Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1774165 I n their fight for global competitive advantage, firms pick strategic options that enable them to save costs and effort in marketing their goods and services on a global scale. The cost benefits and administration ease make the strategy of standardizing international marketing programs an attractive choice to many firms (Douglas and Wind 1987; Johansson and Yip 1994; Katsikeas, Samiee, and Theodosiou 2006). Consequently, standardization is considered perhaps the most influential aspect of international marketing strategy (Zou and Cavusgil 2002). Most prior research on the topic has primarily pertained to the antecedents to standardization, analyzing a range of factors that lead firms to adopt this strategy (e.g., Baalbaki and Malhotra 1993; Griffith, Chandra, and Ryans 2003; Harvey 1993; Jain 1989; Laroche et al. 2001; Picard, Boddewyn, and Grosse 1998; Powers and Loyka 2007). Performance implications have received less emphasis, and thus the question of the impact of standardization on firm performance remains an endur- ing research concern (Griffith, Cavusgil, and Xu 2008). Among the few studies that have focused on this aspect, reported results are inconclusive (Özsomer and Prussia 2000; Theodosiou and Leonidou 2003), limiting further development of theory and improvement of manage- ment practices. Although prior research has predomi- nantly indicated overall beneficial effects of standardiza- When Does International Marketing Standardization Matter to Firm Performance? Oliver Schilke, Martin Reimann, and Jacquelyn S. Thomas ABSTRACT The topic of standardization of international marketing programs is an important one faced by managers of global firms and has attracted significant research attention. Although previous research has established that standardization enhances performance outcomes, more recent theorizing suggests that this may not always be the case. However, empiri- cal investigators have paid little systematic attention to moderating conditions. The major purpose of this article is to investigate the organizational factors that moderate the standardization–performance relationship and, thus, to explore the types of firm for which standardization is particularly beneficial. The authors examine survey data from 489 firms, and their results indicate that the standardization–performance link is significantly stronger for large firms with a homo- geneous product offering, high levels of global market penetration, a cost leadership strategy, and strong coordination capabilities. The authors conclude that managers evaluating the adequacy of a standardization strategy should consider the list of contingencies advanced in this research. Keywords: marketing strategy, standardization, performance, structural equation modeling Oliver Schilke is Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Stanford University/RWTH Aachen University (e-mail: schilke@ stanford.edu). Martin Reimann is Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Southern California (e-mail: mreimann@ usc.edu). Jacquelin S. Thomas is Associate Professor of Marketing, Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University (e-mail: thomasj@mail.cox.smu.edu). Journal of International Marketing ©2009, American Marketing Association Vol. 17, No. 4, 2009, pp. 24–46 ISSN 1069-0031X (print) 1547-7215 (electronic) 24 Journal of International Marketing