International Marketing Article Summary & Analysis

Going Global with Innovations from emerging economies: Investment in Customer Support Capabilities Pays Off
by Susanna Khavul, Mark Peterson, Drake Mullens, and Abdul A. Rasheed Journal of International Marketing, Volume 18, Number 4, December 2010

The authors argue that firms with IPs (Intellectual Property) and strategic intent to internationalize invest in international customer support capabilities to satisfy the demands of their most important international customers. Using a unique sample of 173 international new ventures from China and India, the authors show that such investments are associated with improved organizational learning and performance. Over time, such investments improve organizational learning and performance in international markets. The article emphasizes that investment in international customer support capabilities is critical for the success of entrepreneurial firms from emerging markets. Given that entrepreneurial firms from emerging markets face many obstacles and liabilities when they internationalize, investment in international customer support capabilities can strength their capacity to learn from early experiences with international customers and can improve their performance outcomes. The authors suggest that innovative firms should develop a deep connection to their customers as part and parcel of their international marketing strategy. International customer support also closes the gap between technology, intentions and outcomes. In the global marketplace becoming a successful innovator requires intentionality and investment in dynamic capabilities which enable the firm to coordinate and reconfigure its resources. Investment in international customer support

capabilities signals that the firm intends to create value and is committed to understanding customer needs in the present and the future. New ventures entering the global marketplace must define themselves and give meaning to their innovative products. An international customer support capability facilitates this because it enables firms to establish relationships with customers who often become their dominant exchange partners. It opens the exchange relationship and creates opportunities for the firm and its customers to jointly shape the future direction of the innovation and its value proposition such investments indicate a customer centric approach to marketing and position international customer support as a fundamental marketing issue.

The authors show that investment in dynamic capabilities plays a fundamental role in the outcomes of internationalization. In summary, it suggests that globalization pays off when entrepreneurial firms from emerging economies invest in ongoing support of their most important international customers.