Chapter 6
International Marketing Research: Practices and Challenges
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter students should be able to:
• Define international marketing research and provide a description of its immense
scope; offer examples of each type of research conducted in international
CHAPTER SPOTLIGHTS
• Need for International Marketing Research: Marketing information must be
constantly taken into consideration to improve the chances of a firm‘s success in a
complex global environment.
• Defining International Marketing Research: International marketing research is the
systematic analysis and interpretation of information pertinent to a particular
international marketing decision.
• Scope of International Marketing Research: There are several types of international
marketing research: Research of market characteristics, buyer behavior research,
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
This chapter defines and describes international marketing research and offers examples
of each type of research conducted. The steps involved in the international marketing
research process are described, along with the international constraints involved. The
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CHAPTER OUTLINE
6-1 Need for International Marketing Research
The different forces affecting international marketing operations must be
6-2 Defining International Marketing Research
6-3 The Scope of International Marketing Research
6-3a Research of industry, market characteristics, and market trends:
6-3b Buyer behavior research:
6-3c Product research:
1) Concept development and testing studies: Typically performed in
developed countries by the firms’ research and development departments.
They are used to evaluate the product/service offering in light of the
divergent needs of different target markets.
2) Brand name generation and testing: Used by international companies to
6-3d Distribution research: Particularly important in international marketing. It
includes:
1) Import/export analyses: Analyses that aid firms in identifying the logistics
companies most able to handle paperwork and to move the products
warehousing infrastructure in a particular target country.
6-3e Promotion research:
Allows the firm to evaluate the extent to which the promotional mix effectively
targets the market. Examples:
1) Studies of premiums, coupons, and deals: Allow the firm to identify the
practices in each country where the specific promotion will run, as well as
6-3f Pricing research:
6-4 International Marketing Research Process
6-4a Defining the research problem and research objectives:
6-4b Developing the research plan:
The research plan is a blueprint of the study, indicating all the decisions to be
made with regard to information sources, research methods, data collection
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6-4c Deciding on information sources:
The researcher needs to collect data that sheds additional light on the problem
(secondary data) and collect information in order to address the problem at hand
(primary data).
1) International constraints: Constraints for both secondary and primary data
include differences in meaning of concepts across different cultural
3) Primary data: Collecting primary data is expensive and time consuming.
The costs of collecting primary data in foreign markets tend to be very
high due to the lack of appropriate marketing infrastructure.
6-4d Determining research approaches:
When collecting primary data, researchers typically use these approaches:
1) Qualitative research: Used as either a first step in studying international
2) Quantitative research: Involves either descriptive research approaches or
causal research approaches. Examples of methods include content analysis
(the study of advertising content) and survey research. International
6-4e Designing the data collection instrument:
Because international marketing phenomena are particularly difficult to measure,
researchers must design appropriate data collection instruments, and give precise
6-4f Deciding on the sampling plan:
The sampling plan involves deciding the sampling unit (who will be included in
6-4g Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the information:
6-5 Decision support systems for global marketing:
6-5a Sales forecasting:
1) Sales force composite estimates: Forecasts based on personal observations
of the local (national) or regional sales force. Estimates are aggregated and
the sales forecast is developed for the local market or the region.
4) Time series and econometric models: Use data of past performance to
predict future market demand. Typically, greater weight is given to more
recent developments in the models. These models are dependent on the
availability of historical data.
KEY TERMS:
Advertising Effectiveness Research: Studies conducted to examine the effectiveness
and appropriateness of advertisements aimed at individual markets.
Brand Name Generation and Testing: The testing of brand names and logos, necessary
when companies market their products internationally.
Buyer Behavior Research: Research examining brand preferences and brand attitudes.
Causal Research: Research that examines cause-and-effect relationships.
Conceptual Equivalence: The extent to which meanings remain the same in different
cultural environments.
Consumer Segmentation Studies: Research conducted to identify market segment
profiles.
Content Analysis: Method that assesses the content of advertisement in a medium with
verbal and/or visual content.
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Depth Interview: A qualitative research method involving extensive interviews aimed at
discovering consumer motivations, feelings, and attitudes toward an issue of concern to
the sponsor using unstructured interrogation.
Descriptive Research: All research methods observing or describing phenomena.
Emic Instrument: A data collection instrument constructed for each nationality to
measure a particular factor; it is the best measure for culture-specific phenomena.
External Secondary Data: Data collected for purposes other than the problem at hand.
Focus Group Interview: A qualitative research approach investigating a research
question using a moderator to guide discussion within a group of subjects recruited to
meet certain characteristics.
Functional Equivalence: The difference in the purposes for which products may be used
in different country environments.
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Media Research: Studies that evaluate media availability and appropriateness of the
medium for a company’s message.
Observational Research: A research approach used frequently in international markets,
whereby subjects are observed interacting with a product and the related components of
the marketing mix.
Price Elasticity Studies: Studies examining the extent to which a particular market is
price sensitive.
Primary Data: Data collected for the purpose of addressing the problem at hand.
Product Packaging Design Studies: Studies that evaluate consumers’ reaction to a
package, the extent to which the package adequately communicates information to the
consumer, and the distribution implications of the package.
Quantitative Research: A structured type of research that involves either descriptive
research approaches, such as survey research, or causal research approaches, such as
experiments.
Reliability: The extent to which data is likely to be free from random error and yield
consistent results.
Research Approaches: The method used to collect data.
Sampling Unit: The entity included in the study; it may be individuals or representatives
belonging to particular groups.
Secondary Data: Data collected to address a problem other than the problem at hand.
Studies of Premiums, Coupons, and Deals: Studies that help identify the practices in
each target country where a promotion is planned by investigating the practice and
legality of premiums, coupons, and special deals.
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Describe the broad scope of marketing research with a focus on promotion-
related research.
In conducting promotion-related research, the firm evaluates the extent to which it
effectively communicates with the market, and ensures that certain promotional strategies
2) You have been hired to evaluate the purchase behavior of adolescents in Latvia.
What types of research studies could you conduct?
Consumer behavior research would be the type of research that would reveal information
about purchase behavior of adolescents in Latvia. Examples of such research would focus
3) What are some of the limitations of secondary data available to international
marketing researchers?
Secondary data, or data collected to address a problem other than the problem at
hand, can be very useful to the researcher in the beginning of the study. However, there
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4) Describe the challenges that researchers experience when designing and
administering questionnaires in countries that are culturally dissimilar from their
own.
For countries that are dissimilar from their own, researchers can use an emic
instrument specially designed to measure each culture-specific phenomenon, instead of
5) Discuss the quantitative data collection methods that researchers can use in an
international study and the problems they pose to the validity and reliability of the
findings.
For an international firm, one of the most useful quantitative data collection
methods is content analysis. This type of descriptive research assesses the content of
advertisements in a medium with verbal and/or visual content. Content analysis helps
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6) Describe the international sales forecasting methods that marketing managers
can use to better monitor and more efficiently react to information in the local
environment.
Marketing managers have different method for forecasting sales. The sales force
composite estimates produce sales forecasts that are based on the personal observations
and forecasts of the local sales force. Jury of expert opinion is an approach that is based
REVIEW QUESTIONS:
True/False
1) False
Multiple Choice
CASE 6-1
Hilton Sorrento Palace
1. Conduct a study for the hotel (provide the entire research design) to identify U.S.
travelers who have already committed to visit popular destinations in Italy (not
including Sorrento).
Answers will vary. The study first requires collecting secondary data regarding the
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2. Your research has a second step: to persuade U.S. travelers who have already
committed to visit popular destinations in Italy to spend a weekend at the Hilton
Sorrento Palace.
Answers will vary. The tour operators would be asked to share their list of travelers for
3. Conduct a third study to identify area businesses and organizations that are
planning to host conferences at the Hilton Sorrento Palace during the off season.
The study involves first collecting secondary data to identify businesses and
4. For each of the previous studies, provide a complete research design and provide
sample questionnaires that will be used in the research conducted with each
segment.
Answers will vary. Students will prepare research designs starting with defining the
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