International Marketing in Germany – From a cultural perspective

1.4.2
 
Problem Definition and Research Areas 
In accordance to our problem discussion, we have identified the main problem of the thesis as 
follows: 
Main problem
: How do manufacturing Swedish companies design their marketing mix when 
internationalizing to Germany and were standardizations and adaptations made due to German 
culture? 
To be able to answer the main problem we have identified four research areas that we need to 
analyze and answer.
Research Area One – Pricing Mix 
The pricing mix as a marketing mix tool affects all other marketing mix decisions. The 
company has the choice to standardize or adapt it when internationalizing to Germany. Both 

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alternatives have pros as well as cons, which often are due to culture as we have defined it, 
which is why we find this area important to research.
Research Area One:
How do manufacturing Swedish companies adapt the pricing mix 
according to German culture when internationalizing to Germany?
 
Research Area Two – Product Mix 
The product mix as a marketing mix tool comes with many decisions in a process of 
internationalization such as adaptation or standardization of the core product, actual product 
and augmented product. This makes research about companies’ adaptations or 
standardizations within the product area important. 
Research Area Two
: How do manufacturing Swedish companies adapt the product mix 
according to German culture when internationalizing to Germany? 
Research Area Three – Promotion Mix 
The promotion mix as a marketing mix tool is very hard to standardize when operating in 
other cultures, since people in different cultures have different preferences. This calls for a 
need to find out companies´ adaptations of the promotion mix due to culture as we have 
defined it. 
Research Area Three
: How do manufacturing Swedish companies adapt the promotion mix 
according to German culture when internationalizing to Germany?