Elefsina is the birthplace of Aeschylus and the site of the ancient Eleusinian mysteries revolving around issues of life after death. In modern times, it hosts a major industrial center, few kilometers away from Athens, Greece. Elefsina is also home to SOFMAN S.A., a small-medium sized firm operating in the steel and mechanical structures industry. SOFMAN was established in 2000, following the merger of two steel and mechanical structures firms with 30 years of experience. The firm designs, produces and installs steel structures in a tailor-made fashion, such as heavy industrial constructions, bridges, steel buildings and architectural projects (SOFMAN company website n.d.). SOFMAN uses the latest CAD-DAM manufacturing technology in the design of steel structures, and owns two fabrication plants. The main plant is used for most of its production operations (e.g. cutting, welding, assembling)
while the second, developed in 2012, is dedicated to painting. The firm has earned a number of international and European certifications related to quality of its engineering operations. Today, the firm employs 75 full time employees; approximately 2/3 work in the fabrication plants and 1/3 in the administrative and design functions. Led by the two sons of the founders, Michalis Sofras, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Nikos Mandras, Managing Director (MD), this family run firm has contributed to landmark construction sites in Greece, including the Acropolis Museum, the Athens International Airport, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre.

The financial crisis tormenting the country since 2010, has played a key role in the evolution of SOFMAN’s business activities. In Greece, the crisis affected SMEs more than large multinational firms, while construction activity was one of the sectors most severely affected (OECD 2016). Faced with a very difficult macroeconomic and industry environment with few inland construction opportunities, top management decided to embark upon an internationalisation process for the first time in the firm’s history, initially seeking for opportunities to export. Figure 1 illustrates evidence of SOFMAN’s growth in international operations, during a period that the home market was shrinking.....

Case Study Questions 

1. Discuss SOFMAN’s response to the changing external environment since 2009/10. Examine the key factors underlying SOFMAN’s strategic choices and critically evaluate the internationalisation strategy.
2. Critically evaluate SOFMAN’s HRM practices in the process of internationalisation and offer suggestions for improvement.