Global Marketing and Culture Insights

Task of Global Marketers

• Must understand cultures of target countries.
• Recognize the influence of self-reference criterion on market perception.
• Incorporate cultural insights into marketing strategies.

Culture

• Defined as the ways of living of a group, passed from one generation to another.
• Contains both conscious and unconscious beliefs, values, attitudes, and symbols.
• Expressed through various social institutions.

Social Institutions

• Primary channels through which culture is manifested include:
  • Family
  • Education
  • Religion
  • Government
  • Business

Physical Culture

• Comprises tangible aspects such as:
  • Clothing
  • Tools
  • Decorative art
  • Body adornment
  • Homes

Abstract (non-physical) Culture

• Includes intangible components like:
  • Religion
  • Perceptions
  • Attitudes
  • Beliefs
  • Values

Global Consumer Cultures

• Emergent group sharing consumption-related symbols.
• Examples include pub culture, coffee culture, and fast-food culture.
• Result of a technologically interconnected world.

Attitudes

• Defined as tendencies to respond consistently to specific objects or entities.

Beliefs

• Organized patterns of knowledge considered true by individuals about the world.

Value

• Enduring beliefs regarding preferable modes of conduct in personal or social contexts.

Religion

• Source of significant beliefs, attitudes, and values.
• Influences marketing through tenets, practices, and holidays.

Aesthetics

• An understanding of beauty and taste varies across cultures.
• Includes aspects like product design and packaging.

Music

• Present in all cultures but varies in style and appropriateness for advertising.

Dietary Preferences

• Cultural context affects food choices; e.g., Domino's withdrawal from Italy.
• Global dietary preferences are converging.

Language and Communication

• Comprises:
  • Syntax: Sentence formation rules
  • Semantics: Systems of meaning
  • Phonology: Patterns of sounds
  • Morphology: Word formation

Marketing's Impact on Culture

• Universal cultural aspects present opportunities for standardization in marketing.
• Global travel and communication foster convergence in tastes and preferences.

High-Context Culture

• Information is context-dependent; background values and reputations are crucial.
• Less reliance on legal documentation, evident in countries like Saudi Arabia and Japan.

Low-Context Cultures

• Messages rely on explicit language with clear, detailed information.
• Countries such as the U.S. and Germany emphasize written agreements.

Hofstede's Five Dimensions of National Culture

• Power Distance
• Individualism vs. Collectivism
• Masculinity vs. Femininity
• Uncertainty Avoidance
• Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation

Power Distance

• Reflects acceptance of unequal power distribution in authority structures.

High Power Distance

• High respect for authority, common in countries like Mexico and Singapore.

Low Power Distance

• Promotes equality; employees feel free to approach superiors, prevalent in the U.S. and Sweden.

Individualistic vs. Collectivistic

• Individualistic societies prioritize personal/family interests (e.g., U.S., Canada).
• Collectivistic societies expect group support and protection (e.g., Mexico, Thailand).

Uncertainty Avoidance

• Indicates comfort level with ambiguity and risks.

High Uncertainty Avoidance

• Associated with lower tolerance for ambiguity, seen in Italy and France.

Low Uncertainty Avoidance

• More accepting of risks and different behaviors, found in Canada and Singapore.

Masculinity

• Refers to cultural values related to achievement versus nurturing.

High Masculinity

• Emphasizes achievement, competition, and material success, common in countries like Japan and Mexico.

Low Masculinity

• Values nurturing and relationships over competition, seen in France and Sweden.

Orientation

• Reflects focus on future versus past.

Long-Term Orientation

• Prioritizes future planning and values such as thrift and persistence, prevalent in China.

Short-Term Orientation

• Emphasizes tradition and historical values, common in Germany and the U.S.

Self-Reference Criterion and Perception

• Refers to the unconscious influence of one’s own cultural values, leading to cultural myopia.

How to Reduce Cultural Myopia

• Define problems using both home country and host country cultural perspectives without judgments.
• Examine SRC influences and redefine the problem for local contexts.

Diffusion Theory: The Adoption Process

• Mental stages from initial awareness of an innovation to adoption or purchase.

Stages of the Adoption Process

• Involves awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and final adoption.

Five Factors Affecting Innovation Adoption Rate

• Relative advantage
• Compatibility
• Complexity
• Divisibility
• Communicability

Asian Hierarchy

• Skewed adoption curve with more early majority and fewer laggards.

Marketing Implications of Social and Cultural Environments

• Cultural factors must guide marketing strategies for both consumer and industrial products.
• Environmental sensitivity determines the extent of product adaptation needed for various markets.

Environmental Sensitivity

• Culture significantly drives consumption irrespective of social class or income.
• Food is notably the most culturally-sensitive consumer product category.