A Study of Marketing Standardization and Performance of Australian,Japanese, and U.S. Firms

Given the continued importance of the globalization era, there is an ever-increasing interest in the correlation between marketing mix standardization and the firm's market performance. This issue focuses on the firm's pursuit of global markets in an environment conditional to internal and external market factors. The research examines factors on multinational firm's marketing mix (program and process marketing) from Australia, Japan, and the United States and the impact on market performance. The results are mixed providing some support for marketing standardization and profit performance.     

Marketing globalization: A didactic examination for corporate strategy

Recent empirical research suggests an appended explanation of globalization is necessary. Significant global studies have indicated that converging global homogeneous markets have not arrived, thereby concluding globalization of markets should be reexamined. A didactic examination posits globalization as marketing globalization. Two areas of opportunity for marketing globalization strategy are a modified marketing strategy in diverse global markets and a standardized marketing strategy in homogeneous global markets. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Standardization Versus Adaptation in Global Markets: Is Channel Strategy Different?

The argument over standardization versus adaptation of marketing strategy in international markets has raged for several decades. This argument has generally taken place at the aggregate level to include all four strategic areas of the marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place) taken together. This article disaggregates the standardization-versus-adaptation argument by focusing on just one strategic area of the marketing mix—channel strategy. We argue that three underlying phenomena or forces in global markets (culturally distant distribution behavior, distributive institution rigidity, and international functional fragmentation) inhibit a firm's ability to standardize channel strategy in global markets to a greater degree than is the case for product, price, and promotional strategies.     

全球化营销的风险与防范

全球化营销是将全球看成一个统一的大市场,在对其进行市场调研的基础上,进行市场细分并选择自己的目标市场,实施营销策略组合。它强调企业应在全球范围内寻求竞争优势和最佳市场。全球化的趋势得益于正在降低的各国贸易壁垒和交通、信息技术的迅猛发展。全球化营销的巨大经济效益和市场前景对企业有很强的吸引力,但也不可避免地存在风险,因此,如何防范这些风险则是全球化营销要着重解决的课题。     

Market similarity and market selection: Implications for international marketing strategy

International market selection patterns for a sample of 954 new products suggest that firms exhibit a significant preference for markets similar to the home market. Preferences for similar markets decline as firms gain experience in a variety of markets, however. This pattern suggests the importance of uncertainty and information in global market selection and marketing mix management. Alternative means of gathering information about foreign markets permit and support very different approaches to global marketing activity. More fundamentally, a global perspective on the relationship between market conditions, marketing policies and programs, and consumer response can be developed systematically to improve global marketing performance.     

Rethinking the bottom of the pyramid: Towards a new marketing mix

The purpose of this study is to re-conceptualize the conventional marketing mix for Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) markets and propose a revised framework by reorganizing the elements based on the customer perspective while retaining the principles of services marketing. Primary data was collected through a questionnaire with a sample size of 400 people from both urban and rural markets in the BoP. Findings indicate that the needs and perspective of the BoP members is distinct from the Middle of the Pyramid (MoP). Managers should consider this point while formulating marketing mix strategies for BoP markets. The present study is the first of its kind to present a revised marketing mix framework for customers in the BoP markets. The framework comprises five Ps, including personalization, product, place, the process of service delivery and price. Thus, a theoretical contribution is made in the context of service marketing and the BoP.     

A Korean,a Chinese,and an Indian walk into an American bar: Tapping the Asian-American goldmine

Historically, globalization has been synonymous with mega brands’ expansion into international markets. However, changes in the marketing landscape—namely, growth of immigrant consumers, new and emerging branding strategies, and advancements in technology—have created a shift in the globalization paradigm, opening opportunities for small brands. Focusing on the growing number of Asian-American consumers, the authors develop a two-stage global market entry strategy for small brands entering the U.S. market. Specifically, the authors show how Asian brands can penetrate the U.S. market by serving Asian-American consumers or using them as a launchpad to reach mainstream American consumers. The growth of small global brands signifies an important and exciting change in the branded marketplace currently dominated by Western brands.     

Marketing strategy in emerging markets: a conceptual framework

Citing difference between emerging and developed markets, scholars highlight need for different approaches to marketing in emerging markets. In this paper, we argue that while there are some unique characteristics of emerging markets, all countries within emerging markets do not have similar levels of product penetration and consumption. As a result, it is wrong to assume that emerging markets are untapped and under-served across the product categories. To a list of characteristics identified as unique to emerging markets, we add large population as an important characteristic and discuss its strategic implications. We develop a conceptual framework that factors in combined effect of varying degrees of product penetration & consumption levels with large population of emerging market countries. The conceptual framework identifies four strategic alternatives for marketing in emerging markets. Instead of recommending any generic marketing strategy, we propose that marketers need to choose an appropriate mix of strategies aimed at primary and selective demand creation in emerging markets.     

Cheers in China! International marketing strategies of Spanish wine exporters

Due to the globalization of the wine sector and the increase in competition, multinational enterprises (MNEs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have increased their presence in emerging markets, especially in China. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of the specific case of Spanish wine exporters to China, and examines the different external and internal factors impacting their international marketing decisions. Employing the case-study methodology, it is revealed that external factors force companies to adapt their back labels, distribution channels, prices and communications, while the internal factor of corporate strategy is the main cause for the standardisation of their product ranges, brand names, main labels and positioning. This paper also exposes the need to include the variable of firm size as an internal factor that is observed to have a major effect on the development and control of the marketing mix, as well as access to Guanxi networks.     

“Relationship marketing” and the “markets‐as‐networks approach”—a comparative analysis of two evolving streams of research

Predating the increased attention by marketing academics on relationship marketing, European marketing scholars developed a network approach to the study of industrial markets that is also based on relationships between seller and buyer as a fundamental concept. This article aims to analyse the similarities and the differences between relationship marketing studies and network studies. After comparative analyses of definitions, empirical and research foundations, attributes related to governance structures and to the marketing mix approach and of major issues addressed in the research agendas, the conclusion is: relationship marketing in its limited interpretation is just a development within the marketing mix approach. Relationship marketing in its extended interpretation is, or rather could become, close to the markets‐as‐networks approach. However the basic attribute in network studies of “embeddedness” is largely missing in relationship marketing. To develop relationship marketing as a generic concept, researchers need to address also the issue of the generic nature of the market. Because when relationships are regarded as the generic governance form for transactions, then the market itself becomes network‐like!     

Leveraging Distribution to Maximize Firm Performance in Emerging Markets

Despite the rise of emerging markets as lucrative destinations for business expansion, marketing literature in this area is largely anecdotal and conceptual. Further, owing to the largely unorganized retail structure in emerging markets, managers tend to make sub-optimal marketing-mix decisions by taking an aggregate view of their distribution network. In this study, we develop an econometric model to help firms develop a multichannel distribution strategy in emerging markets while accounting for (a) own-marketing mix, (b) competitive actions, (c) brand-level heterogeneity, and (d) dependencies that may arise between product offerings. The proposed model is tested on longitudinal data from a large Indian CPG manufacturer. The results indicate that firms must consider store format-specific distribution elasticities (as opposed to aggregate effects), especially in an emerging market, where the role of distribution is critical in brand success. Further, depending on the offering, price (own- and cross-) and advertising elasticities could vary even though the brand is essentially the same. Also, we find that there are significant dependencies between product forms that need to be considered when designing the marketing mix. Finally, we provide re-allocation recommendations to help managers choose the level of store format distribution in order to maximize profits. The proposed distribution re-allocation strategy resulted in an average of 7.7% increase in profits across three product forms for the focal firm.     

Retailing Innovations in a Globalizing Retail Market Environment

In recent years, the combination of economic growth and population growth in emerging markets and less developed markets has accelerated the progression of globalization of retailing and globalization by retailers. The challenges faced by global and globalizing retailers (retailers who currently have or intend to establish a market presence in mature markets, emerging markets and less developed markets) can be more daunting compared to those faced by firms in other industries such as automobiles, steel, and computers. Retailing innovations that are responsive to the characteristics of distinctive national markets and broader aggregations of markets such as mature, emerging and less developed markets are critical to the success of global and globalizing retailers. Against this backdrop, this paper focuses on retailing innovations in the context of a globalizing retailing environment. It attempts to shed insights into the characteristics of retailing innovations conducive to superior performance in distinctive national markets and across broader aggregations of markets. Towards this end, we first examine the environmental conditions of markets in different development stages, namely mature, emerging and less developed markets, and explore consumer based, industry based, and legal/regulatory based challenges faced by globalizing retailers in these markets. Second, we show how these challenges can be transformed into opportunities with retailing innovations. We conclude with a roadmap for future research and present propositions on future development with respect to retailing innovations in these markets.     

A Tri-Country Marketing Project – Preparing Students for the Realities of a Global Marketplace

With rapidly increasing globalization, business students are required to understand complex global markets and adapt to the rapid changes in the global landscape. This paper discusses a project where students from International Marketing courses in Pakistan, the United States, and France used an interactive platform as a base to jointly explore the marketing of brand-name products across the three countries to better understand the realities of global marketing strategies. The results are discussed as are the difficulties and the recommendations for future projects.     

Understanding multi-level institutional convergence effects on international market segments and global marketing strategy

Dynamic changes in the global marketplace have increased opportunities for marketing strategy standardization due to the convergence of cross-national market segments. An oversimplified understanding of the complexities of this convergence could lead to ineffective global marketing strategy execution. This study develops a multi-level institutional approach to address level-based convergence effects necessary to understanding market segment convergence and its influence on global marketing strategy. A model of influential level effects on global marketing strategy is developed having implications for global marketing academics and practitioners.     

中国跨国公司"全球导向-渐进式"国际经营战略思考——以97家中国跨国公司营销战略的实证资料为依据

本文提出和阐述了中国跨国公司基于全球导向的渐进式国际化战略的思想。依据跨国公司全球营销理论,结合97家走在国际化最前列的中国跨国公司的实证资料数据,针对处于不同国际化阶段的中国企业,提出了新型出口营销战略、新型多国营销战略和全球营销战略,并为中国企业就各阶段战略量身定做出整体规划和具体方案。战略模式的提出贯彻了"全球导向-渐进式"的核心思想,以期对中国跨国公司的国际化战略发展有所启发。     

The impact of market similarity on international marketing strategies: The automobile industry in Western Europe

The formulation of an optimal marketing mix is quite complex when that mix must be effective across multiple international markets. At the crux of the problem is whether markets are similar to each other or interdependent and how this influences marketing mix decisions. Examining the marketing mixes of more than 30 automobile companies competing in the five major markets in Western Europe, it was found that easily changed marketing mix elements, such as prices and advertising, reflect market similarity, interdependence, and product‐market conditions, although not always in the expected ways. The least flexible element, the number of models offered, does not appear to reflect any of these types of conditions. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Global Strategy in the Internet Era

This article examines the joint effects on business strategy of the Internet and globalization. It develops a framework for evaluating how the Internet affects the globalization potential of individual industries and the global strategies that companies should adopt. The impact of the Internet will not be uniform. Not only do its direct effects vary from one industry to another, but also it speeds up globalization at different rates in different industries. The article shows how to use the Internet to support five types of global strategy: market participation, products and services, activity location, marketing, and competitive moves.     

The Earth Is Flat,Almost: Measuring Marketing Standardization and Profit Performance of Japanese and U.S. Firms

ABSTRACT

Globalization has fostered greater interest in all aspects of standardization theory, including the four Ps (product, price, place [distribution], and promotion) of the marketing mix. The study researches the firm's strategy of marketing standardization as it correlates to the firm's profit. Multinational firms from Japan and the United States operating in a global environment were studied in order to correlate marketing standardization to profit performance. The results indicate there is increasing support for a strategy of standardizing marketing mix components and contributing to a firm's profit performance.     

International Channels of Distribution and the Role of Comparative Marketing Analysis

To enter international markets successfully, firms need to secure adequate distribution channels for their products in the targeted markets. But gaining access to, as well as developing and maintaining marketing channels in foreign markets requires substantial knowledge of the distribution structures and patterns in thos markets. This follows because the so-called standardized (globalized) approach to international marketing strategy does not apply to distribution strategy in foreign markets. Comparative marketing analysis can provide international marketers with the means for obtaining the knowledge needed by providing (1) a substantial literature on distribution in different countries, (2) a variety of methodologies that can provide insights into foreign distribution structures, and (3) by sensitizing international marketers to changing patterns of distribution around the world.     

Putting one-to-one marketing to work: Personalization, customization, and choice

The tailoring of a firm’s marketing mix to the individual customer is the essence of one-to-one marketing. In this paper, we distinguish between two forms of one-to-one marketing: personalization and customization. Personalization occurs when the firm decides what marketing mix is suitable for the individual. It is usually based on previously collected customer data. Customization occurs when the customer proactively specifies one or more elements of his or her marketing mix. We summarize key challenges and knowledge gaps in understanding both firm and customer choices in one-to-one markets. We conclude with a summary of research opportunities.