Integrating Adaptation and Standardisation in International Marketing: The AdaptStand Modelling Process

This research consists of a questionnaire survey to the largest UK multinational companies and investigates companies’ level of adaptation and standardisation across international marketing tactics. It examines whether multinational companies are adapting or standardising their marketing mix elements when they cross geographical borders and expand their operations to foreign markets. This research identified that both adaptation and standardisation are used at the same time and that the level of integration is dependent upon considerations of the relationship between the reasons and elements identified and an understanding of how these are affected by a number of factors. This article proposes a new modelling approach, the AdaptStand Process, which outlines the different stages to be undertaken by multinational companies towards identifying the level of integration across marketing mix elements. Consequently, the results of this research guides marketing practitioners in deciding on implementation of marketing tactics when competing in the international marketing arena.