The Global Marketing Environment - Literature review Example

Introduction Globalization is all about economies in the world integrating. This is mostly in terms of flow of finances and trade. In situations where there is flow of technology, knowledge and labour across international barriers, it can also be termed as globalization. Other people define it as a situation where market capitalism is expanded and accelerated. It is always associated with increase in liberalization. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) Globalization implies a process of aggravation of political, economic, and cultural interdependence amid the different actors within the global system. Globalization is more systematic in the economic field where it signifies a process of intensification of national economies with the purpose of developing the capacity of the global economy to work as a unit. The global marketing environment is quite dynamic and complex in nature. This paper therefore deals with a literature review on the global marketing environment topic. It specifically handles the impact of global marketing environment on marketing. In this case, various aspects of the global marketing environment will be handled and their overall impact on marketing. They include technological aspects, economy, political changes, social-cultural and legal issues. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) Literature review Research carried out by various scholars shows that the global marketing environment comprises of different factors that affect marketing in one way or another. Some of the issues that are characterised therein include the dynamism of customer preferences and the overall proliferation of diverse channels of marketing. The competition in the global environment remains to be challenging for newcomers in the global market and also for organisations that are well established in the businesses. The global marketing environment also requires very high quality of products and services. This compliance is usually adhered to so that organisations can increase their market share despite other challenges that are encountered. This in essence ends up making the aspect of profit making to be secondary to other imperative features for survival in the business. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) It is quite tricky for many organisations to have customer loyalty in global business environment. Some of these issues force organisations to focus of the four Ps. That is ensuring that marketing strategies adhere to the factors of price, place, products and promotion. This has actually been incorporated as part and parcel if the functions within organisations. The global marketing environment can be also described as the macro environment. This environment cannot easily be changed by the stakeholders in the business industry and therefore marketing as a function is usually affected either positively or negatively depending on the nature of the factors. The following are some of the factors in the global marketing environment that affect marketing. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) Technology According to Roth and Morrison, (1992), marketing managers assert that marketing has become an art that is quite complex in nature. This is considering the technological advancement in the global marketing environment. Previously known marketing rules are undergoing a great transformation due to technological advancement. Technology has greatly advanced in many nations over the past two decades. This is in communications and even the transport sector. Information technology has undergone remarkable transformation. Earlier on, there were very few people who owned mobile phones especially in the developing nations. During the past two decades, there has been development and this has enhanced penetration of information technology even in the remote areas. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) Many people own mobile phones while one out of three families has a landline phone within the house. There are various households that have internet and computers within the house. These are accessed at any time that the household members desire. With such technological advancements, there has been the need to carry out the fragmentation of the target audience in order to ensure that they are reached during the marketing process. This therefore means an overall change in way marketing is carried out so that the target audience is reached. Due to technological advancement, most Companies are forced to carry out marketing using current media such as television. There is a turn around from other methods that were initially used such as posters and personal selling. This means the cost of marketing has continued to skyrocket with the technological advancements. Roth and Morrison, (1992) however asserts that there are some technological advancement that are cost effective and have enhanced marketing across geographical boundaries. This includes online marketing where marketing is carried out through the internet. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) Through this medium of communication, marketing has actually become affordable and less involving on the part of the marketer. It is cost effective in the since one person can actually market to millions of people across the globe. The target customers easily read the advertisements and marketing messages at the comfort of their offices or in their homes. Technology has also played a great role in changing the advertising language used. Marketing messages also sent to individuals via their mobile phones unlike the use of posters that was prevalent before. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) Cultural factors Unlike the micro environment, the global marketing environment has cultural factors that have direct effect on marketing function. According to Sharon and Paul, cultural factors are quite diverse in the global marketing environment. This has its effects on marketing function in diverse ways. Analysis shows that different cultures uphold different aspects such as dressing, foodstuffs, the way of communication, the language used and the lifestyle therein etc. For instance, there are some Islamic nations such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and UAE where the culture does not allow people therein to eat pork. This means that marketers in a sausage making industry have to take this into consideration. If the marketers decide to market their products in such nations, they may not be embraced or may even face adverse repercussions. This is considering the fact that they could be violating the cultural standards set within the nations. In the same countries, women are not allowed to wear mini skirts and trousers etc. These cultural aspects have affected the marketing function in the sense that prior research has to be carried out first before marketing is done. Initially, before the onset of globalisation, marketing research was not really taken as a very imperative venture. This is considering the fact that the organisations were situated in the same environment or locality with the target customers. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) However, it has become a necessity to avoid the above named issues emanating from the cultural diversity in the global marketing environment. The culture in the northern nations does not allow women to freely walk or be in the public unaccompanied by their husbands or brothers. This means that any marketing carried out by women addressing men may not be accepted at all. It therefore affects marketing strategies altogether. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) Economic factors Various researchers have concurred that the global marketing environment has had various effects on marketing. Economic factors in the global marketing environment have had diverse effects on marketing. According to Roth and Morrison, (1992), economic factors such as the global credit crunch witnessed across the globe had diverse effects on marketing. Marketing was highly minimised to avoid loss. Advertising media that are costly were avoided and only organisations that are well established continued to incorporate them. Economic factors also affect marketing ventures. According to Roth and Morrison, (1992) every economy goes through the business cycle of recession, depression, recovery and boom. Boom period in the global marketing environment allows companies to carry out a lot of marketing. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) This is because there are high chances that the products will be bought. In a season of depression in an economy, marketers highly reduce their marketing strategies. For instance, when United States of America is undergoing a period of high recession, it meant that citizens had less money to spend. This has affected horticultural marketers from Holland. Their marketing ventures in the United States have highly reduced. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) Political Various political factors in the global environment also affect marketing. They include current taxation policy in a nation, future taxation policy. They also include current and future political support in a nation. There are some nations that offer funding grants and such initiatives to marketers. This definitely has a positive impact on marketing. Another factor that is quite essential n this point is related to wars and also poor relations between two countries. An example can be traced back to the time when there was war between Iraq and Iran. This made the relationship between these two nations to go sour even in relation to business matters. It was noted that organizations in Iran could not market their products in Iraq and vice versa. That clearly shows that political factors in the global business environment also affect marketing. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) Political factors also relate to how and to what degree a government intervenes in the economy. Specifically, political factors may also relate to tax policy, labour laws, environmental laws, trade restrictions, tariffs, and political stability. Political factors may also include goods and services which the government wants to provide or be provided (merit goods) and those that the government does not want to be provided demerit goods or merit ‘bads’. Furthermore, governments have great influence on the health, education, and infrastructure of a nation. All these factors therefore have impacts on marketing. These could be either positively or negatively. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) Legal aspects Sharon asserts that laws and regulations are some of the structures that have been put in place in different nations to govern various processes and operations therein. This is one of the macro factors that affect marketing. Each and every nation has its own rules and regulations that relate to marketing. It is quite essential to note that these laws differ. There are some nations that have laws that govern how marketing should be carried out therein. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) This means that for someone to market in this nation, these rules and regulations have to be adhered to. There are also nations that have consumer protection laws. These laws and regulations have been put n place to protect consumers from harmful products that can cause various diseases. These include diabetes, ulcers, and cancer among other products. Some of the laws in Canada that affect marketing include discrimination law, consumer law, antitrust law, employment law, and health and safety law. These factors can affect how a company operates and generally markets its products. In the late nineties South Africa is known to have put in place laws and regulations concerning imported cosmetics. This meant that those companies were not also allowed to market those products in the nation. Most of those cosmetics products were from china. This is just one of the examples of legal aspects that can affect marketing. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) Critical analysis of literature review A critical analysis of the literature review shows various deficits in the work accomplished by the researchers. It is however worth acknowledging the fact that the authors have covered essential aspects that pertain to the global marketing environment and its overall effect on marketing as an organisational function. This therefore acts as an eye opener. The information from the literature review is quite vital to the marketing department and marketing managers. This is more so when an organisation decides to venture into global business. This information is very helpful to a marketing department as it lays down marketing strategies in order to survive the challenges in the global marketing environment. (Roth and Morrison, 1992) As earlier on illustrated, there are some loopholes that can be pinpointed. It is quite evident that the researchers handled the effect of the global marketing environment in a broad perspective. It was expected and highly imperative for the researchers to clearly indicate the effects of the global marketing environment on specific aspects of marketing. This is considering the fact that marketing is a very wide function. It includes different activities such as pricing strategies, advertisements, carrying out sales promotion, the distribution of products and personal selling. It was quite alright for the authors to analyse various aspects of the global marketing environment such as technology, political environment, economic aspects and legal issues among others. These however would have been handled relating to each of the above named components such as pricing strategies, advertisements, carrying out sales promotion, the distribution of products and personal selling. This would help marketing managers know how to handle the issues relating to the individual component. With the knowledge on how the global environmental features can affect marketing components, better marketing strategic decisions can be made such that adverse effects are avoided. Areas of future research It is therefore highly recommended that future research deals with the impact of global marketing environment on pricing strategies, advertisements, carrying out sales promotion, the distribution of products and personal selling. It is also quite essential that future research deals with how the global marketing environment affects marketing in small enterprises already in global business and those wishing to join. This also includes the impact of global marketing environment on marketing on large business enterprises. Conclusion In conclusion, various authors have written various articles concerning the impact of the global marketing environment. Researchers have sited technological, political, legal, socio-cultural and economic factors and their impact on marketing. There however some deficits in this articles. The articles do not show how those factors impact marketing features. These include pricing strategies, advertisements, carrying out sales promotion, the distribution of products and personal selling. It is recommended that further research be carried out on how the marketing features are affected by the global marketing environment. Reference: Roth, K., and Morrison, A.J. (1992): Implementing global strategy: characteristics of global subsidiary mandates", Journal of International Business Studies, pp.715-35 Read More