Sequential-synchronic. Do people organize time in a sequential manner, doing one task at a time, or in parallel, keeping many things active at once?
Internal-external control. Are people stimulated by their inner drives and sense of control or are they adaptive to external events that are beyond their control?
To show how this reconciliation can be achieved, let's look at examples of products and brands that have faced these dilemmas. By following the same reconciliation paradigm throughout this book, we can review a variety of basic marketing issues that are affected by culture, ranging from advertising to market research.
THE DILEMMA BETWEEN THE UNIVERSAL AND THE PARTICULAR
Universalist cultures tend to feel that general rules and obligations are a strong source of moral reference. People from these cultures tend to follow the rules and look for a single best way of dealing fairly with all cases. They assume that the standards they hold dear are the right ones and attempt to change the attitudes of others accordingly. Particularist societies are those where particular circumstances are much more important than any rules. Bonds of relationships (family, friends) are stronger than any abstract rules and responses may change according to circumstances and the people involved.
Thus some products for universalistic markets may need to begin by being homogenous and generic, but this does mean that the consumer will buy from any supplier as there is no difference between sources. Buying gasoline is an example-who you buy from matters little. At the other extreme, overparticularizing means small, highly differentiated markets with highly specialized products addressing each small segment-and with associated higher costs.
When a company has developed packaging and presentation of a brand to the point where it is instantly recognized, they are faced with the dilemma between keeping it the same (universal image) and having different versions (particularism) for different markets and over time. Packaging can look out of date very quickly as colors, logos, and fonts come in and out of fashion.
A consumer's capacity to detect or observe such differences is relative and the issue of when and how a difference is observed is relevant to many marketing situations. The stronger the original imagery, the greater the change required in order for that change to be noticed. Thus companies often update their packaging with small, incremental changes over time-so they stay fresh and modern, but don't lose the identity of the product through making noticeable changes or when the consumer is traveling overseas. Because consumers are subject to saturation of stimuli nowadays, with advertisements on every street corner, every web page, every radio or TV program, every page of every newspaper, organizations also need to consider how they can get their product or promotion noticed without irritating the consumer by overexposure and excessive bombardment.
Figure 2.1 shows the relative orientation of a number of countries on this dimension. This should help to link this cultural construct to the interpretations we have given in the examples of dilemmas (manifested in marketing) that follow. The same format will apply with the other dimensions.
Figure 2.1: Relative degree of universalism-particularism for a number of selected countries
Chic Tailoring
Christian Dior used to complain that American women attached less importance to small details of fit and finish than to general effect; they were more attracted by variety and change.
The survival of small firms, inefficient by American standards, is essential to the survival of the French idea of chic. The French conception of taste is not threatened by the popularity of jeans; they simply claim to cut jeans better than anyone else.
France is important to the world of fashion because it cultivates fine workmanship, beautiful materials, originality, and harmony. There is no evidence that the French as a whole appreciate these ideals more than other people. They have compromised themselves perhaps as much as other nations in accepting cheap imitations. French taste and French good taste are not necessarily the same.
Meeting or Surpassing Standards
Germans avoid compromizing on rules as much as they avoid compromising on quality. They spend money on good, reliable products, and they often define reliability in terms of a worst case scenario. Look at automobile ads in Germany. Brochures and videos briefly touch upon lifestyle issues, only to quickly turn to the "real stuff," a full report on all the environmental and safety standards that the new car meets. Ideally it does not just satisfy current legal standards but will also be able to meet the far stricter standards of the future. While you might dream of a fast race on the autobahn or a peaceful drive on the Romantische Straße, the ads will show you a series of detailed lab tests demonstrating all the different ways in which your new car could be smashed to pieces without any harm coming to the people inside.
Claims of Exceptional Performance May Create Suspicion
A Dutch insurance company found it difficult to convince German customers to buy their life insurance, even though their product had done exceptionally well in recent years. In their advertising campaign they stated that their customers' capital investment had grown as much as 20 percent annually. German customers were not convinced; such an exceptional increase in the price of shares could not be trusted to continue. To win over German customers, the Dutch company had to change their marketing strategy and promise a much lower return on investment.
Stressing Irish Core Values
Marketing strategies that work well in the US and UK are not always directly transferable to the Irish market. There are many cases of advertising campaigns that succeeded abroad but failed in Ireland because they conflicted with the strong universalist values held by most Irish people. The easygoing, informal nature of communication in Ireland can often camouflage deep-rooted core values. When these are crossed the Irish can react very negatively. It is important to be aware of the conservative, religious, local, and nationalist feelings that underpin many consumer reactions in Ireland. Today's Ireland may appear to be modern, forward looking, and in many ways very "Americanized," but campaigns that conflict with the Irish moral code of behavior are likely to provoke disapproval.
Certain Irish companies emphasize their Irishness and familiarity with Irish values as a means of competing with foreign companies operating in Ireland. For example, they might stress friendly service and the fact that they represent sound family values, saying that they've been a family-run business for the past fifty years or so. Another quality that is stressed is longevity; companies will state that they have no intention of leaving the country for more lucrative destinations when corporate tax incentives run out. The tendency of some multinationals to do this has left many people suspicious of their long-term commitment to Ireland. Some foreign-owned companies have now begun to market themselves in a similar manner, stressing the Irishness of their employees and products, and using Irish accents in their TV commercials.
Village Life and Inefficient Retailing
Japanese social life and consumption patterns are much more particularistic than in most western nations. Tokyo, for example, is a collection of "villages," each with its shopping center. Because houses and refrigerators are small and fresh fish and vegetables are greatly prized, the Japanese shop daily. They go by bicycle or on foot, and shop in thousands of mostly small, mom and pop stores supplied by two tiers of wholesalers. Service is very personal and friendly, and the predilections of individual customers are well known.
Supermarkets and chain stores are hindered by the Large Scale Store Law and its application by local governments. Small shopkeepers are an important constituency and are protected. Quite a few used to work in companies that produce the goods they currently sell. They can exchange defective goods quickly, preventing unfavorable publicity for the company. But such a system is not without its costs. Supermarkets are fewer, standardization is less, and distribution costs are higher. Even successful foreign chains, like Kentucky Fried Chicken, employ twice as many people in Japan as they do in the States. The additional workers wrap the chicken carefully, bow, and smile. Japan spends on honorifics, people whose main task appears to be greeting and thanking customers.