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Executive Summary
Standardization of international marketing programs is an important issue faced by managers of global firms and has attracted significant research attention. The cost benefits and administration ease make the strategy of standardizing international marketing programs an attractive choice for many firms. Consequently, standardization is considered the perhaps most influential aspect of international marketing strategy. Although previous research has established that standardization enhances performance outcomes, more recent theorizing suggests that this may not always be the case. However, empirical investigators have paid little systematic attention to moderating conditions.

Therefore, the major purpose of this article is to investigate the organizational factors that moderate the standardization–performance relationship and, thus, to explore the types of firm for which standardization is particularly beneficial. More specifically, Schilke, Reimann, and Thomas examine the contingent role of competitive strategies, other aspects of marketing strategy, product characteristics, and general firm characteristics. Thus, the study’s key contribution is to improve understanding of the internal organizational aspects that make standardization a particularly effective approach to international marketing. The authors analyze survey data from 489 firms, and their results indicate that the standardization–performance link is significantly stronger for large firms with a homogeneous product offering, high levels of global market penetration, a cost leadership strategy, and strong coordination capabilities. Thus, the findings underscore the need to move beyond a focus on the direct link between standardization and performance. In trying to understand the conditions under which standardization promotes firm performance, managers and researchers should take into account the type of firm facing the standardization decision.

The authors conclude that managers evaluating the adequacy of a standardization strategy should consider the list of contingencies advanced in this research. They encourage investigators to examine further the complex performance implications of standardization from additional angles to develop a more complete understanding of the phenomenon.

Biography
Oliver Schilke is a research fellow at the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRiSS) at Stanford University. He is also pursuing his venia legendi (Habilitation) at RWTH Aachen University, Germany. His research focuses on the management of interorganizational relationships, including buyer–seller, alliance partner, and network relations. His work has been published or is forthcoming in Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and Long Range Planning, among other journals. Schilke received his doctorate in business administration from Witten Herdecke University (Germany).

Martin Reimann is a research fellow at the University of Southern California and a scientific staff member at the Brain & Creativity Institute at the same university. His research focuses on the link between customer relationship management and firm performance and the commoditization of products and industries. Furthermore, he assesses consumers’ decision making using psychometric, behavioral, and neural measures. His work has been published or is forthcoming in Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Service Research, and Journal of Economic Psychology, among other journals. Martin holds a doctorate in marketing from Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (Germany).

Jacquelyn S. Thomas is Associate Professor of Marketing in the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Her areas of expertise are customer relationship management, database and direct marketing, customer equity analysis, and marketing metrics. Her research has been published in Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, and Harvard Business Review, among other journals. Thomas holds a doctorate in marketing from Northwestern University.

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