Page 237 - Foundations of Marketing

204 Part 3 | Customer Behavior and E-Marketing

Table 8.2 Ranking of Countries Based upon Corruption of Public Sector

Country Rank CPI Score * Least Corrupt Country Rank CPI Score * Most Corrupt
1 90 Denmark 174 8 Somalia

1 90 Finland 174 8 North Korea

1 90 New Zealand 174 8 Afghanistan
4 88 Sweden 173 13 Sudan

5 87 Singapore 172 15 Myanmar

6 86 Switzerland 170 17 Uzbekistan
7 85 Australia 170 17 Turkmenistan

7 85 Norway 169 18 Iraq

9 84 Canada 165 19 Venezuela
9 84 Netherlands 165 19 Haiti

11 82 Iceland 165 19 Chad

12 80 Luxembourg 165 19 Burundi
*CPI score relates to perceptions of the degree of public sector corruption as seen by businesspeople and country analysts and ranges between 100 (highly
clear) and 0 (highly corrupt). The United States is perceived as the 19th least-corrupt nation.
Source: © Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 (Berlin, Germany, 2012). All rights reserved.

programs and standards for international business conduct. Levi Strauss’ code of ethics, for
example, bars the firm from manufacturing in countries where workers are known to be abused.
Many firms, including Texas Instruments, Coca-Cola, DuPont, HP, Levi Strauss & Company,
and Walmart, endorse following international business practices responsibly. These companies
support a globally based resource system called Business for Social Responsibility (BSR). BSR
tracks emerging issues and trends, provides information on corporate leadership and best prac-
tices, conducts educational workshops and training, and assists organizations in developing prac-
tical business ethics tools. It addresses such issues as community investment, corporate social
responsibility, the environment, governance, and accountability.
27
Competitive Forces

Competition is often viewed as a staple of the global marketplace. Customers thrive on the
choices offered by competition, and firms constantly seek opportunities to outmaneuver their
competition to gain customers’ loyalty. Firms typically identify their competition when they
establish target markets worldwide. Customers who are seeking alternative solutions to their
product needs find the firms that can solve those needs. However, the increasingly intercon-
nected international marketplace and advances in technology have resulted in competitive
forces that are unique to the international marketplace.
Beyond the types of competition (i.e., brand, product, generic, and total budget competi-
tion) and types of competitive structures (i.e., monopoly, oligopoly, monopolistic competition,
and pure competition), which are discussed in Chapter 3 , firms that operate internationally
must do the following:
• Be aware of the competitive forces in the countries they target.
• Identify the interdependence of countries and the global competitors in those markets.
• Be mindful of a new breed of customers: the global customer.

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