This excerpt from the research paper (Salah S. Hassan, University of Washington DC School of Business and Stephen H. Craft, Birmingham Southern College) presents the essence of relationship between segmentation and positioning. 

"A review of contemporary research on international segmentation reveals a considerable shortage of empirical studies that examine the link between segmentation and strategic positioning. Yet, many segmentation researchers have stressed the critical importance of the relationship between segmentation and positioning decisions (Douglas and Crai, 1995; Wind, 1986). Segmentation and positioning decisions are central to the development of global marketing strategy. The term positioning often is used to refer to the firm’s decision to determine the place that its brand and corporate image occupy in a given market including the type of benefits to be stressed and the type of segments to be targeted (Douglas and Crai, 1995; Ries and Trout, 1986; Ries, 1996). In an international marketing context, the literature is consistent with the need to base positioning decisions on a broader scope that provides an understanding of differences and similarities from one market to another. Therefore, positioning is described as strategy to identify and direct marketing resources among intended market segments."