Analyzing the Impact of Culture on International Marketing Practices

This essay discusses the critical role of culture in international marketing, emphasizing the increasing interconnectedness of global economies and the necessity for businesses to understand and respect diverse cultural values. It highlights how cultural sensitivity, encompassing language, religion, and social norms, directly impacts the success of international marketing strategies. The essay provides examples of how cultural misunderstandings can lead to marketing failures and underscores the importance of adapting products and marketing approaches to align with the cultural preferences of target markets. It also touches on the influence of cultural factors like uncertainty avoidance and the stability of a country's political and legal environment on international investment decisions, ultimately concluding that a deep understanding of culture is essential for achieving a competitive edge and fostering sustainable growth in the global marketplace. Desklib provides access to similar essays and resources for students.

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The Importance of Culture in International Marketing
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Introduction
Introduction

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For the last few decades, globalization has made the world economy to develop in a way
that every country is on the toes to open doors to welcome foreign investments which enable
them to develop their economy. At the same time, the countries also want the business
corporations to move out and set their businesses in other countries of the world through
franchising, mergers, or just trading out themselves. More economies have become interlinked
due to the use of internet and developed technology which has impacted the importance of
culture in the international marketing. Businesses have developed to operate at an international
level owing to globalization. For businesses to make profits at those international markets, they
should satisfy the needs and wants of the clients, hence a need to understand their culture which
determines the kind of products they should use (Shinnar et al, 2012, pg. 470).
Discussion
Apart from the business technology, skills, and knowledge, the business people also need
to be culturally sensitive to the countries they want to set up their businesses in order to gain
acceptance of such countries and develop their brand (De Mooij & Hofstede, 2010, pg. 90).
Culture is the way in which people live, associate with each other, and carry out their daily
activities. It is thus, an important aspect to consider by the investors to avoid misunderstandings
with the potential clients since it determines what human beings adapt to in terms of social
values and beliefs.
Culture determines the kind of language spoken by the society. Language matters a lot in
the marketing process as a marketer is deemed to understand the language of a certain culture if
they are to succeed in their marketing. Both non-verbal and verbal language differs from country
to country and thus a marketer must be familiar with the language of each culture that he or she
wants to deal with. Language and culture go hand in hand and if a marketer understands the

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language of the targeted culture, it becomes easier to interact with the customers of that culture.
Understanding the culture of the target market saves the marketer from the problems of
communication which may hinder the understanding between him or her and the potential
clients. When the marketer does not understand the language spoken by the target market, he or
she will not explain the use and benefits of his or her products and thus, he or she may end up not
getting even a single client (Akaka et al, 2013, pg. 15). Thus, culture integrates a common
language to be spoken by the people of a common origin which makes it easy for a marketer to
learn so as to able to promote their products without communication barriers.
Culture is also closely related to the religion which also influences the lifestyles, values,
beliefs, and attitudes of people. Different kinds of people embrace different cultures guided by
the religious beliefs and hence different lifestyles. When a marketer understands the religion of a
certain culture, it becomes easier to trade with them. It is certain that if a marketer attempts to
promote a product that is not accepted in a certain religion, the product will face failure in the
market (Mora, 2013, pg. 65). For instance, if a producer of pork meat markets the product in
Saudi Arabia where the cultural and religious values do not support consumption of pork, the
product will probably not succeed in the market. This is because the country is an Islamic one
and the religion does not allow consumption of the pork meat. Thus, the cultural beliefs are
important in guiding the marketers to promote the right products in the right countries.
Similarly, if a Muslim marketing manager wants to operate a business in the western countries,
he or she has to understand the culture of the countries as most of them are Christian countries
and thus embrace different cultures and preferences from those of the Muslims (Josiassen et al,
2011, pg. 641). This means that if his or her products are to succeed in the western markets, they
should be in accordance with the preferences and cultures of the western people. In other words,

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the culture of the people guides the marketers to hit the relevant target market since the type of
products that a certain culture may allow and embrace may be totally different from those
allowed in other cultures.
Culture also helps to determine the level of uncertainty avoidance which states that
people are reluctant to participate in activities that are not likely to benefit them. They tend to
engage in activities that they are sure they will benefit from and have no tolerance towards risk.
For instance, Japan has low uncertainty avoidance and this makes most of the European
countries to invest there (Kozinets et al, 2010, pg. 80). Culture, therefore, enables the
international marketers to assess the likelihood of benefiting from their investments so that if
there is a low probability to gain from them, they cease to invest and avoid unnecessary losses.
The laws and politics of a country are important factors to consider before investing in
the business operations as they relate to the cultural beliefs. Some countries such as Russia and
Pakistan have very unstable governments and the business policies may change from time to
time when new leaders come to power (Samaha et al, 2014, pg. 95). This affects the stability of
the culture in such societies hence making business operations a bit challenging. This is because
the policies protecting patent rights, safety systems, employment laws, and other policies may
not be stable and this may disadvantage the investors and mostly those investing from other
countries.
Conclusion
Cultural values and beliefs create a difference between various groups of people. It is
thus important that the international marketers understand the culture of a certain people where
they want to invest their businesses. This is because cultural values determine the kind of
products to be used by the people of that society and those that are prohibited. Understanding the

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culture of a certain society is what will help the marketer to choose the right kind of products to
promote in that market so that he or she earns a good market share. The culture will help the
marketer to understand the common language used by the target clients so that communication
becomes easier.
References

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Akaka, M.A., Vargo, S.L. and Lusch, R.F., 2013. The complexity of context: A service
ecosystems approach for international marketing. Journal of Marketing Research, 21(4),
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De Mooij, M., and Hofstede, G., 2010. The Hofstede model: Applications to global branding and
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Shinnar, R.S., Giacomin, O. and Janssen, F., 2012. Entrepreneurial perceptions and intentions:
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