C. Samuel Craig, Susan P. Douglas. International Marketing Review. London: 2006. Vol. 23, Iss. 3; pg. 322
Abstract (Summary)
The purpose of this study is to develop a more thorough understanding of culture in a rapidly changing global environment. The recent literature dealing with ways in which cultural dynamics are influencing the nature and meaning of culture are examined. Different perspectives of culture related to three key components of culture, intangibles, material culture and communication, are explored. Based on this, directions for research on the content of culture are discussed as well as how it should be approached. Culture is becoming increasingly deterritorialized and penetrated by elements from other cultures. This is resulting in cultural contamination, cultural pluralism and hybridization. It has become more difficult to study culture as it is becoming diffuse. At the same time, it is becoming more important to study it because of its pervasive influence on consumer behavior. Given that culture is no longer a phenomenon defined by and isolated to a particular locale, research on culture must carefully specify the role of culture, define the appropriate unit of analysis, isolate confounding influences and expand the range of contexts. The parallel trends of globalization and multiculturalism make it increasingly important to develop a deeper understanding of culture and its various manifestations. For progress to be made, research designs must account for this complexity and span multiple contexts.
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Introduction
Culture has a profound influence on all aspects of human behavior. Its impact may be subtle or pronounced, direct or oblique, enduring or ephemeral. It is so entwined with all facets of human existence that it is often difficult to determine how and in what ways its impact is manifested. Adding to the complexity of understanding the impact of culture is its inherently dynamic nature. Cultural influences change and culture evolves as political, social, economic and technological forces reshape the cultural landscape ([69] Usunier and Lee, 2005). Given the rapid pace of change, it becomes increasingly imperative to take into account the dynamic character of culture and to understand the way the composition of culture is being transformed by global forces.
Expanding networks of inter-personal and mass communications, spawned by the growth of satellite communication links, the internet and voice/data networks have altered traditionally static territorially based notions of culture ([30] Hermans and Kempen, 1998) and resulted in greater interchange and linkages between cultural entities. Members of different cultural groupings are moving from one country to another, bringing with them their interests, values, and distinctive behavior patterns and intermingling with others, thus further clouding the spatial and social boundaries of culture ([7] Andreasen, 1990). This results in cultural interpenetration, i.e. the penetration of one culture by another. As a result, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify the "ethnie" core of a culture due to cultural contamination. Greater commingling and fusion of elements of different cultures at the same time dilutes, enriches, and alters individual cultures.
The purpose of this paper is to develop a more thorough understanding of cultural dynamics and the different ways in which new sources of cultural influence are permeating and changing society. Emphasis is placed on examining the components of culture and providing a conceptual overview of the key forces impacting and changing culture. Its metamorphosis from a set of socially independent and geographically isolated units to a more complex, multi-level, intertwined, and evolving organism is examined. This is based on examining previous literature in marketing and related fields, notably global sociology. First, different concepts of culture in marketing are explored. Then ways in which cultural dynamics are influencing the nature of culture are examined. Based on this, some directions for research on the content of culture are discussed as well as how it should be approached.
Culture and marketing
Culture is a pervasive influence which underlies all facets of social behavior and interaction. It is evident in the values and norms that govern society. It is embodied in the objects used in everyday life and in modes of communication in society. The complexity of culture is reflected in the multitude of definitions of culture. [39] Krober and Kluckholn (1952) in their classic review of culture in the Peabody papers listed over 160 different definitions of culture, and were sufficiently dissatisfied with all of them to add a one more (161) of their own. Of all these definitions, perhaps the most widely accepted is that given by [68] Tylor (1881) who described culture as "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society," or as later synthesized by [31] Herskovits (1955) as the "manmade" part of the environment - i.e. what distinguishes humans from other species.
Consumer researchers have largely followed this view of culture. [45] McCracken (1986) adopts an all encompassing view of culture defining it as the "lens through which the individual views phenomena." As such it determines how individuals perceive and interpret phenomena, provides the "blueprint" of human activity, determines the co-ordinates of social action and productive activity and specifies the behaviors and objects that issue from both. This view follows closely the interpretative perspective of scholars such as [19] Clifford (1988), [26] Geertz (1973) and [44] Marcus (1999) and their view of culture as interpretation of meaning in a culturally constituted world.
This represents a different view of culture from that recently discussed by [41] Leung et al., (2005) which views culture as a multi-layered construct existing at different levels, global, national, organizational and group cultures, which encompass the individual. Attention is focused on aggregate social and group processes, and particularly the extent to which these are converging or diverging across countries, rather than on the individual, which is the heart of consumer culture. Emphasis is placed on the intersection of these aggregate levels and the factors, which facilitate cultural change. Individual characteristics are viewed as a moderating influence rather than the heart of the investigation as is the case in consumer research. Further, the current epoch is viewed as one of partial globalization rather than of cultural convergence.
The framework adopted here is based on that developed by [62] Sojka and Tansuhaj (1995) who group research in marketing on culture into three major streams:
abstract or intangible elements of culture such as values and belief systems;
material aspects of culture, such as artifacts, symbols and rites; and
the communication links which bind and perpetuate a cultural system.
Each of these perspectives is rooted in a different research tradition. As such each provides a unique and distinct perspective and insights into a facet of culture.
In the past, these three elements have often been discussed independently or attention has focused on a single element. They are, however, closely intertwined (Figure 1 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]). Communication provides a means of transmitting the intangible aspects of culture, such as values and beliefs from one person to another or from one generation to another. This communication process is inherently dynamic and at the same time continually evolving. Artifacts ranging from religious icons to shoes or clothing, may also be an expression of intangible beliefs, and at the same time designate membership in a particular culture.
The interdependence of the three elements is evident in the lifestyles of teens throughout the world. They are exposed to media advertising as well as movies, music and magazines, communicating shared values such as individualism, independence and self-reliance. Items of apparel such as jeans, athletic shoes, baseball caps, jewelry, and watches, symbolize their membership in this global culture. At the same time, communications, such as advertising or magazines, both reflect and influence cultural values. For example, Nike advertising targeted at teens in the US emphasizes sports and stresses individualistic values and competitiveness - core values of US teen culture. The same advertising aimed at teens in collectivist societies that emphasize relations and interaction with others, suggests and instills new values and may gradually change core beliefs to resemble those of their peers in the western world. This is not to suggest that all teens are subject to western influence, but the impact, to varying degrees, is apparent throughout the world.
Values and belief systems
The intangible elements of culture incorporate the dominant societal values and belief systems that characterize a society or culture and guide the patterning of behavior in that society. Here, it is important to consider the layering of beliefs and value-systems as well as their scope or relevance to a particular behavior or consumption situation. Value-systems can be examined at the level of the society, specific groups or organizations within society, as well as at the level of the individual (i.e. personal values). Equally, values may be general value orientations, relating, for example, to time, behavior towards others, concepts of self or alternatively relative to specific areas or domains of life, e.g. work and leisure, relations to others, or to specific consumption or purchase situations, i.e. a gift, a consumer durable, a family purchase, or for one's self.
Attention has been focused on cultural intangibles at the societal level and their impact on individual behavior. However, there are numerous other intangibles that impact individual consumption patterns and ways of behaving. These include, for example, ideals and aspirations, role norms and gender ideology, cultural myths, metaphors and signs. While complex and difficult to compare across cultures due to their subjective and existential nature, these are nonetheless key elements of culture that determine the patterning of daily life and behavior of consumers.
At the aggregate or societal level, a dominant stream of research has focused on identifying value-orientations in society. In their classic study, [38] Kluckholm and Strodtbeck (1961) identified four value orientations: man's relation to nature, time dimension, personal activity and man's relation to others. Particularly, influential has been the schema of national culture developed by [32] Hofstede (2001) based on an extensive study of work related goals and value patterns of managers in a large multi-national company. He initially identified four dimensions: power distance, or acceptance of inequality in power in society; Individualism, or emphasis on self-interest and immediate family vs collective goals; uncertainty avoidance or society's tendency to cope with unstructured situations by developing strict codes of behavior; and masculinity vs femininity or the extent to which society values goals perceived as masculine such as competition vs goals perceived as feminine such as nurturing. A fifth dimension, long- vs short-term orientation, was subsequently added when the study was extended to Asia based on a study of Chinese values. This revealed another dimension opposing long- to short-term aspects of Confucian thinking, persistence and thrift to personal stability and respect for tradition. These five dimensions are postulated to represent the collective patterning of the mind, and to constitute fundamental value orientations that underlie differences in managerial practices, organizational patterns and decision-making. This has also been widely used in marketing to characterize the national culture of different countries and as an independent variable to explain or understand cross-national differences ([18] Clark, 1990; [48] Nakata and Sivakumar, 1996; [60] Shimp and Sharma, 1987).
An alternative schema, grounded in Rokeach's value survey, was developed by [55] Schwarz (1992). Schwarz grouped values into value types according to the underlying motivational goals. Reasoning that the same basic human values would be found in all cultures, he developed measures of each value and examined their existence in a number of countries ([56] Schwarz and Bilsky, 1996). This has also been widely used in marketing and consumer behavior ([63] Steenkamp et al. , 1999).
At the societal level, these value types were grouped into three cultural dimensions, conservatism vs autonomy, hierarchy vs egalitarianism, and mastery vs harmony. While Schwarz viewed his approach as distinctly different from that of Hofstede, there are some strong underlying similarities. The first two dimensions closely resemble the individualism-collectivism and the power distance value-orientations while mastery vs harmony parallel Hofstede's masculinity/feminity dimensions. The similarities between the two value schemas provide further support for their validity as dominant value structures, which exist across societies.
Cultural orientation has been the central construct used in psychology and other social sciences ([50] Oysermann et al. , 2002) to understand and define culture ([1] Aaker and Maheswaran, 1997; [2] Aaker, 2000). This perspective, grounded in psychology, has focused on examining cognition and cognitive processes and the universality of models and conceptual frameworks developed in one society or culture in another. Countries are selected as exemplars of either individualist or collectivist societies and cognitive processes or behavior patterns of respondents in two or more countries compared. A key objective is to determine whether cognitive processes and constructs typically identified in an individualist society such as the USA, can be generalized to collectivist societies such as Hong Kong, Taiwan or Japan. In marketing, cultural orientation has been studied primarily in relation to marketing communications and cognitive processes. Differences have been found between individualist and collectivist societies in relation to the influence of consensus information on product evaluation ([1] Aaker and Maheswaran, 1997), information content in advertising ([33] Hong et al. , 1987), emotional appeals in advertising ([3] Aaker and Williams, 1998), and in the accessibility or diagnosticity of persuasion appeals ([2] Aaker, 2000). These studies suggest the existence of major differences in the salience of appeals between individualist and collectivist societies, notably related to the importance of the individual relative to the group.
While cultural value orientations tap a central dimension of cultural variation and provide a highly parsimonious approach to studying culture, they constitute broad societal constructs which do not reflect more nuanced or process-oriented aspects of society or the importance of contextual variables in influencing behavior and cognition ([47] Miller, 2002; [50] Oysermann et al. , 2002). In particular, they ignore differences among individuals in the extent to which they subscribe to the dominant societal cultural orientation as well as the extent to which cultural influences may be activated in a given situation ([15] Briley et al. , 2001). It has, therefore, been argued that a dynamic constructionist view of culture should be adopted, which focuses on identifying specific knowledge structures or implicit cultural theories that mediate social behavior in specific domains ([34] Hong and Chui, 2001).