Active and Passive International Marketing Strategies: The Case of Two State‐owned Broadcasters

Five years after the deregulation of New Zealand′s telecommunications and broad‐casting markets, the country′s two state‐owned broadcasters had achieved widely differing levels of internationalization and financial performance. Television New Zealand, the more active international marketer, was continuing to develop and expand its international business, while Radio New Zealand, which had adopted a more passive, reactive stance, earned negligible returns from its offshore interests and de‐internationalized. Shows that internationalization is best viewed as an experiential process, with international marketing investment decision making directly influenced by managerial characteristics, particularly levels of international business experience, orientation and commitment, and that environmental factors are also important influences on managers′ aspirations and expectations, the policies and strategies adopted and the levels of company internationalization and performance achieved.