This research deals with the topic of international marketing. Americans have played an ever-increasing role in world trade and investment since the turn of the 20th Century. America has, however, encountered considerable competition from other nations in recent years and has had to reconsider many of the practices of the past. One phenomenon of recent years has been the growth of the multinational corporation, which produces and markets in many countries simultaneously. Many American firms--including McDonald's, Exxon, Pepsico and Cocoa-Cola--have participated in this trend and are now numbered among the world's leading multinational corporations. There are other problems related to international marketing: many business executives find themselves operating in unfamiliar business systems and catering to customers whose lifestyles and background are vastly different from their own. Operating in diverse environments places a premium on the development of the necessary marketing skills to analyze the needs of new foreign customers and preparation of marketing programs that will reach them effectively.
International marketing involves dealing with many nations that are different from the United States, nations that may be developing or that may be somewhat developed but that have different traditions as well as different lifestyles that affect what is marketed and to whom. Many of the differences are environmental, which means that marketers must deal with them but are unable to alter them. People throughout the world have the same basic needs of food and shelter, among other things, but they obviously do not all seek to satisfy those needs in the same manner. Variations in such environmental components as climate, physical environment, culture, and the level of affluence develop vastly different lifestyles, and this also leads to widely varying product and service requirements. Foreign industry may also operate under very ...