International marketing – the issues 625
The introduction of the Euro in 2002 will be
the first time that direct comparisons can be
made for the same branded product across
markets and in exactly the same currency.Product
Market research answers the question as to
what sort of product or brand is required in
terms of:
1 The acceptability of the company’s product or
service offering at the price which it expects
to command (Zou et al., 1997; Palmer, 1997;
Ozsomer and Prussia, 2000).
2 Acceptability of country of origin (Clarke et al.,
2000).
3 Branding and the degree of local protection.
4 Patent and trademark issues, and again the
degree of protection for those intellectual and
industrial property rights.
5 Conflicting pressures to standardize or modify
for local markets.
6 Packaging for various export markets.
7 Certification of origin, which allows imports
right of access.
There may well be some compelling reasons for
product modification in view of lower dispos-
able incomes, poor infrastructure, traditional
shopping habits etc. Frozen foods will only sell
if consumers have freezers and will only sell in
bulk if consumers have large chest freezers and
the means of transportation to carry these
goods home. Entering a market first may well
bring ‘first mover’ advantage, but the cost may
well include investing in the infrastructure so
as to make your product concept workable.
‘Late mover’ advantage also needs to be con-
sidered. The advantages of first mover or late
mover are contextually and industry specific.
International product policy management
comprises many key strategic decisions, as dis-
cussed in Harrell and Kiefer (1995), so as to
arrive at a successful market portfolio. The stra-
tegic alternatives facing the multinational have
been delineated by Keegan (1969, 1995) and
developed by Saxena (1995), but more recent
considerations have arisen out of the ISO stan-
dards, which are becoming increasingly impor-
tant in setting internationally agreed threshold
standards where company and brand names are
not well established. Quality is important and
should be seen as setting minimal acceptable
standards for all products and services, not the
commonly considered luxury products (Nakhai
and Neves, 1995; Orsini, 1994).Place of sale (or channels of
distribution to be employed)
If proof were required that the concept of the
4Ps described only passive markets, then this is
a good example. More is required than simply
to make a product or service available and
much is required of the producer by inter-
mediaries within the channel to measure com-
mercial success. Katsikeas et al. (2000) found
that an overseas distributor’s use of reward is
positively related to its informational, referent,
legitimate and expert power sources, and that
there was a negative relationship between an
importer’s use of coercion and its informational
base of power over the exporter. Christopher,
who is also to be found in this book, writes not
of distribution but of customer service and
logistics strategy. Cooper (1995) discusses logis-
tics strategies for multinational corporations.
Elsewhere, some of the issues arising may be
seen to include:1 Length of distribution channel may be less a
function of economic activity than of history,
e.g. the Japanese have the longest distribution
channels in the world, from producer to
consumer. Long channels mean added costs
and loss of control over product and
intermediary. Learn how to work with local
distributors, selection is important, then
support for those you have appointed
(Merrilees and Tiessen, 1999; Arnold, 2000).
2 Black markets are illegal but exist because of
consumer demand for products, which are
forbidden or else rationed, or simply in short