Applying the AHP Model to Explore Key Success Factors for High-Tech Startups Entering International Markets

1. Introduction

High-tech industry is one of the most important industries in acknowledge-based economy (Hong et al., 2016). Startups are generally defined as beginning with companies that seek to apply innovative approaches to solving problems and have high potential for scalability. Their added value is a breakthrough or substantially improved product or service for the relevant market (Janáková, 2015). High-technology startups (also sometimes referred to as high-tech startups and new technology-based firms), which allows the tracking of firms from their early stages through to adolescence and into maturity over a period of over thirteen years (Siepel et al., 2017). High-tech startups have to concentrate on various aspects all the while in order to succeed in today’s business world, particularly in international markets. This study explores key success factors on market entry success of high-tech startups from international markets. The key success factors (KSF), also known in the literature as critical success factors, originated in the area of management information systems and later have been transferred to the business strategy field (Grunert & Ellegaard, 1992). One of the most universal definitions of KSF, which refers to both public and private sectors, was introduced by Boynton and Zmud (1984). KSF are “those few things that must go well to ensure success” (Boynton & Zmud, 1984). Firm performance is constrained by internal factors, such as resources and strategic choices and external factors, such as the carrying capacity of the environment or competition (Eniola & Entebanga, 2015). Figure 1 shows the internal environment, industry and competitive environment that influence firm performance.

Figure 1.

The internal environment, industry and competitive environment