Student: Shannon Grimm-Berghaus

Dissertation

A cross-cultural analysis of a communication strategy from the start-up company sharemagazines. The communication strategy in Germany will be analysed and a suitable strategy will be developed to expand to the U.K. market

Student: Shannon Grimm-Berghaus

Hanzehogeschool Groningen & Leeds Beckett University

Student number at Leeds Beckett University: 77166855

Student Number at Hanzehogeschool Groningen: 351501

Table of content

Abstract

Introduction

This dissertation will be focusing on the analysis of the social media strategy from the German start-up company sharemagazines in Germany. Furthermore, a suitable strategy will be developed to be approach the U.K. market.

The culture of both countries need to be understood and how culture influences modern PR internationally. On one hand Germany and U.K are currently one of the biggest global consumer markets (Worldbank, 2015) and therefore a very successful market for any company in Europe. On the other hand, it needs to be considered that even within Europe every member country has their culture. According to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions Germany and U.K. have a very similar culture, but still show differences which could have an impact on a successful merchandising (Hofstede, 2016).

It will be interesting to analyse the cultural influences in PR and how culture influences the practice of PR. The product of the company is an App for smartphones, therefore, the current social media strategy will be analysed and recommendations for the communication strategy in combination with their social media strategy will be made. Furthermore, it will be shown how the company sharemagazines communicates already on the German market and how their communication strategy is already influenced by the German culture. In addition, the English market will be analysed and it will show how culture affects the British market. At the end a suitable recommendation including a communication strategy for the U.K. market will be presented. Besides, supporting literature will be used. To understand the target audience and its expectations of the communication industry nowadays. To understand the target audiences in Germany and the United Kingdom, a questionnaire to both parties will be conducted. The outcome will include a full communication and social media strategy for the British market.

The company sharemagazines

History

The idea for the app came casually on a breakfast table in a hotel. The founder and colleagues noticed that all magazines and newspapers of their interest were taken. After discussing crazy ideas and thoughts, the creation of the app came to life. The idea was that any public institution, such as restaurants, hotels, doctor offices, bars, can offer their purchased magazines and newspapers on an app to their clients.

After months developing a business model the company sharemagazines was founded in 2014. Within the last two years they won multiple awards, including best start-up company in Germany.

The product

Sharemagazines is an app for Android and Apple products and can be downloaded on any device. The app is an online share platform for magazines where anyone has access to magazines at offered locations. Public institutions can buy any magazines or newspapers on this app and provide it for their customers in their location.

For example: At a doctors’ office all magazines or newspapers of interest are taken. The visitor at the office can open the app and read all magazines and newspapers the office bought on their own device. The visitor cannot read the magazines or newspaper outside of the institution. It is possible to purchase the magazine or newspaper and add it to your own device.

Furthermore, the company offers data analysis for their clients to see the usage of the app.

Theoretical Aspect

The cultural aspect within PR campaigns becomes more and more important in the future. To advertise and target the audience correctly, agencies and companies need to understand the culture of the country to reach their goal. Any company needs to realise the importance of cultural differences and how to approach the country correctly. (Deshpande, Webster, 1987)

This part of dissertation will focus on culture in sense of the organizational theory and the connection to public relations. Furthermore, how international public relations is affect our modern world and the differences in public relations in Britain and Germany. As the product is an App, the literature review will also include a definition of social media.

In the rapidly growing globalization, culture cannot be ignored. To enter a market of a different country and to establish a brand in this market, the values and cultural aspects need to be understood (Sriramesh, Vercic, 2009). Nowadays, the culture plays a part in the development of communication but is still needs to be improved. This dissertation will show the importance of culture in international PR for companies who want to operate globally.

Different models and literature will be used to underline if culture is important for a company to operate international. The current situation of sharemagazines will be analysed and presented. The dissertation will examine if the German culture has an influence on the current communications strategy within social media. Furthermore, if necessary a recommendation will be presented for the German market and a social media strategy will be developed for the British market.

Literature Review

The following chapter includes the definition of culture and an explanation of the two different cultures within this dissertation. Furthermore, organizational culture will be presented and combined with the cultural aspect defined before. To understand public relations and public relations in Germany and the U.K. public relations, international public relations and its relation to culture will be interpreted. At the end it will be clarified its connection to the dissertation process.

Definition of culture

Culture of Germany and the United Kingdom

First, the culture of Germany and the United Kingdom needs to be understand and analysed. According to Hofstede´s cultural dimensions Germany and the United Kingdom are very similar cultures.

Hofstede conducted an intense study to be able to understand and compare different cultures. To understand different countries and its cultures, he developed a research based on different criteria.

The dimensions include Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity and Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long Term Orientation, Indulgence.

Hoftstede´s dimensions are:

1. Power Distance: Individuals in societies are not equal. It expresses the attitude of the culture and its inequalities in the society. It can be defined as the dimension that the less powerful members of an organization or institution in a specific country accept that power is unequally.

1. Individualism: This dimension explains the degree of interdependence of a member in a society. It is defined in terms of “I” or “we” perception if the members. Individualistic societies are supposed to look after themselves and the direct family. Whereas collectivistic societies feel belonging to a group and take care of each other in exchange of loyalty for the group and members.

1. Masculinty: A masculine society means that the society is driven by competition, as well as achievement and success. Every member of the society wants to be the best. This value system starts at school and lasts throughout the organisational life. A low score means that the society is feminine. The values of the society are more dominated by caring for others and the quality of life, which is the sign of success in this society. Standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The issue of this dimension is what motivates the members – wanting the best (masculinity) or liking what you do (femininity).

1. Uncertainty Avoidance: This dimensions applies to the fact how members deal with the fact the future is unknown. Should we control the future or just let it happen? Cultures handle the anxiety which comes with it differently.

1. Long Term Orientation: The societies have to maintain the links with their own past. Furthermore, how the society deals with the challenges of the present and future.

1. Indulgence: This dimension describes how societies try to control their desires and impulses based on the way they were raised. “Indulgence” is a weak control and “Restraint” is a strong controlled.

(Hofstede, 1991)

In the table below the German and British culture will be compared according to Hofstede’s cultural model.

Table 1: Comparison of the German and British Culture

Germany / United Kingdom
Power Distance / Score: 35
- Decentralised and supported by strong middle class
- Co-determination rights are extensive
- Direct participative communication
- Control is disliked
- Leadership is challenged to show expertise / Score: 35
- Believes that inequality should be minimized
- Incongruent with the well established and historical class system
- Exposes one of the inherent tensions of the culture
- Sense of fair play drives a belief that people should be treated in some ways equally
Individualism / Score: 67
- Focus on small families
- Strong belief in self-actualization
- Loyalty is based personal preferences, as well as a sense of responsibility – defined by contract of employer and employee
- Honest & direct communication to give the chance to learn from the mistakes / Score: 89
- children taught from an early age to think of themselves
- find their own unique purpose in life
- happiness is throughout self fulfilment
- rampant consumerism
- strengthening the “ME” culture
Masculinity / Score: 66
- Performance is highly valued
- “live in order to work”
- drive self-esteem from work
- Managers are expected to be decisive and assertive
- Status is shown by fancy belongings like cars, watches and technical devices / Score: 66
- Success oriented and driven
- Confusion for foreigners cause of the underlying success driven in the culture
- “reading between the lines” – not always meant what is said
- live in order to work
- clear performance ambitions
Uncertainty Avoidance / Score: 65
- Slight preference for uncertainty avoidance
- Preferences for deductive approaches
- Overview in order to succeed
- Details are equally important
- Compensate their higher uncertainty by relying on expertise / Score: 35
- Low uncertainty avoidance
- Happy not knowing what the day brings
- No problem with changing plans when new information comes along
- Comfortable with ambiguous situations
- Value of fair play
- Fluid and flexible
- High level of creativity & innovation
- Fast highly creative industries: advertising, marketing, financial engineering
Long Term Orientation / Score 83
- Pragmatic Country
- Truth depends on the context, situation and time
- Adapt traditions easily to changed conditions
- Strong propensity to save and invest, thriftiness, and perseverance in achieving results / Score: 51
- A dominant preference in the culture cannot be determined
-
Indulgence / Score: 40
- Restrained nature
- Tendency to cynicism and pessimism
- Not much emphasis towards leisure time
- Not much control of gratification of their desires
- / Score: 69
- indulgent culture
- realize their impulses and desires with regard to enjoy life
- positive attitude and tendency towards optimism
- higher importance of leisure time
- spend money and time as they wish

(Hofstede, 2010)

Figure 1: Hofstede’s cultural comparisons between Germany and U.K.

(Hofstede, 2016)

To sum up, both cultures show similar characteristics. Furthermore, it can be seen that both cultures have differences. The United Kingdom has a higher score in individualism compared to Germany. Furthermore, they are more indulgent than people in Germany. German culture is compared to the British culture more focused on a long-term orientation. These are characteristics that might change a communication strategy to be adaptable to each market. Furthermore, this aspect will be deeply analysed in addition to the questionnaire taken by German and British citizens.

Organizational culture

Before any model or theories of organizational culture nowadays can be explained, the basic theory needs to be understood.

The following model was developed in 1982 by Terrence Deal and Allan Kennedy. Their theory is based on the culture in organizational theory and describes four different types of organizations:

Table 1: Deal and Kennedy’s cultural model

Work-hard, play-hard culture:
- rapid feedback/reward and low risk
- stress from quantity of work not uncertainty
- high-speed actions leading to high-speed reactions / Tough guy, macho culture:
- rapid feedback/reward and high risk
- stress coming from high risk and potential loss/gain
- focus on the present than long-term future
Process culture:
- slow feedback/reward and low risk
- Low stress, plodding work, comfort and security
- Stress from internal politics stupidity of the system
- Security focus on the past and future / Bet-the-company culture:
- Slow feedback/reward and high risk
- Stress from high risk and not knowing if actions have paid off
- Long-term orientation
- But much work is out into, things have to go the way it is planned

(Deal, Kennedy, 1982,2000)

Figure 2: Deal and Kennedy’s Model from the book 1982

(Deal, Kennedy, 1982)

Moreover, did Deal and Kennedy developed a cultural framework for the organizational theory. Their cultural framework is based on the corporate culture and resulting six elements of organizational culture: History, Values and Beliefs, Ritual and Ceremonies, Stories, Heroic Figures, The Cultural Network.

1. History: Foundation for corporate culture is a shared narrative past. Traditions keep the people reminded of the core values that the organization was build on
2. Values and Beliefs: Cultural identity is formed around the beliefs of the members of the organization. And is formed by the values that the organization stand for.
3. Rituals and Ceremonies: Employers do ceremonies everyday to bring each other together.
4. Stories: Corporate stories simply explain the corporate values of the organization. Employees personify these values in action. It helps the employees to understand and learn what is expected from them and what the organization stands for.
5. Heroic Figures: This element is related to the element Stories. Employees and managers whose status is elevated embody the organizational values. Therefore, they are symbolised as heroes and and role models and other admire their actions.
6. The Cultural Network: The network is often where the important information is learned.

“Culture clashes happen in the domestic workplace, technology compresses time and space to create new interfaces between the global and local in even the most rural areas, and power remains a constant in any relationship, in any region of the world.”

(Curtin, Gather, 2007)

In addition, Morrills article from 2008 about culture and organizational theory claims that culture has become a legitimate process in organizations. Topics like inequality and deviance have been developed in the past decade. The article claims that culture and organizational theory are meant to influence each other. Moreover, it is a theory of society and depends on the culture of the country itself (Morrills, 2008).

Our world is changing rapidly and fast. The globalization is growing and the organizations and their cultures are growing with it. To establish a brand in new markets, organisations need to understand the culture, especially the organizational culture of the market (Siramesh, Vercic, 2009). Nowadays, values and cultural aspects influence the trade and work within the PR and marketing industry (Sriramesh, Vercic, 2009). Moreover, it needs to be understand how modern public relations theories and the perception of power and culture work together. The model merges postmodern and recent perspectives, providing a confluence of organisational theory that recognizes the the importance of identity, modification and power in discursive practice. To understand the influences, public relations would need to be later redefined. Furthermore, the organizational focus needs to be expanded (Curtin, Gather, 2005). Based on the essay from Curtin and Gather that the organizational culture is a paradigmatic model that can inform public relations theoretical development.

Organizational culture today

Awareness and acknowledgement of proper management factors within organizations have evolved within the last decades ( Galpin, 2007; Trompenaars, 1996; Waisfisz & Hofstede, 2015, Nooteboom, 2000, Galpin & Herndon, 2014 Schein, 2004; Cartwright & Cooper, 1993; Deal & Kennedy, 1982). In the common acknowledgment a confusion about what organizational culture is, still exist (Trompenaars and Prud’homme, 2004). To clarify the concept of organizational culture, the following part presents different theories of organizational culture.

1. “The way we do things around here” theory – is possible the most learned definition of organizational culture (Trompenaars and Prud’homme, 2004). The theory is based on Deal and Kennedys work from 1982. Trompenaars and Prud’homme (2004) presented this theory as one of the more simplified definitions. It implies that clothing, language, code of conduct and structure of work, define culture as a set of written and solid rules.
2. Another theory around Deal and Kennedy’s theory from 1982 is created by Galphin (2007), but describes organizational culture as air everyone breathes (Galphin, 2007). He also claims that organizational culture is driven unconscious. It is often a fundamental feature, unrecognised by the working people in the organizational environment. It is first recognised when people are confronted with differences or changes.
3. Nooteboom (2005) takes a broader view of organizational culture and its embodiment of the social perception. He contextualizes it as: “specialized semiotic systems; language, symbols, metaphors, myths and rituals which institutionalize firm behavior” (Nooteboom, 2000 p. 95). He claims that these characteristics merge the existential structure for norms and behaviour in organisations. They are not written rules but implicit. However, these characteristics or structures provide the base of the organizational behaviour (Schein, 2004).
4. Another definition by Waisfisz is based on Geert Hofstede’s research on cultures of 2010. Waisfisz describes organizational theory as a reflection of the way people relate to their work, to each other and the outside world and compare these reflections to other organisations (Waisfisz & Hofstede, 2015). Besides behaviour and structure of an organisation, they explain that fluxes lead to a certain organizational behaviour, such as symbols (e.g. logos and objects), heroes (e.g. founder or chairman of the organisation), rituals (e.g. collective acticities, such as meetings), values and practices within the organisation (Waisfisz & Hofstede, 2015). Furthermore, these characteristics are shown as the Cultural Onion by Hofstede:

Figure 3: The different level of culture (Waisfisz & Hofstede, 2015)