Page 119 - DMGT547_INTERNATIONAL_MARKETING

International Marketing

Notes evolution that has been identified as one of the distinctive characteristics of international
markets, it is reasonable to suppose that, for most companies, international operations
will consist of a patchwork of country-market operations that are pursuing different
objectives at any one time. This, in turn, would suggest that most companies would adopt
different entry modes for different markets. More commonly, however, companies have
a template that is followed in almost all markets. This usually starts with market entry via
an indirect distribution channel, usually a local independent distributor or agent.
In practice, these unique objectives mean that marketing strategy in the international
arena changes rapidly as the business grows or fails to grow. Importantly, it is driven not
only by market characteristics (the basis for marketing strategy in the pure or theoretical
sense), but also by organizational development, as the economics and knowledge of the
local marketing unit develop. Indeed, it is usually impossible to separate the process of
market development from the process of organizational development. It is possible,
however, to identify commonalities across companies in this process of internationalization
and so to describe the usual evolution of international marketing strategy. Such a
framework has to begin by recognizing that different objectives for market entry may
produce quite different outcomes in terms of entry mode and marketing strategy.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:

1. The ......................... is the result of the process of internationalization.
2. ......................... has created new marketing behaviours, opportunities and challenges thereby
making international marketing somewhat different from domestic marketing.

3. There is a ......................... between what is commonly expressed as international marketing
and global marketing, which is a similar term.

Caselet Tanzanian Sisal

he once world leading Tanzanian Sisal Industry is a classic example of failure due
to its inability to monitor market trends, through lack of an adequate intelligence
Tsystem, as well as many, in-country problems. Basically, it failed to take account of
the shrink in demand for sisal fibre in Western Europe. Many sisal mills were being dosed
because of the fact that they were old and labour intensive (hence uneconomic), and the:
disintegration of markets for sisal fibre in Eastern Europe due to that region’s political
crises. Sisal was brought into Tanzania by a German Agronomist, Dr. Richard Hingdorf in
1892 and the first estates were established in Tanga and Morogoro regions. After World
War I, most estates were sold to Greeks, Swiss, and Dutch. British and Asians, although a
number of Germans re-acquired their estates from 1926 onwards. From that time, up to
and after World War I, Tanzania remained the world’s leader in both production and
exports.
In the early 60’s sisal was Tanzania’s largest export, accounting for over a quarter of
foreign exchange. Production was around 200000–230000 tonnes per annum. However,
during the 70’s and 80’s production dropped dramatically. In 1970’s production was at
202 000 tonnes, in 1979 it was 81000 tonnes, by 1985 production was at 32000 tonnes, a drop

Contd...

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