An Empirical study on Product and Promotion Adaptation in a Newly Industrializing Country - A Case of Korean Exporters

Abstract

A clear understanding of international marketing strategy has become very important with the increased level of globalization across international markets. Once a firm decids how it will serve a foreign market, the two strategic options available to marketers are standardization and adaptation of the international marketing strategy. A review of the literature reveals that the selection of an appropriate international marketing strategy between standardization and adaptation depends on firm, product, industry, and export market factors. The study revealed that international experience, product type, competitive intensity, government regulation, cultural difference, economic difference, exporting country image, physical conditions, and marketing infrastructure had a significant effect on the degree of product and/or promotion adaptation of Korean exporting firms. These findings support the conventional view that marketing program adaptation is a function of external and internal factors and provide guidelines to managers from export driven economies in the Newly Industrialized Countries(NICs) regarding the decision to standardize or adapt their international marketing strategy as they emulate the successful export economy of Korea.