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# National Boundaries, Border Zones, and Marketing Strategy: A Conceptual Framework and Theoretical Model of Secondary Boundary Effects

## Details

**Authors** Clark

**Year** 1994

**Publisher** Journal of Marketing

**Discipline** Sociology

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299405800305) 
10.1177/002224299405800305

## In authors' words

### Abstract

Although national boundaries figure centrally in the definition of international marketing, the topic has not been explored fully. The author attempts to remedy this by surveying national boundary concepts and introducing a theoretical model and propositions describing the influence land boundaries have on actors in their immediate vicinity, the border zone. Dynamic national systems meet at national boundaries, and the resulting discontinuities produce spatial complexities critically important to marketing behavior in the border zone. Implications for market strategies and government policy are provided.

### What they set out to do (purpose)

How do national borders/boundaries affect marketing strategies?

### What they found (results)

National borders are complex systems and have signifcant impact on multiple areas of life.

## Commentary

### In short

The impact of making a distinction can be huge, and therefore paying attention to how/why one draws the boundaries they do can be overall beneficial for society.

### In more detail

B.1: Geographic Boundaries Clark (1994) looked at national boundaries and border zones and the impact those boundaries have on marketing strategy. Clark wrote that national boundaries are essential to international marketing, but are rarely discussed in literature. The boundaries are complex systems, and one fault at these borders can have significant repercussions. Borders dominate and shape economic behavior, which in turn affects a multitude of factors internationally. This article is a good example of the powerful impact 6 The cerebral cortex on the inferior convexity of the temporal lobe in primates including humans. It is crucial for visual object recognition.

Distinction-making can have on real world issues. Drawing a boundary to Distinguish between two countries has an incredible impact on potentially millions of people. Not just the people directly next to the border, but also the people nearby, or that have a diplomatic relationship with the area of land being Distinguished. Many of the current boundaries we have in today’s world were drawn without thought, or at the very least without a consideration of all the potential impacts and unintended consequences there could’ve been on the general population. How does one decide to make a Distinction like that? If you think about it, it’s completely arbitrary. It’s not a real Distinction; it’s been completely manufactured by humans. The fact that an essentially meaningless line across a piece of land can have such a monumental impact speaks worlds about the strength and significance the act of Distinction-making can have on many domains, economic, political, social, etc..

**Patterns it shows** D

**How to cite this** Clark (1994). National Boundaries, Border Zones, and Marketing Strategy: A Conceptual Framework and Theoretical Model of Secondary Boundary Effects. Journal of Marketing.