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1. Prathivadi, Abhinav – UGBA 167 Paper #3
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International Marketing Research [RB Young and RG Javalgi]
Abhinav Prathivadi
UGBA 167
18669026
In the 21st century, global marketing has become closely tied with the success of many
companies and their strategies abroad have played a pivotal role in building an image in the
minds of customers globally. Marketing is often not the first step in the product
development cycle as it is succeeded by extensive research of the market being targeted.
With marketing itself being, the emphasis on marketing researchis tenfold owing to its
importance in categorizing and developing a deep understanding of before launching a
product. In the case study, International Marketing Research, RB Young and RG Javalgi
explore the concept of international marketing research and magnify its importance in the
developmental model of a product.
The authors of the case propose an empirical analysis of foreign markets to develop a deep
understanding of the subtleties of foreign markets which include economic, behavioral and
political aspects to be successful in executing a product launch.
At a personal level interaction is key in the professional world of business, and
sometimes business situations demand interaction with team members or business partners
spread across different countries which
As the authors point out, numerous cases have been documented by companies due to
negligence and unawareness have caused errors and awkward circumstances while
representing global corporations. The incident of John Dunble incorrectly assuming his
idea was rejected by the newly acquired Londo based ICI, demonstrates the lack of
n
responsibility on the part of the new acquirer to educate its trans-continental employees
about cultural lexicon and behavior that might help relatons. In many cases awkward
i
situations might
At a more macro level, a case in point of many companies losing out to effective
competitors can be Google’s branding in the last few years that has adversely affected its
performance in foreign markets. Although Google is the world’s most used searchengine,
it is relegated to second position in emerging markets like Russia and China where locally
flavored search engines like Yandex (Russia) and Baidu (China) dominate. Baidu “holds
60% visitors while Google holds just 20%” [Seeking Alpha] and this divide had been
widening until Google took notice of it recently and reinvigorated its China strategy. As the
authors pointed out, a successful product in one country or continent might have little
value, and Google’s expensive mistakes alt ough trivial at the moment (in terms of
h
impacting its revenues) can be a crucial factor in the next few years in the industry it is
operating in.
Framework
The framework developed by the authors regarding International market research draws
heavily on a methodical analysis of situations and circumstances in a foreign market and

2. Prathivadi, Abhinav – UGBA 167 Paper #3
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culture, and this unique model relies on a bottom-top approach in developing and executing
a marketing strategy or branding for companies.
Cultural factors
The cultural factors relevant to the area of International market research are central to the
strategy being developed by companies, and to traverse through these factors. The authors
don’t necessarily point out these cultural factors are obstructing market research but
positively incorporate it as a challenge and advise companiesto take a cautious approach in
bypassing certain norms and social ethics while conducting reaserch.
In many cases people in foreign lands preferto see their own people in charge
regardless of the company’s foreign or native status, and this was discussed in the previous
case study in the class – Euro Disney, which installed a European CEO in 1993 on the basis
on relating well to the culture and environment of Europe.
As the authors point out, many times strategies developed in-house applicable to a
country or city can largely be out of context in foreign markets and it is the duty of market
researchers to tailor the research and subsequently the product mix that relies on factual
and widespread representation of the popu lation.
Factors to conduct global research
Global marketing research and it’s success is heavily dependent on the approach
companies take before executing their strategy largely due to it relying on factual consumer
data and proper representation of the population. The requirements of conducting global
market research rely largely on the company or entity entrusted in creating it. Many
corporations outsource their product research strategies to third-party research
organizations and effectively entrust their “product” in the hands of another organization.
With this notion comes a great deal of vulnerability and risk as a disconnect is initially
created with the company planning on launching a product and another companyintending
on conducting research, and in many cases. Although many companies like Forrester
Research have come out to represent quality research organizations, it is in the best interest
of a company to directly communicate with the customers during the product life cycle to
understand the needs and re-design and alter product specifications as opposed to
outsourcing the research completely to get a narrow-minded cross sectio of product
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interest dependent on an organization not creating the product.
With the global playing field becoming relatively flat due to the rapid deployment of
communication platforms, innovative technology and, the next few decades will represent a
transformation of the way business is conducted and will be interesting to see how
companies with a global presence to start-ups with a local existence use market research to
deliver and add value for their customers.
Bibliography
[Seeking Alpha] http://seekingalpha.com/article/95071-google-sets-its-sights-on-china-s-
baidu