Cultural Values and Marketing Communications in Emerging Markets

Abstract

This chapter reviews different models of national cultural values orientations. Hofstede’s cultural values dimensions are drawn upon and used to explore cultural dimensions that many societies endorse. We also complement Hofstede’s model with Schwartz’s cultural values orientations and Leung and Bond’s social axioms framework, which are considered to enrich the understanding of cultures’ consequences on human behavior. The chapter review envisages that cultural values, norms, and beliefs are fundamental and useful psychological factors that benefit consumer researchers and marketing communication practitioners, especially within emerging African contexts. Africa is less represented in the cross-cultural consumer research domains. Yet, the emerging market’s diversity in cultural experiences and practices makes this context a unique domain to examine the role of cultural values in accounting for communication practices and marketing strategy accounts. The chapter also pays critical attention to the influence of cultural values on consumer culture, and as a consequence, distinguishes different positioning strategies that derive from consumer culture theory. The chapter review concludes by outlining the implications for local and multinational corporations (MNCs) brand managers’ marketing strategy and communication programs. Appropriate examples of how cultural values may serve as appropriate content domains to derive brand meanings for consumer communication strategies are examined.