Internationalization in the Creative Industry: An Investigation of Success Behind Artistic & Commercial Logic at Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen

Abstract

Executive Summary: This thesis aims at investigating why and how a company in the creative industry is balancing the importance of artistic and commercial logic together with other crucial factors to ensure a successful growth on the international market. The research performed is constructed by a case study on the fine jewellery company Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen and a qualitative research method is applied to this case study. Consequently, interviews with four key professionals within diverse management positions at Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen are conducted in order to gain a good insight from different aspects of the company. The theoretical foundation of this thesis was based on the five central factors in relation to the problem area: internationalization, artistic and commercial logic, competitiveness, differentiation through branding and quality control for Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen to ensure successful growth on the international market. The finds show that there are no big tensions with regards to artistic and commercial logic. The company is not that big and the two aspects work very closely to ensure success, even though the pressure has increased after they expanded. Outsourcing the production had been discussed, but was declined in the end because of the company’s values and innovation process. Furthermore their experience on the domestic market has helped the company to some degree through the internationalization process but they are highly reliant on finding the right people and dealers when going into new markets. Additionally, it was discovered that renewal of products are important to increase competitiveness, but since they are selling long lasting jewellery, giving the products a new look through visual merchandising can be just as helpful. However, their strong brand position on the domestic market did not help them differentiate and increase competitiveness on the new markets. Moreover as a value based company, they are working hard to ensure top quality throughout all sections even though it takes time and they have limited resources as a small company. Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen is subsequently working constructively with awareness to the different aspects to secure a successful growth on the new markets. Key words: Creative Industry, Internationalization, Artistic and Commercial logic, Competitiveness, Branding, Quality Control.