J.l. Jonathan Tuovinen

A Polar Bear in the Jungle: the Role Corporate Hubris in the Internationalisation of 'national Darlings' J.l. Jonathan Tuovinen

Every country in the world has companies that hold a special place in the hearts of the people. These companies often have a long history within a certain nation and they enjoy a high level of brand loyalty. These kinds of companies are referred to as ?national darlings?. The concept seems quite self-evident, but is currently not present in academic literature. Nevertheless, the extraordinary position the company has can lead it to overestimate its capabilities outside of the native country. The ethos of constantly overestimating one?s self is known as hubris, and on a company level as corporate hubris. The allusion of a polar bear in the jungle is used for two reasons. Firstly, it reflects well the situation of the beast that is used to being king being faced by a new habitat where his reputations does not proceed him. Secondly, it is the symbol of the case company of the study, Danish media conglomerate Nordisk Film. This study sets out to investigate whether corporate hubris plays a role in the difficulties of internationalisation of national darling companies by examining the distribution business of Nordisk Film TV between 2007 and 2009.