A template for conducting qualitative sales research in the Middle East

Avinash Malshe and Jamal Al-Khatib

Potential challenges in conducting international sales research, coupled with the lack of systematic guidance currently prevent western sales scholars from conducting research in emerging market contexts.

Introduction and purpose of the study

The global marketplace has undergone substantial changes over the past two decades. Specifically, emerging markets in Asia and Africa have been growing exponentially compared to their developed country counterparts (compounded growth rates of above 35% compared to between 2-5% respectively) (Ready et al., 2008). The growth in the developing world is fueled by factors such as liberal business climates, lower barriers to starting and conducting business, and emergence of strong local companies, among others. This growth has attracted attention of western companies looking to establish long-term presence in the developing world (Ghemawat & Hout,...

WARC subscribers can sign in to keep reading

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands