Global Marketing Management, 6th Edition

HAPTER OVERVIEW

1. MARKET ENTRY OPTIONS AND SALESFORCE STRATEGY
2. CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
3. IMPACT OF CULTURE ON SALES MANAGEMENT AND PERSONAL SELLING PROCESS
4. CROSS-CULTURAL NEGOTIATIONS
5. EXPATRIATES

Think of two major markets in Asia: Japan and China. Japan is a well-established developed country similar to the United States, and is the third-largest economy in the world behind China (the second largest) and the United States (the largest). One might assume that foreign firms can sell products pretty much the same way as they do in the United States. Such an assumption may prove to be very wrong! For example, U.S. automakers still have great difficulty making inroads into the Japanese market, although Japan does not impose any tariffs or quotas on foreign cars, and although BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen have become familiar names in Japan. One major, yet little known, reason is in the way cars are sold in Japan. Unlike the United States where customers visit car dealers, a majority of cars are sold by door-to-door salespeople in Japan, in much the same way Avon representatives sell personal care and beauty products. However, now the situation is gradually changing, and Japanese dealers are diversifying. They are investing more money in significantly larger American-style dealership ...