engleski

Marketing Environment of Croatian Food Industry

Paper deals with the impact of different micro and macro marketing environment elements on development of food industry in Croatia. Field research of 58 food producers has shown that macro marketing environment is perceived to be very hostile – political/legal, economic and social environment are rated significantly bellow average, which corresponds to the existing crisis in Croatia in these three segments. However, technological environment is perceived as the least hostile – companies are aware of technology improvements as necessary in order to gain competitive strength in the international, but also local liberalized food market. Especially small and medium size companies seem to be willing and ready to go along and adopt technological changes.Research results point out that Croatian food companies recognize and work on building up of long term relations with suppliers, who they recognize as key players in their own business success, but also with consumers and even competition. They fear consumer ethnocentrism.Food industry perceives the distribution system to be very congested and among biggest obstacles in their development. Distributors in Croatia have significantly stronger market and bargaining power and are not particularly interested in small producers. Competition is perceived to be the most hostile variable of micro marketing environment mainly due to the lack of competition research and analysis in respondents’ own companies. Therefore they try to build up partnerships with competition as a tool to minimize the risk of this kind.

Marketing environment; Food industry; Croatia

nije evidentirano