Page 128 - GLOBAL STRATEGIC MARKETING

Fletcher (2000) put it in a nutshell when he said that it appears that culture
is made of two broad dimensions: learned and shared. Therefore, he sees

culture as the total way of life in a society. Hofstede (2000) defines culture
as the collective programming of the mind. The cultural concept, in its
broadest sense, has an enormous impact on international marketing

strategy. It embraces the products people buy, the attributes they value,
and the principles and opinions they maintain (Currie, 1991). Culture has

been defined as the characteristics by which groups of people respond to
their social environment and the ways they express their attitudes and
behaviour (Ronen and Shenkar, 1985). These include the learned

behaviour patterns, shared philosophies, ideologies, values and
assumptions, beliefs and expectations, attitudes and norms that link the

society together (Kilman and Serpa, 1985; Ronkainen, 1986). Hall (1966)
points out that no matter how hard man tries, it is impossible for him to
divest himself of his own culture, for it has penetrated to the roots of his

nervous system and determines how he perceives the world. People
cannot act or interact in a meaningful way except through the medium of

culture.

It is crucial for international companies that intend being involved in an
overseas market to consider the foreign country’s culture. It is most

important not to see the host country’s culture as good or bad compared
with the home country; it is important to see it as different. Successful
international marketing strategies are based on understanding the

similarities and differences in the host country so that the similarities can
be explored and the differences explained. Therefore, the purpose of this

unit is to examine the social and cultural issues in international marketing
and the implications they have for strategy development. Social and

cultural factors influence all aspects of consumer and buyer behaviour.
The differences and similarities between them in different parts of the

world are a central consideration in developing and implementing
international marketing strategy. In most of the literature, social and
cultural factors are linked together. For example, differences in language

can change the intended meaning of a promotional campaign, and
differences in the way culture organises itself socially may affect the way