Motivating marketing channel members: a cross cultural perspective

Abstract

In today's world of global markets and global competition, more and more firm.a need to consider prospects in international marketing. Channel strategy, as one of the key strategic components of the marketing mix, will therefore need to focus increasingly on the development and management of channels in different national cultures. If firms decide to use independent foreign distributors, agents, or dealers, in their international channels, ·they will be faced with the challenge of motivating them to do an effective job of selling their products. While this is a difficult job in the domestic setting, it is even more difficult in the international arena because of the greater separation between the manufacturer and foreign channel members both in terms of distance and culture. This

paper presents a framework for motivating international channel members and discusses some of

the key problems involved in a variety of national cultures.