Global strategic marketing planning has become increasingly important with the advent of worldwide competition and the growing rapidity of change in the international marketplace. In this article, research and commentaries from the strategic management and international marketing planning literatures are synthesized into a model examining what factors influence global strategic marketing planning formality, and what direct and indirect benfits accrue from the process. Responses from 90 multinational corporations were subjected to a LISREL analysis and correlation analyses. Organizational climate, supply chain element, foreign regulations and competition were identified as key determinants of global strategic marketing planning formality. Considerable direct: and indirect benefits also accrue as planning formality increases.