Social and Cultural

Environments
Basic aspects of culture:
• it is not innate, but learned
• the various facets of culture are interrelated -
touch a culture in one place and everything is
affected
• it is shared by group members, and defines
boundaries between different groups
Edward T. Hall, Beyond Culture (1977)
General Motors
• Ad should read
‘Body by
Fischer’
• It actually read
‘Corpse by
Fischer’
Hertz strap-line
• ‘Let Hertz put you in
the driving
seat’(liberation and
action)
• ‘Let Hertz make you a
chauffeur’ (change
your occupation or
status)
 Cultures across countries
High context culture
– the meaning of individual behaviour and speech
changes depending on the situation
– nonverbal messages are full of important
meaning (Read between the lines)
– e.g. Saudi Arabia and Japan, written contracts
are not always enforceable as new people move
into executive positions (Chile, Mexico)
• Low context culture
– intentions are expressed verbally
– the situation does not change the meaning of
words
– e.g. India, China, Australia, New Zealand
Social and cultural influences on
the international buyer
• Cultural differences
– language, spoken and silent
– mental processes and learning
– values and norms
– rewards and recognition
• Type of buyer behaviour
– consumer
– business
– government
• The influence of others in the buying process
• decision-making unit
• family
• peers
• SLEPT influences on buyer behaviour
• Specific cultural influences
– religion
– education
– family
– reference groups
• The influence of the market
– distribution channels
– manufacturer
– service provider
Phillips, Doole and Lowe (1994)
 ‘Self-Reference Criteria’
1. Define problem or goals in terms of home-country
cultural traits, habits and norms
2. Define problem or goals in terms of foreign
cultural traits, habits and norms
3. Isolate the SRC influence in the problem and
examine it carefully to see how it complicates the
problem
4. Redefine the problem without the SRC influence
and solve for the foreign market
James Lee (1966)
Written English: but what does it
mean?
Japanese hotel notice to guests:
‘ You are invited to take advantage of the
chambermaid’
Bangkok dry cleaner to potential customers
‘Drop you trousers here for best results’
A Roman laundry innocently suggests:
‘ Ladies, leave your clothes here and spend the
afternoon having a good time’
A Copenhagen Airline promises to
‘Take your bags and send them in all directions’
A Hong Kong dentist claims to extract teeth
‘By the latest Methodists’
 An outline of cross-cultural
analysis of consumer behaviour
• Determine the relevant motivations of the culture
• Determine the characteristic behaviour patterns
• Determine what broad cultural patterns are
relevant to this product
• Determine the characteristic forms of decions
making
• Evaluate promotion methods appropriate to the
culture
• Determine appropriate institutions for this product
in the mind of the consumer