Predictive Validity of Multiple-Item vs. Single-Item Measures

The provided readings comprise a collection of research articles and books that explore various aspects of international marketing. The studies examine the predictive validity of multiple-item versus single-item measures of constructs, the influence of national culture on cross-national product diffusion, the use of partial least squares path modeling in international marketing, and the performance implications of fit among business strategy, marketing organization structure, and strategic behavior. Additionally, the readings discuss the role of country image and consumer-based brand equity, the effects of business and political ties on firm performance, and the impact of emerging markets on marketing. Overall, the content covers key topics in international marketing, including market orientation, standardization, and strategy.

INTERNATIONAL
MARKETING

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK A...........................................................................................................................................1
MARKET SELECTION............................................................................................................1
TASK B..........................................................................................................................................5
MARKET ENTRY AND DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY........................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Applications of the marketing principles across the boundaries is to be known as
international marketing. It is a very significant and crucial task for a business corporation to
operate their business and concerning activities into a global market and this can also be
considered as one of the complex and competitive task for the any organization. For conducting
these transactions an organization needs to have an investment in a large amount and also an
good experience is required relating to the concerning topics for carrying out business in these
markets. Risks pertaining to this type of business activities are more as compared to the
domestic businesses (Pappu, Quester and Cooksey, 2007). Because of the various factors which
have diverse impacts and influences the international market. Some of the main components of
this business environment consists involves the macro and the micro environment of that
economy and other factors which affects the business of the company. The present report is
focused on Pepersmith which is a well known brand name of dentist approved sugar-free sweets
for children which is making use of ‘xylitol’, called Tingz. The below carried out analysis has
been focused on the two main points that are the market selection and market entry strategy.
TASK A
MARKET SELECTION
The concept of global marketing consists of the decisions which are one of the complex
and risk oriented decisions (Kirca, Jayachandran and Bearden, 2005). The highest risk ratio is
pertaining specially to the topic in the selection process of a particular market segment for their
products and services. The number of economies in the international marketing is approx 200
and each country differs from the other in the case of their characteristics and features
concerning to their respective market styles and as these markets vary in their activities and
operational activities it becomes difficult for the business organization that they operate all
countries. Because there are various trade barriers which create problem for operating their
business in all countries. It would be very difficult for a company to operate in all these markets.
There are barriers which make entry to a number of markets impossible or very difficult. There
may be markets which are not profitable or are worth the trouble. Further, there may be markets
which are very risky due to political or other reasons.
1

Moreover, the resources of the business corporations may not allow the business entities
to carry out the business operations for the diversified range of the economies. There are many of
the countries who has taken a long period for the achievement of the expansion. And moreover
there are many business which does not lend themselves for such substantial international
expansion. All the countries cannot be considered as profitable for the organizations. Therefore it
requires a detailed survey and deep research for international operations which need to be carried
out and focused on the markets (Berthon, P.R., and et.al., 2012). There are various factors which
can be taken into consideration the management team of Peppersmith for carrying out the
selection process of appropriate market for testing their new product i.e. Tingz. The below
mentioned are the steps which has been involved in the process.
Establishment of the marketing objectives.
In this concept Peppersmith needs to determine and set the objectives for carrying the
operational activities in the international marketing. And setting and determining the the
objectives for test market for their products is a very crucial task for the business business
organization. By this process the company will be able to match the results with these objective
and which will aid the company in the decisions to be made for the future. And by knowing the
their objectives the managers will be aided in making their strategies accordingly.
Parameter for selection.
This factor plays a significant role in the success and development of the entity as in the
market selection process the criteria for selecting a appropriate market is too essential. Therefore
each and every company conduct deep studies and research for these market. It the company can
choose the wrong parameters for selection it can damage their whole process in the early stage of
the market selection. Peppersmith requires to set the criteria for screening the market for the
selection for their products (Soares, Farhangmehr and Shoham, 2007).
Business Regulations.
Trade barriers can be considered as the most significant factor for the business
corporation who wants to operate their business in the global markets. These barriers are
involves policies, rules and regulations for business operations. Trade and tariffs restrictions are
played a prominent role in the international marketing.
Tariffs: Tariffs are a type of trade barriers which levied on imported goods and services.
It is type of duty which is used by the government for protecting domestic market.
2

Quotas: A limit on the amount of a product that can leave or enter a country.
It is important for Peppersmith to make a research on the business regulation of the
countries where they wants to test their products in to the market. As per in the given scenarion.
The company can select Germany, France, Turkey and Japan. It is good for the company if they
select those countries. There are various benefits for the organization includes Germany and
France are part of UK.
Economic conditions
This concept can also be considered as significant factor in selecting and determining a
market for their products (Atuahene-Gima, 2005). The economic conditions of the market also
influencing the business activity. It involves growth rate of the country, interest rate, inflation
rate, unemployment rate etc. These all factors are affects the income of the consumer. If these
conditions are not favourable for the consumer it can reduced the saving or income of the
consumer which is not good for the company. The country which can be selected by the
company can be considered these factors also. Because the economic conditions of European
union are good. Specially the economy of Germany, France are leading economy in EU.
Changing consumer trends
This concept can be considered as the one of the most important component for each and
every business unit and also for Peppersmith. The changing trends, tastes and preferences of the
consumers plays a prominent role in the success and development of the product and services.
These factors are essential for Peppersmith. Therefore company requires to conduct a detailed
consumer research on the consumers to know the latest trends in the market and by conducting
the research the company will be able to meet the actual need of the consumer and will be
providing the products accordingly. Countries like Germany, France as part of EU there can be a
limited difference in the consumer trends while Turkey is geographically near to the European
market so there will be less differences in the tastes and preferences of the consumers. Japan is
located in Asia so that consumer tastes are totally different form the European market (Olson,
Slater and Hult, 2005).
Political factors.
The concept has a great impact on the business operations and of which the political
decisions and political stability of the economy are the components. As the political factors are to
be considered as significant one and are used for the decision which impacts for long term on the
3

business. For instance the governing bodies can impose new tax rates which will effect the
business and will result in reduced revenue of the company. It can also include the restrictions
and business policies within the economy in which the business is operated. As the part of EU,
Germany and France these factors can not to much affects the business. Because all policies
regarding the business activities are set and decided by the higher authorities of EU (Bergkvist
and Rossiter, 2007).
Moreover after determination of the criteria the below mentioned are the steps of the
process of market selection process:-
Preliminary Screening.
The next important step to be considered is the preliminary screening of the markets and
the objectives of which are the elimination of the the markets which are obviously not potential
enough as revealed by a cursory look. The parameters used for the preliminary screening may
vary from product to product. However, parameters like the size of population, per capita
income, structure of the economy, infrastructural factors, political conditions etc. are commonly
used.
Shot listing market.
After the preliminary screening it is important for the company to short list market for
them. It is important for the company to choose best market to test their producers. Because if
they choose a wrong market it can damage the whole process of selection.
Evaluation and Selection: A thorough evaluation of the short listed markets is done with
reference to the specific parameters and criteria and the markets are ranked on the basis of their
overall attractiveness. One or more markets are selected from the rank list (Henseler, Ringle and
Sinkovics, 2009).
The below is the tabular presentation of the selected countries on the basis of the ranks.
Rank Countries Reason for selection.
1 Germany The economy is an important part of European union.
Has a very good spending power.
The changing consumer trends are proven favourable for the
economy.
2 France The economy have very much favourable economic conditions.
4

Part of European union
The changing consumer trends are favourable.
3 Turkey The economy will be a part of European union in near future.
This economy also enjoys a favourable Consumer trends.
4 Japan The economy has a good spending power.
There are less regulatory obligations and restrictions.
The changing consumer trends are favourable.
TASK B
MARKET ENTRY AND DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
It is an essential and crucial task for an global business corporation to select an
appropriate strategy for entering a new market and as there are many factors which influence and
have impacts on the business operation of the company (Czinkota and Ronkainen, 2013). There
are various strategies for market entry which is depends on the concerning countries and also on
their rules and regulations. Peppersmith requires that to conduct a deep research for entry in the
market for testing their products effectively. These marketing strategies can support the existing
distribution channels which is already selected by Dan and Mike. As per the case scenario there
are two options given first one is offline and second one is online. These options are mentioned
as follows:-
Option 1- (Offline)
The concept is concerning to the physical distribution channel of the products and the
services of the business corporation. This option is an appropriate and effective option for
Peppersmith. But this option has been proved beneficial for the economies like Germany, France
and Turkey as these countries are geographically near to the home country for the company. In
this strategy te business firm can make the choice of the one or two distributors and direct
exporting their products can be done. It can be beneficiary to the company because they can
conduct a regular review and monitoring the services of the company. In this strategy they can
also make a effective feedback programme to their customer. In this programme they can allot a
head of test marketing for these strategies. And they can also allot a manager for each country for
effective feedback. With the help of these feedback programme they can knows there review for
their products in test marketing. Another strategy to market entry can be joint venture with
5

existing pharmacy firm in those countries. The advantage of this strategy is that existing medical
firms are more experience and goodwill in those countries (Terpstra, Foley and Sarathy, 2012).
Option 2 – (Online)
The stated concept can also be considered as the another option for the distribution of the
goods and services for the international trade by the economies. The concept is one of the most
cost effective theory for selling their products and services to the customers from abroad. This
approach also useful for the test marketing for the goods in an effective. This approach can be
useful for Peppersmith. This mechanism will help Dan and Mike for their distribution of testing
their products effectively. In this approach company can make their online platform for selling
their products in to the market and also taking feedback through online and also online portals
and websites can be developed by the economy. They can also approach with well set online
business corporation to selling their products. The theory is beneficiary to the company because
the existing online business organization are already have a good market share in the market. So
that they can get efficient customer available in the market for their products. This concept is
useful for the company in Japan (Cateora, 2008).
CONCLUSION
From the above carried out analysis it can be inferred that the Peppersmith has been
carrying a market selection process for its new product that is ‘xylitol’, called Tingz. And further
the market entry and distribution strategies has been explained and also two types of distribution
channels has been explained.
6

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Atuahene-Gima, K. and Murray, J.Y., 2007. Exploratory and exploitative learning in new
product development: A social capital perspective on new technology ventures in
China. Journal of International Marketing. 15(02). pp.1-29.
Atuahene-Gima, K., 2005. Resolving the capability—rigidity paradox in new product
innovation. Journal of marketing. 69(4). pp.61-83.
Bergkvist, L. and Rossiter, J.R., 2007. The predictive validity of multiple-item versus single-
item measures of the same constructs. Journal of marketing research. 44(2). pp.175-
184.
Berthon, P.R., Pitt, L.F., Plangger, K. and Shapiro, D., 2012. Marketing meets Web 2.0, social
media, and creative consumers: Implications for international marketing strategy.
Business horizons. 55(3). pp.261-271.
Cateora, P.R., 2008. International Marketing 13E (Sie). Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
Czinkota, M.R. and Ronkainen, I.A., 2013. International marketing. Cengage Learning.
Dwyer, S., Mesak, H. and Hsu, M., 2005. An exploratory examination of the influence of
national culture on cross-national product diffusion. Journal of International Marketing.
13(2). pp.1-27.
Erdem, T., Swait, J. and Valenzuela, A., 2006. Brands as signals: A cross-country validation
study. Journal of Marketing. 70(1). pp.34-49.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C.M. and Sinkovics, R.R., 2009. The use of partial least squares path
modeling in international marketing. Advances in international marketing. 20(1).
pp.277-319.
Katsikeas, C.S., Samiee, S. and Theodosiou, M., 2006. Strategy fit and performance
consequences of international marketing standardization. Strategic management
journal. 27(9). pp.867-890.
Kirca, A.H., Jayachandran, S. and Bearden, W.O., 2005. Market orientation: A meta-analytic
review and assessment of its antecedents and impact on performance. Journal of
marketing. 69(2). pp.24-41.
Olson, E.M., Slater, S.F. and Hult, G.T.M., 2005. The performance implications of fit among
business strategy, marketing organization structure, and strategic behavior. Journal of
marketing. 69(3). pp.49-65.
Pappu, R., Quester, P.G. and Cooksey, R.W., 2007. Country image and consumer-based brand
equity: relationships and implications for international marketing. Journal of
International Business Studies. 38(5). pp.726-745.
Sheng, S., Zhou, K.Z. and Li, J.J., 2011. The effects of business and political ties on firm
performance: Evidence from China. Journal of Marketing. 75(1). pp.1-15.
Sheth, J.N., 2011. Impact of emerging markets on marketing: Rethinking existing perspectives
and practices. Journal of Marketing. 75(4). pp.166-182.
Soares, A.M., Farhangmehr, M. and Shoham, A., 2007. Hofstede's dimensions of culture in
international marketing studies. Journal of business research. 60(3). pp.277-284.
Terpstra, V., Foley, J. and Sarathy, R., 2012. International marketing. Naper Press.
Online
7

International marketing. 2016. [Online]. Available through
<http://www.smartinsights.com/online-brand-strategy/international-marketing/>.
[Accessed on 17th December 2016].
8