1. International Marketing
Lecture week 5
International Marketing Research

2. Agenda
International marketing research process

3. International marketing research
Oreo: China
Entered China in 1996 after more than 80 years
2005 sales flat for 5 years
Refashion the Oreo for Chinese market
Huge market research
Too sweet
Too expensive as a result launched small packaged Oreo
Change in the shape of cookies (long rectangular)
Wall mart: Argentina
T-bone steaks instead of rib strips and tail rumps that Argentine prefer
Jewellery: diamond, sapphires, emerald, instead of gold ad silver that they prefer
Hardware department: 110 volt electric power instead of 220 volt argentine demand

4. Global Marketing Research
Information- key ingredient in the development of successful international marketing strategies
Difficulty in collecting information because of
Lack of familiarity with customers, competitors and market environment in other countries
Growing complexity and diversity of international markets

5. Global Marketing Research
The term ‘marketing research’ refers to
gathering, analysing and presenting information
related to a well-defined problem.
Hence the focus of marketing research is a specific problem or project with a beginning and an end.

6. The changing role of international researcher
Today marketing researchers will be good marketing managers and vice versa.
Primarily to act as an aid to the decision-maker.
They help to reduce risk in decision making
caused by the environmental uncertainties and
lack of knowledge in international markets.
It ensures that the manager
bases a decision on the solid foundation of knowledge and
focuses strategic thinking on the needs of the marketplace rather than the product.

7. Principal task of global marketing research

8. The Marketing Research Process and the International Dimension
Problem definition and objectives
Development of research plan
Data collection
Data interpretation
Summary of findings and report 1 2 3 4 5

9. The Marketing Research Process and the International Dimension
Tasks to be carried out
Problem definition and objectives 1
Problem and objectives must be defined (and redefined) and reasons for research clearly determined
Development of research plan 2 3
Data collection
Avoid:
Vague terms of reference
Stating wrong problem
Unimportant research projects
Research where underlying purpose is withheld or unknown 4
Data interpretation
Summary of findings and report 5

10. The Marketing Research Process and the International Dimension
Problem definition and objectives 1
Determine scope of research and the Unit of Analysis (Global, a region, a country, a city, etc.)
Identify priorities for funds allocation
Check the influence of local culture
Development of research plan 2 3
Data collection 4
Data interpretation
Summary of findings and report 5

11. The self-reference criterion (Lee, 1966)
Unconscious tendency ‘to fall back on one’s own cultural norms and values to interpret a given business situation’
e.g. Walt Disney Company required park employees of Disneyland Paris to comply with a detailed written code regarding personal appearance.
However, the French considered the code to be an insult to French culture, individualism, and privacy.

12. Approach to eliminate SRC
1. Define the problem/goal in terms of your own culture, habits and norms.
2. Define the problem/goal in terms of the host culture, habits and norms
3. Isolate the SRC effect and see how it interferes with the business problem/goal.
4. Re-define the business problem without the SRC interference and identify the solution.
Example of ‘Vicks company’ before entering Germany. Vicks sounded like rudest slang so renamed into ‘Wicks’

13. The Marketing Research Process and the International Dimension
Tasks to be carried out
Problem definition and objectives 1
1. Specify task to be undertaken
2. Evaluate alternative methodologies
3. Select most appropriate methodology
4. Formulate plans and reviews
Development of research plan 2 3
Data collection 4
Data interpretation
Summary of findings and report 5

14. The Marketing Research Process and the International Dimension
Problem definition and objectives 1
1. Undertake preliminary ‘desk research’ to identify best opportunity for ‘in depth’ studies
2. Select methodology with minimum comparability problems
3. Screen research agencies with international experience
Development of research plan 2 3
Data collection 4
Data interpretation
Summary of findings and report 5

15. Developing a framework for cross-cultural studies: Etic Vs Emic dilemma
The emic approach focuses on the peculiarities of each country (attitudinal phenomena, culture and values are unique to a particular country)
- Local user groups prefer country- customised research designed
The etic approach emphasises universal behavioral and attitudinal traits. Headquarters prefer standardised data collection, sampling procedures, and survey instruments
The need for comparability favours the etic paradigm with emphasis on the cross-border similarities and parallels.
Both approaches have merits and a combination is usually advised for accuracy.

16. The Marketing Research Process and the International Dimension
Tasks to be carried out
Problem definition and objectives 1
1. Identify sources a) internal b) external c) secondary d) primary
2. Collect secondary data
3. Conduct interviews/ questionnaires (as appropriate)
4. Deal with response error
Development of research plan 2 3
Data collection 4
Data interpretation
Summary of findings and report 5
Cateora & Ghauri, International Marketing, European Edition, © 1999 McGraw-Hill
8-7

17. The Marketing Research Process and the International Dimension
Problem definition and objectives 1
1. Identify local biases including interviewers’ biases
2. Check reliability of data
Development of research plan 2 3
Data collection 4
Data interpretation
Summary of findings and report 5
Cateora & Ghauri, International Marketing, European Edition, © 1999 McGraw-Hill
8-7

18. Major sources of information
Firm’s need both
internal (firm specific) and
external (market) data for the global marketing research process.
These data can be collected by two major sources:
Primary data
Secondary data

19. What is this? Primary data
Information that is collected first-hand, generated by original research tailor-made to answer specific research questions is known as ______.
Primary data

20. Primary data The major advantage The disadvantages
the information is specific (fine-grained), relevant and up to date.
The disadvantages
the high costs and amount of time associated with its collection

21. What is this? Secondary data
Information that has already been collected for other purposes and thus is readily available is known as ______.
Secondary data

22. Secondary data The major disadvantage The advantages are
the data are often more general and coarse-grained in nature.
The advantages are
the low costs and amount of time associated with its collection.
Secondary research is frequently referred to as desk research.

23. Categorization of data for assessment of market potential

24. Secondary research
Begin their market research by seeking and utilizing secondary data.
The choices of sources will depend upon cost and the quality factor.
Internal data sources ( from sales department e.g. total sales, sales by country, product, market segment, type of channel distribution etc.)
External data sources ( electronic data bases)

25. Secondary research Advantages Less expensive Less time consuming
Low level of commitment
No constraints by overseas customs
Speed
Disadvantages
Non-availability of data
Reliability of data
Data classification
Comparability of data

26. Secondary data used for estimation of foreign market potential
Forecasting future demand for the current product require reliable historical data.
Various approaches to forecasting future demand in a market with a minimum information:
Proxy indicators
Chain ratio method
Lead-lag analysis
Estimation by analogy

27. Proxy indicators
Proxy indicators are useful in situations where a direct measure is difficult to obtain.
Indirect variables serve as surrogate or proxy.
For e.g.
ownership of durables by households has also been suggested as a proxy for a country’s economic development.
Consumption of refrigerators or any other household appliance can be a good proxy for washing machines.

28. Chain ratio method Ratios are used to reduce a base population
It is relatively inexpensive and convenient to implement
For example, the market potential for household air conditioners in a country is dependent on
total number of households,
the rate of urbanization (percentage of people living in cities),
percentage of population having access to electricity and
percentage of population who can afford the product.
Multiplying these metrics would provide a rough estimate for the potential air- conditioners market in a country.

29. Lead-lag analysis This technique is based on It assumes that
the use of time-series data from one country to project sales in other countries.
It assumes that
Diffusion process and the rate of diffusion is same in all countries

30. Lead-lag analysis of penetration of DVDs

31. Estimation by analogy
Correlation value (between a factor and demand for a product) obtained in one country applied to a target international market.
First a relationship (correlation) must be established between the demand to be estimated and the factor, which is to serve as the basis for the analogy.
Once the known relationship is established the correlation value then attempts to draw an analogy between the known situation and the market demand in question.

32. Estimation by analogy-example
Estimate the market demand for refrigerators in Germany
Population size in the United Kingdom: 60 million
Population size in Germany: 82 million
Furthermore we know that the number of refrigerators sold in the United Kingdom in was 1.1 million units.
Then by analogy we estimate the sales to be the following in Germany:
(82/60) × 1.1 million units = 1.5 million units

33. Forms of Primary Research
Quantitative research is data analysis based on questionnaires from a large group of respondents
Qualitative research provides a holistic view of a research problem by integrating a larger number of variables, but asking only a few respondents
Triangulation: mixing qualitative and quantitative research methods

34. The ‘trade-off’ between quantitative and qualitative research
Choosing between quantitative and qualitative techniques is a question of trading off breadth and depth in the results of the analysis.

35. Quantitative vs qualitative research
Comparison dimension
Quantitative research
Qualitative research
Objective
To quantify the data and generalize the results from the sample to the population of interest
To gain an initial and qualitative understanding of the underlying reasons and motives
Types of research
Descriptive and/or casual
Exploratory
Flexibility in research
low ( one way communication as a result of standardized and structured questionnaire)
High ( as a result of personal interview, where the interviewer) can change questions during the interview)
Sample size
Large
Small
Choice of respondents
Representative sample of the population
Persons with considerable knowledge of the problem
Information per respondent
Low
High
Data analysis
Statistical summary
Subjective, interpretative
Time consumption during the research
Design phase high, analysis phase low
Design phase low, analysis phase high.

36. Triangulation
Combined use of quantitative and qualitative research methods in the study of the same phenomenon is termed triangulation (Denzin, 1978; Jick, 1979)
Sometimes it is relevant to use
qualitative data collected by, for example, in-depth interview of a few key informants as exploratory input to
the construction of the best possible questionnaire for the collection of quantitative data.
The triangulation metaphor is from navigation and military strategy, which use multiple reference points to locate an object’s exact position. Similarly, market researchers can improve the accuracy and validity of their judgements by collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. Sometimes qualitative research methods explain or reinforce quantitative findings and even reveal new information.

37. Research design Steps in primary data collection
Identify research problem/objectives
Research approaches
Contact methods
Sampling plan
Contact medium
Presentation/data collection/data analysis

38. Research approaches
Observation
Surveys
Experiments

39. Online surveys Advantages Low financial resource implications
Short response time
Saving time with data collection and analysis
Visual stimuli can be evaluated
Disadvantages
Respondents have no physical address
Difficult to guard respondent anonymity
Technical issues like speed of download may arise

40. Contact methods
Mail/Internet
Telephone
Personal

41. Contact methods
The method of contact chosen is usually a balance between
speed,
degree of accuracy and
costs

42. Comparison of contact methods

43. What is this? Sampling plan
What term refers to a scheme which outlines the group to be surveyed in a marketing research study, including how many individuals will be chosen, and on what basis this choice is made?
Sampling plan

44. Sampling procedures
Probability
sampling
Non-probability
sampling

45. Probability sampling
Here it is possible to specify in advance the chance that each element in the population will have of being included in a sample, although there is not necessarily an equal probability for each element
Examples are
simple random sampling,
systematic sampling,
stratified sampling and
cluster sampling

46. Non-probability sampling
These procedures rely on the personal judgement of the researcher
Examples are
convenience sampling,
quota sampling and
snowball sampling

47. Why use non-probability samples in marketing research?
Less expensive than probability samples
Appropriate when accuracy is not critical
Faster to collect data
Can be reasonably representative

48. Methods for determining sample size
Traditional statistical techniques
Budget available
Rules of thumb
Number of sub-groups

49. Contact medium Design of a questionnaire Formulation of questions
Open ended questions (unstructured, aimed at depth interviewing)
close ended questions ( relatively structured)
Formulation of questions
The wording must be clear
Select words so as to avoid biasing the respondent
Consider the ability of the respondent to answer the question
Consider the willingness of the respondent to answer the question

50. Problems with using primary research
Limited ability to draw probability samples
Non-response (and the potential for non- response bias)
Not being at home
Refusal to respond
Language barriers

51. Measurement
A measurement method that works satisfactorily in one culture may fail to achieve the intended purpose in another country.
Special care must therefore be taken to ensure the reliability and validity of the measurement method.
In general,
‘how’ you measure refers to reliability and
‘what’ you measure refers to validity.

52. What is this? Reliability
What term is used to refer to the consistency of results over several measurements?
Reliability

53. What is this?
If a measurement method measures what it is supposed to measure, it is said to possess high _____.
Validity

54. Possible reliability and validity situations

55. The Marketing Research Process and the International Dimension
Problem definition and objectives
Tasks to be carried out 1
1. Distil the essentials
2. Tabulate, classify and cross- classify
3. Integrate and organize relevant data
4. Examine for significant relationships
Development of research plan 2 3
Data collection 4
Data interpretation
Summary of findings and report 5

56. The Marketing Research Process and the International Dimension
Problem definition and objectives 1
1. Watch for results comparability
2. Ensure that unexpected findings are not due to special local biases
3. Adjust interpretation level to different markets
Development of research plan 2 3
Data collection 4
Data interpretation
Summary of findings and report 5

57. The Marketing Research Process and the International Dimension
Problem definition and objectives 1
Tasks to be carried out
1. Summarize findings in understandable form
2. Communicate to one’s ‘audience’
3. Identify management implications
Development of research plan 2 3
Data collection 4
Data interpretation
Summary of findings and report 5

58. The Marketing Research Process and the International Dimension
Problem definition and objectives
The international dimension 1
1. Think of international reader and communicate accordingly
2. Watch language and terms
3. Avoid conclusions offensive to local sensitivities
4. Consider implications for different markets
Development of research plan 2 3
Data collection 4
Data interpretation
Summary of findings and report 5