International & Global Marketing

With the help of globalization, international marketing along with trade has been enhanced and it is also reflected in cultural exchange. In the present research report effects of globalization along with its critical evaluation of culture are going to be discussed. This will be supported by an example of Coca-Cola, which is a well-known multinational corporation carrying out its functions all across the globe. Its products have been sold in more than 20 countries all over the world and it is regarded as the world's most valuable brand (Czinkota, Rnkainen and Zvobgo, 2011). The statement will be followed by the impact of cultural similarities and dissimilarities along with ethical and practical framework in terms of marketing of products in the global context.

Critical evaluation of whether globalization is going to make cultural differences a thing of the past

Globalization is a course of action by the means that the world has incorporated into a single place. This is due to the fact that, with the help of this many business enterprises are operating in the international market without facing any type of barrier. By the means of globalization, various impacts have been led in terms of positive and negative. As per the view of Branine 2011, it has had more positive effects as compared to negative, especially in international marketing. By this means, a lot of cultural experiments have taken place, as one can find a person from another nation such as Africa working in the streets of London. This is made possible with the help of this only (Branine, 2011). On the contrary, it has created problems as people face a lot of difficulties in adjusting to a new place in a completely new culture. For instance, a person from India will face problems while working in any foreign or European nation, as both these have a number of dissimilarities in terms of culture, food habits, style of living, etc. According to the research, it has been revealed that, with the help of globalization people have become more aware of most of the cultures that are prevailing in the society from which they were quite unfamiliar earlier (Asgary and Walle, 2002).

This has proved beneficial in generating a great amount of understanding of different types of cultures along with the blending of cultures. On the other hand, it has created lots of differences and due to this, it has given birth to commercialization of culture. This implies that most of the countries especially developing or underdeveloped are increasingly bombarded with new types of clothes, music, new sets of values and images, etc. which have influenced their local culture (Brady, 2010). Due to this, especially youth have started following that culture instead of their own. As per the views of many authors, globalization has proved very advantageous in overall growth and development (Parsons and Maclaran, 2009). This is due to the fact that it has brought all the people or individuals together irrespective of their caste, nationalities, or religion along with color. In addition to this, it has done a lot in enhancing the economy of the nations by focusing more on international marketing. However, it can be critically evaluated that it has even created cultural differences in some of the people as they are not able to match their coordination as well as share their duties and responsibilities with the person who belongs to other region or society. Due to this, numerous issues have been generated (Muriente, 2005).

The major problem which is largely faced by the people is related to language and family. In view of the fact that, the majority of the population believes that due to excessive globalization their cultural values, the socialization process and cultural norms are being constantly being affected (Doole and Lowe, 2012). But the most negative impact of globalization is that it has created a gap between rich and poor, environmental pollution as well as the susceptibility of every single part of the world that is going through the problem of recession (Keegan and Green, 2011). As per the study conducted it has been revealed that it has empowered various cultures which are prevailing in the business enterprise such as Coca-Cola, as well as allowed self-representation along with sharing of information at a more vast level. However, it is to be critically evaluated that it has developed misrepresentation and stereotyping which ultimately created the risk of loss of culture as a consequence of unmonitored success (Usiner and Lee, 2009).

With the help of apt and proper globalization, cultural differences are going to be a thing of the past. This is due to the fact that, in this modern world lot of internationalization is taking place in the market at a very great pace. The means world has become a small village as organizations are constantly increasing their vastness in terms of operating in more than one nation (Sinkovics and Ghauri, 2009). For instance, Coca-Cola is a very famous brand that is offering its products in each and every nation of the world. Due to this, the management of a business enterprise has to employ a large number of workforce from that particular area and from other countries as well for the purpose of training and guiding them (Wilkinson, McAlister and Widmier, 2007). This has made the world a small place to live in and at the same time has eliminated all the major barriers or possibilities that can create differences in the minds of people regarding their culture. But, on the contrary, there still exists some class of orthodox people who have always created some type of barriers to entering such type of organizations into the nation (Sun, Su, and Huang, 2013).

They believe that by means of internationalization, their culture might be affected and soon they will lose their existence. Coca-Cola has faced many restrictions from Arab and Muslim countries regarding their functioning in those nations. This is due to the fact that their point of view was that it would spoil their new and upcoming generations by affecting their moral values. In this context, as per the views of Doole and Rowe 2012, by the means of globalization or internationalization of market place Coca-Cola has adopted the marketing strategy of standardization (Doole and Rowe, 2012). This implies that with the help of this particular strategy of marketing, the management has standardized their every single product and service in each and every country. This proves beneficial in mitigating the effects of globalization on the nation as well as its citizens which has contributed a lot in making cultural differences a thing of the past in the true sense (Wang, Lu, and Ren, 2010).

Identification and critical reflection on the contemporary ethical as well as practical frameworks of marketing within a global context

It is necessary on the part of business enterprises and management to follow as well as comply with ethical practices while marketing their products and services. On the other side, it has been observed that there exists majority of business enterprises follow unethical practices while advertising their products in the international market for the purpose of generating more sales and revenue as well as for gaining a competitive edge against their competitors globally (Starck and Kruckeberg, 2003). As per the point of view of Keegan and Green 2011, business enterprises must not hurt the sentiments of others while endorsing their brand. It acts like a double-edged weapon, this is due to the fact that first and foremost it affects the goodwill and brand image of the products in front of the people and at the same time influences the profit generation of the organization very badly by lowering the level of productivity (Keegan and Green, 2011). However, it is to be critically evaluated that in some cases, business enterprises make use of such type of unethical practices in order to create hype about the product in the market which creates curiosity in the minds of people and buy that product (Leonidou and et.al., 2010).

In addition to this, such type of practices draw the attention of a large number of population which proves beneficial in generating the productivity and profitability ratio of an organization up to a great extent. It is important for organizations to comply with all the rules and regulations of the nation in which they are carrying out their functions while going international l(Ronkainen and Czinkota, 2012). But, on the contrary, it has been observed that most of the business enterprises especially MNCs did not follow such practices in real and adopted immoral and unprincipled ways for the purpose of getting success in the international market as compared to their competitors in the long run. In order to elaborate on this, an example of Coca-Cola can be taken in this context. In the year 2012, Coca-Cola launched a Super Bowl ad campaign which was one of the most-watched campaigns in the history of the USA with around 111.5 million viewers (Usiner and Lee, 2009).

It came to be known as the brand touching its beautiful Super Bowl spot, in which it featured a multiethnic cast of singers who were singing America the Beautiful in English as well as in other lot of languages. This was not at all liked by most of the Americans and some of them liked it. It has showcased mixed results. Residents were of the point of view that how their national anthem could be sung in some other language by people of other nationalities (Asgary and Walle, 2002). This has largely affected the sentiments of people. This is due to the fact they believe that it has affected their culture to a great extent. Due to this, the business enterprise has to stop that campaign from being promoted on television. But, on the other side, there were some class of citizens who were quite happy with this (Sun, Su, and Huang, 2013). In view of the fact that felt glad that people from other nations were singing their national anthem in different languages and due to this, they felt proud of that. So with the help of this, it has become clear that organizations need to be well aware while creating and formulating any type of marketing campaign so that it cannot hurt the feelings and sentiments of people, especially in the international market (Wang, Lu and Ren, 2010).

In addition to this, as per the study conducted it has been found that there exists a majority of business enterprises who use the images of gods or hurt the religious beliefs of the people just for the sake of earning profit in the global market. These types of organizations use images and make fun of them for the purpose of gaining a competitive edge against their rivals. It has been observed that such types of practices are being carried out on Indian gods and goddesses (Wilkinson, McAlister, and Widmier, 2007). But, it can be critically evaluated that by the means of such type of practices trust of people got affected which directly and indirectly affects the goodwill of the company in the long run. According to Lee and Carter 2009, business enterprises must use proper forms of communication as well as languages and gestures for the purpose of marketing their goods and services in the international marketplace. This is due to the fact that it highly affects the overall image of the business enterprise along with its products and services (Lee and Carter, 2009). By means of commercials with bad language and gestures or symbols, a large number of audiences did not react positively. They believe that it is against their cultural beliefs or moral values. On the contrary, there are some individuals or societies that do not find any type of harm in such type of marketing practices. Along with this, this type of controversy related to culture proves advantageous for products as individuals get attracted towards such type of advertisement and buy the products as a result of curiosity in their minds (Muriente, 2005).

In view of the fact that business enterprises such as Coca-Cola have also gained success in some of their endorsement plans as they were simple and not at all controversial as they have not affected the cultural and religious beliefs of the people (Brady, 2010). The marketing campaign Happiness has once again raised the marketing bar of the organization. In this ad, they focused on spreading happiness on the faces of people in order to bring the world together. This provides assistance to people in making them understand and realize the value of Happiness who dislike, distrust, or disdain others by merely selling the cold drink (Czinkota, Rnkainen, and Zvobgo, 2011).

Cultural and social forces along with their impact on marketing activities and consumer buying behavior

There are various factors that can affect the marketing activities as well as the buying behavior of consumers of Coca-Cola or any other business enterprise. This plays a very crucial role in globalization along with cultural differences. This is due to the fact that buying behavior largely influences the course of decision-making as well as the act of people buying and using merchandise (Wang, Lu, and Ren, 2010). But on the other side, if adopted in the wrong terms or sense then in that case these practices might affect the culture as well as morals of the people which may prove harmful for the business enterprise in the long run. As per the point of view of Czinkota, Rnkainen, and Zvobgo 2011, culture is a very significant part of society and holds a very special place in the wants and behavior of an individual. Its influences which are reflected in the buying behavior of a person of one nation might be different from the person of another nation (Czinkota, Rnkainen, and Zvobgo, 2011). So it is the sole responsibility of the marketer of Coca-Cola to carefully analyze the whole market situation of the nation while evaluating the culture of diverse groups, regions, etc. (Stehle and Erwee, 2007).

But on the contrary, this type of situation is not applicable everywhere, as apart from such type of culture conscious people who do not believe in such type of things while making any type of purpose. They are only concerned with the quality, quantity, and price of the goods and services. According to De Mooij Marieke 2010, cultural factors are some of the aspects that are inherent in the values and decision process of a person right from birth which affects the buying decision of an individual. Religions, nationalities, and racial groups are some of the subcultures that may affect the purchasing of Coca-Cola in the long run (Marieke, 2010). For instance, on the basis of this, marketers of Coca-Cola need to remain aware of the needs and preferences of people as per their culture and religion in order to increase the acceptability of the products in the wider part of the market. But on the other hand, it is not possible to make tailor-made products and services according to the taste and preference of each and every single person along with segmenting the market into small portions, especially the global marketplace (Sinkovics and Ghauri, 2009).

It is time-consuming as well as it will require lots of costs which is not possible for any business enterprise. In addition to this, social forces are yet other impacts that affect the marketing activities and buying behavior of customers at the same point in time. According to research conducted, it has been observed that social factors are the outside influences of other people on the purchase decision whether directly or indirectly (Ronkainen and Czinkota, 2012). It is a well-known fact that each society comprises some social class, so on the basis of that marketer of the business enterprise can design the products according to their education, standard of living, wealth, etc. But, it is to be critically evaluated that it is next to impossible to produce the products especially beverages as per the taste, status, and family background of any particular person. This is due to the fact that every single person possesses different roles and statuses in society which entirely depend on their family, organization, clubs, etc. (Sun, Su and Huang, 2013).

Critical comparison and contrast of the impact of cultural differences as well as similarities between nations in the context of marketing

Cultural differences as well as similarities play a very crucial role among the nations in the context of marketing. This can be elaborated with the help of an example. The impacts of products of Coca-Cola are quite high in European countries such as the USA, UK, etc. as they drink such types of beverages while taking their meals (Parsons and Maclaran, 2009). But on the contrary, its consumption is quite low in Asian nations. While marketing their products, the business enterprise has to remain conscious as it does not affect the feelings and sentiments or emotions of people from any particular type of community. As per the research conducted it has been observed that there are certain kinds of things that need to be kept in mind while promoting or endorsing the product (Keegan and Green, 2011). In addition to this, if the cultures of two or more nations are the same or share some kind of similarity then in that case business enterprises can adopt the same kind of marketing strategies in order to promote their goods and services. But, it is to be critically evaluated that it is not necessary that by the means of similarity, business enterprises will attain success in this course of action. This is due to the fact that, the tastes and preferences of every individual in quite dissimilar with each other and it is not possible that a single marketing strategy or tactic will satisfy the needs and requirements on every single person (Usiner and Lee, 2009).

According to the point of view of Watson 2006, language difference is one of the major aspects that is held responsible for creating differences in culture in respect of the marketing of goods and services (Watson, 2006). It is because of the reason that the language of every nation or every part of the country is quite different with that of the other, which may create lots of differences in the marketing or promotion of the products. However, on the other hand, English is regarded as an international language that is spoken in most parts of the world which can be used by business enterprises for the purpose of promoting their merchandise. As per the survey, it has been found that there exist lots of similarities in terms of mindset, attitude, and thinking process of the people (Leonidou and et.al., 2010). But on the other side, it has been argued by many authors that there are some set of people who think differently in different set of situations which may affect the marketing of Coca-Cola in the international market. In addition to this, most of the nations in the world have lots of dissimilarities on the ground of lifestyle pattern, standard of living, geographical and demographical features which directly and indirectly impacted the culture on the whole (Asgary and Walle, 2002).While promoting the products and services to different parts of world, there are various things that need to keep in mind by the business enterprise such as Coca-Cola such as the selection of language, religious beliefs of people along with right use of symbols (Muriente, 2005).

This is due to the fact that it selection of wrong symbol or icon may harm the sentiments of people if they belong to a particular community or group of people. It has been observed that once the marketer of Coca-Cola has made use of symbols that belonged to the Muslim community and that has affected the religious beliefs of people, so in order to rectify that mistake the management had modified it later on (Sinkovics and Ghauri, 2009). But on the other side, many authors opines that it is very typical and complicated for the business enterprise to look after every single issue and keep noticing everything as they are operating at very large scale and it is next to impossible to keep the records of every cultural belief of each and every nation. In order to minimize the effect of cultural differences, organizations such as Coca-Cola can appoint brand ambassadors who are very well-accepted by the peoples all across the globe (Brady, 2010). This will prove beneficial in creating peace as well as promoting of the product. But, as per the views of Parsons and McLaren 2009, this will not solve the problem completely, as there exists such type of people who does not believe in brand ambassadors or do not get attracted towards brand promotion programs. They only care about the product and its quality along with price (Parsons and McLaren, 2009).

As per the survey it has been revealed that the overall concept of culture is not the same in all the countries of the world, due to which number of differences has been created between the nations in the context of marketing. This can be elaborated with the help of an example of KFC. It is a famous fast food chain that deals in non-vegetarian food products (Czinkota, Rnkainen and Zvobgo, 2011). In India, they were serving beef which was not accepted by the people, as they regard cow as a holy animal, and eating such type of product was against their culture. But this was accepted by other nations of the world. So, KFC has to eliminate beef products in India from its menu list. With the help of an example, it has become clear that the culture of one nation or particular community is different from another (Ronkainen and Czinko

UPTO55%

Avail The Benefit Today!

To View this & another 50000+ free

Enter Email

Submit