Understanding International Market Segmentation

The important point in international market segmentation is the impact of the geographical dimension on the implementation of segmentation, since the geo­graphical location can play a major or minor role, depending upon the environ­ments concerned.
It is of major importance when there are differences in customer behaviour (mainly the level of technical development), networks and norms in one area that make the segmentation used in the original country (or area) inapplicable. In such cases it becomes necessary to reconsider the whole basis of the market segmenta­tion. The objective is to search for what, in spite of their differences, constitutes common features shared among the different territories, thereby making it easier to treat the absolute differences.
It is minor if 'another market' is so similar to those already covered that it may fit into an existing group of countries in which a common segmentation exists.
Geographically dispersed countries are in fact similar, requiring similar offers and area management strategies. France and Brazil should receive similar offers, in the same way as the UK and Mexico. The South American and European management units show very weak homogeneity in marketing terms. Thus, several dimensions of the international strategy have to be reconsidered: organisation and allocation of management responsibilities, offer design, allocation of manufactur­ing and marketing investments and the localisation of technical support staff or pro­motional policies. Such a vision of the markets allows management to approach the questions of the international coverage of the markets and the investment priorities in new ways. However, we already mentioned that segmentation, as it is presented here, is valid for the case of dispersed customer bases. As for concentrated cus­tomer bases, the importance of the single customer is such that useful methods are to be found in what we call the international management of customers and inter­national customer portfolio management.

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Powerful Factors of Market Globalization

Market Globalization 
Some powerful factors scale and ex­perience effects, international standardisation of norms, criteria of return on invest­ment, demand homogenisation and so on, lead more and more markets towards world unification. But this phenomenon does not affect markets in a similar way.
On the basis of the arguments just used, the debate is open as to the extent of variety and standardisation. One has to be cautious not to confuse the globalisation of competition and offer standardisation. Truly international competitors may bring different answers to the necessary compromises between forces to standardise, and degrees of adaptation to different market requirements. If a standard offer causes losses in market share in some markets because of insufficient adaptation, what does the firm win? Our idea here is that demand variety is still the major theme of thought. It is not possible to force standardisation further than customers are willing to accept. But the first step in analysing what this means for a firm's inter­national marketing strategy is to analyse what in many cases hinders the choices open to it, and that is the firm's own initial stance towards intemationalisation.

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Understanding Diversity in International Markets

Diversity in International Markets 
If the world of uniform and homogeneous would not exist. Common sense brings forward evident differences: languages, social habits, lifestyles, foods and so on. However, some innovations - the mobile phone and Internet, for example - appear simultaneously in all countries and develop in spite of these true differ­ences. Marketing typically deal with international issues only from the point of view of consumer goods or services. Differences between countries are typified through such criteria as standard of living (Gross National Product), the structure of consumption patterns (the respective claims on disposable income of food, clothing, furniture, leisure and so on), a national preference for certain type of consumption, and local regulations. These criteria are not particularly relevant to business-to-business environments. A new technology - such as an innovative sensor bearing for the car industry - is likely to offer solutions acceptable to any customer in any country, whatever the nationality or language. But the bearing manufacturer may not meet the same degree of success in all the countries con­cerned, even if it expended the same effort throughout. This chapter seeks to explore why this might be so.
Reasons Behind Diversity 
The most obvious international dimension is geography. Remoteness creates a kind of mental or psychic distance between a decision centre and a large number of operational fields. One spontaneous and historical trend is to simplify this variety through clustering countries within geographical areas. So, for example, IBM's world is divided into EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), the Americas, and the Pacific Rim. From a purely marketing point of view this is based on the assump­tion that these areas present a high degree of homogeneity on numerous criteria (and in IBM's case, the time differences in between units in one area are mini­mised). But this homogeneity is not universally true.
Differences in required performances come for any country from its degree of technical sophistication: the general level of education, technical training of engineers and technicians, standards 'of the research centres, level of the industrial equipment both in general and for a particular sector, and so on. This degree of sophistication is closely correlated with a more general indicator, the Gross National Product per head. The behaviour of a firm in a country is closely connected to the 'local' resources that it may call for. This is a direct application of the cluster theory. The performance and development of a firm are partly determined by the conditions of its environment. The proximity of professional practices combines several points that may have led national firms to adopt similar practices:
Norms and regulations intervene in all domains. They still playa protectionist role in many countries. Most often they are the result of joint work between public authorities and the profession. It suffices here to note how Electricite de France has been able to establish French norms in terms of transport and distri­bution of electricity. In has succeeded in influencing the performance of the firms acting in the sector. A firm that is used to meeting high performances is not adapted to produce simpler products at low cost. Conversely, firms used to lower performance norms do not easily comply with higher norms. Norms may slow down the entry of foreign firms as much as the export capacity of national firms does. It may be the inability to adapt to other norms or the refusal to support the related costs. Nevertheless, the trend is towards an increased influence of inter­national norms (ISO, EC standards. and so on.).
National networks and value chains also establish particular practices: different division or allocation of the tasks from one value chain to another, different roles from the supporting industries, the impact of various public authorities and so on. All these dimensions shape different market structures from one country or area to another. In order to sell small electrical motors to a car manufacturer, a foreign supplier had no choice other than to approach the usual supplier of this manufacturer. Trying to force an entry, typical practice in Europe or North America, is not a possibility in Japan: this is a general comment concerning the Japanese car industry. Let us note that each car manufacturer has built its own network that should be examined specifically.
These dimensions take on precise forms within a given environment. In their con­crete form, they make for a basis for international segmentation.
The Forms of Diversity 
The forms of diversity vary according to the industrial sector concerned and the nature of the customers' problems to be solved. An example to illustrate our point concerns the purchasing of office furniture. This decision is linked to several criteria:

• The size and location of the office: enclosed offices for 1 or 2 staff or open-plan spaces for 3-50 staff 
• The size of the firm 
• The firm status: public or private. 

In spite of its simplicity, this example does show how compromises have to be made in order to design 'European office furniture'. The same furniture does not fit an enclosed office for one person and an open space for 20. The habit of large open spaces, as in the UK or Spain, creates a demand for furniture adapted to this particular type of environment. A large group requiring refurbishment may present requirements for adaptations that a smaller firm would not. Because of the relatively large number of bigger firms, a pan-European supplier could expect more requirements for adaptation from the UK, Germany or France than from other countries, the presence in France of a large public sector is likely to drive prices down.

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Basics of International Marketing

Specificities of International Marketing 
he marketing approach is based on understanding and react­ing to demand diversity. Any company seeking to build a long-lasting competitive position uses marketing to organise and manage this diversity in order to under­stand it and to adapt accordingly. Thus, the firm is bound to make numerous choices: target segments, target customers, prioritised deals, offer design and so on. Our initial perspective and the numerous examples we have introduced naturally placed our views within an international scope. Doing so makes the point that acting in an international context places the firm in an environment of a higher degree of com­plexity. This is the result of the view of the marketplace: differences on technologi­cal levels and cultural habits between geographical areas and countries, diversity of customers and their organisational structures, the variety of networks and value chains or clusters. The marketing approach and methods that we have discussed are well adapted to deal with market diversity and heterogeneity. We could well stick to a technical point of view and not examine the international field at all. However, this increased complexity challenges any firm in organising its marketing activities, and it is necessary to identify and attempt to solve the questions that it raises. Under­standing this complexity is not an easy task, as it does not present itself uniformly when dealing with different industrial sectors, customer portfolios, competitors' position or types of offer.
A first difficulty appears when trying to separate international marketing from the firm's international strategy. Consequently, we chose to limit our discussion to the design of an international customer and offer policy, and to the questions linked to the organisation of the marketing function in an international arena. We shall not treat such themes as how to take a foothold in foreign markets, the localisation of the manufacturing units, the specificities of local tax or legal systems, the interna­tional financial operations and other important issues.
Two realities actually affect international marketing. First, what is the kind of firm that we are looking at? Is it possible to analyse the international market­ing strategy of large concerns such as BP or Dow Chemical and that of a small European company such as Elcometer. that nevertheless exports a significant amount of its output, in the same way? Secondly, the degree of concentration of the customer base has to be taken into account. It is not possible to use the same approaches and methods for 15 car manufacturers as for 5 million garages. We shall try to define clearly all the time the situation that we have in mind.

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What are the Causes of Hyperhomocysteinemia?

CAUSES OF HYPERHOMOCYSTEINEMIA 
A number of enzymes, essential cofactors, and the availability of the important cosubstrate methyltetrahydrofolate regulate plasma homocysteine concentrations. Predictably, therefore, the causes of hyperhomocysteinemia are multifactorial. 
Environmental Factors 
Age and Gender 
Plasma tHcy increases with age in both genders, for reasons that have not been elucidated. 
Decreases in cofactor levels or coexisting renal impairment often seen in older patients may be responsible, and age-dependent reductions in cystathionine ~-synthase activity may also playa part. In general, men have higher plasma levels than women. After menopause, fasting tHcy seems to increase although this has not been confirmed, and hormone replacemen therapy can lower elevated tHcy levels in postmenopausal women. Although gender differences may be explained by the effect of sex hormones on homocysteine metabolism, they may be related to higher creatinine values or the greater muscle mass of men than women. Homocysteine is decreased by up to 50% during pregnancy, returning to normal 2 - 4 d postpartum. The authors suggest several reasons for this decrease, including the hemodilution known to occur in pregnancy, or an increased demand for methionine by the fetus, leading to increased remethylation of homocysteine. 
Ethnic Group 
Despite a high prevalence of CHD risk factors such as hypertension, obesity, and smoking, CHD incidence rate is much lower among westernized black Africans compared with the white population. A group of 27 black men, aged 18 - 25 yr, had tHcy 46% lower than similarly aged white men. By contrast, in a study examining tHcy and B-vitamin levels in American black pre-menopausal women, who have higher rates of CAD than white women, black women had higher tHcy and lower folate examined homocysteine and CAD in the Hong Kong Chinese population. Although the evalence of hyperhomocysteinemia was similar to that in white subjects, elevated tHcy was not an independent risk factor, being associated with smoking. Serum vitamin B12 did not Mer between patients and control subjects. The observation of higher serum folate in those with elevated tHcy does not seem compatible with what is known about tHcy metabolism. 
Coexistent Disease 
Elevated homocysteine levels are found in a number of disease states. Impaired renal :unction is associated with hyperhomocysteinemia. There is a positive correlation between :asting plasma tHcy and serum creatinine although the mechanism is unclear. Markedly elevated homocysteine levels have also been seen in acute lymphoblastic leukemia various 
cinomas (including breast, ovary and, pancreas, severe psoriasis, and diabetes mellitus. 

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Hyperhomocysteinemia and Coronary Heart Disease

HYPERHOMOCYSTEINEMIA AND CORONARY HEART DISEASE 
Numerous studies have indicated that mild hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for CHD. In the Physicians' Health Study, a total of 14,91.6 US male physicians, aged 40 - 84 yr, were followed up for 6 yr. Men with homocysteine levels above the 95th percentile 'based on control distribution) had a threefold increased risk of myocardial infarction compared with those within the bottom 90%. The findings were also statistically compatible with a graded risk increase across the distribution, a suggestion made by Perry and coworkers in a prospective study of stroke in middle-aged British men. Similar findings have been reported for myocardial infarction, carotid artery thickening, and angiographically defined coronary artery stenosis.
In addition, Selhub and associates demonstrated a gradual increase in the prevalence of carotid artery stenosis with increasing levels of homocysteine. A meta-analysis by Boushey and colleagues showed an increase in risk of CAD of about 70% for each 5 !lmol/L rise in fasting homocysteine. They concluded that a total of 10% of CAD risk appeared to be attributable to homocysteine. Two recent studies have confirmed the relevance of homocysteine as a risk factor for vascular disease. The first was a multicenter, case-control study where the risk of atherosclerotic vascular disease (cardiac, cerebral, and peripheral) was examined, as well as the association of plasma tHcy with conventional risk factors.
The subjects comprised 750 cases and 800 controls, both male and female, below 60 yr of age. The relative risk (RR) for vascular disease in the top fifth of the fasting tHcy distribution, when compared with the bottom four-fifths, was 2.2 (95% confidence interval [CIl 1.6 - 2.9), and a dose-response effect was noted. This level of risk is similar to that observed for hypercholesterolemia and smoking. The second study examined the prognostic value of homocysteine in patients with established CAD. A total of 587 patients with angiographically confirmed CAD were followed-up for a median period of 4.6 yr. Homocysteine levels were strongly associated with levels of folate and vitamin B12, history of myocardial infarction, the left ventricular ejection fraction, and serum creatinine.
A strong, graded relationship was found between plasma tHcy and overall mortality. After 4 yr, 3.8% of patients with tHcy below 9 ),lmol/L had died compared with 24.7% of those with tHcy greater than 15 !lmol/L. The association was not altered significantly when adjusted for other, possibly con-founding, factors such as age, sex, serum creatinine, left ventricular ejection fraction, and history of myocardial infarction. However, not all studies examining the effect of homocysteine levels on the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) have shown a positive association, highlighting the need for further investigation. An updated analysis of the Physicians' Health Study data yielded a relative risk for elevated tHey of only 1.3 (95% CI 0.5 - 3.1).
An analysis of the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) cohort showed no effect of tHey after adjustment for other variables (RR = 0.94; 95% CI 0.56 - 1.56). An analysis of tHey and CHD in the Caerphilly cohort showed tHey to be only weakly predictive of CHD events. Finally, the ARIC study showed no association between the incidence of CHD an tHey, although there was a possibility that vitamin B6 offered independent protection, a finding also suggested by others.

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Possible Vascular Damaging Mechanisms of Homocysteine

Endothelial cell injury 
Impaired nitric oxide production Overproduction of reactive oxygen species
Increased von Willebrand factor and thrombomodulin Increased tissue factor production
Decreased antithrombin III production
Increased smooth muscle cell production
Increased monocyte adhesion to the vessel wall
Coagulation pathways 
Impaired platelet survival time
Increased production of thromboxane A2 by platelets and decreased production of
prostacyclin
Increased activation of factors V, X, and XII
Inhibition of antithrombin III and factor C production Increased fibrinogen levels
Enhanced binding of lipoprotein (a) to fibrin
Oxidative stress 
Overproduction of reactive oxygen species Decreased plasma antioxidant activities Increased lipid peroxidation

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Mechanism By Which Homocysteine May Lead to Vascular Tissues

Several mechanisms may be involved in the genesis of vascular disease by homocysteine, including effects on connective tissue, smooth-muscle cells, platelets, endothelial cells, blood lipids, coagulation factors, and nitric oxide-summarized here. The relative importance of each of these mechanisms is not fully understood.

Homocysteine is toxic to endothelial cells in vitro, and in vivo. Hyperhomo-cysteinemia is associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation and impaired endogenous tissue-type plasminogen activator activity. Homocysteine promotes increased platelet aggregation as a consequence of increased synthesis ofthromboxane~ and decreased synthesis 

of prostaglandin. Hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with abnormalities of the clotting cascade. Homocysteine promotes the binding of lipoprotein (a) to fibrin and the growth of smooth muscle cells, and tHcy levels correlate with levels of fibrinogen, an independent risk factor for CVD. It must be noted, however, that many of these effects are not specific to homocysteine; a variety of free thiol-group amino acids, particularly cysteine, show similar tendencies. Much of the research into mechanisms has been carried out at millimolar concentrations of homocysteine, which are 100 - 1000-fold higher than those observed in vivo. In addition, the complex redox reac-tions involving the various homocysteine forms and their relation to other thiols in vivo are difficult to represent accurately in vitro where a single homocysteine species is used. 

The complexities of elucidating an atherogenic mechanism are illustrated by the fact that oxidative modification of LDL by tHcy has been demonstrated in vitro and in animal models, but has not been observed in hyperhomocysteinemic patients. Similarly, supplementation with B-group vitamins, postulated to reduce tHcy and thus inhibit lipid peroxidation, had no effect on the susceptibility of LDL to oxidation. Homocysteine's effect on endothelial dysfunction, however, has been confirmed in a clinical setting. The blocking of the effects of hyperhomocysteinemia on endothelial dysfunction by pretreatment with antioxidant vitamins still suggests the involvement of an oxidative mechanism. 

Similarly, in a cross-sectional study, plasma tHcy was associated strongly (r = 0'.40, p < 0.001) with plasma F-2-isoprostane levels, a marker for in vivo lipid peroxidation. The observation by Glueck and associates of a higher risk of myocardial infarction in hyperlipidemic patients with hyperhomocysteinemia and low HDL also suggests the possibility of an interaction between these risk factors. 

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Effect of Vitamin Supplementation and Diet on Homocysteine

EFFECT OF VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTATION 
AND DIET ON HOMOCYSTEINE 
Cross-sectional and experimental evidence suggests that mild hyperhomo-cysteinemia may be related to subclinical deficiencies of folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12-all co factors or co substrates in homocysteine metabolism (84 - 93). In a study of vitamin and tHcy levels in an elderly population, Selhub and coauthors (21) found a strong inverse correlation between tHcy and plasma folate, and weaker inverse correlations between tHcy and both cobalamin and vitamin B6 (pyridoxal-5-phosphate). The authors concluded that elevated tHcy levels could, in great part, be due to poor vitamin status, and these results have been confirmed in many other studies. Many studies have assessed the effects of vitamin supplementation on plasma tHcy. Levels in folate-deficient patients can be reduced by oral folate supplementation.
In one study, the elevated tHcy in patients with renal failure decreased after only 2 wk of folate therapy. Maximal effects may be seen after 4 to 6 wk of therapy. The lowest effective dose for folate supplementation has not yet been determined. Doses of 5 mg or 10 mg alone or 1 mg in conjunction with vitamins B12 and B6 may be effective. Ubbink and colleagues confirmed by intervention that a daily supplement of folate (1 mg), B6 (10 mg) and B12 (0.4 mg) could normalize elevated tHcy (> 16.3 Ilmol/L, n = 44) within 6 wk. Ubbink and colleagues then looked at the effect of supplementation with the individual vitamins in 100 men, aged between 20 and 73 yr, with tHcy greater than 16.3 Jlffiol/L, over 6 wk. Folate supplementation (0.65 mg/d) reduced plasma tHcy by 42% whereas a daily vitamin B'2 supplement (0.4 mg/d) lowered it by 15%. The vitamin Bs supplement (10 mg/d) had no significant effect. The combination of the three vitamins reduced circulating tHcy by 50% that was not significantly different from the reduction achieved by folate supplementation alone.
Brattstrom and coworkers noted significantly lower tHey in middle-aged and elderly subjects taking multivitamins containing doses of folic acid ranging from only 200 - 400 Ilg. Homocysteine values increase if vitamin therapy is discontinued. Ward and colleagues carried out an uncontrolled study examining the effect oflow-dose folate supplementation in healthy male subjects. Folate supple-ments were administered daily at doses increasing from 100 Ilg for 6 wk to 200 Ilg for 6 wk and then up to 400 pig for 14 wk. A dose of 200 Ilg/d appeared to be the optimum tHey-lowering dose as there was no apparent benefit of increasing the dose to 400 Ilg/d. The subjects had reported a mean dietary folate intake of 281 ± 60 Ilg/d. Their total folate intake, with the additional 200 pig supplement, therefore corresponds well with the observation by Selhub and colleagues that total intakes over 400 Ilg/d are associated with desirable tHcy in a healthy elderly US population.
When the analysis in the former study was carried out by tertiles of baseline tHey, the lowest tertile group showed no increase in red-cell folate over the 6-mo supplementation period, suggesting that their baseline folate status was optimal to begin with. Ward and associates suggests that, although there does not appear to be a threshold in the relationship between elevated tHcy and CVD risk, there may be a threshold of plasma tHey in terms of ability to respond to folate. A further randomized placebo-controlled study in healthy women aged 18 ­40 yr confirmed that both 250 Ilg and 500 Ilg folate/d for 4 wk decreased tHcy. Eight weeks after the end of folate supplementation, tHey had not returned to baseline. A meta-analysis of 12 studies using B-group vitamins to lower tHcy has recently been carried out.
The magnitude of tHcy reduction was related to the pretreatment tHcy and folate levels.
Folate reduced tHcy by 25% (95% CI 23 - 28%), and the effects were similar at daily doses ranging from 0.5 - 5 mg. Vitamin BI2 yielded a further tHey reduction of 5 - 6%, but vitamin Bs had no significant effect. None of these trials, assessed the effect on tHcy after methionine loading, however, which is determined by the transsulfuration pathway where vitamin Bs is a cofactor. The effectiveness of vitamins BIZ and Bs in homocysteine-lowering therapies needs further study.
Alien and associates have shown that folate supplementation will not correct hyperhomocy steinemia that is primarily the result of vitamin BIZ defi~iency, whereas Robinson and colleagues found that vitamin B6 was inversely related to risk of CVD independently of homocysteine, although this may be due to its ability to modulate the homocysteine peak after the oral methionine load test. Administration of vitamin Bs alone does not lower fasting tHcy. Dose-optimizing studies for these vitamins are also required. Woodside and colleagues have tested the hypothesis that simultaneous administration of antioxidant vitamins may potentiate the effect ofB-group vitamins on elevated tHey. An interaction between antioxidants and folate is conceivable because the latter is susceptible to inactivation by freeradical mediated oxidation, which can be prevented both in vitro and in vivo by vitamin C.
Although B-group vitamins lowered tHey by roughly 30%, the addition of antioxidant vitamins to the supplement had no effect on this. It is clear from the foregoing evidence above that B-group vitamin supplementation effectively lowers plasma homocysteine. The question therefore arises whether a dietary change in B-vitamin intake or food fortification can achieve

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Effects of Technology on Advertising

Technology And Advertising 
New technology is continuously being developed to deliver more creative and better­targeted advertising. While it is impossible to predict what will succeed and what will fail, here are a few examples of new approaches to advertising that are being tested:
In Tokyo, Northwest Airlines is testing using billboards on the streets and in subway stations with ads containing bar codes that can be read by special readers on cell phones. These codes are unlocked by snapshots taken by the phone's camera which then direct the phone's web browser to coupons, games, or further information on the product.
Time-Warner Cable Inc. is testing a system using the digital cable box to target different ads to different households. In fact, if a father and daughter are watching the same TV show but on different TVs, they can see different commercials.
Some companies are developing new digital technologies for showing images. Pulse (pulse3d.com) has online tools for turning a photo of any person or animal into a lip-synched talking head for ad campaigns. Zebra Imaging (zebraimaging.com) produces large promotional holograms that make images of objects or people in 3-dimensions without special glasses.

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Advertising for Setting Customer Expectations

What to Expect From Us?
A key element of service quality evaluation is the assessment of the service rela­tive to expectations. Advertising plays an important role in setting customer expectations. Therefore, marketing managers for services must be careful not to promise what cannot be delivered. All communications targeted to customers should be examined in terms of how well they reflect reality. If you do not do this, the customer certainly will. The unique aspects of services discussed in this chapter have the following implications for advertising.
First, service advertising should contain vivid information. Vivid information is more likely to hold the viewer's attention and excite the imagination. It also results in improved customer understanding of the service. Because service attributes are intangi­ble, this improved understanding is critical to a customer's ability to evaluate the quality of the service and to compare it to other options. Vividness can be achieved through three different strategies: attempts to make the service tangible; concrete, specific language; and dramatization. A good example of the latter is the former series of American Express commercials featuring actor Karl Malden that demonstrated the value and security of American Express traveler's checks by showing the disasters that can befall travelers if they use a competitor's brand.
A problem faced by customers purchasing a service is developing alternatives from which to make the final choice. The reason that this can be difficult is inherent in the way services are distributed. When a service is delivered through a franchise operation, there is only one choice at a particular location, unlike the normal assortment available from retailers of physical goods. Although some (e.g., travel agents) do offer competing services, many do not. Thus, a major problem facing service companies is how to get your brand into the customer's choice set.
The relevant communications goal is to have the customer connect your brand with the product category. This can be done with repetition or through an approach called interac­tive imagery. Imagery involves having customers visualize a concept or relationship by integrating two items in some mutual or reciprocal action. This approach can be used to enhance vividness.
Therefore, prepurchase evaluation of services is difficult. One way to approach this problem is to highlight the behind-the-scenes rules, policies, and procedures that make the service provider the best option to choose. This helps to make the service tangible to customers and gives assurance that it will be of high quality. Alternatively, a marketing manager can use the ad to show the service actually in use. The advertising for Singapore Airlines' first-class service is an example of this approach. The picture of the very com­fortable-looking passengers in the ads gives potential customers a sense of how great a trip on Singapore Airlines would be.

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Reconcile Consistency Theories of Advertising

Reconciliation 
How does one reconcile consistency and complexity theories, two intuitively plau­sible but conflicting positions? One approach is to assume that tendencies toward consistency and variety both exist. The one that will dominate will depend on the personality and the situation involved. Assume that there is a level of activation at which an individual is comfortable and effective. When the activation level is lower than desired, the individual will pursue variety to increase it. When it is high, she or he will be motivated to reduce stimulation and seek harmony such as is pre­dicted by consistency theories. Obviously, there will be differences across people in terms of the optimal activation level. The situation will also determine behavior. If a high level of activation is required for optimal task performance, variety seek­ing will emerge. Thus, if a person is embarking on a major purchase, he or she may require a variety of information; if it is a routine purchase, such a drive will not tend to emerge.

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