Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Review and Discussion Questions
Chapter 2: Culture in International Marketing
Review Questions
1. Define culture.
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.”
2. Define material culture
Material culture: physical elements of a culture such as clothing, food, houses, tools
and machines, works of art, buildings
3. Define subjective culture
Subjective culture: non-material elements of a culture such as ideas, values, beliefs
4. Describe the various models of cultural differences.
Selected models of cultural differences:
Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions
5. How could be the models of cultural differences used in marketing?
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
Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
6. What is the difference between cultural-level values and individual-level values?
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.
7. How do individual-level cultural values affect consumer behavior and marketing?
Individual–level cultural values drive the many preferences and choices of consumers,
8. Define cultural imperatives, cultural electives, and cultural exclusives.
Cultural electives: areas of behavior or customs that visitors may wish to, but are not
required to, conform to or participate in.
9. Describe consumer culture and global consumer culture.
Global consumer culture: globally recognized set of consumption behaviours, values,
and brands associated with globalization and global culture
10. What is psychic distance?
Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Psychic distance: the individual’s subjective perception of the differences between the
home country and the foreign country
11. What is cultural distance?
Cultural distance: the degree to which cultural values, norms and beliefs in one
country are different from those in another country
12. What is the main argument behind ethical relativism?
13. What is ethical absolutism?
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the importance of material and subjective culture in international marketing.
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
Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
2. Why is culture very important in Business-to-Business marketing? Discuss the
importance of power distance and hierarchy in managing B2B marketing
relationships.
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
Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
3. Culture influences international marketing activities, but marketing activities also
influence culture. Describe how global brands influence local cultures and discuss the
ethical dilemmas of such influence.
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
4. Discuss to what extent ‘Buy National’ (for example, ‘Buy British’) campaigns are
effective and for which product categories would they be most successful?
Suggested answer content: ‘Buy National’ campaigns target the heart of
ethnocentric consumers – those who prefer products manufactured in their home
5. Describe global culture. Do you think a truly global culture exists? In what way has
technology helped the emergence of global cultural patterns?
Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
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