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reason for an international company to engage in marketing research is
willingness to understand cross-cultural customer tastes and preferences.

5.4 The information provided by marketing research

Terpstra and Sarathy (2000) investigated what information international
marketing research should provide. The main purpose of its data collection

is to understand the country and regional environment and competition
as well as the consumer and the product. The following points highlights

some of the questions that market research can help to answer; both
secondary and primary information.

• Which markets are attractive in the short and long-term?

• How do we attract customers?
• What do customers think of our product and that of the competition?

• What do we do about competition? Co-operate or compete? With
whom?

• What new product should we introduce?

• What should the price be?

• Which distribution channels should we use?

• How much advertising and promotion is necessary?

• Which countries should we target next?
• How should we overcome barriers to entry?

(Source: Terpstra and Sarathy, 2000, p. 214.)

5.4.1. The marketing environment

It is essential for international companies to understand the marketing

environment in relation to political and economic information. The first and
most important information a company will need to gather relates to the
political situation of the host country. The company will need to understand

this situation, what the government’s goals are, and what roles business,
labour, education and religion play in achieving those goals. It has to

understand the national objectives, the country’s goals in the defence