Impact of Culture in International Marketing
Introduction
The world is made of nations and people who share different values, customs, languages and geographic territories. These diversities, also known as culture, have proven to be the norm that binds or separates them. Carlson and Blodgett (1997) explain culture as different ways, sets of manners and customs that are unique to a society or a group of people. Cultural issues encompass the elements of norms, traditions, materialistic and spiritual of a group of people (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2013). Understanding culture is possible only through human activities and how they act as individuals or members of a group (Coulter, 2010). As businesses enter international market, cultural diversity plays a major role in formulating international marketing strategies. They need to consider differences in national cultures, subcultures and how individuals in such cultures interact with each other and outsiders. This is due to the fact that culture is the main factor that contribute to today’s major conflict aside of material resources and negotiable interests (Avruch, 2002). The diverse cultures tendencies always give rise to ethical issues as one cultural belief may not be the norm or acceptable behaviors for another. The failure to take cultural differences between countries into account has been the cause of many business failures (Ricks, 1993). The purpose of this paper is to showcase instances where cultural issues that were misunderstood proved to be blunders for international marketing strategies for companies involved. It also addresses how cultural risk is as important as political and commercial risk. Finally, cultural reactions during meeting introduction in south Asian countries are assessed, and Jack Daniel’s Whiskey possible marketing strategies in China are explored.
Marketing Blunders Cases With the onset of globalization, the strategies used by multinational businesses to expand are changing. Today, companies must thread between
The world is made of nations and people who share different values, customs, languages and geographic territories. These diversities, also known as culture, have proven to be the norm that binds or separates them. Carlson and Blodgett (1997) explain culture as different ways, sets of manners and customs that are unique to a society or a group of people. Cultural issues encompass the elements of norms, traditions, materialistic and spiritual of a group of people (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2013). Understanding culture is possible only through human activities and how they act as individuals or members of a group (Coulter, 2010). As businesses enter international market, cultural diversity plays a major role in formulating international marketing strategies. They need to consider differences in national cultures, subcultures and how individuals in such cultures interact with each other and outsiders. This is due to the fact that culture is the main factor that contribute to today’s major conflict aside of material resources and negotiable interests (Avruch, 2002). The diverse cultures tendencies always give rise to ethical issues as one cultural belief may not be the norm or acceptable behaviors for another. The failure to take cultural differences between countries into account has been the cause of many business failures (Ricks, 1993). The purpose of this paper is to showcase instances where cultural issues that were misunderstood proved to be blunders for international marketing strategies for companies involved. It also addresses how cultural risk is as important as political and commercial risk. Finally, cultural reactions during meeting introduction in south Asian countries are assessed, and Jack Daniel’s Whiskey possible marketing strategies in China are explored.
Marketing Blunders Cases With the onset of globalization, the strategies used by multinational businesses to expand are changing. Today, companies must thread between
References: Alon, I. (2006). Service Franchising: A Global Perspective. Retrieved from www.springer.com/.../978-0-387-2818 Aliouche, E.H., & Schlentrich, U.A Andersen, M. (2012). International Marketing Blunders. Backpaking diplomacy. Retrieved from http: www.backpackingdiplomacy.com/3 Aydin, N Avruch, K. (2002). Cross-Cultural Conflict. The Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems EOLSS), 1(3), 25- 26. Retrieved on October 9, 2013 from http://www.eolss.net Jan-Benedict, E Carlson, P., & Blodgett, M. (1997). International Ethics Standards for Business: NAFTA, CAUX principles and corporate codes of ethics. Review of Business, 18, 89-95. Coulter, M. (2010). Strategic management in action, (5th ed.). In SKS7000 – executive concepts in business strategy. 574-602. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Czinkota, M Fromowitz, M. (2013). Cultural Blunders: brands gone wrong. Retrieved from http://www.campaignasia.com Hollis, N Ford, J.B., Mueller, B., & Taylor, C.R. (2011). The tension between strategy and execution: Challenges for international advertizing research – globalization is much more than universal branding. Journal of Advertising Research, 51(1), 27-41. Hunt, K. A., & Hodkin, W. (2012). The criticality of cultural awareness in global marketing: Some case examples. Journal of Business Case Studies (Online), 8(1), 1. Retrieved from: http://www. http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu Ricks, D.A Stengel, J. (2011). How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World 's Greatest Companies Crown Business, Random House Inc.