International marketing agility: conceptualization and research agenda

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to conceptualize the notion of international marketing agility.Design/methodology/approachThe approach adopted is to review and create a synopsis of the existing body of research on strategic agility and develop a conceptualization on how international marketing agility (IMA) should be analyzed.FindingsInternational marketing agility is an emerging concept driven largely by rapid changes in global markets. There is a growing need for exporting SMEs and multinational enterprises to consider IMA as a means of building competitive advantage in foreign markets.Research implications/limitationsWhile the conceptual development presented in this paper is not exhaustive, our model highlights important research avenues in IMA that need exploring.Originality/valueThis article examines an emerging concept in international marketing that serves as a platform to cope with the changes taking place in this fast-changing global environment. A framework is proposed where we conceptualize IMA as a process triggered by agile logic (a nonconformist and open mental stance) and facilitated by agile learning (being able to search and interpret data), to cause agile actions (being able to commit, co-ordinate and respond quickly with flexibility to ever-changing conditions).

Leading digital transformation through an Agile Marketing Capability: the case of Spotahome

“…Integrating and aligning IT throughout the supply chain enhances collaboration, which facilitates information flows (Ismail and Sharifi 2006;Kearns and Sabherwal 2006;Oh and Pinsonneault 2007;Tallon and Pinsonneault 2011). The international marketing literature on agility emphasizes a firm's ability to coordinate resources and activities among different stakeholders across foreign markets (Gomes et al 2020;Hagen et al 2019). By extending prior studies, this work emphasizes that being open to feedback and advice from others is essential for global marketing teams, helping to foster close and trust-based relationships both inside and outside the organization.…”

“…To succeed in today's dynamic, unpredictable and global business environment that is dominated by digitalization, the marketing function needs to employ agile principles. Despite the attention the topic is gaining, especially in the management and international marketing literature (e.g., Asseraf et al 2019;Hagen et al 2019;Li et al 2019;Gomes et al 2020), scholars have not analyzed and conceptualized the agility concept in terms of a specific marketing capability that enhances a firm's ability to adapt to a changing international and digital environment.…”

“…Previous studies on international marketing agility focused on improving speed and accuracy (Vaillant and Lafuente 2019), or on being responsive and flexible (Hagen et al 2019), forming the basis for developing international marketing agility. By responding to the need to understand how to develop agile actions that increase adaptability to fast-changing marketing conditions internationally (Gomes et al 2020), this study identifies the following dimensions that characterize an Agile Marketing Capability: adaptability to changing conditions, collaborative and integrated working environment, continual and fast pace of innovation, and a focus on forecasting and monitoring market needs (see Fig. 1).…”

“…Prior studies on agility have highlighted the relevance of an adaptive approach (Overby et al 2006;Sheffi and Rice 2005) that competes with speed and surprise, adjusts strategies and redeploys resources flexibly (Gligor et al 2013;Lu et al 2011;Sambamurthy et al 2003;Teece et al 2016), and develops new products or diversifies existing product lines using existing facilities and supply chain (Eckstein et al 2015;Swafford et al 2006). In describing international marketing, prior studies have outlined a firm's ability to change direction and customize strategies in terms of the features that are most critical in international markets, i.e., flexibility (Asseraf et al 2019;Gomes et al 2020;Hagen et al 2019;Li et al 2019). This study extends the existing literature by showing that, when considered in a digital and international marketing context, an agile approach helps organizations to not only adjust their strategies in response to changes in the market but also implies a more effective use of resources and capabilities, by being more adaptive and flexible in dealing with the product demands in different countries.…”

“…Despite international marketing scholars' interest in agility (Gomes et al 2020), no studies have yet investigated agility in the context of marketing capabilities research stream. Whereas scholars have extensively discussed the positive linkage between agility and marketing performance (Alford and Page 2015;Golgeci and Gligor 2017;Zhou et al 2018), and have recognized agility as a critical success factor in tackling international market opportunities (Vaillant and Lafuente 2019), there is a lack of research that analyses and conceptualizes the concept of agility as a specific marketing capability that enhances a company's ability to adapt to a changing international environment (Gomes et al 2020;Khan 2020). We found that existing studies have neglected to understand specifically how agile capabilities might take place in international digital marketing settings, and what components may be needed to develop an appropriate Agile Marketing Capability.…”