Standardization Versus Adaptation in International Marketing

At its basic understanding, international marketing engages the firm in making one or more marketing mix decisions across national boundaries. At its complex level, it involves the firm in establishing

So far as international business is concerned, the four dimensions of culture form an important facet. Knowledge of the manner in which different features of a business are viewed in different cultures, can help a manager in understanding and sailing successfully across the international business market.

International marketing – Ethnocentric Orientation In this kind of orientation a firm assumes that the process of home country is superior to the rest of the world. They consider that all markets are similar and assume that products and practices that succeed in home country will be successful anywhere. Multinational Marketing – Poly centric Orientation In this kind of orientation firm believe or assume that every country in which a company does business is unique. In order to succeed, they adopt the policy of applying business and marketing strategies differently in different countries. Global Marketing – Geocentric Orientation In this kind of orientation firms view the entire world as a potential market and attempt to develop integrated global strategies. A global company can

The first recommendation for this firm is to adopt a global policy and try and explore new markets so that market growth and market share can be expanded. In case of a firm entering an international market, it requires to analyze the nature of the market and suitably form its marketing strategies in alignment with its business strategy and decide whether it is more beneficial to adopt a global approach or use a strategy that is customized to suit the needs of the local customers.

Every country differs in culture which has been there for centuries. The international market is growing rapidly, with more and more multinational organisations entering new markets each day. In this assignment I will evaluate how the difference in cultures affects the performance of international businesses.

In the book, International Business: Theory and Practice, Verizon-MCI in its domestic environment, the United States, is placed in the cultural cluster with the Anglo countries. This cluster consists of Australia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Africa. The company’s cultural cluster, for its global environment, China, is with the Far Eastern countries. This cluster includes China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines. These cultural clusters approaches are based on the countries’ geographic similarities. They are grouped together depending on the location of the people in the world. Each cluster demonstrates differences within each cluster, as well as, differences among the countries. These differences reflect that other factors should have been considered when the groups were placed together.

This is an international marketing strategy that largely focuses on the commercial efforts and advertising on the benefits of concentrating on local markets rather than using global or universal approach. This, therefore, means that the company will employ work towards understanding culture of different local markets in various countries and try to enter into the studied market using the demographics in that area. The greatest effort required in this strategy is using advertising as well presentation to try and appease local sensibilities in various countries rather than applying a mass market strategy. So that this strategy can be successful it is crucial to carry out extensive research in different countries that the company hopes to invest (Leontiades, 2010). By learning how the company can be able to create a good connection with the consumers in various countries using multi-domestic strategy can assist to build a lot of tactics which can be integrated into markets that have many similarities. Learning how to closely associate with customers will also assist customize marketing and advertising efforts to match with the present local culture. Although multi-domestic strategy may be somehow expensive to employ its end result are more profitable to the company. When the company’s products are able to

Imperative to every marketer 's evaluation of an international market is an appreciation for the political environment of the

With the advancement in communication technology, transportation and other technologies the world has shrink into a global village. Products developed in a country are now widely accepted in other regions of the globe as well. Many companies have been developing marketing strategies to fulfill the need, in an increasingly globalize market, for several years. There are a number of companies that are being recognized by and whose brand names are familiar to most of the people in every region of the world. With the span of time, the global competition is becoming more and more intense and is affecting businesses in almost every part of the world. Those domestic companies who have been doing business in a specific region for

INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT: CULTURE, STRATEGY, AND BEHAVIOR, EIGHTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2009, 2006, and 2003. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited

The literature on international marketing presents a confrontation between two mainstream schools of thought regarding international marketing. The one supports the standardization approach and argues that multinational companies’ behavior should be uniform to minimize total costs and promote a global corporate image. The other argues for the need for adaptation to fit the unique dimensions of each local market. This research investigates companies’ practical level of adaptation and standardization in international markets. It identifies

When external marketing becomes increasingly more important and successful for the business, they will begin seeking new sources of growth and profit. New countries serve as new markets, thus international marketing begins. International Marketing is approached by concentrating product and promotional strategy to a given foreign market. Furthermore, an international marketing firm has polycentric orientation with emphasis on product and promotional adaptation in foreign markets whenever necessary. They make strategic decisions that are tailored to suit the cultures of the foreign countries. The company may establish an independent foreign subsidiary in each and every foreign market it services ­ such efforts are also called multi-domestic

Attitudes of geocentricism are biased toward marketing, human resource, production policies, and finance that try to synthesize local and global practices. Preeminence is given to accruing the right people and policies. For instance, a decision maker, who is geocentric, would endorse a global pricing policy that would be adapted to regional and local environments. These decision makers strive to ratify policies that fit both local differences and global commonalities. Furthermore, when one adopts a geocentric mindset, this in turn, leads to the evolution of a geocentric company.

Globalization has created a great amount of advantages and disadvantages for businesses of all different varieties. International business relationships have allowed companies to operate more efficiently by moving manufacturing to foreign nations that offer cheaper labor (Petri, 1991). Additionally, the business environment is greatly impacted by global forces that may put organizations at a disadvantage (Lowe & McCrohan, 1989). When companies operate on a global level, they are expected to respond to the cultural and economical dynamics of the nations in which they are conducting business (Petri, 1991). Failing to acknowledge such dynamics can ultimately discourage foreign consumers from purchasing goods and services that are offered from international businesses (Lowe & McCrohan, 1989). Moreover, organizations face larger competition as well as exchange risk.

Marketing concepts, processes and principles are universally applicable and the marketer’s task is the same whether doing business in different countries.