Monday, December 29, 2014

Chapter 12: Cultural and Cross Cultural Influences

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND MARKETING STRATEGY
by
J. Paul Peter & Jerry C. Olson
Fifth Edition
Irwin McGrawhill Companies
Copyright 1999 
United States
The Birth of the Consumer Society
Modern consumptioncultures are a rather recent historical developmwent. According to one analysis, the birth of the consumer society occurred in England during the eighteenth century when several important events occurred. For one, the new mass production technologies developed during England’s Industrial Revolution allowed companies to produce large amounts of standardized goods at relatively low prices. A cultural revolution occurred about the same time, without which the Industrial Revolution would not have been successful.
During the eighteenth century, England was gradually transformed from a largely agrarian society into a more urban society. When people moved into towns, their culture changed dramatically. They developed new values, performed different types of work, and developed new lifestyles. Many people developed an increased desire for material goods, stimulated partly by new marketing strategies such as advertising. Increasingly, ordinary citizens (not hust the wealthy) became concerned with symbolic meanings of goods and felt it necessary to buy products that were fashionable and up to date. Owning such things helped satisfy the new cultural need for status distinctions that had become more relevant in the relatively anynomous urban societies where few people knew each other or their family backgrounds. Thus people began to see consumption as an acceptable way to acquire important social meanings. Finally, more people had disposable income and were willing to spend it to achieve those values.
These cultural changes, combined with rapidly developing ability of industry to mass produce products of reasonable quality at low prices, created a dramatic increase in consumption in eigteenth century England. Esentially the same events occurred in France the United States during the nineteenth century and the modern consumer society was born there, too.
Sources: Adapted from Grant McCracken, The Making of Modern Consumption,”In culture and Consumption (Bloomington, IN: University of Indiana Press, 1988); and Janeen A. Costa, “Toward an Understanding of Social and World Systematic Processes in the Spread of Consumer Culture: An Anthropological Case Study,”in Advances in Consumer Reasearch, vol. 17 (Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research, 1991), pp.826-32.
This brief summary of the complex events at the beginning of the modern consumption society points to the importance of culture in understanding consumer behavior. To develop effective strategies, marketers need to identify important aspects of culture and understand how they affect consumers. In this chapter we examine the topic of culture and consider its influence on consumers, affect, cognitions and behaviors. We also describe some important characteristics of American culture and discuss the implications of cultural analysis for developing marketing strategies. Then we present a model of the cultural process that shows how cultural meaning is transferred by marketing strategies to products and how consumers then acquire those meanings for themselves. Finally we discuss cross-cultural (international) differences and their implications for developing global marketing strategies.
As the broadest aspect of the macro social environment, culture has a pervasive influence on consumers. Yet, despite increasing research attention, culture remain difficult for marketers to understand. Dozens of definitions have confused researchers about what “culture” is or how culture works to influence consumers. Fortunately, recent theoritical developments help clarify the concept of culture and how it affects people. In a broad sense, cultural meanings include common affective reactions, typical cognitions (beliefs), and characteristic patterns of behavior. Each society establishes its own vision of the world and constitutes or constructs that cultural world by creating and using meanings to represent important cultural distinctions.   
Marketers should consider several issues when analyzing culture. First, cultural meaning can be analyzed at different levels. Often, culture is analyzed at the macro level of an entire society or country (Canada, France, Poland, Kenya or Australia). However, because culture is the meanings shared among a group of people (of any size), marketers can also analyze the cultural meanings of subcultures (African-Americans, the elderly, people who live in New England) or social classes (middle versus working class). We discuss subcultures and social class in Chapter 13. Marketers can even analyze the shared cultural meanings of smaller groups such as a refrence group (people who live on thev same dormitory floor, members of a sorority or a street gang, or a group of co-workers) or family (people in one’s nuclear or extended family). We discuss refrence groups and family influences in Chapter 14.
A second issue, the concept of shared or common meaning, is critical to understanding culture. Insection 2 we examined psychological  meaning the personal, mental representations of objects, events and behaviors stored in the memories of individual consumers. In this chapter we consider cultural meaning at a macro social level. A meaning is cultural if many (most) people in a social group share the basic meaning. These cultural meanings are somewhat fuzzy in that all people in a social group are not likely to have exactly the same meaning for any object or activity (What is an old person, an environmentally safe product, or a good bargain?). Fortunately, meanings only have to be “close enough” to be treated as shared or common.
Third, cultural meanings are created by people. Anthropolohgist often say that cultural meanings are constructed or negotiated by people in a group through their social interactions. The construction of cultural meaning is more obvious at the level of smaller groups. Consider the social meanings of clothing fads among college students what look is hip or cool this semester? At the macro societal level, cultural institutions such as government, religious and educational organizations and business firms also are involved in constructing cultural meaning.
Fourth, cultural meanings are constantly in motion and can be subject to rapid changes. In the early days of the consumption society in eighteenth century England, for instance the cultural changes in people’s values, perceptions, and behaviors were so dramatic that one observer believed a kind of madness had taken over society. Later in this chapter we examine the processes by which cultural meanings are moved about in society, partly through marketing strategies.
A final issue is that social groups differ in the amount of freedom people have to adopt and use certain cultural meanings. North American and Europeans societies afford people a great deal of freedom to select cultural meanings and use them to create a desired self identity. In most other societies (China, India, Saudi Arabia), people have less freedom to do so.
In the following sections we discuss two useful perspectives for understanding cultural meaning. Marketers can examine the content of a culture, or marketers can treat culture as a process.
The Content of Culture
The usual approach in marketing is to analyze culture in terms of its major attribites or its content. Marketers typically focus on identifying the dominant values of a society, but culture more than values. The content of culture includes the beliefs, attitudes, goals and values held by most people in a society, as well as the meanings of  characteristic behaviors, rules, customs and norms that most people follow. The content of culture also includes meanings of the significant aspects of the social and physical environment, including the major social institutions in a society (political parties, religions, chambers of commerce) and the typical physical objects (products, tools, buildings) used by people in a society.
The goal of cultural analysis is to understand the cultural meanings of these concepts from the point of view of the consumers who create and use them. For example, many Americans have similar affective or emotional responses to the raising of the American flag (patriotic feelings), a 50 percent off-sale (interest or excitement), or accidentally breaking a vase in store (anxiety or guilt). Affective responses may vary across cultures. Many Americans and Northern Europeans would become angry of frustrated if kept waiting for 30 minutes in a checkout line, whereas people in other societies might not have negative affective reaction.  
Behaviors also can have important cultural . For instance, the meaning of shaking hands when greeting someone (welcome or friendliness) is shared by many peoples of the world, although in some cultures people bow or kiss instead. Protesters in America or other countries who burn  the American flag are communicating disaproval or hatred through their behaviors. Some consumption related behaviors have a cultural meanings that is unique to particular societies. For instance, the bargaining behaviors that are common (and expected) among shoppers in the open market bazaars of Northern Africa indicate a skilled and shrewed consumer. But in the United Kingdom States such as bargaining behaviors are not appropriate for shopping in Kmart or WalMart and would be considered naïve or rude.
Aspects of the social environment can have rich cultural meanings. For instance, the cultural meanings of shopping for a new sweater at a self-service discount store may be quite different from shopping in an upscale department store with attentive personal service from salespeople. Likewise, the physical or material environment including the landscape, the buildings, theweather and specific objects such as wedding rings and new cars have cultural meaning for many consumers. All societies have certain objects that symbolize key cultural meanings. Consider the shared meanings that many Americans associate with the flag, the Statue of Liberty, or the bald eagle (pride, freedom, individualism).
Finally, marketing strategies may have shared cultural meanings. Peoples reactions to advertising, for instance, tend to be culturally specific. In the United States many advertising appeals are straightforward and direct, but consumers in other societies many consider such appeals blunt and even offensive. Foreigners consider many U.S. ads to be overly emtional, even schmaltzy. Thus, a McDonald’s ad that featured a young man with Down’s syndrome who found a job and happiness at McDonald’s was a tearjerker for Americans but was booed and jeered at the International Advertising Film Festival in Cannes. The British tend to be embarrased by a direct sell; their ads are noted for self-depreciating humor. In contrast, the French rarely use humor but prefer stylish and rather indirect appeals, which Americans may find surealistic. For example, the best French ad in 1991 (also shown in North America) showed a lion and a tawny haired woman crawling up opposite sides of a mountain; at the peak the woman outroars the lion for a bottle of Perrier. Most Japanese consumers prefer ads in which affective mood and emotional tone are emphasized over facts. Although some Japanese ads travel well to other cultures, many are not understood outside Japan. As a final example, marketing strategies such as pricing or distribution have cultural meanings that can differ across societies. Many U.S. consumers have positive reactions to frequent sales promotions such as discounting, sales, coupons, but consumers in other cultures may have more negative meanings (Is something wrong with this product?)
In sum, marketers need to understand the cultural meanings of their products and brands. For instance, an analysis of beverage products; milk, for example, is seen as weak and appropriate for younger people, whereas wine is considered to be sophisticated and for mature adults. As we will see later, consumers seek to acquire certain cultural meanings in products and use them to create a desireable personal identity.
Measuring the Content of Culture
Marketers have used many procedures to measure cultural content including content analysis, ethnographic fieldwork, and measures of values. Some of these methods are different from the more additional approaches common in consumer research (surveys, telephone interviews, focus groups). Although all these techniques identify important meanings shared by people, they do not show how consumers perceive products to be related to these meanings. Means end chains are useful for that purpose.
Content Analysis
The content of cultures can often be read from the material objects produced by the social groups. For instance, consumer researchers have examined comic books to gain insights into the dominant values in a culture. Other researchers have examined a historical record of print advertisements to see how American values and women’s roles have changed during the past 90 years.
Ethnographic Fieldwork
Marketers have began to use ethnographic methods (adapted from anthropology) to study culture. These procedures involve detailed and proleuged observation of consumers emotional responses, cogntions and behaviors during their ordinary daily lives. Based on this rich and detailed data, researchers interpret or infer the values and the key meanings of the culture. Unlike anthropologists who might live in their observations more quickly. Using a combination of direct observations, interviews and video and audio recordings, researchers have examined consumer behavior at flea markets and swap meets. To understand what brands and product kids were using. Mattel (the toy company) once commisioned a global study in a dozens countries, including the United States and China, in which it recoireded everything kids had hanging on their bedroom walls.
Measures of Values
Marketers also use procedures to directly measure the dominant cultural values in a society. A popular approach is the Rokech Value Survey in which consumers rank order 36 general values in terms of their importance. Kahle’s List of Values asks consumers to rank order nine person oriented values. Marketers can then use these data to segment consumers in terms of their dominant value orientation.
Various commercial techniques regularly survey large, representative samples of consumers in the United States and Europe. For instance, the Yankelovich MONITOR tracks over 50 social trends (and value changes) and reports on their significance for consumer marketing (see http://www.yankelovich.com/monitor/). Recent Yankelovich surveys showed that U.S. consumers ranked the value of privacy as their number two concerns, right behind safety. Levelor, manufacturer of window blinds, adressed this consumer value by developing the UltraDark blind with superior light control that provides exceptional privacy. Another commercial method called VALS (Values and Lifestyles) identifies segments of consumers with different sets of ends values. VALS has been widely adapted by advertising agencies to help them better understand their target customers.
The Core Values of American Culture
A typical marketing analysis of cultural content begins by identifying the core values of the social group. Core values are the abstract end goals that people strive to achieve in their lives. Knowing the core values held by people in a society can help achieve in their lives. Knowing the core values held by people in a society can help marketers understand the basis for the customer-products relationship for those consumers. For instance, many Americans value mastery and being in control of their lives and the environment. The fascination with lawns (control of nature), remote controls (control over TV exposure) and time management systems (control over time) seen to reflect this value . This value persists even though most people realize that some things (nature) cannot be closely managed and controlled. Exhibit 12.1 presents several basic core values that are shared by many Americans.
Changing Values in America
The constant changes in American cultural values can affect the success of a company’s marketing strategies. As consumers values change, their means end connections with existing products and brands also change, which can change the important consumer product relationship.
Exhibit 12.1
Core Values in America
Value
General Feature
Relevance to Consumer Behavior
Achievement and success
Hard work is good; success flow from hardwork
Ads as a justification for acquisition of goods (“You deserve it”)
Activity
Keeping busy is healthy and natural
`Stimulates interest in products that save time and enhance leisure time activities
Efficiency and practicality
Admiration of things that scive problems (e.g., save time and effort)
Stimulates purchase of products that function well and save time.
Progress
People can improve themselves; tomorrow should be better
Stimulates desire for new products that fulfill unsatisfied needs; acceptance of products that claim to be new or improved
Material Comfort
“The good life”
Fosters acceptance of convinience and luxury products that make life more enjoyable
Individualism
Being one’s self (e.g., self reliance, self interest and self esteem)
Stimulates acceptance of customized of unique products that enable a person to express in his or her own personality
Freedom
Freedom of choice
Fosters interest in wide product lines and differentiated products.
External conformity
Uniformity observable behavior; desire to be accepted
Stimulates interest products that are used or owned by others in the same social group
Flumanitarianism
Caring for others, particularly the underdog
Stimulates petronage of firms that compete with market leaders
Youthfulness
A state of mind that stresses being young at heart or appearing young
Stimulates acceptance of products that provide the illusion of maintaining or fostering youth
Fitness and health
Caring about one’s body, including the desire to be physically fit and healthy
Stimulates acceptance of food products, activities and equipment perceived to maintain or increase physical fitness
Source: Leon G. Schiffman and Leslie Lazar Kanuk, Consumer Behavior, 4th ed.,pp.424. copyright 1991. Reprinted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Changes in values can create problems (as well as opportunities) for marketers. For instance, BMW was probably the ultimate yuppie (young urban professional) status symbol in the 1980s, but sales dropped as the economy cooled in the 1990s and people’s perceptions of the BMW image changed. After consumption excesses of the 1980s and people’s perceptions of the BMW image changed. After the consumption excesses of the 1980s, many consumers had become less materialistic and more concerned about social issues such as protection of the environment. By the mid 1990s, people’s values about luxury had shifted again and sales of BMW, Mercedes and Porsche were up sharply. Highlight 12.1 presents examples of corporate responses to changing environmental values.
Changes in cultural values can create new marketing opportunities, too. For instance, chicken restaurants saw significant growth as American consumers turned away from burgers to products seen as more healthful. Increasing health values have led many restaurants to add new “healthy or heart conscious” items (with reduced levels of fat, sugar, and cholesterol) to their menus.
Changes in cultural values are usually accompanied by charges in behavior. For instance, the values of conviniemnce and saving time led to increases in home shopping behaviors, including use of mail catalogs, TV shopping channels and Internet shopping. Marketers often talk about behavior in terms of lifestyles typical ways in which people live their lives to achieve important end goals or values. Exhibit 12.2 lists several important lifestyle trends in American sociaty along with an example of how each many impact marketing strategies. Marketers should monitor these cultural changes and adjust their marketing strategies as necessary.
Highlight 12.1
Environmental Concerns A Growing Cultural Value
Many companies have recorded to consumers growing environmental values. Many trend watchers think  the 1980s will be the decade of environmentalism, and environmental concern will become an important value for consumers all around the world. Some claim environmentalism is “absolutely the most important issues for business.” Among the companies that are reacting are the following:
·         Procter & Gamble and many other marketers are trying to cast their products in an environmentally friendly light by using recycled materials for packaging and formulating some products to reduce pollution.
·         Wal-Mart has asked all its suppliers for more recycled or recyclable products, which it then features prominently with in store signs.
·         Du Pont has stated a “zero pollution” goal. Among other initiatives, the company is getting out of a $750 million per year business in chlorofluorocarbons, which damage the earth’s ozone layer and has spent nearly $200 million developing a sale alternative.
·         McDonalds is worlding to cut the huge waste stream produced at its 8,500 U.S. restaurants each day. For instance, it requires suppliers to use corrugated boxes containing at least 35 percent recycled materials. McDonald’s has tested a variety of things including reusable salad lids, nonplastic utensils, pump style containers and refillable coffee mugs.
The growing environmental concern of consumers creates not just problems for companies but also opportunities. Big business is forecast for companies in recycling. Pollution control technology and pollution cleanup. Consider the opportunity to design environmentally friendly packaging for compact disks. CDs now come in a plastic “jewel box” inside a long cardboard box. Originally the long box was developed to discourage shoplifting and to fit into existing record racks in stores. Besides requiring near gorilla strength to open, the discarded cardboard creates over 23 million pounds of garbage per year.
Sources: Frank Edward Allen, “McDonald’s Launches Plan to Cut Waste,” The Wall Street Journal, April 17, 1991, pp. B1, B4; MegCox, “Music Firms Try Out ‘Green’ CD Boxes,” The Wall Street Journal, July 25, 1991, p. B1; and David Kirkpatrick, “Environmentalism: The New Crussade, “Fortune, February 12, 1990, pp.44-55.
Culture as a Process
Understanding the content of culture is useful for designing effective marketing strategies, but we can also  think about culture as a process. Exhibit 12.3 presents a model of the cultural process in a highly developed consumer sociaty. The model shows that cultural meaning is prsent in three “locations” in the social and physical environments, in products and services and in individual consumers. The cultural process describes how this cultural meaning is moved about or transferred between these locations by the actions of organizations (business, government, religion, education) and by individuals in the society. First, marketing strategies are designed to move cultural meanings from the physical and social environments into products and services in an attempt to make them attractive to consumers. Second, consumers actively seek to acquire these cultural meanings in products in order to establish a desirable personal identity or self-concept.
Exhibit 12.2
Lifestyle Trends in America
Trends
Impact on Marketing Strategies
Control of time
Americans increasingly value their time and seek greater control of its use.
Component lifestyles
Consumer behavior is becoming more individualistic because the wider array of available choices.
Culture of convenience
With the rising number of two income  house-holds, consumers are spending more on services to have more free time for themselves.
Growth of home shopping
Consumers want more time for themselves and are frustrated by waiting in checkout lines.
Shopping habits of the sexes to converge
Men continue to do more of the shopping and working women take on many male shopping habits.
Home entertainment
The VCR is the force behind the boom in home entertainment, which will bring about increased purchases of take out food and changes in the nature of home furnishings and appliances.
Casual dress
There has been a widespread interest in more casual fashions
Spread of the diversied diet
Americans are eating differently (e.g., lower beef  consumption, greater fish consumption)
Self imposed prohibition of alcohol
The trend has been toward “lighter” drinks (e.g., vodka, “lite” beer) as well as decline in the overall consumption of alcohol.
Lightest drink of all water
Bottled or sparkling water is considered by some to be chic, some individuals are concerned about the quality of their tap water.
Bifurcation of product markets
There is a growing distance between upscale and downscale markets, and companies caught in the middle may fare poorly.
Product and service quality more important, if not everything
Products falling below acceptable quality standards will be treated mercilessly.
Heightened  importance of visuals in advertising and marketing
With the VCR revolution, the imperative for advitisers is to make the message seen, not heard.
Fragmentation of media marketers
New sources of programming will emerge as loyalty to network TV fades.
Return of the family
The family will be seen as something to join as the baby boom generation rears its children.
New employee benefits for two income families
More employers will offer flexible work hours, job sharing and day care services,
Growing appeal of work at home
Workers will want to work at home on their own computers.
Older Americans the next entrepreneurs
Older people want to work past the traditional retirement age and have the resources to invest in their own business.
Young American a new kind of conservative
Although 18-29 years olds are socially liberal, they are economically and politically conservative.
Public relations tough times ahead for business
Business does not receive the credit it deserves for the creation of new jobs because people remain suspicious about how business operates.

Sources: Adapted from “31 Major Trends Shaping the Future of American Business, “The Public Pulse 2, no.1.
Exhibit 12.3
A Model of the Cultural Process
Cultural meaning in social and physical environment

Marketing Strategies
Fashion System
Other Institutions

Cultural meaning in products and services

Acquistion Posession Exchange Grooming
Rituals
Nurturing Personalization Divestment

Cultural meaning in consumers

Social interactions
Intentional actions

Sources: Adapted from Grant McCracken, “Culture and Consumption ‘A Theoritical Account of the Structure and Movement of the Cultural Meaning of Consumer Goods, “ Journal of Consumer Research, June 1986, pp.71-84.
Moving Cultural Meanings into Products
Advertising has been the most closely studied method of transferring cultural meaning from the physical and social environments into products. From a cultural process perspective, advertising can be seen as a funnel through which cultural meaning is poured into consumer goods. Essentially, advertisers must decide what cultural meanings they want their products to have, and then create ads that communicatea those cultural meanings, often using symbols (whether words or images) to stand for the desired culturam meanings.
A symbol is something (a word, image, or object) that stands for or signifies something else (the desired cultural meaning). For instance, to communicate cool, refreshing, summertime meanings, Nestlea Nestea showed a person failing, fully clothed, into a cool swimming pool. The long-running “Heartbeat of America” campaign for Chevrolet showed various symbols of small town American life to represent traditional American values such as simplicity, family, patriotism, and friendship. Some animals have distinctive symbolic meanings that marketers can associate with products (the bull in Merrill Lynch ads, the bald eagle in ads for the U.S. Postal Service’s Express Mail service, the ram for Dodge “ram tough” trucks). Names can convey cultural meaning that enhances the value of the product. For instance, Urban Decay, marketer of funky nail polishes, uses such names for its colors as Oil Slick, Gash, Uzi, Rust, and Pallor. Highlight 12.2 describes another cultural symbol used in advertising.
Although advertising may be the most obvious marketing mechanism for moving meanings into products, others aspects of marketing strategy are involved as well. Consider pricing strategies. discount stores such as Kmart and Wal-Mart use low prices establish the meaning of their stores. For many consumers, high prices have desirable cultural meanings that can be transferred to certain products (Mercedez Benz cars, Rolex watches, Chivas Regal Scotch, European clothing designers) to create a luxurious, high status, high quality image. Different price endings ($14.87 versus $14.99 versus $15.00) also may communicate specific cultural meanings.
Japanese automobile companies intentionally design the product attributes of their cars to communicate cultural meanings. For instance, the design of the automobile interior (leather versus cloth seats, analog versus digital gauges, wood versus plastic dash) as well as the locations of the controls and how they look and feel when one operates them can transfer cultural meanings. For instance, the design of the automobile interior (leather versus cloth seats, analog versus digital gauges, wood versus plastic dash) as well as the locations of the controls and how they look and feel when one operates them can transfer cultural meaning to the product. Even distribution strategies can influence the transfer of meaning. The nlimited distribution of Burberry trench coats and related products in better clothing stores enhances their image.
Other factors besides marketing strategies can influence the transfer of meaning from the cultural world into products. For instance, journalists who report the results of product tests of cars, stereo systems, or ski equipment are moving meaning into the products. The so called fashion system, including designers, reporters, opinion leaders and celebrities, transfher fashion related meanings into clothing, cooking, and home furnishing products. Consumer advocates such as Ralph Nader (who convinced people that the Chevrolet Corvair was unsafe) or governmental agencies such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (which required warning labels tellingt people not to step on the top level of a stepladder) are involved in transferring meanings to products.
Cultural Meanings in Products
Products, stores, and brands express cultural or symbolic meaning. For instance, certain brands have meanings concerning the sex and age groups for which they are appropriate Virginia Slims are for women, Camels re for men; Rollerblades and T-shirts are for young people, gardening tools and laxatives are for older people. Some products embody cultural meanings, such as the Cooperstown Collection of high quality reproductions of baseball team jerseys, jackets and hats, including defunct teams such as the Washington Senators. Buying and using such products make their cultural meanings tangible and visible and communicate those meanings to others.
The cultural meanings of products are likely to vary across different societies. For instance, most societies have favorite foods that represent important meanings in that culture, but not in others the Danes love eel, Mexicans love chilies, Irish love Guinness, French love cheese, Americans love hamurgers.
Of course not all people in a social group perceive a product, brand, or activity to have the same cultural meaning. For example, some teenagers might begin to smoke Marlboros to gain the positive cultural meanings they perceive to be contained in the act of smoking and in the brand. Other teens might reject smoking to avoid gaining the negative meanings they perceive in the action.
Some of the cultural meanings in products are obvious to anyone who is familiar with that culture, but other meanings are hidden. Nearly everyone can recognize the basic cultural meanings in different styles of clothing (jeans and a sweatshirt versus a business suit), makes of automobiles (Mercedes-Benz versus Ford versus Honda), types of stores (J.C. Penney versus Wal-Mart versus Nordstrom or Saks). But other, less obvious cultural meanings in products may not be fully recogtnized by consumers or marketers. For instance, you might not realize the important meanings of the missing possessions.
Many companies do not know much about the symbolic cultural meanings of their products. This was the case 1985 when the Coca-Cola Company changed the taste attributes of Coca-Cola to make it slightly sweeter with less of a bite. When it introduced new Coke, the company was surprised by an immediate flurry of protests from customers. Millions of consumers had consumed Coca-Cola Company changed the taste attributes of Coca-Cola to make it slightly sweeter with less of a bite. When it introduced new Coke, the company was surprised by an immediate flurry of protests from customers. Millions of consumers had consumede Coca-Cola as kids and had strong cultural meanings for (and emotional ties to) the original product. These consumers resented its removal from the marketplace and some of them bought lawsuits againist the company. In response, Coca-Cola Classic. (The Marketing Strategy in Action in Chapter 6 reviews this situation.)
Finally, many products contain personal marketing in addition to cultural meanings. Personal meanings are moved into products by the actions of individual consumers. Although these meanings tend to be idiosyncratic and unique to each consumer, they are important as aq source of intrinsic self-relevance that can affect consumers involvement with the product.
Moving Meanings from Products into Consumers
The cultural process model identifies rituals as ways of moving meanings from the product to the consumer. Rituals are symbolic actions performed by consumers to create, affirm, evoke, or revise certain cultural meanings. For instance, the consumptionrituals performed on Thanksgiving Day by American families who feast on turkey and all the trimmings affirm their ability to provide abundantly for their needs.
Not all rituals are formal ceremonies such as a special dinner, a graduation, or a wedding. Rather, many rituals are common aspects of everyday life, although people usually do not recognize their behavior as ritualistic. Consumer researchers have begun to investigate the role of rituals in consumer behavior, but our knowledge is still limited. We discuss five consumption related rituals involved in the movement of meaning between product and consumer the actions associated with acquisition, posession, exchange, grooming and divestment. Future research is likely to reveal other ritualistic behaviors that consumers perform to obtain cultural meanings in products.
Acquisition Rituals Some of the cultural meanings in products are transferred to consumers through the simple acquisition rituals of purchasing and consuming the product. For instance, buying and eating an ice cream cone is necessary to receive the meanings the product contains (fun, relaxation, a reward for hard work, a treat or pick me up). Other acquisition behaviors have ritualistic qualities that are important for meaning transfer. For example, collectors who are interested in possessing scarce or unique products (antiques, stamps or coins, beer cans and so on) may perform special search rituals when they go out “the hunt,” including wearing special lucky clothes.
The bargaining rituals involved in negotiating the price of an automobile, stereo system, or some object at a garage sale can help transfer important meanings to the buyer (I got a good deal). Consider how an avid plate collector in his early sixties describes the meanings conveyed by bidding rituals at an auction or a flea market.
There’s no Alcoholics Anynomous for collectors. You just get bit by the bug and that’s it. The beauty and craftsmanship of some these things are amazing. They were made by people who cared. There’s nothing like getting ahold of them for yourself. Especially, if you get it for a song and you sing it your self. Its not getting a great deal, its knowing that you ve’ got a great deal that makes for the thrill. It’s even better if you had to bid againist someone for it.
In sum, the acquisition rituals performed in obtaining products (purchase, search, bargaining, bidding) can help move meanings to the buyer.
Possession Rituals Possession rituals help consumers acquire the meanings in products. For instance, the new owners of a house (or apartment) might invite freiends and relativrees to a housewarming party to admire their dwelling and formally establish its meanings. Many consumers perform similar ritualistic displays of a new purchase (a car, clothing, stereo system) to show off the new possession, solicit the admiration of their friends and gain reassurance that they made a good purchase.
Other possession rituals involve moving personal meaning from the customer into the product. For instance, product nurturing rituals put personal meaning into the product (washing your car each Saturday; organizing your record or CD collection; tuning your bicycle; working in your garden). Lather, these meanings can be moved back to the consumer, where they are experienced and enjoyed as satisfaction or pride. These possession rituals help create strong , involving relationships between products and consumers.
Personalizing rituals serve a similar function. Many people who buy a used car or a previously owned house perform ritualistic actions to remove meanings left over from the previous owner and move new meanings of their own into the product. For instance, consumers will purchase special accessories for their new or used cars to personalize them (new floor mats, better radio, different wheels and/or tires, custom stripes). Repainting, wallpapering, or installing carpeting are rituals that personalize a house to “make it your own.”
Highlight 12.3
Grooming Rituals
A recent study attempted to measure the symbolic, and perhaps largely unconscious, meanings associated with consumers personal grooming rituals. This research found that hair care activities dominated the grooming behavior or the young adults (18 to 25 years old) in the sample. For instance, most of these consumers shampooed their hair nearly every day, and many felt frustrated and emotional about this activity. For instance, one year old woman said, “Fixing my hair is the most difficult. I spend hours actually hours doing my hair. It drives me crazy!”
Because many of the meanings associated with hair care were thought to be relatively unconscious, direct questioning could not be used to tap into these deeper, more symbolic meanings; consumers might just offer rationalizations for their behavior. So the researcher showed male and female consumers pictures of a young man using a blow dryer and a young woman in curlers applying makeup. Each consumer was asked to write a detailed history about the person in the picture. Their stories give some indights into the meanings of these grooming rituals.
For many consumers, hair grooming with the blow dryer seemed to symbolize an active, take charge personality who is preparing to go on the “social prowl.” For example, one 20 year old main said,”Jim is supposed to stay home and study to night, but he’s getting ready to go out, anyway. He’s hoping to meet some hot chicks and he wants his hair to look just right.”
Symbolic meanings about work and success were prominent in other stories, as the following excerpt  from a 21 year old woman’s story illustrates: “Susan is getting ready for her first presentation, and she’s very nerveous. If it goes well, maybe her boss will help with a down payment on a new car.”
Uncovering consumers deep, symbolic meanings for certain products can be quite difficult. However, the knowledge may give marketers useful insights into consumers reactions to their strategies.
Source: Adapted with permission from Dennis W. Rook,”The Ritual Dimension of Consumer Behavior,” Journal of Consumer Reasearch, December 1985, pp.251-64.
Exchange Rituals Certain meanings can be transferred to consumers through exchange rituals such as giving gifts. For instance, giving wine or flowers to your host or hostess on arriving at a formal dinner party is a ritual that transfers cultural meanings (thanks, graciousness, generosity).
People often select gifts for anniversaries, birthdays, or special holidays such as Christmast that contain special cultural meanings to be transferred to the receiver. For instance, giving a nice watch, luggage, or a new car to a college graduate might be intended to convey cultural meanings of achievement, adult status, or independence. Parents oftenh give gifts to their children that are intended to transfer very particular cultural meanings (a puppy represents responsibility; a bike represents freedom; a computer conveys the importance of learning and mastery).
Grooming Rituals Certain cultural meanings are perishable in that they tend to fade over time. For instance, personal care products such as shampoo, mouthwash and deodorants and beauty products (cosmetics, skin care) contain a variety of cultural meanings (attractive, sexy, confident, influence over others). But when transferred to consumers through use, these meanings are not permanent. Such meanings must be continually renewed by drawing them out of a product each time it is used. Grooming rituals involve particular ways of using personal care and beauty products that coax these cultural meanings out of the product and transfer them to the consumer. Many people engage in rather elaborate groomking rituals to obtain these meanings (see Highlight 12.3). What types of grooming rituals do you perform getting ready to go out?
Divestment Rituals Consumers perform divestment rituals to remove meaning from products. Certain product (items of clothing, a house, a car or motorcycle, a favorite piece of sports equipment) can contain considerable amounts of personal meaning. These meanings may be the basis for a strong customer product relationship. For instance, products can acquire such personal meaning through long periods of use or because they symbolize important meanings (a chair might be a family heirloom).
Often consumers believe that some of the personal meanings must be removed before such products can be sold or even thrown away. Thus, for instance, a consumer may wash or dry clean a favorite item of clothing that she or he plans to give away or donate to charity to remove some of the personal meanings in the product. A consumer might remove certain highly personal parts of a house (a special chandelier), car (a special radio), or motorcycle (a custom seat) before selling it.
In certain cases the personnal meaning in the product is so great the consumer cannot part with the object. Thus, people hang onto old cars, clothes, or furniture that have sentimented personal meaning. One study found that certain consumers had become highly attached to their Levi’s jeans and kept them for years, some as much as 20 or 30 years. These consumers associated many salient meanings with Levi’s jeans, including the confidence they felt when wearing the product and the feeling that Levi’s were appropriate in many social situations. Other consumers talked as if their Levi’s were an old friend and  companion who had accompanied the consumer on many adventures, and the jeans were valued for the memories they contained. If divestment rituals are unable to remove these meanings, consumers may keep such objects forever or at least until the personal meanings have faded and become less intense.
Cultural Meanings in Consumers
Consumers buy products as a way to acquire cultural meanings to use in establishing their self identities. Consider the sports fan who buys a team bat or jacket. Major League Baseball Properties, a licencsing and marketing organization, sells authentic jerseys from the New York Yankees (about $175) and the 1919 Chicago Black Sox ($245) to middle aged fans who want to identify with their favorite teams, present and past. Or consumers might buy Ben and Jerry’s Rain Forest Crunch ice cream (made from nuts grown in the Amazon rain forest) or Tide detergent sold in packages made from recycled materials to acquire the ecological values represented by these products. People buy such products to move important culotural meanings into themselves and to communicate these meanings to others.
Americans have a lot of freedom to create different selves though their choices of lifestyle, environments and products. Self-construction activity is especially intense during the teenage young and young adult years. Young people try different social roles and self-identities and often purchase products to gain meanings related to these roles. Thus, teenage rebellions against parents values and lifestyles usually involve the purchase and consumption of certain products. As most people become more mature with age, their self concepts become more stable (even rigid) and their interest in self change lessens. Of course, changes even radical changes in self concept are still possible, but they are increasingly rare. Even so, consumers still use the cultural meanings in products to maintain and fine-tune their current self identities.
Although products can transfer useful meanings to consumers, good cannot provide all the meanings that consumers need to construct healthy self-concepts. People obtain self-relevant meanings from many other sources including their work, family, religious experiences and various social activities. Often the meanings gained through these activities are more self relevant and more satisfying than those obtained through product consumption.
Most people have Favorite possession that are filled with very important, self relevant meanings. People have high levels of involvement with such objects. Researchers have begun to study these cherished objects to understand consumer product relationships. For instance, elderly persons tend to feel strong attachments to objects such as photographs or furniture that remind them of past events, whereas younger consumers tend to value objects that allowq them to be active in self-relevant ways (sports or hobby equipment, work-related objects such as books or computers). Marketers need to understand these consumer-product relationships to develop effective strategies.
Unfortunately, especially in highly developed consumption societies, many people consume products in an attempt to acquire important life meanings. Some of these consumers may engage in almost pathological levels of consumption as they desperately purchase products seeking to acquire cultural meanings with which to construct a satisfactory self-concept. Such consumers can end up heavily in debt and very unsatisfied.
Moving Meaning to the Cultural Environment
The cultural process model in Exhibit 12-3 shows that the meanings in consumers can be transferred to the broad cultural environment through people’s social behavior. In a society consisting of many individuals living and working together, culture (shared meaning) is created by the actions of those people. Much of the movement of meaning to the cultural environment is an automatic consequence of the daily social interactions among people. Sometimes, however, people intentionally try to create new cultural meanings in an attempt to change society. For instance, various interest groups in society (punks, greens or environmental activists, gay rights activists) try to influence others to adopt new cultural meanings. Consumer interest groups have similar goals.
In sum, Exhibit 12.3 portrays the cultural process as a continuous and reciprocal movement of meaning between the overall cultural environment, organizations and individuals in the society. As with the Wheel of Consumer Analysis, the influences are bidirectional in that the meanings can flow in both directions.
Marketing Implications
Managing Cultural Meaning The cultural process model suggests that a basic marketing task is the management of the cultural meaning of the brand or product. The shared cultural meanings of a brand are large part of its economic value or its brand equity. Managing brand meanings requires that marketers identify the brand meanings shared by consumers and monitor changes in those meanings. Means end analysis would be useful for this purpose. Marketing strategies might be directed a maintaining positive brand meanings or creating new meanings. These strategies would have to select appropriate meanings from the cultural environment and move transfer them into products and brands.
Although marketers usually think cultural meanings are fixed or static and are not affected much by a company’s actions, marketing strategies  do influence the overall cultural environment. A conspicious example is the proliferation of marketing stimuli in the physical environment (signs, billboard, ads, stores, advertisements). Less obvious is how the huge volume of marketing strategies affects our social environment and the shared meanings of modern life.
Using Celebrity Endorsers in Ads a popular advertising strategy in North America and Japan for moving cultural meanings into products and brands is to have celebrities endorse the product. Among the celebrities who appeared in ads in the early 1990s were musician Ray Charles (Pepsi), Cher and the ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov (cologne), CEOs Lee lacocca (Chrysler) and Victor Kiam (Remington razors), singers Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, basketball player Michael Jordan (Nike), test pilot Chuck Yeager (car batteries), Tommy LaSorda (diet aid) and politicians Ann Richards and Mario Cuomo (Doritos).
From a cultural perspective, celebrities are cultural objects with specific cultural meanings. In developing an effective celebrity endorsement strategy, marketers must be careful to select a celebrity who has appropriate meanings consistent with the overall marketing strategy (the intended meanings) for the product. Musicians such as Eltohn John and Sting (for Coke) or Ray Charles (for Pepsi) have distinctive cultural images based on their records, live performanves, and vidio appearances, which enhance their appeal as celebrity spokespersons. Some celebrities such as Madonna have shrewdly re-created their images (and their cultural meaning) over time as the appeal of one set of cultural meanings wanes. Interstingly, celebrities who have been typecast (something most actors complain about) are more likely to have shared cultural meanings that can be associated with a product- Sylveter Stallone, for instance. The actress Meryl Streep, for example, may not be a desirable spokesperson because she has played such a wide variety of roles that she does not have a clear set of cultural meanings. Sometimes the cultutral meanings of celebrity spokespersons are related to their credibility and expertise concerning a product. For instance, Cher and Elizabeth Taylor promote their own perfume brands while Phil and Steve Mahre the twin American ski racers, promote K2 skis. In other cases the celebrity’s cultural meanings are not logically linked to the product, but the marketer hopes the general meanings of the celebrity as a credible and trustworthy person will help transfer important meanings of the celebrity as a credible and trustworthy person will help transfer important meanings to the product. Highlight 12.4 discusses some issues in using celebrities to promote one’s products.
Marketers need to understand more about how celebrities transfer meaning to the product. What happens to the cultural meanings of celebrities who are disgraced (Ben Johnson is caught using steroids, Pete Rose is Jailed for income tax evasion), fall from public favor (an actor plays poorly in several films), retire from public life (Larry Bird stops playing basketball, Ingmar Bergman stops making films), or return again to fame or favor as their celebrity status is partially renewed (Bob Dylan or Mickey Rooney)? How can marketers use such celebrities is transferring cultural meanings to their products and brands? Do consumers gain the meanings embodied by a celebrity merely by purchasing the endorsed brand, or are ritualistic behaviors necessary?
Although it is popular to criticize the North American and European fascination with celebrities as trivial and shallow, celebrities represent important cultural meanings that many consumers find personally relevant. By purchashing and using the product endorsed by the celebrity, consumers can obtain some of those meanings and use them in constructing a satisfying self-concept. 
Helping Consumers Obtain Cultural Meanings
By understanding the role of rituals in consumer behavior; marketers can devise rituals that help transfer important cultural meanings from products to the customer. For instance, a rael estate firm might develop an elaborate purchase ritual, perhaps including an exchange of gifts on the purchase occasion, to verify the transfer of the house, along side its meanings to the buyer. Some upscale clothing storesperform elaborate shopping and buying rituals for their affluent customers, including being shown to private room, served coffee or wine and presented with a selection of clothes. When dining in a fine restaurant people participate in many rituals that transfer special meanings, including being seated by the maitred, talking the wine steward, using various types of silverware and glasses, eating each course separately and so on.
Highlight 12.4
Celebrity Endorsers
Many marketers use celebrity spokespersons to promote their products. In particular, this strategy makes sense in the hair color category, where glamorous supermodels like Linda Evangelista and superstars like Madonna frequently change hair color from blon to auburn to black and back again. In 1997-98, Revlon use Cindy Crawford to pitch its ColorStay hair color with the claim, it “won’t fade out. “Heather Locklear, golden blond TV star, was the spokesperson for the L’Oreal and a little attitude.” To emphasize now easy it is to change hair color, market leader Clairol created hip and funny ads for its Nice ‘n Easy brand using Seinfeld actress Julia Louis-Dryfus.
The market grew in recent years as older women (and men) have taken to coloring their hair. In 1997, about half of American woman colored their hair, up from about 35 % in 1990. According to Joseph Campinell, president of Loreal Retail, “Hair color used to be something you did when you didn’t want to look old. It was something your mother did in the quiet of the bathroom. Now it is no big deal to color your hair it’s a fashion statement.” Thus many marketers look for models who have an age less appeal such as Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn on TV) who is sopkesperson for Clairol’s Loving Care brand, or 37 year old actress Nastassja Kniski who promotes Excellence Crème to cover gry hair.
A danger celebrity endorsers is that they sometimes get into trouble with the law (consider O. J. Simpson, Mike Tyson, or Pete Rose) or otherwise have flamboyant personalities that limit their utility for marketers (Dennis Rodman). One option is to use “dead celebrities” by licencing names and images. A good example is Jackie Robinson, the baseball player who broke the color barrier in national league baseball. Now, 25 years after his death, Robinson is a celebrity endorser for Wheaties breakfast cereal, Coca-Cola, and Nike as well as about 17 other companies that have licensed the Robinson name to promote their products. In 1997 the U.S. Mint created gold and silver coins with Robinson likeness.
Perhaps the “king” of all celebrity endorsers is Michael Jordan, ace basketball player with the Chicago Bulls. Besides his big contract with Nike to endorser Air Jordan basketball shoes, Jordan has licensed his name to many dozens of other products, including golf club covers, shower curtains, sleeping bags, insulated travel mugs, gift wrap, locker bags (that makes sense), ring binders, flashlights, soap dishes, toy rockets, bandages, comforters and so on. Do you think that is a good idea?
Source: Anonymous, “Popcorn Tins, Aprons, Valentines and Bandages All Look Like Mike, “ The Wall Street Journal, November 15, 1990, p.B1: Tara Parker-Pope, “Tossing Tinted Manes, Stars Heat Up Hair-Color Wars,” The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 1997, pp. B1, B6; and Skip  Wollenberg, “Jackie Robinson a Celebrity Endorser Again, “Marketing News, April 28, 1997, pp. 1, 12.
Finally, consider the strategies used by Nissan to create rituals for American buyers that help transfer meanings about its. Infinity luxury car to consumers. Dealers are supposed to gently welcome customers in Japanese style as honored guests (not aggresively descend on the “mooches” a derogatory term for a naïve customer used by some American car salespeople). Tea or coffee is to be offered, several on fine Japanese china. Each Infinity dealership should have a special shoki screened contemplation room where consumers can sit quietly with the car “meditating” about their purchase and the consumer product relationship. These rituals help reinforce the low pressure, relaxed meanings Nissan wants to develop about the Infinity approach to car selling.
Cross-Cultural Influences
Foreign markets have become quite important for many businesses, including the U.S. film industry. Because domestic ticket sales have been flat over the past decade (about 1 billion tickets per year), film companies have looked to foreign markets for growth. In 1996, U.S. film studios received from 35 to 50 percent of their total revenues from foreign markets. Thus U.S. companies are under pressure to develop films that appeal to both U.S. and foreign consumers.
To develop strategies that are effective in different cultures, marketers have to understand the differences in cultural meanings in different societies. In this section we examine cross cultural differences in meanings and consider how these cross cultural differences among societies affect consumers. We also discuss how marketers can treat cross-cultural differences in developing international marketing strategies.
Cross cultural differences do not always  coincide with nationalborders. This is obcious in many countries where cultural differences among internal social groups are as great as between separate nations.Consider Yugoslovia (with several regions including Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia) the former Soviet Union (with 15 republics and many large cultural differences), Belgium (with two language cultures Flemish and French), Canada two language cultures English and French) and Switzerland (with German, French, Italian and Swiss speaking regions). Understanding the cultural influences in such regions requires an analysis of subcultures, discussed in chapter 13.
Likewise, national borders do not always demarcate clear cross-cultural differences. For instance, many people living on either side of the long Canadian US. Border share similar cultural characteristics (French speaking Quebec is an exception). Likewise, the people in southern Austria and northern Italy or northern France and southern Belgium share many similarities.
Cross Cultural Differences

Marketers must consider cross-cultural differences when developing marketing strategies for foreign markets. We discuss a few of these here.
Differences in Consumption Culture
The level of consumption orientation in different markets is an important cross-cultural factor that companies should consider when developing international marketing strategies. The opening example pointed out that a large part of U.S. culture involves consumption activities. Many other areas of the world including Canada, most Western European countries and Japan also have strong consumer cultures. Even in relatively poor countries, significant segments of society may have a developing consumer culture. For instance, India, Mexico and many South American countries have a large middle class of consumers that can consume at significant levels. The Asian countries of the so called Pacific Rim have a rapidly growing middle class with substantial spending power.
In much of the world, however people have less opportunity to participate in a consumption culture. For instance, the ordinary citizens of many Eastern European countries, the former Soviet Union, China, India and most Third World countries do not have sufficient purchasing power to consume at high levels, nor are these societies able to produce goods in sufficient number and variety to meet the consumption needs of their people.
Self Concept
People in different cultures may have stringly different concepts of themselves and how they should relate to other people. Consider the differences between the vision of an independent self typical in North America and Western Europe and the concept of self as highly interrelated with others that is more common in Japan, India, America, and even some southern European cultures.
Americans with their strong individualistic orientation, tend to think of self in terms of personal abilities and traits that enable people to achieve the ideals of independence from others, freedom of choice and personal achievement. In contrast, the Japanese tend to value a self that is sensitive to the needs of others, fits into the group and contributes positively to the harmonious interdependence of the group members. These cross-cultural differences in self concept are likely to affect how people in those cultures interpret prduct meanings and use products to achieve important ends in their lives. For example, Japanese gift giving behavior is strongly affected by the socially oriented self-concept.  
Especially when they return from trips abroad, the Japanese feel a rather strong social (cultural) obligation to bring souvenir gifts to the folks back home. This type of gift giving is called omiyage. Friends, parents, siblings, and relatives are the typical recipients. A quick study of omiyage among Japanese tourists at the Los Angeles airport revealed 83 percent had bought omiyage, spending an average of $566 on such items compared to $581 on personal items. The number of persons bought for was high (by American standards); 45 percent of Japanese tourists bought for was hight omiyage gifts for 15 or more people. Interestingly, although nearly 80 percent of the tourists mentioned that omiyage was a strong social norm in Japan, only 7 percent of the respondents claimed to enjoy buying omiyage. Most teated it as a necessary chore. As for marketing strategies, it is important to know that the packaging and wrapping  of omiyage gifts has important cultural meaning, partly because gifts are seldom opened in front of the giver. The appearance of the package is highly valued by Japanese consumers. 
The meanings of the end values or goals found in means end research are likely to be quite different in different cultures, as are the means to achieve them. Consider the value of self-esteem or “satisfaction with self”. North Americans for instance, might satisfy self esteem needs by acting in ways that represent their independence and autonomy from the group. But for the Japanese, cooperation with a group is an act that affirms the self. In Japan, giving in to the group is not a sign of weakness (as it might be interpreted in North America) but rather reflects tolerance, self-control, flexibility and maturity all aspects of a positive self image for most Japanese, In contrast starting one’s personal position and trying to get one’s way (acts valued in America’s as “standing up for what one believes”) may be thought childish and weak by the Japanese.
Similar Cross-Cultural Changes
It is becoming more common to find similar cultural changes occuring in many societies around the world at about the same time. For instance, the social roles for women in North American society have changed considerably over the past 20 years. As more women worked outside the home, their values, goals, beliefs and behaviors have changed. Similar changes have occurred around the world. Now modern women in America and Europe and increasingly Japan and other countries want more egalitarian mariages. They want their husbands in share in the housework and maturing of children and they want to establish a personal identity outside the family unit. These common cross cultural changes have created similar marketing opportunities in many societies (for convinience products and time savings services). 
Everywhere people want more leisure and more free time. Even the world champion workaholics the japanese, where up to 60 percent of workers spend Saturdays on the job, are beginning to loosen up and relax a bit. Although the traditional Japanese values of hard work, dedication, and respect for the established order are still dominant, some Japanese especially among the young are starting to see certain aspects of Western culture and lifestyles as preferable to their own. For instance, as the Japanese become more consumption oriented and price conscious the number of malls and discoint stores is increasing rapidly.
Materialism

Materialism has been defined as the importance a consumer attached to worldly possessions. Consumers with this value tend to acquire many possession, which they see as important for acvhieving happiness, self-esteem, or social recognition (all prominent values in American culture). Although researchers disagree about its exact definition, materialism is a multidimensional value including possessiveness, envy (displeasure at someone else possessing something), and nongenerosity (unwillingness to give or share possession). Another study points to four dimensions of materialism: possession are symbols of success or achievement (prominent American values), sources of pleasure; sources of happiness andrepresentations of indulgence and luxury. Materialistic values underlie the development of a mass consumption society, as we saw in the opening example, and in turn are stimulated by increasing consumption opportunities. 
The United States is ussually considered to be the most materialistic culture in the world. But a few studies suggest that Americans may not be materialistic than other European societies. For instance, one study found that consumers in the Netherlands had about the same level of general materialism as American consumers. But interestingly, the Dutch consumers were more possessive tham Americans. Perhaps it is not accidental that the Dutch have no garage sales and flea markets are rare. Whereas U.S. consumers seem to replace old products with new ones fairly easily, the Dutch seem to form stronger relationships with their possessions. 
Marketing Implications
Marketers must determine which cross cultural differences are relevant to their situations. A sensitivity to and tolerance for cross cultural differences in meaning is a highly desirable trait for international marketing managers. Most international companies also hire managers from the local culture because they bring an intimate knowladge of the indigenous cultural meanings to strategic decision making.
Highlight 12.5
Exporting American Popular Culture
Aspects of American culture are becoming increasingly popular around the globe. One can find the icons of American popular culture nearly everywhere. Consider the worldwide presence of Coke and Pepsi, McDonald and PizzaHut, Mickey Mouse and Mickey Rourke, cowboys and Jazz, American films and Disneyland. The spread of American culture has produced some very incongruous television scenes of Third World protesters (ussually young man) burning the American flag or chanring anti American slogans while dressed in T-shirts, Nike shoes, and blue jeans. Although some people consider American culture to be distasteful, the general population seems to like many of its foorms. Even in Anglophobic France the uniform of young upper-middle class Parisian women in 1990 was pure Americana Calvin Klein jeans, a white button down oxford shirt, a navvy blazer, Bass Weejuns penny loafers, and a Marlboro cigarette.
Consumers around the world are not attratched to American products solely for their intrinsic physical qualities. People don’t buy blue jeans because of some universal aesthetic for denim, nor do Coke or Marlboros or Mickey Mouse have physical attributes that are so special. Rather, these prototypically American products are attractive because they are imbued with meanings that symbolize the United States.
What are these special American meanings? According to a Yale professor, “it’s about a dream, a utopian fantasy. Certainly it is about freedom, the freedom of people to create themselves anew, redefining themselves through the products that they buy and use, the clothes they wear, the music they listen to. “Blue jeans perhaps more than any other product, symbolize America and the individualistic meanings it represents to many. Buying jeans is a way for consumers to share in the American dream of individualism, personal freedom and other rather mystical meanings associated with America.
It is important to recognize that American culture is popular partly because it is just that a popular culture, not an elitist culture created by and for the aristocracy in a society. American culture is for the masses. Moreover, it is a highly democratic culture that everyone in the society helps to shape, not just the elite classes.
Finally American culture lends itself to export because it is itself a combination of diverse cultural elements brought to America by the millions of imigrants who were tumbled together to create something new and desirable. Perhaps this explians why members of the elite social classes in the United States and elsewhere love to turn up their nosses at the “tawdry, cheesy, popular culture” in America. Interestingly, a democratic culture can be threatening for the ruling elites in many societies.
Source: Eric Feltan, Love It or Hate It, America Is King of Pop Culture,”Insight, March 25 1991, pp. 14-16. Reprinted by permission from Insight. Copyright 1991 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
Although cross-cultural differences can be large and distinctive, there are cases in which people seem to have rather similar values and consumer product relationships. Some analysts see the entire world as moving toward an “Americanized” culture, although this is a controversial idea. (Highlight 12.5 discusses some examples of the exporting of American popular culture.) To the extent that common cultural meanings are becoming similar across socities, marketers should be able to develop successful strategies that are global in scope.
Developing International Marketing Strategies
Cross-cultural differences provide difficult challenges for international marketers. Even something that seems simple, such as translating a brand or model name into another language, can cause problems. When Coca-Cola was introduced in China in the 1920s, the translated meaning of the brand name was “bite the wax tadpole! “ Sales were not good, and the symbols were later changed to mean “happiness” in the mouth. “American Motors Matador brand had problems in Puerto Rico because matador means “killer”. Ford Motor Company changed the name of the Comet to Caliente when it introduced this car in Mexico. The law sales levels were understood when it was realized that caliente is slang for streetwalker. Sunbeam Corporation introduced its mist-producing hair curling iron in the German market under the name Mist-Stick, which translated meant “manure wand”.
American companies are not the only ones that have difficulty translating brand names. The Chinese had to seek help to find better brand names for several products they hoped to export, including “Double Happiness” bras, “Pansy” men’s underwear and “White Elephant” batteries.
The above meanings illustrate how cross-cultural differences in language and related meanings can strongly affect the success of a marketing strategy. However, although differences in cultures often be identified, marketers do not agree on how these differences should be treated. There are at least three overall approaches, which we discuss next. First, a firm can adapt its marketing strategy to the characteristics of each culture. Second, a firm can standardize its marketing strategy across a variety of cultures. Arguments over which of these is the preferred strategy have been raging for more than 20 years in the literature on marketing and consumer behavior. Third, a firm can use a marketing strategy to change the culture.
Adapting Strategy to Culture
The traditional view of international marketing is that each local culture should be carefully researched for important differences from the domestic market. Differences in consumer needs, wants, preferences, attitudes and values, as well as in shopping, purchasing and consumption behaviors, should be carefully examined. The marketing strategy should then be tailored to fit the specific values and behaviors of the culture.
The adaptation approach advocates modifying the product, the promotion mix or any other aspect of marketing strategy to appeal to local cultures. Black & Decker, for example, has to modify its hand tools because electrical outlets and voltages vary in different parts of the world. Philip Morris had to alter its ads for Marlboro cigarettes in Britain because the government believed British children are so impressed with American cowboys they might be moved to take up smoking. Nestle modifies the taste of its Nescafe coffee and the promotions for it in the adjoining countries of France and Switzerland to accommodate different preferences in each nation. 
Standardizing Strategy across Cultures
This approach is often called global marketing. It argues for marketing a product in essentially the same way everywhere in the world. It is not a new idea Coca-Cola has used this basic approach for over 40 years, called “one sight, one sound, one sell. ”Other companies such as Eastman Kodak, Gillette, and Timex have marketed standard products in essentially the same way for several decades.
Opinions of global marketing have varied over the past decade, but many marketers are beginning to treat the standardized approach more seriously. One of its major advocates is Professor Theodore Levitt of Harvard Business School. Levitt argues that because of increased world travel and worldwide telecommunications capabilities, consumers the world over are thinking and shopping increasingly alike. Tastes, preferences and motivations of people in different cultures are becoming more homogeneous. Thus, a common brand name, packaging and communication strategy can be used successfully for many products. For example, given the international popularity of the “Dallas” TV show, actrees Victoria Principal sells Jhirmarck shampoo all over the world. Similarly, Victor Kiam sells his Remington shavers using the same pitch in 15 languages. Sales of Remington shavers have gone up 60 percent in Britain and 140 percent in Australia using this approach. Playtex markets its WoW bra in 12 countries using the same advertising appeal.
One advantage of the standardized approach is that it can be much less expensive in terms of advertising and other marketing costs. Executives at Coca-Cola once estimated that they save more than $8 million a year in the cost of thinking up new imagery. Texas Instruments runs the same ads throughout Europe rather than having individual ad campaigns for each country, and it estimates its savings at $30,000 per commercial. Playtex produced standardized ads for 12 countries for $250,000, whereas the average cost of producing a single Playtex ad for the United States was $100,000.
Apparently, a global (standardized) marketing approach can work well for some products. However, many marketers have severely criticized the globaal marketing approach. We believe two issues cloud the debate between advocates of adapting versus standardizing international marketing approaches is. For example, advocates of standardizing recognized that Black & Decker had to modify its products to suit local electrical outlets and voltages; yet they would argue the basic meaning and use of such products is becoming similar across cultures. If so, the same type of promotion campaign should work in different cultures. 
Second, and perhaps more important, is the question of whether advocates of the standardizing approach are focusing on a long-term trend toward similarity across cultures or are suggesting that cultures are nearly identical tosay. Unlike the deractors of this approach, we believe that the most advocates of global marketing have identified a long-term trend of increasing global homogenity along many, but not necessarily all, dimensions. We also believe advocates are suggesting that marketers should be aware of this trend and adapt to it when appropriate. Thus in essence, both sides are arguing that marketers should adapt to cultural trends; and there would seem to be little disagreement between the two positions at this level.
Change the Culture
The first approach we discussed argues for adapting marketing strategy to local cultures. The second approach argues that cross cultural differences are decreasing and in some cases can be ignored. The third approach suggests that marketing strategies can be developed to influence the culture directly. As the cultural processes model in Exhibit 12.3 shows, marketing does not simply adapt to changing cultural values and behaviors of consumers; marketing also is an active part of the cultural process.
Marketing strategies both change and are changed by culture. For example, one long run strategy may be to attempt to change cultural values and behaviors. Some years ago, Nestle marketed vigorously to convince mothers in some Third World countries to change from breast feeding to using the company’s baby formula product. The campaign was very successful in persuading mothers that breast feeding was not as healthful for their chilfren as the company’s formula and it dramatically changed their feediong practices. Unfortunately, because of poor water sanitation and improper formula preparation, infant mortalities increased. Thus, the preference for and practice of breast feeding had to be reinstilled in those countries, which was done successfully. This company changed cultural preferences and behaviors and then changed them back in a relatively short time. 
Marketing Implications: The European Union
Marketers in the Unites States and elsewhere are adjusting to the European Union (EU). On January 1993, the EU became a common market of approximately 325 million people. Originally a union of 12 European countries, the EU has grown as countries such as Sweeden and Austria have joined (more members are expected). Creating the EU involved many changes, including reducing the technical barriers that have separated countries in Europe. Customs clearances and import duties are removed so goods and people can move freely across the borders, various regulations are standardized (size of trucks, tax levies) and legal requirements are becoming more similar.
Despite these changes, the considerable cross-cultural differences among the EU countries will not disappear. Perhaps the vision of a single European market (in terms of common cultural meanings) is premature. Each society is likely to retain its own language, tastes, cultural meanings, customs and rituals and probably its own currency for some time into the future. In fact, some experts believe the economic union may accentuate existing cross-cultural differences. (Highlight 12.6 describes cross-cultural differences. (Highlight 12.6 describes cross-cultural differences in driving habits.) More extreme forecasts predict a return to the Europe of “cultural regions” that existed before the nation states of today were created. Examples of this possibility are the hostilities in Bosnia, the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the difficulties in integrating eastern and western Germany. Everyone agrees, through, that marketerscannot look at Europe in the same way.
Marketing to the 113 million households in these diverse markets will take agile management. It will be difficult to develop standardized marketing strategies to sell products in all countries in Europe. Although some products may lend themselves to standardized strategies, others will require careful adaptation to local  cultures.
Consider the problems faced by Sara Lee Company, a $12 billion food and consumer prodeucts company based in Chicago, as it studies its various European markets. Sara Lee’s European operation has a best selling herbal bath soap in Great Britain called Radox, but it has not tried to sell it in other countries because of connotations with the name. Some European consumers confuse Radox with the bug killer Raid and others think of Radox as something with a half life and unsuitable to put on your skin. A similar situation exists for Sanex, a Spanish soap, promoted nearly everywhere in Europe but England. To the English, Sanex comes across as “sanitary,” which connotes inappropriate meanings. The company faces similar problems in transferring popular U.S. brands, such as Hanes, L’Eggs and Sara Lee, to European countries. For example, L’Eggs translates to les ouefs in French, which might not work very well.
Highlight 12.6
Cross-Cultural Driving Habits
Although some people still believe Europe will become once culture with the arrival economic unity, the large and important cultural differences between the European countries will not go away. In fact, cross-cultural differences may intensify. Nowhere are Europe’s rich cultural differences more clearly revealed than in people behaviors behind the wheel of a car or the handlebars of a motorbike.
Cultural stereotypes probably have some basis in fact. The British and Japanese will wait patiently in traffic for hours, whereas Germans may become upset if held up for even a few minutes. In some countries it is an insult to be passed, and the polite drivers in the United Kingdom pull over to let speedier cars by. Many French and Italian drivers share a certain disdain for authority and the laws of the road. Germans may be somewhat aggressive and impatient, as the stereotype goes, but they follow the traffic rules. For instance, speed restrictions now found on many sections of the autobahn are rather strictly followed. But once that spot is passed, many German drivers take this to mean “go as fast as the car is capable. ”This can surprise the sedate British driver of an old Volkswagen, who can be very quickly overtaken by a huge Mercedez Benz traveling 130 mph.
In the safety conscious Nordic countries, driving tests are difficult and sobriety is strictly enforced. Drivers in Norway and Finland tend to be competent and relatively placid. Enforcement of traffic laws is strict, with some fines contingent on one’s income. The Swedes drive with their lights on at all times day and night, as if anticipating the three month winter night, as if anticipating the three month winter night. In contrast, southern Europeans seem to have a more causal attitude toward the laws and driving speed and reflect a greater propensity to take risks. In Greece, for instance one can be surprised by alarge truck travelling at high speeds down the center of a narrow mountain road. The many shrines along Greek roads give evidence of the gruesome toll.
Italian, cities offer an exciting driving experience where aggressive jockeying for position in heavy traffic reminds many of a Grand Prix race. In Italy, a tiny Flat 126 was spotted speeding recklessly down a steep mountain road. Several high spirited teenagers were actually standing out of the tiny car’s sunroof, waving wildly and laughing. Closer inspection revealed the driver was also out of the sunroof, standing on the dashboard and negotiating the mountain road with his bare feet on the steering wheel.
Will the new unified Europe create a new breed of driver with a standardized temprament? For driving, the values of the culture concerning life and death and the macho values associated with the male ego, seem to be the key considerations. These and values seem likely to continue to varry considerably across European societies.
Sources: Tony Lewin, “What Drives Macho Mad?” The European, June 21 1991, p.17 (Elan section).
But Sara Lee is developing pan European marketing strategies for some of its products. For instance, its coffee brand, Douwe Egberts, was sold in 1989 using various brand names in seven countries. Sara Lee standardized the products package sizes and color to emphasize the brand name and emblem. It plans to use one standard television commercial, to be shown everywhere in Europe, that portrays the coffee as a congenial drink that binds families together. Sara Lee managers hope the brand will eventually develop a true European identity.
The Birth of the Consumer Society
The opening example described several changes in the culture of eighteenth century England that led to the birth of a consumer society. One fundamental change occurred as many people moved from rural areas to larger and more anonymous urban communities. Such a cultural change can influence various cultural meanings in a continuous, reciprocal process much like that of the Wheel of Consumer Analysis. For instance, the new city dwellers were concerned about their social class status. These changes in values led to new beliefs and attitudes about products that could communicate social distinctions, which led to changes in purchase behavior. As more people bought these status products, the social environment changed for all consumers, leading to further changes in values and meanings and so on.
Other cultural changes occurred as people’s shopping and purchasing behaviors became more frequent even daily rather than only on the weekly market day. The shopping environment also changed in that people could buy things in various shops rather than from pedlers or street hawkers. The evolving consumption culture was also influenced by marketing strategies (especially advertising and forms of social influence such as opinion leaders).
Finally, mass consumption increased as more people had significant discretionary income. Many people who previously had been unable to buy many things (low purchasing power) or were unwilling to do so (they didn’t see the need or value making fashion oriented purchases) now become increasingly interested in consumption. These people had developed new cultural needs, values and goals that could be satisfied rather easily through consumption. Gradually goods of all types became infused with symbolic meaning and people began to buy and use goods as a way to acquire these important meanings.
Many scholars who have identified social competition and people’s need for status differentiation as largely responsible for the consumer revolution write as if they do not approve of people seeking to satisfy such “unimportant” and “trivial” values. Although status distinction was (and still is) an important end state for most people, other cultural meanings also were desired. The cultural process of meaning transfer is a natural process people use to obtain important meanings. The cultural process model is not evidence of people’s inherent irrationally nor is it applicable only to “manipulative” marketing strategies. All known cultures imbue certain objects with special meaning and people obtain and use those objects to gain those important cultural meanings. One difference is that people in modern consumer societies often purchase objects (product and services) to obtain cultural meaning.
Similar cultural changes occurred later in America, France, and elsewhere as thoose societies also develop consumption oriented cultures. The same events are occuring right now around the world, including societies in Asia, South America, Africa and Eastern Europe. A big difference, though, is that cultural changes spread much more rapidly today because of modern communications and more sophisticated and effective marketing strategies.
Summary
In this chapter we examined the influences of culture and cross-cultural factors on consumers affective responses and cognitions, behaviors and the physical and social environment. We defined culture as the meanings shared by people in a society (or in a social group), we discussed how marketers can study the content of culture. We identified several important values and lifestyle trends in American culture, and we drew some implications for marketing strategies. We presented a model of the cultural process by which cultural meaning is moved between different locations especially from the environment to products and on from products to consumers. Finally, we discussed how marketers might use this knowledge to develop effective international marketing strategies.
Key Terms and Concepts
content of culture 269                         culture 268
core values 272                                   European Union (EU) 292
cross-cultural differences 286             global marketing 290
cultural meaning 268                           materialism 288
cultural process 274                            rituals 279
Review and Discussion Questions
  1.   Define culture and contrast two approaches to cultural analysis: the content of the culture versus the cultural process.
  2. Identify a major change in cultural values that seems to be occuring in your society (choose one not discussed in the book). Discuss its likely effects on consumers affect, cognitions, and behaviors and on the social and physical environment.
  3.  Select a product of your choice and discuss two implications of your analysis in Question 2 for developing marketing strategies for that product.
  4. Briefly describe one example of a price, product, and distribution strategy that moves cultural meaning into the product (do not use examples cited in the text).
  5.   Select a print ad and analyze it as a mechanism for moving cultural meaning into the product.
  6.    Choose a popular celebrity endorser and analyze the meanings being transferred to the product endorsed.
  7.  Select a holiday other than Christmas for example, Thanksgiving or Independence Day. Discuss the major cultural values reflected in this holiday celebration. What rituals did your family perform for this holiday and how did they move meaning?
  8. Think about what you do when getting ready to go out. Try to identify some grooming rituals you perform that involve certain products. Try to discover how you use some particular product (blow-dryers, cologne, shampoo). What implications might this have for marketing this product?
  9.    Describe how posession rituals can transfer meaning from products to consumers.
  10.  Describe a personal experience in which you performed a divestment ritual. What personal meanings did you remove through the ritual?
  11.  Discuss how the three main approaches to dealing with cross cultural factors in international marketing could be applied to the marketing of a soft drink such as Pepsi-Cola. Describe one problem with each approach. Which do you recommend?
Marketing Strategy in Action
McDonald’s …All Around the World
In 1997 the more than 21,000 McDonald’s restaurants in 109 countries around the world earned almost $32 billion. On an average day McDonald’s opens three new restaurants, only one of which is in the United States. Within a year the chances are good that each new McDonald’s will be grossing over $1.5 million per year and operating at a profit. About 30 percent of McDonalds stores are company owned; 70 percent are franchise operations. Franchises pay McDonald’s a royalty of 4 percent of sales, about 8 percent for rent, and 4 percent for advertising that’s 16 percent off the top to McDonald’s. Do not feel sorry for owners of McDonald’s franchises, through. The average owner nets $200,000 per store, with stores in high traffic locations such as Rome or Moscow doing significantly better. Actually, the Moscow McDonalds, which opened in 1990 just a few blocks from the Kremlin, is the busiest in the world. 
In 1994 McDonald’s had one restaurant for every 25,000 people in the United States. It was becoming difficult to open new stores without cannibalizing sales from an existing store. McDonald’s had developed niche locations such as ice skating rinks, rest stops on interstate highways and small satelite stores in big cities. Growth was much easier overseas and international markets expanded rapidly as the company sought new opportunities. In 1988 the company’s 2,600 foreign stores produced $1.8 billion in revenue. McDonald’s derives about 50 percent of operating income from foreign operations; 50 percent come from U.S. stores.
Managers must decide where to locate new restaurants and how many to build. James Cantalupo, president of McDonald’s international division, uses a simple formula based on a country’s population and per capita income to roughly estimate the number of stores that can be profitable in a country.

Formulation
Population of country X : Number of people per McDonald’s in the United States (x or times with) Per capita income of country X : Per capita income of United States = Potential penetration of McDonalds in country X.
Perhaps the 21,000 McDonald’s reataurants are enough (or already too many), but the suggests that many more restaurants could be built. Japan for instance, was McDonald’s biggest foreign market in 1994, with an estimated potential to support 3250. Overall, the formula suggests that the world can handle at least 42,000 McDonald’s restaurants.
Another perspective on this issue is gained by realizing that, each day, about 33 million customesrs walk through the doors of McDonald’s restaurants around the globe. Despite this volume, McDonalds serves less than 1 percent of the world’s population on any given day. Thus even McDonald’s is the largest and best known global food service retailer, it still has enormous potential growth in the global market.
Why is McDonald’s so popular around the world? What does McDonald’s for granted) to appreciate what a McDonald’s restaturant means to consumers in foreign countries. According to Tim Fenton, head of McDonald’s in Poland, It”s hard for Americans to undesrtand, but McDonalds is almost heaven sent to these people. It’s some of the best food around. The service is quick and people smile. You don’t have to pay to use the bathroom. There’s air conditioning. The place isn’t filled with smoke. We tell you what’s in the food. And we want you to bring the kids.”  
In addition, McDonald’s contains considerable cultural meaning that many consumers value. Many people around the world see McDonald’s as a quintessential American product, along with Levi’s, Coke, and Marlboro. These important cultural meanings influence consumers behavior toward McDonalds in the international marketplace.
McDonald’s walks a fine between following a global and a local strategy. In many ways, McDonalds seems ”global”. They sell their major food products (the Quarter Pounder and Big Mac Burgers, fries, Coke and milk shakes) nearly everywhere in a standard form. McDonald’s goes to great length to maintain the quality and taste of its key products (beef patties, buns and fries are uniform worldwide). They apply unrelenting pressure on their suppliers to produce buns, meat, potatoes and ever onions that meet particular specifications. In Germany, for example, a spotless meat plant uses computers to ensure that 2.5 million beef  patties per day have a fat content of 20 percent or less. A giant bakery near Moscow produces the famaous sesame seed buns to McDonalds exact requirements.
Also, McDonalds works hard to create its global vision of high quality and consistency around the world by training its personnel. Many McDonald’s employees have received degrees in “Hamburgerology” at McDonald’s Hamburger University, in Oax Brook, lllinois. Providing instruction to restaurant personnel in 23 languages, HU awarded its 50,000th graduate degree in 1995.  
Even though McDonald’s stores around the world are similar in many respects, stores differ in details of size, location and décor and all have a similar style and atmosphere. The smiling employees and friendly, rapid service are ubiquitous. One executive sees service as the core of what McDonald’s offers its customers. “The world is becoming a service society. People are hungry for service, but in many countries they don’t get any except at McDonald’s. That’s why our stores are so crowded. That’s why we’re ahead. 
Despite their global startegy approach, McDonalds also makes many adaptations to local customs, tastes, and norms. Details of the store décor often reflect local sensitivities and culture. Sometimes McDonald’s must adapt to legal and regulatory constrains on certain marketing strategies and actions. For instance, Germany does not allow special promotions such as “buy one, get one free.”
McDonald’s sometimes makes even more significant adaptations to local cultural tastes. For example, menu items vary somewhat from one country to another. Favorite foods may be featured along with hamburgers salads with chrimp in Germany, veggie, burger in Holland, black current shakes in Poland. Beer is available in some European countries. Japan has the Teriyaki McBurger a sausage patty on a bun with teriyaki sauce. The Extra Value Meal is known worldwide, but in some cases communicating that concept is difficult. For instance, the Korean language has no phrase for Extra Value Meal, so McDonalds uses the term Alchanset, meaning “rich in contents.” Similarly translating Quarter Pounder, an English measurement terms, requires deft handling in countries that use the matric ssystem. In many European and Asian McDonald’s, this worldwide favorite is known as McRoyal or Hamburger Royal.
How can McDonald’s be sensitive to local customs while maintaining its core service and product quality? They learn and reflect the local culture by hiring as many locals as possible. McDonalds employees often fly in from headquaters to help develop new markets. But nearly, all of them go back after a period and turn the operations over to locals with more intimate knowledge of the local culture and customers. For example, Tim Fenton Went to Poland in 1992 with a team of 50 experts from the United States, Russia, Great Britain and Germany By 1994, all the jobs except Fenton’s had been taken over by Polish nationals (he to left eventually).
In the early 1980s many experts believed McDonald’s was too big and cumbersome to prosper in a mature industry. McDonald’s has proved the critics wrong by successfully operating a complex service business all around the world.
Discussion Questions 
   1. Identify some of the cultural meanings for McDonalds possessed by consumers in your country. Discuss how these cultural meanings were developed. Discuss how these meanings influence consumer’s behaviors (and affect and cognitions) and thus the market success of McDonalds. What is the role of marketing strategies in creating and maintaining (or modifying) these cultural meanings?
   2.    What cultural meanings do you think consumers in other countries (such as Canada, Mexico, Germany, Spain, Russia, Poland, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia or Japan) might have for McDonalds? What cultural meanings are associated with a quitessential American company? Is it an advantage for McDonald’s to be an icon of America?
  3.  Take the World Tour on the McDonald’s business around the world. Discuss the differences between a global versus adaptation strategy considering McDonald’s business around the world. Discuss the differences between a global versus adaptation strategy considering McDonald’s approach? Critique its current approach and make recommendations for changes. 
 4. Critique the formula that predicts the market potential for McDonald’s in a country. What other considerations might be useful to include?
Sources: Andrew E. Serwer, “McDonald’s Conquers the World, “Fortune, October 17, 1994, pp. 103-16; the McDonald’s Web site at http://www.mcdonalds.com/
   
   
   


   


   
   









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