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Abstract

Issues of standardization of products and marketing programs, and the degree of centralization of marketing decision making and planning, are of vital interest to multinational corporations as they increasingly compete in world markets. Previous research has established the need for some degree of standardization and, therefore, for some degree of centralized decision making. The present study was designed to assess the implications that the creation of the Single Market in the European Community will have on the standardization/centralization issue. Specifically, the role of the European central offices of major U.S. multinational corporations is emphasized. The results of the in-depth study of 22 Fortune 500 U.S. corporations with European central offices located in the United Kingdom indicate a trend toward overall strategic planning at the European central office level. More centralization of the distribution and pricing decisions is also noted for fairly uniform products but, in general, the product part of the marketing mix seems more standardized than the pricing, promotion, and distribution aspects. The paper concludes with some suggestions for future research.

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