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Building on contingency theory, this paper aims to investigate the extent to which the “4Ps international adaptation strategy” and internationalization intensity shape the servitization–profitability relationship.

The authors use primary (survey) and secondary (archival) data to perform multiple regression analysis.

The results indicate a positive relationship between servitization and profitability, and international intensity strengthens this association. The effects, however, are not consistent across the 4Ps – the price international adaptation strategy strengthens the positive relationship between servitization and profitability, while product and place international adaptation strategies weaken that relationship.

The findings have implications for the role of international intensity and the 4Ps in the marketing servitization context.

The study provides guidance for small firms in realizing higher performance by leveraging the 4Ps in the servitization context. Counter to expectations, placement and product lead to lower performance with increasing servitization, whereas price strengthens this relationship. The study adds to the international industrial management and marketing literature, providing evidence that contingency factors such as international marketing mix adaptation/standardization strategies moderate the servitization–profitability relationship.

Drawing on institutional theory, this study seeks to advance the understanding of how the indirect effect of exporters' adoption of an international adaptation strategy on export performance via enhanced legitimacy is differently moderated by formal and informal institutional distances from the host country market.

Survey data were collected from a sample of 251 exporters in China and analyzed with a multiple regression model to test the hypotheses.

Exporters' use of an international adaptation strategy affects their perceived legitimacy, which in turn influences their export performance. Moreover, formal institutional distance strengthens the indirect effect of an international adaptation strategy on export performance via legitimacy, whereas informal institutional distance weakens this indirect effect.

The study contributes to the knowledge of how and when adoption of an international adaptation strategy by exporters benefits export performance from an institutional perspective.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships among organizational factors (export market experience, international commitment), external environment (competitive intensity), export marketing strategy and export success. The findings yielded by the analyses confirm that export market-specific experience and international commitment are significant drivers of export success. In addition, the results indicate that the degree of product adaptation is positively related to profitability and overall success, while price and distribution adaptation to local conditions have a direct impact on sales growth. Finally, the authors found evidence that international commitment exerts a positive effect on the adaptation of marketing strategies to country-specific requirements. Thus, the study findings can be used to formulate business and marketing strategies to improve firm’s success in overseas markets.

This study used PLS for dealing with formative and reflective measures and used a sample of 200 export ventures that exported on the average in more than 15 countries.

This study clearly shows that export venture success is linked to managerial commitment and experiential knowledge and that firms contribute to export venture success by adapting product to foreign markets. It is also shown that firms in more competitive environments increase their effort to adapt, leading to better export venture performance.

Although Austrian companies are typically characterized as small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the study is limited to this sample.

Managers in SME should concentrate their effort on a small set of export venture countries of concentrate their capabilities and effort (commitment and personal) to increase adaptation in those selected market, which will lead to increasing export venture performance.

The study differentiates between formative and reflective measures which most studies in this genre do not, which is a fundamental conceptual shortcoming. This study shows with robust result the interrelation between commitment and managerial experience (intra-firm factors) and the degree of competition in foreign markets and how marketing mix adaptation affects export venture performance measured over a period of five years.

This paper argues that performance should be investigated as an independent variable. Using survey data of over 400 managers responsible for the main export ventures of Portuguese SMEs (small and medium exporters), this paper shows that past performance plays a crucial role in building SMEs' commitment to exporting and to the determination of their current marketing strategy. Findings also show that marketing strategy adaptation to the foreign market is particularly noted in firms exporting to the most developed markets, rather than in firms exporting to the most competitive environments. Future international marketing research is encouraged to focus on understanding both the direct and indirect relationships among past performance, firm's commitment to exporting, and current marketing strategy under the influence of external forces. Such a focus has the potential to enrich the theory and generate relevant managerial and public policy implications.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the marketing “processes” of governing multiple export relationships under the theoretical framework of governance value analysis (GVA). Specifically, this work examines the internal exchange attributes of transaction-specific investments and psychic distance on the adaptation/standardization of relational behavior and detailed contracting and how process adaptation/standardization influences new product outcomes and jointly created value in the focal export relationship.

A survey was conducted of 151 US manufacturers regarding their relationship with their primary foreign buyers. Data were analyzed with partial least squares estimation.

The results indicate that high levels of transaction-specific investments lead to the adaptation of relational behaviors whereas high levels of psychic distance lead to less adaptation of detailed contracting. The adaptation of relational behaviors and detailed contracting reflect differential direct effects on export performance. Furthermore, the results indicate that there is a significant positive interaction effect between the adaptation of relational behavior and detailed contracting on jointly created value in the focal export relationship.

The findings of the study reveal that adaptation of the marketing process related to relationship governance strategies can play an important role in the export marketing process, but managers must proceed with caution in balancing relational behavior and detailed contract adaptation. The results also point to the importance of understanding the underlying source of uncertainty and adapting appropriate aspects of governance for enhancing jointly created value in the export relationship.

The value of this research lies in its goal to highlight the issue of marketing process adaptation across multiple export relationships. Less attention has been paid to the marketing “processes” of governing multiple export relationships in the international marketing strategy literature relative to “program” standardization/adaptation. This is one of the first empirical studies on marketing process adaptation of governance employing the theoretical framework of GVA.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key factors that influence price adaptation in export markets.

The conceptual model was tested empirically using data collected by mail questionnaire in a sample survey of 140 firms. The results were analysed using structural equation modelling and the method of estimation was maximum likelihood (ML). Various statistical tests show that the results were reliable and valid.

The results reported here suggest that while controlling for the size of the firm, the degree of price adaptation is strongly influenced and conditioned by the degree of product, promotion, and distribution adaptation as well as by the differences that exist between the home and the foreign market.

Despite calls for research on the adaptation of pricing in export markets little headway has been made in understanding the issue in the literature. This study adds to the limited empirical research work done in this area. Although past research points to a link between product adaptation and price adaptation and between distribution adaptation and price adaptation, empirical research that includes simultaneously the link between the three elements of the marketing mix (product, promotion, and distribution adaptation) and price adaptation is largely missing in the literature. These relationships have been tested in this paper and found to be relevant to the understanding of pricing in international markets.

This study provides a comprehensive framework of adaptation in triadic business relationship settings in the service sector. The framework is based on the industrial network approach (see, e.g., Axelsson & Easton, 1992; Håkansson & Snehota, 1995a). The study describes how adaptations initiate, how they progress, and what the outcomes of these adaptations are. Furthermore, the framework takes into account how adaptations spread in triadic relationship settings. The empirical context is corporate travel management, which is a chain of activities where an industrial enterprise, and its preferred travel agency and service supplier partners combine their resources. The scientific philosophy, on which the knowledge creation is based, is realist ontology. Epistemologically, the study relies on constructionist processes and interpretation. Case studies with in-depth interviews are the main source of data.

Investigates how export market characteristics such as local government regulation, infrastructure differences, export market lag, cultural differences, end‐user differences in tastes and preferences, and competitive intensity affect ideal and actual product adaptation. Explores how these effects varied by consumer versus industrial products. A mail survey of medium‐sized export firms provided the data for hypothesis testing. The results suggested the major market factors driving adaptation were government regulation, infrastructure differences and market lag. Evaluates the effects of adaptation on several dimensions of firm performance. Sales growth was the only dimension significantly affected by adaptation.

Focuses on the issue of product standardization versus adaptation, with special reference to the practices of Japanese multinational companies (MNCs) operating in the Middle East. Reveals that the degree of adaptation of Japanese goods is generally moderate, with labelling, packaging and internal features attracting most alterations. Product adaptations were more profound among firms producing consumer goods, as well as those having a long presence in the Arab market. Also suggests that the impact of factors affecting the standardization/ adaptation decision differed according to the specific product aspect, with demographic and political‐legal forces being the most influential overall. With respect to future product strategy, participant firms stated that they would proceed more or less as at present, the only exception being some additional adaptations as regards external characteristics of the product.

The purpose of this paper is to position multinational companies on a linear continuum indicating their overall attitude towards standardisation/adaptation, examines the reasons influencing multinational companies' tactical (7Ps – marketing mix) behaviour towards it, and finally presents the underlying managerial implications of the results.

A rating scale Rasch model is used in order to place the multinational companies' attitude towards standardisation and adaptation on a linear continuum. Structural equation modelling is subsequently used in order to investigate the relationship between the adaptation and standardisation variable against other variables. An extensive literature review is also undertaken to provide the theoretical foundation.

The paper corroborates the findings of past research by placing multinational companies on a linear continuum; by identifying their overall attitude towards adaptation/standardization; and by describing the relationship between AdaptStand and other variables. Furthermore, it categorises the reasons pulling towards adaptation or standardisation into “significant” and “peripheral”; and provides valuable insights towards practical application.

The paper provides marketing researchers and practitioners with an overview of the main factors that influence marketing tactical behaviour in international markets. Additionally, the research transcends descriptive analysis to identify vital behavioural issues and to prescribe marketing approaches regarding internationalisation.

Though the subject of “adaptation versus standardisation” has been extensively researched, this paper provides original work through in‐depth quantitative analysis of a sufficient sample of multinational companies. The paper reaches specific and explicit conclusions that scientifically test existing theory on the subject, categorise factors according to their significance in the adaptation/standardisation decision process and offer valuable prescriptions of marketing tactics based on the findings.