The second half of this century has seen a gradual shift in the orientation of world business. Increased globalisation, the shrinking of national boundaries and the search for competitive advantage have added an international dimension to the concept of business. Yet, despite the overwhelming increase in international activity in recent years, research pertaining to International Market Selection (IMS) is still underdeveloped. This research is an attempt to fill part of the gap in this area. The objective of this research is to ascertain whether existing models of IMS can be used to determine the opportunities that may exist for firms in the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe. The fall of the Communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989 opened up previously untapped markets to Western investors. However, real or perceived, the risks associated with the transition from communism to democracy and from centralised to market economics has deterred many investors. Chapter One of this thesis chronicles the changes that have occurred in two former East bloc countries, Hungary and the Czech Republic. This Chapter also discusses the effect of reform on the marketing function in these transitionary countries and its implications for IMS research. Chapter Two introduces the concept of IMS and the obstacles to IMS which are particularly pronounced in the case of Central and Eastern European markets. The body of this Chapter is concerned with classifying and evaluating existing IMS methodologies, which fall into two broad categories - Quantitative Techniques and Qualitative Techniques. In reviewing both the quantitative and qualitative techniques the author will assess their applicability and relevance to firms considering the selection of Central and Eastern European markets. Chapter Three outlines the research methodology adopted in this thesis. The objectives and exploratory nature of this research are discussed initially. This is followed by a discussion of the research design which includes the data collection and measurement techniques. Chapter Three concludes with a discussion of the limitations which are imposed upon this exploratory research. Chapter Four comprises a Case Study analysis of the international development and IMS techniques of one of the world's truly global companies - Guinness. In discussing the international development of the company since 1981 the author assesses the impact of company-specific factors on market selection. In particular, the IMS procedures used by United Distillers, the spirits arm of Guinness, to evaluate Central and Eastern European markets is contrasted with those of the Seagrams Group. The criteria and variables used by these companies to evaluate Central and Eastern European markets and their selection procedures are compared to those suggested in the literature. In Chapter Five the findings of this research namely: (a) that both quantitative and qualitative techniques are required to evaluate Central and Eastern European markets; and ( b ) that company-specific factors need to be considered in an IMS framework from the outset; are applied and the author develops an Integrative IMS model which takes into consideration both the needs of the firm and the idiosyncratic nature of emerging markets. The reasons why an Integrative Model is required are discussed and the structure of this model is outlined.