International Marketing

15th edition

Philip R. Cateora, Mary C. Gilly, and John L. Graham

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Definitions and 4
Origins of Culture
• Traditional definition of culture
– Culture is the sum of the values, rituals, symbols,
beliefs, and thought processes that are learned,
shared by a group of people, and transmitted
from generation to generation.
• Individuals learn culture in three ways
– Socialization (growing up)
– Adapting (adjusting to a new culture)
– Application (decisions about consumption and
production)

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 Origins, Elements, 4
and Consequences of Culture
Exhibit 4.4

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Why do we all Love Flowers? 4

1. Geography
2. History
3. Technology and economics
4. Social institutions
5. Cultural values
6. Aesthetics as symbols

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 1) Geography 4

• Exercises a profound control

– Includes climate, topography, flora, fauna, and
microbiology
– Influenced history, technology, economics, social
institutions and way of thinking

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 2) History 4

• History - Impact of specific events can be seen

reflected in technology, social institutions, cultural
values, and even consumer behavior
– Tobacco was the original source of the Virginia
colony’s economic survival in the 1600s
– American values and institutions influenced by
Adam Smith’s book The Wealth of Nations
– Military conflicts in the Middle East brought
about new cola alternatives such as Mecca Cola,
Muslim Up, and Arab Cola.

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 3) Political Economy and 4
Technology
• Political Economy - Three approaches to governance
competed for world dominance
– Fascism
– Communism
– Democracy/free enterprise
• Technology
– Jet aircraft, air conditioning, televisions, computers,
Internet, etc.
– None more important than the birth control pill
– Although America has the best healthcare technology,
people in many countries have greater longevity;
lifestyle choices are important
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 4) Social Institutions 4

1. Family
2. Religion
3. School
4. The media
5. Government
6. Corporations

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4) Social Institutions (Cont’d) 4

1. Family
– Nepotism
– Role of extended family
– Favoritism of boys in some cultures
– Gender equality is changing
2. Religion - Major Religions
– First institution infants are exposed to outside the
home
– Impact of values systems
– Misunderstanding of beliefs
– An American women jailed in Saudi Arabia for sitting
with man at Starbucks
Next
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4) Social Institutions (Cont’d) 4

Religions (Cont’d)
• Christianity – 2 Billion followers
• Islam – 1.2 Billion followers
• Hinduism – 860 Million followers
• Buddhism – 360 Million followers
• Confucianism – 150 Million followers

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4) Social Institutions (Cont’d) 4

3. School – the most important social institution

– Direct link between a nation’s literacy rate and its
economic development
– Difficult to communicate with a market when a
company must depend on symbols and pictures
4. The media – it has replaced family time
• TV and the Internet
• American educational system produces a lower
percentage of college graduates than 12 other
countries including Russia, Japan, and France

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4) Social Institutions (Cont’d) 4

5. Government - influences the thinking and

behaviors of adult citizens
– Propaganda through media
– Passage, promulgation, promotion, and
enforcement of laws
6. Corporations - most innovations are introduced
to societies by companies
– Spread through media
– Change agents

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 5) Elements of Culture 4

1. Values
2. Rituals
3. Symbols
4. Beliefs
5. Thought processes

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5) Elements of Culture (Cont’d) 4

1. Cultural values – Geert Hofstede

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5) Elements of Culture (Cont’d) 4

2. Rituals – patterns of behavior and interaction that are

learned and repeated
– Marriages , funerals, baptisms, graduations
3. Symbols
1. Language
• Linguistic distance – relationship between
language and international marketing

Next
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 Language 4

• According to www.ethnologue.com:
– A total of 7,413 known living languages exist
in the world
– 311 being spoken in the U.S.; 297 in Mexico,
13 in Finland, and 241 in China
– EU has 20 official languages
– India alone has 452 known languages!

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5) Elements of Culture (Cont’d) 4

4. Beliefs
– Superstitions play a large role in a society’s belief
system and therefore, to make light of superstitions in
other cultures can be an expensive mistake
– The number 13 in the western hemisphere is
considered unlucky, where as the number 8 in China
connotes “prosperity”
– The practice of “Feng Shui”
5. Thought processes
– Difference in perception between the East and the
West
• Focus vs. big-picture
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 4
6) Aesthetics as symbols
• Insensitivity to aesthetic values can offend,
create a negative impression, and, in general,
render marketing efforts ineffective or even
damaging

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