Table 3. Market expansion – summary of...

Table 3.

Market expansion – summary of the findings and illustrative excerpts from the data

Characteristics	Examples from the data
Main aim: growing beyond the initial customers at a manageable cost and risk and to ensure financial sustainability
If the product/service is market-fitted, companies start to expand. The growth is organic, and contingent, and not strategically anticipated Expansion happens both proactively, seeking new applications and markets for the existing offers and reactively responding to market requests The decision to expand may be triggered by the need to obtain funding from sales Entrepreneurs develop several activities to establish bridges to the larger market and new markets Instead of managerial promotion tools, entrepreneurs implement low-cost communication activities	«The market asks me; I have to adapt…. I just have to guarantee that I have legitimacy to act in other areas…. This is a very reactive strategy, but I am proactive in others» (#37: Business Services) «We did not anticipate that this would be what we would be doing for the next four years, but this opportunity was seen as a means to ensure funding for the other projects we were working on» (#5: Digital Technologies) «We spent almost no money on product promotion…We were able to present the product in three different TV channels through our efforts and personal contacts… we are also featured in some magazines» (#6: Digital Technologies) «It would be more expensive to approach the market in other ways, such as having sales people. So, we approach the market via the internet. We created newsletters … and we also invest in online advertising» (#21: Engineering)

Characteristics	Examples from the data
Main aim: growing beyond the initial customers at a manageable cost and risk and to ensure financial sustainability
If the product/service is market-fitted, companies start to expand. The growth is organic, and contingent, and not strategically anticipatedExpansion happens both proactively, seeking new applications and markets for the existing offers and reactively responding to market requestsThe decision to expand may be triggered by the need to obtain funding from salesEntrepreneurs develop several activities to establish bridges to the larger market and new marketsInstead of managerial promotion tools, entrepreneurs implement low-cost communication activities	«The market asks me; I have to adapt…. I just have to guarantee that I have legitimacy to act in other areas…. This is a very reactive strategy, but I am proactive in others» (#37: Business Services)«We did not anticipate that this would be what we would be doing for the next four years, but this opportunity was seen as a means to ensure funding for the other projects we were working on» (#5: Digital Technologies)«We spent almost no money on product promotion…We were able to present the product in three different TV channels through our efforts and personal contacts… we are also featured in some magazines» (#6: Digital Technologies)«It would be more expensive to approach the market in other ways, such as having sales people. So, we approach the market via the internet. We created newsletters … and we also invest in online advertising» (#21: Engineering)

Characteristics

Examples from the data

Main aim: growing beyond the initial customers at a manageable cost and risk and to ensure financial sustainability

If the product/service is market-fitted, companies start to expand. The growth is organic, and contingent, and not strategically anticipatedExpansion happens both proactively, seeking new applications and markets for the existing offers and reactively responding to market requestsThe decision to expand may be triggered by the need to obtain funding from salesEntrepreneurs develop several activities to establish bridges to the larger market and new marketsInstead of managerial promotion tools, entrepreneurs implement low-cost communication activities

«The market asks me; I have to adapt…. I just have to guarantee that I have legitimacy to act in other areas…. This is a very reactive strategy, but I am proactive in others» (#37: Business Services)«We did not anticipate that this would be what we would be doing for the next four years, but this opportunity was seen as a means to ensure funding for the other projects we were working on» (#5: Digital Technologies)«We spent almost no money on product promotion…We were able to present the product in three different TV channels through our efforts and personal contacts… we are also featured in some magazines» (#6: Digital Technologies)«It would be more expensive to approach the market in other ways, such as having sales people. So, we approach the market via the internet. We created newsletters … and we also invest in online advertising» (#21: Engineering)

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