ISA’s technology reaches the Middle East

: when intelligent senses are needed anywhere

Abstract

In the end of 2012, ISA – Intelligent Sensing Anywhere, a Portuguese technological-based company in the oil & gas and energy telemetry business which had started the operations of its International Joint Venture (IJV) in Cairo in the beginning of the year, was facing the tough decision on whether it should divest on the IJV. Although the partnership was stable and the first implemented pilot projects had been a success, Egypt was living a social and political crisis since 2011. This crisis had been recently aggravated with the election of President Mohammed Morsi with 51% of the votes, in a straight division of the country between Islamist governance and the moderate Muslims, Christians and liberals. Underlying ISA’s concerns were the security of its members, the decrease in investment regarding national projects, ISA’s future success in the North Africa and Middle East regions and the best interests of its stakeholders. The dilemma on whether the firm should go on with its IJV is therefore the central issue of this dissertation. In addition to the Case Study, this dissertation includes a Literature Review which provides the theoretical grounds for the proceeding analysis on the Teaching Note, exploring issues such as technological R&D, International Negotiation, Strategic Alliances and Sustainability in a SMEs internationalization context.

Date of Award	14 Feb 2014
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Nuno Magalhães Guedes (Supervisor)