McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing a Global Visionthrough Marketing

ResearchChapter 8

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Learning Objectives

LO1 The importance of problem definition in international researchLO2 The problems of availability and use of secondary dataLO3 Sources of secondary dataLO4 Quantitative and qualitative research methodsLO5 Multicultural sampling and its problems in

less-developed countriesLO6 Using international marketing research

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International Marketing Research Cross-cultural communications are difficult Environments are different Important to recognize cross-country similarities and

differences Important to recognize and overcome SRC

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• Research processes and methods are same whether applied in Columbus, Ohio, or Colombo, Sri Lanka.

• Marketing research is traditionally defined as the systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing of data to provide information useful to marketing decision making.

International Marketing Research

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International Marketing Research International marketing research involves two

additional complications:1. Information must be communicated across cultural

boundaries.2. The environments in which research tools are applied are

often different in foreign markets.

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Breadth & Scope of International Marketing Research Foreign market research is broader in scope than

domestic research Research can be divided into three types based on

information needs:

1. general information about the country, area, and/or market;

2. information necessary to forecast future marketing requirements by anticipating social, economic, consumer, and industry trends within specific markets or countries; and

3. specific market information used to make product, promotion, distribution, and price decisions and to develop marketing plans

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The Research Process for All Countries

1• Define the research problem and establish research objectives.

2• Determine the sources of information to fulfill the research objectives.

3• Consider the costs and benefits of the research effort.

4• Gather the relevant data from secondary or primary sources, or both.

5• Analyze, interpret, and summarize the results.

6• Effectively communicate the results to decision makers.

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Defining the Problem and Establishing Research Objectives

• Begin with a definition of the research problem and the establishment of specific research objectives.– The market researcher must be certain the problem definition is

sufficiently broad to cover the whole range of response possibilities and not be clouded by his or her SRC.

– Once the problem is adequately defined and research objectives established, the researcher must determine the availability of the information needed.

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Problems with Secondary Data

Availability

Reliability

Comparability

Validation

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Checking the Accuracy of Secondary Data Secondary data from any source, including the United

States, must be checked and interpreted carefully. The following questions should be asked to effectively

judge the reliability of secondary data sources:1. Who collected the data? Would there be any reason for

purposely misrepresenting the facts?2. For what purposes were the data collected?3. How (by what methodology) were the data collected?4. Are the data internally consistent and logical in light of

known data sources or market factors?

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1. www.ita.doc.gov 2. www.usatradeonline.gov 3. http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/www/4. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-

world-factbook/

5. http://www.cbp.gov/ 6. www.opic.gov 7. www.exim.gov

Sources of Secondary Data:Websites for International Marketing

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1. www.imf.org 2. www.wto.org 3. www.oecd.org 4. www.jetro.go.jp 5. www.euromonitor.com 6. University-based websites, e.g.,

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/BUSI/7. www.worldchambers.com 8. www.ipl.org/ref/RR/static/bus4700.html

Sources of Secondary Data:Websites for International Marketing

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1. http://www.wtcaonline.com/cms_wtca/2. www.worldtradewt100.com/ 3. MSU-CIBER- Globaledge4. World Bank5. IMF6. OECD7. U.N.8. Syndicated data sets: A.C. Nielsen and

Information Resources Inc.

Sources of Secondary Data:Websites for International Marketing

Gathering Primary Data: Quantitative & Qualitative Research

Often the market researcher must collect primary data—that is, data collected specifically for the particular research project at hand.

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Gathering Primary Data: Quantitative & Qualitative Research

Begin with a definition of the research problem and the establishment of specific research objectives.• The market researcher must be certain the problem

definition is sufficiently broad to cover the whole range of response possibilities and not be clouded by his or her SRC.

• Marketing research methods can be grouped into two basic types:

• qualitative• quantitative

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Problems with Qualitative Research

• Focus group interviews are difficult to conduct in Confucian societies

• Personal referrals are needed to contact consumers

• People are often hesitant to criticize new product ideas when companies seek candid opinions.

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Problems with Primary Research• Ability to communicate opinions:

– context – meaning– cultural habits

• Willingness to respond

Midnight in New Delhi—both customer service and telephone survey research are being outsourced to lower-wage English-speaking countries. Cost savings of such outsourcing must be balanced with consumer reluctance in cross cultural communication settings, particularly those involving voluntary responses to marketing research.

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Problems with Primary Research Sampling in Field Surveys:

• reliability of lists• poor postal service• availability of data• census and socioeconomic data• SS# data• street maps• telephones• postal unit• sample size & sampling procedure

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Problems with Primary Research Language and comprehension

• Back Translation• Parallel Translation• Decentering

Marketing researchers in India have to consider the problems of language diversity. Here the primary 13 languages (besides English) are listed on a 20-rupee bill.

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Problems with Quantitative Research• Different types of biases:

– non-response bias– courtesy bias– yea or nay saying– social desirability bias– income and gender-related questions may be

taboo

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Research on the Internet:A Growing Opportunity• For many companies the Internet provides a new and

increasingly important medium for conducting a variety of international marketing research

• There are at least seven different uses for the Internet in international research:– Online surveys and buyer panels– Online focus groups– Web visitor tracking– Advertising measurement– Customer identification systems– E-mail marketing lists– Embedded research

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Estimating Market Demand

Expert opinion• experts are polled for their opinions about market size and

growth rates. • the key in using expert opinion to help forecast demand is

triangulation , that is, comparing estimates produced by different sources.

Analogy• assumes that demand for a product develops in much the

same way in all countries, as comparable economic development occurs in each country.

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Problems in Analyzing & Interpreting Research Information

Both secondary and primary data collected by the market researcher are subject to many limitations

Accepting information at face value in foreign markets is imprudent.

The meanings of words, the consumer’s attitude toward a product, the interviewer’s attitude, or the interview situation can distort research findings.

Analogy Example

DVD Player DemandPoland DVD Player DemandHungary

Color TV DemandPoland Color TV DemandHungary

=

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