About AMA

Executive Summary
When firms internationalize their operations, marketing managers need to not only formulate an appropriate global marketing strategy suitable for global markets but ensure that the chosen marketing strategy is successfully implemented to achieve superior performance. Xu, Cavusgil, and White’s study examines how organizational characteristics influence the performance outcome of global strategy.

Their study examines the effect of global organizational structure and global management processes on global marketing strategy implementation. Specifically, the study raises two questions: First, is having global organizational structure and global management processes necessary conditions for effective implementation of global marketing strategy? Second, if so, are there best practices along these dimensions that firms can emulate?

Using a sample of 206 global firms and a multimethod analysis, Xu, Cavusgil, and White examine how the interrelationships among strategy, structure, and processes in a multinational corporation influence firm performance. They conclude that the fit among strategy, structure, and processes is associated positively with performance. More important, global organizational structure and global management processes do not play a moderator role between a global market strategy and global firm performance but rather mediate the relationship. This finding suggests that correspondence between organizational structure and management processes is necessary for global marketing strategy to work. These findings highlight the importance of global strategy implementation as a source of competitive advantage. Moreover, as the profile deviation analysis reveals, benchmarking with best-performing multinational corporations offers an effective way for firms to close gaps in global marketing strategy implementation.

Xu, Cavusgil, and White’s study has two important managerial conclusions. First, managers need to take into account not only strategy-related issues when they enter global markets but also factors that are related to strategy implementation. Managers need to take a holistic view of the firm and pursue consistent and concurrent resource allocation to achieve internal consistency for superior performance. Second, managers need to be alert to competition and be quick at learning from best practices to close the gaps between their firm and other top-performing firms.

Biography
Shichun Xu is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, Eli Broad School of Business, at Michigan State University. His research interests are in international marketing strategy and strategic alliances.

S. Tamer Cavusgil is University Distinguished Faculty and John W. Byington Endowed Chair in Global Marketing at Michigan State University. He also serves as the Executive Director of MSU-CIBER. Professor Cavusgil specializes in international marketing strategy, early internationalization, and emerging markets. He is the author of several books and more than 100 peer-reviewed articles. Doing Business in Emerging Markets (Sage Publications 2002) is his most recent contribution. He is also the author of several computer-aided diagnostic tools for managers, including CORE V, COmpany Readiness to Export. Professor Cavusgil edits the Elsevier book series Advances in International Marketing.

J. Chris White is an assistant professor in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, Eli Broad College of Business, at Michigan State University. He received his doctoral degree in Marketing from Texas A&M University, College Station. His research interests include marketing strategy and management—specifically, strategic decision making and managerial information processing, marketing strategy formulation and implementation, and international marketing. His research has been published in Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of International Marketing, Marketing Education Review, and Marketing Letters.