Cross-cultural Marketing Research Research Articles

Examining survey response styles in cross-cultural marketing research: A comparison between Mexican and South Korean respondents

Modern social and marketing research relies heavily on surveys to collect data. At the same time, it is well established that survey responses are influenced by response style biases that vary across individuals, countries and cultures. Investigating such biases, we focused on Mexico and South Korea, two uprising markets mostly neglected in response style research. Data came from a survey instrument of 28 questions focusing on environmental attitudes, individual responsibilities and green packaging characteristics, administered to 500 Mexican and 525 South Korean respondents. We computed response style metrics and compared these to predictions made using scores on Hofstede and Minkov’s quantitative cultural research scale. The predictions made using this scale were largely confirmed through the response style metrics. While respondents in both countries preferred answering items with “Agree” or “Strongly Agree,” respondents in Mexico were about twice as willing to “Disagree” or “Strongly Disagree” than those in South Korea. Overall, respondents in Mexico showed a bias toward extreme responses, while those in South Korea showed a response bias toward mid-point values. Our approach can be used to assist survey design and to interpret the significance of survey results. Data captured from Mexican and South Korean respondents is now available to add to the general body of knowledge on response styles.

Research on Cross-Cultural Marketing of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Belt and Road Initiative —Take Acupuncture as an Example

The promotion and dissemination of TCM culture is an important component of the national science and technology link along the Belt and Road as well as the basis for building a community of healthy destinies. In recent years, there has been a worldwide boom in acupuncture academic research, acupuncture cross-cultural marketing has developed rapidly. Understanding and grasping the development status of acupuncture and moxibustion in foreign countries and its future development trends are of great significance to how acupuncture and moxibustion go further into the world and also greatly promote and represent the status and impact of cross-cultural communication of "Chinese elements". Chinese medicine is a treasure of ancient Chinese science, a key to open the treasure house of Chinese civilization, and a forerunner of the great rejuvenation of Chinese civilization. With the development of the time, the exchanges between countries are now more and more frequent, and the cross-cultural industries in various countries are flourishing in our country. Similarly, in order to carry forward our traditional culture and integrate it with the economy, it is necessary to understand the cross-cultural marketing of some industries that contain "elements of China." "Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine" has been spread to foreign countries for thousands of years. With the growing power of our country and the improvement of our right to speak, "Chinese elements" have also gradually drawn the attention of all parties. In particular, acupuncture and moxibustion are of great significance in safeguarding human health and preventing and treating diseases. Achievements and impacts have drawn more and more attention from the international community. In recent years, the research boom in acupuncture and moxibustion has been set off in the world. The cross-cultural marketing research on acupuncture and moxibustion has developed rapidly.

The Influence Of Cultural Diversity On Marketing Communication: A Case Of Africans And Indians In Durban, South Africa

This paper investigates the cultural diversity between Africans and Indians in Durban, South Africa, based on marketing communication. While cross-cultural marketing research has been concentrated on Western and Eastern societies, there is a lack of such research in Africa. The study examines the cultural values of Africans and Indians based on the individualism-collectivism cultural dimension, adapted to account for marketing communication-specific cultural values (MCSCV). The study was a quantitative study which used judgmental sampling technique to recruit subjects and analysed data using the t-test. Surveys were completed by 283 African and 92 Indian respondents at the main shopping malls in two of Durban’s renowned African and Indian townships viz. Umlazi and Chatsworth, respectively. The findings of the study revealed that Indian respondents showed more individualistic tendencies toward marketing communication, as compared to their African counterparts. The study highlights that target markets’ indigenous cultural values may not necessarily serve as predictors for market segmentation. The study further shows that directing stereotypical marketing communication strategies toward culturally homogeneous markets based on indigenous cultural dispositions, without investigating the compatibility of both cultural contexts, can be deleterious. The paper builds on current thinking in cross-cultural marketing literature and develops an orientation of MCSCV.

Роль кросс-культурного анализа при выборе международной маркетинговой стратегии адаптации или стандартизации

Nowadays most of the companies successfully sell goods by crossing the
 borders of the domestic country. However international corporations often
 face problems, connected with cultural differences in consumer behavior as
 well as distinctions in their perception of foreign products. Thus, for achieving
 the success on the international markets, a company should take precise
 actions before launching a new product, selecting appropriate marketing
 strategies and carrying out cross-cultural marketing research.

Integrating Cross-Cultural Marketing Research Training in International Business Education Programs: It's Time, and Here's Why and How

International business necessitates that its international business educators prepare today's workforce with skills necessary to take on cross-cultural research tasks and challenges. Yet, global business finds these skills in short supply. Perhaps this is the case because empirical evidence shows U.S. academic coverage of cross-cultural research complexities are severely limited as measured by text coverage. Slightly lagging behind international business and marketing programs located outside the United States in recognizing and acting on this this need, many U.S. programs now seek to enhance cross-cultural coverage. However, empirical evidences show that U.S.-based programs and the textbooks they use are lagging behind in their treatment of cross-cultural marketing research. Coverage in these texts is typically limited to a single chapter that repeats basic research concepts usually covered in principles of marketing courses. This article discusses a customized international marketing research course integrated with training that includes cross-cultural research issues and complexities and provides a framework of criteria useful in selecting an appropriate text.

Researching consumers in multicultural societies: Emerging methodological issues*

The paper presents a critical review of the main studies in cross-cultural consumer behaviour and marketing research, and identifies the methodological issues that frequently undermine the quality of research in this area. The paper offers suggestions for addressing these issues, which are becoming even more complex due to growing Internet-based marketing research and increasingly multicultural societies. The authors discuss the relevance of cross-cultural marketing research and the challenges associated with it in the context of a changing global environment, and explain how, by understanding and addressing these concerns, marketers will be able to achieve superior marketing research findings through improved validity of results.

Assessing cross-cultural marketing theory and research: Reply to Craig and Douglas' commentary

This article responds to the major concerns Craig and Douglas (2011) raise in their commentary essay on the content analysis of cross-cultural marketing research from Engelen and Brettel (2011). Based upon theoretical arguments and empirical findings in the extant literature, this reply argues that national borders are an appropriate major level at which to study the culture construct. This reply also shows that empirical research on consumer acculturation supports the idea that “whiteness” is present in cross-cultural marketing research.

Assessing cross-cultural marketing theory and research

A content analysis of 99 articles focuses on the comparative cross-cultural marketing research in 14 leading marketing and business journals from 1990 to 2008. The content analysis indicates strong growth in cross-cultural studies, especially in terms of studies on consumer attitudes and behavior and on promotion-related topics. This study classifies articles according to a series of conceptual (e.g., cultural dimensions employed in the study) and methodological (e.g., use of analytical technique) criteria. Although researchers have advanced in both conceptual and methodological respects, the studies still focus strongly on the dimensions from Hofstede (2001); methodologically, the dominance of two-country studies is problematic. Further, survey data from North America and Europe and researchers based and trained in North America and Europe are still dominant in the research field.

The customer-based corporate reputation scale: Replication and short form

Corporate reputation attracts significant attention among marketing scholars. However, researchers often overlook customers' opinions specifically. Walsh and Beatty [Walsh, G., Beatty, S.E., Measuring Customer-based Corporate Reputation: Scale Development, Validation, and Application. J Acad Mark Sci 2007; 35(1): 127–143 .] identify dimensions of customer-based corporate reputation (CBR); they develop scales to measure these dimensions. Researchers in the present study use the Walsh and Beatty CBR scale in the UK and Germany across contexts to study the cross-cultural validity of the measure of customer-based corporate reputation. This study assesses an abbreviated version of the CBR scale (with 15 items). The CBR Short scale has equally good dimensional properties as the original scale. The paper ends with implications for cross-cultural marketing research and management.

A Cross-National Comparison of Scandinavian Value Orientations

Using the Schwartz (1992) list of (56) values and scales, this empirical study examined differences in personal value orientations among young Scandinavian females. The study used convenience samples and a group survey method to collect data on personal values from female university students in three major cities, namely, Oslo, Gothenburg and Copenhagen. The results revealed that value segmentation could be used to understand both differences and similarities across countries in the Scandinavian region, which presumably are considered homogeneous. Further, the authors suggest that important personal values can be used as promotional appeals. Finally, implications are drawn for cross-cultural marketing research and identification of promotional appeals.