1st Session on Multicultural Marketing at the ICD-Ecoles

1. Multicultural Marketing
ICD – International Business School
Prof: Baber MIRZA
First Session
6th March ‘13

2. Before we begin…
 About your professor
◦ I like creativity with a touch of practicality
◦ Rules
 About the teaching style
◦ Mostly French students
◦ English will be used with simple terms
 About the course
◦ Material (book that I am using)
◦ You don’t need to buy a book, you can use this
PowerPoint and my lecture as your notes
◦ Quizzes and Final Project
 Next class there will be a quiz
 I will also give you details about your final project in your
next class

3. Marketing and Consumer
Behavior
 Marketing is about creating value for
the customer
 The customer is influenced by many
factors such as culture, social group,
personality
 Culture is complex and is the target for
marketers for profitable associations

4. Today’s topics
 The Cultural Variable(Factor) in
International Marketing
◦ The cultural process
◦ Cultural dynamics part I: Time and Space
◦ Cultural dynamics part II: Interactions,
Mindsets, and Behaviors

5. PART ONE
THE CULTURAL PROCESS

6. Definitions of culture
 Linton (1945, p. 21): 'A culture is the configuration
of learned behaviour and results of behaviour
whose component elements are shared and
transmitted by the members of a particular society.’
 Goodenough (1971): culture is a set of beliefs or
standards, shared by a group of people, which help
the individual decide what is, what can be, how to
feel, what to do and how to go about doing it.

7. Sources of Culture
 Language(s)
 Nationality
 Education
 Profession
 Group
 Religion
 Family
 Sex
 Social class
 Corporate or organizational culture

8. Elements of culture
 Biological Foundations
 Language and communication
 Institutions
 Material Productions
 Symbolic Productions

9. Homogeneity
 Potential
 Linguistic ethnocentrism?
 Religious
 Ethnic
 Climatic
 Geographical
 Institutional & political
 Social/income

10. Stereotypes
Cooks - French Cooks - British
Mechanics - German Mechanics - French
Police - British Police - Germans
Lovers - Italian Lovers - Swiss
Organize - Swiss Organize - Italian

11. What use is culture?
 Provides a set of beliefs & standards
◦ What to do and how to do it correctly
 What is palatable, admissible, ethical, magical,
religious, hygienic, quality, etc.
 When it is time to sleep, to eat, to work, etc.

12. Interpreting symbols
 7 bad luck in Kenya
 7 good luck in the Czech Republic
 7 magical in Benin, Africa
 10 is bad luck in Korea
 4 is related to death in Japan
 Red represents witchcraft and death in many
African countries, but is a positive in Denmark
 Avoid triangular shapes in Hong Kong, Korea &
Taiwan
◦ It is a negative shape
SOURCE: Business America, July 12, 1993

13. PART TWO
CULTURAL DYNAMICS
TIME AND SPACE

14. 1. Culture is learned
2. Culture is forgotten
Hofstede’s analogy
 Your culture is like your nose:
◦ you do not see it properly yourself,
◦ but everybody else does and thinks it is peculiar if
it differs from theirs.
 In addition,
◦ you always go where it leads you, and
◦ it is always in the way.

15. Same problems Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck (1961)
- different solutions
Common problems & orientations
 Innate human nature: good, evil or mixed
 Nature: subjugation, harmony or mastery
 Time: past, present or future
 Activity: being, doing or do to be
 Relational: linearity, collaterality or individuality
 Space: private, public or mixed

16. Evaluate Solutions
 Cognitive
• People think it works that way
 Affective
• People like it that way
 Directive
• People will do it that way

17. Basic cultural assumptions
Figure 2.1 A model of cultural dynamics

18. Hall’s Silent Languages
Language of Time
Language of Space
Language of Things
Language of Friendship
Language of Agreements

19. Time
Common problems: How does this affect
 Is time tangible? the marketing mix:
◦ scarce resource  Products & services?
 How to schedule tasks?  Promotions?
◦ one at a time or multiple  Distribution?
 Are lifetimes single or  Pricing?
cyclical?
◦ Separable or seasonal
 What should we
emphasize?
◦ past, present, future

20. Space and relationships
Common problems: How does this affect
 Belonging the marketing mix:
◦ Personalization (being) vs.  Products & services?
depersonalization (doing)
 Ingroup orientation  Promotions?
◦ Rights & obligations  Distribution?
 Achieving membership  Pricing?
◦ Concrete vs. abstract territory
 Conditions of membership
◦ Group vs. individualistic

21. Proxemics (Hall, 1966)
 Size of space zones? West
◦ Intimate  Intimate 0-45 cm
◦ Personal  Personal 45 cm-1 m
◦ Social
 Social 1-2 m
 Who can enter?
 Sensory exchange?
 Marketing Mix?

22. TASK RELATIONSHIP
Mediterranean
Northwestern European Traditional
Central European
Latin
North American
American Middle
Eastern
Global Business
Schuster & Copeland
(1996)

23. Northwestern / Central European
Germany, UK, Scandinavia, Austria
 Task oriented
◦ efficient and fast
◦ little time for irrelevant items
◦ like structured agenda
◦ start and finish times are set
◦ formality
 Foreigners, who don’t respect time orientation
◦ less professional or less sophisticated

24. Canada, USA, Australia
 Similar task orientation
◦ More casual, less formal
 Greetings and small talk, first name
◦ agendas are flexible
◦ Relationships are ‘business’

25. Mediterranean Europe
non-Parisian French, Iberian, Italian,
Greek
 Can use task orientation
◦ Extended tribe
◦ Develop a connection or personal bond
 meet informality probe personal connection
 Task important but time is flexible
◦ late, delay delivery is OK
◦ Competed tasks measure success
 Foreigners
◦ disconnect if no relationship
◦ connect on similarities e.g. tour, language

26. Latin American
 Increased relationship emphasis
◦ extended tribe include any Latin, Spanish country
◦ Can be task oriented but not preferred
◦ Relationship important, even for foreigners
 demonstrate trust, credibility or interest
 Rules change with relationship
 includes obligations and duties (multi-dimension)
◦ Task is important but so is trust, honour and
compatibility

27. Traditional Cultures
Asian, developing, centrally-controlled
◦ Similarities in orientation to sales
◦ Clan - identity, protection and preference
◦ Part of group or product in demand
◦ Relationships are the gateway
 cold selling not usually effective
◦ High context - words not so important
◦ Low context - responsibility, date, penalty
◦ Identify appropriate network
◦ Unique product

28. Middle Eastern
 Relationship first - blood
 Family relation part of the team
◦ religious tenet
◦ Not available to outsiders
 introductions
◦ persuasion least significant
◦ trust established and maintained
◦ conflict interests, nepotism
◦ time limits are rude and disrespectful

29. Traits of successful expatriate
manager
 Ability to get along well with people
 awareness of cultural difference
 open-mindedness
 tolerance of foreign cultures
 adaptability
 interest
 previous experience
 ability to learn foreign languages

30. PART THREE
CULTURAL DYNAMICS
INTERACTIONS, MINDSETS
AND BEHAVIOURS

31. The self-shock: being exposed to culturally
different people puts our self-image deeply into
question
Others Behaviours Other Behaviours
Others
Identity Self
Self
Clash
Home country Host country

32. Self and others
How does this affect
the marketing mix?
Common problems:
 Products & services?
 Treat strangers?  Promotions?
◦ Nature good or bad?  Distribution?
 Appraise others?  Pricing?
◦ Who do we trust?
 Appraise ourselves?
◦ What is valued?
 Relate to our group?
◦ Individualism-collectivism

33. Characterizing Dimensions
 Relation to authority
 hierarchical relations (power distance)
 Relation to self
 self-concept and personality (individualism)
 Relation to risk
 tolerance for unknown and deviations (uncertainty
avoidance, tightness)
 Propensity to change
 receptivity of changes (Long term orientation)
Clark (1990)

34. 20 Statements
 I am _________
 I am _________
 I am _________

35. Collectivism vs. Individualism
 Collectivism  Individualism
◦ emphasis ingroup needs & ◦ emphasis self needs &
goals goals
◦ beliefs shared with in- ◦ beliefs distinguish from
group others
◦ homogeneous ingroups ◦ homogeneous outgroups
heterogeneous outgroups heterogeneous ingroups
◦ norms predict behaviour ◦ attitudes predict behaviour
better than attitudes better than norms

36. Countries (1980)
 Individualism  Collectivism
◦ United States ◦ Japan
◦ Great Britain ◦ Iran
◦ Canada ◦ Taiwan
◦ Italy ◦ Colombia
◦ Australia

37. Application: (Nakata and Sivakumar 1996)
Individualism – increases self-reliance
 Individualism promotes new product
development during the initial or
conceptualization phase - nonconformity
 Collectivism promotes new product
development during the implementation
phase - interdependence

38. Masculinity
Masculinity: Femininity:
 Ambitious & need to excel  Quality of life - serving
 Tendency to polarize others
 Live in order to work  Striving for consensus
 Big & fast are beautiful  Work in order to live
 Admiration for the  Small and slow are beautiful
achiever  Sympathy for the unfortunate
 Decisiveness  Intuition

39. Countries (1980)
 Masculine  Feminine
◦ Venezuela ◦ Sweden
◦ Italy ◦ Thailand
◦ Germany ◦ Spain
◦ Australia

40. Application: (Nakata and Sivakumar 1996)
Masculinity - increases self-reliance
 Femininity positively affects the
conceptualization stage of new
product development - supportive
climate
 Masculinity promotes the
implementation stage - goal
directedness and formalization

41. Power Distance
Large Small
 High dependence needs  Low dependence needs
 Inequality accepted  Inequality minimized
 Hierarchy needed
 Hierarchy for convenience
 Superiors often
 Superiors accessible
inaccessible
 Power-holders have  All have equal rights
privileges
 Change by revolution  Change by evolution

42. Countries (1980)
 High power distance  Low power distance
◦ Philippines ◦ United States
◦ Mexico ◦ the Netherlands
◦ India ◦ Australia
◦ France ◦ Israel

43. Application: (Nakata and Sivakumar 1996)
Power Distance - promotes dependence
 Low power distance  High power distance
facilitates new product facilitates new product
development during development at the
the conceptualization implementation stage -
stage - diverse ideas centralized command

44. Uncertainty Avoidance
Strong Weak
 Anxiety, higher stress  Relaxed, lower stress
 Inner urge to work hard  Hard work not a virtue per se
 Emotions accepted  Emotions not shown
 Conflict is threatening  Conflict & competition ok
 Need of consensus  Acceptance of dissent
 Need to avoid failure  Willingness to take risks
 Need for laws & rules  Few rules

45. Countries (1980)
 High uncertainty  Low uncertainty
avoidance avoidance
◦ France ◦ United States
◦ Belgium ◦ Hong Kong
◦ Greece ◦ Canada
◦ Portugal ◦ Singapore

46. Application: (Nakata and Sivakumar 1996)
Uncertainty Avoidance - promotes dependence?
 Low uncertainty avoidance facilitates the
initiation phase - risk taking and minimal
controls
 High uncertainty avoidance facilitates
implementation stage - tight planning and
controls

47. Long/short term orientation or
Confucian Dynamic
High Low
 Many truths  Absolute truth
◦ (time, context)
 Pragmatic  Conventional/traditional
 Long-term orientation  Short term orientation
 Acceptance of change  Concern for stability
 Perseverance  Quick results expected
 Thrift for investment  Spending for today

48.  Long term orientation  Short term orientation
◦ Hong Kong ◦ West Africa
◦ Taiwan ◦ Canada
◦ Japan ◦ Pakistan
◦ South Korea
◦ Brazil

49. Application: (Nakata and Sivakumar 1996)
 Long term orientation promotes new
product development
 Short term orientation impedes new
product development

50. What correlates with Hofstede’s
dimensions? (see Hofstede 2001)
 Individualism  Power Distance
+ purchase insurance, have + confidence in the press, lack of
dogs, own a motor home for confidence in police, child
leisure, read more books, obedience
have an answering machine  Uncertainty Avoidance
 Masculinity + buying new (vs used) cars,
+ status purchases (watches, buying precious metals and
jewellery), importance of car gems, use of mineral water
engine power, business class – buying stocks, use of internet
travel, confidence in and other media, eating ice-
advertising cream, frozen food,
– Partner involvement in car confectionary and snacks
choice, women as main
shoppers

51. Internet use across Europe
 for business: -PD
 for education: -MAS
 for e-mail: -UA
 for leisure: -MAS, -UA
 M. de Mooij "Global Marketing and
Advertising, Understanding Cultural
Paradoxes", 1998, Sage Publications

52. Convergence of cultures so
far?
 Evidence says NO
◦ even if you only look at the rich countries
 People use the new media to
strengthen their cultural identity
◦ immigrants, researchers, family members,
hobbyists, extremists...
◦ living together apart

53. Schwartz Values & Individualism
More individualist
societies & young,
educated, urban
Self-
Direction Universalism
Simulation
Benevolence
Hedonism Conformity Tradition
Achievement Security More
collectivist
Power societies
& religious

54. Attitude towards action
How does this affect the
marketing mix:
Common problems:  Products & services?
 Why act?  Promotions?
◦ fatalism?  Distribution?
 What is action?  Pricing?
◦ Speech vs deeds?
 Thinking to action?
◦ Styles?
 Feelings to action?
◦ Separate or integrate
 Dealing with rules?
◦ Practical vs. ideal

55. Cultural assumptions &
behaviour
Figure 3.2 Basic and cultural assumptions and actual behaviour
(Source: Derr and Laurent, 1989. Reproduced with permission)