...comprehensive concept as it embraces almost all factors that influence an individual’s reasoning process and shape behavior. It influences both our preferences, decisions and our general perspective about the world around us. Considering the fact, that most human behaviors are not innate but learned shows that culture is acquired over time. Many authors, philosophers, historians, sociologists, anthropologists and linguists have written and argued in different perspectives the actual meaning of culture, but one point remains that culture is an unavoidable part of human daily life. Hofstede (1998) argued that culture is a fuzzy concept that can be viewed from two perspectives that seems inter-related and confusing. He stated that culture could be seen from a narrow perspective to mean "civilization" and in the broad perspective as “anthropology” which involves thinking, feelings and acting. Furthermore, culture is a combination of material and spiritual wealth designed by man through process of social and historical development. Cultural Influence on Business in Africa Culture is the summary or sum total of people’s way of life which is transferable, in this case it must have great influence in business since business revolves within the circumference of people and their culture. Hofstede (1996) classified culture in four dimensions and explained its degree of influence in business at each dimension. Power Distance: This deal with the way people in a culture accepts the power...
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...Culture and its Impact on International Business Introduction As businesses have grown and expanded to the international level; certain aspects of business have become abundantly clear. One thing that has become the norm when doing business on the international level is dealing with different cultures. Culture, as defined by Geert Hofstede is “the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another. Culture in this sense is a system of collectively held values.” The concept of a culture has been around for a very long time; in-fact, when people exist in the same place together they end up following a set of rules. These rules can be called a “social norm” or culture and can be made up of simple things like how to act in certain situations all the way to a very devout set of beliefs or values. This paper will focus on the role that culture plays on multinational businesses around the globe and the differences that culture plays from one area of the globe to the next. An in-depth look will be taken on the obstacles that may arise due to culture, adjustments that need to be made, and any ethical conundrums that may arise due to different cultures. Literature Review D. Elenkov and d. Kirova, state that “MNCs should not underestimate the importance of the cultural specificity of the host countries because different staffing, selecting, training, motivating and compensating practices should be applied in accordance...
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...Strategic Marketing Planning SOUTH WEST ARTS MARKETING APRIL 2002 STRATEGIC MARKETING PLANNING Introduction Strategic Marketing Planning is one of a series of publications produced by South West Arts Marketing for South West Arts and Bristol City Council. The guides are intended as an introduction to arts marketing and as a practical guide for artists and organisations working with very limited resources. Further information and advice on any of the topics covered in this guide or any other issue related to arts marketing, training, audience profiling, research or regional support networks are available from South West Arts Marketing on 0117-927 6936. South West Arts Marketing is an independent agency established to add value to arts marketing activity in the South West by providing strategic services and support to artists and arts organisations wishing to increase and broaden their arts audiences. For further information about the range of support and services available contact: South West Arts Marketing St Nicholas Church St Nicholas Street Bristol BS1 1UE Tel: Fax: e-mail: 0117-927 6936/41 0117-927 6936 info@swam.org.uk South West Arts Marketing is funded by South West Arts, Bristol City Council and Arts Council of England. STRATEGIC MARKETING PLANNING What is Marketing? To be successful, an organisation must constantly try to match its own capabilities to the needs of its customers both current and potential as well as all of its stakeholders. Over the years marketing...
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...important domain. It then reviews the research that was generated as part of this special issue on this topic. The article concludes with a discussion of the critical future research needs in this area. Introduction The quantity and quality of entrepreneurship research has increased dramatically over the last 15 years. Today, entrepreneurship research is some of the most widely cited in the management discipline, with leading journals dedicated to its study and well-recognized conferences supporting its development. The methods employed and the theory foundations used in entrepreneurship today are consistent with mainstream management research. However, entrepreneurship research can still be critiqued as almost exclusively focused on North American and European research sites. The exploration of domains outside of these two developed economic regions remains extremely limited. In particular, little is known of entrepreneurship in emerging economies: economies that are increasingly moving to market orientation and seeking to rapidly advance economically. To illustrate, several East Asian economies with large ethnic Chinese populations are considered emerging. These...
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...African Journal of Business Management Vol.6 (22), pp. 6456-6464, 6 June, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJBM DOI: 10.5897/AJBM11.2673 ISSN 1993-8233 ©2012 Academic Journals Review Key issues in cross-cultural business communication: Anthropological approaches to international business Tian Guang* and Dan Trotter Shantou University, Shantou City, Guangdong Province, Southern China. Accepted 8 March, 2012 Cultural factors have long been known to influence the communication and success potential of competition. Cultural awareness shapes how business firms behave in cross-culturally reflected international markets. It is broadly recognized that cultural factors act as invisible barriers in international business communications. Understanding cultural differences is one of the most significant skills for firms to develop in order to have a competitive advantage in international business. This paper probes some key elements of cross-cultural issues in international business communication and provides a framework for creating competitive advantage for firms engaged in international business. Culture affects many aspects of international business communication. It impacts free trade policies, localization and standardization strategy decisions, advertising, brand effectiveness, business relationships, international business management, international marketing, international negotiation, and consumer behavior. Seven themes are suggested as guidelines...
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...LEADERSHIP Exam questions: 1. “Leaders are born, not made” – Discuss this statement in a cross cultural context 2009/2010 2. What is the meaning of leadership? Are western theories of leadership relevant to non-Western cultural settings? Illustrate with examples.2009/2010 3. Are Western theories of leadership relevant in Non-Western cultural settings? Illustrate with examples. 2008/2009 4. Leadership is critical for the success or failure of international operations, and what is effective in one country might be considered as ineffective in another culture. Select two leaders from two different cultures and compare and contrast their leadership styles. Explain why they are different or similar.2007/2008 5. “Leadership is fundamentally the same irrespective of culture.” Do you agree/disagree? 2007/2008 6. How does culture influence the practice of leadership? 2006/2007 Objectives: 1. Describe the basic philosophic foundation and styles of managerial leadership 2. Examine the attitudes of European managers toward leadership practices 3. Compare and Contrast leadership styles in Japan with those in the US 4. Review leadership approaches in China, the Middle East, and developing countries 5. Examine recent research and findings regarding leadership across cultures 6. Discuss the relationship of culture clusters and leader behaviour to effective leadership practices, including increasing calls for more...
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...Chapter 1: The business systems of Asia Variety in the regional and general features Civilizational traditions • Confucianism • Taoism • Buddhism • Islam • Catholicism Historical external influences • Colonies • India establishing trading connections, mostly in South East Asia • Chinese who left China and settled as business people in the countries around the rim of the South China sea Periods: 1. 1945-1975 After the retreat of colonial powers, countries needed to reestablish their identity and political structures → hostility + Maoist experiments in China 2. 1975-1997 Relative calm period, stable growth, export to foreign countries, rise in FDI a. Mao’s death: collapse of communism → socialist market economy b. Japanese miracle c. Impressive growth of the South-Korean economy 3. Ersatz capitalism → Asian crisis in 1997: inefficient use of capital was covered up by the availability of easy money from governments, optimistic foreign investors lured by the emerging markets. The system could not keep up the pretence as it became sensitive to a downturn in the economic cycle which hit the region in 1997. → End of easy money and beginnings of reforms. 4. After 1997, reforms: • Improvements to accountability and disclosure in the financing of industry • Reduction of favoritism and corruption during control of licenses and capital • Opening of markets to foreign competition • Adoption of international standards in accounting, trading, IPR • General rise...
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...of World Business 37 (2002) 69±80 Eastern European cluster: tradition and transition     Gyula Bakacsi, Takacs Sandor, Karacsonyi Andras, Imrek Viktor1 Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration, 1093 Budapest, Hungary Abstract The eastern European cluster consists of Albania, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, and Slovenia. It has a population of 232 million and a gross domestic product (GDP) of U.S.$772 billion. The cluster's distinctive cultural practices are high power distance and high family and group collectivism. The region is facing signi®cant challenges during its period of transition from communist philosophy to market-based economies. The participating managers value a much greater degree of future and performance orientation, but are strongly attached to their cultural heritage of deep family and group cohesion. They are also highly value charismatic and team-oriented leadership. The challenges and complexities facing the region are explored in the paper. # 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Inc. 1. Introduction This article provides an in-depth look at the eastern European culture. This region is understudied due to its socialist past and was not (with the exception of Greece and Yugoslavia), included in Hofstede's seminal work (1980) or basic reviewing and synthesizing study of Ronen & Shenkar, 1985 comparative study of 25 countries. Over the past few years, a few writers have examined cultural and managerial...
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...Halmstad School of Business and Engineering Rufei He & Jianchao Liu (2010) Barriers of Cross Cultural Communication in Multinational Firms --- A Case Study of Swedish Company and its Subsidiary in China Abstract In times of rapid growth, both in terms of economic development and globalization, an increasing number of firms extend their businesses abroad. A subsequent challenge of this development is the managerial implications of cross-cultural management. This study employs a qualitative approach in a single case study of Swedish company and its subsidiary in China. After reviewing the previous studies, the authors summarize the differences of management style, staff behaviors and communication system in different culture context and find the barriers of cross cultural communication in multinational firms. The findings of this study indicate that the barriers of communication come from the national culture’s influence on the work place and behaviors of people with different identity. Moreover, culture also influences people’s way of thinking and behaving and result in different understandings toward vision and purposes of firms. Key words: cross cultural, communication, multinational firms, management style, staff behavior Prelude It is 9:00 a.m. on Monday in Sweden. The Technical product manager of company X sent an email about the new design of the product to its subsidiary company in China. He would like to have a production ready model of the new design by...
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...International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 2008, Vol. 4, Issue 1, pp. 49-65. The Internet in developing countries: a medium of economic, cultural and political domination Abdulkafi Albirini University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA ABSTRACT The last decade has witnessed an unprecedented diffusion of network technologies into developing countries. The technological discourse attending this diffusion has presented the new media as a utopian, egalitarian and empowering tool with the potential of ushering in a new era of development, democracy, and positive cultural change. This paper examines the economic, cultural, and political effects of the Internet within the historical context of developing countries. The paper traces the politically-inspired evolution of the Internet, its transfer into developing countries, and the economic, cultural, and political consequences of this transfer. Existing data indicate that the implementation of the Internet in most developing countries has served as a drain to the local resources, thus exacerbating their economic dependency on foreign nations. On a cultural level, the Internet’s predominantly Western design, content, and language have facilitated the proliferation of alien cultural patterns at the expense of the social experiences of the local cultures. Lastly, the Internet’s build-in tracking capabilities and its current manipulation for political purposes on international...
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... The Forces for Change is a framework to help you understand today’s radically changing world and synthesize the breadth of complex, fast changing, interdependent factors Are all changes bad? Change can be uncomfortable and awkward but it can also be positive. FORCES OF CHANGE AND THEIR ACCOMPANYING VALUES FORCES OF CHANGE & ACCOMPANYING VALUES Turbulence Intellectual capital, Intellectual propert, ,information sharing Networking, innovation, R&D INFORMATION AGE K-Economy GLOBALIZATION DEVELOPMENT Autonomy, Pride, Dignity Independence, Indigenization “CultureBound” Customer Focus; Speed, Responsiveness; Continuous Learning; Accurate & Up-To-Date Information Quality; Value Added; Cost Effectiveness; Humanization; Ecological Specialisation; Objectivity; Materialism; SystemsOrientation MODERNIZATION WESTERNIZATION Individualism; Secularism; Freedom Of Expression; Consumerism INDUSTRIALIZATION Mechanization; Rational Thinking; Bureaucracy; Efficiency; Productivity; Mobility; Discipline; Mechanical Time Orientation; Reliability Stable 1800 AGRICULTURAL Revolution Time line Simple division of labor, labor intensive, Collectivism, sharing 2000 FORCES OF CHANGE & ACCOMPANYING VALUES Turbulence Intellectual capital, Intellectual propert, ,information sharing Networking, innovation, R&D INFORMATION AGE K-Economy GLOBALIZATION DEVELOPMENT Autonomy, Pride, Dignity Independence, Indigenization “CultureBound” Customer Focus; Speed...
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...Primark have expanded by buying out their competitors such as British Home Stores (BHS) and Clemens and August (C&A), they now have 257 stores across Europe (Primark, 2013). Primark sells clothes that are economical affordable. The company sources cheaply, using simple designs and fabrics in the most popular sizes and buys stock in bulk. Primark core competence is in their distribution change, the source all their products (Primark, 2013). Presently Primark Clothings are worn all over the world. However, Primark only has stores and outlets in Europe. This report proposes Primark entry into the Nigerian retail market using two P’s (Promotions and Product), the marketing mix, marketing planning, entry and analysis of the cultural factors that may affect the process. 2. Nigerian Retail Industry and Nigeria’s retail sector is undergoing change with international retail brands entering the country, new malls being constructed and the transformation of informal markets into more modern facilities. Shoprite a South African retailer and the biggest on the continent have been in operations in Nigeria and have branches across the country in Lagos, Abuja and Portharcourt. They are other retailers like Spar (European retailers), Zara and Mango who have recently opened outlets in Lagos. The retail industry in Nigeria has witnessed strong growth within the last five years and industry watchers are speculating more growth in the coming years. The industry is currently valued at about...
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...Journal of Business Venturing 27 (2012) 266–290 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Business Venturing International entrepreneurship research in emerging economies: A critical review and research agenda Andreea N. Kiss a,⁎, Wade M. Danis b, 1, S. Tamer Cavusgil c, 2 a b c Global Economics and Management Department Faculty of Economics and Business University of Groningen, 800 Postbus, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria, P.O. BOX 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, BC Canada V8W 2Y2 J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Institute of International Business, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3989, Atlanta, GA 30303-3989, USA a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t This article systematically reviews and critically examines international entrepreneurship research in emerging economies (IEEE research), and articulates its importance, timeliness and relevance in consideration of the growing influence of emerging markets in the global economy. A systematic analysis of eighty-eight journal articles published over the last two decades reveals that IEEE research is a vibrant and rapidly growing stream of the broader international entrepreneurship (IE) domain, and that it is methodologically and topically diverse. Our review also shows that IEEE research has a limited presence in premier journals, is highly skewed in its geographic coverage, and is somewhat fragmented. We therefore inventory...
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...4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Introduction to International Marketing The International Marketing Environment The International Marketing Information and Research Process International Competitive Marketing Strategies Market Selection Decisions and Entry Strategies Management of Exporting and Importing International Marketing Operations and Planning Product and Brand Decisions for International Marketing Service Strategies for International Marketing International Channels of Distribution and Logistics Management Pricing Decisions in International Markets Integrated International Marketing Communications International Business-To-Business Marketing Retail Internationalization and Marketing The Internet and International Marketing Ethics and International Marketing Index xix xxi xxiii xxiv 1 34 68 104 138 172 209 239 274 303 335 367 401 430 454 478 507 Contents List of figures List of tables List of mini case studies Acknowledgements 1 Introduction to International Marketing Introduction The nature of international marketing Contextual determinants of international marketing Historical development Definition of international marketing Relationship with other business fields A theoretical framework for international marketing Approaches to internationalization Factors causing internationalization The process of firms’ internationalization A holistic approach The motivation for firms to go international Trade theories and economic development Absolute advantage Comparative...
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...International Human Resource Management (IHRM) has focused mainly on the policies, practices and strategies of Human Resource practitioners in individual multinational firms. The goal of this special issue is to move beyond this narrow focus at the enterprise level and situate HRM within wider economic, organizational, political and institutional contexts. HRM differs across countries but to date the comparative literature has tended to focus on cultural issues. Research that systematically analyzes socio-economic, institutional and societal contexts and their impact on HRM remains underdeveloped and there is a significant opportunity for work which draws on theory from adjacent fields - e.g. the varieties of capitalism literature, theories of cross-national organization and research in comparative political studies and economic geography all offer potentially useful frameworks. Companies are socially embedded on different levels; local economies, regional districts, national institutions, international networks and transnational regulation are all aspects of the social, organizational and economic structures in which companies are situated. Despite the all-pervasive talk of globalization, the seasoned international business traveller will be acutely aware of differences in the ‘way of doing things’from country to country and from region to region. Such differences are seldom more apparent than in the field of organization and management. Not only will the traveller...
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