1. Developing a Global Vision through Marketing Research
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)
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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Data can be many years out of date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)
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)
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
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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