Standardization in International Marketing

This paper presents the results of a survey on the marketing standardization and adaptation practices of US multinationals operating in Latin America. It expands the literature in two ways. First, previous papers on this subject have a mostly European orientation; this is the first paper to take a comprehensive look at all marketing mix variables in an underdeveloped region. Second, we offer a comparison with a previous study done in Europe. The questionnaire used in this survey replicates that of Picard, Boddewyn, and Soehl (1988). Results show that many of the standardization and adaptation practices of US multinationals operating in Latin America are significantly different from US multinationals operating in Europe.