Describe the global standardization —local adaptation debate. What are the drivers for globalization and for adaptation? Explain. Global standardization: refers first to standardization of products across markets and ultimately, to the standardization of the marketing mix worldwide. The main reason why firms favor global standardization: it is cheaper to have the same product and the same integrated marketing communication strategy worldwide. And standardization is possible because consumers increasingly have the same product preferences. Many global companies adapt their offerings to better meet the needs of the local market, thus performing a local, nonmandatory adaptation. Examples of multinational companies offering products aimed at local market abound. In most instance, the products result from a buyout.
Gi ve example of mandatory and nonmandatory adaptations.(例子在203页下方和204页中下方)
例子在205页上方
T he different barriers to entry that international providers face worldwide: （1）the requirement to use national service. This requirement is a form of protectionism: company or government policies provide implicit or explicit preference for a domestic supplier, which makes it difficult for international service providers to survive.（2）the prohibition against the employment for foreign nationals or other barriers. (3) Direct competition from government providers, such as a local government monopoly over natural gas and electricity.(4)restriction on movement.
(5) tariffs imposed on international service providers.
W hat are the reasons behind counterfeiting? What efforts are taking place to combat it? Are they successful?
Reason: using the famous brand to gain a higher profit with a lower cost.
Effort: (1) lobbying the US government, as well as the governments involved, is first step.
(2) Changing a product’s appearance to differentiate authentic products from fakes.
Not entirely successful
D escribe the international product life cycle and the activities involved in developed and developing countries. Most products are introduced in developed countries, where consumers can afford the high costs charged by manufacturers to recoup product development costs. During growth, the international company faces increasing competition worldwide from products also produced in the developed country. At maturity, standardized products compete primarily on price; manufacturing moves overseas to take advantage of cheaper labor. The company has a sales focus on emerging markets. In a product’s middle and late maturity, competitors from developing countries enter the company’s world markets and compete for consumers. In the product’s decline stage, the company seeks new markets in countries of lower development levels.
W hat are the activities involved at each stage of the new product development process? where are most new products developed? The new product development process starts with idea generation, in and outside the company; the next step is idea screening, followed by concept development and evaluation. product business analysis determines the extent to which the product is likely to be viable. The next stage is product design and development. Test marketing involves great expense on the part of the company; it also leaves the company vulnerable to competitive idea theft. Often, companies use international markets as testing grounds for new products. The final stage is launching, requires significant commitment to the product and to the target market.
M any products are advertised in the US as “new and improved”. What does this mean in terms of new product classification. New product to existing market, new product to existing company: these categories account for 33.7% of products. New line: this category represents a new product or product line to a company, but for a company already operating in that market. It accounts for 16.8%of products. New item in an existing product line: this category accounts for 11.9% of products; these products are likely to have the highest success rate and the greatest impact on the company sales and profit. Modification: this category
accounts for 18.8% of products.
De scribe the difference between lead and lag
countries in terms of adoption status and
rate. Lead countries: countries where the
product or service is first introduced and
adopted. Lag countries: countries where the
product or service is adopted at a later stage. By
analogy, consumers in high-income,
industrialized countries (lead countries) adopt
the product first, while in low-income (lag
countries) adopt the product later. The diffusion
rate tends to be faster in lag countries. The later
in the product life cycle the product or service is
introduced in a lag countries, the faster the
adoption rate.
T he differences between firm
internationalization philosophies:
Ethnocentric companies consider domestic
strategies, techniques, and personal as
superior to foreign ones; these strategies
then provide the framework for the
companies’ overseas operations, which are
secondary to domestic operations.
Companies with a polycentric orientation
focus on different international markets
without coordinating between international
activities. Companies with a Regiocentric
orientation coordinate their operations
regionally, whereas companies with a
geocentric orientation coordinate their
marketing and management policies
worldwide, fully integrating their
operations and addressing uniform
segments worldwide.
T he drivers in international business
environment that lead a firm to engage
in international operation& some of the
firm-specific drivers leading to
internationalization: Business
environment drivers: competition, regional
economic and political integration,
technology, improvements, in the
transportation and telecommunication
infrastructure, economic growth, transition
to a market economy, converging
consumer needs.
Firm-specific drivers: product life-cycle
considerations, high new product
development costs, standardization,
economies of scale, and cheap labor,
experience transfers.
T he ‘self-reference” criterion:
Individuals’ conscious and unconscious
reference to their own national culture and
to home country norms and values, as well
as to their knowledge and experience, in
the process of marketing decisions in the
host country.
H ow governments and competitors
prevent a firm from entering a
particular market: Among formal method
used by national governments to restrict or
impede entrance of international firms in
the local market are tariffs and barriers
such as import quotas.
P30, 2-2b
D escribe indicators of political risk.
Examine current events and identify
some of the political risks that
multinational companies face in the
world today:Several indicators signal
political risk: economic performance,
political repression, multiple groups with
incongruent interests, rampant nationalism,
and political instability.
2 home-country laws that affect US
businesses operating internationally:
Anticompetitiveness laws and corruption
laws-and international laws, which could
be laws of a regional governance body. It is
advisable that firms entering into
agreements agree on jurisdiction and on the
procedure need for conflict resolution.
E xamples of violations of international
property rights & counterfeiting:
Product and sell one’s designs without
allowing of designer; sell the production in
other places but not the contract rules;
distort and publish the paper without
allowing of original writer.
H ow religion affects international
marketing and business operation in a
target market: They have a significant
impact on consumer behavior and
marketing practices in general, delineating
gender roles, rules for gift giving and
appropriate behaviors in a business setting;
they also create rules for individual
interaction.
W hat are the different cultural norms
and values, and how do they differ
around the world: Values are the enduring
beliefs about a specific mode of conduct or
desirable end-state. Members of a culture
share a system of meaning, a set of beliefs
about what is right or wrong. The cultural
norms include imperatives (强制性),
exclusives（排他性）, and a diaphoras（中
立性）.
女主是驻阿拉伯经商的,what are some
of the cultural elements that will
influence her performance? How can she
best prepare for this assignment?
Elements of the culture: language, religion,
cultural values, cultural norms and
national/regional character.
（Self-conclusion）
M any messages aimed at consumers in
中欧和东欧have a status message, why?
If you worked there, would you show
solidarity with the workers and
symbolically work alongside them in a
factory, why? In this regard, it is
interesting to observe the changes taking
place in the transition economies of Central
and Eastern Europe. During the transition
period, however, attitudes toward risk
manifested themselves strongly, with some
holding on to the status quo and rejecting
privatization and change, and with other,
younger individuals taking unwarranted
risks.
H ow do managers use the global
consumer culture to position their goods
in the local market:In response to an
increasingly global consumer culture,
marketers have devised marketing
programs that appeal to individuals who
would like to feel one with this culture.
Among such messages are “United Colors
of Benetton,” “ADM, Supermarket to the
world,” and Philips’ “Let’s Make Things
Better,” which feature individuals and
synopses from different countries. ---（全球
化的顾客文化定位）
Chevy trucks and Dr. Pepper have been
positioned as part of the “American” way
of life. ---（当地消费者文化定位）
T he scope of marketing research with a
focus on promotion-related research:
Industry, market characteristics, market
trends; Buyer behavior research; Product
research; Distribution research; Pricing
research; Promotion research 【studies of
premiums, coupons and deals; Advertising
effectiveness research; Media research;
Sales force compensation, quota, and
territory studies:制定适合战略】.
C onsumer segmentation studies: are
conducted to identify market segment. It
also identifies profiles of heavy product
consumers and occasions for consumption.
T he limitation of secondary data
available to international marketing
research: Secondary data in one country
are not useful in the second country.
C hallenges that researchers experience
when designing and administering
questionnaires in countries that are
culturally dissimilar: In certain countries,
researchers may not have access to certain
household members.
Using mail survey is problematic I many
international markets where mail is
unreliable and slow.
In most developing countries, there’s a
high level of illiteracy, which renders
impossible the use of mail surveys.
T he quantitative data collection
methods that can be used in
international study and the problems
they pose to the validity and reliability of
the findings: It involves either descriptive
research, such as survey research (typically
involves personal information,
questionnaire), content analysis (a
quantitative analysis that entails counting
the number of times preselected words,
themes, symbols, or pictures appear in a
given medium such as printed material or
any medium with verbal or visual content).
Or causal research approaches, such as
experimental research: has the highest
