The main goals of this chapter are to: The importance of culture to an international marketer, definition and origins of culture, the elements of culture, the impact of cultural change and cultural borrowing, strategies of planned and unplanned change. | Cultural Dynamics in Assessing Global Markets Chapter 4 Learning Objectives LO1 The importance of culture to an international marketer LO2 The origins of culture LO3 The elements of culture LO4 The impact of cultural borrowing LO5 The strategy of planned change and its consequences Culture’s Pervasive Impact Culture influences every part of our lives Cultures impact on birth rates Birthrates have implications for sellers of diapers, toys, schools, and colleges Exhibit Birthrates (per 1,000 women) Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators by International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 2012. Copyright © 2012 by World Bank. Reproduced with permission of World Bank via Copyright Clearance Center. 3 Culture’s Pervasive Impact Consumption of different types of food influences culture Chocolate by Swiss, seafood by Japanese preference, beef by British, wines by France and Italy Even diseases are influenced by culture stomach cancer in Japan, and lung cancer in Spain 4 Three Definitions of Culture Culture is the sum of the “values, rituals, symbols, beliefs, and thought processes that are learned, shared by a group of people, and transmitted from generation to generation” “software of the mind, problem-solving tool” (Hofstede) “An invisible barrier a completely different way of organizing life, of thinking, and of conceiving the underlying assumptions about the family and the state, the economic system, and even Man himself” (Hall) 5 Exhibit Origins, Elements, and Consequences of Culture 4-6 Origins of Culture: Geography Geography, which includes climate, topography, flora, fauna, and microbiology, influences our social institutions Jared Diamond states that historically innovations spread faster east-to-west than north-to-south Philip Parker reports strong correlations between the latitude (climate) and the per capita GDP of countries 7 Origins of Culture: History The impact of specific events in history can be seen reflected in technology, . | Cultural Dynamics in Assessing Global Markets Chapter 4 Learning Objectives LO1 The importance of culture to an international marketer LO2 The origins of culture LO3 The elements of culture LO4 The impact of cultural borrowing LO5 The strategy of planned change and its consequences Culture’s Pervasive Impact Culture influences every part of our lives Cultures impact on birth rates Birthrates have implications for sellers of diapers, toys, schools, and colleges Exhibit Birthrates (per 1,000 women) Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators by International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 2012. Copyright © 2012 by World Bank. Reproduced with permission of World Bank via Copyright Clearance Center. 3 Culture’s Pervasive Impact Consumption of different types of food influences culture Chocolate by Swiss, seafood by Japanese preference, beef by British, wines by France and Italy Even diseases are influenced by culture stomach cancer in Japan, and lung cancer in Spain 4 .
