Summary of Article
Critique the article on marketing strategies attached, explain its fit with the unit, and its possible usefulness to a marketing manager.
With the changes in market dynamics, the marketing managers of emerging market firms are facing extreme challenges in building effective international marketing strategies for emerging markets. Moreover, the marketing managers need to be highly adaptive in getting success of international marketing strategies in emerging markets. This study will critically review an article based on international marketing strategies of emerging market firms. Moreover, the study will summarize the article and provide theoretical foundation existing in the article. Furthermore, the nature of research and sample size of the article will be highlighted in this study. Apart from the key findings, the study will also consider the new findings of the article for advancing the knowledge. On the other hand, the study will also demonstrate the knowledge, which the practitioners can learn and apply on their brands.
The article has mainly pointed the scholarly disclosure on the international marketing strategies, which have shifted to adapt or incorporate the behavior of emerging markets. The scholars of this article have challenged the long-held international marketing concepts and strategies of developed market. The contention of this article explores that the business environment conditions of emerging markets are distinctive and constantly changing. Hence, the international organizations deploy unique set of international marketing strategies for getting success in emerging markets. According to Boso, Debrah and Amankwah-Amoah (2017), the enforcement of formal and informal institutions shapes the marketing strategies of firms in emerging markets. Furthermore, the social behavior and economic development of the emerging market highly influence the international product innovation and pricing strategies of the international firms in emerging markets.
Boso, Debrah and Amankwah-Amoah (2017) opined that the international firms often use the local opinion leaders for mitigating the enormous void in emerging markets like impairment of legal authority and firms’ relationship with consumers. The implication of the 7 selected manuscripts indicates that international marketing strategies need to be recalibrated as per the emerging market condition. It ultimately shapes the boundary condition, nature, outcome and antecedents of internal market strategies for their best practices in emerging market.
The theoretical foundation of this article is primarily focused on changing pattern of international marketing strategies in emerging markets, which is completely different from the long held international marketing strategies of developed markets. As per Boso, Debrah and Amankwah-Amoah (2017), the economic and social conditions of the emerging markets decide the consuming pattern and behavior of the customers. Hence, the international firms need to set their international pricing strategies based on the affordability and consuming pattern of the customers. On other hand, specific needs of local markets may often be unnoticed by the non-emerging firms. It creates a condition, where the unique product and services are adopted and pioneered in emerging market and export to developed market, which ultimately leads to reverse innovation.
Theoretical Foundations
The theoretical foundation of this article has also built on institutional theory, which explores the difference of institutional development between the emerging market and developed market. The stream of this theoretical underpinning implies that significant difference in formal institutions such as law enforcement approach and regulation highly affect the share of international marketing strategies in emerging market. Moreover, poorly developed formal institutions often make it difficult for the international firms to enforce contracts and property rights. It subsequently increases the cost and failure rate of new product development strategies. On the other hand, differences in informal institutions like values, beliefs and norms of the society also impact on the marketing strategies in emerging markets. Furthermore, the resource based theory and internationalization theory explained in this article indicates that political condition and economic condition of emerging markets decides the market entry strategy of the international firms in emerging market.
The article has used empirical and case study research for enriching the perceptive of market condition in emerging markets, which facilitates in explaining the boundary condition, nature, antecedents and outcome of the international marketing strategies in emerging market. This qualitative primary research has generated important interest from the scholars around the world. Moreover, the article has collected scholarly manuscripts not only from the emerging markets, but also from the developed markets having interest on international marketing strategies in emerging markets (Boso, Debrah and Amankwah-Amoah 2017). Moreover, the manuscripts were collected from the scholars by attending the workshop in several scholarly meetings. Majority of the studies of the scholarly articles were based on panel data, survey data and case studies drawn on the international marketing strategies in emerging markets. Furthermore, the article has used empirical and thematic data analysis of extracting the accurate meaning of the data gathered in the collected scholarly manuscripts.
The sampling was non-probability sampling, where the scholars written the manuscripts have high interest in international marketing strategies in emerging market. 70 manuscripts have been received following workshops in several scholarly meetings. Hence, the population for the research was 70. Out of 70 manuscripts, 7 manuscripts were accepted finally for their inclusion of special issue on the research topic.
The findings of the article have explored firm behavior, managerial characteristics, intuitional and industry environment force as the driver of international marketing strategy. The research has examined interdepartmental connectedness and managerial emphasis as the key driver of international marketing strategies for Jordanian Bank. Adaptive foreign entry strategy is another international marketing strategies forecasted in emerging markets. Moreover, prediction of foreign market strategy is highly dependent on the perceived corruption of emerging markets and their market efficiencies (Boso, Debrah and Amankwah-Amoah 2017). The cross-country study of this article has explored that the market inefficiencies and institutional variable drive the organizations from such markets to have less uncertain entry modes in emerging markets. Moreover, in weaker institutional system, joint venture marketing entry is widely used as international market mode. On the other hand, in strong institutional settings, Greenfield and acquisition marketing entry modes are used for foreign market entry.
Nature of the Research
Adaption and standardization of international marketing strategies highly influence on the export performance of the international firms in emerging markets. One chose scholarly manuscript has examined on the Colombian manufacturers and it has been observed that standardized pricing and product strategy have influenced its export performance. Some scholars have explored that overseas marketing strategies in accordance with the principal marketing strategies of the host market enhance organizational performance in emerging markets. Furthermore, 184 high-technology organizations in China observed that product innovation strategy drive the performance level of innovative technology firms in emerging markets.
Extensive work has been done in this article for exploring some new findings, which can advance the knowledge of international marketing strategies in emerging markets. Moreover, the research on 78 Ghanaian organizations has examined that market orientation has not direct influence on growth of sales and return on investment. Nevertheless, market orientation of emerging markets is always optimistically related to organizational performance, when the market is less dynamic and competitive. The impact of relationship between task environment factors and performance of market orientation is always market specific.
On the other hand, in case of informal business environment, a new finding has been emerged in terms of international marketing strategies in emerging markets. Moreover, the scholars have examined the impact of social capital process on the variability of the organizational performance of the emerging market firms. Moreover, the findings have implied that social capital developed through managerial ties helped in enhancing the emerging market firms’ performance. It has advanced the knowledge of the managers in emerging market firms towards gaining effective success through effective international marketing strategies
I have some knowledge in the effectiveness of contemporary international marketing strategies in emerging markets. Hence, the findings of the article are not completely new and surprising to me. However, the findings reinforce my knowledge that I intuitively knew regarding the international marketing strategies of companies in emerging market. I knew that international firms in emerging markets need to be adaptive as per the market condition of those markets. This research article has given me the idea of the specific institutional regimes, which have direct affect on the international marketing strategies in emerging markets. On the other hand, I came to understand about the concept of reverse innovation. Moreover, the concept of reverse innovation has strengthened my knowledge in the field of international success in emerging markets. I understood that the innovation pioneered and developed in the emerging markets can be exported to developed countries for enhancing the overall organizational performance of the emerging market firms. My knowledge has also been strengthened with the concept of socially acceptable action, which has huge impact on the types of international marketing strategies to be adopted in the emerging markets. Furthermore, I have also become able to reinforce my knowledge, when in read about the factors affecting the market entry modes of the firms to enter in emerging markets.
A marketing manager of an organization can learn a lot from this research article, which will help him/her to get success in the emerging markets. Moreover, the innovative concepts of international marketing strategies in emerging markets will facilitate the manager in applying this concept on his/her brands in emerging markets. Moreover, the manager will learn to bring innovation their products and services as per the informal institutional regimes of the emerging market. Moreover, the product innovation as per the local demands of the emerging market will facilitate the managers in getting huge business success to product customization. Furthermore, the pricing strategies developed based on the affordability of the customers will help in sales growth in emerging markets. Furthermore, the managers of emerging market firms will learn to overcome the issues of formal institutional regimes through making relationship with the local leaders of emerging markets. Apart from that, the research study is perfect for making the marketing managers aware about the types of marketing entry mode to be adopted in entering into any emerging market
Reference
Boso, N., Debrah, Y.A. and Amankwah-Amoah, J., 2017. International marketing strategies of emerging market firms: nature, boundary conditions, antecedents, and outcomes. International Marketing Review, pp.01-19.