International Marketing in Europe

The aim of this book is to provide basic knowledge on international marketing in the European market. It is targeted at students of management, international business and international economic relations, but may also be appreciated by practitioners undertaking activities in the EU market. The handbook contains basic terms and concepts related to international marketing and explains the scope of their use. It presents the diversity of European countries, important from a marketing point of view, and major marketing strategies and tools used by contemporary companies in this market. The considerations are illustrated with mini-cases which help to understand how marketing activities may contribute to a company’s success or failure in the European market. The study also includes a chapter on marketing research into the European markets and an Appendix where sources of data indispensable for such research can be found.

Preface 7 Chapter 1 The European perspective in international marketing 9 Internationalisation of firms and markets 10 International marketing concepts and orientations 14 European integration and international marketing concept 17 Chapter 2 The dynamics of European marketing environment 27 Political, legal, and regulatory environment 28 Economic and demographic environment 35 Social and cultural environment 45 Chapter 3 Researching European markets 59 The marketing research process and its international dimension 60 Information needs in various stages of international involvement 66 Methodological considerations in researching European markets 68 Current trends in data collection in Europe 75 Chapter 4 Segmentation, targeting, and positioning for the European markets 81 European markets segmentation 82 Assessing market potential and selecting target markets 90 Target market strategy options for European markets 93 Types of positioning in European markets 94 Chapter 5 Market entry strategies for European markets 101 General approach to market entry strategy choice 102 Market entry modes 104 Exporting as a foreign market entry strategy 105 Contractual entry modes 107 Foreign direct investments 114 Chapter 6 European product and brand decisions 125 Product decisions in the international market 126 Types of goods in the international market 128 Product life cycle in European markets 130 International product strategies for the European market 134 Branding strategies in European markets 138 Brand protection in European markets 144 Chapter 7 Services marketing in European markets 149 The nature of services and their classification 150 Internationalisation of services in European markets 154 Internationalisation and market entry modes of service firms 158 International marketing strategies for services in Europe 163 Chapter 8 Pricing decisions for European markets 171 Factors influencing pricing decisions in European markets 172 International pricing strategy and policy 173 Export price calculation and its escalation 177 Price standardisation versus differentiation in European markets 182 Specific issues in European cross-border pricing 185 Charter 9 Managing European distribution 191 External determinants of distribution strategies in European markets 192 Structure of distribution channels in Europe 196 Managing and controlling distribution channels 203 Physical distribution in European market 207 Chapter 10 Marketing communication in European markets 211 Factors influencing marketing communication in European markets 212 Standardisation versus differentiation in marketing communication 219 Marketing communication tools in European markets 223 European media for marketing communication 227 Appendix 233