Cochlear is an Australian company is regarded as a leader in and expert in hearing innovation is a born global company that has reached over 100 countries. In order for a company to be considered born global they must have a quarter per cent share in foreign sales within two to three years of establishment (Kudinan, Yip and Barkema, 2008). When a company like Cochlear is born global the business must understand in depth each of the counties in which they market and sell their products, this can be done through the exploration of the countries macro environment. Discussed throughout this paper will be how different macro environmental factors in overseas markets and how each of them could potentially affect Cochlear’s global marketing mix.

Borden, 1964 describes the marketing mix as a group of essential components or requirements that make up a businesses marketing strategy, in short it is made up of 4 components, product, price, place, promotion (Vignali, 1994). However, when entering into any market domestic of international, there are a number of factors that govern how the marketing mix is created, including trade behaviours, government regulations, competitors, and consumers purchasing behaviours (Grönroos, 1997). In order for the marketing strategy to be successful in any marketplace the correct mix of components must be chosen. This is the case for a born global company like Cochlear, as it is vital that when entering into overseas market places, they must look into the various political, legal, social, cultural and technological aspects of each new country as it provides a backdrop in which the marketing mix is developed (Douglas, Craig, 1994)

When looking at the macro-environmental factors that were previously mentioned, it is important to understand the environment as it is crucial to marketing effectively and assessing the way in which a products