International and cross-cultural marketing
Lecture 1: Similarities and Differences Across and Within Cultures
1. Introduction
Cross-cultural marketing examines how cultural similarities and differences affect behavior and
marketing strategies in over +200 countries, emphasizing the crucial role that cultural knowledge
plays in international environments.
2.What is culture?
2.1 Understanding the Importance of Cross-Cultural Marketing
• Scope of Cultures
• There are infinitely many cultures that are constantly changing.
• Cultural elements such as country, roots, religion, age, and environment contribute
to how culture is defined and experienced
• Why Study Cross Cultural Marketing?
• Market Growth Potential: Emerging middle classes in non-EU countries are growing
rapidly.
• Cultural Influence on Behavior: Although only 10−15% of behavior can be explained
by cross-cultural differences, these differences are essential in global marketing.
• Ingroup/Outgroup Dynamics and Nonverbal Communication: These elements
significantly affect consumer behavior and business negotiations.
• Growth in developed counties slows down
• Behaviour influenced (but not determined) by culture
• What is the purpose of Cross-Cultural Marketing or business?
• Cross cultural marketing is NOT
1. Cross border marketing
2. Imposing uniformity
3. Inter-national marketing
• It is ABOUT
1. Diversity
2. Respect
3. Interactions
,2.2 Defining Culture
• Perspectives on Culture
• Anthropology: Focuses on material productions (e.g., art, music, artifacts) and social
norms.
• History: Emphasizes symbolic systems such as religion, guilds, and hierarchies.
• Psychology: Concentrates on personal and shared values and norms.
• Business and Marketing: Integrates various elements to explain how cultural systems
shape market dynamics.
• Key Definitions
• Williams (1960): Described culture as a comprehensive "way of life" that includes
material, cultural, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions.
• Normative System Perspective: Culture is viewed as a set of preferred solutions to
universal problems, created and maintained by a group.
• Learned Behavior: Culture is acquired through exposure, and higher exposure often
results in higher internationalization of behavior.
• Cultural Impact on Individuals
• Tight Cultures: Have strong norms and low tolerance for deviation (e.g., Pakistan,
India). The individual’s behavior is closely aligned with cultural expectations.
• Loose Cultures: Exhibit weak norms and higher acceptance of individual differences
(e.g., EU, Australia). Personal values may have more influence than cultural norms.
Example: Consider how a family meal in a tight culture may be very regimented compared to a more
casual approach in a loose culture.
2.3 How Culture Links Individuals to Society
• Levels of Cultural Influence
• Macro-level:
4. Dominant normative systems
5. Imposed by overarching institutions such as political, economic, legal, and
educational bodies
6. Impact on lower levels depend on tightness of culture
, • Meso-level:
7. Socialization in larger societal groups like religious organizations or
occupational communities.
8. On how to form groups
• Micro-level:
9. Interactions within small groups such as family and friends
10. where cultural norms are reinforced through daily interactions.
• Subcultures:
11. Individuals may belong to multiple subcultures
12. each with specific operationalizations of broader cultural norms.
→ It takes centuries to change macro level concepts, but only 10-20 year to change
operationalizations
→ Different subculture operationalizations explain why people behave differently according to
the context within the same (broader) culture: the operational culture.
→ Subtle contextual cues may activate different operational cultures (cf. frame switching).
3.Frame switching
When you are on Holidays, do you alter your habits? cf. breakfast, bargaining at local markets
Which (beer) brands do you consume in other countries?
• Frame switching: individual differences!
• Choice or automaticity?
Bilinguals responded to surveys in culturally compatible ways when primed with social
representations
13. Operational knowledge for daily decisions
14. Constantly updated and adapted
15. Held by individuals, but often varies across cultures
16. Less profound, as it changes far quicker (+/-20 years) than cultural norms (+/-
200yrs).
, 4.Different perspective lead to different understandings
4.1 Perspectives on Cultural Analysis: Etic vs. Emic
• Etic Perspective
• Definition: Offers a universal, external framework to compare cultural dimensions across
different societies.
• Methodology: Relies on quantitative research using surveys to measure cultural
dimensions.
• Application: Useful to compare cultures on the way they respond to universal problems
• Emic Perspective
• Definition: Provides an insider’s view focusing on unique, culture-specific features.
• Methodology: Emphasizes qualitative research to uncover deeper, nuanced cultural
insights.
• Application: Important for tailoring strategies to optimize market performance in
specific cultural contexts.
Example Box:
Imagine comparing consumer behavior in the United States (etic view) versus in Japan (emic view).
While the etic approach might generalize Americans as individualistic, the emic approach would
explore unique regional or community influences driving consumer choices.
4.2 Measuring and Comparing Cultural Dimensions
• Aggregation of Survey Data
• Two Key Types of Surveys:
1. Desire/Preference Surveys: What individuals value, desire, like (e.g.,
Schwartz Value Survey).
2. Consensus Perception Surveys: Measure the level of agreement on societal
norms (e.g., GLOBE Survey).
• Major Frameworks in Cultural Analysis
• Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions: Based on empirical data from over 100,000100,000 IBM
employees; one of the earliest and most used models.
• Schwarz’ Cultural Values: Developed through theoretical insight and validated in diverse
cultures.
•
Lecture 1: Similarities and Differences Across and Within Cultures
1. Introduction
Cross-cultural marketing examines how cultural similarities and differences affect behavior and
marketing strategies in over +200 countries, emphasizing the crucial role that cultural knowledge
plays in international environments.
2.What is culture?
2.1 Understanding the Importance of Cross-Cultural Marketing
• Scope of Cultures
• There are infinitely many cultures that are constantly changing.
• Cultural elements such as country, roots, religion, age, and environment contribute
to how culture is defined and experienced
• Why Study Cross Cultural Marketing?
• Market Growth Potential: Emerging middle classes in non-EU countries are growing
rapidly.
• Cultural Influence on Behavior: Although only 10−15% of behavior can be explained
by cross-cultural differences, these differences are essential in global marketing.
• Ingroup/Outgroup Dynamics and Nonverbal Communication: These elements
significantly affect consumer behavior and business negotiations.
• Growth in developed counties slows down
• Behaviour influenced (but not determined) by culture
• What is the purpose of Cross-Cultural Marketing or business?
• Cross cultural marketing is NOT
1. Cross border marketing
2. Imposing uniformity
3. Inter-national marketing
• It is ABOUT
1. Diversity
2. Respect
3. Interactions
,2.2 Defining Culture
• Perspectives on Culture
• Anthropology: Focuses on material productions (e.g., art, music, artifacts) and social
norms.
• History: Emphasizes symbolic systems such as religion, guilds, and hierarchies.
• Psychology: Concentrates on personal and shared values and norms.
• Business and Marketing: Integrates various elements to explain how cultural systems
shape market dynamics.
• Key Definitions
• Williams (1960): Described culture as a comprehensive "way of life" that includes
material, cultural, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions.
• Normative System Perspective: Culture is viewed as a set of preferred solutions to
universal problems, created and maintained by a group.
• Learned Behavior: Culture is acquired through exposure, and higher exposure often
results in higher internationalization of behavior.
• Cultural Impact on Individuals
• Tight Cultures: Have strong norms and low tolerance for deviation (e.g., Pakistan,
India). The individual’s behavior is closely aligned with cultural expectations.
• Loose Cultures: Exhibit weak norms and higher acceptance of individual differences
(e.g., EU, Australia). Personal values may have more influence than cultural norms.
Example: Consider how a family meal in a tight culture may be very regimented compared to a more
casual approach in a loose culture.
2.3 How Culture Links Individuals to Society
• Levels of Cultural Influence
• Macro-level:
4. Dominant normative systems
5. Imposed by overarching institutions such as political, economic, legal, and
educational bodies
6. Impact on lower levels depend on tightness of culture
, • Meso-level:
7. Socialization in larger societal groups like religious organizations or
occupational communities.
8. On how to form groups
• Micro-level:
9. Interactions within small groups such as family and friends
10. where cultural norms are reinforced through daily interactions.
• Subcultures:
11. Individuals may belong to multiple subcultures
12. each with specific operationalizations of broader cultural norms.
→ It takes centuries to change macro level concepts, but only 10-20 year to change
operationalizations
→ Different subculture operationalizations explain why people behave differently according to
the context within the same (broader) culture: the operational culture.
→ Subtle contextual cues may activate different operational cultures (cf. frame switching).
3.Frame switching
When you are on Holidays, do you alter your habits? cf. breakfast, bargaining at local markets
Which (beer) brands do you consume in other countries?
• Frame switching: individual differences!
• Choice or automaticity?
Bilinguals responded to surveys in culturally compatible ways when primed with social
representations
13. Operational knowledge for daily decisions
14. Constantly updated and adapted
15. Held by individuals, but often varies across cultures
16. Less profound, as it changes far quicker (+/-20 years) than cultural norms (+/-
200yrs).
, 4.Different perspective lead to different understandings
4.1 Perspectives on Cultural Analysis: Etic vs. Emic
• Etic Perspective
• Definition: Offers a universal, external framework to compare cultural dimensions across
different societies.
• Methodology: Relies on quantitative research using surveys to measure cultural
dimensions.
• Application: Useful to compare cultures on the way they respond to universal problems
• Emic Perspective
• Definition: Provides an insider’s view focusing on unique, culture-specific features.
• Methodology: Emphasizes qualitative research to uncover deeper, nuanced cultural
insights.
• Application: Important for tailoring strategies to optimize market performance in
specific cultural contexts.
Example Box:
Imagine comparing consumer behavior in the United States (etic view) versus in Japan (emic view).
While the etic approach might generalize Americans as individualistic, the emic approach would
explore unique regional or community influences driving consumer choices.
4.2 Measuring and Comparing Cultural Dimensions
• Aggregation of Survey Data
• Two Key Types of Surveys:
1. Desire/Preference Surveys: What individuals value, desire, like (e.g.,
Schwartz Value Survey).
2. Consensus Perception Surveys: Measure the level of agreement on societal
norms (e.g., GLOBE Survey).
• Major Frameworks in Cultural Analysis
• Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions: Based on empirical data from over 100,000100,000 IBM
employees; one of the earliest and most used models.
• Schwarz’ Cultural Values: Developed through theoretical insight and validated in diverse
cultures.
•
