ABSTRACT
The 'globalization' phenomenon is being impacted by the changing political, socio-economic, and demographic environment on a worldwide basis. On a global scale, trends influencing consumption behavior can be cited as follows: increases in GNP per capita, steady rises in life expectancy, rapid increase of literacy and education levels, increases in share of manufactured exports by newly industrialized countries, advances in transportation, and expansion in world travel. The globalizing consumer market reality presents a number of issues for marketing managers to consider in creating, maintaining, and/or improving on their firm's international competitive position. The vast number of issues associated with global consumer markets is consolidated in this conceptual framework. The degree of standardization of the marketing program incorporates other factors in addition to the marketing mix, such as: target market, market position, and environmental and organizational elements.
