1 / 24

International marketing research

International marketing research. ‘Most … cultural blunders stem from inadequate market research’ Kotabe and Helsen, (2001), ‘ Global Marketing Management’ , 2 nd ed , Wiley. Learning objectives. Appreciate the information needs of an international company See notes from Seminar 1

lilly
Download Presentation

International marketing research

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. International marketing research ‘Most … cultural blunders stem from inadequate market research’ Kotabe and Helsen, (2001), ‘Global Marketing Management’ , 2nd ed, Wiley

  2. Learning objectives • Appreciate the information needs of an international company • See notes from Seminar 1 • Understand the differences between domestic market research and international market research • Understand the requirements of an effective international market research programme

  3. The self-reference criterion (Lee, 1966) • Most international MR is hindered by the unconscious tendency ‘to fall back on one’s own cultural norms and values to interpret a given business situation’ • Worse than ethnocentrism • Proposes a 4-step SRC correction mechanism

  4. Correcting for the SRC 1. Define the problem/goal in terms of your own culture. 2. Define the problem/goal in terms of the host culture. 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. E.g. the Barbie Doll in Japan

  5. Two sources of data • Secondary • Already exists: governments, international orgs, trade assoc, directories, websites. • Eg Eurostat: EU statistics, OECD: developed country statistics, WTO: world trade statistics • See Keegan p.193 for websites • Readily available • Comparable • Low cost • Useful for environmental scanning • Not tailored to the needs of the company

  6. Primary data 1. Collected to meet the needs of a specific company or group of companies • Ad hoc: a one-off project • E.g., to determine the product attributes required by consumers in a country or region- do we offer the standard product or not?

  7. Primary data 2. Continuous research: collecting the same data from a panel at regular intervals • E.g., annual monitoring of the strength of a brand, country by country in terms of: • Awareness levels • Brand associations • Brand loyalty • To determine its brand equity

  8. Primary data 3. Syndicated research: same data collected regularly on behalf of a group of client companies • E.g., market share and prices by country per quarter 4. Omnibus surveys: a collection of different questions from different company clients collected regularly by one agency

  9. A C Nielsen China omnibus • Coverage : 10 cities • 4 times p.a. • Sample: 500 interviews per city • Methodology:Random, stratified demographically, face to face, • Individuals: 9+ • Typical questions: • Do you use X? • How often do you use X? • How much did you pay for X? • Have you seen any ads for Y?

  10. Stages in the international research process • Specifying the research problem • Why do we want the data and what will we do with it? • E.g. a BMW product positioning study in Europe addressed 3 issues: • What do motorists demand of their cars? • What do they believe they are getting from various brands? • What does this imply about positioning BMW across borders?

  11. Develop a research plan • Methodology • Budget • Time schedule • Who’s responsible for what?

  12. Data collection • Primary or secondary or both? • Qualitative or quantitative? (what do you want vs. why do you want it?) • Qualitative methods: • Depth interviews • Group discussions/focus groups • Quantitative • Questionnaires: personal interviews, mail and telephone surveys • The most popular method by far

  13. The internet as a global research tool • Pros: • Large samples in small amount of time • Global access to the internet • Significantly cheaper • Offers anonymity • Data can port directly in analysis programmes

  14. The internet as a global research tool • Cons: • In many countries, access is limited • Sample bias and self selection bias • Incorrect email addresses • Poor connections • Multiple responses from one person

  15. Steps 3, 4 & 5 • Sampling: • What should it be representative of? • i.e. the sampling population • Random vs. quota • Controls: gender, income, age etc • Size: accuracy vs. cost and time • Analysis • Presentation of the findings

  16. Key distinguishing issues in international market research • Language • Eg ‘popular’ is a positive word in English in Japanese it means ‘regular’ or ‘plain’ • Eg ‘unique’ is also a positive word in English in Japanese it means ‘strange’ or ‘unusual’

  17. Language (3000 in the world)– good practice • Use local translators and interviewers • To identify errors use: • Back translation • Parallel translation • Hold interviewer briefings to identify problems before they arise • Hold interviewer de-briefs

  18. The problem of equivalence and comparability • Products differ in their significance • In the UK bikes are for recreation • In China they are an important means of transport • In LDCs the black market is often bigger than the researched market.

  19. The problem of equivalence and comparability • Research infrastructure differs between countries • E.g, in LDCs • communication infrastructure makes research more difficult • Secondary data is less well developed and less accurate • In China local authority sanctioned research gets higher response rates

  20. Scalar equivalence • Typical rating scale question? “On a scale of 1 to 5 how would you rate this lecture”? • Need to ensure scalar equivalence: • In US/UK :5 or 7 pt scales • In France :20 pt scales • South Americans use the top end • Asians use the middle • Need to standardise the results

  21. Cross country comparisons:The need for standardisation • Four key areas: • Briefing • Interviewing and fieldwork control • Analysis of data • Interpretation of data • More difficult with qualitative research

  22. Agency structure • Multinational agencies: e.g., A.C. Nielsen, Research International, • Subsidiaries globally • Offer global quality control • Agency alliances • National research agencies • Sometimes unknown quantities • Require individual briefings • Arms length control • Problems of comparability of results

  23. Problem areas in International MR

  24. Useful websites • http://www.acnielsen.com/ • http://www.wto.org/ • http://www.imf.org/ • http://www.europa.eu.int/en/comm/eurostat/

More Related