Lowering entry barriers in a digital era : A qualitative study about the Swedish fashion industry’s international expansion with Affiliate Marketing.

Abstract: The internet and the rise of e-commerce have changed the foundation for how Swedish fashion companies operates. The shift has simplified for businesses to reach foreign customers who are vital for the fashion companies as the Swedish market is too small to nurture all existing companies. To expand abroad often requires plenty of resources to overcome structural entry barriers. One marketing tool that Swedish fashion companies have used to avoid high expenditures is Affiliate marketing, a cost-effective digital marketing instrument. Therefore, is the purpose of this study to broaden the discussion about Affiliate marketing. Furthermore, this thesis will try to understand how Swedish fashion companies have incorporated Affiliate marketing to overcome market entry barriers. The result from the empirical findings gave indications that Affiliate marketing has had an impact on the Swedish fashion companies’ expansion. It was important for the interviewed companies to collaborate with different bloggers and websites, to create a certain awareness about the companies’ products on the new markets. The study also showed that Affiliate marketing could lower entry barriers by itself but also exposes businesses to new barriers as logistic- and payment solutions that must work simultaneously. The outcome of the study shows that it is significantly important for a Swedish fashion company to have a proper logistics- and payment system in place before a company implements Affiliate marketing, as the method will otherwise prove ineffective.