A Very Short, Fairly Interesting, Reasonably Cheap Book About... International Marketing

Conceived by Chris Grey, the Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap series offers an antidote to conventional textbooks. Each book takes a core area of the curriculum and turns it on its head by providing a critical and sophisticated overview of the key issues and debates in an informal, conversational and often humorous way. Looking beyond the usual colonial narrative of the subject, Amanda Earley encourages the reader to think reflectively and critically about overlooked aspects of International Marketing such as power relations, history, ethics, culture and politics. Examples are provided throughout with coverage of student-friendly brands such as Apple, Facebook and Google and their role in international marketing practices today. The author draws on history and the colonial era as well as illustrating the failure of American brands to break into other markets. There are also gritty, thought-provoking examples around racial divides in Asia and Australia. Need another "VSFI" book? Browse the series here

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction: What is International Marketing, Really? Part I: A New Foundation Chapter 1: Historical Emergence Chapter 2: Ethical Stakes Chapter 3: Political Nature Part II: Practices Chapter 4: International Marketing Strategy Chapter 5: The Global Orchestration of ′Consumer′ ′Behaviour′ Chapter 6: Complication and Contention in Intercultural Marketing Part III: Futures Chapter 7: New Media Utopia? Chapter 8: Environmental Dystopia? Conclusion

Review :
This book excavates the premises upon which international marketing studies are built, using a wide-ranging, multidisciplinary approach and a clear and lively style. Its focus on the history, ethics and politics of international marketing means that it can dig far deeper than the average textbook in order to ask the questions that really matter. This book is a much-needed one that addresses a genuine gap in marketing thought. International marketing texts often rely too much on the anecdotal—personal stories about accidentally transgressing cultural boundaries or mistranslating ad campaigns. They also often rely heavily on examples from the 20th century, American contexts, and multinational corporations. What the discipline desperately needs instead is sound, dedicated conceptual scaffolding. This book provides just that. It achieves this laudable goal by focusing on the challenges of today and drawing on a wealth of knowledge from under-utilized disciplines like history, politics and philosophy—all while maintaining the very best of traditional approaches. It also teaches readers to think beyond narratives about international marketing which emanate from the contemporary neoliberal world of business practice itself. Given the author’s international experience, it has relevance far beyond the UK. It would be particularly valuable in the US context, where counterpoints to the usual fare are quite rare. I enjoyed the opportunity to preview it. This is a philosophically rich, critical investigation of international marketing. It is required reading for students and academics alike