Cultural Influences on International Marketing

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Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2002Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2002

Cultural Influences

on International Marketing

Dana-Nicoleta Lascu

Chapter 5


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Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2002


Chapter Objectives

Identify the elements of culture and examine how they affectmarketing practices around the world

Describe national and regional character based on dimensionssuch as time orientation, business practices, gift giving,

socializing, gender roles, and materialism Discuss cultural variability in terms of the Hofstede dimensions

with appropriate examples and address cultural change in amarketing context

Address the self-reference criterion and ethnocentrism and

describe how they impeded mutual understanding andcooperation, with direct negative effects on marketing practices

Describe the global consumer culture as it manifests itselfaround the world


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The Importance of Understanding

Many companies find that their new foreign firm isabout to collapse because they have failed to learnthat countrys customs, cultures, and laws

Two out of every three U.S. executives sent to SaudiArabia are promptly repatriated due to difficulties inadapting to the local culture

The costs associated with premature returns(repatriation) negatively affects the bottom-line of

international companies


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Culture Defined

A continuously changing

totality of learned and shared

meanings, rituals, norms, and

traditions among the members

of an organization or society.

Ecology

Social Structure

Ideology


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Elements of Culture

Spoken/Written Language

Differences in meaning in

different countries which share

the same language

Dealing with multiple dialects

High costs of translation

High costs of translation

blunders


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Elements of Culture

Nonverbal communication Proxemics

Postures

Orientations

Oculesics

Chronemics

Haptics

Kinesics

Paralinguistics Appearances

Olfactions


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High vs. Low Context Cultures

Low-Context cultures:

What is said is precisely what

is meant

High-Context cultures:The context of the message

the message source, his or

her standing in society or in

the negotiating group, level

of expertise, tone of voice,and body languageare

all meaningful



Religion and Its Impact on Marketing

Practice

Protestant Religionstresses hard work and

frugality

Judaismstresses education and development

Islam

focus on rules for social interaction Hinduismencourages family orientation and

dictates strict dietary constraints

Buddhismstresses sufferance and avoidance

of worldly desires



Religion

Business days

Gender roles

Gift giving

Marketing practices



Cultural Values

Enduring beliefs about a specific mode of conduct

or desirable end-state

Guide the selection or evaluation of behavior

Are ordered by importance in relation to oneanother to form a system of value priorities



Cultural Values

Enculturation

Process by which individuals learn the beliefs and

behaviors endorsed by ones own culture

AcculturationLearning a new culture

Assimilation

Maintenance of the new culture, and resistance to

new cultures and to ones old culture



Cultural Norms

Normsare derived from values and defined as

rules that dictate what is right or wrong, acceptable

or unacceptable

Imperative

- What an outsider must or must not do

Exclusive

- What locals may do but an outsider cannot

Adiaphora

- What an outsider may or may not do



National/Regional Character

Time Orientation

Business Hours

Gift Giving

Socializing Gender Roles

Status Concern and Materialism

Otherfor example, access

(transportation by bicycle,personal automobile, public

transportation



Cultural Variability

Power Distance

Uncertainty Avoidance

Masculinity Versus

Femininity Individualism Versus

Collectivism



Cultural Change & Marketing

In an advertisement, if the above

are perceived as faces, censors

might erase them; if they are

perceived as a vase, they would

not be altered.

Marketers need to identify

the symbolic elements that

are important to a market

segment and use them

effectively in creating the

marketing mix.


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Obstacles to Cultural Understanding

Ethnocentrism

A related belief that a particular culture is superior to

another and that strategies that are used in the home

country will work just as well abroad.

The Self-Reference Criterion:

The unconscious reference to ones own value system


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Dealing with the Self-Reference

Criterion

1) Define the marketing goal in terms of ones homecountrys cultural traits, norms, and values

2) Define the marketing goal in terms of the hostcountrys cultural traits, norms, and values

3) Isolate the self-reference criterion influence andevaluate it to understand how it affects themarketing issue

4) Solve the marketing problem based solely on the

unique conditions of the host country.


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Global Consumer Culture

Shared consumption-

related symbols and

activities that are

meaningful to segments

Often attributed to the

diffusion of entertainment

from the US to the rest

of the world


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Global Consumer Culture Trends

Proliferation of transnational firms and the related

globalized capitalism

Global brands

Globalized consumerism and the desire for materialpossessions

Homogenization of global consumption


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Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing 2002Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing 2002

Chapter Summary

Identified elements of culture and examined howthey affect marketing practices

Described national and regional character andcultural variability worldwide

Discussed impediments to mutual understandingand cooperation

Analyzed the global consumer culture

Examined the depth and effect of different culturalinfluences on consumer behavior

Documents

Cultural Influences on International Marketing