EXPRESS: Standardization and Adaptation as a Co-Constituted Process: The Pursuit of Relational Fit in International Markets

Abstract

Marketing products/services internationally implies a bold decision; one that has high-cost implications and significant performance consequences: Should we standardize or adapt our marketing strategy across borders? The dilemma is a seminal and, perhaps, the most enduring issue in international marketing scholarship. However, despite the voluminous work, an ontological assumption induces inconclusive conceptualizations and impedes further theoretical advancement. The author contends that a self-contained, atomistic representation of the standardization/adaptation decision is such an impediment. Namely, this work problematizes a portrayal of the decision as if it is taken following a ‘detached’, own judgement of broad environmental contingencies. In turn, the study builds on fit literature and promotes an alternative perspective; one that acknowledges relational imperatives for requisite theorizing. Hence, standardization/adaptation is framed as a co-constituted process towards relational fit with international marketing strategies being contingent on the role of significant ‘others.’