But most important, Geert Hofstede will give you the 'edge of understanding' which translates to more successful results" (Geert Hofstede's Website, 2003).
If Steven Kafka conducted an analysis of the Czech market through the lens of cultural features, there is an increased likelihood for the results to indicate major discrepancies. This should not however disappoint him, as different does not implicitly mean worse.
A d) in its desire to adhere to the great economic powers of the globe, driven by its sense of innovation and its adaptability to the forces in the macro and micro environments, the Czech Republic has managed to remove most of its trade barriers. These measures were due mostly to its adherence to the European Union and other international trade organizations. "The Czech market has no trade barriers to food and agricultural product imports, except for the usual import duties and tariff rate quotas permitted under the GATT/WTO agreement. The selection of products is sometimes greater than in many neighboring Western countries" (Fennesz-Berka, 1996). Since Steve Kafka would operate in the restaurants industry, his imports would not be subjected to taxes.
A e) Aside from his personal entrepreneurial skills and the through analysis of the Czech environment, Steve Kafka would also have to use various concepts of political economy to ensure that his new venture is able to retrieve the desired outcome. A fist such concept is the demand for his product - the pizza. And a most important side of this demand is the ability to measure it before actually launching the pizza as to ensure that you are making sufficient pizza to serve all customers or, that you are not making too much and as such wasting resources. Assessing the demand is often a challenging task, implying a generous use of resource and also tedious work. It could be achieved from two sources: industry analysis and direct questioning of the consumers. Both actions are marketing related and the first implies that a study of the Czech industry will be realized, focusing on number of customers, the age...
Then, the study could also reveal the best preferred recipes for pizza, revealing as such the favourite spices and ingredients of the Czech population (they often eat pork and rarely consume fish, as such pizza al tonno would not be the most inspired decision). The second source is the actual customer, who will directly inform the American entrepreneur whether he feels or does not feel the need for a new American pizza shop within his region, whether he likes the products or not; they could also offer information about themselves, such as age, occupation, income or education.
Another important aspect to be considered before launching the venture is that of the costs incurred. These have to cover the purchase or rental of a location, the transportation costs, the costs of the machineries to be bought from the Czech market or imported from the U.S., the costs of raw materials, the costs with the personnel and the taxes and fees owned to the Czech government. The results of the research conducted could lead to various conclusions relative to price and income elasticitises. One could for instance indicate that as the price increases, the demand decreases; or, that as the income increases, the demand for pizza decreases as the consumers acquire more pretentious tastes.
References
Briffett, C., August 28, 2008, Observing the Czech Republic through the U.S. Lens, Czech Business Weekly
Fennesz-Berka, a., November 1996, Czech Republic and Slovenia Offer Opportunities for U.S. Consumer Foods, AgExporter
2007, Differences between the Czech Republic and the U.S., Associated Content
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/392236/differences_between_the_czech_republic.html?page=2&cat=16last accessed on September 9, 2008
2008, Official Website of the Czech Republic, http://www.czech.cz/en/last accessed on September 9, 2008
2003, Geert Hofstede's Website, http://www.geert-hofstede.com/last accessed on September 9, 2008
