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Based on fifteen years of data on the annual Academy of International Business (AIB) best dissertation Farmer Award finalists, we find that these dissertations were done at a range of North American universities. Interestingly, dissertation topics differed from the topics covered in the three top IB journals with five‐sixths of the topics in management, organization, economics, or finance and two‐thirds set in a single country or region (U.S., Japan, North America, and Western Europe). Survey research is the most common methodology but analysis of secondary data is growing. As expected, the finalists are on average an extraordinarily prolific group.

As lower priced competition continues to grow in the global arena, firms are increasingly turning to outsourcing, both in the manufacturing and service sectors. This article explores the long-term costs which may occur as a result of outsourcing: a firm's loss of control of its intellectual property, and even more debilitating, the loss or dilution of the core competencies which made the firm a success. Outsourcing of numerous key functions can actually lead to a “hollowing” of the corporation, which is a difficult phenomenon to reverse. Additionally, this article takes a look at how intellectual property protection is becoming a competitive advantage for those countries trying to attract outsourcing contracts. Finally, the authors suggest ideas for future research.

In today's highly competitive global marketplace, firms have increasingly turned to outsourcing. In fact, it is not just “blue collar” jobs being outsourced, but “white collar” jobs, as well. Even marketing, “the window to the company's worldwide customer base,” is feeling outsourcing pressures. This article takes a look at the corporate implications of outsourcing global marketing functions and reports the findings of a telephone survey conducted among U.S. and Canadian marketing executives. U.S. firms were found to outsource marketing activities more frequently than Canadian firms, often at the expense of control and customer satisfaction.

For over 40 years academicians and practitioners have debated the standardization versus adaptation of international marketing strategy. Despite the importance of, and tremendous interest in the topic, and the volume of scholarly activity this topic has generated, the debate remains unresolved. Why? Here, it is argued that the last 40 years of scholarly research has advanced without a strong underlying theoretical framework. The historical foundations of the standardization/adaptation perspective are presented, followed by a critical evaluation of the field under the guiding framework of the fundamentals of theoretical construction. Suggestions for developing a stronger theoretical foundation, as well as directions for future research are addressed.

Standardization of promotional elements in an international context is an important issue faced by multinational managers and has been the subject of debate for several decades. However, to date, few empirical studies have examined the intricacies of this issue, and thus there is little guidance for academics or practitioners. This study empirically examines the influence of four factors—market similarity, process standardization, environmental similarity, and mode of entry—on two elements of promotion standardization: advertising message and packaging. The authors test the hypotheses with both quantitative and qualitative data from U.S. multinational corporations conducting business in the emerging market of India. Results indicate that the four antecedent factors have different effects on advertising message and packaging standardization. The authors present several academic and managerial implications.

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is a type of mandated research which is typically implemented during the planning stages of development projects. To facilitate the use of this source of secondary data by marketers, we will provide an overview of what SIA is and present the results of a questionnaire on SIA sent to a sample of international marketing managers.

Theory suggests that culture may hinder the ability to effectively standardize the process of relationship development strategies across intra- and inter-cultural relationships. Construct relationships between trust, commitment, conflict and satisfaction in manufacturer-distributor relationships are examined intra- (i.e., within a single cultural type) and inter-culturally (i.e., between different cultural types) with a sample of distributors from Canada, Chile, Mexico and the United States. Results support theoretical differences in the consequences of the trust-commitment relationship between intra-cultural and inter-cultural relationships. The results suggest process standardization based upon cultural type.© 2000 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (2000) 31, 303–324

The internationalization of services has become a critical element in the global marketplace. While the internationalization of services has increased in importance, the lack of empirically based research has been a shortcoming. This article empirically examines key characteristics (i.e., total sales, number of employees, age of firm, management's desire to export, perceived profit potential from internationalization, top management's foreign language skills, and international work experience) separating exporting from nonexporting domestic-based service firms. It provides a profile for the exporting service firm that is distinctly different than that of the nonexporting service provider. These differences suggest important policy considerations for federal and state export promotion agencies and strategy considerations for service firm owners and management. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Increases in the international marketing of services have created a need to better understand the determinants of service export performance measures. While numerous studies suggest using either the ratio of a firm′s foreign sales over its total sales, number of markets, perceptions of export profitability, or management′s satisfaction with export performance as surrogate indicators of export performance, these measures are based upon the fundamentals of manufacturing industries. To better equip service managers with appropriate evaluative tools, this study analyzes the alternative methods of measuring export performance within the context of the services industry, Results of a survey of US‐based, international business‐to‐business service firm indicate that each measure captures different components of overall export performance. This research identifies the key input variables of each export performance measure to help international managers of service firms select the export performance measure that is most appropriate for them to use in determining whether or not they are achieving their goals.

Should Multinationals be wary of the threat to their brand equity posed by their distributors, suppliers, advertising agencies or alliance partners? The firm's own corporate communication actions often create sufficient problems, if they are left unchecked. Now, the spectrum is raised regarding the impact a partner's bad publicity over building a rain forest depleting dam or refusal to recall a malfunctioning microprocessor may have on your own brand equity. Steps are offered as a solution.

Green advertising is defined as the advertising that emphasizes the environmental friendliness of the product. Attributes such as degradability, recyclability, lower pollution et cetera are considered to be environmentally friendly. The research reported in this article addresses how the strength of a green claim, for example, the extent of pollution reduction claimed in an advertisement for a new automobile and the consumer's country disposition, that is, the consumer's attitude toward the country of origin of the automobile, interactively affected the product evaluation in terms of its greenness and company image in terms of its green consciousness. Product evaluation and company image were more favorable for consumers with highly positive country disposition than for consumers with less positive country disposition when the green claim was moderate in strength. However, when the green claim was extremely low or extremely high in strength, the reverse was true. Theoretical rationale for these findings draws upon several areas of research, for example, latitude of acceptance/rejection, assimilation/contrast effects, social cognition, country of origin, and Heider's balance theory. Managerial implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

To what extent can standardized advertising programs be effectively employed in two key NAFTA markets? Mexico and the United States were the sites for an experiment using print advertisements exhibiting varying degrees of advertising standardization to study the impact of language and cultural differences. The Rokeach Value Survey (RVS) was used to examine the cultural values of the respondents (n = 354). Cultural value dimensions important in the two countries were uncovered utilizing factor analysis. Using t-tests, results show that consumers in the two countries differ significantly on all five cultural dimensions uncovered. Further, significant differences in attitude toward the advertisement were found for each of four products based on the degree of standardization employed. Total customization was significantly preferred over all other combinations of languages and pictures. For those US firms considering marketing activities in Mexico, conclusions, implications, and strategies are suggested. 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

India, along with China, is one of the key emerging markets in the region that has attracted multinational corporate interest. This has been enhanced by recent economic reforms and enormous market potential. After briefly tracing the political precipitants of the economic reforms, this article reviews the new FDI rules and the opportunities and challenges that this new investment climate presents the US investor. Finally, the FDIs of 30 US MNCs are classified according to the entry strategies being employed and some rationale is provided on the primary entry modes of choice.

Competitiveness is one of the most misunderstood concepts of the 1990s. It has drawn substantial attention from the government and business communities during the last 25 years. Morrisson et al. (1988) noted that between 1983 and 1987, the term competitiveness appeared more than 5700 times in the titles of newspapers and magazine articles. The growth of importance and interest can also be observed from the increase in the bibliographical entries in ABI/Inform database. From 1981 to 1986, the topic “international competitiveness” increased by about 26 listings per year (a total of 159 in 6 years) and the rate increased to 45 listings per year from 1987 to 1993. Academic interest in the area has also increased and as a result, new developments contemplating conceptualization and understanding of competitiveness are taking place. However, to no one's surprise, writers from different disciplines offer a variation in perspective when describing the concept, understanding, and postulation of competitiveness.

In the mid-1970s, Goodyear's European advertising approach—designed to achieve an optimal balance between standardization and localization—was presented in a Journal of Marketing article. Since that approach was discussed, the interest in the standardize/localize issue has continued to receive extensive attention from both practitioners and academicians. This article reviews Goodyear's 1970s approach in light of today's global marketing environment and outlines how it differs from the firm's current patterned approach in Latin America. The steps followed in developing the current patterned approach are detailed, and the authors discuss the reasons for its success.

This article presents some of the major criticisms concerning Mexico's entry into the NAFTA. Then it addresses these criticisms from the Canadian business executives’ point of view using data gathered from those currently doing business and not currently doing business in Mexico. The major concerns, costs, and benefits to Canadian firms have been identified. Candid comments from the business executives are contrasted with those views frequently portrayed in the popular press.

The focus of this article is a cross‐national comparison of the role the study of marketing theory should play in the marketing education process. This study also examines whether the status of marketing theory differs from marketing academicians in the United States, Europe, and the Pacific Basin.

By December 31, 1992, the 12 nations of the European Community (EC) plan to drop their internal trade barriers to create a single market of 320 million consumers. Implementation of this plan will dramatically change the way marketing is conducted in Western Europe. This article examines the marketing strategy implications of Europe 1992 from the viewpoint of non-EC companies. A framework identifying the underlying variables is developed. A research agenda for future research on regional market integration is proposed.

The focus is an examination of the evolution of marketing theory and the role the study of marketing theory plays in the marketing education process. In addition, the question whether the status of marketing theory differs among American marketing academicians and their European colleagues is examined.

Change characterized the international advertising industry in the 1980s and even greater turbulence may be expected in the European Community 1992 (EC-92) era. In this article, European advertising executives provide their views on advertising agency-client relations in this new EC-92 advertising ‘order’.

International advertising standardization/adaptation has been a dominant area in the international marketing literature. In this chapter, we explore the evolution of thought related to international advertising standardization/adaptation beginning in the 1920s. Through a stage theory historical analysis, we decompose thought in international advertising standardization/adaptation into three unique stages: (1) practitioner evolution, (2) scholarly initiation and (3) conceptual and empirical refinement. Given this approach, we contend that the factors considered in earlier stages were necessary for later development. Further and more importantly, we argue that, for the evolution of thought in relation to international advertising standardization/adaptation to evolve, researchers must begin to engage in a number of acts central to building a unified foundation. We propose a series of issues that need to be addressed in order to advance our understanding of international advertising standardization/adaptation.

This authoritative three-volume collection presents the most important articles and papers published during the last thirty years. It includes both classic articles as well as cutting edge papers from the new breed of top researchers informed by theoretical rigour and using the most up-to-date research methodologies. International Marketing: Modern and Classic Papers is a major three volume work with the material being divided into twenty sections, each part seeking to achieve a balance between the conceptual and the empirical, the explanatory and the exploratory. It will be essential reading for both scholars, researchers, graduate students and practitioners grappling with the complexities of marketing in the new globalised world.

The international marketing ethics problems encountered by a representative sample of Australian firms engaged in international business are examined. The executive in charge of international marketing in 38 firms (a 25 per cent response rate) provided information on the types of ethical problems they have most commonly confronted. Bribery was overwhelmingly the most common ethical problem. In addition, a comparison is made between the Australian results and the results of a similar study conducted in the United States. This comparison reveals many striking similarities.

This study reports the experiences of two academic researchers while conducting a cross-national academic research study. It examines both the increased monetary costs and the increased chronological costs associated with internationalizing international business research. This mail survey was mailed to 885 International Advertising Association members in 17 European countries. Actual cost and time figures are provided to serve as useful guidelines for other teachers and researchers attempting to internationalize their research efforts.

Considerable attention has been focused on EC7ndash;1992 and the impact that it is having (and will continue to have) on British and European industry. This article reports the findings of a study completed among a sample of European public relations executives. It was designed to determine how they were planning to alter the scope of their operations to meet this new communications challenge. In particular, the expanded role of public relations and its relationship to advertising (and corporate communications) is noted.

For well over forty years, academics have debated the effectiveness of the standardization/adaptation of international advertising, with practitioners beginning four decades earlier. As the debate has progressed, a critical distinction in the literature has developed related to this issue, that of process and program standardization. In this study, we examine the association of process and program standardization, inclusive of consumer market and environmental similarity, within a sample of U.S. multinationals operating in India. Results indicate a positive association between process and program advertising standardization of U.S. multinationals operating in India. Implications for academics and practitioners are presented.

In this study, incubator affiliations (defined as an incubator’s propensity to network or affiliate with different types of external entities) of 84 business incubators in the USA and its relationship with incubator funding sources and nature of services provided were studied. Four types of affiliation-based relationships were identified: totally unaffiliated, affiliated with other incubator(s), affiliated with university, and affiliated with other incubator(s) and university. Results indicated that the incubator’s affiliation influenced its ability to access funding and provide financial assistance to incubatees, as well as the nature and level of tangible/administrative and value-added services provided to incubatee firms. Based on these findings, two distinct groups of incubators were identified, each with distinctly different strategic foci, service emphasis and funding approaches. Strategy and managerial implications for both categories of incubators are discussed.

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is a type of mandated research which is typically implemented during the planning stages of development projects. Unfortunately, such data are often merely used to evaluate the viability of projects, and are seldom consulted as secondary sources of information once they have served their primary role. Such tendencies, unfortunately, relegate potential sources of data to file cabinets. Provides an overview of what SIA is, and how it can be adapted to serve the needs of strategic planners in the private sector to facilitate the use of this source of secondary data. Also presents the results of a questionnaire on SIA sent to a sample of international marketing managers.

U.S. international marketing practitioners identified the most difficult ethical problems they have encountered in foreign trade. These ethical problems were rated as occurring infrequently and having a moderate impact on a firm′s overseas competitiveness. Conversely, the respondents saw ethical problems as likely to tarnish the firm′s domestic image and to generate much concern for top management. This suggests such problems may have a stronger negative impact upon a firm′s domestic public image but may not be a major factor inhibiting its international trade. The strategic alternatives to, and management implications of, avoiding markets which may pose ethical problems are discussed.

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/00251749010145146. When citing the article, please cite: Donald G. Howard, William Howell, John K. Ryans, (1990), “Corporate/Marketing Philosophy: A US, Japanese and British Comparison”, Management Decision, Vol. 28 Iss: 1.

This article presents the results of a recent study of the strategic marketing and management priorities of leading British executives. Further, their views on a wide range of current and future strategy issues are compared with earlier research on US and Japanese executives conducted by the Japanese Management Association (JMA).

This article examines the attitudes of 40 opinion leaders in marketing toward theory in consumer behavior. These individuals exhibited favorable attitudes toward theory in marketing in general. More favorable perceptions of the value of the contributions of theory to consumer behavior existed than for promotion and channels of distribution. In comparison to eight other areas of marketing, the consumer behavior area was perceived as having made the greatest past contribution to marketing thought and the one most likely to make worthwhile future contributions. The sample believed that much future effort was needed in progressing toward a general theory of consumer behavior and that such effort would indeed be forthcoming.

Advertising is emerging as one of the most controversial functions of business. This study surveys an international sample of consumerists, students, academicians, and managers to determine differences in their attitudes toward advertising. The strongest differences exist between managers and consumerists.

This article presents the findings of a research study conducted among American corporate leaders to find out how they perceive the European Economic Community (E.E.C.) and its effect on their firms. The executives favor the E.E.C. regardless of the length of time their firm has been a member, the type of industry they represent, or their sales in that area.

The use of standardized international advertising by multinational corporations has long been a dominant topic in the advertising literature. To date, however, no study has comprehensively investig...

The first part of this monograph discusses new perspectives on advertising standardisation. Until recently the controversy over the applicability of standardised advertising themes or advertising campaigns has ignored the realistic marketing approach employed by a select group of multinational companies. The authors note that many companies take a theme or campaign that has been successful in one market, often their domestic market, and employ it in multiple markets; their approach is to make local subsidiaries operate within strict advertising parameters. Goodyear International Corporation and a few other firms, however, follow a pattern approach in which the theme or campaign is initially designed for multi‐market usage and local flexibility.