International Marketing
15th edition
Philip R. Cateora, Mary C. Gilly, and John L. Graham
Imperatives, Electives,
and Exclusives
5
• Cultural imperatives - Business customs and
expectations that must be met and conformed to or
avoided if relationships are to be successful
– In some cultures a person’s demeanor is more critical than
in others
– Imperatives vary from culture to culture
• Cultural electives - Relate to areas of behavior or to
customs that cultural aliens may wish to conform to or
participate in but that are not required
– A cultural elective in one county may be an imperative in
another
• Cultural exclusives - Customs or behavior patterns
reserved exclusively for the locals
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The Impact of American Culture
on Management Style
5
• “Master of destiny” viewpoint
• Independent enterprise as the instrument
of social action
• Personnel selection and reward based on
merit
• Decisions based on objective analysis
• Wide sharing in decision making
• Never-ending quest for improvement
• Competition producing efficiency
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Authority and Decision Making
5
• Influencers of the authority structure of
business:
– High PDI Countries
• Mexico, Malaysia
– Low PDI Countries
• Denmark, Israel
• Three typical authority patterns:
– Top-level management decisions
– Decentralized decisions
– Committee or group decisions
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Formality and Tempo
5
• Breezy informality and haste characterize
American business relationships
• Europeans not necessarily “Americanized”
• Higher on Hofstede’s Power Distance Index
(PDI)
– May lead to business misunderstandings
• Haste and impatience most common mistakes
made by Americans in the Middle East
• For maximum success marketers must deal with
foreign executives in acceptable ways
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Contextual Background
of Various Countries
5
Exhibit 5.2
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P-Time versus M-Time
5
• Monochronic time
– Tend to concentrate on one thing at a time
– Divide time into small units and are concerned with
promptness
– Most low-context cultures operate on M-Time
• Polychronic time
– Dominant in high-context cultures
– Characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of many
things
– Allows for relationships to build and context to be
absorbed as parts of high-context cultures
• Most cultures offer a mix of P-time and M-time behavior
• As global markets expand more businesspeople from
P-time cultures are adapting to M-time.
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Marketing Orientation
5
• The extent of a company’s market orientation
has been shown to relate positively to profits
• Firms in other countries have not been able to
move from the traditional production, product,
and sales orientation to the marketing
orientation
• Research has shown that sometimes in can be
difficult to encourage a marketing orientation
across diverse business units in global
companies
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Business Ethics
Corruption
5
• What is Corruption?
–
–
–
–
–
–
Profits (Marxism)
Individualism (Japan)
Rampant consumerism (India)
Missionaries (China)
Intellectual property laws (Sub-Sahara Africa)
Currency speculation ( Southeast Asia)
• Criticisms of Mattel and Barbie
– Sales of Barbie declined worldwide after the global
standardization
– Parents and government did react
– Mattel’s strategy boosted sales of its competition
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The Western Focus on Bribery
5
• In the 1970s, bribery became a national issue with
public disclosure of political payoffs to foreign
recipients by U.S. firms
• The decision to pay a bribe creates a major conflict
between what is ethical and proper and what is
profitable and sometimes necessary for business
• The Organization for Economic Corporation and
Development (OECD) and Transparency
International (TI) are combating the bribery of
foreign public officials in international business
transactions
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Transparency International
Corruption Perception Index
5
Exhibit 5.5
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Bribery –
5
Variations on a Theme (1 of 2)
• Bribery and Extortion
– Bribery is voluntary offered payment by someone seeking
unlawful advantage is bribery
– Extortion takes place only if payments are extracted under
duress by someone in authority from a person seeking only what
he or she is lawfully entitled to
• Subornation and Lubrication
– Lubrication involves a relatively small sum of cash, a gift, or a
service given to a low-ranking official in a country where such
offerings are not prohibited by law
– Subornation involves giving large sums of money, frequently not
properly accounted for, designed to entice an official to commit
an illegal act on behalf of the one offering the bribe
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Bribery –
5
Variations on a Theme (2 of 2)
• Agent’s Fees
– When a businessperson is uncertain of a country’s
rules and regulations, an agent may be hired to
represent the company in that country
– The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
– Change will come only from more ethically and
socially responsible decisions by both buyers and
sellers and by governments willing to take a stand
• Since 1994, US businesses have bowed out of 294
major overseas commercial contracts valued at
$145 billion rather than paying bribes
5-13
Ethical and Socially
Responsible Decisions
•
Difficulties arise in making decisions, establishing policies, and
engaging in business operations in five broad areas
–
–
–
–
–
•
•
5
Employment practices and policies
Consumer protection
Environmental protection
Political payments and involvement in political affairs of the country
Basic human rights and fundamental freedoms
Laws are the markers of past behavior that society has deemed
unethical or socially irresponsible
Ethical principles to help the marketer distinguish between right
and wrong, determine what ought to be done, and justify actions
–
–
–
Utilitarian Ethics (Does it achieve a common good?)
Rights of the Parties (Does the actions involve the rights of the
individual?)
Justice or Fairness (Does the action represent fairness for all?)
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Dimensions of Culture –
A Synthesis
5
Exhibit 5.7
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