The purpose of this paper is to answer the following research question: which factors relating
to the international competitiveness of German enterprises are most important for the Polish
market? Then, in a broader context: which competitiveness factors play a key role in helping
enterprises from the highest developed countries conquer the market of a relatively less developed country? On the basis of a literature review, a research gap is identified, indicating there is
a shortage of studies that clearly identify a group of factors that influence a company’s success on
the foreign market. The gap is filled with the empirical qualitative research and the conclusions
regarding the key competitiveness factors and their effective combination. Competitive strategies
and factors key for their implementation are identified, presenting the factors responsible for the
growth of German enterprises on the international market (Poland) and achieving market success. The set of enterprises’ competitiveness factors is established and the hierarchy those factors
is presented. Although the qualitative research based on thirteen companies is not representative, the leading German enterprises provide a valuable lesson on how to successfully conquer
a foreign market. The key competitiveness factors responsible for such success in the context of
strategic goals, competition strategies, and modern methods of competition are presented and
discussed. The findings are very useful for real enterprises in internationalizing situations, where
the management has to determine the competitive strategy which should lead to foreign growth
and in consequence success on the international market. The study indicates what to focus on
when entering the foreign market and which factors have a direct impact on the growth on the
foreign market. The paper is a result of empirical research on competitiveness and provides valuable information about the set of ranked competitive factors that have a direct influence on success in a foreign market.