Theoretical justification of sampling choices in international marketing research: key issues and guidelines for researchers

Sampling in the international environment needs to satisfy the same requirements as sampling in the domestic environment, but there are additional issues to consider, such as the need to balance within-country representativeness with cross-national comparability. However, most international marketing research studies fail to provide theoretical justification for their choice of sampling approach. This is because research design theory and sampling theory have not been well integrated in the context of international research. This paper seeks to fill the gap by developing a framework for determining a sampling approach in international studies. The framework is based on an assessment of the way in which sampling affects the validity of research results, and shows how different research objectives impact upon (a) the desired sampling method and (b) the desired sample characteristics. The aim is to provide researchers with operational guidance in choosing a sampling approach that is theoretically appropriate to their particular research aims.