Standardization or Customization of the Marketing-Mix Strategy? Evidence Drawn from FMCG MNCs in UAE

To standardize or to customize? This question has always been the dilemma of numerous companies that decide to operate beyond the national boundary. This sensitive and ambiguous issue has caught the attention of several marketers and scholars resulting in emergence of different school of thoughts. The standardization school of thought attributed the world as a homogeneous place, hence advocating standardization of the elements of the marketing-mix strategy to yield numerous advantages to both the consumer and the marketer. Contradicting the standardization school of thought, the believers of adaptation approach argued that the world is a heterogeneous place and MNCs need to adapt the differences in the market environment in order to appeal to its target market in the host country, hence customization of marketing-mix strategy is imperative. Further, what has amplified the dilemma is the degree of adaptation or standardization required. Is it necessary to customize or standardize all the elements of marketing- mix (product, price, place and promotion)? The purpose of this study is to draw an insight into the level of standardization or customization of various elements of marketing mix of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) MNCs in the UAE. The results of the study indicated that the FMCG MNCs operating in UAE have adapted a mixed approach to the marketing-mix strategy wherein they standardize critical elements of the marketing-mix and customize the rest in order to respond to the host country differences