A Very Short, Fairly Interesting, Reasonably Cheap Book About... International Marketing

This book excavates the premises upon which international marketing studies are built, using a wide-ranging, multidisciplinary approach and a clear and lively style. Its focus on the history, ethics and politics of international marketing means that it can dig far deeper than the average textbook in order to ask the questions that really matter.

This book is a much-needed one that addresses a genuine gap in marketing thought. International marketing texts often rely too much on the anecdotal—personal stories about accidentally transgressing cultural boundaries or mistranslating ad campaigns. They also often rely heavily on examples from the 20^th century, American contexts, and multinational corporations. What the discipline desperately needs instead is sound, dedicated conceptual scaffolding. This book provides just that. It achieves this laudable goal by focusing on the challenges of today and drawing on a wealth of knowledge from under-utilized disciplines like history, politics and philosophy—all while maintaining the very best of traditional approaches. It also teaches readers to think beyond narratives about international marketing which emanate from the contemporary neoliberal world of business practice itself. Given the author’s international experience, it has relevance far beyond the UK. It would be particularly valuable in the US context, where counterpoints to the usual fare are quite rare. I enjoyed the opportunity to preview it.

This is a philosophically rich, critical investigation of international marketing. It is required reading for students and academics alike