6. Legal Environment
An International Marketer intends to provide an insight into international legal environment to conduct marketing operations in compliance with international laws, originate from the various sources. Proper understanding of legal environment may assist an international firm to handle legal disputes effectively.
Following are some variables which constitute the legal environment:
a) Rules for exporting and importing goods.
b) Rules for People
c) Rules for Services
d) Rules for money across national boundaries.
e) Health regulations
f) Safety Standards
g) Product Packaging and labeling
h) Product Advertising and promotion etc.
International Marketer also needs to understand the legal dispute settlement process to protect his justifiable interest. We know that legal disputes can arise in three situations such as:
a) Between Governments
b) Between Company and a Government
c) Between Two Companies.
Dispute between Governments can be settled by the International Courts but disputes of other two categories must be settled through Arbitration or in the courts of the country of one of the parties involved in the dispute.
Most International Marketing disputes can be settled by any of the following three methods:
a) Conciliation
b) Arbitration
c) Litigation
7. Competition Environment
To plan effectively international marketing strategies, the international marketer should be well-informed about the competitive situation in the international markets. By Competitive environment we mean the following variables:
a) Nature of competition
b) Players in the competition
c) Strategical weapons used by the participants
d)Competition regulations
Following are the ways an international marketer can handle competition:
a) Proper knowledge about the competitors
b) Knowledge of Competitor’s objectives
c) Competitor’s strategies
d) Competitor’s reaction patterns
e) Knowledge of Competitors strengths and weakness.
8. Technological Environment
The most dramatic force that shaping the destiny of an international firm is technological environment. Technological know-how impacts all spheres of an international marketer’s operations including production, information system, marketing etc. The international marketers must understand technological development and its impact on its total operations. The marketing intelligence system may help the international firm to know technological orientations of other enterprises and to update it’s own technologies to remain competitive. Research and Development (R&D) has a vital role to play in increasing technological ability of a firm.
