Traditionally International Marketing texts look out from one culture and attempt to export or ad... more Traditionally International Marketing texts look out from one culture and attempt to export or adapt ideas that work at home to a different culture. Apart from the odd vignette showing how cultural misunderstandings can affect business relations, very little material exists on the realities of marketing to different cultures both externally – beyond the borders of a country or continent – and internally – that is marketing to different cultural communities at home. Cross-cultural Marketing explores the key roles that multiculturalism plays in different societies and its impact on marketing theory and practice and will examine the importance of the cultural context in different societies’ marketing practices. Marketing has a strong cultural context and a great deal of marketing activities takes place in settings that are context-specific. Thus, cultural contexts of marketing have become inescapable issues in both the study and practice of marketing. The text considers the various bra...
This paper offers a fresh methodological insight in examining the functional relationship between... more This paper offers a fresh methodological insight in examining the functional relationship between standardisation and involvement strategies in international marketing. It starts by reviewing the underpinning literature, focusing on the form of the relationship that exists between the endogenous and the embedded explanatory variables that determines firms’ strategic thrusts. It argues that the essential relationship has at its base a short-run and long-run dynamic, even though a strategic marketing position adopted by a firm may depend uniquely on the circumstances it faces in the international market. Those circumstances may induce either short-term or long-term responses depending on the dynamisms characterising the marketing environment. Very often, this dichotomous relationship, based on short-run and long-run dynamics, is ignored in the literature. Whilst analytical and statistical problems may make distinguishing between short- and long-run effects difficult, it is nevertheles...
Despite the pivotal role of positioning in marketing strategy formulation, few studies explicitly... more Despite the pivotal role of positioning in marketing strategy formulation, few studies explicitly examine positioning strategies employed by foreign and indigenous firms operating in the same cultural milieu. Relying on the concepts of culture and positioning as the backdrop, this research contributes to the literature by answering two key research questions: What are the differences between African indigenous firms' and Africa-based foreign firms' pursuits of positioning strategies? And is a Western-developed typology of positioning strategies applicable in an African cultural milieu, and more specifically, in the Ghanaian cultural environment? The results of the study demonstrate that indigenous and foreign firms replicate each other's positioning strategies to carve out positions, although foreign firms aggressively pursue a wider range of strategies than indigenous firms. While there is a uniform attempt by indigenous and foreign firms to reach the mass-market and lower-to middle-class target audiences, foreign firms focus more on middle-class audiences than do indigenous firms. The authors discuss implications for marketing theory and practice.
International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the practices of customer relationship management (CRM) stra... more The aim of this paper is to evaluate the practices of customer relationship management (CRM) strategy implementation in the Gulf Banking sector, contextualizing with Kuwait. There is broad consensus in the literature that improving and enhancing the relationship with customers is imperative and a determinant factor to gaining competitive edge in the marketplace. The financial sector in general, particularly the banking sector, has taken on a pro-active role in the Kuwaiti economy and, accordingly, susceptible to wide-ranging reforms which are profoundly impacting sector-specific competitive tactics and strategies. This study provides a preliminary evaluation of the evolutionary trends of CRM strategy implementation through a developed model, the antecedents and consequences in relation to competitive positioning/repositioning of organizations in the Kuwaiti banking sector.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between market orientation, le... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between market orientation, learning orientation and innovation; and second, assesses the role of innovation, market orientation and learning orientation on firms’ business performance using a developing country (i.e. the Ghanaian banking domain) as a study context. Design/methodology/approach – Following a nation-wide survey among senior managers of 28 banks in Ghana, five research propositions were tested using multiple linear regression analysis. Findings – Results demonstrate that market orientation has significant association with innovation while learning orientation has significant impact on innovation. Moreover, innovation mediates the relationship between market orientation and business performance. Research limitations/implications – This study adopt the cross-sectional research design and as such acknowledge the same limitations as other cross-sectional studies. Practical implications – The research will h...
International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management, Jan 10, 2012
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the practices of customer relationship management (CRM) stra... more The aim of this paper is to evaluate the practices of customer relationship management (CRM) strategy implementation in the Gulf Banking sector, contextualizing with Kuwait. There is broad consensus in the literature that improving and enhancing the relationship with customers is imperative and a determinant factor to gaining competitive edge in the marketplace. The financial sector in general, particularly the banking sector, has taken on a pro-active role in the Kuwaiti economy and, accordingly, susceptible to wide-ranging reforms which are profoundly impacting sector-specific competitive tactics and strategies. This study provides a preliminary evaluation of the evolutionary trends of CRM strategy implementation through a developed model, the antecedents and consequences in relation to competitive positioning/repositioning of organizations in the Kuwaiti banking sector.
Set against the background of initial relatively low crosscountry income and considerable poverty... more Set against the background of initial relatively low crosscountry income and considerable poverty and deprivation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the question of whether globalisation is associated with a 'catching up' in terms of real income growth, in absolute and relative terms, is both relevant and important. This paper contributes to the empirical literature by investigating globalisation as a channel of income gap reduction between SSA and developed countries. We employ Globalisation Indexes from the Konjunkturforschungsstelle (KOF) and the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation (CSGR) in an Arellano-Bond dynamic panel GMM specification to test the hypothesis that globalisation has reduced the income gap between SSA and developed countries. We find no evidence that globalisation is associated with a reduction between SSA and developed countries over the period 1980-2009. This result is consistent with previous studies on country's absorptive capacity. An implication of this result for policy theorists is that structural features of SSA output require a more heterodox approach to all dimensions of human development.
There is substantial research to indicate that a positive correlation exists between firm-specifi... more There is substantial research to indicate that a positive correlation exists between firm-specific characteristics of Multinational Corporations (MNC's) and their international entrepreneurship, vis--vis the mode of market entry selected for overseas markets. Equally there is evidence to suggest that the level of international entrepreneurial orientation is related to specific prevailing factors in the host markets. Given that the importance and degree of international entrepreneurship has remarkably defined a new competitive landscape for international businesses, this paper considers the extent to which the nature of entry to overseas markets is predicated upon the existence of specific variables related to both the firm and the host markets. Accordingly, regression analysis models were used to test the relationship between independent variables related to the firm, the host markets and the level of involvement. This paper concludes that there are strong positive relationships between competitive intensity, degree of standardisation, extent of market research and political risks. Conversely, negative relationships were found in relation to cultural constructs (e.g. individualism and power distance) and the level of foreign involvement.
There has emerged in the UK a considerable opposition to the idea that the government should own ... more There has emerged in the UK a considerable opposition to the idea that the government should own and operate commercial enterprises (Richardson, Nwankwo and Curwen 1994). A whole new language of market competition, reinforced by references to the advantages of the market, has been at the center of the UK's governmental policy since the premiership of Mrs Thatcher. Efficiency, flexibility, and centrality of the customer at the level of service provision have been emphasized within this policy. References to the exigencies of the 'market' and the `superiority' of private sector management techniques are seen as the rationale for constructing new referents for strengthening the goals of competition. In the course of the extensive privatization program implemented over the last decade, assets with a market value in excess of 100 billion have been transferred from the public to the private sector (Helm and Jenkinson 1997). Remarkably, however, the politically sensitive utility industries, which are regarded as ` sacred cows' in many countries (even by the standard of developed economies), were not spared in the privatization revolution. Utility industries in which privatization has profoundly altered the dynamics of competition include telecommunications, gas, water and electricity. Notwithstanding the dramatic changes in ideology and ownership patterns, surprisingly little is known about how public sector organizations adjust to the realities of market competition as a result of undertaking the cultural rite-of-passage from political control to the private sector market control. More dramatic are cases of utilities which are presumed to operate under conditions of market failure (Nwankwo 1996). How do they evolve customer responsive systems and align their structures with the dynamically evolving competitive environment? What principles or strategies enable them to become effective market players? This paper, in the context of one of the dominant electricity generating companies in the UK (PowerGen), assesses these consequential themes under the following headings: market analysis, strategy, structure and culture, and processes and values. These represent three distinct levels of analysis; macro level of broad governmental policies, the institutional level, and the organizational level within the actual case-study enterprise itself. This paper grows out of a wider research project aimed at evaluating the 'before and after' situation (initial conditions, transition processes and outcomes) of many of the privatized enterprises, particularly the utilities, in the United Kingdom. The overall goal is to shed light on the processes and outcomes of public enterprise reforms and highlight the lessons which might be thrown up for management strategists and public policy makers in both developed and developing countries. This effort is timely, especially now that many countries are attracted to the UK's model of exposing erstwhile ` steady-state' organizations to market competition (Nwankwo and Montanheiro 1997). INTRODUCING MARKET COMPETITION IN ELECTRICITY GENERATION: THE CREATION OF PowerGen The electricity industry in the UK can be broadly separated into generation, transmission, distribution and supply (Thomson 1993). In the pre-privatization years, a two-tier arrangement existed for these four activities. The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was largely responsible for the business of electricity generation and transition. Distribution and supply were undertaken by Area Boards to cover twelve catchment areas in England and Wales (a slightly different arrangement existed for Scotland). The privatization of the industry in 1989 created a challenge and unpredictable new environment for power generation. One of the most significant features of the privatized arrangement was the splitting up of the CEGB between competing companies and the national grid. PowerGen was created by the Electricity Privatization Act of 1989 from the dismembered CEGB which metamorphosed into a range of electricity generating outfits (PowerGen, National Power, Nuclear Electric, National Grid). …
Traditionally International Marketing texts look out from one culture and attempt to export or ad... more Traditionally International Marketing texts look out from one culture and attempt to export or adapt ideas that work at home to a different culture. Apart from the odd vignette showing how cultural misunderstandings can affect business relations, very little material exists on the realities of marketing to different cultures both externally – beyond the borders of a country or continent – and internally – that is marketing to different cultural communities at home. Cross-cultural Marketing explores the key roles that multiculturalism plays in different societies and its impact on marketing theory and practice and will examine the importance of the cultural context in different societies’ marketing practices. Marketing has a strong cultural context and a great deal of marketing activities takes place in settings that are context-specific. Thus, cultural contexts of marketing have become inescapable issues in both the study and practice of marketing. The text considers the various bra...
This paper offers a fresh methodological insight in examining the functional relationship between... more This paper offers a fresh methodological insight in examining the functional relationship between standardisation and involvement strategies in international marketing. It starts by reviewing the underpinning literature, focusing on the form of the relationship that exists between the endogenous and the embedded explanatory variables that determines firms’ strategic thrusts. It argues that the essential relationship has at its base a short-run and long-run dynamic, even though a strategic marketing position adopted by a firm may depend uniquely on the circumstances it faces in the international market. Those circumstances may induce either short-term or long-term responses depending on the dynamisms characterising the marketing environment. Very often, this dichotomous relationship, based on short-run and long-run dynamics, is ignored in the literature. Whilst analytical and statistical problems may make distinguishing between short- and long-run effects difficult, it is nevertheles...
Despite the pivotal role of positioning in marketing strategy formulation, few studies explicitly... more Despite the pivotal role of positioning in marketing strategy formulation, few studies explicitly examine positioning strategies employed by foreign and indigenous firms operating in the same cultural milieu. Relying on the concepts of culture and positioning as the backdrop, this research contributes to the literature by answering two key research questions: What are the differences between African indigenous firms' and Africa-based foreign firms' pursuits of positioning strategies? And is a Western-developed typology of positioning strategies applicable in an African cultural milieu, and more specifically, in the Ghanaian cultural environment? The results of the study demonstrate that indigenous and foreign firms replicate each other's positioning strategies to carve out positions, although foreign firms aggressively pursue a wider range of strategies than indigenous firms. While there is a uniform attempt by indigenous and foreign firms to reach the mass-market and lower-to middle-class target audiences, foreign firms focus more on middle-class audiences than do indigenous firms. The authors discuss implications for marketing theory and practice.
International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the practices of customer relationship management (CRM) stra... more The aim of this paper is to evaluate the practices of customer relationship management (CRM) strategy implementation in the Gulf Banking sector, contextualizing with Kuwait. There is broad consensus in the literature that improving and enhancing the relationship with customers is imperative and a determinant factor to gaining competitive edge in the marketplace. The financial sector in general, particularly the banking sector, has taken on a pro-active role in the Kuwaiti economy and, accordingly, susceptible to wide-ranging reforms which are profoundly impacting sector-specific competitive tactics and strategies. This study provides a preliminary evaluation of the evolutionary trends of CRM strategy implementation through a developed model, the antecedents and consequences in relation to competitive positioning/repositioning of organizations in the Kuwaiti banking sector.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between market orientation, le... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between market orientation, learning orientation and innovation; and second, assesses the role of innovation, market orientation and learning orientation on firms’ business performance using a developing country (i.e. the Ghanaian banking domain) as a study context. Design/methodology/approach – Following a nation-wide survey among senior managers of 28 banks in Ghana, five research propositions were tested using multiple linear regression analysis. Findings – Results demonstrate that market orientation has significant association with innovation while learning orientation has significant impact on innovation. Moreover, innovation mediates the relationship between market orientation and business performance. Research limitations/implications – This study adopt the cross-sectional research design and as such acknowledge the same limitations as other cross-sectional studies. Practical implications – The research will h...
International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management, Jan 10, 2012
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the practices of customer relationship management (CRM) stra... more The aim of this paper is to evaluate the practices of customer relationship management (CRM) strategy implementation in the Gulf Banking sector, contextualizing with Kuwait. There is broad consensus in the literature that improving and enhancing the relationship with customers is imperative and a determinant factor to gaining competitive edge in the marketplace. The financial sector in general, particularly the banking sector, has taken on a pro-active role in the Kuwaiti economy and, accordingly, susceptible to wide-ranging reforms which are profoundly impacting sector-specific competitive tactics and strategies. This study provides a preliminary evaluation of the evolutionary trends of CRM strategy implementation through a developed model, the antecedents and consequences in relation to competitive positioning/repositioning of organizations in the Kuwaiti banking sector.
Set against the background of initial relatively low crosscountry income and considerable poverty... more Set against the background of initial relatively low crosscountry income and considerable poverty and deprivation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the question of whether globalisation is associated with a 'catching up' in terms of real income growth, in absolute and relative terms, is both relevant and important. This paper contributes to the empirical literature by investigating globalisation as a channel of income gap reduction between SSA and developed countries. We employ Globalisation Indexes from the Konjunkturforschungsstelle (KOF) and the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation (CSGR) in an Arellano-Bond dynamic panel GMM specification to test the hypothesis that globalisation has reduced the income gap between SSA and developed countries. We find no evidence that globalisation is associated with a reduction between SSA and developed countries over the period 1980-2009. This result is consistent with previous studies on country's absorptive capacity. An implication of this result for policy theorists is that structural features of SSA output require a more heterodox approach to all dimensions of human development.
There is substantial research to indicate that a positive correlation exists between firm-specifi... more There is substantial research to indicate that a positive correlation exists between firm-specific characteristics of Multinational Corporations (MNC's) and their international entrepreneurship, vis--vis the mode of market entry selected for overseas markets. Equally there is evidence to suggest that the level of international entrepreneurial orientation is related to specific prevailing factors in the host markets. Given that the importance and degree of international entrepreneurship has remarkably defined a new competitive landscape for international businesses, this paper considers the extent to which the nature of entry to overseas markets is predicated upon the existence of specific variables related to both the firm and the host markets. Accordingly, regression analysis models were used to test the relationship between independent variables related to the firm, the host markets and the level of involvement. This paper concludes that there are strong positive relationships between competitive intensity, degree of standardisation, extent of market research and political risks. Conversely, negative relationships were found in relation to cultural constructs (e.g. individualism and power distance) and the level of foreign involvement.
There has emerged in the UK a considerable opposition to the idea that the government should own ... more There has emerged in the UK a considerable opposition to the idea that the government should own and operate commercial enterprises (Richardson, Nwankwo and Curwen 1994). A whole new language of market competition, reinforced by references to the advantages of the market, has been at the center of the UK's governmental policy since the premiership of Mrs Thatcher. Efficiency, flexibility, and centrality of the customer at the level of service provision have been emphasized within this policy. References to the exigencies of the 'market' and the `superiority' of private sector management techniques are seen as the rationale for constructing new referents for strengthening the goals of competition. In the course of the extensive privatization program implemented over the last decade, assets with a market value in excess of 100 billion have been transferred from the public to the private sector (Helm and Jenkinson 1997). Remarkably, however, the politically sensitive utility industries, which are regarded as ` sacred cows' in many countries (even by the standard of developed economies), were not spared in the privatization revolution. Utility industries in which privatization has profoundly altered the dynamics of competition include telecommunications, gas, water and electricity. Notwithstanding the dramatic changes in ideology and ownership patterns, surprisingly little is known about how public sector organizations adjust to the realities of market competition as a result of undertaking the cultural rite-of-passage from political control to the private sector market control. More dramatic are cases of utilities which are presumed to operate under conditions of market failure (Nwankwo 1996). How do they evolve customer responsive systems and align their structures with the dynamically evolving competitive environment? What principles or strategies enable them to become effective market players? This paper, in the context of one of the dominant electricity generating companies in the UK (PowerGen), assesses these consequential themes under the following headings: market analysis, strategy, structure and culture, and processes and values. These represent three distinct levels of analysis; macro level of broad governmental policies, the institutional level, and the organizational level within the actual case-study enterprise itself. This paper grows out of a wider research project aimed at evaluating the 'before and after' situation (initial conditions, transition processes and outcomes) of many of the privatized enterprises, particularly the utilities, in the United Kingdom. The overall goal is to shed light on the processes and outcomes of public enterprise reforms and highlight the lessons which might be thrown up for management strategists and public policy makers in both developed and developing countries. This effort is timely, especially now that many countries are attracted to the UK's model of exposing erstwhile ` steady-state' organizations to market competition (Nwankwo and Montanheiro 1997). INTRODUCING MARKET COMPETITION IN ELECTRICITY GENERATION: THE CREATION OF PowerGen The electricity industry in the UK can be broadly separated into generation, transmission, distribution and supply (Thomson 1993). In the pre-privatization years, a two-tier arrangement existed for these four activities. The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was largely responsible for the business of electricity generation and transition. Distribution and supply were undertaken by Area Boards to cover twelve catchment areas in England and Wales (a slightly different arrangement existed for Scotland). The privatization of the industry in 1989 created a challenge and unpredictable new environment for power generation. One of the most significant features of the privatized arrangement was the splitting up of the CEGB between competing companies and the national grid. PowerGen was created by the Electricity Privatization Act of 1989 from the dismembered CEGB which metamorphosed into a range of electricity generating outfits (PowerGen, National Power, Nuclear Electric, National Grid). …
Uploads
Papers by Sonny Nwankwo