Marketing and globalization: Relevance, trends and future research

Introduction According to Beck (2000), the notion of “globalization” refers to an open, multidimensional, and multicultural process. It corresponds to the growing interdependence of national economies, involving consumers, producers, suppliers, and governments of different countries (Knight, 2000). From a marketing point of view, we distinguish “global marketing” from the “globalization of marketing activities” (Svensson, 2002). The notion of “global marketing” refers to various meanings such as the coordination and integration of marketing activities in different countries (Johansson, 2009) or the focusing of resources on the threats and opportunities of global markets (Keegan and Green, 2016). The globalization of marketing activities, on the other hand, refers to the concentration on markets/products, that is, on groups of consumers who seek the same benefits or demand to be served according to the same technology, highlighting their similarities regardless of the geographical areas where they reside (Svensson, 2002). However, these different terms do not meet with consensus because the reality of globalization is much more complex (Liu et al., 2021). Indeed, the local or cultural context significantly determines the practical implementation of global marketing strategies. According to Douglas and Craig (1995), most of the terms used in the literature are interchangeable, resulting in conceptual vagueness and a lack of consensus. In this perspective, Svensson (2002) proposes a specific approach centered on the notions of “glocal marketing” and “glocalization of marketing activities.” He starts from the observation that the notion of “global marketing” remains a utopia or at least a marketing myopia. At best, it exists at the strategic level, but is in no way relevant at the operational level. The notion of “glocal marketing” is more relevant because it considers the local reality and allows for adaptation or standardization according to the context. It has two main objectives: the exclusive maximization of marketing activities in terms of standardization or homogenization and the optimization of these activities in terms of adaptation versus standardization or dependency versus independence. Conversely, other authors emphasize the need to conceptualize the notion of globalization according to a multi-dimensional approach combining the global and the local. Thus, Cavusgil et al. (2004) propose a measure of corporate globalization that is composed of six dimensions:1 geocentric corporate, global marketing, global structure, visionary leadership, global organizational culture and global management process. In the same vein, Sinkovics and Kuivalainen (2013) highlight a seven-dimensional conceptual approach: global strategy, global management, global operations, global finance, global marketing, global structure, and global culture. In summary, lack of consensus is the rule regarding the notion of globalization, with existing approaches that focusing on local or global marketing. However, Marketing and globalization: Relevance, trends and future research