Macromarketing and International Trade: Comparative Advantage versus Cosmopolitan Considerations

Abstract

Within the context of international trade, the case study method is used as an analogue of a natural experiment to contrast the economic concept of “comparative advantage” with the social network “cosmopoliteness” construct. Specifically, a conceptual reconciliation between these macro/micro theories is developed, and then rival propositions are derived pertaining to the initiation of new export ventures. These alternative explanations are juxtaposed in an empirical setting, which not only provides an approximation of a “crucial test” but also demonstrates the rather unusual situation (in marketing) of hypothesis testing with the qualitative case study method on macro to micro translations. The findings favored the social exchange cosmopolitan explanation and led to the rejection of the hypothesis derived from comparative advantage.