Chapter 4: Lithuania
(continued)
From this point of view, local manufacturers of environmental technologies enjoy the unparalleled advantage of being able to offer cheaper products with lower installation costs, and local technical service and expertise.
Where foreign technologies are preferred by end-users, the technology often has unique technical parameters that are unmatched by comparable local products, or the foreign technology is preferred because a product is not manufactured locally. Foreign products are often viewed as being more technologically advanced, of better quality and are more reliable than local technologies. Recognition of brand names is also an important factor.
Local environmental companies, driven by a wide variety of goals, tend to purchase the exact technology they need to provide environmental services. The country of origin of the product is not a key factor, and, unlike other respondent groups, tend to take less notice of the price. These environmental firms provide, among other things, lab testing services, remediation work, field research, drilling, pollution measurements and so on, and require reliable and sophisticated technologies manufactured by world renowned producers.
It is important to mention that neighboring Russia and Poland have a growing presence in the market due to the fact that they, too, can offer competitive technologies at competitive prices.
Concerning foreign environmental technologies, 83 percent of respondents cite high quality as the outstanding characteristic of foreign technologies. Other characteristics include "good value for money" (72 percent), "reliability and durability" (70 percent), "user-friendly and easy to operate" (77 percent), and "good after-sales service" (70 percent).
The considerably strong financial background of foreign (i.e. Western) suppliers allows them to use important marketing tools such as "available credit or financing," and this tends to be highly appreciated by survey respondents (85 percent). In some cases, this factor can determine the choice of Lithuanian consumers, when their own credit is insufficient or is delayed.
The two main barriers to buying local technologies are the lack of reliable information concerning products (46 percent) and the changing environmental regulations (44 percent). A subsequent issue is related to the scarcity of information concerning suppliers (34 percent). Other obstacles are of relatively low significance. Local environmental technology companies have a very small share in the Lithuanian market. Some respondents were not able to make a comparison because only foreign technologies are available in their sector, for example, the sophisticated measuring and process control equipment.
Foreign technologies are considered too expensive, with 88 percent of respondents indicating high prices. The lack of reliable information concerning the product was ranked second most important (by 54 percent of responses). General data is available concerning foreign products but this usually consists of advertisements and tends to be less reliable. Also, 28-40 percent of respondents cited the long supply period /43/ and problems related with the certification of equipment /49/ as specific barriers to buying foreign technologies.
The general barrier to buying environmental technologies from both local and foreign suppliers are changes in environmental regulations. Local environmental regulations are often the subject of changes that create many problems for companies not only in buying environmental technologies but in maintaining compliance.
