifics and dynamics of the Chinese market and current Sino-Russian cross-border scientific and business biotechnological collaborations, designing and conducting an exploratory online survey among the decision makers of Russian biotechnological small and medium enterprises, and undertaking a comparative case study of Danish and Dutch biotechnological SMEs Chinese market entry strategies, revealing the most effective ones in the context of Russian biotechnology SMEs. The research is grounded in theoretical frameworks of A. Kärkkäinen, K. Wang, Y. Lestari, P. Buckley, M. Casson, and G. F. Watson IV, which collectively address foreign market entry decision-making determinants and international market entry strategies. The methodology includes both primary and secondary research approaches. The primary method involves a comparative case study of Danish and Dutch SMEs' entry into the Chinese market to identify effective strategies for adaptation in the Russian biotech sector. The secondary method comprises a reflexive thematic analysis of online survey responses from decision-makers in Russian biotech SMEs to uncover their experiences, challenges, and perceptions of entering the Chinese market. By addressing gaps in existing literature, the research will contribute to revealing foreign market entry strategies used in the biotechnology sector, providing valuable insights into strategy selection and success factors in innovation markets, while offering empirical evidence on the dynamics of the Russian biotech market and its potential to enter the Chinese market.