This study aims to
explore the dynamics of the socio-political relations in market entry. It
creates a novel framework based on the ideas of the literature on the
socio-political behavior of MNEs and institutional perspective, in order to
capture the interplay between the extant industry institutional structure of
the host market and entry candidate. The study is conducted as qualitative
comparative study focusing on pharmaceutical industry in five selected national
markets. The paper aims to contribute to our understanding on the role of
interconnectedness in market entry by identifying the critical structural and
relational elements influencing the complex interplay of interests in market
entry.