Marketing Research Across Cultures

8/8/2019 Marketing Research Across Cultures

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MARKETING RESEARCH ACROSS

CULTURES


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INTRODUCTION

Existing set of methods in marketing research

rarely equipped to go beyond the first order

interpretations. i.e., interpretations of the

dominant culture of the researcher

There is an attempt to seek universal

psychological motivations explaining the

behaviour of consumers despite the fact that

cultures are particular


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ERRORS IN MR

An error-free marketing research is impossibleto conduct.

Three major sources of error that occurfrequently in IMR

Error in sampling procedure both within andbetween cultures

In measuring instruments used in IMR. In how the measuring instruments are

administered.


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Sampling Errors

One of the problems in cross-cultural marketresearch is sampling

The sampling method and criteria forselection depends largely on the type ofresearch that is being conducted

Two main strategies

The first uses samples that are broad andrepresentative of the culture involved

The second uses of narrow samples


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Broad Sample

Different social levels of the culture are

represented and different characteristics of

people are included, such as age, sex,

education, occupation, etc.

As many variables as possible are to be taken

into account


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Narrow Sample

one needs to include only a few specific types

of functions in the narrow sample, e.g.,

professional staff or housewives.

allows one to observe the effect of the type of

function on the differences found in the

various other dimensions between the

participating cultures


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RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS IN IMR

Since the simultaneous launch of products andservices is becoming increasingly popular, marketresearch across cultures is becoming more frequent.

Most dilemmas occur in the area of validity andreliability of the instruments in use.

In-depth, unstructured, interviews may give resultsthat are valid (that is, closer to the truth) but notreliable (different answers)

Survey questionnaires may produce results that areconsistent (i.e., reliable) but that are not necessarilytrue


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Cross-Cultural Validity

Validity defined as the quality that indicates thedegree to which an instrument measures the constructunder investigation

first need to develop an insight into the cross-culturalenvironment

multi-local research v/s global environment research

four levels of cross-cultural validity construct validity

content validity sample validity, and

instrument validity


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Construct Validity

is evaluated by investigating what qualities a testmeasures, that is, by determining the degree towhich certain explanatory concepts or constructs

account for performance on the test It validates the theory underlying the

instruments constructed

Construct Validity involves

Validity of concepts

Validity of function

Validity of measurement equivalence


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Validity of concept

complaints about a product or service expressa feeling of dissatisfaction in almost allcultures

But in some cultures a complaint is only givenin the context of a relationship that needsimprovement

In other cultures, on the contrary, a complaintis like a farewell letter. That is , they will neverbuy your products


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Validity of function

Similar products play different functions in

different societies.

Eg. An automobile is a mode of transportationor symbol of status etc.

Eg. A watch is used to simply read time or a

collectors item or a fashion statement


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Validity to check measurement

equivalence

This is done by

equivalence in Language

equivalence in Translation Emic and Etic Approach


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Language

questions and responses need to reflect the

respondents' daily world and be expressed in

the everyday language that they are familiar

with.


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Translation

The aim of translation is to achieve

equivalence of meaning, resulting in

equivalent interpretations across cultures.


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Emic and Etic Approaches

"emic" approach, which believes that any

culture has an attitude and behavior that is

unique to the group

"etic" approach, focusing on the search for

universal attitudes and behaviors across

cultures


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CONTENT VALIDITY

refers to the degree to which the instrumentbeing used represents the concept about whichgeneralizations are to be made.

The first step that needs to be made in marketresearch is to optimize the content validity of theinstruments by searching the internationalliterature carefully in order to determine howvarious authors have used the concept

A final check on validity could be attained byconducting validating interviews using a pair ofinterviewers from different cultural backgrounds.


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CROSS-CULTURAL RELIABILITY

concerns the degree of agreement among

similar methods

Problem Areas in Cross-Cultural Market DataCollection are:

Defensive responsiveness

Ethnocentrism


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Defensive Responsiveness

The defensiveness of respondents is a roadblockespecially regarding some private questions

Investigators able to control certain sources of error byinforming The purpose of the research. For what organization is it

being carried out and what will be done with the endresults?

The role of the investigator. Which organization is theinvestigator working for and what are the codes of

integrity that apply? The role of the participant. Subjects need to feel secure,

for example, about their anonymity and privacy, and aboutthe anonymity of their answers.


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To reduce this problem

interviewers can remind the subjects of thefact that there are no right or wrong and no

good or bad answers

the section on subjects' personal data can be

kept for the end of the questionnaire, or evendone separately.


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Ethnocentrism

defined as an "exaggerated tendency to thinkthe characteristics of one's own group or racesuperior to those of other groups or races."

To avoid ethnocentrism in data collection, youshould develop instruments for cross-culturaluse cross culturally.

A way of culturally decentering the datacollection methods is to work in multiculturalmarket research teams


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Data Analysis

data come from individuals within a specificculture, within a specific society.

two possible levels of analysis

the individual or ideographic level the societal or nomothetic level

Correlation analysis of market data, in which westudy the relationship between the meaning of aproduct and the behavioral orientations of itspotential buyers, leaves the following choice: a global correlation between all individuals regardless

of the society they are in;


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a number of within-society correlations, one for eachsociety, between those individuals belonging to that

society, and a between-society correlation, or ecological

correlation, based on the mean scores of the variablesfor each society

first alternative disregard the culture from which

the individuals are drawn

A second alternative is of interest from a culturalpoint of view but relation btn societies is notconsidered

third alternative is the major statistical instrumentfor the treatment of cultural data and thus for IMRbecause relationship of culture and marketbehaviors among societies is considered


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UNDERTAKINGMARKETRESEARCH

WITH ETHNIC MINORITIES

Social class differentiation more complex when we tryto apply this to ethnic minorities

Discrimination often lead to people from those

minorities working in lower-level occupations thanmight be predicted on the basis of their qualifications

Level of educational attainment may provide a betterindicator than social class

but Indian,

B

lack African, and Chinese individuals aremore likely to have higher educational qualificationsthan the white population, though they are still morelikely to be unemployed


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MR is difficult quite simply from language

differences & how people participate

differently in focus groups or respond to

interviews

This has led many organisations to adopt

colourblind marketing strategies


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Conclusion

To achieve true international success,

differences should be celebrated and then

integrated

The real client is the customer who buys your

product

Documents

Marketing Research Across Cultures