The authors address a key controversy in the marketing literature about the suitability of global standardization. An empirical investigation of the differences between firms that emphasize global standardization and others that use less standardization was conducted within the global industry context. The results indicate that market coverage and capacity utilization are important considerations for firms emphasizing global standardization. Emphasis on specialty products and the development of high priced products for market niches are also of some importance to these firms. However, in the critical area of performance, no difference is observed between firms stressing global standardization and others.
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