Positioning strategies of foreign and indigenous firms in an African cultural milieu

Abstract

Despite the pivotal role of positioning in marketing strategy formulation, few studies explicitly examine positioning strategies employed by foreign and indigenous firms operating in the same cultural milieu. Relying on the concepts of culture and positioning as the backdrop, this research contributes to the literature by answering two key research questions: What are the differences between African indigenous firms' and Africa-based foreign firms' pursuits of positioning strategies? And is a Western-developed typology of positioning strategies applicable in an African cultural milieu, and more specifically, in the Ghanaian cultural environment? The results of the study demonstrate that indigenous and foreign firms replicate each other's positioning strategies to carve out positions, although foreign firms aggressively pursue a wider range of strategies than indigenous firms. While there is a uniform attempt by indigenous and foreign firms to reach the mass-market and lower- to middle-class target audiences, foreign firms focus more on middle-class audiences than do indigenous firms. The authors discuss implications for marketing theory and practice.