Contribution of immigrant employees to international marketing standardisation strategies selection : An exploratory study

Purpose – Previous studies on the contribution of immigrant employees (IE) have mainly focused on immigrants from non‐Western industrialised countries. Few studies have explored the contribution of immigrants from the European Union (EU). The purpose of this commentary is to present the outcomes of a recent study on immigrant employees from the EU region. Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines the experience of 77 New Zealand firms operating in 11 EU markets. Only 10 percent of the firms investigated hired IE to assist or manage their firms' marketing activities in the EU region, suggesting employment of IE is still in its infancy stage. The EU is the largest immigrant source region, which contributes more than 30 percent of total immigrants to New Zealand in 2005. This study uncovers the profile of firms which have, or have not, utilised such a strategy. Findings – It was found that, at present, the users of IE are larger in size, equipped with higher international business experience, FDI mode users and operate more in the consumer durable and industrial product sectors. Among marketing environmental factors examined, competitive environment accounted for the most variation. The extent of standardisation difference of price and place was the highest. Originality/value – The findings of this study imply that the choice of IE from the EU region might relate to a firm's size, international business experience, market entry mode selection, product type and host market environment and characteristics (e.g. market size). IE might also have contributed to a firm's choice of pricing and place standardisation strategy. However, these relationships need to be verified by future research.