International Marketing Research

International Marketing Research is widely regarded as the definitive textbook in its field. The third edition is completely updated to reflect changes in both the structure and practice of international marketing research in the last five years. As business is being increasingly conducted on a global scale, the need for valid and reliable information to make decisions is intensifying. Industry consolidation of research firms has accelerated as they strive to serve global clients more efficiently. The Internet has burst on to the scene as an alternative way to gather information and conduct surveys rapidly. The third edition has incorporated these developments while adhering to the underlying principles that guided the previous two editions, namely that the basic principles of marketing research are the same whether research is conducted in an international or a domestic context. However, the international marketing researcher faces greater difficulties than his or her domestic counterpart. These difficulties stem from operating across national boundaries and in a diverse range of socio-cultural environments.

Table of Contents:
About the Authors xi Preface xiii 1 Marketing Research in a Global Environment 1 Introduction 1 Complexity of International Marketing 4 Importance of Research for International Marketing Decisions 10 Issues in International Marketing Research 14 Scope of the Book 19 2 Designing International Marketing Research 23 Introduction 23 The International Marketing Research Plan 25 The International Marketing Research Process 29 Structuring the Unit of Analysis 36 Selecting Information Sources 37 Research Plan 40 Issues in Administering International Marketing Research 44 Summary 59 3 Secondary Data Sources 63 Introduction 63 Locating the Appropriate Information 64 Information Sources 71 Information Requirements 87 Summary 103 4 Uses of Secondary Data 109 Introduction 109 Market Entry110 Demand Estimation 123 Assessing Market Interconnectedness 141 Summary 148 5 Structuring Primary Data Collection 153 Introduction 153 Defining the Unit of Analysis 154 Selecting Units of Analysis 161 Structuring the Research Design 163 Cultural Bias in Research Design, Communication and Interpretation 170 Summary 174 6 Establishing the Comparability of Multicountry Data 179 Introduction 179 Establishing Comparability: The Emic/Etic Dilemma 180 Establishing Data Equivalence 188 Determining Construct Validity194 Establishing Construct Reliability195 Summary 200 7 Nonsurvey Data Collection Techniques 205 Introduction 205 Different Qualitative Techniques 206 Observational and Quasi-observational Data 210 Projective Techniques 217 In-depth Interviews 224 Summary 233 8 Survey Instrument Design 239 Introduction 239 Questionnaire Design and Question Formulation 240 Type of Question 248 Use of Nonverbal Stimuli 250 Instrument Translation 254 Potential Sources of Bias Associated with the Research Instrument 259 Summary 271 9 Sampling and Data Collection 277 Introduction 277 Sampling 279 Achieving Comparability in Sampling 291 Data Collection Procedures 295 Field Staff Organization and Training 303 Summary 306 10 Multicountry Scales 311 Introduction 311 General Issues in Scale Development 312 Using Multi-item Scales in Cross-cultural Research 322 Developing Cross-cultural Scales 335 Summary 340 11 Analysis of Multicountry Data 347 Introduction 347 Multicountry Data Analysis 348 Assessing the Differences in the Level of Variables between Countries 352 Summary374 12 Assessing Differences in the Structure of Variables 381 Introduction 381 Correlation Analysis 382 Means–End Hierarchies 385 Cluster Analysis 389 Multidimensional Scaling 394 Factor Analysis 397 Confirmatory Factor Analysis 400 Covariance Structure Models 406 Advances in Data Analysis 409 Summary 411 13 The International Marketing Information System 419 Introduction 419 Information Components of the International Marketing System 422 Data Collection and Processing for the International Marketing Information System 429 Applying the Information System 434 Summary 440 14 Challenges Facing International Marketing Research 443 Introduction 443 Coping with Change: Marketing Infrastructure and Technology445 Contending with Complexity: Conducting Research in Emerging Markets 450 Confronting Competition: Marketing Research Services in a Global Environment 454 Conforming to Conscience: Ethics in International Marketing Research 457 Summary 462 15 Future Directions in International Marketing Research 465 Introduction 465 Comparability and Equivalence Revisited 466 Developing the Research Design 469 Improving Analysis of Cross-cultural Data 473 The Growth of Internet Research 475 Conclusion 476 Subject Index 479 Author Index 495 Acknowledgements 503