External environmental factors can have effects ranging from minimal to profound on both global and domestic marketing. In the case of ecological, or ôgreenö marketing, for example, consumer concern over ecological issues has forced manufacturers to change their packaging and other aspects of marketing to appease concerns and appeal to ecological interests. Green concerns affect both global and domestic marketing, because the issues tend to occur across both markets. An example is the tuna fishing industry. Due to driftnet methods that used to be used for catching tuna, dolphins were often caught and killed by accident. Consumer concern over this problem was so great that many people just stopped eating tuna until tuna manufacturers modified their fishing techniques. In a similar move, ôMcDonald's replaced its clam shell packaging with waxed paper because of increased consumer concern relating to polystyrene production and Ozone depletionö (Polonsky). However, as McDonaldÆs found out, modifying products due to increased consumer concern reflects a risk that consumersÆ perceptions may not always be correct. The waxed paper that replaced their clam shell packaging was subsequently the object of further scientific debate, in which some scientific evidence suggests that the polystyrene clam shell packaging was actually less environmentally harmful when viewed from a cradle-to-grave perspective. ôIf this is the case McDonald's bowed to consumer pressure, yet has chosen the more environmentally harmful optionö (Polonsky).
Another environmental factor that can impact marketing decisions is technology. The way items are being marketed changes constantly as a result of changes and improvements in technology, and companies that do not adapt can be quickly left behind. Internet marketing is an excellent example. Businesses that started out having physical storefronts and either failed to develop a virtual store or did it to...