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Cultural beliefs define:
Cultural beliefs define:
what religion is acceptable.
what type of art and recreation are preferred.
what manners are considered polite.
the roles for different types of individuals, including expectations for men and women in society.
"What causes culture?"
"What causes culture?"
Ecological factors
Ecological factors
These are physical characteristics that describe the physical environment and habitat of a particular place.
Examples include differences in consumer habits, such as hygiene, among people living near a desert and freshwater lakes.
Tradition
Tradition
Refers to the customs and accepted ways of structuring society.
Includes things such as family and political structures.
In some countries like the United States, Australia, Canada, families traditionally consist of two generations (parents and children) living in a household.
In India, more than two generations (grandparents, parents, and children) may share a household.
Exhibit 9.3 illustrates how tradition and ecology come together to influence culture.
Dimensions of Cultural Values
Dimensions of Cultural Values
Geert Hofstede developed a theory to describe differences in cultural values.This theory is based on five key dimensions, with each dimension representing a core societal value.Core societal values (CSV), or cultural values, represent a commonly agreed upon consensus about the most preferable ways of living within a society.
Cultural values can be categorized using the following dimensions:
Individualism: As a CSV, individualism means the extent to which people are expected to take care of themselves and their immediate family. Nations with low individualism are often high in collectivism, in which an individual's life intertwined with a large cohesive group.
Masculinity: As a CSV, masculinity captures the distinctions existing in societies based on mannerisms typically associated with male traits such as valuing assertiveness and control over traditional feminine traits like caring, conciliation, and community. Femininity represents the opposite of masculinity.
Power Distance: Power distance is the extent to which authority and privilege are divided among different groups within society. It defines most of the purchase behaviors of consumers. Superstitions and myths also contribute to the cultures high in uncertainty avoidance.
Uncertainty Avoidance: A culture high in uncertainty avoidance is uncomfortable with things that are ambiguous or unknown, and prefer to play it safe.
Long-Term Orientation: Long-term orientation reflects values consistent with Confucian philosophy and a prioritization of future rewards over short-term benefits.
The CSV Scoreboard
The CSV Scoreboard
A CSV scoreboard can be put together using historical CSV dimension scores found in many resources including the Hofstede website. These scores provide information for marketers to appeal to consumers in other countries.
Cultural Distance
Cultural Distance
Cultural distance (CD) represents how disparate one nation is from another in terms of their CSVs. This approach enables to compare consumers by using scores available in a CSV scoreboard.
Exhibit 9.5 demonstrates the different scores for all nations depicted in the CSV scoreboard compared with the United States.
International expansion decisions should consider CD as well as geography.
The term CANZUS is sometimes used to refer to the close similarity in values between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
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