1. International marketing consumers 1: Culture

2. Kotabe and Helsen Marketing approach Domestic focus Export focus
International interntional
Multinational focus
Global focus/transnational
Orientation
Ethnocentric
Polycentric (country-based)
Regiocentric (regionally-based)
Geocentric (Globally coordinated)

3. Cultural Segmentation
The division of the market into groups with similar product needs and cultural characteristics.

4. E.g. Common cultural characteristics has led to…
Emergence of global market segments eg young, urban professional:
Nike trainers (US, made in China)
Toshiba laptops (Japanese)
Nokia mobiles (Finnish)
AOL ISP (US)
BMW car (German)
Creating a global village

5. Also led to…
Growth in standard products to meet the needs of global segments (see Levitt 1983)
Growth in ‘global’ brands targeting these segments

6. Culture (see Keegan chapter 3)
Western modernism characterises market segments across the world, but...
it is not necessarily the dominant culture in many countries
International research must therefore:
1. assess the impact of culture, but also
2. adapt research methods to local culture

7. Cultural gaffes are nevertheless common
When Walmart entered Argentina:
It sold electric appliances for 110volt supply, not 200volts!
P&G in Japan
Showed an advert with a man walking into a bathroom when his wife was taking a shower
Husbands are supposed to respect a wife’s privacy in the bathroom in Japan!

8. Examples of cultural differences
Muslims - no pork
Hindus - no beef
Europeans - front loading washing M/Cs
Americans - top loading…………….
Japanese - suspicious of foreign products

9. What is culture? (Schein, 1985)
Artifacts and
symbols
Visible but not often
decipherable =
Values and
norms
Greater level
of awareness =
Beliefs/
Assumptions
Taken for granted
and invisible =

10. Developing a cultural profile
Low context: emphasis on written or spoken word - what is meant is said.
E.g., say “Yes” or “No”
Status of less importance

11. High vs. low context culture (Edward Hall)
High context: emphasis on contextual cues
e.g. relationship between sender and receiver
trust more important than contracts
status
age
gender

12. Developing a cultural profile
2 main researchers in this area:
Hofstede (1991)
Trompenaars (1991)
Research identifies cultural orientation in around 50 different countries

13. Hofstede
A selection of countries and orientations

14. Hofstede: Individualism index - how important is the individual?

15. Hofstede: Power distance -How much inequality is tolerated?

16. Hofstede:uncertainty avoidance - How important is structure?

17. Hofstede: Masculinity index - how important are ‘male’ values e. g
Hofstede: Masculinity index - how important are ‘male’ values e.g., success vs. female values, e.g., quality of life?

18. Cultural analysis framework