GLOBAL MARKETING AND BUSINESS TRENDS

Global Marketing and Business Trends

Global Marketing and Business Trends

Introduction

The growing recognition of the significance of global mindset has led to the proliferation of different and conflicting definitions and perspectives in the literature. Therefore, there is still confusion about what global mind-set is (Lovins, 2009). In order to identify the properties of a specific type of mind-set such as a global mind-set, researchers often first outline the main dimensions of the environment that this specific mind-set confronts. In the case of global mind-set, the majority of writers consider global mind-set in relation to the global environment, particularly, in relation to two salient dimensions of this environment: strategic complexity and/or national and cultural diversity (Logan, 2007). This paper discusses Global Marketing and Business Trends.

Discussion

Building on the important work of Perlmutter and his colleagues, writers taking a cultural perspective on global mind-set focus on cultural distance and diversity related to global markets and operations and emphasize the challenges inherent in managing across national and cultural boundaries.

A number of other writers approach global mind-set from a strategic perspective, which builds heavily on the groundbreaking work of (Levy, 2006). Most writers taking this approach to global mind-set are experts in international strategy and examine the environmental complexity and strategic variety that arise from globalization. This approach focuses on the challenges of managing multifaceted operations in geographically distant and strategically varied businesses while simultaneously responding to local conditions and needs.

Finally, drawing heavily on the foundational work of Rhinesmith, there is a third group of writers who take a multidimensional perspective, which conceptualizes global mind-set from both the cultural perspective and the strategic perspective simultaneously (Lane, 2004).

Corporations often claim to be socially responsible and “good citizens,” and stakeholders typically want them to act this way. But what does this mean, especially in the fast-paced global economy of the 21st century? The goals of this chapter are to provide an explanation of “global business citizenship” as the 21st-century adaptation of corporate social responsibility. A “global business citizen” is defined as an enterprise that responsibly implements its duties to individuals and societies within and across national and cultural borders (Govindarajan, 2006). The ultimate aim of the theory of business citizenship, which is grounded in political theory and business ethics, is to illuminate the structural and moral ties among business organizations, human beings, and social institutions and offer guidance on the rights and responsibilities accruing to business organizations in the global environment.

Emerging 21st-Century Challenges

While international trade has existed for centuries, the forces to create a truly global economy challenge the very identity of business organizations and call into question the structures and institutions for social control that fit 20th-century industries and economies. Three of these forces are described here: global competitive pressures ratcheting up the pace of change; the declining capacity for governments to deal with social and environmental needs; and increasing expectations from global stakeholder groups (Dunphy, 2007).

Technological “creative destruction” has always threatened mature industries with pressures for cost reduction and innovations to ...