Striking the Balance Between Global Synergies and Local Responsiveness in International Marketing

Abstract

This interactive session highlights some challenges involved in balancing global, regional and local perspectives in international marketing and strategy. Three complementary perspectives are offered. The first presentation looks at the phenomena of “globalness” and “localness” from a consumer perspective and provides managerial insights on the design of branding strategies. The second contribution uses the concept of strategy coalignment to explore the appropriateness of marketing strategy standardization or local adaptation from a corporate vantage point. Next, the implications for shaping the organizational architecture are discussed and a case for a stronger emphasis on regional structures is presented. Finally, members of the audience are requested to add their own views and experiences and are asked to debate the implications for a future research agenda.