2. Agenda
• Know:
- Culture and its components
• Hoefstede model for culture analysis
- Cultural values
• Understand
- How to make culture work for marketers
Dr ABOU AISH
3. The Concept of Culture
Culture is the
complex whole that
includes knowledge,
belief, art, law,
morals, customs,
and any other
capabilities and
habits acquired by
humans as members
of society.
Dr ABOU AISH
4. Culture Influence on CB
• Cultural Definition
- Culture is the complex whole that includes knowledge,
belief, art, law, moral, customs and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by humans as
members of a society
- Software of the mind, a way of thinking and organizing
life
- Integrated system of learned behavior patterns that are
distinguishing characteristics of the members of any
given society
- It consists of 3 main layers:
1. Artifacts and products: language, food, buildings,
fashion, arts...
2. Norms and values: laws, social controls and ideals
3. Basic beliefs: the society’s unquestioned assumptions
Dr ABOU AISH
5. Elements of Culture
• Material culture (Economics, Technology)
• Social institutions (Family, Political structure,
Media)
• Values and Attitudes (Beliefs)
• Manners and Customs (Norms, Laws)
• Aesthetics (Graphics, Folklore, Music)
• Language (verbal and Non-Verbal)
• Religion
Dr ABOU AISH
6. Cultural Analysis
• Hoefstede model
• Individualism / Collective Index ( IDV)
• Preferences for behaviors that promotes ones
self interests vs. group interest
• The Power Distance Index (PDI)
• Power inequality between superiors and
subordinates
• Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)
• Tolerance of uncertainty and ambiguity
• Masculinity / Femininity Index (MFI)
• Preference of achievement heroism and
material success
Dr ABOU AISH
7. Cultural Analysis
Country or Region IDV Score PDI Score MFI Score UAI Score
Arab Countries 38 80 53 68
USA 91 40 62 46
Japan 46 54 95 92
France 71 68 43 86
Germany 67 35 66 65
Great Britain 89 35 66 35
South Korea 18 60 39 85
Colombia 13 67 64 80
India 48 77 56 40
Dr ABOU AISH
8. Variations in Cultural Values
The numerous values that differ across
cultures and affect consumption include:
Other-Oriented Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Self-Oriented Values
Dr ABOU AISH
9. Variations in Cultural Values
Other-Oriented Values
Reflect a society’s view
of the appropriate
relationships between
individuals and groups
within that society.
Dr ABOU AISH
10. Variations in Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Prescribe a society’s
relationship to its
economic and technical
as well as its physical
environment.
Dr ABOU AISH
11. Variations in Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Reflect the objectives and approaches to life that
the individual members of society find desirable.
Dr ABOU AISH
12. Variations in Cultural Values
Other-Oriented Values
Individual/Collective
Youth/Age
Extended/Limited Family
Masculine/Feminine
Competitive/Cooperative
Diversity/Uniformity
Dr ABOU AISH
13. Variations in Cultural Values
Other-Oriented Values
Individual/Collective
Are individual activity and initiative valued more highly
than collective activity and conformity?
Asian cultures more
collective
U.S. culture more
individualistic
Dr ABOU AISH
14. Variations in Cultural Values
Other-Oriented Values
Youth/Age
Is family life organized
to meet the needs of
the children or the
adults?
Are younger or older
people viewed as
leaders and role
models?
Dr ABOU AISH
15. Variations in Cultural Values
Other-Oriented Values
Extended/Limited Family
To what extent does
one have a life-long
obligation to
numerous family
members?
Extended family
critical in South/
Central America
Dr ABOU AISH
16. Variations in Cultural Values
Other-Oriented Values
Masculine/Feminine
To what extend does social power automatically go to
males?
Dr ABOU AISH
17. Variations in Cultural Values
Other-Oriented Values
Competitive/Cooperative
Does one obtain
success by excelling
over others or by
cooperating with
them?
Dr ABOU AISH
18. Variations in Cultural Values
Other-Oriented Values
Diversity/Uniformity
Does the culture embrace variation in religious belief,
ethnic background, political views, and other important
behaviors and attitudes?
Dr ABOU AISH
19. Variations in Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Cleanliness
Performance/Status
Tradition/Change
Risk taking/Security
Problem solving/Fatalistic
Nature
Dr ABOU AISH
20. Variations in Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Cleanliness
To what extent is
cleanliness pursued
beyond the minimum
needed for health?
U.S. very high on personal
hygiene – some think to an
extreme!
Dr ABOU AISH
21. Variations in Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Performance/Status
Is the culture’s reward system based on performance or on
inherited factors such as family or class?
Closely related to the concept of
power distance, which refers to
the degree to which people
accept inequality in power,
authority, status, and wealth as
natural or inherent in society.
Dr ABOU AISH
22. Variations in Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Tradition/Change
Is tradition valued simply for the sake of tradition? Is
change or “progress” an acceptable reason for altering
established patterns?
Dr ABOU AISH
23. Variations in Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Risk taking/Security
Are those who risk their established positions to
overcome obstacles or achieve high goals admired more
than those who do not?
A society that does not admire risk taking is unlikely to
develop enough entrepreneurs to achieve economic
change and growth.
Dr ABOU AISH
24. Variations in Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Problem solving/Fatalistic
Are people encouraged to overcome all problems,
or do they take a “what will be, well be” attitude?
Is there an optimistic, “we can do it” orientation?
Mexico and Middle-East Countries tend to fall
toward the fatalistic end of the continuum.
Dr ABOU AISH
25. Variations in Cultural Values
Environment-Oriented Values
Nature
Is nature regarded as something to be admired or
overcome?
Dr ABOU AISH
26. Variations in Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Active/Passive
Sensual gratification/Abstinence
Material/Nonmaterial
Hard work/Leisure
Postponed gratification/Immediate gratification
Religious/Secular
Dr ABOU AISH
27. Variations in Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Active/Passive
Is a physically active approach to life valued more
highly than a less active orientation?
Dr ABOU AISH
28. Variations in Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Sensual gratification/Abstinence
To what extent is it acceptable to enjoy sensual pleasures
such as food, drink, and sex?
Cultures differ in their acceptance of sensual gratification.
Dr ABOU AISH
29. Variations in Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Material/Nonmaterial
How much importance is attached to the acquisition of
material wealth?
Two types of materialism:
1. Instrumental materialism – is the acquisition of
things to enable one to do something.
2. Terminal materialism – is the acquisition of items for
the sake of owning the item itself.
Dr ABOU AISH
30. Variations in Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Hard work/Leisure
Is a person who works harder than economically
necessary admired more than one who does not?
Dr ABOU AISH
31. Variations in Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Postponed gratification/Immediate gratification
Are people encouraged to “save for a rainy day” or to
“live for today”?
Dr ABOU AISH
32. Variations in Cultural Values
Self-Oriented Values
Religious/Secular
To what extent are behaviors and attitudes based on
the rules specified by a religious doctrine?
Dr ABOU AISH
33. Cross-Cultural Marketing Strategy
Considerations in Approaching a Foreign Market
1. Homogeneous versus Heterogeneous with Respect to
Culture?
2. What Needs Can the Product Fill in this Culture?
3. Can Enough People Afford the Product?
4. What Values are Relevant to the Purchase and Use of the
Product?
5. What are the Distribution, Political and Legal Structures for
the Product?
6. In What Ways Can We Communicate About the Product?
7. What are the Ethical Implications of Marketing This Product
in This Country?
Dr ABOU AISH
34. Making Culture Work for Marketing Success
• Embrace local culture
• Build relationships
• Employ locals to gain cultural knowledge
• Help employees understand you
• Adapt products and process to local markets
• Coordinate by region
Dr ABOU AISH
35. Applications in Consumer Behavior
Adaptation is Often
Required in Cross-
Cultural Marketing.
Here, McDonald’s
uses a Popular
Chinese Sports
Celebrity.
GOH CHAI HIN/AFP/Getty Images
Dr ABOU AISH
