Global Political Trends

In today’s world economy, international political events greatly affect marketing
activities. One significant trend is a move from government-dominated economies
and socialist political systems toward free market economies and, in many
countries, democratic governments. The republics in the Commonwealth of
Independent States and former communist countries in Eastern Europe, such as
Hungary, Romania, and Poland, are moving in this direction at various rates.
China is taking a different tack: trying to promote a free market economy within
its socialist political system. This objective may be difficult to achieve, as rapid
economic growth is generating pressure for a more democratic political system.
These historic developments offer potentially huge market opportunities for
many firms, given that these populations need many different types of products
and services. Creating effective free market economies is likely to take a long time
and considerable effort. Many countries continue to struggle with new political
and economic systems.
A second important political trend is movement toward free trade and away
from protectionism. One approach is the development of trading blocs throughout
the world. The largest trading bloc is the European Economic Area (EEA). It
Exhibit 3.7 American customer satisfaction quarterly index: Quarterly history for
manufacturing/nondurables sectors (0–100 scale)
Sector Industry
1994
(Baseline) 1995 1996
% change
1995 to 1996
Manufacturing/nondurables sector 81.6 81.2 79 −2.7
Apparel/athletic shoes 79 79 77 −2.5
Apparel/sportswear 82 81 78 −3.7
Beverages/beer 83 81 79 −2.5
Beverages/soft drinks 86 86 86 0.0
Food processing 84 84 83 −1.2
Gasoline 78 80 77 −3.8
Personal care and cleaning products 84 84 80 −4.8
Publishing/newspapers 72 68 69 1.5
Tobacco/cigarettes 81 82 77 −6.1
Chapter Three The Global Marketing Environment 61
consists of 17 European countries from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, representing
372 million consumers and a combined GDP of $6.6 trillion.27 The next
largest is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It consists of the
US, Mexico, and Canada and includes 360 million consumers and $6 trillion
GDP.28 The aim is to eliminate trade barriers and to promote easier access to the
markets in each participating country. As this development continues, trading
blocs have the potential to generate many opportunities for marketers.