Handbook of Cross‐cultural Marketing

Citation

Jones, M.V. (1999), "Handbook of Cross‐cultural Marketing", Journal of Economic Studies, Vol. 26 No. 6, pp. 510-520. https://doi.org/10.1108/jes.1999.26.6.510.1

This book was written by the author with the aim to “assist all companies, not merely US companies, to increase their likelihood of success in international markets by better understanding, relating to, and working with those from different cultures” (p. 7). The book is not, and does not purport to be either a marketing text, or a treatise on culture. Rather, it is a practical and readable account of the challenges and problems facing firms involved in international marketing activity, with people of differing national cultures.

The book is organised in three main sections, “premarketing”, “marketing” and “postmarketing”. The first discusses the nature of culture and its implications for marketers, the standardisation/adaptation debate, cross‐cultural negotiations and international marketing research. Essentially, it is concerned with the preparation stage which firms go through before making a serious commitment to their overseas operations. The second section discusses marketing management decisions structured around the classic marketing mix dimensions. Cross‐cultural implications in the key areas of product decisions and branding, advertising, sales promotion and personal selling, distribution channels and pricing, are discussed. The third and final section of the book is dominated by three chapters devoted to the cross‐cultural marketing of services. This section is arguably the most uniquely informative section of the book which provides an in‐depth discussion of the nature of services, together with company examples, checklists and practical analytical frameworks. All companies whose business is service related would benefit from the advice given in this section. Also included in this section is a chapter on green marketing.

The coverage of the text is broad rather than deep, but supported by sound marketing principles and extensive reference to current research. Essentially the approach taken is business oriented rather than academic, although the reader who wishes to pursue any particular topic will find that adequate reference to current research has been made throughout. The author assumes an intelligent reader, conversant with marketing decisions, techniques and strategies, and concentrates his efforts on the implications arising from the cross‐cultural context of international marketing. Aimed first and foremost at the practitioner, the advice given is frequently pragmatic and explains how best to deal with difficult situations, for example, in relation to the product decision, Herbig suggests, “At the very least, marketers should understand and follow any special governmental regulations concerning packaging, labelling, and quality standards of products” (p. 105). His final comment on marketing research is that market researchers involved in cross‐cultural market research “– must understand and expect that such research will be more costly, take longer than expected, and that researchers must be more careful than in similar domestic research, especially in viewing and analysing the result” (p. 86).

Throughout the text, Herbig avoids giving a specific definition of national culture and instead provides a rich discussion of applications particular to cross‐cultural marketing and business situations, illustrated with numerous, up‐to‐date, company, brand and product specific examples. In that way he avoids restricting the topic to a few key points comparable across countries and instead retains the notion that culture is a complex and intangible concept, which pervades and shapes almost every business relationship, activity and situation. What is lost in this approach is an objective means of analysis of specific cross‐cultural marketing situations. While the author does alert the reader to problems which may be encountered, in some sections the means for dealing with the problems tends to be dealt with by cross‐reference to other texts and academic journals. An example here is the section on cross‐cultural marketing research (pp. 80‐4) which identifies errors frequently made in comparing cultures and in transferring research tools into a culturally different context, but provides more by way of description than advice. In other sections, notably the third section on services, advice given is applicable to given country situations, and pertinent to companies involved in the marketing of services and service related activity.

Although the book might disappoint the serious analyst in that it does not comprehensively provide strategic advice, frameworks or techniques for cross‐cultural analysis, it would be unfair to criticise the analytical content. In that respect the author makes full use of a descriptive writing style with which he describes vividly, and with a keen analytical insight, a proliferation of examples of cross‐cultural successes, failures, gaffs and achievements. These are as insightful as they are entertaining, and illustrate cultural differences very much from the perspective of practical, business experience. To some extent however, this approach is over used and in parts marketing implications and advice are submerged beneath a stream of examples, the interest and relevance of which is left to the reader to discern.

The Handbook of Cross‐cultural Marketing makes interesting reading, adopts a lively and informative style and provide’s an insightful, yet despite its own caution, slightly ethnocentric view of culture as encountered in international marketing. An element of ethnocentrism is inevitable in any discussion of culture which is not based on hard, measured objective fact, and despite evidence to the contrary, stereo types and misunderstandings prevail. Despite the author’s obvious efforts to avoid judgement and ethnocentric bias, any non‐US reading this book might dispute the portrayal of some of his/her cultural values. For example, the perception of red as a masculine colour in the UK has escaped the attention of this British reviewer. The author however has wherever possible adopted a sensitive and objective approach to his subject matter. A problem often faced by authors on the subject of national culture, is the difficulty of distinguishing between national cultures and the diversity of cultures which are often found within nationally or geographically defined borders. The problem is often definitional and in this instance, culture predominantly has been discussed at national or regional levels. In parts the author refers to the diversity of cultures across Europe, elsewhere he discusses cultural perspectives or attributes as though they were common across mainland Europe. In general, in this text, the focus tends to be on national and regional rather than local cultures, the main exception being a more expansive discussion of different Hispanic groups within the context of America’s plural society.

Overall the book is effective in demonstrating the impact of culture on cross‐border marketing activity and does so through intelligent discussion of issues which arise at the interface of different cultures in the context of international marketing or business. The topic is discussed with an enthusiasm and genuine interest in the topic which is conveyed to the reader through discussion of a great number of company experiences. The book however might be better described as an overview of cross‐cultural marketing from an American perspective, rather than a handbook or textbook on the topic. In respect of the former (handbook) specific advice in relation to key issues and problems is sometimes not given, rather, advice is general and for the most part, is based on the principles of mutual respect, common sense, open‐mindedness and preparation. Sound advice but without the specific detail and problem/solution approach which might be expected from a handbook. There is however, a wealth of useful information in the book, such as, postal delivery times in selected European countries (pp. 170‐1), and government sponsorship of trade fairs (pp. 133‐5) which could, in future editions, be made more accessible through the use of tables of facts, or lists of information sources, or a more comprehensive indexing system. As a sourcebook, the Handbook might usefully accompany a standard marketing or international marketing text or a text on social‐cultural research. As a stand‐alone textbook, it might be used as an introductory reader, and one which would make compelling reading. A second volume, adopting an analytical or strategy based approach to cross‐cultural marketing would provide a useful and welcome future sequel.

To conclude the Handbook of Cross‐cultural Marketing is highly readable, gives a broad, interesting and often humorous account of cultural issues in cross‐border marketing and might usefully be prescribed as back‐ground reading on international marketing and business courses and as a sourcebook for practitioners involved in cross‐cultural marketing. It provides useful advice to all companies involved in international marketing but most especially to service companies and those new to cross‐cultural business activity.