Polycentrism - Definition & Meaning

Published in Marketing and Strategy Terms by MBA Skool Team

What is Polycentrism?

Polycentrism marketing is a kind of marketing wherein an attempt is made to extend the appeal of its product to other countries. In this kind of marketing, the international sales are thought to be a key part. For practicing polycentrism, a company is required to establish subsidiaries in multiple countries to diversify the marketing scheme.


Every subsidiary has its own budget for the marketing activities, etc. Polycentrism tends to follow ethno-marketing wherein company though has a global presence but doesn’t give its subsidiaries much freedom in terms of decisions related to products, etc. Each subsidiary can develop a marketing strategy based upon the tastes and preferences of the region which they operate in. The subsidiaries don’t have to execute marketing plans devised by the parent company for other geographies s those strategies my not work in every geography.


Also for polycentrism, it is required that the company doesn’t have just one or two subsidiaries but have multiple subsidiaries. The drawback of such a strategy lies in the obstacles presented to the unified leadership. In many cases, subsidiaries of the same corporation might compete for customers against one another. Another disadvantage is the fragmentation of supply and production that can reduce efficiency.

Hence, this concludes the definition of Polycentrism along with its overview.

This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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