A new book on sport marketing, “Where Sport Marketing Theory Meets Practice,” contains a chapter by Jaime Orejan, assistant professor of leisure and sport management.
Orejan’s chapter is titled “Understanding and Adapting to Cultural Diversity in International Sport Marketing,” and is based on a presentation he gave on the same topic in November 2004 at the Sport Marketing Conference. Edited by Brenda Pitts, the book is published by Fitness Information Technology of Morgantown, W.Va.
An abstract of the chapter appears below:
“Marketing has always been recognized as an economic activity involving the exchange of goods and services. In recent years, however, socio-cultural influences have been identified as critical determinants of marketing behavior. Simply stated, international marketing is a cultural as well as an economic phenomenon (Terpstra, 1997).
“Because our understanding of marketing tends to be culture-bound, we must acquire knowledge of diverse cultural environments in order to achieve success in international marketing. In fact, according to Jeannet & Hennessey (1998), the complexities of international marketing are partially caused by societal and cultural forces, and these cultural forces could determine whether a product (sport or otherwise) can be profitable in a foreign country.
“Tuler (1991) noted that trying to enter global markets without the expertise and understanding of international trade is a common error made by many executives. Spencer (1999) mentioned that the main difficulty experienced by foreign marketing managers is adapting to cultural diversity.
“Consistent with the overall reduction of trade barriers worldwide, sport marketers are looking for ways to capitalize on opportunities to sell their products overseas. Given the prevalence of sports and sport products in the international marketplace, it is imperative that sport marketers understand the cultural issues associated with selling and advertising in foreign markets.”