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Gender differences in developing global digital marketing strategies

Special issue call for papers from Review of International Business and Strategy

[The authoritative version of this call can be found here]

The globalisation of markets and production presents challenges for managers due to the growing intensity and complexity of global competition. Thus, many companies are increasingly recognising the important role of efficient international marketing activities and innovation in reaching growth and prosperity (Leonidou and Hultman, 2019).

Digital marketing technologies have revolutionised the way international business firms operate and market their products and/or services at a global scale. In the era of new digital technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality and big data, managers need to be aware of emergent technological trends and focus on the innovative capacity in marketing their products and/or services on a global scale. Digital marketing allows businesses to reach a wider segment of customers in developed and developing economies and provides opportunities to build brand loyalty and provide a more personalised shopping experience. The advancement in digital marketing and the introduction of new advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality and chatbots provides new opportunities and challenges for international companies (Ng and Wakenshaw, 2017; Huang and Rust, 2018). However, previous studies have highlighted the lack of focus on examining the future of the digital context in international business (Watson et al., 2018).

According to the recent International Business Report by Grant Thornton (2018), the percentage of businesses around the world with at least one woman in senior management has increased significantly, rising from 66% in 2017 to 75% in 2018. Women comprise the bulk of the marketing industry workforce (Duggan, 2018). Previous studies showed significant gender differences in the use of technology for business-related purposes (Ameen and Willis, 2016; Ameen et al., 2018). However, despite the significant role women play in international business and developing global strategies, the topic of gender is generally marginalised in international business research (Bullough et al., 2017; Eden and Gupta, 2017; Frenkel, 2017). Furthermore, while gender differences in international business have been studied in the context of expatriation, or human resources and talent management, they have not been studied sufficiently in other areas such as marketing, decision-making and digital skills (Koveshnikov et al., 2019). With (slowly) declining gender-related barriers to promotion to senior management levels, there is a greater scope for women to work as senior marketers in international business firms (Gundlach and Sammartino, 2019). Nevertheless, there is a gap in the existing literature in examining, analysing, and understanding gender differences among marketers in developing global digital marketing strategies. Hence, addressing this issue will advance knowledge and contribute to the research in the areas of international business and global strategy.

We welcome empirical, conceptual and review papers that advances the theoretical knowledge on how gender differences among marketers might challenge some of the theories and assumptions in digital marketing and international business and how this is or will be translated to the firm level. Specific topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Cross-national and cross-cultural issues in gender differences among marketers in developing global digital marketing strategies.
• Challenges faced by male vs female marketers in managing digital marketing technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, big data, social media and mobile marketing in developing and emerging markets to develop global marketing strategies.
• Gender differences in using different digital marketing channels for global marketing strategies.
• Knowledge sharing and knowledge management in using technologies to develop global digital marketing strategies among male and female marketers
• Gender differences in developing global digital marketing strategies for start ups
• Gender differences in approaches to mobile marketing at a global scale
• The gender gap in digital skills among marketers and its implications for the theory and practice of international business
• How contemporary issues in global digital marketing strategies such as digital and social performance are viewed by female marketers across the globe.

Deadline and Submission Details:

• Open for submissions: 1st April 2020
• Submission deadline: 30 October 2020
• Provisional publication date: August 2021

Submission Guidelines:

Submissions should follow the manuscript format guidelines for RIBS found at: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/journals/author_guidelines.htm?id=ribs

All manuscripts should be submitted through the RIBS online submission system at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/roibs

Contact the Guest Editors:

Dr. Ali Tarhini
Department of Information Systems
Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Email: ali.tarhini@hotmail.co.uk

Dr. Nisreen Ameen
School of Business and Management
Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
Email: nisreen.ameen@rhul.ac.uk

Professor. Cihan Cobanoglu
University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, USA
Email: cihan@sar.usf.edu

References

Ameen, N., Willis, R., and Shah, M.H., (2018), “An examination of the gender gap in smartphone adoption and use in Arab countries: a cross-national study”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 89 No. 1, pp.148-162.

Ameen, N.A. and Willis, R., (2016), “The use of mobile phones to support women’s entrepreneurship in the Arab countries”, International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 8(4), pp.424-445.

Bullough, A., Moore, F., and Kalafatoglu, T. (2017), “Research on women in international business and management: Then, now, and next”, Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 211–230.

Eden, L., and Gupta, S. F. (2017), “Culture and context matter: Gender in international business and management”, Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 194–210.

Duggan, B. (2018), “A Diversity Report for the Advertising/Marketing Industry — and a call to Action” https://www.ana.net/blogs/show/id/mm-blog-2018-11-ana-advertising-diversity-report (Accessed 10 December 2019).

Frenkel, M. (2017), “Gendering the MNC”, In C. Dörrenbächer, & M. Geppert (Eds.). Multinational corporations and organization theory (series: Research in the sociology of organization) Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.

Grant Thornton (2018), “Women in business: beyond policy to progress”, https://www.grantthornton.global/globalassets/1.-member-firms/global/insights/women-in-business/grant-thornton-women-in-business-2018-report.pdf (Accessed 10 December 2019).

Gundlach, S. and Sammartino, A., (2019), “Are international small business owners really that different?”, Cross Cultural and Strategic Management. DOI 10.1108/CCSM-08-2018-0130.

Huang, M., and Rust, R. T. (2018), “Artificial intelligence in service”, Journal of Service Research, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 155–172.

Koveshnikov, A., Tienari, J. and Piekkari, R., (2019), “Gender in international business journals: A review and conceptualization of MNCs as gendered social spaces”, Journal of World Business, Vol. 54, pp.37-53.

Leonidou, C.N. and Hultman, M., (2019), “Global marketing in business-to-business contexts: Challenges, developments, and opportunities”, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 27, pp. 102-107.

Ng, I. C. L., and Wakenshaw, S. Y. L. (2017), “The internet-of-things: Review and research directions”, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 3–21.

Watson IV, G.F., Weaven, S., Perkins, H., Sardana, D. and Palmatier, R.W., (2018) “International market entry strategies: Relational, digital, and hybrid approaches”, Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 26, No. 1, pp.30-60.