Special section on marketing management in less-developed countries: Introduction

Special Section on Marketing Management in Less-Developed Countries: Introduction Erdener Kaynak, Mount Samt Vmcent Vnwemty A Coskun Samh, Vqma Polytechnic Institute and State Vnwerslty

The role of marketmg m the economy of less-developed countnes 1s more essential and fundamental to their development than to the developed countnes of the world Without the backmg of effective marketing achvlhes m LDCs, there wdl be little progress m the whole economy One can easily say that it 1s only through marketmg that these countnes will dispose of then scarce production effectively both m domestic as well as 111mtematlonal markets m the face of rapidly changmg socloeconomic , culhml , governmental, and technological environment The editors of the Special Sechon on Marketmg Management m Less-Developed Countnes are very pleased to mtroduce these selected five titles to Journal of Business Research readers Upon sohcltmg competitive papers for pubhcatlon conslderatlon more than thuty manuscripts were received All the papers went through a ngorous blind review process and they were read by three reviewers As we received far too many manuscripts than could possibly be placed m the special section, we gave our first pnonty to ongmal, theoretical and/or emplrlcally onented articles In addition to these, we had to pay close attention to the balance of topics which are to appear m the section In the first article the five maJor approaches namely descnptlve, comparahve , normative, diagnostic, and analytic are identified to study marketmg m LDCs and the last approach IS deemed most appropnate to undertake meaningful marketmg research for orderly declslon makmg purposes m these countnes The followmg four articles presented u-~this section are closer to berg more analytic than the previous four different approaches used to study marketmg practices m less-developed countnes The second article by Ruby Roy Dholalua investigates the consumer soclahzatlon process by using India as a case m point Examples from soctahzatlon studies conducted III affluent societies are also given The Address correspondence to Erdener Kaynak, Department of Busmess Admmstratlon, Mount Samt Vmcent Unmerslty, Hallfax N S B3M 2J6 Canada Journal of Business Research 12, 1-3 (1984) @ Elsewer Science F’ubhshlng Co 52 Vanderbdt Ave , New York

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paper provides mslghts mto the learnmg of consumer skdls and values m different socmecononuc and cultural milieu The author concludes by saymg that the differences m soclahzmg influences reflect to some degree differences m levels of economic development The paper by S Tamer Cavusgd and Ugur Yavas provides insights into the transferability of marketing management know-how to lessdeveloped countnes through graduate busmess education by using Turkey as a case example This study addresses the followmg issues what are the underlymg dimensions m the home-country apphcatlon of a vanety of managenal slulls/techmques acquired m an advanced country hke the U S A 3 What are the p~clpal factors which hmder or encourage the transfer of marketing management know-how to an mdlgeneous organization7 In their Jomt paper IGchard R St.111and John S Hill report the results of an emplncal study of 174 products marketed by 6 1 subsldlanes of multmatlonal corporations operating m 22 different LDCs The authors say that modem consumer products are not all equally susceptible to change m preparation for marketing m LDCs Different types of modem consumer products require substantially different amounts and types of adaptations m preparmg them for marketing m these countnes Apparently, adaptation profiles vary with the category of product In the last article, Laurence Jacobs, Regmald Worthley, and Charles Keown look at the effect of bargammg on perceived buyer satisfaction and perceived selling pressure for retaders located m ten selected LDCs The results of this study indicate relative differences among retaders m the sample LDCs According to this study, bargaming appears more prevalent m Asia than m South Amenca Second, perceived buyer satisfaction was lower for ret&ers that bargamed than for retailers using a fixed pnce pohcy Finally, perceived selling pressure was higher among retilers that bargamed than retailers usmg a one-price-for-all

pohcY The editors of this section owe special gratitude to Arch G Woodside, editor of JBR, for allowing us to edit It Without his foresight, enthusiasm, encouragement, and interest m the marketmg problems of LDCs, this section would not have been matenahzed We thank him for his continuous help We have learned m-unensely from the whole exercise We also know very well how dlffcult a task It 1s to be an editor of a Journal The editors also express their deep appreclatlon to the followmg dlstmgulshed members of the review panel who have assisted us by reviewing manuscripts and makmg very useful and constructive type of comments Among their busy schedule, they met our ngld deadlines with the utmost professlonahsm

Introduction

Jean J Boddewyn, The City Umverslty of New York Philip R Cateora, Umversuy of Colorado S Tamer Cavusgd, Umverslty of Wlsconsrn-Whitewater Edward W Cundlff, Emory Umverslty Anthony C Cunnmgham, Umverslty College Dublin Susan P Douglas, New York Umverslty Robert T Green, The Umverslty of Texas at Austm Malcolm Harper, Cranfeld School of Management Soren Heede, Copenhagen School of Economics and Busmess Admmlstration Stanley C Hollander, Mlchlgan State Umverslty Subhash C Jam, The Umverstty of Connecticut Warren J Keegan, New York Umversq Irene Lange, Callforma State Umversuy, Fullerton Edward M Mazze, Temple Unrverslty Reed Moyer, Umverslty of Callforma, Berkeley Saeed Samlee, Kent State Umversrty Ronald Savltt, Michigan State Unrversrty Jagdlsh N Sheth, Umverslly of tllmols at Urbana-Champaign Attlla Yaprak, Wayne State Umversuy