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2021/2022  KAN-CCBLV1703U  Marketing in Emerging Markets: Seizing the market opportunities in the world’s main growth economies

English Title
Marketing in Emerging Markets: Seizing the market opportunities in the world’s main growth economies

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Semester
Start time of the course Autumn
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Min. participants 40
Max. participants 60
Study board
Study Board for BSc and MSc in Business, Language and Culture, MSc
Course coordinator
  • Manisha Bachheti - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
  • Michael Wendelboe Hansen - Department of Management, Society and Communication (MSC)
Main academic disciplines
  • Globalisation and international business
  • Intercultural studies
  • Marketing
Teaching methods
  • Blended learning
Last updated on 18-06-2021

Relevant links
Learning objectives
  • Describing challenges and opportunities of marketing in emerging markets;
  • Understanding and critically assessing theories of emerging market marketing;
  • Knowing practical tools for market assessment and marketing in emerging markets,
  • Applying marketing theories and tools to concrete cases of marketing in western companies moving into emerging markets.
Course prerequisites
Preferably, students should have basic knowledge of Marketing and International Business.
Examination
Marketing in Emerging Markets: Seizing the Market Opportunities in the World's Main Growth Economies:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Group exam
Please note the rules in the Programme Regulations about identification of individual contributions.
Number of people in the group 2-3
Size of written product Max. 25 pages
20 pages if there are 2 persons in the group, and 25 pages if there are 3 persons. The grade given will be individual.
Assignment type Project
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Winter
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Description of the exam procedure

 

Student groups are expected to develop a detailed market entry plan that will involve making decisions on issues such as:

 

  •  Market assessment;  
  •  Mode of entry;
  •  Marketing strategy: The extent standardization vs. adaptation with respect to   4P’s (product, place, promotion, and price), and
  •  Managing, organizing and controlling the international marketing effort.

 
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

High growth rates, the emergence of middle classes with strong purchasing power, pent up demands, and improved marketing infrastructures are attracting western companies to emerging markets. They all want to be part of the market opportunities of these, the world’s growth drivers. However, many of these companies realize that the marketing and branding practices developed in their home countries are ineffective when applied to emerging markets. In the 1990s, Kellogg’s ventured into India with a $65 million investment and failed miserably due to lack of cultural sensitivity. Renault’s “people’s car,” the Logan, was a hit in Eastern Europe and other parts of the world, but it failed in India. Amazon, Uber in China and GM, KFC in India have fallen short in achieving their growth and expansion objectives.

 

Cultural specificities, institutional voids and informality, in-transparent business networks, underdeveloped infrastructures, and industrial structures render standard western marketing thinking inadequate in emerging markets. The course is aimed at assisting students in understanding the specificities of marketing in emerging market contexts and provides them with tools that allow them to work with marketing in emerging markets. 

 

The course will put special focus on the largest emerging economies (China and India etc.), which are performing robustly with strong domestic demand, consumption, and investment. More specifically this course covers and focuses on theory and insights, the potentials and challenges of the emerging economies. The capacities of growing markets, fast developing local consumer markets, ample low-cost labor, and the rising middle class have attracted general attention about the nature of the rapid economic transformations these countries are currently undergoing. The realities in terms of market heterogeneity, sociopolitical governance, the chronic shortage of resources, unbranded competition, and inadequate infrastructure, requires rethinking the core assumptions of marketing, such as market orientation, market segmentation, and differential advantage.

 

Experts with practical experience from marketing in emerging markets will provide up-to-date knowledge about the different markets based on their own experience and research. Thus, students will get a comprehensive knowledge of the global emerging market with insights into the latest business dynamics in these markets through real-world embedded projects while case studies discussions, theories, and literature will form the backdrop for reflective understanding.

 

The themes are as follows:

 

  1. Why emerging markets are important for international marketing and yet so volatile?
  2. Why do well-established products fail in emerging markets? Is it lack of sensitivity to local culture or lack of adaptation to local marketing infrastructure?
  3. Why do companies underestimate the cost of entering the emerging markets? Which strategies companies can adapt to reduce these costs?
  4. Should a company extend its marketing mix or should it adjust it to suit the local markets? Is there a single recipe for all the emerging markets?
  5. What are the institutional factors that influence marketing in emerging economies
  6. What is the right entry strategy for marketing products in these markets: Direct export, franchising/licensing, agent/ distributor, and joint ventures/ fully owned subsidiaries?
  7. How to put theory into practice and develop a realistic and viable international marketing plan.
Description of the teaching methods
We shall use a 4-prong learning process for this course.
1. Lectures by Faculty (supported by readings)
2. Lectures by industry practitioners
3. Case Analysis
4. Group Project

Group project: Emerging market analysis

To help achieve the course objective the students will be supported in identifying a company that has interest in marketing and/or is planning to launch their product in an emerging market or those firms who have launched in these markets but are struggling to grow. The companies can be from any sector and can vary in their size (small, local or international). The students will form groups and will develop an international marketing plan for the selected product/ service category of the company. The international marketing plan will, for instance, be comprised of sections on Cultural Analysis, Economic Analysis, Market Audit and Competitive Market Analysis, and Preliminary Marketing Plan.
Feedback during the teaching period
As the course requires students to make a marketing plan for a company, they will get feedback on the initial marketing plan proposal (1 hour per group) during office hours. The information for meeting hours and place will be uploaded on Canvas.
Student workload
Lectures 30 hours
Preparation for class 116 hours
Exam 60 hours
Expected literature

S. Tamer Cavusgil Pervez N. Ghauri & Ayse A. Akcal (2013) Doing Business in Emerging Markets (2nd edition). SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-84920-153-7.

 

Sheth, J. (2011): “Impact of Emerging Markets on Marketing: Rethinking Existing Perspectives and Practices”, Journal of Marketing Vol. 75 (July 2011), 166 –182, 17p

 

Tarun Khanna & Krishna G. Palepu (2010). Winning in Emerging Markets: A Road Map for Strategy and Execution. Harvard Business Press. ISBN 978-1-4221-6695-6.

 

Stephanie Jones (2012). BRICs and Beyond: Lessons on Emerging Markets. ISBN 978-1-119-96269-4.
Last updated on 18-06-2021