The Cultural Environment

Sneha(33)
Abhishek Rajan (46) IIBM, PATNA
Culture
 “Culture is that complex whole which includes
the knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, customs,
negotiations and other capabilities of one group,
distinguishing it from other groups”.
 Social and cultural environment refers to the
influence exercised by certain social factor which
are “beyond the companies gate”
 Definition-
“Culture is the continuously
changing totality of learned and shared
meanings, rituals, norms, and traditions
among the members of an organization or
society”.
Characteristics of Culture
1. Learned : Culture is not inherited or
biologically based, it is acquired by learning
and experience.
2.Shared : People are member of a group,
organization, or society share culture, it is not
specific individual.
Conti…

1. Transgenerational : Culture is passed on from

one generation to the next.
2. Adaptive : Culture is based on the human
capacity to change or adapt, as opposed to
the more genetically driven driven adaptive
process of animanls.
Cultural environment

 Cultural environment deals with the impact of

culture on marketing strategy.
 International marketing requires constant
concern for different cultures and therefore
requires adaptation.
 Culture affects our attitudes towards work, time,
materialism, individualism and change. It also
affects an individual’s motivation and
expectations regarding work and group relations
Why it is important?
 When Nike learned
that this stylized “Air”
logo resembled “Allah”
in Arabic script, it
apologized and pulled
the shoes from
distribution.
 Hofstede’s Dimensions
Gert Hofstede, a Dutch researcher, was able to interview a
large number of IBM executives in various countries, and
found that cultural differences tended to centre around
four key dimensions:

1. Individualism vs. collectivism:  To what extent do people

believe in individual responsibility and reward rather than
having these measures aimed at the larger group? 
Contrary to the stereotype, Japan actually ranks in the
middle of this dimension, while Indonesia and West Africa
rank toward the collectivistic side.  The U.S., Britain, and
the Netherlands rate toward individualism.
2.Power distance:  To what extent is there a
strong separation of individuals based on
rank?  Power distance tends to be particularly
high in Arab countries and some Latin
American ones, while it is more modest in
Northern Europe and the U.S.
 Conti…
3. Masculinity vs. femininity involves a somewhat more
nebulous concept.   “Masculine”  values involve competition
and “conquering” nature by means such as large
construction projects, while “feminine” values involve
harmony and environmental protection.   Japan is one of the
more masculine countries, while the Netherlands rank
relatively low.  The U.S. is close to the middle, slightly
toward the masculine side. ( The fact that these values are
thought of as “masculine” or “feminine” does not mean that
they are consistently held by members of each respective
gender—there are very large “within-group” differences. 
There is, however, often a large correlation of these cultural
values with the status of women.)
 4. Uncertainty avoidance involves the extent to
which a “structured” situation with clear rules is
preferred to a more ambiguous one; in general,
countries with lower uncertainty avoidance tend
to be more tolerant of risk.  Japan ranks very
high.  Few countries are very low in any absolute
sense, but relatively speaking, Britain and Hong
Kong are lower, and the U.S. is in the lower
range of the distribution.
Elements of Culture

1) Language
2) Religion
3 ) Education
4) Aesthetics
5) Values and
Attitudes
6) Manners/Customs
7) Material Elements
1. Language
 Language is the means by which we communicate.
 Local language capability’s play an
important role in international marketing
 Aids in information gathering and evaluation
 Provides access to local society and company
communication.
Conti…
Language may be of two types-
Verbal communication-
 The language used in communication
 The language used in written communication

Non-verbal communication-
 All communication that is not
written or spoken
 Includes body language
 Gesture
 Facial expressions
 Eye contact
Key Concepts
 High-context culture
 Is where the context of the message- the message
source, the sources standing in society, tone of voice,
and body language-are all meaningful part of the
message.
 Examples: India, Japan and Saudi Arabia
 Low-context culture
 is where the meaning of the message
is explicitly expressed by the words and is
less affected by the social context.
 Example: North America
2. Religion
• Christianity - 2.0 billion followers
• Islam - 1.2 billion followers
• Hinduism - 860 million followers
• Buddhism - 360 million followers
• Confucianism - 150 million followers
Religion and marketing

Religion can affect marketing in a number of

ways:
 Religious beleifs
 Religion and Buisness days
 Religion and gender role
 Religion and marketing practices
 Religion and gift giving
3.Education

 Assessing the educational level of a culture

 formal and informal education
 literacy rates
 enrollment in secondary
or higher education
Conti…
 Education affects
 employee training
 competition for labor
 product characteristics
 advertising programmes and labelling
 conducting market research
 complex products with instructions
 relations with distributors and
4. Aesthetics
 What is or is not acceptable as good taste varies
widely in cultures.
 The symbolism of colors, forms, and music
carries different meanings in different cultures.
 Aesthetic differences affect design, colours,
packaging, brand names and media messages.
produce.
5. Values and AttitudesValues and
Attitudes
 Values are shared beliefs or group norms
that have been internalized by individuals.
 Attitudes are evaluations of alternatives
based on these values.
6. Manners / Customs
 Potential problem areas for marketers arise
from an insufficient understanding of:
 different ways of thinking.
 knowledge and understanding
of the host country.
 the decision-making process
and personal relations.
Certain manners…

 A house should be dusted and polished three

times a week”
 Italy 89%
 United Kingdom 59
 France 55
 Spain 53
 Germany 45
 Australia 33
 United States 25
Conti…

 “I attend church regularly”

 Spain 77%
 Italy 75
 Germany 70
 United States 65
 United Kingdom 36
 France 23
 Australia 16
Conti…

 “My children are the most important thing in

my life
 Germany 86%
 Italy 84
 France 73
 United States 71
 Spain 67
 Australia 48
Conti…
 “Everyone Should Use a Deodorant
 United States 89%
 Canada 79
 United Kingdom 71
 Italy 69
 France 59
 Australia 53
Certain customs of different country…

 Avoid using triangular shapes in Hong Kong, Korea,

and Taiwan. It is considered a negative shape.
 The number 7 is considered bad luck in Kenya, good
luck in Czech Republic and has a magical
connotation in Benin, Africa.
 The number 10 is bad luck in Korea.
 The number 4 means death in Japan.
 Red represents witchcraft and death in many
African countries.
 Red is a positive color in Denmark.
7. Material Elements/Role of
technology
 Material culture refers to tools and technology.
 It is directly related to how a society organizes its
economic activity.
 Before marketing in a foreign culture it is important
to assess the material culture like transportation,
power, communications and so on.
Conclusion
 Culture influences decisions.
 Culture is the lens through which motivation occurs.
 Management, decision making, and negotiations
are all influenced through culture.
 Culture influences nearly all business functions from
accounting to finance to production to service.
 Culture is what makes international business
practice difficult or easy, depending on how similar
or different cultures are.
Our special THANX to…

Our International Marketing Faculty

Mrs. Chetna Preeti

THANKS