The wave market entry strategy is simultaneous business expansion to a number of foreign markets, but, unlike the sprinkler strategy, it limits the number of suitable markets by classifying them into groups. This is done by analyzing the culture and business environments of available markets, and grouping them by how similar they are to the domestic market. For example, Latvia, Lithuania and possibly Estonia would be grouped together due to similarities in culture, business environment and economic ties between the countries (although by some parameters Estonia may not be included, everything depends on the analysis done by the business itself).

Similarly to the waterfall strategy, the wave-like business expansion can be divided into stages. The first stage involves markets similar to the domestic ones, and they also usually are geographically closer. Each subsequent stage incorporates farther group of markets, which are less and less like the domestic one. This is reminiscent of the circles of waves, that are emitted from a single centre, and they must first pass through the nearby area to reach areas further prom the initial point.

Implementation
The wave market entry strategy is usually initiated with a thorough analysis and grouping of the available markets. Then, a group that is the most similar to the domestic market is chosen for the initial expansion. Because of the similarities, the business model from the domestic market can be transferred to these markets. When the initial expansion is secured, the company can move to the next set of foreign markets, which are now less like the domestic one. Thus, the profits and experience from each previous group compensate the potential risks of each subsequent market, as they are getting less and less familiar.

While grouping the available markets, it is important not to select just one or several parameters, but to incorporate them into one system. It would be a good idea to develop a scores table, where each country gets its own mark based on all of the criteria and parameters. This is essential, because a foreign market can be similar to the domestic one in terms of culture, but radically different in terms of business environment or political stability. A company that fails to take this into consideration risks grouping together economies that are actually different in their own way, reducing the benefits of the wave market entry strategy.

Advantages
The main advantage of the wave market entry strategy is that it combines the expanse of the sprinkler strategy and the safety of the waterfall strategy.

First of all, as a company enters a number of markets at once, it gains multiple sources of profits and business internationalization experience. While not as extensively as with the sprinkler strategy, the company also gains an advantage over its competition. This is especially effective against domestic competitors, who might be interested in the same markets of the first wave/group, since they are the easiest to enter. Such an early and simultaneous expansion to all the familiar foreign markets leaves the competition no possibility of gaining a technological advantage, unless your business withdraws.

On the other hand, the wave strategy also gives a certain degree of stability and backup in case of failing to enter another group of markets. If the first wave entry fails, the company can retreat to its domestic positions. If any sequential waves fail, the company can use resources from previous waves to compensate for the losses and continue its international expansion. This makes the risks of each particular case minimal, making the wave strategy quite cost-effective.

Disadvantages
While the wave strategy combines the advantages of the waterfall and the sprinkler strategies, it is also a middle path between the two, and it is not utilizing their advantages to the fullest. It does not allow entering all the available markets at once, and the competitive advantage there can be lost. It is especially noticeable if a competitor manages to enter more distant markets successfully, and by the time the business in question reaches them, it will be lagging behind in introducing itself to the local market.

Although not a disadvantage at all times, the wave strategy is sometimes criticized for taking extra time for analyzing a lot of markets in order to group them. Although a market analysis is required in any strategy, the wave method needs to analyze more markets than the waterfall strategy, and also needs to produce a more detailed analysis than the sprinkler strategy. As this part of business expansion is essential in this case, it add more possibilities for errors, which can then turn into a failed market entry attempt.

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