Cross-Cultural Marketing Rafael Capurro Hochschule der Medien (HdM) Sommersemester 2006 Source: Marc...

Cross-Cultural Marketing

Rafael CapurroHochschule der Medien (HdM)Sommersemester 2006

Source: Marc Hermeking: Culture and Internet Consumption1http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue1/hermeking.html

R. Capurro: Vorlesung Interkulturelle Websiteforschung

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Introduction

Culture-free products: like ICT Culture-bound products: like food

(difficult/non difficult to standardize)

-> The latter notion needs to be revised because tecnical systems are subject to cultural influences.


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1. Cultural Differences in the Consumtion of the Internet

The Internet as a product of ICT is a marketable good.

The Internet is a new channel of communication through which marketing communication can be spread.


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1. Cultural differences…

Consumption research is an essential precondition for appropriate product design.

Try to uncover how much, by whom, where, at what time, for what purpose, and according to whose preferences the Internet is used and how it is used


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1. Cultural differences… The Worldwide Disparity

2000: most Internet users in USA (147 Mio), followed by Europe (91 Mio) and Asia Pacific Basin (75 Mio).

2005: USA (48%), Canada & Australia (46%), Germany (36%)…-> Digital Divide.

Cultures with low Uncertainty Avoidance are more open to the Internet as new medium of communication.


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1. Cultural differences…

The correlation with low Uncertainty Avoidance was weakened by high rates of literacy and international trade – but not by a high economic development.

Individualism as a (positive) correlation for Internet use.


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1. Cultural differences… Role of Cultural Communication Styles:

Individualistic cultures (egalitarian, democratic nature of the Internet)

High/low-context communication (Hall): shared vs. transmitted information High Individualism -> low-context (explicit,

direct, formal, written) (Swiss, Germans, Scandinavians, Anglo-Americans, English)

Collectivism -> high-context (implicit, informal, symbolic, pictures) (Japanese, Arabs, Latin American, Italian-Spanish, French)


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1. Cultural Differences… High-context cultures: Indirect and

transformational advertising messages creating emotions through pictures and entertainment (France, Japan)

Low-context cultures: direct and rational advertising messages providing product information (Germany, USA)


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2. Implied Cultural Concepts

Cateora‘s model of the international marketing environment „uncontrollables“ (legislation, politics,

economy, topographic facts, infrastructure, standards of technology…)

„controllables“ (marketing strategies and instruments)

But: this model is based on the concept of national culture (as Hofstede‘s)


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2. Implied…

Hofstede‘s model is based on five cultural dimensions (80 countries): Hierarchy Group orientation (Individualism) Gender Roles (Masculinity) Trust Risk-taking (Uncertainty Avoidance)


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2. Implied…

Hall‘s model (only a few countries are mentioned): High- vs. Low Context (shared vs.

Transmitted information) Explicit vs. Indirect communication style

(formal/informal, written/symbolic)


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3. Cultural Influences on Website Design

Site Quality (usability) Establishment of trust Creation of positive effect during

website use

-> more trust correlates to culturally-familiar communication style


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3. Cultural influences…

Culture-related design criteria: Correlation between content appeal and

layout: Layout: written text -> information/rational

i.e. low-context communication Layout: visual picture ->

entertainment/emotional, i.e. high-context communication


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3. Cultural influences…

Structural design criteria: Content appeal Layout Length of pages Multimedia presentation Interactivity Structure of content Total volume of website Degree of navigation support


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4. Some general findings Websites of global companies tend to be

strongly standardized dominated by rational content appeals text-heavy layout presenting small pictures

only Low multimedia presentation High interactivity Large website volume Deeply structured content Intensive navigation support


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4. Some general…

Amazon Homepages: High-context: France www.amazon.fr Low-context: Germany www.amazon.de


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4. Some general


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4. Some general…


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4. Some general…

In the Old Economy, websites of companies representig industrial goods and primarily adressing business users (B2B) tend to be standardized to a similar degree.

ABB UK and ABB France


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4. Some general…


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4. Some general…


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4. Some general…

The general nature of these websites corresponds to Low-context (explicit) communication Monochronic (linear) time orientation


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4. Some general…

Websites that address consumers (B2C) reveal different tendencies: High-interest (durble) products: modest

standardization High-context (indirect) cultures exhibit a

higher degree of cultural adaptation, more colored backgrounds, larger pictures, animated illustrations


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4. Some general… Multimodality tends to be higher in high-

context (symbolic) cultures Navigation support tends to be less

intensive in high-context (symbolic) cultures (frequent use of icons)

-> for instance: Sony USA (low-context) vs. Sony Japan (high-context)


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4. Some general…


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4. Some general…


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4. Some general… Websites representing global brands

of non-durable, low-interest products reveal a higher degree of cultural adaptation.

-> Coca Cola USA / Coca Cola Italy See Okazaki (2005): Analysis of 206

homages of US companies in four European countries (durable/non-durable products)


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4. Some general…


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4. Some general…


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4. Some general… Local websites of global consumer

brands occasionally seem to be more standardized worldwide.

See websites of French food brand (tend to

represent high-context (implicit) style Websites of German car brand (tend to

represent low-context (explicit) style (Mercedes-Benz in Italy, Lancia in Germany)


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4. Some general…


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4. Some general…


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4. Some general…

The „country-of-origin“ effect is difficult to achieve successfully: it works only in case the images of the product are positively related in the targeted countries (otherwise trust is created by culture-specific adaptations)


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4. Some results…

Verbal headlines or slogans differ quite the same respect

Other linguistic aspects (like the use of „we“, logical styles, forms of rational expression…) could provide for additional cues for cultural adaptation.


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4. Some results…

Degree of website adaptation with respect to the represented product: B2B: low-context (explicit, written): ABB

(industrial goods) B2C: high(er) adaptation: durables

(Sony), non-durables (Coca-Cola)


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4. Some results…

Too many websites are still characterized by a dominant low-context (rational, text-heavy) style

A country‘s low rate of Internet consumption could be considered as a general indicator for low quota of culturally appropriate websites.

Cross-Cultural Marketing Rafael Capurro Hochschule der Medien (HdM) Sommersemester 2006 Source: Marc...

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