The Marketing Education Task in Third World Countries

Abstract

Among marketers, there is a tendency to assume that essentially North American or Western European marketing ideas can be readily transplanted into the Third World environment. This article discusses the peculiar features of developing countries, stresses the need for modifications to marketing course content and makes recommendations to the educator.

Dealer Dependence Levels and Reciprocal Actions in a Channel of Distribution in a Developing Country

“…Improvement in consumer welfare and in the business climate helps to provide the motivation for increased manufacturing activity. However, uneven growth across the various industries and a poorly developed infrastructure (e.g., Ross and McTavish 1984). Access to capital, technology, and foreign exchange is severely restricted and often rationed by government authorities in developing countries (Neghandi and Prasad 1976).…”

“…Government price controls apply for many products (cf. Ross and McTavish 1984). Where price controls are not in effect, the manufacturer's ability to increase prices is tempered by fear of government intervention should it be seen as charging exorbitant prices and making exorbitant profit.…”

Manufacturer – Distributor Relationships: A Sellers′ versus Buyers′ Market Perspective

“…Such regulations serve to retard the operation of the "production function" and the "price mechanism" to equalise demand and supply levels in developing countries (cf. Ross and McTavish, 1984).…”

Strategic dimensions in marketing planning

“…In large organizations strategic planning is known to occur at several levels, at all of which it is recognized as necessary for companies to adopt a "process" approach to strategic planning which includes in its ambit a systematic identification of the company mission in light of the corporate or business philosophy, followed by the formulation of objectives, growth strategies and, specific product-market positioning strategies based on target market identification, given the situational effects of the environmental opportunities and threats. The extent to which marketing know how is applicable to businesses operating in the Third World has been questioned having due regard to the constraints operating in sellers' versus buyers' market economies (Bartels, 1983;Cavusgil and Yavas, 1984), and to the effects of state government controls (Ross and McTavish, 1985). Subsequent research by Akaah et al, (1988), among marketing managers drawn from companies in five different African countries on the perceived utility and applicability of marketing concepts, has indicated that the performance of marketing management activities -including objective setting, planning, co-ordination, valuation, and controlwas indeed high in the third world business context.…”