Answer: Many definitions of culture exist. For example, Hofstede defined culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.”

Basanez (2016) described culture as: “Culture is a context phenomenon, a shared system of meanings. Once a culture is formed, it is transmitted from generation to generation through six agents: family, school, religion, media, leadership, and the law”.

Answer: Material culture: physical elements of a culture such as clothing, food, houses, tools and machines, works of art, buildings

Answer: Subjective culture: non-material elements of a culture such as ideas, values, beliefs

Answer: Selected models of cultural differences:

• Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions
• GLOBE nine dimensions of culture
• Three cultures world: cultures of joy, cultures of achievement, cultures of honour.

Answer: The models of cultural differences (cultural dimensions) may be used in a number of was in international marketing.

First, such models could be used to familiarise oneself with the culture of a host country. The knowledge of the host culture may be helpful in cross-cultural training of executives, which in turn may ease the transition into the host country when on business assignments. Cultural knowledge is an important factor in overcoming culture shock and may contribute to successful completion of international visits/relocations/business assignments.

Second, cross-cultural dimensions may be helpful in designing creative advertising strategies. If the cultural congruence hypothesis is to be followed, advertising appeals which are congruent (match) with the target culture should be more effective. For example, individualistic societies/consumers should find individualistic appeals more effective than collectivistic appeals but research shows that this is often not so straightforward.

Answer: Cultural-level values describe how cultures as societies work, individual-level values are the values held by individuals and may often differ from the cultural-level values.

Answer: Individual-level cultural values drive the many preferences and choices of consumers, especially when the purchases are made for oneself. For example, vegetarians may choose vegetarian options because of their individuals values in some countries, but in other countries this dietary preference is a cultural norm (India).

Answer: 

Cultural electives: areas of behavior or customs that visitors may wish to, but are not required to, conform to or participate in.

Cultural exclusives: customs or behavior patterns reserved exclusively for the locals and from which the foreigner is barred

Cultural imperatives: the customs and expectations that must be met and conformed to or avoided if international business relationships are to be successful. Define cultures of honor, joy and achievement.

Answer: Global consumer culture: globally recognized set of consumption behaviours, values, and brands associated with globalization and global culture

Consumer culture: culture in which consumption and possessions are the primary source of meaning in life.

Answer: Psychic distance: the individual’s subjective perception of the differences between the home country and the foreign country

Answer: Cultural distance: the degree to which cultural values, norms and beliefs in one country are different from those in another country

Answer: Ethical relativism: ethical values are relative to the norms of one’s culture

Answer: Ethical absolutism: there are fundamental values that cross cultures, and companies must uphold them

Suggested answer content: Material and subjective elements of a culture are equally important in international marketing and in international business. Both aspects of culture affect the behaviour of individuals in the context of consumption as well as marketing activities of international firms.

Material culture includes the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their cultural environment/identity. Those physical objects include, for example, private homes, buildings of public use, cities, works of art, spaces of social gatherings, stores, museums, clothing, food and other material elements of our surroundings.

Material culture influences a number or marketing elements and efforts. For example, the way homes are built has an impact on how they can be furnished and hence influences the design and size of furniture sold in a given country/culture.

Subjective (non-material) culture includes invisible elements of culture such as values, cultural beliefs, or social norms, morals or legal regulations. Subjective culture is an important aspect of international marketing and must be considered in global marketing strategy. For example, legal regulations are elements of subjective cultures that companies must not ignore or avoid. One specific example of legal regulations affecting marketing activities are the restrictions of advertising for cigarettes or alcohol in many countries around the world.

Religious beliefs are important factors which international marketers must consider. ‘Halal’ options of McDonald’s burgers are served in countries where Muslims constitute majority, and some McDonald’s stores in Israel are kosher.

Suggested answer content: Culture is an important element in both B2B and B2C marketing. However, in B2B marketing, because of the nature of the relationship (usually long-term) between the business partners, two aspects of cross-cultural differences are especially important: power distance and hierarchy.

Power Distance is the degree to which power is distributed in a society and the degree to which inequalities in the distribution of power are accepted. People in some cultures accept a higher degree of unequally distributed power than do people in other cultures. In high Power Distance cultures (Japan, China), the relationship between bosses and subordinates is one of dependence. On the other hand, in low Power Distance cultures (UK, Australia), the relationship between bosses and subordinates is one of interdependence. Hierarchy in high Power Distance cultures in important and obeyed. When business executives from a low Power Distance culture visit business executives from a high Power Distance cultures it is important to make sure the visiting company sends their more senior executives if the meeting is with senior executives of the receiving company.

In a high Power Distance culture cooperation is assumed to be power induced – that is it is possible and accepted that cooperation is forced, on the other hand, in low Power Distance cultures employees are encouraged to cooperate and steps should be taken to avoid coercion but instead use other ways of supporting cooperation.

Respect for senior employees/senior managers is very important in high Power Distance cultures and such respect is demonstrated in meetings – for example, by not challenging the views expressed by senior managers.

Other aspects of culture, such as how to greet one another, the relationship between sexes or how to address others are also important in B2B business relationships.

Suggested answer content: Global (or foreign) brands are carriers of cultural values and meanings. For example, Nike, a global clothing brand originating in the US, is associated with a number of values such as assertiveness (‘Just Do It’), sports, competition, and individualism. Through the use of marketing communications (for example, advertising) global brands create and communicate a brand image that is associated with certain values and aspirations. Some of these values are positive, others contribute to creating unsustainable lifestyles (materialism). Global brands are sometimes accused of creating artificial, unrealistic and materialistic aspirations.

In addition, some global brands are accused of unethical practices. For example, Nike sources its products from developing countries where working conditions are not always met in the factories that supply Nike products. For example, one newspaper article (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/may/20/burhanwazir.theobserver ) reported that Nike tolerated low wages and difficult working conditions in its factories in Asia.

Suggested answer content: ‘Buy National’ campaigns target the heart of ethnocentric consumers – those who prefer products manufactured in their home countries to products manufactured in foreign countries. However, ‘Buy National’ campaigns can also be effective with consumers who care about where the products come from, especially food products.

Research however shows that the effectiveness of Buy National campaigns is low (e.g., http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2017/05/11/the-ineffectiveness-of-buy-british-campaigns/)

Suggested answer content: Some sociologists suggest that in the process of globalization, a global culture in which cultural diversity is replaced with cultural convergence, similarity and standardization is emerging There are many examples of cultural convergence of consumer tastes, for example the popularity of some products such as the iPhone (or smartphone in general), coffee, pizza, the popularity of celebrity chefs around the world. On the other hand some evidence exist that cultures are difficult to change and the change process is slow. Cultures are interacting but cultural values remain stable.

Technology helps to spread some cultural trends (e.g. Netflix, advertising, low cost flights, mass tourism). The exchange of information, availability of media or faster and cheaper transportation means helps people from various countries to interact with one another and exchange views, opinions and values.