international marketing research ,4-imr-ng

8/7/2019 International Marketing Research ,4-IMR-NG

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The International Consumer

Consumer Behavior: A Framework

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Introduction No matter how hard man tries, it is

impossible for him to divest himself ofhis own culture, for it has penetrated tothe roots of his nervous system anddetermines how he perceives the

worldPeople cannot act or interact atall in any meaningful way exceptthrough the medium of culture.

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International Business Cultural

Factors

Language

Values

Politics

Technologyand MaterialCulture

SocialOrganization

Education

Religion

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Cross-Cultural Use of Symbols Meaning of symbols differs across cultures.

Symbolic meaning of nonverbal

communication can also create problems.

It is important to know the implicit meaningof a symbol when a company begins to

market its products or servicesinternationally.

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Symbols 7 is unlucky in Ghana, Kenya, lucky in India

and the Czech Republic.

4 is unlucky in Japan, China.

8, 3, 2 sound good in Hong Kong.

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Cross-Cultural Problem Areas Translation

National Languages

and Dialects

Time perception

Symbols

Friendship Etiquette

Nonverbal Behavior

Country-of-Origin

Issues Ethnocentricity

Animosity

Bi-national products

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Translation

Promotional messages must be accuratelytranslated. The method used to avoidmistakes is back translation. The process

involves translating the message back andforth by different translators. In this waydifferences in meaning can be identified.

B

ack translation may solve the translationissue, there is the question of whether thecontext is the same, even if the words aretranslated accurately.

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National Languages and

Dialects China, India, and Africa present the greatest

linguistic challenges to Westerners.

China is slowly moving towards a commonlanguage.

India has even more languages than does China.Coverage of India for marketers is lesscomplicated because the states have three official

languages: English, Hindi, and the predominantstate language. Advertisers place the same in adin newspapers in these three languages.

In Africa there are over 1,000 mutuallyunintelligible languages, making marketing a

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Time perception Time is precious for Americans : in many

other countries, time is much less important.

A study was performed on the accuracy ofbank clocks, the average walking speed ofpedestrians on a city street, and how long ittook postal clerks to sell a stamp in several

cultures: On all three measures, Japan had the most

accurate and fastest times.

United States and England were either second orthird on each.

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Friendship In China & Japan friendship is a

substitute for a legal system.

We view friendships as more disposable.

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Etiquette Hugging and kissing

More prevalent in Latin America than here:

less prevalent in Asia than here. Eating habits

Chinese slurp noodles: some Europeans

wont eat any food with their fingers.

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Non-verbal Behavior Actions, movements and utterances that

communicate.

In some Russian villages, boys dance withchairs until a girl indicates interest. So in

Russia, It Takes One to Tango.

Spacing issues

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BODY LANGUAGE

Make him count 1,2,3,4,... : the Americanwill start with the little finger and end withthe thumb, the Frenchman just the opposite.

Make him walk : the American will move hisarms and take a lot of space, the Frenchman

will be much stiffer. in an elevator : the American will talk (the

French will try to avoid any eye contact) .


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CountryCountry--ofof--Origin IssuesOrigin Issues Bi-national products

assembled in X using materials from Y.

Made in Mexico by a Japanese company. Ethnocentrism

Assumption that own group is center of universe.

Match-Up Hypothesis

Animosity

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Ethnocentricity It is a common tendency for people to:

Interpret others from the perspective oftheir own group.

Reject those who are culturally dissimilar.

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Binational Products The current trend is manufacturing product

components in one country and assembling in

another, or designing in one andmanufacturing in another.

Firms should consider the effects of multiplenational origins on product quality

evaluations.

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Matchup Hypothesis Consumers have preferences for goods

that match their notion of the country

of origin. Indian tea is good, Russian vodka is good.

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Animosity Some people may prefer not to buy products

from a certain country. Chinese consumers have been found to hold

animosity towards Japanese products in general.

Older Mexican consumers are less likely to buyU.S. products than younger Mexicans.

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Adapting or Standardizing

Products and Services

Adapting products to the needs of localconsumers is closer to the marketing concept.

Standardizing products may result in savings

to the consumer.

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The EastAsian Consumer

How the societies view the individual

How employees and customers are viewed

Values in Japan are beginning to change withan increased desire for leisure time

Karoshi (death by overwork) still an issue

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The East European Consumer Western products are in huge demand

Income is less than in western Europe, but

productivity is rising after political turmoil inthe early 1990s.

Marketing requires an understanding of thedifferent cultures and business practices.

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Research in International

Marketing

To identify taste preferences, companies

must engage in marketing research acrosscultures.

Amain problem is how to standardizemeasures of consumption values.

Technical problems (e.g. the ability to do mailsurveys) are also important.

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Country vs. Segment TargetsCountry vs. Segment Targets

Two Approaches to

GlobalSegmentation:

Countries

Market Segments

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