REVISIONS QUESTIONS FROM HOLLESEN AND OTHERS
With what particular issues must international marketers be concerned? Explain.
When a company decides to internationalization it must consider many factors. Discuss.
In relation to International Marketing give an explanation of:
• International Marketing Strategy
• Modes of Indirect marketing
• Nationalisation
• Expropriation
• Domestication
• Strategic Alliance
• Licensing
• Joint Venture
• Exporting
• Direct and Indirect Exporting
• International Market Screening
• Political and economic environment
• Sociocultural environment
• Distribution
• Value Chain and Boundaryless Marketing
• Globalisation
• Global Marketing
• Standardization versus Adaptation
• Ethnocentric; Polycentric; Regiocentric; Geocentric
• Culture
CHAPTER 1 GLOBAL MARKETING OF THE FIRM
AND
CHAPTER 2 INITIATION OF INTERNATIONALIZATION
What is the reason for the ‘convergence of orientation’ in LSEs and SMEs?
How can an SME compensate for its lack of resources and expertize in global marketing when trying to
enter export markets?
What are the main differences between global marketing and marketing in the domestic context?
How is the ‘virtual value chain’ different from the ‘conventional value chain’?
What are the main reasons a firm decides to internationalize?
What are the main benefits of International Marketing?
What are the main factors influencing internationalisation of the firm (triggers)?
Albaum et al, 1994 proposes companies have proactive and reactive motives for starting to export. Discuss
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Export motives can be classified as reactive or proactive. Give examples of each group of export motives.
How would you prioritize these motives? Can you think of motives other than those mentioned in the
chapter? What are they?
Export motives may be classified as internal or external, and reactive or proactive. What is meant by these
terms with respect to export marketing? Give examples of each of the combinations of export motives.
What is meant by ‘change agents’ in global marketing? Give examples of different types of change agents.
Discuss the most critical barriers to the process of exporting.
Barriers hindering Export Initiation
Barriers hindering the process of exporting
CHAPTER 6 POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
Identify different types of barriers to the free movement of goods and services.
Explain the importance of a common European currency to firms selling goods to the European market.
How useful is GNP when undertaking a comparative analysis of world markets? What other approaches
would you recommend?
Discuss the limitations of per capita income in evaluating market potential.
Distinguish among (a) free trade area, (b) customs union, (c) common market, (d) economic and monetary
union and (e) political union.
Why is the international marketer interested in the age distribution of the population in a market?
Describe the ways in which foreign exchange fluctuations affect (a) trade, (b) investments, (c) tourism.
Why is political stability so important for international marketers? Find some recent examples from the
press to underline your points.
How can the change of major political goals in a country have an impact on the potential for success of an
international marketer?
A country’s natural environment influences its attractiveness to an international marketer of industrial
products. Discuss.
Explain why a country’s balance of trade may be of interest to an international marketer.
What is regional economic integration, what is its objective, how is it supposed to achieve its objective, and
what impact is there on individual exporters?
What are the major trading blocs?
Should an economically integrated region be considered as one market area? Explain your answer.
What is the self-reference criterion and how should the international marketer apply it? Explain.
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Government can play many roles in international marketing. What are these roles and how does each affect
individual business firms?
Why is it that some exporters would support voluntary export restraints agreed to by their governments?
In Ireland determine what the government does to promote exports.
Can the European Union become too big? Is there a point of diminishing returns for a regional economy?
Explain.
What are Trade Barriers?
Give an overview of Tariff and non-Tariff barriers to trade.
Discuss why trade barriers are an important consideration when selecting a foreign market to enter.
Identify the potential barriers (or obstacles) that face companies considering – or expanding – international
marketing operations. Which are the most important and which are less important? Explain.
CHAPTER 7 SOCIOCULTURAL
Because English is the world language of business, is it necessary for UK managers to learn a foreign
language?
According to Hofstede and Hall, Asians are (1) more group oriented, (2) more family
oriented and (3) more concerned with social status. How might such orientations affect
the way you market your product to Asian consumers?
Do you think that cultural differences between nations are more or less important than cultural variations
within nations? Under what circumstances is each important?
Identify some constraints in marketing to a traditional Muslim society.
What layers of culture have the strongest influence on business people’s behaviour?
The focus of this chapter has mainly been the influence of culture on international marketing strategies. Try
also to discuss the potential influences of marketing on cultures.
What role does the self-reference criterion play in international business ethics?
Compare the role of women in your country to their role in other cultures. How do the different roles affect
women’s behaviour as consumers and as business people?
Explain the meaning of "cultural universals." Do these provide universal guides to behavior in all societies?
How can the international marketer use these universals?
Do you agree that the international marketer does not need to study the culture from a narrow perspective,
but rather needs only a broad perspective to learn about general patterns and themes?
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What is the "silent language" (non-verbal) of international marketing and how does it relate to the concept
of "culture is communication?"
Chapter 6 & 7
Explain the meaning of the following statement: "If a company is to be successful in foreign markets, its
management must have a good understanding of all aspects of the environment within which it will be
operating."
CHAPTER 8 INTERNATIONAL MARKET SELECTION PROCESS
Why is screening of foreign markets important? Outline the reasons why many firms do not systematically
screen countries/markets.
Explore the factors which influence the international market selection process.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using only secondary data as screening criteria in the IMS
process.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an opportunistic selection of international markets?
What are the differences between a global market segment and a national market segment? What are the
marketing implications of these differences for a firm serving segments on a worldwide basis?
Discuss the possible implications that the firm’s choice of geographic expansion strategy may have on the
ability of a local marketing manager of a foreign subsidiary to develop and implement marketing
programmes.
Strategic export planning requires the development of an effective marketing strategy, including market
selection and direction (development). What major implications does this have for the company's export
manager?
What is market segmentation, and why is it more complex for export markets than it is for domestic
markets?
What is the practical value to a manager of accepting the belief that there are European-customers, Asiancustomers, and North American-customers rather than customers from Europe, Asia, and North America?
What is the best way for segmenting export markets?
Give examples of global market segments and companies that are marketing on that basis. Can small and
medium-sized enterprises market successfully to such segments? Explain.
Explain the difference between a proactive market selection approach and one that is reactive. Is one
approach better than the other? Why?
Distinguish between expansive and contractible market selection procedures. If you were making a
decision on such a procedure, which would you favor, and why?
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Differentiate between market concentration and market spreading as expansion strategies. Is one
universally better than the other for a given product?
CHAPTER 9 APPROACHES TO ENTRY MODE
Why is choosing the most appropriate market entry and development strategy one of the most difficult
decisions for the international marketer?
Do you agree that LSEs use a ‘rational analytic’ approach (‘strategy rule’) to the entry mode decision,
while SMEs use a more pragmatic/opportunistic approach?
Contrast the naive, pragmatic, and strategy approaches to choice of export market entry mode.
Use Figure 9.1 to identify the most important factors affecting the choice of foreign entry mode. Prioritize
the factors.
Explain how the flow of transactions and the flow of the physical product relate to the foreign market entry
mode.
Why is the decision regarding foreign market entry mode a particularly important decision for international
marketing managers to make.
CHAPTER 10 EXPORTING
What is meant by a ‘change agent’ in export marketing? Give examples of each type of change agent.
What criteria should be assessed when evaluating potential export markets?
How do governments attempt to influence exports?
What are the various type of duties that exporter must be aware of.
What are the market entry alternatives available to companies and how do they decide the most appropriate
one.
Give an overview of the different forms of exporting.
When would you recommended a company to go for direct as opposed to indirect exporting. Give an
overview of each in your answer.
Under what conditions is it best that an exporter use an export management company, and when is the
manufacturer's export agent a better choice?
When exporting indirectly, is it better to use a merchant or an agent in the export marketing channel?
Explain.
For a small manufacturer, is it better to engage in piggyback marketing or join an exporting combination?
Why is this so?
Why is export frequently considered the simplest way of entering foreign markets and favoured by SMEs?
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What procedures should a firm follow in selecting a distributor?
Why is it difficult – financially and legally – to terminate a relationship with overseas intermediaries? What
should be done to prevent or minimize such difficulties?
Identify the ways to reach foreign markets by making a domestic sale.
What is the difference between direct and indirect exporting?
Discuss the financial and pricing techniques for motivating foreign distributors.
Which marketing tasks should be handled by the exporter and which ones by its intermediaries in foreign
markets?
How can the carrier and the rider both benefit from a piggyback arrangement?
When a firm begins direct exporting, what tasks must it perform?
Discuss the various ways of communicating with foreign distributors.
‘When exporting to a market, you’re only as good as your intermediary there’.
Discuss.
The international marketer and the intermediary will have different expectations concerning the
relationship. Why should these expectations be spelled out and clarified in the contract?
'The decision facing the export marketer concerning establishing a foreignbased sales subsidiary is a
difficult and complex one to make.' Discuss.
Why is it important that the exporter be very careful in the selection of foreign-based distributors and
agents?
CHAPTER 11 INTERMEDIATE MODES
Why are joint ventures preferred by host countries as an entry strategy for foreign firms?
Why are strategic alliances used in new product development?
Under what circumstances should franchising be considered? How do these circumstances vary from those
leading to licensing?
Do you believe that licensing in represents a feasible long-term product development strategy for a
company? Discuss in relation to in-house product development.
Why would a firm consider forming partnerships with competitors?
Apart from the management fees involved, what benefits might a firm derive from entering into
management contracts overseas?
What is a strategic alliance? Why are these alliances so popular and who benefits?
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What are the key things that are essential for a strategic alliance to be a success?
“Licensing seems to be a fairly safe way for a manufacturer to produce in a foreign market for the first
time.” Comment.
Although licensing and contracting may appear to be desirable, they have drawbacks. What are the
drawbacks?
Why might an international marketer prefer a joint venture to a licensing arrangement.
“In running a jointly-owned facility in a foreign market (including a joint venture), it is not necessary to
own more than 50% to maintain operational and management control.” Discuss.
Why are management styles, and any cultural difference that exist in styles, important in all types of market
entry modes involving partners?
CHAPTER 12 HIERARCHICAL MODES
What are the major considerations taken into account by the international marketer in a decision to engage
in some form of foreign area production?
If a company were contemplating establishing a manufacturing facility in a foreign market, why might it
decide to wholly own the facility rather than partially own it? Similarly, why might it prefer partial
ownership?
When developing manufacturing operations in foreign markets is it better for he international marketer to
seek out merger/acquisition possibilities or start from scratch (a greenfield investment)? Explain.
What are the major non-export modes of entry into foreign markets? How does strategic focus relate to
such market entry modes?
By what criteria would you judge a particular foreign direct investment activity to have succeeded or
failed?
What are the firm’s major motives in the decision to establish manufacturing facilities in a foreign country?
Is the establishment of wholly-owned subsidiaries abroad an appropriate international market development
mode for SMEs?
What is the idea behind appointing a ‘lead country’ in a region?
Why is acquisition often the preferred way to establish wholly owned operations abroad? What are the
limitations of acquisition as an entry method?
What are the key problems associated with profit repatriation from subsidiaries?
Other Revision Questions from Each of the Three or more chapters above
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Locate a company that uses export, and one using overseas production or a strategic alliance. Describe their
market entry strategies and determine why the companies differ in the entry mode being used.
Identify the major factors that have a bearing on the type of market entry mode that an export marketer
might select. Is there any one or more that are more important than others? Explain fully.
Under what conditions would a strategy of multiple entry modes be most appropriate and under what
conditions would it be inappropriate? Discuss.
Why should a company make a specific channel decision for each product going to each overseas market?
What types of channel conflict may arise in indirect exporting? Because of such conflict is it not better for
the exporter to do it directly?
What impact does the nature of the foreign market area to be served have on the exporter's choice of type of
channel?
Distinguish among the built-in, separate, and sales subsidiaries as forms of export departments.
Is there one best way to export directly? Defend your answer.
CHAPTER 15
What are the major causes of international price escalation? Suggest possible courses of action to deal with
this problem.
Explain how exchange rate and inflation affect the way you price your product.
In order to protect themselves, how should marketers price their product in a country with high inflation?
International buyers and sellers of technology frequently disagree on the appropriate price of knowledge.
Why?
What methods can be used to compute a transfer price (for transactions between affiliated companies)?
What relevance has the international product life cycle theory for pricing strategy in international firms?
Why is it often difficult to compute fair arm’s-length transfer prices?
Explain these terms of sale: EXW, FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF, DEQ and DDP. Which factors will determine the
terms of sale?
Explain these types of letter of credit: revocable/irrevocable, confirmed/ unconfirmed. Under what sets of
circumstances would exporters use the following
methods of payment:
(a) revocable letter of credit;
(b) confirmed letter of credit;
(c) confirmed irrevocable letter of credit;
(d) time draft (i.e. a bill of exchange)?
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Name some of the financing sources for exporters.
How does inflation affect a country’s currency value? Is it a good idea to borrow or obtain finance in a
country with high inflation?
How and why are export credit financing terms and conditions relevant to international pricing?
What is a countertrade? Why should firms be willing to consider countertrade arrangements in their global
marketing efforts?
CHAPTER 16 DISTRIBUTION DECISIONS
Discuss current distribution trends in world markets.
What are the factors that affect the length, width and number of marketing channels?
In attempting to optimize global marketing channel performance, which of the following should an
international marketer emphasize: training, motivation or compensation? Why?
When would it be feasible and advisable for a global company to centralize the coordination of its foreign
market distribution systems? When would decentralization be more appropriate?
Do grey marketers serve useful marketing functions – for consumers and manufacturers?
Why is physical distribution important for the success of global marketing?
Discuss the reasons why many exporters make extensive use of the services of freight forwarders.
Discuss the implications for the international marketer of the trend towards crossborder retailing.
Many markets have relatively large numbers of small retailers. How does this constrain the international
marketer?
How is retailing know-how transferred internationally?
What services would the manufacturer like to receive from the retailer?
A typical export shipment requires many documents. Identify those that are generally required for all
shipments and those that may be required only for specific shipments.
Why is the bill of lading an important document in an export transaction?
Distinguish among the alternative types of free areas that are potentially available for use by an exporter
and/or importer. Is any one type better than the others? Explain.
How has the rapidly changing technology of the late 1990s and the early 2000s affected the physical
distribution of products from one country to another?
How have security concerns affected physical distribution?
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