In May 2015, Qualtrics was a rapidly growing U.S.-based software-as-a-service firm, founded in 2002. After 10 years of operating with little capital, Qualtrics raised some venture capital funding, which enabled it to initiate a rapid international expansion. The management team intended to aggressively pursue global opportunities, but first needed to make some key decisions regarding how to develop the company's Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regional headquarters, and its European operations. Key concerns included the company's market selection and prioritization, and its best approach for developing a subsidiary and EMEA regional operations that could achieve significant scale in a short time frame.

In 2014, FotoNation, an international venture previously located in Ireland, produced innovative solutions for digital photography from its headquarters in California. At the core of FotoNation's technology were its proprietary algorithms, which were embedded in software and used in over 2 billion digital devices such as the cameras in smartphones. The company placed an emphasis on research, and it had its research and development units in Romania, Ireland, and the Western United States. However, after being acquired by Tessera Technologies in 2008, FotoNation had to relocate its top management team from Ireland to the headquarters of Tessera Technologies in the United States. FotoNation's management had some difficult decisions to make in light of the acquisition. How would a research-based product fit into the grand scheme of Tessera Technologies? How would FotoNation compete with larger industrial players, while coping with the relocation of its top-tier staff?