Chapter 8 Developing a Global Vision through Marketing Research

1. International Marketing 15th edition Chapter 8 Developing a Global Vision through Marketing Research Philip R. Cateora, Mary C. Gilly, and John L. Graham

2. The Research Process • Research process steps • Define the research problem and establish research objectives • Determine the sources of information to fulfill the research objectives • Consider the costs and benefits of the research effort • Gather relevant data from secondary or primary sources, or both • Analyze, interpret, and summarize the results • Effectively communicate the results to decision makers • Research steps are similar for all countries • Variations and problems can occur in implementation • Differences in cultural and economic development Roy Philip

3. Defining the Problem and Establishing Research Objectives • The major difficulty is converting a series of often ambiguous business problems into tightly drawn and achievable research objectives • The first, most crucial step in research is more critical in foreign markets because an unfamiliar environment tends to could problems definition • Other difficulties in foreign research stem from failures to establish problem limits broad enough to include all relevant variables Roy Philip

4. Problems of Availability and Use of Secondary Data • U.S. government provides comprehensive statistics for United States • Marketing data not matched in other countries • Quality • Quantity • Exceptions are Japan and several European countries • Continuing efforts to improve data collection • United Nations • Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Roy Philip

5. Availability and Reliability of Data • Most countries simply do not have governmental agencies that collect on a regular basis the kinds of secondary data readily available in the U.S. • Researchers’ language skills impede access to information • Requires native speaker of language • Official statistics are sometimes too optimistic, reflecting national pride rather than practical reality, while tax structures and fear of the tax collector often adversely affect data • Less-developed countries prone to optimism • Willful errors • “Adjusted reporting” Roy Philip

6. Comparability of Data • Issues with data (especially in less developed, countries) • Data can be many years out of date • Data collected on an infrequent and unpredictable schedule • Too frequently, data are reported in different categories or in categories much too broad to be of specific value Roy Philip

7. Validating Secondary Data • Questions to judge the reliability of secondary data sources • Who collected the data? • Would there be any reason for purposely misrepresenting the facts? • For what purposes was the data collected? • How was the data collected? • Are the data internally consistent and logical in light of known data sources or market factors? • Checking the consistency of one set of secondary data with other data of known validity • An effective and often-used way of judging validity • The availability and accuracy of recorded secondary data increase with level of economic development Roy Philip

8. Gathering Primary Data –Quantitative and Qualitative Research(1 of 2) • Primary data • Data collected specifically for the particular research project • Quantitative research • Usually a large number of respondents • Respondents answer structured oral or written questions using a specific response format (such as yes/no) or to select a response from a set of choices • Responses can be summarized in percentages, averages, or other statistics • Toto – a Japanese firm with the premiers quantitative research on bathroom and toilet technology Roy Philip

9. Gathering Primary Data –Quantitative and Qualitative Research(2 of 2) • Qualitative research • If questions are asked, they are almost always open-ended or in-depth • Seeks unstructured responses that reflect the person’s thoughts and feelings on the subject • Qualitative research interprets people in the sample • Qualitative research is helpful in revealing the impact of sociocultural factors on behavior patterns and in developing research hypotheses Roy Philip

10. Problems of Gathering Primary Data • Hinges on the ability of the researcher to get correct and truthful information that addresses research objectives • Problems in international marketing research • Stem from differences among countries • Range from inability or unwillingness of respondents to communicate their opinions • Inadequacies in questionnaire translation Roy Philip

11. Ability to Communicate Opinions • Formulating opinions about a product or concept • Depends on the respondent’s ability to recognize the usefulness of such a product of concept • Product or concept must be understood and used in community • The more complex the concept, the more difficult it is to design research that will help the respondent communicate meaningful opinions and reactions • Gerber has more experience in trying to understand consumers with limitations • Babies can neither answer questions or fill out questionnaires Roy Philip

12. Willingness to Respond • Cultural differences provide best explanation for unwillingness or inability of many to respond to research surveys • The role of the male, the suitability of personal gender-based inquiries, and other gender-related issues can affect willingness to respond • Less direct measurement techniques and nontraditional data analysis methods may also be more appropriate Roy Philip

13. Sampling in Field surveys • Problems in sampling stem from the lack of adequate demographic data and available lists from which to draw meaningful samples • Affected by a lack of detailed social and economic information • No officially recognized census information • No other listings that can serve as sampling frames • Incomplete and out-of-date telephone directories • No accurate maps of population centers Roy Philip

14. Language and Comprehension • The most universal survey research problem in foreign countries is the language barrier • Literacy poses yet another problem • Marketers use three different techniques to help ferret out translation errors ahead of time • Back translation • Parallel translation • Decentering Roy Philip

15. Estimating Market Demand • Two methods of forecasting demand • Expert opinion • The key in using expert opinion to help in forecasting demand is triangulation • Analogy • Assumes that demand for a product develops in much the same way in all countries as comparable economic development occurs in each country Roy Philip