The aim of this thesis is to map important strategies and factors that a firm, in this case Gunnebo Lifting AB can use when establishing themselves at the Russian market. The Russian market is today considered to be an emerging market. Within this study several areas of theory connected to entering new markets have been touched upon. These areas are market analysis, relationships and networking, internationalization processes, distribution chains, export issues and finally cultural distances. The empirical data for this thesis were collected through qualitative interviews.

The results that arose when analyzing the theories combined with the empirical data pointed towards five strategies and factors of importance. According to this study a firm needs to have a good knowledge of the market in mind. The firm also needs to have awareness and knowledge about the country or region and the specific cultures within it. A third factor is that the firm needs to be aware of and possess ability to handle different distances between the firm and the new market. A fourth factor identified points to the importance of having the ability to develop good relationships and to be able to position the firm within a network. The last factor identified within this thesis is the importance for the firm to have clear visions and achievable goals for the firm on a new market.