Estudo de caso múltiplo sobre as capacidades de marketing na abertura de novos mercados de empresas de moda do sul do Brasil

Abstract

This study was carried out with the intent to understand the relationships of the es-sential marketing capacities in the process of opening new markets of fashion com-panies with different strategic orientations: cost, differentiation and focus. The ap-proach makes it possible to understand what the essential capabilities in each of the guidelines are for the purpose in question, i.e., the opening of new markets. A multi-case study was developed in which managers of four fashion companies from south Brazil were interviewed, companies that are leaders in their respective segments in the national market and are in the process of opening new international markets. Faithful to the recommendations of relevant theorists whose studies relate to market-ing skills, the work at hand sought to conceive them according to the strategy cho-sen by the analyzed companies. In the process of analysis, the most prominent ac-tivities were grouped into twelve large dimensions involving processes, structures, people and marketing capabilities. Based upon the research, not only the common activities but also the different activities in the opening of new markets in relation to companies oriented towards cost and differentiation were identified. The company that has a strategic orientation focused on the approach – as literature suggests –, may have characteristics of differentiation such as cost, depending upon the target audience it serves. Ipso facto, this definition was used in order to motivate options of marketing capabilities to the opening of new markets of this company with a strate-gic orientation in focus. Research shows that the cost-oriented company has the simplest structure, process, and people to open new markets, and the emphasis is on internal processes. Thus, it becomes more remote from the customer and, conse-quently, acts more slowly than the market changes. In addition, it does not present adaptations of products in the opening of new markets and the communication is low cost. In companies with strategic orientation for differentiation, structure, process and people with greater complexity were observed. Through external emphasis and interconnection processes with highly developed internal processes, it acts fast in the face of market changes and the trend in the fashion world, enabling the brand to convey its values and purposes. Therefore, the results of the present study are en-couraging. It has been revealed that the companies have achieved advantages through well-executed marketing capacity, which concludes that there are several ways to achieve a superior performance in the market. The study of the relationships between marketing capacities of companies with a focus on cost, differentiation and focus presents a rich and detailed description of the activities in the opening of new markets, being able to serve as inspiration as well as guidance to other companies in the sector that may have similar interest.