The Silk Road offers a new perspective on how the international marketer adds values to the organization. One that is as relevant to small businesses as large multinationals. It maps a path that takes account of the Social Information, Learning and Knowledge-SILK-and the human factors-PASSION-required to build successful business worldwide. Marketing is about relationships with global reach. You won t find a more discerning guide to forming and sustaining these complex webs. -George S. Day, The Geoffry T. Boisi Professor and Marketing. The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Few business people will be untouched by international marketing in the new millennium. And those who do not venture overseas themselves will inevitable complete at home with foreign firms and brands. New Technologies, of which the Internet and World Wide Web are only the beginning, are driving companies of all sizes, shapes and persuasions down the global road. Despite the availability of these new technologies, the key to success remains the building of human relationships.This has been largely ignored by business schools, and international business people have simply followed their intuition. In the future, that will not be enough. This is the first book which applies the biological sciences to understanding what works and why-and how firms can improve. Contents Part I: IntroductionOne touch of natureRelationships for the long haulPart II: MAC, SILK and PASSION: an overviewWhat international managers do: networks of SILKMac: how marketing decisions are made Organizational learning: international planning processesPASSION: creating commitment, purpose andidentityPart III: Principles in practiceInternational marketing metrics: measuring what mattersNot Invented Here: internationalizing innovation Does this apply to me? Adjusting for sectorsDigital relationshipsConnectivity for the global marketerAbout the Authors Tim Ambler joined London Business School in 1991 and is a Senior Fellow. He leads the PAN AGRA programme of research projects which include the measurement of marketing performance and brand equity, advertising and promotions effectiveness, marketing in China, and overseas market entry. His publications include Marketing: from Advertising to Zen, in the Financial Times Guide series, and various papers on advertising and marketing.Chris Styles is a senior lecture at the School of Marketing, University of New South Wales. He teaches international marketing and strategy and directs a research programme that examines international business partnerships in Asia.