• Brian R. Chabowski (The University of Tulsa, USA, and University of Vaasa, Finland)
• Constantine S. Katsikeas (The University of Leeds, UK)
• Saeed Samiee (The University of Tulsa, USA)
• Attila Yaprak (Wayne State University, USA)
• Elizabeth L. Rose (Indian Institute of Management Udaipur, India), AIB Insights Associate Editor

AIB Insights is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes Actionable International Business Insights. Short, topical, thought-provoking articles should be akin to written “TED Talks”, with an applied/actionable focus; articles should be heavy on insights, but light on references, jargon, methods, and theory. These insights must be relevant to the international business community of researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and educators. With this call for papers, we invite submissions that offer novel and applied insights addressing issues related to international marketing (IM) or at the intersection of IM and other areas. We welcome all types of submissions for consideration and encourage papers that demonstrate the role of marketing in organizations as foundational, in contrast to a narrow downstream function.

IM is arguably the oldest and most common form of engaging in international business. Exporting, for example, while often framed as an “international market entry” mode, is, in fact, almost entirely marketing-driven and the engine that keeps most international firms functioning. Seeking customers abroad and securing orders, followed by shipping merchandise to final destinations, constitutes exporting. Also, given the variability of demand and intellectual property-laden context of the global economy in some industries, services can originate in a home country, altered using adaptation strategies, and become exports to many different host countries. Even within the context of today’s multinational enterprises (MNEs), which are some of the largest exporters, intra-firm sales constitute export marketing. MNEs often require affiliates to provide competitive offers vis-à-vis external suppliers (e.g., quality, technology, service, delivery, and price) and demonstrate they are successful in winning orders with internal customers.

In general, the role of marketing within organizations is more than just the public face, serving the unique revenue-generating function. Leading business scholars have described marketing as the firm’s sole purpose for existence and have asserted a firm only has two functions: one is marketing and the other, innovation, relates closely to marketing (Drucker, 1954; Levitt, 2006). In fact, new product or service innovation is a critical and central topic in marketing. In this context, numerous topics of practical interest relate to marketing and are potentially suitable for this special issue of AIB Insights. For example, all forms of foreign market entry can be viewed as constituting IM initiatives. Regardless of market entry form, firms extend their reach internationally to market or sell goods and services or secure supplies for their markets elsewhere. In addition, innovations involving the use of the Internet to conduct or manage various marketing activities, including intelligence gathering, IM strategy development, and implementation and control, are of particular interest for the special issue.

Other areas of importance include sustainability and socially responsible global business and marketing. The current sustainability imperative in marketing activities across firms and industries (IPCC, 2021) raises many questions about customers, suppliers, and relationship management. More specifically, due to the multifaceted social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainability (Elkington, 1994), today’s global conditions require discussion of the successful development of new products, pricing strategies, channel partners, and promotional efforts. For instance, revolutionary practical sustainability efforts implemented across developed and emerging markets are especially noteworthy. Some Nordic economies are seeking to rid themselves of waste completely, in an effort to generate new jobs, protect the environment, and be profitable (Abend and Nolting, 2022). What does this mean for the future of international marketers? How can they adapt to these new demands from customers and governments alike? How will international marketing managers establish new marketing channels to deliver value in such situations? How will this affect the pricing of sustainable goods and services in the global economy? How do culture and cultural shifts figure into sustainable global marketing practices?

This special issue of AIB Insights aims to address topics such as these to offer international managers, policymakers, and scholars in the IM field insights into effectively managing international market operations in the future. The special issue will feature contributions that have a decidedly managerial orientation but draw from theory. Examples of topics the special issue editors will consider for publication include (but are not limited to) the following:

• IM at the intersection of big data and market orientation: How do international firms leverage big data and analytics in developing IM plans?
• Building resilience in export business models: the influences of recent disruptive forces in global trade on export market planning and business models.
• Developing lasting competencies focusing on the digitization of marketing operations in light of COVID-19.
• The limits of global consumer culture and global branding in today’s increasingly fragmented and hypercompetitive markets.
• The relevance and success of sustainability-focused business models that address customer and government demands.
• How social media is used in the international and cross-national marketing strategies of small and large firms.
• The importance, establishment, maintenance, and difficulties of achieving customer satisfaction in the delivery of goods and services among small-and-medium-sized enterprises and MNEs.
• The specific roles of local, regional, and national informal and formal cultural, economic, and political institutions on increasingly populist consumer perceptions of local, international, and global goods and services.
• What are the tradeoffs involved in being, on the one hand, internationally ethical, responsible, and sustainable as a marketer and drawing reasonable returns from marketing activities on the other? How do firms view and measure these tradeoffs? What criteria should govern international managerial decisions in these tradeoffs?
• When should firms brand their products as local, global, and hybrid products? What are the marginal costs versus the marginal benefits involved in these decisions? How should international marketers calculate these differences?

Submission Process and Timeline

AIB Insights is an official publication of the Academy of International Business that provides an outlet for short (around 2500 words), interesting, topical, current, and thought-provoking articles. Colleagues interested in submitting to this Special Issue should consult the AIB Insights Editorial Policy and use the Online Manuscript Submission System. Please mention “Special Issue: International Marketing” in your cover letter when submitting your manuscript.

Deadline

The deadline for full manuscript submissions is August 31, 2022. The expected publication of the Special Issue on International Marketing is early 2023.

References

Abend, L., & Nolting, I. B. 2022. Inside Finland’s plan to end all waste by 2050. Time. January 20. New York, NY: Time USA, LLC. https://time.com/6132391/finland-end-waste/. Accessed 16 March, 2022.

Drucker, P. F. 1954. The practice of management. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Elkington, J. 1994. Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of the 21st century business. Stony Creek, CT: New Society Publishers.

IPCC. 2021. Climate change 2021. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Full_Report.pdf. Accessed 16, April 2022.

Levitt, T. 2006. What business are you in? Classic advice from Theodore Levitt. Harvard Business Review, 84(10): 126–137.

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