International Marketing [antikvár]

Preface For many years I practised international marketing with some success. During this time it became clear that many of my problems stemmed from the fact that my skills and knowledge had been gained in a domestic marketing environment. I had assumed, as many managers do, that international marketing is the same as marketing in a domestic environment, but on a larger scale. I realise that I could have been spared many moments of anguish had I been better equipped with the tools and concepts which marketing on a global scale calls for. On leaving industry I opted for a career which combined teaching businessmen with management consultancy. In the former capacity I have taught in a number of management development establishments in the UK and abroad. It gave me the privilege of teaching many hundreds of Europe's promising managers, some of whom have by now reached top positions in large and successful multinationals. Working with these international managers taught me a lot about the problems firms face when seeking to internationalise their opérations, and about the waste that can occur in the process. Many firms drift into international markets without proper plans, giving too little attention to the financial, organisational and infrastructural complexities. By the time they are entrenched in foreign markets the die is cast. An organisation is established; policies are defined and some kind of philosophy emerges. In most cases it works, but too often at a sub-optimal level. This is not a book on techniques or procedures. It is an attempt to provide the reader with a conceptual framework for a systematic approach to international marketing. Against this framework the experienced practitioner can test his ideas or seek to develop a new approach. To the person who plans to enter world markets for the first time the framework may offer guidance towards a more analytical orientation. My basic aim throughout has been to look at international marketing problems from the vantage point of the strategie level of the firm. My experience has taught me that if managers at that level see the problems with clarity, performance at operational level is sure to be more effective. The cases at the end of the book do not purport to illustrate examples of good or bad international marketing—they simply represent typical situations. They are provided for group discussion in the event that this book is used as a text for courses and seminars, either at academic establishments or on an in-house company basis. To a large extent the ideas developed here are an outgrowth of discussions with students and clients, from whom I learnt as much as they learnt from me. It is obviously impractical to list them by name. However I wish to express a collective thank you to them ail through these pages. Simon Majaro