CH-12 The Marketing of Services – A Preface to Marketing Management : Chapter Notes

Chapter 12 The Marketing of Services High-Level Chapter Outline I. Introduction II. Important Characteristics of Services A. Intangibility B. Inseparability C. Perishability and Fluctuating Demand D. Client Relationship E. Customer Effort F. Uniformity III. Providing Quality Services A. Customer Satisfaction Measurement B. The Importance of Internal Marketing IV. Overcoming the Obstacles in Services Marketing A. Limited View of Marketing B. Limited Competition C. Noncreative Management D. No Obsolescence V. Implications for Service Marketers Detailed Chapter Outline I. Introduction Over the course of the past 40 years, the fastest-growing American segment of the American economy has not been the production of tangibles but the performance of services. The dominance of the service sector is not limited to the United States. The service sector accounts for more than half the GNP and employs more than half the labor force in most Latin American and Caribbean countries. The American Marketing Association has defined services as follows: Service products are often difficult to identify, since they come into existence at the same time they are bought and consumed. They are composed of intangible elements that are inseparable; they usually involve customer participation in some important way, cannot be sold in the sense of ownership transfer, and have no title. Services, as a term, is also used to describe activities performed by sellers and others that accompany the sale of a product and that aid in its exchange or its utilization (e.g., shoe fitting, financing, an 800 number). Such services are either presale or postsale and supplement the product but do not comprise it. More and more manufactures are also exploiting their service capabilities as stand-alone revenue producers. Refer Figure 12.1 for the goods-service continuum. II. Important Characteristics of Services Services possess several unique characteristics that often have a significant impact on marketing program development. Some of the more important of these characteristics are—intangibility, inseparability, perishability and fluctuating demand, a client relationship, customer effort, and uniformity (Figure 12.2). A. Intangibility The obvious basic difference between goods and services is the intangibility of services and many of the problems encountered in the marketing of services are due to intangibility. The fact that many services cannot appeal to a buyer’s sense of touch, taste, smell, sight, or hearing, before purchase places a burden on the marketing organization. B. Inseparability In many cases, a service cannot be separated from the person of the seller. In other words, the service must often be produced and marketed simultaneously. Because of the simultaneous production and marketing of most services, the main concern of the marketer is usually the creation of time and place utility. The implication of inseparability on issues dealing with the selection of channels of distribution and service quality are quite important. Some industries, through innovative uses of technology, have been able to overcome or, at least, alleviate challenges associated with the inseparability characteristic. In addition to technology, tangible representations of the service can serve to overcome the inseparability problem. C. Perishability and Fluctuating Demand Services are perishable and markets for most services fluctuate either by season (tourism), days (airlines), or time of day (movie theaters). The combination of perishability and fluctuating demand has created many problems for marketers of services. Specifically, in the areas of staffing and distribution, avenues must be found to have the services available for peak periods, and new strategies need to be developed to make use of the service during slack periods. Some organizations are attempting to cope with these problems through the use of pricing strategy. Off-peak pricing consists of charging different prices during different times or days in order to stimulate demand during slow periods. Other organizations are dealing with issues related to peak period demand, through the use of technology. D. Client Relationship In the marketing of many services, a client relationship, as opposed to a customer relationship, exists between the buyer and the seller. In other words, the buyer views the seller as someone who has knowledge that is of value. Professionals face at least two marketing challenges: In many cases, fear or hostility is brought to the transaction because the customer is uncertain about how genuine the professional’s concern for his or her satisfaction is. Even high-quality service delivery by the professional can lead to dissatisfied customers. It is vitally important that the professional service provider strive to build long-term positive relationships with clients. E. Customer Effort Customers are often involved to a relatively great degree in the production of many types of service. Obviously, not every service requires the same degree of customer effort. F. Uniformity The quality of services can vary more than the quality of goods. Producers of goods have procedures to prevent, identify and correct defects. Quality of services can vary because they are often human performances and often customized to the needs of the buyer. Many service jobs such as nursing, teaching, and career counseling require a positive attitude; how employees feel influences their performance. III. Providing Quality Services In today’s increasingly competitive environment, quality service is critical to organizational success. Customers determine the value of service quality in relation to available alternatives and their particular needs. In general, problems in the determination of good service quality are attributable to differences in the expectations, perceptions, and experiences regarding the encounter between the service provider and consumer. These gaps can be classified as follows: The gap between consumer expectations and management perceptions of consumer expectations. The gap between management perceptions of consumer expectations and the firm’s service quality specifications. The gap between service quality specifications and actual service quality. The gap between actual service delivery and external communications about the service. In essence, the customer perceives the level of service quality as being a function of the magnitude and direction of the gap between expected service and perceived service. Management of a company may not even realize that they are delivering poor-quality service due to differences in the way managers and consumers view acceptable quality levels. To overcome this problem and to avoid losing customers, firms must be aware of the determinants of service quality. A brief description about these determinants are as follows: Tangibles include the physical evidence of the services. Reliability involves the consistency and dependability of the service performance. Responsiveness concerns the willingness or readiness of employees or professionals to provide service. Assurance refers to the knowledge and competence of service providers and the ability to convey trust and confidence. Empathy refers to the service provider’s efforts to understand the customer’s needs and then to provide as best as possible, individualized service delivery. Relentless efforts to continually improve service performance may well be rewarded by improvements in customer attitudes towards the firm. A. Customer Satisfaction Measurement Service quality and customer satisfaction are of growing concern to business organizations throughout the world. Research on these topics generally focuses on two key issues: Understanding the expectations and requirements of the customer Determining how well a company and its major competitors are succeeding in satisfying these expectations and requirements. Research on market leaders’ customer satisfaction measurement (CSM) found that they had the following aspects in common: Marketing and sales employees were primarily responsible for designing CSM programs and questionnaires. Top management and the marketing function championed the programs. Measurement involved a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. Evaluation included both the company’s and the competitor’s satisfaction performance. Results of all research were made available to employees, but not necessarily to customers. Research was performed on a continual basis. Customer satisfaction was incorporated into the strategic focus of the company via the mission statement. There was a commitment to increasing service quality and customer satisfaction from employees at all levels within the organization. B. The Importance of Internal Marketing Properly performed customer satisfaction research can yield a wealth of strategic information about customers. However, service quality goes beyond the relationship between a customer and company. It is the personal relationship between a customer and the particular employee that the customer happens to be dealing with at the time of the service encounter that ultimately determines service quality. The importance of having customer-oriented, frontline people cannot be overstated. The character and personality of an organization reflects the character and personality of its top management. Management must develop programs that will stimulate employee commitment to customer service. To be successful, these programs must contain five critical components: A careful selection process in hiring frontline employees A clear, concrete message that conveys a particular service strategy that frontline people can begin to act on Significant modeling by managers An energetic follow-through process An emphasis on technical employees to have good attitudes However, organizing and implementing such programs will only lead to temporary results unless managers practice a strategy of internal marketing. Internal marketing is the continual process by which managers actively encourage, stimulate, and support employee commitment to the company, the company’s goods and services, and the company’s customers. Emphasis should be placed on the word continual. IV. Overcoming the Obstacles in Service Marketing The factors of intangibility and inseparability, as well as difficulties in coming up with objective definitions of acceptable service quality, make comprehension of service marketing difficult. The area of service marketing probably offers more opportunities for imagination and creative innovation than does goods marketing. Unfortunately, many service firms still lag in the area of creative marketing. Even today, those service firms that have done a relatively good job have been slow in recognizing opportunities in all aspects of their marketing programs. Four reasons, connected to past practices, can be given for the lack of innovative marketing on the part of service marketers: A limited view of marketing A lack of strong competition A lack of creative management No obsolescence A. Limited View of Marketing Many firms depended to a great degree on population growth to expand sales because of the nature of their service. Service firms must meet changing needs by developing new services and new channels and altering existing channels to meet the changing composition and needs of the population. For many service industries, growth has come as a result of finding new channels of distribution. B. Limited Competition Many service industries such as banking, railroads, and public utilities have, throughout most of their histories, faced very little competition; some have even been regulated monopolies. Obviously, in an environment characterized by little competition, there was not likely to be a great deal of innovative marketing. However, two major forces have changed this situation: In the past two decades the banking, financial services, railroad, cable, airline, telecommunications industries, and utilities have all been deregulated in varying degrees. Service marketing has taken on an international focus. C. Noncreative Management For many years, the management of service industries has been criticized for not being creative and progressive. Railroad management has long been criticized for being slow to innovate. More recently, however, railroads have become leading innovators in the field of freight transportation introducing such innovations as piggyback service and containerization, and in passenger service, introducing luxury overnight accommodations on trains with exotic names such as the Zephyr. Some other service industries, however, have been slow to develop new services or to innovate in the marketing of their existing services. D. No Obsolescence A great advantage for many service industries is the fact that many services, because of their intangibility, are less subject to obsolescence than goods. While this is an obvious advantage, it has also led some service firms to be sluggish in their approach to marketing. Since service firms are often not faced with obsolescence, they often failed to recognize the need for change. This failure has led to wholesale changes in many industries as new operators who possessed marketing skills revolutionized the manner in which the service is performed and provided. V. Implications for Service Marketers The sum total of the marketing mix elements represents the total impact of the firm’s marketing strategy. Services must be made available to prospective users, which imply distribution in the marketing sense of the word. The development of new services paves the way for companies to expand and segment their markets. With the use of varying service bundles, new technology, and alternative means of distributing the service, companies are now able to practice targeted marketing. KEY TERMS Client relationship: Relationship in which the buyer of services views the seller as someone who has knowledge that is of value; may be of an ongoing nature. Customer effort: For many services, the involvement of customers to some degree in the production of the service (e.g., some restaurants, airline baggage). Inseparability: An important characteristic of services, the impossibility of separating a service from the person of the seller. In other words, services must often be produced and consumed simultaneously. Intangibility: An important difference between goods and services is the intangibility of services which means that most services cannot appeal to a buyer’s sense of touch, taste, smell, sight or hearing before purchase, intangibility places a burden on the marketing organization. Internal marketing: The continual process by which managers actively encourage, stimulate, and support employee commitment to the organization and its customers. Off-peak pricing: The different prices service marketers charge during different times or days in order to stimulate demand during slow periods and hopefully, smooth out demand for the service. Perishability and fluctuating demand: Services are perishable which means that unused capacity represents business that is lost forever. The demand for many services also fluctuates by season, day of the week, or time of the day. Quality service: Customers’ perception of quality as a function of (1) tangibles which include physical evidence of the service; (2) reliability which involves the consistency and dependability of the service performance; (3) responsiveness which is the willingness or readiness of employees or professionals to provide service; (4) assurance which refers to the knowledge and competence of service providers and the ability to convey trust and confidence; and (5) empathy which is the service provider's efforts to understand the customer's needs. Services: Activities performed by sellers and others that accompany the sale of a product and that aid in its exchange or its utilization (e.g. financing, an 800 number). Service products: Products that are intangible, or at least substantially so. If totally intangible, they are exchanged directly from producer to user (e.g. hair cut, medical service), cannot be transported or stored, and are almost instantly perishable. Service products are often difficult to identify since they come into existence at the same time they are bought and consumed. Uniformity: An important characteristic of services is that their quality can vary more than the quality of goods. Because they are often human performances and often customized to the needs of the buyer, (e.g. haircut), uniformity is difficult to achieve and quality can vary. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Berry, Leonard L. Discovering the Soul of Service. New York: Free Press, 2000. Berry, Leonard L. and Kent D. Seltman. Management Lessons from Mayo Clinic. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Callaway, Joseph, and Ann Callaway. Clients First. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2013. Collier, Marsha. The Ultimate Online Customer Service Guide. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2011. Fullerton, Sam. Sports Marketing. Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007. Hoffman, K. Douglas, and John E. G. Bateson, Service Marketing. Mason, OH: Thomson Southwestern, 2009. Schultz, Mike, and John E. Doerr. Professional Service Marketing. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2009. Chapter 13 Global Marketing High-Level Chapter Outline I. Introduction II. The Competitive Advantage of Nations III. Organizing for Global Marketing A. Problems with Entering Foreign Marketing Cultural Misunderstanding Political Uncertainty Import Restrictions Exchange Controls and Ownership Restrictions Economic Conditions B. Organizing the Multinational Company IV. Programming for Global Marketing A. Global Marketing Research Population Characteristics Ability to Buy Willingness to Buy Differences in Research Tasks and Processes B. Global Product Strategy C. Global Distribution Strategy D. Global Pricing Strategy E. Global Advertising and Sales Promotion Strategy V. Entry and Growth Strategies for Global Marketing Detailed Chapter Outline I. Introduction Firms invest in foreign countries for the same basic reasons they invest in their own country. These reasons vary from firm to firm but fall under the categories of achieving offensive or defensive goals. Offensive goals are to: Increase long-term growth and profit prospects Maximize total sales revenue Take advantage of economies of scale Improve overall market position Multinational firms also invest in other countries to achieve defensive goals. Chief among these goals are the desire to: Compete with foreign companies on their own turf instead of in the United States Gain access to technological innovations that are developed in other countries Take advantage of significant differences in operating costs between countries Preempt competitors’ global moves Avoid being locked out of future markets by arriving too late In many ways, marketing globally is the same as marketing at home. Regardless of which part of the world the firm sells in, the marketing program must still be built around a sound product or service that is properly priced, promoted, and distributed to a carefully analyzed target market. II. The Competitive Advantage of Nations Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter introduced what he calls the “diamond” of national advantage to explain a nation’s competitive advantage and why some companies and industries become global business leaders. Figure 13.1 presents Porter’s model. The diamond presents four factors that determine the competitive advantage or disadvantage of a nation: Factor conditions Demand conditions Related and supporting industries Company strategy, structure, and rivalry The diamond model is a dynamic model and illustrates how over time, a nation can build up and maintain its competitive advantage in any industry. III. Organizing for Global Marketing When compared with the tasks it faces at home, a firm attempting to establish a global marketing organization faces a much higher degree of risk and uncertainty. In a foreign market, management is often less familiar with the cultural, political, and economic situation. Many of these problems arise as a result of conditions specific to the foreign countries. Managers are also faced with the decisions concerning how to organize the multinational company. A. Problems with Entering Foreign Markets Cultural Misunderstanding Most of us are familiar with our American culture. It consists of the customs, laws, and morals that influence our behavior and that most of us share. Other countries have their own cultures, and some aspects may be very different from ours. It is generally agreed that these differences occur in four areas: Communication Spatial boundaries Perception of time Behavior Political Uncertainty Governments are unstable in many countries, and social unrest and even armed conflict must sometimes be reckoned with. Other nations are newly emerging and anxious to seek their independence. These and similar problems can greatly hinder a firm seeking to establish its position in foreign markets. Import Restrictions Tariffs, import quotas, and other types of import restrictions hinder global business. These are usually established to promote self-sufficiency and can be a huge roadblock for the multinational firm. Exchange Controls and Ownership Restrictions Some nations establish limits on the amount of earned and invested funds that can be withdrawn from it. Many nations have a requirement that the majority ownership of a company operating there be held by nationals. These and other types of currency and ownership regulations are important considerations in the decision to expand into a foreign market. Economic Conditions Nations’ economies are becoming increasingly intertwined and business cycles tend to follow similar patterns. In determining whether to invest, marketers need to perform in-depth analysis of a country’s stage of economic development, the buying power of its populace, and the strength of its currency. B. Organizing the Multinational Company There are two kinds of global companies: The multidomestic company—pursues different strategies in each of its foreign markets. The global company—views the world as one market and pits its resources against the competition in an integrated fashion. Since there is no clear-cut way to recognize a global company, three alternative structures are normally used: Worldwide product divisions, each responsible for selling its own product throughout the world Divisions responsible for all products sold within a geographical region A matrix system that combines elements of both these arrangements Most companies are realizing the need to take a global approach to managing their business. The ability to actually implement a global approach to managing international operations, however, largely depends on factors unique to the company. Globalization, as a competitive strategy, is inherently more vulnerable to risk than a multidomestic or domestic strategy, due to the relative permanence of the organizational structure once established. Factors constituting the external environment that are conducive to a global strategy are: Market factors Economic factors Environmental factors Competitive factors Several internal factors can either facilitate or impede a company’s efforts to undertake a global approach to marketing strategies. These factors and their underlying dimensions are: Structure Management processes Culture People Overall, whether a company should undertake a multidomestic or global approach to organizing its international operations will largely depend on: The nature of the company and its products How different foreign cultures are from the domestic market The company’s ability to implement a global perspective Many large brands have failed in their quest to go global. The primary reason for this failure is rushing the process. In many cases, firms do not undertake either purely multidomestic or global approaches to marketing. Instead, they develop a hybrid approach whereby these global brands carry with them the same visual identity, the same strategic positioning, and the same advertising. IV. Programming for Global Marketing Marketing managers must organize the same controllable decision variables that exist in domestic markets. However, many firms that have been extremely successful in marketing in the United States have not been able to duplicate their success in foreign markets. A. Global Marketing Research Because the risks and uncertainties are so high, marketing research is equally important in foreign markets and in domestic markets and probably more so. To be successful, organizations must collect and analyze pertinent information to support the basic go/no-go decisions before getting to the issue addressed by conventional market research. Toward this end, in attempting to analyze foreign consumers and markets, at least four organizational issues must be considered—population characteristics, ability to buy, willingness to buy, and differences in research tasks and processes. Population Characteristics Population characteristics are one of the major components of the market, and significant differences exist between and within foreign countries. Other demographic variables, such as the number and size of families, education, occupation, and religion are also important. Ability to Buy To assess the ability of consumers in a foreign market to buy, four broad measures should be examined: Gross national product or per capita national income Distribution of income Rate of growth in buying power Extent of available financing Willingness to Buy The cultural framework of consumer motives and behavior is integral to the understanding of the foreign consumer. In some areas tastes and habits seem to be converging, with different cultures becoming more and more integrated into one homogeneous culture, although still separated by national boundaries. Differences in Research Tasks and Processes The processes and tasks associated with carrying out the market research program may also differ from country to country. While several market researchers count on census data for in-depth demographic information, in foreign countries market researchers are likely to encounter a variety of problems in using census data. These include: Language Data content Timeliness Availability in the United States B. Global Product Strategy Global marketing research can help determine whether: there is an unsatisfied need for which a new product can be developed to serve a foreign market, or there is an unsatisfied need that could be met with an existing domestic product, either as is or adapted to the foreign market. Most U.S. firms would not think of entering a domestic market without extensive product planning. However, some marketers have failed to do adequate product planning when entering foreign markets. An example of such a problem occurred when American manufacturers began to export refrigerators to Europe. The solution to this problem is not easy. In some cases, changes need not be made at all or, if so, can be accomplished rather inexpensively. In other cases, the sales potential of the particular market may not warrant expensive product changes. C. Global Distribution Strategy The role of the distribution network in facilitating the transfer of goods and titles and in the demand stimulation process is as important in foreign markets as it is at home. Figure 13.2 illustrates some of the most common channel arrangements in global marketing. Global distribution strategy can be extremely challenging because sellers must influence two sets of channels: one in the home country and one in the foreign country. Manufacturers can become more directly involved and, hence, have greater control over distribution, when they select agents and distributors located in foreign markets. The channel arrangement that enables manufacturers to exercise a great deal of control is where the manufacturer sells directly to organizational buyers or ultimate consumers. D. Global Pricing Strategy In domestic markets, pricing is a complex task. The pricing task is often more complicated in foreign markets because of additional problems associated with tariffs, antidumping laws, taxes, inflation, and currency conversion. Import duties are probably the major constraint for global marketers and are encountered in many markets. Another pricing problem arises because of the rigidity in price structures found in many foreign markets. Many times this rigidity is encouraged by legislation that prevents retailers from cutting prices substantially at their own discretion. E. Global Advertising and Sales Promotion Strategy When expanding their operations into the worldwide marketplace, most firms are aware of the language barriers that exist and realize the importance of translating their messages into the proper idiom. There are many problems in selecting media in foreign markets. Another important promotion decision that must be made is the type of agency used to prepare and place the firm’s advertisements. Alliances and takeovers have stimulated growth in the formation of global agencies. The U.S. company can take either of two major approaches to choosing an agency. The first is to use a purely local agency in each area where the advertisement is to appear. The other approach is to use either a U.S.-based multinational agency or a multinational agency with U.S. offices to develop and implement the ad campaign. The use of sales promotion can also lead to opportunities and problems for marketers in foreign markets. Sales promotion can be used as a strategy for bypassing restrictions on advertising placed by some foreign governments. V. Entry and Growth Strategies for Global Marketing A major decision facing companies that desire either to enter a foreign market or pursue growth within a specific market relates to the choice of entry or growth strategy. A company can decide to: make minimal investments of funds and resources by limiting its efforts to exporting make large initial investments of resources and management effort to try to establish a long-term share of global markets, or take an incremental approach whereby the company starts with a low-risk mode of entry that requires the least financial and other resource commitment and gradually increases its commitment over time. All three approaches can be profitable. A company can initially enter a global market and, subsequently, pursue growth in the global marketplace in six ways: Exporting—occurs when a company produces the product outside the final destination and then ships it there for sale. Exporting has two distinct advantages: first, it avoids the cost of establishing manufacturing operations in the host country, and second, it may help a firm achieve experience-curve and location economies. Licensing—companies can grant patent rights, trademark rights, and the rights to use technological processes to foreign companies. The major disadvantages are: The firm does not have tight control over manufacturing, marketing, and strategy that is required for realizing economies of scale There is the risk that foreign companies may capitalize on the licensed technology Franchising—franchising is similar to licensing but tends to involve longer-term commitments. In a franchising agreement, the franchisor sells limited rights to use its brand name in return for a lump sum and a share of the franchisee’s future profit. Joint ventures—a company may decide to share management with one or more collaborating foreign firms. Joint ventures are especially popular in industries that call for large investments, such as natural gas exploration and automobile manufacturing. Strategic alliances—they are considered distinct for two reasons: First, strategic alliances are normally partnerships that two or more firms enter into to gain a competitive advantage on a worldwide versus local basis. Second, strategic alliances are usually of a much longer term nature than are joint ventures Direct Ownership—some companies prefer to enter or grow in markets either through establishment of a wholly owned subsidiary or through acquisition. The advantages to direct ownership are that the firm has: Complete control over its technology and operations Immediate access to foreign markets Instant credibility and gains in the foreign country when acquisitions are the mode of entry or growth The ability to install its own management Depending on the area of the world under consideration and the particular product mix, different degrees of standardization/adaptation of the marketing mix elements may take place. As a guideline, standardization of one or more parts of the marketing mix is a function of many factors that individually and collectively affect companies’ decision making. It is more likely to succeed under the following conditions: When markets are economically similar. When worldwide customers, not countries, are the basis for segmenting markets. When customer behavior and lifestyles are similar. When the product is culturally compatible across the host country. When a firm’s competitive position is similar in different markets. When competing against the same competitors, with similar market shares, in different countries, rather than competing against purely local companies. When the product is an organizational and high-technology product rather than a consumer product. When there are similarities in the physical, political, and legal environments of home and host countries. When the marketing infrastructure in home and host countries is similar. The decision to adapt or standardize marketing should be made only after a thorough analysis of the product-market mix has been undertaken. The company’s end goal is to develop, manufacture, and market the products best suited to the actual and potential needs of the local (wherever that may be) customer and to the social and economic conditions of the marketplace. KEY TERMS Diamond of national advantage: Developed by Michael Porter, an explanation of a nation’s competitive advantage and why some companies and industries become global business leaders. Direct ownership: An organization’s strategy for entering and growing in global markets either through the establishment of a wholly owned subsidiary or through acquisition where it owns 100 percent of the stock. Exporting: A strategy for entering global markets where a firm produces the product outside the final destination and then ships it there for sale. It is the easiest and most common approach to entering a foreign market. Franchising: A market entry strategy that is similar to licensing but usually involves longer-term commitments. The franchisor sells limited rights to use its brand name in return for a lump sum and share of the franchisee’s future profits. It is more commonly employed by service organizations than manufacturers. Global company: A company that views the world as one market and employs its resources against the competition in an integrated fashion. It emphasizes cultural similarities across countries and universal consumer needs and wants rather than differences. It standardizes marketing activities where there are cultural similarities and adapts them when the cultures are different. Joint venture: An organization’s entry into a foreign market by sharing management with one or more collaborating foreign firms. Decision making may be shared equally or controlled by one party. Licensing: Organization’s granting of patent rights, trademark rights, and the right to use technological processes to foreign markets. By licensing, an organization does not have to bear the costs and risks associated with actually locating in a foreign market. Multidomestic company: A company that pursues different strategies in each of its foreign markets. It could have as many different product variations, brand names, and advertising campaigns as countries in which it operates. Strategic alliance: Partnerships where two or more firms invest in each other to gain competitive advantages on a worldwide versus local level. They are usually of a much longer-term nature than a joint venture. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Bahl, Raghaw. Super Power? The Amazing Race between China’s Hare and India’s Tortoise. New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2010. Dietz, Bob, and Dan O’Neill. Enough Is Enough: Building a Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources. San Francisco: Barrett-Koehler Publishers, 2013. Friedman, Thomas L. The World Is Flat. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005. McEwen, William, Xiaoguang Fang, Zhang Chuanping, and Richard Bunkholder. “Inside the Mind of the Chinese Consumer.” Harvard Business Review, March 2006, pp. 66–67. Milanovic, Branko. The Haves and the Have Nots. New York: Basic Books, 2011. Pettis, Michael. The Great Rebalancing. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013. Steenkamp, Jan-Benedict E.M., and Inge Geyskens. “How Country Characteristics Affect the Perceived Value of Web Sites.” Journal of Marketing, July 2006, pp. 136–150. Instructor Manual for A Preface to Marketing Management J. Paul Peter, James H. Donnelly, Jr. 9780077861063, 9781259251641