Euro Disneyland Case Study: Cultural Differences and Mistakes

This case study examines the Euro Disneyland venture, focusing on the cultural clashes between American and French business practices. It utilizes Hofstede's and Trompenaar's cultural dimensions to analyze the key differences between the United States and France, highlighting issues such as power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, universalism versus particularism, and achievement versus ascription. The analysis identifies critical mistakes made by Disney, including a failure to understand French culture, overestimation of the project's potential, and poor management decisions. The case study concludes with key lessons Disney should have learned about managing diversity, emphasizing the importance of cultural sensitivity and adapting business practices to local contexts. The assignment provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges faced by Disney in its international expansion and offers insights for effective cross-cultural management.

Running head: EURO DISNEY CASE STUDY – CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Euro Disneyland Case Study – Cultural Differences
Name of the University
Name of the Student
Author Note

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EURO DISNEYLAND CASE STUDY – CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Table of Contents
Question 1: Using Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions as a point of reference, what are some of
the main cultural differences between the United States and France?............................................2
Power Distance Index:.................................................................................................................2
Individualism versus collectivism:..............................................................................................3
Uncertainty avoidance:................................................................................................................3
Masculinity versus femininity:....................................................................................................3
Question 2- In what way has Trompenaar’s research helped explain cultural differences between
the United States and France?..........................................................................................................4
Universalism versus Particularism:.............................................................................................4
Individualism versus Communitarianism:...................................................................................4
Achievement versus Ascription:..................................................................................................5
Question 3- In managing its Euro Disneyland operations, what are three mistakes that the
company made? Explain..................................................................................................................6
Question 4- Based on its experience, what are three lessons the company should have learned
about how to deal with diversity? Describe each............................................................................7
References:....................................................................................................................................10

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Question 1: Using Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions as a point of reference, what are
some of the main cultural differences between the United States and France?
A better understanding of the dissimilarities between the culture of the United States and
France can be formed by using Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions. A social psychologist,
Geert Hofstede hailed from Netherlands and formulated the cultural dimensions theory during
the late years of the 20th century (Glover, Friedman and van Driel 2016). He devised six
dimensions that define the basic differences between cultures of different countries. These
included, power distance index, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation
versus short-term orientation, masculinity versus femininity and indulgence versus restraint.
In order to answer the question, four dimensions shall be explained to determine France
and America’s cultural differences.
Power Distance Index: It is defined as the level of expectation and acceptance of
unequal power distribution by the less powerful individuals, institutions or organizations. France
scores quite high on this index as it demonstrates traits of accepting leadership without
questioning. This acceptance signifies that the French society finds no issues in accepting
unequal distribution of power. Within the economic spheres, this unequal distribution of power
and its unquestionable acceptance is clearly visible. The case of Euro Disneyland presents a good
example (Luthans and Doh 2009). When Euro Disneyland was opened at France, most of the
higher posts in the management were held by Americans and the French officials just worked as
their subordinates but they never protested. The US, on the other hand, displays a significant
opposition to inequality. The American culture upholds the notion that every individual has equal
rights of liberty and justice. Power, when sensed being distributed unequally is duly protested

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and disallowed to form. Managers holding high ranks are accessible and accountable to
employees working in lower positions (Zander, McDougall-Covin and Rose 2015).
Individualism versus collectivism: Countries with high scores of individualism stress on
the importance of self-dependence and individual freedom. In this regard, the French culture
scores slightly low compared to the US culture. However, there is not much of a glaring
difference between the two countries in this index as both cultures uphold collectivism. Children
in France are brought up in a way that makes them independent emotionally. They are taught to
care only for themselves and their immediate family members (Fitzsimmons and Stamper 2014).
Thus, when the US officials of Euro Disney prepared the dress code for its French employees,
many treated as a violation of their individual rights. In America, this index is higher than the
French that shows the importance individualism is given by the people.
Uncertainty avoidance: This dimension explains the acceptance of ambiguity by
societies. The French society scores very high on this index. People in France detest surprises
and ambiguous ideas, they believe more in structuring and planning. Hence, when the American
concept of Disneyland was established in France, people there were reluctant to receive and
enjoy it. The below average turnout on the opening day stands testimony to it. America, on the
contrary, is open to new ideas and surprises (Warkentin, Charles-Pauvers and Chau 2015). The
American culture is welcoming as far as trying something new and innovative is concerned. This
leads to a low score in the UAI index for the American culture.
Masculinity versus femininity: This indicates the factor that drives societies to be
competitive, craving for success and achievement and being the best in every field. Scoring high
on masculinity means that the society is more concerned about competition, achievements and

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success whereas scoring high on femininity indicates that the culture gives more prominence to
the basic values of life. France scores low on masculinity and high on femininity. America, on
the other hand, has high scores on masculinity that justify its move to open a Disneyland in the
French nation.
Question 2- In what way has Trompenaar’s research helped explain cultural differences
between the United States and France?
After Hofstede, another Dutch social scientist, Fons Trompenaar articulated certain
factors that helped define cultural differences between countries. His research can give a deeper
insight into the cultural differences that are visible in France and the United States. His theory
mentioned seven parameters that determine how cultures in different countries differ out of
which, three can be applied in this case. These factors include:
Universalism versus Particularism: Trompenaar’s research demonstrated that the US
culture is highly universalistic, as it tends to follow certain codes and rules uniform to all people.
According to average US citizens, codes rules and policies formed in organizations must only be
adhered to if these are applied uniformly. When the appearance code was created for the
employees of Euro Disneyland, it showed this universalistic tendency of the Americans. They
wanted everyone to follow one single code of appearance. On the other hand, the French culture
is more inclined towards particularism. It means that people in France are particular about human
values and relationships. They can go to the extent of bending the rules to satisfy individual
needs. Protests by French employees and other unions signify this tendency (Bauer, Matzler and
Wolf 2016).

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Individualism versus Communitarianism: Similar to Hofstede’s cultural dimension,
this parameter defines which culture accepts individualism and which accepts
communitarianism. According to the research, the US culture is more inclined towards
individualism as it encourages individual independence. However, it is interesting to observe that
the French also believe in individualism (Vitell et al. 2014). They also lay stress on the rights of
an individual. It is but also true that they demonstrate signs of communitarianism wherein they
tend to rely on in-groups for making important decisions. Communitarianism refers to the trend
that shows over dependence of individuals on in-groups or collectives. The French society values
group, communities, and people easily accept dominance of their superiors without much protest.
One good example can be seen from the Euro Disney case where the higher management posts
were occupied majorly by Americans and the French had no objection to that.
Achievement versus Ascription: This parameter defines the tendency of different
cultures that focus on achievement as an indicator of high status in contrast to personality as a
status indicator. America exhibits achievement culture because it designates individuals with
high status based on their achievements in life. These achievements mostly belong to working
area and least on grounds of relationships or morality. France, on the other hand, follows the
ascription culture. It mainly believes in designating individuals a high status if he or she displays
high personality skills. In addition, the French society considers someone of a high stature if he
or she has good connections (Hutzschenreuter, Kleindienst and Lange 2014). In the Euro Disney
case, this difference of cultures is highly visible. The French government agreed to provide land
to Disney with a view to enhance its connections and rise in the ascription value.
Trompenaar’s research revealed four more dimensions that are, specific versus diffuse,
neutral versus emotional, internal direction versus outer direction and sequential time versus

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synchronous time. Although these dimensions would not be able to define the cultural
distinctiveness between the US and France precisely but these would definitely help in a better
understanding of different cultures.
Question 3- In managing its Euro Disneyland operations, what are three mistakes that the
company made? Explain.
Disney was highly successful in its previous three endeavors of opening Disneyland in
California, Florida and Japan and attempted to repeat the success in Europe as well. With a view
to write another success story, the team turned its eyes towards France. Two options they had-
France and Spain, and they went with France after looking at its population that was higher than
Spain. Everything went as planned and in 1992, the first ever Disneyland in Europe was opened
(Grayson, Sheikholeslami and Rubenstein 2017). After that, things went disarrayed for the team
as they found unexpected loss on the opening day itself. Three major mistakes can be
comprehended after going through the case
First and the major mistake the company made was it failed to comprehend the culture of
France. When a company plans to expand internationally, it has to note down every minute detail
about the country chosen for expansion. The Disney Company invested the least time on the
cultural aspect and faced the resulting disaster. Numerous errors were committed by the team
that incited the sentiments of the French people. The ban on alcohol was the first error
committed by the team as they failed to realize that alcohol is an important part of the French
culture. They had to face widespread protests and ultimately uplift the ban. Then, the strict
appearance code imposed on French workers was seen as a threat to individual freedom by the
workers. Many organizations in France raised their voice against this as they viewed it as a

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disrespect of their culture. Language was another issue for which the company had to face lot of
embarrassment.
The second mistake committed by the company was to overestimate the success of their
venture. The company had huge success in its previous three attempts in the US and Japan and
that made them optimistic about France as well. They however forgot that opening Disneyland in
their own country was bound to succeed because it was their homeland. Success in Tokyo came
from Japan’s affinity to technological innovations, discipline and cleanliness that Disney has
always maintained. Thus, although the Tokyo Disneyland was American in all sense, it did
receive immense success (Toyoda 2014). Taking cue from this success, the company felt over
enthusiastic of unmatched success in France as well. The team lacked long-term goals and
strategic ideas.
Third, the company focused more on publicity and costly PR campaigns whereas it
should have focused on the people and their interests. They lacked proper management. Most of
the decisions regarding the site, the layout, recruitment, themes, and appearance code and so on
were made by the American executives (Karadjova-Stoev and Mujtaba 2016). The French
employees and officials had very little to no say at any of the matters. Robert Fitzpatrick was
appointed the chairperson who was an American and who had good hold on the French language
and culture. Apart from that, other top posts were also occupied by American executives who
had limited knowledge of the French culture. Mismanagement also involved weak relationships
with local business partners.
Question 4- Based on its experience, what are three lessons the company should have
learned about how to deal with diversity? Describe each.

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EURO DISNEYLAND CASE STUDY – CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
A giant company like Disney is not expected to commit mistakes of this level especially
when it had prior experience of international expansion (Stahl and Tung 2015). Many lessons
can be learnt from the European experience by the Disney Company. To be precise, three most
important lessons must be learnt by the Disney management team.
First, understanding the European culture in depth- The Disney management made rash
decisions and followed a similar pattern as it did in its previous operations. The management
wrongly apprehended the French culture and had to pay the price. The American company
remained glued to the American way of life without trying to understand the different culture
(Mishra, Boynton and Mishra 2014). Ban on alcohol, clean appearance with prohibitions on
tattoos, jewelry and such deeply offended the French people. Hence, the company should learn
the lesson from this experience that while going global, they have to give attention to local as
well.
Second, allowing locals to head the branch operations- After the disastrous opening and
the subsequent failure of Euro Disneyland, its American chairperson Robert Fitzpatrick resigned
from the post. He was replaced by a French executive, Philippe Bourguignon. Bourguignon had
served as the vice president for the real estate of Disneyland (Brown 2016). After he attained the
post, the new chairperson was piled with heaps of issues ranging from financial debts to
management issues and many. The top management of Euro Disney must have learnt from the
Tokyo administration that appointing a local head ensures better understanding and affinity to
the local market.
Last, realistic and concrete planning- The Disney Company had no prior experience in
the European market and despite that, they decided to go ahead with the plan. Further, after

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completion of the first phase of work at the French location, the management was confronted
with several problems. They lacked proper planning and lacked a backup plan if the pre-decided
plans failed. It needs to be mentioned that the failure of the first phase of Euro Disneyland in
France gave abundant lessons for the management to learn from (Campton et al. 2014).
Although, several lessons are to be learnt from this experience, but the three mentioned
above are the most important. Giving value to other’s language is also an important lesson that
the company should learn (Caprar et al. 2015). The incident involving one of its workers
mispronouncing ‘Howdy’ for ‘Audi’ should be noted for future so that such mistakes are not
repeated.

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