The essence of marketing is to facilitate exchanges of money, products and/or services. Thus, international marketing requires an interaction between firms and people of different nationalities and cultures. We see a dramatic shift in the world economy: doing business is more and more a question of identifying business opportunities internationally and not only in the domestic market of companies. Hence, companies need to be able to identify attractive business opportunities in international markets, define relevant strategies and value chain structures for competing in targeted markets, and be able to implement defined strategies. As international business is done across different cultures, institutional environments and socioeconomic conditions, international marketing decision makers also need to be aware of potential ethical conflicts related to their operations. Finally, sustainability (e.g. environmental issues) may be of critical importance in issues such as sourcing, production, distribution and market communication.
Topics:
- Global marketing and the firm.
- International opportunity assessment.
- Foreign market entry / Internationalization.
- The "4Ps" of international marketing.
- Organization and control of the global marketing programme.
- Global marketing strategy.
- The role of culture & ethics in a global context.