Marketing strategies in global markets: A transaction cost analysis

Contrasting viewpoints have emerged regarding the selection of marketing strategies in global markets. One group of scholars recommends standardized global marketing strategies based on the premise that technological advances in telecommunication, transportation, and media are leading to similarities in customer preferences across the world. Other researchers recommend multi-domestic strategies on the premise that consumer heterogeneity continues to increase even within countries. Firms marketing products in global markets appear to adopt global marketing strategies, multi-domestic strategies, and various intermediate strategies that encompass different degrees of standardization. This research develops a theoretical framework to examine the factors that influence marketing strategies in global markets. Transaction cost analysis constructs are used to determine whether to standardize or customize marketing strategy. The basis for adopting different levels of standardization on marketing program and process variables is empirically investigated. A multinomial logit model is used to estimate the likelihood of adopting different degrees of standardization with data from American multinational corporations on 161 products marketed in different global markets. The results indicate that higher levels of asset specificity associated with patented technical knowledge favor physical attribute standardization in global markets. Volatile political environments, high degrees of ownership in affiliates, and global competitors' standardized marketing strategies encourage firms to tailor physical attributes. Brand names are standardized if the economic uncertainty is lower in foreign markets. Cultural dissimilarities between home and host countries hinder marketing control systems standardization. Operating experience in foreign countries and the need for technical service and customer interactions support standardization of marketing control systems. The need for specialized local market knowledge encourages the adoption of country-specific marketing research methods. Standardized pricing strategies are preferred over flexible country-specific strategies in volatile political environments.