Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal

The challenges of Nigerian agricultural firms in implementing the marketing concept

Ram Herstein, Eugene Jaffe,
Article information:
To cite this document:
Ram Herstein, Eugene Jaffe, (2013) "The challenges of Nigerian agricultural firms in implementing
the marketing concept", Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, Vol. 23 Issue: 1,
pp.55-67, https://doi.org/10.1108/10595421311296623
Permanent link to this document:
https://doi.org/10.1108/10595421311296623
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

Downloaded on: 30 November 2018, At: 15:26 (PT)

References: this document contains references to 30 other documents.
To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 517 times since 2013*
Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:
(2001),"Re-evaluating the marketing concept", European Business Review, Vol. 13 Iss 2 pp. 95-101 <a
href="https://doi.org/10.1108/09555340110385263">https://doi.org/10.1108/09555340110385263</a>
(1996),"Political marketing and the marketing concept", European Journal of Marketing,
Vol. 30 Iss 10/11 pp. 37-53 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/03090569610149782">https://
doi.org/10.1108/03090569610149782</a>

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:614218 []
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for
Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines
are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company
manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as
providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee
on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive
preservation.

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1059-5422.htm

Nigerian
The challenges of Nigerian agricultural
agricultural firms in firms
implementing the marketing
55
concept
Ram Herstein and Eugene Jaffe
Ruppin Academic Centre, Hemek Heffer, Israel

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the study traces 30 international marketing
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

strategies of Nigerian agri-business firms in order to learn whether these firms work today according
to the marketing concept in their attempts to export their products. The second purpose is to identify
gaps between the current international marketing strategy of Nigerian agri-business firms and
the required international marketing strategy that these firms should carry out in five stages of
implementing the marketing concept.
Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative study was conducted by interviewing 30 CEOs
and senior managers in five focus groups, in order to learn more about the difficulties and challenges
that agri-business managers in Nigeria must cope with, while trying to work according to the
marketing concept.
Findings – Although most senior managers of leading agri-business firms in Nigeria are aware and
fully understand the meaning of the marketing concept, there is a major gap between what should be
implemented and what is carried out in practice, mainly because of the structure of the Nigerian
market economy.
Originality/value – This pioneering study provides useful knowledge for any agri-business firm in
Nigeria and other firms in Africa in order to improve their marketing capabilities to gain a competitive
advantage in international markets.
Keywords Nigeria, Africa, Developing countries, Agricultural and fishing industries,
Developing economies, Marketing management, International marketing, Competitive advantage
Paper type Case study

Introduction
Today, more and more developing economies make enormous efforts to find the path to
market their local goods and products to foreign markets (Zou et al., 1997). It appears that
this step is very problematic, demands a lot of experience and requires designing a very
well-established marketing strategy (Jan-Benedict and Steenkamp, 2001). Challenges
such as overcoming barriers to trade in industries, country of origin and consumer
ethnocentric effects on product evaluation, cross-cultural incongruence, international
delivery of information content, international market entry decisions, managing
demand, standardization versus local adaptation, product quality considerations,
market research considerations and competitive stance, mainly constrain developing Competitiveness Review: An
and emerging firms that wish to market internationally (Rajshekhar and White, 2002). International Business Journal
Vol. 23 No. 1, 2013
The success of international or multinational marketing firms is based first and pp. 55-67
foremost on adapting a marketing concept which is also known as the modern q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1059-5422
marketing philosophy (Akaah, 1991). In order to cope with international marketing DOI 10.1108/10595421311296623
 CR challenges, many organizations in developing nations have decided to neglect the
23,1 production and selling concept and to adapt the marketing concept. The marketing
concept which first emerged in the mid-1950s in the western world has today become
a common marketing philosophy in other regions across the globe. The marketing
concept starts with a well-defined market, focuses on customer needs and integrates all
the marketing activities that affect customers. It turn, it yields profits by creating
56 long-term customer relationships based on customer value and satisfaction (Kotler and
Armstrong, 2004, p. 13). Although this concept is not new and has operated for almost
five decades, it appears that many manufacturing firms and services organizations
around the globe still have not embraced it, although they are fully aware of its
capabilities to achieve superior performance (Hooley et al., 1990). Implementing the
marketing concept often means more than simply responding to customers’ stated
desires and obvious needs. Customer-driven companies research current customers in
depth so as to learn about their desires, gather new product and service ideas and test
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

proposed product improvements (Kotler, 2003, p. 20).

According to an A.C. Nielsen Report (2006), businesses which still avoid adapting
the marketing concept professionally are mainly in emerging and developing countries
such as Africa. Nowadays, at the onset of the twenty-first century, the importance of
the marketing concept is not in doubt as a means to allow developing and emerging
economies to succeed in their unceasing attempts to penetrate foreign markets. The
question that still has to be addressed relates to the level of willingness of business
people and management in Africa to implement the marketing concept as part of their
business management philosophy in order to establish and manage a more
professional and long-term business vision. The purpose of this study is twofold.
First, the study traces 30 international marketing strategies of Nigerian agri-business
firms in order to learn whether these firms work today according to the marketing
concept in their attempts to export their products. The second purpose is to identify
gaps between the current international marketing strategy of Nigerian agri-business
firms and the required international marketing strategy that these firms should carry
out in terms of a five stage implementation of the marketing concept.

The role of the agricultural market in the Nigerian economy

It is a mistake to define the African economy as a single market. This continent is
divided into three distinct economies. The first is the South Africa economy which is
considered to be the dominant one in the continent, with a well-diversified
manufacturing base and with a demand for goods and services that is comparable to
the poorer countries in Western Europe. The second is North Africa where its
200 million residents are differentiated politically and economically. Some of them are
rich and more developed, with many states benefiting from large oil resources. The
third is Black Africa (between the Sahara Desert in the north and the Zambezi River in
the south) of which Nigeria is the largest developing nation (Keegan, 2001, pp. 169-70).
The economy of Nigeria was historically based on agriculture and about 70 percent
of the workforce is still engaged in farming (largely of a subsistence type). Except
when oil prices are low, Nigeria generally earns more from exports than it spends on
imports. Other important exports include cocoa, rubber and palm products. The main
imports are machinery, chemicals, transportation equipment, manufactured goods,
food and live animals. The USA is by far its largest trading partner, followed by China,
 Brazil, Spain and Great Britain. Nigeria ranks 55th worldwide and first in Africa in Nigerian
farm output. Agriculture has suffered from years of mismanagement, inconsistent and agricultural
poorly conceived government policies and the lack of basic infrastructure. Still, the
sector accounts for over 26.8 percent of GDP and two-thirds of employment. firms
Agricultural products include cassava (tapioca), corn, cocoa, millet, palm oil, peanuts,
rice, rubber, sorghum and yams (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2007). In 2003,
livestock production, in order of metric tonnage, featured eggs, milk, beef and veal, 57
poultry and pork, respectively. In the same year, the total fishing catch was 505.8
metric tons. The agricultural sector suffers from extremely low productivity, reflecting
reliance on antiquated methods. Although overall agricultural production rose by
28 percent during the 1990s, per capita output rose by only 8.5 percent during the same
decade. Agriculture has failed to keep pace with Nigeria’s rapid population growth, so
that the country, which once exported food, now relies on imports to sustain itself
(Moss, 2005).
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

An international marketing concept

Organizations which strive to market internationally should work according to the
marketing concept. Implementation of the marketing concept consists of five stages:
first, analyze the environment, second, design a strategic marketing plan, third, fit the
structure of the organization to the marketing objective, fourth, develop effective
operational marketing plans and, fifth, control the marketing program (Keegan, 2001,
p. 48) (Figure 1).

Stage 1:
Environmental Analysis

Stage 2:
Strategic Planning

Stage 3:
Structure

Stage 4:
Operational Planning

Stage 5:
Controlling the Marketing
Program Figure 1.
A conceptual framework
for international
modern marketing
 CR Environmental analysis
23,1 The first stage of implementing the international marketing concept refers to the
necessity to learn the environmental factors that can influence marketing strategy.
Several environmental factors affect the firm’s marketing success in its attempt to
penetrate international markets. According to Terpstra and Sarathy (2000, p. 713),
government intervention, fluctuating exchanges rates and high uncertainty are some
58 of the most meaningful environmental forces that every organization should take into
consideration before entering new foreign markets. Government intervention may
result in more managed trade. In such cases, the firm’s government must be enlisted as
a player to obtain support and win market share overseas. Government intervention
may also be defensive, providing subsidies to enable the firm to recover from
overwhelming foreign competition. Firms also need a long-range strategy to cope with
exchange-rate fluctuations, paying heed to short-term transaction effects and also to
longer-term competitive and market portfolio exposure. An environment with
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

increased uncertainty places a premium on cautious management, one that avoids

leverage, shares risk and aims for steady long-term results rather than attempting to
buy short-term market share and manage short-term earnings.

Strategic planning
The second stage of implementing the international marketing concept refers to the
strategic planning that the organization must consider, after finding (in the first stage)
the typical characteristics of the international market. According to Jain (1989), the
basic orientation of management toward international business is an important
influence on planning. A management group that assumes that all markets are alike
and that their major source of competence and ability is in the home market is going to
pursue a basically ethnocentric approach to multinational marketing. Conversely,
management that assumes that each national market is unique and therefore unrelated
to any other national market is going to pursue a polycentric approach to international
strategic marketing planning because its assumptions demand such an approach. The
geocentric assumption is that there are major differences and important similarities
among markets, and these similarities and differences must be recognized in order to
develop an effective integrated and coordinated international marketing plan that
maximizes the profitability of a worldwide marketing effort.

Structure
The third stage of implementing the international marketing concept refers to how the
marketer should design the structure of his organization in order to be able to execute
its strategic planning. As a company’s international business grows, the complexity of
coordinating and directing this activity extends beyond the scope of a single person.
According to Keegan (2001, p. 630), pressure is created to assemble a staff group that
will take responsibility for coordination and direction of the growing international
activities of the organization. Eventually, this pressure leads to the creation of the
international division. The corporate staff may or may not be involved in the
management of international marketing activities at this point. If the international
division is fully developed in terms of staff appointments, there is a tendency for it to
operate autonomously and independently of corporate staff. On the other hand, if the
international division is small and limited, there is a tendency that services such as
 marketing research are supplied by the corporate staff organization. The international Nigerian
division structure occurs in both the functional and the divisional organization. It agricultural
allows an organization to concentrate all its expertise in dealing with foreign markets
in one headquarter location. In companies that have the bulk of their sales in a firms
domestic market, this arrangement assures that an organizational location in the
corporation gives its full attention to international markets.
59
Operational planning
The fourth stage of implementing the international marketing concept is operational
planning. The purpose of this stage is to design a clear marketing strategy that fits the
abilities of the organization and is synchronized with the organization’s structure. This
stage is at the heart of the marketing concept and should be designed on the basis of
four elements: product, pricing, distribution and market communication. The product
is the key element of the marketing mix. It must provide an attractive benefit to the
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

customer if the entire marketing mix is to be successful. Today, it is essential to market

the product as a brand to the new foreign market, otherwise it has limited chances of
succeeding (Roth, 1995). The brand must fit the personality of the customers in the
foreign market (Aaker, 1999; Alden et al., 1999). The greater the benefit to the customer
and the higher the perceived quality of the product compared to its competitors, the more
freedom the marketer has in setting prices. Therefore, the international marketer must
pay attention to those costs from the very beginning of the product development process,
through the production of the product to its eventual recycling (Muhlbacher et al., 2006,
p. 496). Distribution and communication in the served country markets must be carefully
managed to avoid a negative image for mobile customers who find “their” brands
differently positioned in other countries. It is recommended that at least the core of a
brand’s positioning must remain the same across country markets. Local adaptations to
different tastes as well as technical and social norms and varying added features to
increase the local attractiveness of a brand must not endanger the internationally shared
core meaning of the brand.

Controlling the marketing program

The fifth stage of implementing the international marketing concept is marketing
program control. Companies market internationally to attain certain corporate goals.
The purpose of control is to direct operations to achieve the firm’s desired objectives
(Terpstra and Sarathy, 2000, p. 662). According to Koontz and O’Donnell (1976, p. 640),
the basic control process involves three steps: establishing standards, measuring
performance against the standards and correcting deviations from standards and plans.
An international business study by McDonald (1992) mentions a number of methods for
“integrating” international marketing: standard planning systems, international
product management, marketing committees, international marketing meetings, task
forces, marketing support services, internal marketing publications and rotation of
marketing personnel. In addition to regular reporting, specialized techniques exist for
evaluating marketing performance. Marketing channels are typically inefficient in
developing countries and Nigeria is no exception (Barrett and Mutambatsere, 2005).
Two of the most noteworthy are distribution cost analysis and the marketing audit.
Distribution cost analysis is a technique for analyzing the profitability of different parts
of the marketing program. Through comparative distribution cost studies of markets,
 CR international marketers can recognize weaknesses in marketing programs and find
23,1 solutions to recommend for markets having problems. The marketing audit is a
methodical examination of the total marketing effort, often by an outside expert
(Kotler et al., 1989).

Study
60 Method
Since the purpose of this paper was to examine the international marketing strategies of
Nigerian agri-business firms to discern their chances of succeeding in foreign markets, a
qualitative approach was adopted owing to its ability to obtain first-hand descriptions of
some specified domains of experience (Haley, 1996; Hastings and Perry, 2000). The value
of a qualitative approach, such as focus groups, has become more evident in
management research (Halman et al., 2003; Macdonald and Sharp, 1996; Verhoef et al.,
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

2002), to gain insight into phenomena not easily understood through quantitative
measures (Grace and O’Cass, 2002). The data used in this study were obtained from
managers who attended the workshop, Strategy, Marketing and Management –
Developing New Projects and Products in agri-business, held at the Maizube Abu-Turab
International Training Center for Agriculture and Rural Development in Minna, Nigeria
during January and February 2008. The main instrument for data collection was a focus
group. Focus groups are used across a wide variety of fields, of which marketing is one
(McDonald, 1993; Nelson and Frontczak, 1988). In marketing research, focus groups are
used to learn more about the potential of marketing programs from the managers’ point
of view (Morgan, 1996). Since the purpose of this study was to identify gaps between
current international marketing strategies of Nigerian agri-business firms and the
required international marketing strategy that these firms should adopt with regard to
the marketing concept, the focus group method provided insights into the sources of
complex behaviors and motivation of management (Morgan, 1993; Kidd and Parshall,
2000). This method is the only one that creates interactions that offer valuable data on
the extent of managers’ perceptions and diversity of opinions (Morgan, 1993; Osborne
and Collins, 2001).
The purpose of the workshop was to help senior managers of agricultural Nigerian
firms market their products outside the country to other West African nations. The
participants of this seminar came mainly from three areas: Lagos, Abuja and Minna.
The researchers, who also handled the workshop, conducted five focus groups in which
top-level managers and CEOs of Nigerian agricultural firms were asked to participate.
In order to manage the focus group study in the most professional manner, only
30 managers who had international marketing experience were asked to participate.
The 30 participants were divided into five groups according to their expertise in
agricultural products: the first focus group participants were those who work in the
honey business (five participants), the second focus group participants were those who
work in the cassava and yam business (seven participants), the third focus group
participants were those who work in the fish business (five participants), the fourth
focus group participants were those who work in the corn and rice business
(six participants) and the fifth focus group participants were those who work in the
business of tropical fruits, such as pineapples, papayas and melons (seven
participants). Each focus group took between 60 and 90 minutes and each group
was asked the same questions. In order to learn about the marketing approach that
 these senior managers adapt and implement in their attempt to market their Nigerian
goods and products to foreign markets, the researcher based his research on Keegan’s agricultural
(2001) conceptual framework questionnaire for international marketing concept. This
questionnaire contains 13 questions divided into five aspects (Appendix). The aim of firms
question no. 1 was to learn about the managers’ knowledge with regard to the foreign
markets that they wish to penetrate in terms of political, economic, social and
technology environmental factors. Questions nos 2-10 were intended to examine the 61
capabilities and the readiness of the managers to enter new markets. In question no. 11,
the managers were requested to describe the willingness and readiness of their
organization to be able to market their products internationally. The idea here was to
learn about the staff and the personnel who were going to manage this new project in
order to achieve its objectives. In question no. 12, the managers had to describe how
they planned to develop effective operational marketing plans given their assessment
of the market environment, the objectives and the structure of the organization. In
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

question no. 13, the managers were asked to present what steps that should be taken to
bring actual and desired results together.

Findings
During the five focus groups sessions, participants were encouraged by the researchers
to provide answers to 13 questions which reflect the five stages of the implantation of
the marketing concept.
First stage: environmental analysis. The results of the five focus groups revealed
similar patterns between how managers in the honey and fish industries handled their
international marketing strategies and similar patterns between how managers in
cassava and yam, corn and rice and tropical fruits handled their international marketing
strategies in terms of environmental analysis. The results of the first focus group, which
included managers who specialized in producing honey and the third group,
which included managers who specialized in fish, indicated that these managers
properly analyzed environmental factors. The honey managers claimed that their
attempts to market honey to foreign markets was totally based on analysis of
government intervention, fluctuating exchanges rates and high uncertainty. As the
honey managers put it:
In the honey industry, the competition is so intense, that you cannot succeed in any foreign
market without learning its environmental aspects. We know that an environmental analysis
helps us to identify a certain business opportunity. When you identify one, then you can start
working towards a marketing plan.
In addition, the fish managers were able to say whether the Nigerian Government
supported this business strategy, and. if so, in what ways and what resources it was
willing to invest and subsidize local companies that wished to export. In contrast, the
other three groups of managers could not provide any substantive information
regarding political, economic, social and technology environmental factors in their
marketing plan. One of the tropical fruits manager’s words were:
My firm does not work in that way. Since it is not so easy to collect information about our
environmental foreign markets aspects, we prefer to focus on our product and ensure that it
has good quality and if its so then we believe that our chances are much better than firms that
make all these analysis but actually cannot provide a product with good quality standards.
 CR Similar ideas were heard from the corn and rice managers who said:
23,1 In our business, it is very rare that marketing managers will invest time and effort in learning
the environmental forces, since we all tend to think that we know it quite well.
Second stage: strategic planning. Only the honey and the fish managers made an effort
to plan strategy. These managers knew the person in their organization making
62 decisions with regard to international marketing. They defined their target markets on
the basis of demographic and geographical aspects. They could estimate the size of
their target market and note very vividly the uniqueness of their products for the target
market in comparison to their competitors. In addition, it appeared that these managers
knew perfectly well what was required of them in terms of extending, adapting or
inventing the marketing aspects. They could also evaluate the chances of success
of their products in foreign markets, and they were aware of the currency situation of
their target markets. The most interesting expression as to the seriousness of the
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

strategic planning stage came from the fish managers who said:
How can you expect a firm to succeed without having answers to questions such as what is
the target size of the foreign market? And what are the firm’s major strengths and
weaknesses? These are the most basic questions that any organization must give clear
answer to them before it enters any market, local or foreign.
In comparison to these two manager groups, the other three showed very limited
knowledge regarding these questions. The corn and rice managers’ explanations were this:
In our industry it is not common to invest so much money in marketing efforts to obtain the
answers to these questions. We are not a German or a Swedish firm; and therefore we cannot
afford to adopt their marketing approach that plans for the long-term. Most Nigerian firms
fail because they are designed to plan for the short-term and not more than that. This
probably can be as a result of a lack of cooperation between the authorities and the farmers
and this reflects the necessity of the government and the authorities to educate agri-business
firms in Nigeria to work closer and constantly.
The tropical fruits’ managers claimed:
We tend to manage our work in a way were we don’t work by the book. Our strategies are
more based on what we used to do in the past, and we do not tend to make any meaningful
changes. Basic aspects such as target size and consumer benefit are not tested profoundly and
therefore we are all aware that our chances to go to international markets are very limited.
Third stage: structure. With regard to structure, the honey and fish managers knew
how to structure the organization optimally to achieve their objectives. In other words,
they claimed that management allocated the right people with experience in export.
The fish managers’ explanation was this:
We fully understand that foreign markets differ from local markets. We refer to them as two
different markets. This thought assists us to cope professionally in foreign markets and in
some cases even to be more favorable then very-well known manufacturers.
The other three manager groups failed to provide answers that reflect a real
understanding of coping with strategic planning. In practice, the cassava and yam,
corn and rice, and tropical fruits sectors do not have a special person to handle foreign
market activity. The same people who specialize in marketing products in the local
 market are responsible for marketing abroad. It appears that they do not have any Nigerian
experience or the right qualifications. agricultural
The cassava and yam managers’ explanations were this:
firms
We expect to get some assistance from the government since this stage is considered in our
point of view to be the most important one. We feel that this stage is a real pitfall that we can’t
over come by ourselves.
63
Fourth stage: operational planning. With regard to operational planning, it seemed that
in practice these managers had lots of pitfalls in marketing their products to foreign
markets. They all failed to brand their products and differentiate it. They made very
basic attempts in terms of marketing mix to market their products. Although they
identified the advantages of their product versus other competitive products, they did
not succeed in translating them to action. They claimed that they were mainly focused
on two marketing aspects: offering a good price and finding intermediaries, whereas
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

they did not pay enough attention to the branding aspect, which was becoming more
and more essential, and they completely neglected advertizing. Evidence for this failure
came from the cassava and yam managers:
We were not even aware of the necessity to differentiate our products based on non-functional
product aspects (non-tangible). For us a brand means a product that has a superior quality.
Notions such as brand culture and brand personality (that were raised during the focus group
session) were things that we haven’t heard about.
In addition, the honey managers claimed:
Honey became a much branded industry during recent years, but there is a real gap between
what we need to do in order to compete in international arena and what we do carried into
practice.
Fifth stage: controlling the marketing program. With regard to controlling the
marketing program, it appeared that the managers of the five groups did not know when
changes to their marketing program were required. Moreover, they did not implement
well-established strategic planning in terms of measuring performance. In other words,
these managers did not have clear indicators to test their marketing strategy results. The
reasons for this situation were best expressed by the fish managers:
We are aware that we do not do everything in the most appropriate and professional way, but
we really do not have enough knowledge about the way we should monitor and measure our
marketing strategies and decide if they were successful or not. We do work according to
feelings and experience that we gained over the years and it is very difficult for us to change
this to a new system.
It appears that most of the managers of these 30 firms tend to evaluate the success of
their marketing program in terms of sales and loyalty. However, when they were asked
about how they measure success they said:
Loyalty means for us satisfaction from our intermediaries. We do not analyze the level of this
satisfaction or loyalty, but as long as we get more invitation and the intermediaries would like
to work with us, this is a good sign and a reason to pursue with this strategy.
In general, the five focus group sessions revealed that there was very little knowledge
about the marketing concept and its implementation (Table I). For example,
 CR the marketing plans of the 30 senior Nigerian managers of agricultural firms lacked
23,1 mainly the brand image aspect and therefore they did not have the tools to gain
a competitive advantage. They also were not aware of the necessity to work with very
clear performance standards and therefore succeeded only partially in capturing
international markets. In comparison to these two groups of managers (honey and fish
industries), the three other groups (cassava and yam, corn and rice and tropical fruits)
64 gave a much more negative description of their attempts to implement a marketing
concept in their efforts to enter international markets. Their main problem was that
they claimed they knew what had to be done in order to work according to the
marketing concept but in practice took short cuts during all five stages. On the basis of
this limited marketing approach, they made many mistakes and instead of stopping
and examining their mistakes they preferred to move on to the next stage, since
they worked from the assumption that any foreign market that would agree to buy their
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

products may be a future opportunity that they could not afford to miss. Therefore,
they just concentrated on entering the new international market with the belief that
after having entered the market they would later on be able to cope with any difficulties
as they occurred. These managers described only some of the aspects that they had to
consider, such as avoiding a fundamental environmental analysis and focusing only on
the demographic or geographical aspect. They completely disregarded some of the
main strategic planning aspects, such as finding the customer benefit from the new
product, defining the size of the target market, focusing on the organization’s major
strengths and weaknesses relative to the existing and potential competition in target
markets, and which of the three strategic plans – extending, adapting or inventing –
was required in each international market. Another severe drawback was their limited
marketing strategy that was not based on a comprehensive scope but rather on a
shallow scope that referred mainly to distribution aspects.
To sum it up, these managers’ claims focused on the fact that the Nigerian
Government did not sufficiently encourage export and specifically did not support
exports by agricultural businesses. The managers pointed out that the Nigerian market
structure limits businesses to market internationally because of excess bureaucracy. In
addition, it seems that there is a lack of knowledge in the governmental units that are
in charge of promoting trade with foreign markets. These limitations reduce and
damage the abilities of agricultural businesses to ensure professional implication of the
marketing concept.

Group B: Group E:
Phase of marketing Group A: cassava Group C: Group D: tropical
concept honey and yam fish corn and rice fruits Total (%)

Environmental analysis þ 2 þ 2 2 40
Table I. Strategic planning þ 2 þ 2 2 40
Results of the study in Structure þ 2 þ 2 2 40
terms of five phases of Operational planning 2 2 2 2 2 0
international marketing Controlling the 2 2 2 2 2 0
concept marketing program
 Conclusions Nigerian
This study examined the international marketing approach of Nigerian firms that agricultural
succeeded or failed to export their agricultural products from the point of view of their
abilities to implement the marketing concept carried into practice. The findings of this firms
study offer several insights regarding the limitations of Nigerian firms to implement the
marketing concept in their businesses. The first one refers to Nigerian Government units
that are in charge of export, and the second one refers to Nigerian agricultural firms. 65
With regard to the Nigerian Government, it is essential that the government units
that are in charge of export, by means of knowledge and support, make much more
effort to promote agricultural firms that wish to export. It is required that these units
supply assistance to agricultural firms from the first step until entering the foreign
market. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Commerce should
find some solutions to reduce the bureaucracy that prevents these firms from
succeeding in their attempts to export their products.
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

With regard to Nigerian agricultural firms, it is recommended that those firms that
specialize in cassava and yam, corn and rice and tropical fruits should adopt the
marketing concept on a long rather than a short-term perspective. In other words, these
managers should avoid moving ahead with their international marketing strategy if
beginning stages of the marketing concept have not been implemented. Each stage
should provide concrete answers to the questions that relate to them. In contrast to
these firms, the businesses that market honey and fish, should invest more in branding
and promotion in the operational planning stage. They must ensure that their products
are branded to the foreign markets and not sold as commodities. Therefore, they must
create a unique image for their brands that is based on brand personality and not just
on functional characteristics (the quality or size of the product). Another severe
problem that should be solved relates to the inadequate performance controls that
managers operate in practice. In order to ensure better results in terms of international
marketing strategy, these managers must adopt more advanced standards, such as
distribution cost analysis and the marketing audit. Agricultural Nigerian firms that
base their international marketing strategy on the five stages framework of the
marketing concept will increase their chances to export their products rapidly and
ensure better financial outcomes in the long-term.

Limitations and future research

A number of limitations of the current study must be kept in mind when
interpreting the research findings. First, the current study examined only five
fields/products in the agricultural industry, while there is a necessity to examine
additional ones. Second, the sample size of 30 representatives of agricultural companies
is relatively small. This reflects the difficulties of conducting international marketing
research in a developing country. Third, there was no direct comparison between
Nigerian agricultural managers to other African nations. On the basis of these three
limitations, it seems that research of agricultural businesses in Nigeria should be
deepened and compared to other West African nations and to other African countries.
In addition, a comparative study that traces the way agricultural businesses manage
their marketing strategy in terms of international scope must be made, in light of
this or other measuring techniques or frameworks of international marketing
performance.
 CR References
23,1 Aaker, J.L. (1999), “The malleable self: the role of self-expression in persuasion”, Journal of
Marketing Research, Vol. 34, pp. 45-57.
A.C. Nielsen (2006), International Marketing Report, A.C. Nielsen, New York, NY.
Akaah, I.P. (1991), “Strategy standardization in international marketing: an empirical investigation
of its degree of use and correlates”, Journal of Global Marketing, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 39-62.
66 Alden, D.L., Steenkamp, J.-B.E.M. and Batra, R. (1999), “Brand positioning through advertising in
Asia, North America, and Europe: the role of global consumer culture”, Journal of
Marketing, Vol. 63, pp. 75-87.
Barrett, A.B. and Mutambatsere, E. (2005), “Agricultural markets in developing countries”,
in Blume, L.E. and Durlauf, S. (Eds), The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd ed.,
Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2008.
Grace, D.A. and O’Cass, A. (2002), “Attributions of service switching: a study of consumers’ and
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

providers’ perceptions of child-care service delivery”, Journal of Service Marketing, Vol. 15

No. 4, pp. 300-21.
Haley, E. (1996), “Exploring the construct of organization as source: consumer’s understanding of
organizational sponsorship of advocacy advertising”, Journal of Advertising, Vol. 25 No. 2,
pp. 19-29.
Hastings, K. and Perry, C. (2000), “Do services exporters build relationships? Some qualitative
perspectives”, Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Vol. 3 No. 4, pp. 207-14.
Hooley, G.J., Lynch, J.E. and Shepherd, J. (1990), “The marketing concept: putting the theory into
practice”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 24 No. 9, pp. 7-24.
Jain, S.C. (1989), “Standardization of international marketing strategy: some research
hypotheses”, The Journal of Marketing, Vol. 53, pp. 70-9.
Keegan, W.J. (2001), Global Marketing Management, 4th ed., Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Kidd, P. and Parshall, M. (2000), “Getting the focus and the group: enhancing analytical rigor in
focus group research”, Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 10, pp. 293-308.
Koontz, H. and O’Donnell, C. (1976), Management, 6th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
Kotler, P. (2003), Marketing Management International Edition, 11th ed., Prentice-Hall,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2004), Principles of Marketing, 10th ed., Prentice-Hall, Englewood
Cliffs, NJ.
Kotler, P., Gregor, W.T. and Rodgers, W.H. (1989), “The marketing audit comes of age”, Sloan
Management Review, January 15, pp. 15-29.
McDonald, M.H.B. (1992), “Ten barriers to marketing planning”, Journal of Business & Industrial
Marketing, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 5-18.
McDonald, M.H.B. (1993), “Ten barriers to marketing planning”, Journal of Business & Industrial
Marketing, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 5-18.
Morgan, D.L. (1993), Successful Focus Groups: Advancing the State of the Art, Sage, Newbury
Park, CA.
Morgan, D.L. (1996), “Focus groups”, Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 22, pp. 129-52.
Moss, T. (2005), Resolving Nigeria’s Debt Through a Discounted Buyback, Center for Global
Development, Washington, DC, pp. 1-2.
Muhlbacher, H., Leihs, H. and Dahringer, L. (2006), International Marketing a Global Perspective,
3rd ed., Thomson, London.
 Nelson, J.E. and Frontczak, N.T. (1988), “How acquaintanceship and analyst can influence focus Nigerian
group results”, Journal of Advertising, Vol. 17, pp. 41-8.
Osborne, J. and Collins, S. (2001), “Pupils’ views of the role and value of the science curriculum:
agricultural
a focus-group study”, International Journal of Science Education, Vol. 23 No. 5, pp. 441-67. firms
Rajshekhar, G.J. and White, D.S. (2002), “Strategic challenges for the marketing of services
internationally”, International Marketing Review, Vol. 19 No. 6, pp. 563-81.
Roth, M.S. (1995),“The effects of cultureand socioeconomicson the performanceof global brandimage 67
strategies”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 32, pp. 163-75.
Steenkamp, J.-B.E.M. (2001), “The role of national culture in international marketing research”,
International Marketing Review, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 30-44.
Terpstra, V. and Sarathy, R. (2000), International Marketing, 8th ed., Thomson, London.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (2007), 6th ed., Columbia University Press, Irvington, NY.
Zou, S., Andrus, D. and Norvell, D. (1997), “Standardization of international marketing strategy by
Downloaded by EKB Data Center At 15:26 30 November 2018 (PT)

firms from a developing country”, International Marketing Review, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 107-23.

Appendix

Stages Questions

Stage 1: environmental 1. What are the unique characteristics of each national market?
analysis
Stage 2: strategic 2. Who are the people who make marketing decisions in your organization?
planning 3. Are the target markets valid?
4. What is the need satisfied by the organization’s product in target
markets?
5. What is the customer benefit provided by the organization’s product in
target markets?
6. How large are target markets?
7. What are the organization’s major strengths and weaknesses relative to
our existing and potential competition in target markets?
8. Should we extend, adapt or invent our products, prices, advertizing and
promotion programs?
9. What are our objectives given the alternatives open to us and our
assessment of opportunity, risk and organization capability?
10. What is the balance-of-payment and currency situation in target
markets?
Stage 3: structure 11. How do we structure the organization optimally to achieve our
objectives, given our skills and resources?
Stage 4: operational 12. What products, at what prices, through what channels, with what
planning communications, does the organization work in order to achieve its Table AI.
objectives? Key questions for
Stage 5: controlling the 13. How does the organization management measure and monitor plan international modern
marketing program performance? marketing philosophy

Corresponding author
Ram Herstein can be contacted at: ramh@ruppin.ac.il

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com

Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints