Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Intl. 3:1
WHAT IS CULTURE?
Actions in Marketplace
Impact on Firm’s
Marketing Decisions
Intl. 3:3
ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
• Material Culture:
– Technology & Economics
• Social Organization:
– Institutions
– Education
– Politics
• Belief Systems
• Language
• Aesthetics
Intl. 3:4
FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE
Intl. 3:5
FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE (Contd.)
Intl. 3:6
MAJOR CULTURAL FRAMEWORKS
Intl. 3:7
KLUCKHOHN AND STRODTBECK (1961)
Intl. 3:8
HALL AND HALL (1990)
Intl. 3:9
HIGH AND LOW CONTEXT CULTURES
FACTOR HIGH LOW
Lawyers Less Important More
Person’s Word Is his/her bond Get it in writing
• Language of Time
• Language of Space
• Language of Things
• Language of Friendship
• Language of Agreements
Intl. 3:11
CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND OF VARIOUS
COUNTRIES
Japanese
High Context
IMPLICIT Arabian
Latin American
Spanish
Italian
English (UK)
French
North America (US)
Scandinavian
German
Swiss
Low Context
EXPLICIT
Intl. 3:12
HIGH/LOW CONTEXT CULTURES
High-Context Low-Context
Crucial to Communications:
external environment, situation, non- explicit information, blunt
verbal behavior communicative style
Relationships:
long lasting, deep personal mutual short duration, heterogeneous
involvement populations
Communication:
economical, fast because of shared "code" explicit messages, low reliance on non
verbal
Authority person:
responsible for actions of subordinates, diffused through bureaucratic system,
personal responsibility tough to pin
loyalty at a premium
down
Agreements:
written, final and binding, litigious,
spoken, flexible and changeable more lawyers
Insiders vs. outsiders: very distinguishable difficult to identify, foreigners can adjust
Intl. 3:14
Adapted from Chan (1992)
HOFSTEDE'S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE
Intl. 3:15
INDIVIDUALISM/COLLECTIVISM
COLLECTIVIST INDIVIDUALIST
People born into extended families Everyone grows up to look after
or other in-groups which him/herself and his/her
continue to protect them in nuclear family.
exchange for loyalty.
Low-context communication.
High-context communication.
Relationship between employer-
Employer-employee relationship
employee perceived as
perceived in moral terms, like a
family link. contract based on mutual
advantage.
Management is management of
groups. Management of individuals.
Relationship prevails over task. Task prevails over relationship.
Intl. 3:16
HOFSTEDE'S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE
Intl. 3:17
EXAMPLE OF SMALL PDI
Intl. 3:18
POWER DISTANCE
Intl. 3:19
HOFSTEDE'S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE
Intl. 3:20
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
Weak UAI Strong UAI
Uncertainty considered normal feature and
each day is accepted as it comes. Uncertainty in life felt as a continuous
Low stress and anxiety. threat to be fought.
Comfortable in ambiguous situations and with High stress and anxiety.
unfamiliar risks.
Fear of ambiguous situations and
What is different, is curious.
unfamiliar risks.
No more rules than is strictly necessary.
Precision and punctuality have to be learned.
What is different, is dangerous.
Tolerance of deviant and innovative ideas. Emotional need for rules, even if
unworkable.
Precision and punctuality come
naturally.
Suppression of deviant ideas and
resistance to innovation.
Intl. 3:21
HOFSTEDE'S DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE
• Masculinity/Femininity: In a masculine
society, the dominant values are
assertiveness, the acquisition of money and
things, and not caring for others. In a
feminine society, the values of quality of life,
caring for the underdog, and nurturing take
precedence over purely materialistic pursuits.
Intl. 3:22
MASCULINITY/FEMININITY
Feminine Masculine
Caring for others and preservation as
dominant values. Material success and progress as
Both men and women allowed to be
dominant values.
tender and concerned with Men supposed to be assertive,
relationships. ambitious, and tough.
Sympathy for the weak. Sympathy for the strong.
Managers use intuition and strive for
Managers expected to be decisive
consensus.
and aggressive.
Stress on equality, solidarity, and
quality of life. Stress on equity, competition
Conflicts resolved by compromise and among colleagues, and
negotiation. performance.
Conflicts resolved by fighting
them out.
Intl. 3:23
LONG VS. SHORT-TERM
ORIENTATION
Short-Term Long-Term
Respect for traditions, social and Adaptation of traditions to a
status obligations regardless of modern context.
costs. Respect for social and status
Social pressure to "keep up with obligations within limits.
the Joneses" even if over- Thrift, being sparing with
spending. resources.
Little money for investment. Large savings, funds available for
Quick results expected. investment.
Concern with possessing the truth. Perseverance towards slow
results.
Concern with respecting the
demands of virtue. Intl. 3:24
Masculinity/Femininity and Uncertainty Avoidance
Example
0 Weak Uncertainty Weak Uncertainty Countries*:
Avoidance Feminine Avoidance Masculine
Uncertainty Avoidance Index
1. Norway
2. Malaysia
2 3
3. Jamaica
4. U.S.A.
1 5. Taiwan
4 6. Costa Rica
7. Australia
8. Mexico
5 7 9. Japan
10. Greece
*For complete
8 9 list, see text
6 Source: Geert
Hofstede, Cultures and
Organizations,
Strong Uncertainty
112 Avoidance Feminine 10 Strong Uncertainty
Avoidance Masculine
10 100
Masculinity Index
Intl. 3:25
Power Distance and Individualism-Collectivism
Small Power Large Power Example
0
Distance Distance Collectivist Countries*:
1 1. Costa Rica
Collectivist
2 2. Korea and
Individualism Index
Mexico
3. Brazil & India
3 4. Israel and
Ireland
5. Australia and
U.S.A.
4 6 6. France and
Italy
*For complete
list, see text.
Small 5 Source: Geert
Power Large Power Hofstede, Cultures and
Distance Organizations,
Distance McGraw-Hill: London:
112 Individualist
Individualist 1991, pp. 23, 51, 83 &
111.
10 110
Power Distance Index Intl. 3:26
FONS TROMPENAAR’S VALUE
ORIENTATIONS
• Universalism vs. Particularism: one rule for all occasions
or flexibility and adjustment to circumstances.
• Communitarianism vs. Individualism
• Neutral vs. Emotional: are emotions acceptable in
business? Encourage vs. avoid open display of feelings.
• Specific vs. Diffuse: can relationships be strictly “business-
specific?”
• Achievement vs. Ascription: achieved status is based on
achievement and track-record whereas ascriptive status
based on hierarchy, age, etc.
Intl. 3:27
MANIFESTATIONS OF CULTURE AT DIFFERENT
LEVELS OF DEPTH
Practices
Values
Rituals
Heroes
Symbols
Intl. 3:28
MANIFESTATIONS OF CULTURE
Intl. 3:29
• Heroes are persons alive or dead, real or
imaginary, who possess characteristics
which are highly prized in a culture, and
who thus serve as models of behavior.
Intl. 3:30
• Rituals are collective activities, which within a
culture are considered as socially essential.
Examples are ways of greeting and paying
respect to others, social and religious
ceremonies, etc.
• Symbols, heroes, and rituals can be subsumed
under "practices," they are visible to an
outsider but their cultural meaning is invisible.
Intl. 3:31
VALUES
Intl. 3:32
CULTURAL VARIABLES AND MARKETING
Material Culture
Language
Education
Aesthetics
Values/Attitudes
Social Organization
Political/Legal
Intl. 3:33
LIFE GOALS