Processus d' internationalisation et performances competitives des entreprises agro-alimentaires : Cas de la Tunisie.

French. A l' echelle mondiale, le secteur agro-alimentaire se caracterise par la concentration des acteurs et l' internationalisation des activites. Par contre, en Tunisie ce secteur se distingue par la predominance de petites et moyennes entreprises et une diversification de ses activites, parmi lesquelles figurent principalement les cereales et leurs derives. Le processus d' internationalisation des industries alimentaires tunisiennes n' est pas recent, mais actuellement, nos entreprises agro-alimentaires doivent relever un nouveau defi de performance competitive. De fait, aujourd' hui, on assiste a une ample ouverture du marche tunisien aux exportations de l' Union Europeenne (UE) et au demantelement du dispositif de protection du marche local vis-a-vis de la concurrence etrangere. D' ou des questions d' interet capital : comment nos entreprises ont-elles percu ce processus d' internationalisation et comment s' y sont-elles adaptees? Afin de repondre a de telles questions, on a decide de mener une etude en s' appuyant sur un echantillon d' entreprises agro-alimentaires, operant dans divers sous-secteurs.

English. The agri-food sector is characterized worldwide by the concentration of firms and the internationalization of activities. In Tunisia, the situation is quite different since small and medium-sized firms prevail, activities are highly diversified although cereals and their derived products remain dominant. The internationalization of the agri-food sector has a long history behind, but, at present the Tunisian agri-food industries have to take up the challenge of competitive performance more than ever before. The Tunisian market is opening up to the European Union exports and accordingly, protection strategies to control foreign competition are no more applicable. We decided therefore to investigate the following questions: How are the Tunisian firms perceiving the internationalization process and what kind of adaptation policies are they developing? We tried to answer these questions by carrying out a study based on a sample of agri-food companies working in several sub-sectors.