Chapter 3

The Role of Culture

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Defining Culture

 The definition encompasses a wide variety of
elements, from materialistic to the spiritual.
 It includes everything that a group thinks, does,
and makes-its customs, language, material
artifacts, and shared systems of attitudes and
feelings.
Success and Culture
Embrace local culture.
Employ locals to gain cultural
knowledge.
Build relationships.
Adapt products to local markets.
Help employees understand you.
Coordinate by region.
Elements of Culture
 Acculturation: Adjusting or adapting to a
specific culture other than one’s own … and
“one of the keys to success in international
operations.

 Change Agent: International business

entities who introduce new products or
ideas and practices.

 Cultural Universals: Which are

manifestations of the total way of life of
any group of people. These include such
elements as bodily adornments, courtship,
etiquette, family gestures, joking,
mealtimes, music, personal names, status
differentiation, and trade.
The international marketer may be
accused of cultural imperialism
◦ Cultural imperialism: “culture of a
large and powerful country,
organization, etc. having a great
influence on another less powerful
country."

Global marketers and media have

made national and regional artists to
break into worldwide markets
Language
Verbal
◦ How words are spoken.
◦ Gestures made.
◦ Body position assumed.
◦ Degree of eye contact.
Locallanguage capability’s
important role in international marketing
◦ Aids in information gathering and evaluation.
◦ Provides access to local society.
◦ Important to company communications.
◦ Allows for interpretation of contexts.
Nonverbal Language
Hidden language of cultures
◦ Time flexibility and sensibility.
◦ Material possessions.
◦ Friendship patterns
◦ Personal physical space and personal
touching.
◦ Non-verbal gestures, symbolic interaction
and signaling.
◦ Patterns of business transactions
Religion
Christianity - 2.0 billion followers
Islam - 1.2 billion followers
Hinduism - 860 million followers
Buddhism - 360 million followers
Confucianism - 150 million followers
Elements of Culture

Values: What a group believes to

be good, right, and desirable.

Attitudes: Evaluations of
alternatives based on programmed
values.

Manners: The prevailing practices

within a society.
Social Institutions
Social organization determines the roles of
managers and subordinates and the way they
relate to one another
Kinship relationships
◦ immediate and extended family
Social stratification
Reference groups
◦ Primary reference groups
 family, coworkers
◦ Secondary reference groups
 professional associations, trade organizations
Three Kinds of
Infrastructures:
Economic infrastructure: Consists
of transportation, energy, and
communications systems

Social Infrastructure: Refers to

housing, health, and education system

Financial and Marketing

Infrastructure: Consists of
facilitating agencies such as bank and
research firms
Cultural Analysis
Self-Reference criterion: The
unconscious reference to one’s own
cultural values

Ethnocentrism is judging another

culture solely by the values and
standards of one's own culture

For successful international marketing

managers should be given the following
trainings to avoid market failure
The Training Challenge
 Cultural Assimilator: is a program in
which trainees must respond to scenarios of
specific situations in a particular country.
 Sensitivity Training: focuses on
enhancing a manager’s flexibility in
situations that are quite different from those
at home.
 Field Experience: Which exposes a
manager to a different cultural environment
for a limited amount of time.