Chapter 4: Social and Cultural Environment
Learning Objectives
•Describe the components of culture and society that affect global marketing
• Use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to explain cultural universals
• Compare and contrast cultural classification methods
• Discuss methods for improving cultural understanding and perception
• Explain the significance of environmental sensitivity to global marketing
• Discuss cross-cultural complications and possible solutions
Chapter Overview
Culture, a society’s “programming of the mind,” has both a pervasive and changing
influence on each national market environment. Global marketers must recognize the
influence of culture on all aspects of life including work habits and consumption of
products. Human behavior is a function both of a person’s own unique personality and
that person’s interaction with the collective forces of the particular society and culture in
which he or she has lived. When global marketers refer to culture, they include
psychological factors such as values, beliefs, and social attitudes; sociological factors
such as status, roles, and norms; and anthropological factors such as symbols, signs, and
customs. These factors are the focus of cultural analysis. Cultural analysis helps global
marketers choose appropriate marketing strategies and organizational structure and
processes, helping improve profitability and reduce the risk of costly blunders. Marketers
employ two broad approaches to cultural analysis. They use standardized cultural
classification to group countries where similar marketing strategies and appeals are likely
to be effective. Marketers also use approaches such as Maslow’s hierarchy, Hofstede’s
typology, and the self-reference criterion to unlock clues about cultural differences and
similarities. In addition, marketers use ethnographic and other nonsurvey approaches.
Lecture Outline
I. Basic Aspect of Society and Culture (p. 105)
a. The Search for Cultural Universals
b. Communication and Negotiation
c. Social Behavior
II. Analytical Approaches to Cultural Factors (p. 111)
a. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
b. Standardized Cultural Classifications
c. Hofstede’s Cultural Typology
d. Project Globe
e. Inglehart’s World Values Survey
f. Schwartz’s Cultural Value Orientations
g. Leung and Bond’s Social Axioms
h. Ethnographic and Other Nonsurvey Approaches
III. Living, Working and Thriving in Different Cultures (p. 123)
a. Understanding the Complexity of Identity
b. Self-Reference Criterion and Perception
c. Environmental Sensitivity
IV. Cross-Cultural Complications and Suggested Solutions (p. 129)
a. Training in Cross-cultural Competency
V. Summary (p. 131)
Tables and Figures
Figure 4-1 Culture Layers (p. 108)
Figure 4-2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (p. 111)
Figure 4-3 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: The Asian Equivalent (p. 113)
Table 4-1 Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture (p. 115)
Table 4-2 Project GLOBE Cultural Dimensions (p. 116)
Figure 4-4 Prototypical Structure of Schwartz’s Dimensions (p. 118)
Table 4-3 Schwartz’s National Culture Dimensions (p. 118)
Figure 4-5 Co-Plot of Countries on Schwartz’s Cultural Orientation (p. 119)
Figure 4-6 Co-Plot of Countries on Cultural-Level Social Axioms (p. 120)
Table 4-4 Leung and Bond’s Cultural Dimensions of Social Axioms (p. 122)
Table 4-5 High- and Low-Context Cultures
Sidebars
Sidebar 4-1 The Use of Ethnography in International Banking (p. 123)
Sidebar 4-2 A Matter of Culture: “Sincerely” (p. 126)
Sidebar 4-3 High- and Low-Context Cultures (p. 129)
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