CHAPTER 24
International marketing – the
issues
STANLEY J. PALIWODA
Overview
This chapter presents a distillation of thought
and practice in an area of activity that was once
seen only as constituting a different application
of marketing but today has come of age.
Consolidation is evidenced by the creation of
the Special Interest Groups or SIGs now exist-
ing for the study and dissemination of inter-
national marketing thought and practice
amongst marketing educators and researchers
within both the American Marketing Associa-
tion and the Academy of Marketing. Given the
way in which this literature has expanded in a
number of different lines of enquiry, what is
provided here is more of a roadmap with
references to specific sources for further
information.
This chapter is structured in 11 parts. ‘Why
market abroad?’ is perhaps the most basic of
questions but is the starting point of inquiry.
Next, situational analysis and the SLEPT frame-
work are discussed, then, as might be expected,
the differences between domestic and inter-
national marketing are highlighted. Opera-
tionalization is the title of the fifth section,
reviewing experiential exporter profiles and
foreign market entry strategies. Continuing and
future challenges are reviewed, as well as ways
in which to maintain a sustainable advantage in
a highly competitive dynamic market. Conclu-
sions are offered together with some further
reading and some useful websites.Why market abroad? What are the driving forces?
Why should a domestic company consider
marketing overseas? The excitement and sense
of adventure that previously accompanied this
endeavour has been greatly reduced as a result
of access to information systems, which appear
capable of monitoring each and every action
that we take as a consumer within the devel-
oped economies (Nancarrow et al., 1997). Store
loyalty cards and credit cards track all our
expenditures and provide information not only
for us but for others as well. Credit rating
agencies not only know where we live but how
we live. The world has changed greatly. Mean-
while, it also has to be said that the exchange
process, which forms the basis of international
marketing, is different from that found in the
domestic market and involves more than
exporting. The motivation for marketing
abroad is best defined by contextual character-
istics facing the individual firm and this will be
discussed in more detail later in terms of the
‘drivers’ motivating companies.