Север и рынок. 2014, N 5.

Strategy of Gazprom is to become a leader among energy companies worldwide. It will do this by taking actions such as developing new markets, diversifying business ventures, and securing supplies abroad. Because of Gazprom's location in Russia, it has the potential to become an energy “bridge” between the European and Asian markets by supplying its own natural gas and providing gas transit services to other producers[6]. Gazprom on the FSA/CSA matrix which makes its success in Belarus Gazprom, to succeed in Belarus, has both Firm Specific Advantages(FSA) and Country Specific Advantages(CSA). Gazprom is placed in the 3rd quadrant in the FSA-CSA matrix (Graph 1). It enjoys strong advantages from its own firm and from Belarus. n ос Strong S’ Weak Weak Ф • flcAZPfiOM • • Strong Firm specific advantages Graph 1. FSA-CSA Matrix Firm Specific Advantages (FSA’s): Satisfying Customer Needs Responses and requests by clients' are handled immediately and guaranteed a reply in one business day. Each case is taken care of by the same manager throughout the process until the issue is resolved [7]. Any means of transportation for delivery of products is available, whether by air, land, or water. Priority is set on efficient and timely delivery (ibid). Meeting High Standards Gazprom products have been meeting the standards set for the GOST Russian Voluntary Certification System and GAZPROMCERT System, which are popular Russian manufacturing standards (ibid). Gazprom's quality management is meeting the standard with ISO 9001:2008 is a form of measurement that is related to the International Organization for Standardization. This tool is designed to help organizations ensure that they meet the needs of customers and stakeholders [8]. Technical Control and Support Gazprom hires more than 20 institutions from the Russian Academy of Science to conduct research for them in areas such as oil deposits, efficient transportation and engineering. For the full list of technical objectives of the research please refer to the Russian Academy of Sciences, “Development of scientific Research, aimed at creating fundamental basis of new technologies, and practical problems of the gas industry” (2000). Country Specific Advantages (CSA’s): Main CSAs of Belarus’s Host Economy and Their Relation to The FSAs. When MNE has strong firm specific advantages (FSA’s), it implies that under ideal country- specific advantages (CSA’s) Gazprom would have high competitive advantage over its rivals. Belarus has ideal country-specific advantages for Russian company such as: culture, language, geographic location and legal practices. Together all these aspects facilitate smooth business and relations between Russia and Belarus ideal for Gazprom’s business. Culture Culture in Belarus is very similar to Russian culture. Even the former name of Eastern Belarus is termed White Russia. Being part of the USSR for 71 years and going through similar historical path after its collapse in 1991, Belarus has gained close social and cultural development to Russia. By examining 227