The SUPWAVE Theory of International Marketing: an analogy between catching the best waves and foreign market entry decisions
Resumo
The main objective of this paper is to propose a user-friendly approach (SUPWAVE acronym - S – Support; U – Upgradable products; P – Pivoting capability; W – Wages to attract the best employees; A – Ambition; V – Value Proposition; E – Earnings) that helps to explain the several complex dimensions of a foreign market entry decision, using an analogy between successfully catching and surfing waves and entering new markets, especially those that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) do not know well or are culturally very different from the ones the entrant is used to supplying. Sometimes the hurdles are not self-evident, nor self-explanatory in an a-priori analysis, particularly for managers without in-depth knowledge in marketing campaigns and their possible side-effects across all channels and therefore this paper develops an analogy that helps business owners visualize and consider the essential relevant variables when choosing a market, while also assimilating the concept that only those who try will enter the new market/surf the wave, since planning without action is a waste of money, and vice-versa. Therefore, through a systematic literature review and using keywords such as “wave”, “marketing” “market entry”, and autoethnographic considerations, the authors first try to demonstrate the originality of the hypothesis and then portray a parallelism between strategic international business management choices and the ones a paddlesurfer has to make when choosing the right wave to catch, perceiving that the theory will help global trade entrepreneurs, national manufacturers and members of academia to figure out why some companies have not been achieving the intended Return on Investment (ROI), even when carefully planned – as each wave is unique and you can only pivot and persist, until you succeed. An interview and exploratory survey response were received, which both support the SUPWAVE acronym.
