Cultural Factors in Marketing Activities

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Table of Contents

Marketing Activities From a Theoretical Perspective
Cultural Distance Theories
Summary
Marketing Activities in Different Countries
Conclusion
Reflective Statement on Academic Practice
Reference List

Marketing Activities From a Theoretical Perspective

In global marketing, there are many organisational issues and international factors that have to be measured and properly discussed to avoid cultural misunderstandings and reduce the number of barriers. Every company has to be involved in numerous international activities that may be determined by a geographical location, the level of capabilities, or country assets (Rugman, Oh & Lim 2012). There is no one common way for all organisations to clarify how to stay internationally competitive and achieve positive results in the home market. Therefore, marketing activities of many companies are usually studied through different cultural distance theories and models. In this paper, the theories developed by Hofstede, Schwartz, and the GLOBE researchers will be compared and analysed for a proper application to marketing activities for the Barbie toy in Qatar and the USA and a pizza product in Cairo and the United Kingdom.

Cultural Distance Theories

The process of globalisation that is observed throughout the world has a significant impact on such fields as marketing, management, and leadership and promotes the necessity to develop a deep understanding of cultural similarities and differences that may be observed in countries (Venaik & Brewer 2016). The recognition of cultural dissimilarities that exist between societies is an important step that can be taken regarding the frameworks introduced by Geert Hofstede in the 1980s, Shalom Schwartz in the 1990s, and the project GLOBE at the beginning of the 2000s (Mooij 2017). The contributions of these frameworks remain to be significant today because they help to succeed in marketing and choose the most effective leadership strategies.

The main similarity of these three models is the intention to explain the existing differences of consumer motives and behaviours through certain economic, demographic, and cultural variables and values. According to these frameworks, the development of marketing activities through different cultures may depend on certain dimensions. The peculiar feature of these models lies in their dimensions: Hofstede introduced his five dimensions of power distance, individualism vs collectivism, masculinity vs femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long- vs short-term orientation; Schwartz developed his seven dimensions of embeddedness, intellectual autonomy, affective autonomy, hierarchy, egalitarianism, mastery, and harmony; and GLOBE project offered its nine dimensions, including power distance, uncertainty avoidance, collectivism vs individualism, gender egalitarianism, assertiveness, future vs performance vs human orientation (Beugelsdijk, Maseland & van Hoorn 2015; Lopez-Duarte & Vidal-Suarez 2013; Mooij 2017; Yeganeh 2014). Despite the number of dimensions introduced in each framework, all of them are based on similar labels and understandings. However, the choice of the names of the dimensions is probably the only thing that is in common for Hofstede, Schwartz, and GLOBE. Different approaches to introduce and explain the content and the measurements were chosen.

Hofstede’s Theory

Being a so-called founder of national culture and a pioneer in measuring cultural differences, Hofstede introduced the space where marketing relations were discussed and evaluated. His innovative ideas could be defined as its main strength, as well as its possible weakness. On the one hand, Hofstede was an innovator who was able to recognise the nature of the relations between cultures and the worth of work-related behaviours (Mooij 2013). He was the first person who identified and explained the worth of such factors as power distance, individualism, uncertainty, or the relationships between masculinity and femininity.

Hofstede explained how culture could determine the relationships and performance in an organisation. On the other hand, Hofstede was focused on collectivism more than on individualism. His framework was poorly developed at the individual level and lacked corporate culture variance (McSweeney 2013; Shenkar 2012). Hofstede did not have other options for comparison. Therefore, it was easy for other people to develop their projects and programs with the goal to introduce a better model defying the shortages of the Hofstede’s model. With time, many researchers and academics started defining some shortages of the cultural distance theory and offering their opinions and improvements that could be used in regard to Hofstede’s framework. However, the influence of Hofstede’s ideas was considerable because this researcher identified a new way of analysing cultural diversities in terms of international marketing relations.

Schwartz’s Theory

In comparison to Hofstede, Schwartz believed that culture was a hypothetical variable, meaning that it could be measured through its manifestations only (Azar & Drogendijk 2015). Therefore, much attention should be paid to a better understanding of human values in order to avoid the lack of consistency and relevancy that was observed in Hofstede’s model. Similar to Hofstede’s theory, Schwartz’s ideas were widely used in the analysis of cross-cultural marketing activities. He wanted to underline the necessity to distinguish between cultural and individual levels. Individualism played an important role in intercultural relationships. There should be no conflict between individual and collective interests in order to create an effective advertising or marketing campaign. The strong aspect of Schwartz’s work was the attention to conservation values in terms of which order and resistance to change were discussed (Siegel, Licht & Schwartz 2013). Still, the necessity to cover a number of aspects may be confusing and challenging for many people. Therefore, this theory is effective for a qualitative analysis but inconvenient for the activities where quantity matters. Nowadays, the impact of Schwartz’s contributions is as important as the impact of Hofstede’s ideas because this theory improves and strengthens the already offered dimensions through its comprehensiveness and the intentions to cover new regions with new cultural preferences.

GLOBE Perspective

The GLOBE project combines the results of the investigations developed to evaluate the Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Effectiveness (Dodd, Frijns & Gilbert 2015). In comparison to the two previous models, the GLOBE researchers aimed at studying leadership at a global level. They defined leadership as one of the most important abilities of a person to influence and motivate other people so that a company may demonstrate effective and successful results in its performance. The strongest issue of this theory is the necessity to underline the role of cultural values and beliefs that may be passed on through generations. Such approach can help to grasp the unique dynamics of national culture and develop it properly. The peculiar feature of the GLOBE approach is an effective combination of Hofstede’s collective dimension and Schwartz’s individualism ideas in order to introduce a new list of dimensions that may be applied to marketing activities’ evaluations.

It was not enough for the GLOBE researchers to take the already offered dimensions and identify their strong and weak aspects. It was important to construct the dimensions that could reflect on the essence of national culture and the importance of human activities. However, in their intentions to emphasise the importance of leadership in cultural relationships, the researchers of the GLOBE project failed to give enough credible information about the connection between culture and leadership. In other words, the users of the GLOBE model may understand that culture has some impact on leadership qualities or vice versa. Still, it is hard to identify this connection between these two concepts and give clear explanations. Despite the existing shortages of the GLOBE model, its impact cannot be neglected because it shows a unique way on how to unite a variety of cultural values that may exist in one organisation and the existing practices acceptable for a particular society.

Summary

In general, the connection between the models of Hofstede, Schwartz, and the GLOBE program cannot be neglected. All of them have the same goal that is the discussion of the cultural factors in organisational performance. The main difference between these models is the choice of their authors’ on how to measure and explain each dimension. Though each model has its strengths and weaknesses, the impact of these theories remains to be integral in terms of understanding the idea of cultural distance in marketing and advertising activities. Though the Hofstede’s model underwent numerous critics and evaluations, in comparison to other frameworks, its worth remains to be crucial due to the possibility to identify the main factors and give brief still effective explanations on how companies may achieve their desirable marketing success.

Marketing Activities in Different Countries

In the United States, the field of marketing undergoes considerable changes regularly. Advertisers, as well as many other marketing workers, are able to identify the needs of the population and succeed in marketing their products in different ways. In comparison to the United States, such countries as Qatar demonstrate other marketing approaches and ideas regarding their unique cultures and interpretations of the events around. The ideas and values supported by the United Kingdom vary considerably from those developed by the population of Cairo. Therefore, the process of marketing pizza products may develop in different ways in these two countries.

Barbie Toys in the United States and Qatar

The values defended by Hofstede in his theory, as well as the dimensions developed by Schwartz and the GLOBE, show that Qatar, as a part of the Gulf region, is characterised by a high level of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity and a low level of individualism, as well as no evident dimension of long-term orientation. The United States is the country with a low level of power distance and uncertainty avoidance and a high level of indulgence, individualism, and masculinity. The Barbie toy promotion depends a lot on such factors as masculinity and individualism.

For example, in the United States, the combination of high masculinity and individualism prove the importance of the Americans to strive to achieve the best results and meet their goals as true winners. Their Barbie dolls vary in their jobs and general appearance. There are no restrictions on human interests and intentions proving that the United States is the country where freedom and a variety of choices prevail over order and rules. Compared to the American idea of freedom, Qatar marketing of Barbie dolls is limited and definite. Such activities prove that this nation lives in order to work and works in order to live. Emotional gender roles are strictly identified in the country: men are defined as a group of modest and concerned people with their intentions to increase the quality of human life, and women are described as a group of tender and devoted people.

In Qatar, Barbie dolls are created for girls to underline their feminine nature and the intentions to be pretty and dressed properly. In the United States, a variety of Barbie dolls is impressive and used to raise the question of gender marketing and toys’ stereotypes. It is not enough to create a Barbie doll for a girl for an American consumer. It is important to think of a number of options with the help of which both boys and girls can choose a doll, profession, and a general look and be satisfied with their choices. Such differentiation of marketing activities in terms of the same toy proves that the United States remains to be one of the countries where the freedom of choice and the importance of opportunities cannot be neglected in marketing activities. Though Qatar continues taking numerous steps to change its marketing environment and underling the role of cultural dimensions that shape all the messages Qatar consumers receive.

Pizza Products in the United Kingdom and Cairo (Egypt)

Individualism and collectivism are the two important dimensions in Hofstede’s model of cultural distance. Individualism is a degree to which the representatives of different countries prefer to act. For example, one nation supports the ideas of individualism where each member puts their own interests, demands, and needs at the first place. The cases of collectivism may also be observed today when people neglect their personal needs and investigate the opportunities that may be achieved using mutual power and common sources.

The comparison of Cairo and the United Kingdom marketing activities is a unique chance to understand what the representatives of different regions think about the same issues. The example is based on the evaluation of marketing activities chosen to introduce pizza products. In fact, the analysis of these two countries, Egypt and the United Kingdom, prove the existing variety in every cultural dimension. For example, the level of power distance and uncertainty avoidance is high in Cairo and low in Britain, and the level of individualism and masculinity is low in Cairo and high in Britain.

The British are private people who are ready to protect their individuality in different ways. The British individualism may be observed in a variety of things, including the style of education, the development of family relationships, and even food habits. It is not necessary to sell a whole pizza because it is enough for a person to eat one or two slices and be full. Such product selection may be explained by the necessity not to spend much money, be able to buy the required portion of pizza, and not to be dependent on such factors as social status, income, and geographical location. It is possible for a one person to buy a slice of pizza and eat it at work or in the park. There is no need for the British to buy full pizza all the time a person wants to eat some. Such opportunity is a distinctive feature of the United Kingdom marketing, as well as other countries with a high level of individualism.

Compared to the United Kingdom with its individualism and a high level of masculinity, Cairo, the capital of Egypt, demonstrates its long-term commitment to the creation of groups and the development of family relationships. Such aspects as loyalty, trust, and mutual support are inherent to all Egyptians. They are ready to take responsibility for the decisions of other people and provide the necessary portion of the support. Such kind of collectivism may be observed through marketing different pizza products. It is hard to find a place in Cairo where one slice of pizza may be ordered. Pizza is a symbolic part of collective Egyptian life. Full pizzas, affordable prices, and product placements are the signs of collectivism prevalence in the country. The majority of marketing activities in Egypt are developed through newspaper, television, or magazine advertisements. Advertisers develop one collective thought that is supported by local traditions, mutual beliefs of generations, and cultural knowledge. Such activities and decisions prove that Cairo society is more collectivist in its intentions to protect the interests of a group rather than the interests of particular people.

Conclusion

In general, the analysis of the adaptations that are frequently made in the United Kingdom and Egypt prove the rules defined by the cultural distance theory. There are not many countries that obtain an average score in their individualism vs collectivism dimension. Therefore, there are the countries where people’s interests play a crucial role compared to the interests of a group or vice versa. Marketing activities have to be developed regarding this score in order to achieve successful results and make sure that all potential consumers are able to obtain the necessary portion of services or a product they expect. Marketing in Cairo and the United Kingdom varies due to the intentions of the Egyptians to protect their collective rights and interests and the necessity to support British individualism in every step taken and the decision made.

Reflective Statement on Academic Practice

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Reference List

Azar, G & Drogendijk, R 2015, ‘Cultural distance, innovation and export performance: an examination of perceived and objective cultural distance’, European Business Review, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 176-207.

Beugelsdijk, S, Maseland, R & van Hoorn, A 2015, ‘Are scores on Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture stable over time? A cohort analysis’, Global Strategy Journal, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 223-240.

Dodd, O, Frijns, B & Gilbert, A 2015, ‘On the role of cultural distance in the decision to cross-list’, European Financial Management, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 706-741.

Lopez-Duarte, C & Vidal-Suarez, MM 2013, ‘Cultural distance and the choice between wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures’, Journal of Business Research, vol. 66, no. 2013, pp. 2252-2261.

McSweeney, B 2013, ‘Fashion founded on a flaw: the ecological mono-deterministic fallacy of Hofstede, GLOBE, and followers’, International Marketing Review, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 483-504.

Mooij, M 2013, ‘On the misuse and misinterpretation of dimensions of national culture’, International Marketing Review, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 253-261.

Mooij, M 2017, ‘Comparing dimensions of national culture for secondary analysis of consumer behaviour data of different countries’, International Marketing Review, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 444-456.

Rugman, AM, Oh, CH & Lim, DSK 2012, ‘The regional and global competitiveness of multinational firms’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 218-235.

Shenkar, O 2012, ‘Cultural distance revisited: towards a more rigorous conceptualization and measurement of cultural differences’, Journal of International Business Studies, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 1-11.

Siegel, JI, Licht, AN & Schwartz, SH 2013, ‘Egalitarianism, cultural distance, and foreign direct investment: a new approach’, Organization Science, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 1174-1194.

Venaik, S & Brewer, P 2016, ‘National culture dimensions: the perpetuation of cultural ignorance’, Management Learning, vol. 47, no. 5, pp. 563-589.

Yeganeh, H 2014, ‘Culture and corruption: a concurrent application of Hofstede’s, Schwartz’s and Inglehart’s frameworks’, International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 2-24.

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