Services is the fastest growing sector in international trade butis overlooked as a subject of study in international marketing. Someinternational marketing problems specifically…
Abstract
Services is the fastest growing sector in international trade but is overlooked as a subject of study in international marketing. Some international marketing problems specifically related to services are discussed. Two categories of services – product services and service products – are considered, with discussion focusing on the latter. The characteristics of services, inseparability, heterogeneity, perishability and the marketing mix are examined to identify the unique problems they may create in the internationalisation process of service firms. Solutions to these problems are suggested.
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The pace at which an organization is able to respond to changes that occur both within and external to the organization has always been a key driver for the success of the…
Abstract
The pace at which an organization is able to respond to changes that occur both within and external to the organization has always been a key driver for the success of the organization. In today’s ever-changing environment and volatile economy, it is crucial for organizations to be flexible and agile in order to survive and succeed. This case study traces the journey of Stanley Black & Decker, a global tools, storage, and appliances organization, on its success journey in the Middle East region. This organization has been able to enjoy continuous financial success and win a series of accolades over the years due to the following major strategic drivers: change management, agility, effective channel management, strong customer engagement, brand leveraging, and innovation as a corporate culture. An analysis of existing research indicates a good alignment with change management, agility, brand leveraging, and innovation while a slight deviation is noted in effective channel management and customer engagement.
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Nancy D. Albers‐Miller and Marla Royne Stafford
Examines differences in emotional and rational advertising appeal use across experiential and utilitarian services for 11 culturally diverse countries. Pooled across countries…
Abstract
Examines differences in emotional and rational advertising appeal use across experiential and utilitarian services for 11 culturally diverse countries. Pooled across countries, rational appeals were found to be more dominant in utilitarian service advertising, while emotional appeals were used more heavily in experiential service advertising. On a country by country basis, utilitarian service advertisements consistently used a larger number of rational appeals, and experiential service advertisements contained more emotional appeals. Finally, culture appeared to influence the use of appeals more when the appeals were important to the service selling premise. That is, more variation across cultures was observed for emotional appeal use in experiential service advertising, and more variation was observed for rational appeal use in utilitarian service advertising.
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The importance of the European Union (EU) to international business cannot be stressed too greatly. Recently it has expanded to 25 country markets. Its total population has…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of the European Union (EU) to international business cannot be stressed too greatly. Recently it has expanded to 25 country markets. Its total population has reached 455 million people, which is the world's largest economic organisation. Previous international marketing standardisation (IMS) studies focused on the EU are mainly descriptive in nature and they have not specifically examined issues related to firms’ operations in two or more EU country markets at one time. The purpose of this study is to examine issues related to the crossmarket standardisation strategy, i.e. whether a standardised marketing programme and process can be used across the country markets in the EU.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the pair‐wise comparison method originally developed by Sorenson and Wiechmann this study examines the marketing standardisation strategies selection process of 66 New Zealand firms which were concurrently operating in two or more EU markets. In total these firms were operating in 13 different EU country markets.
Findings
The outcomes of this study suggest that, although a complete similarity in the marketing environment is not likely to occur in the EU, it is possible for firms to locate a group of country markets which have shared similar marketing characteristics in the EU region. For instance, country pairs such as UK‐France, UK‐Germany, UK‐Ireland, Germany‐France, Germany‐Italy and Germany‐Sweden could offer some extent of similarity which allows firms to adopt a standardised marketing strategy across these countries.
Originality/value
This study generates a research framework for future studies and firms intending to operate in the EU region. The findings generated contribute to research in the areas of international marketing standardisation and international segmentation.
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Steven H. Seggie and David A. Griffith
The extant international service marketing literature focuses heavily on the impact of globalization on the outward process of the internationalization of service firms. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The extant international service marketing literature focuses heavily on the impact of globalization on the outward process of the internationalization of service firms. The purpose of this paper is to propose scholars examine international service marketing from a different perspective, that of the globalization of domestic markets and the existence of global segments throughout the world.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses resource‐advantage theory and a congruence approach to suggest that the alignment of resources with consumer needs in the globalized domestic market leads to competitive advantage for the firm.
Findings
It can be argued that this alignment will lead to the replication of the competitive advantage across global segments in expansion to new markets.
Originality/value
The paper provides two significant contributions to the literature: a new perspective for considering the globalization of services that incorporates the challenges of operating in globalized markets; and develops seven propositions that can serve as a foundation for a stream of research on the globalization of services.
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Henry F.L. Chung, Peter Enderwick and Jinda Naruemitmongkonsuk
This exploratory study aims to examine the influence of immigrant employee effects within a sample of small New Zealand‐based international service providers.
Abstract
Purpose
This exploratory study aims to examine the influence of immigrant employee effects within a sample of small New Zealand‐based international service providers.
Design/methodology/approach
Seven immigrant employees from six firms were interviewed. The interviews examined immigrant effects on four areas: knowledge transfer and application; customer relationships; marketing strategy and market entry mode. Propositions derived from the literature were tentatively tested.
Findings
The findings, consistent with other literature on immigrant effects, indicated that immigrant employees play an important role in shaping these areas within small international service firms. Of particular importance was knowledge of local culture and market conditions. Immigrant employees enjoyed considerable discretion in the creation and management of customer relationships.
Originality/value
There appeared to be strong interactions between the value of immigrant knowledge, relationships and the characteristics of service offerings. The results established have provided guidance for researchers when formulating their research frameworks concerning market entry mode, international marketing strategy, knowledge transfer, immigrant employees and so on. Managers should also consider employing the outcomes of this research when designing their international human resource management and marketing strategies. However, these exploratory findings should be confirmed by future research which is formulated with a larger sample size. Only then can the contributions of this study be considered more definite.
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Rajshekhar (Raj) G. Javalgi, David A. Griffith and D. Steven White
The internationalization of service firms is expanding dramatically, fueled by recent technological innovations and reductions of trade barriers. Drawing upon Dunning’s eclectic…
Abstract
The internationalization of service firms is expanding dramatically, fueled by recent technological innovations and reductions of trade barriers. Drawing upon Dunning’s eclectic theory, firm‐ and location‐specific factors which have been found to be antecedents of internationalization of manufacturing firms are extended to determine their applicability to the internationalization of service firms. The hypotheses are empirically examined through a survey of 228 business‐to‐business service firms. Findings indicate that the firm‐specific factor of firm size and the location‐specific factor of market characteristics influence management attitudes toward operating internationally, which in turn influence the degree of internationalization of service firms. Practical implications, drawn from the results, are offered for managers of service firms who are facing the task of internationalizing.
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Janice Denegri‐Knott, Detlev Zwick and Jonathan E. Schroeder
To help shape a more cohesive research program in marketing and consumer research, this paper presents a systematic effort to integrate current research on consumer empowerment…
Abstract
Purpose
To help shape a more cohesive research program in marketing and consumer research, this paper presents a systematic effort to integrate current research on consumer empowerment with highly influential theories of power. A conceptual overview of power consisting of three dominant theoretical models is developed onto which is mapped existing consumer empowerment research.
Design/methodology/approach
A synthetic review focuses on three perspectives of consumer power: consumer sovereignty, cultural power and discursive power, drawing from sociological, philosophical and economic literature. These models are then applied to consumer research to illuminate research applications and insights.
Findings
Research of consumer empowerment has grown significantly over the last decade. Yet, researchers drawing from a variety of intellectual and methodological traditions have generated a multitude of heuristic simplifications and mid‐level theories of power to inform their empirical and conceptual explorations. This review helps clarify consumer empowerment, and offers a useful map for future research.
Research limitations/implications
Researchers in consumer empowerment need to understand the historical development of power, and to contextualize research within conflicting perspectives on empowerment.
Originality/value
The paper makes several contributions: organizes a currently cluttered field of consumer empowerment research, connects consumer and marketing research to high‐level theorizations of power, and outlines specific avenues for future research.
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Rajesh Kumar and Tore Markeset
The main purpose of the paper is to present a framework for the development of performance‐based service strategies for the oil and gas industry in Norway. The framework considers…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of the paper is to present a framework for the development of performance‐based service strategies for the oil and gas industry in Norway. The framework considers various influencing factors and their attributes, as well as performance factors categorized as critical success factors, performance killers and cost drivers.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study has been conducted to map current practices, to validate the influencing factor attributes, and to suggest performance factors. Data have been collected through an e‐mail questionnaire, face‐to‐face interviews, available documents from the industry and a literature survey.
Findings
Operators of complex oil and gas production facilities are becoming increasingly dependent on service providers to support their efforts to perform according to demands. When developing a performance‐based service strategy one needs to consider influencing factors and attributes. Furthermore, one needs to measure the service delivery process performance and the gaps between required and delivered services, and to periodically reassess the service strategy influencing factors.
Research limitations/implications
The research is based on a case study in the Norwegian oil and gas industry, but the results can be adapted for other industries as well.
Originality/value
The proposed framework can support practitioners in the oil and gas industry to develop performance‐based service strategies and can assist practitioners in reducing costs and improving performance.
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Purpose – In the Swiss economy, the service sector has gained a great share of international trade and foreign investments. Export promotion measures, though, are mainly focused…
Abstract
Purpose – In the Swiss economy, the service sector has gained a great share of international trade and foreign investments. Export promotion measures, though, are mainly focused on the internationalization of manufacturing companies. From the literature it remains unclear if the internationalization behavior of service and manufacturing firms differs and if promotion measures should be adapted. The present study describes the internationalization of service firms and compares it with the internationalization of manufacturing companies.
Methodology – The study is structured into two consecutive surveys: the first one is explorative, qualitative-empirical, and examines the internationalization behavior of 12 service companies, four each from the industries of corporate consulting, engineering, and information technology. The resulting hypotheses are tested in a subsequent confirmatory, quantitative-empirical survey of 443 service providers from the sectors of consulting, information technology, and education, as well as 553 production enterprises from the sectors of food, textiles, and chemical products.
Findings – The results show that the psychological distance to foreign markets has a greater importance for service providers than for production companies. Service providers prefer direct distribution systems and develop foreign markets more simultaneously than production companies.
Practical implications – The conclusion is that export promotion programs should be tailored to the specific needs of different segments of the economy.
Originality of paper – The study offers an empirical support to the position that the internationalization behaviors of service providers and manufacturers differ, and that internationalization models which are substantially based on the examination of manufacturing companies should be verified.