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One side-effect of globalization is that business researchers are increasingly expected to take a world view. Latin America, a region representing 5% of the global economy, rarely plays a central role in research design. It is not surprising, therefore, that survey instruments designed for US and European markets encounter numerous difficulties when applied to Latin America. This article explains these challenges and describes best practices that help take into account the nuances of the Latin American market. 

Latin America’s contribution to a global company’s bottom line can range anywhere from less than 2% to more than 10%, which does not justify a large research effort. Nonetheless, a multinational assessing the world’s 15 largest markets will have to consider Mexico and Brazil which rank 14th and 11th, respectively, on a purchasing power parity basis. For many mass market consumer goods, the large working class populations of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru also often capture the attention of global research projects, and for luxury goods, those countries also feature pockets of substantial urban wealth.