An exploratory study of international marketing in India: Indian firms, multinationals and their competitiveness

Indian firms are more international than ever before. Internationalisation drives and export orientation are prominent in the organisational strategies of a number of leading Indian firms and multinationals located in India. This is a significant indicator of the growing competitiveness of firms, industries and the nation. This paper examines the sources of competitive advantages in a few chosen sectors, selected firms, and explores the internationalisation possibilities and potential. Internationalisation is a varied process and allows multiple strategies (Baker 1985) and a variety of associated operational capabilities. We investigate the international marketing strategies adopted in twelve different business sectors in India in an attempt to explore and explain the similarities and differences found in this varied set of industries. The examples span the old economy industries such as the assembly and manufacturing enterprises that are both skill and capital intensive, and also the new economy sectors that are information intensive. Our study identifies several elements of international marketing strategies that may have the potential to affect business outcomes across sectors. Marketers can leverage this understanding in designing and implementing international marketing strategies by paying appropriate attention to important dimensions in order to achieve desired outcomes. Our study may prove to be helpful to businesses in making strategic and operational decisions concerning configuring their product and service portfolios to suit the markets they operate in and the new markets may have plans to enter.