International Marketing
Summary
Chapter 1: Global Environmental Drivers
Over the last few decades, international merchandise trade has expanded at astounding rates to reach $16.3 trillion in 2011. In addition, trade in services has grown at particularly high rates within the last decade to reach almost $3.7 trillion in 2010. As a result, nations are much more affected by international business than in the past. Global linkages have made possible investment strategies and marketing alternatives that offer tremendous opportunities. Yet these changes and the speed of change also can represent threats to nations and firms.
On the policy front, decision makers have come to realize that it ...view middle of the document...
The new set of macroenvironmental factors has to be understood and responded to in order to let international markets become a source of growth, profit, and needs satisfaction.
The American Marketing Association defines marketing as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”
The marketing manager’s task is to plan and execute programs that will ensure a long-term competitive advantage for the company. This task has two integral parts:
(1) the determining of specific target markets and
(2) marketing management, which consists of developing and operationalizing marketing mix elements to best satisfy the needs of individual target markets.
Chapter 2: International Trade Frameworks and Policy
International trade has often played a major role in world history. The rise and fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of feudalism can be attributed to trade. Since 1945, the Western nations have made concerted efforts to improve the trade environment and expand trade activities. In order for them to do so, various multinational organizations, such as the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank, were founded. In addition, several economic blocs such as the EU, NAFTA, and MERCOSUR were formed. Many of these organizations have
been very successful in their mission, yet new realities of the trade environment demand new types of action.
Recall from Chapter 1 that the last few decades have been marked by tremendous growth in world trade. In addition, there have been significant changes in the trade positions of many countries. For example, the United States’ share of world exports has declined precipitously from 25 percent in the 1950s, while China’s share in world trade has risen substantially in the last few years alone. Furthermore, foreign direct investment has come to play an important role in the world economy. The WTO is the key forum for trade disputes and negotiations. However, there are growing tensions between developed and developing countries, particularly in the sphere of agriculture. Despite calls for trade liberalization, some policymakers intend to enhance trade performance by threatening the world with increasing protectionism. The danger of such a policy lies in the fact that world trade would shrink and standards of living would decline. Protectionism cannot, in the long run, prevent adjustment or increase productivity and competitiveness. It is therefore important to improve the capability of firms to compete internationally, to provide an international trade framework that facilitates international marketing activities, but also to keep in mind the displacement consequences of trade, which may require adjustment preparations.
Chapter 3: The Role of the Culture
Culture is one of the most challenging elements of the international marketplace. This system of learned behavior patterns...
