MKTG332 International Marketing

Introduction

Rapid adoption of digital technology has impacted industries globally. Thus, it is very important to understand cultural values for both customers and marketers. Companies face various challenges in the competitive world due to cultural difference or emergence of technology. Thus, to overcome all the barriers and have effective communication marketers should understand the beliefs of customers so that they can supply the services as per their demand. In this a discussion is carried upon the role of national cultural values in the international marketing. The hofstede cultural theory has also been discussed by linking with the perception of customers and marketers.

Discussion

The role of national cultural values is important in international marketing for both consumers and marketers. It proves to be beneficial for marketers as different individual as different perception which helps in bringing up new innovative ideas in the market. To have an effective marketing it is necessary to adapt to all the cultural values so that problems and conflicts could be resolved and success of an organisation is improved. Marketing managers can also expand their services in global market by understanding different cultural background (Petersen, Kushwaha & Kumar, 2015). Every organisation can gain its name image in the international market by building strong relations with the customers and this is possible by capturing the cultural values.

One such theory that can be used is hofstede cultural dimension theory it is a framework that is used for cross cultural communication as it helps in finding the importance of value and how cultural changes relate to the behaviour. It relates to some of the factors that define the role of cultural values in the international market. Such cultural values are power distance, strength of social hierarchy and ways of communication. The role of national cultural values will help marketer to expand their business (Eajournals, 2016). Thus, cultural values play an important role in the economic development of country. It builds up national level trust among customers and companies. It helps the marketers to determine the demand of customers by understanding their beliefs and behaviour.  On the other hand, it is beneficial for the customers as they get an opportunity to know the views and perception of different people (Samaha, Beck & Palmatier, 2014). It is true that in today’s era, workforces are becoming more and more unlike and are distributed globally. Thus, in order to attract, motivate and retain the customers in the international market it is necessary to pay attention to cultural differences that exist among the employees’ (Beck, Chapman & Palmatier, 2015). There are many difficulties that are faced in an international market but despite the difficulties cultural values will help to lead diverse workforces. These national cultural values will help marketers to represent their customs in other country. Understanding the values will help customers to find out the competitors in the international market and ways through which they can be satisfied. It is better to understand the beliefs of different nations so that smooth functioning of operations goes on (Beck, Chapman & Palmatier, 2015). For example, a correlation was created by sigma two groups. This group analysed the relation between countries on the behalf of their predominant culture. The catholic countries have high uncertainty avoidance have relatively high power distance and low individualism where as in other atheist countries it is opposite (Mazanec,  Crotts,  Gursoy & Lu, 2015). Thus, it is important to understand the national values so that companies can co-relate easily.

Understanding the importance of culture will reduce the chances of conflicts and will increases chances of social contract (Gopalakrishnan & Zhang, 2017). The role of culture is to understand the perception of other customers and shaping the marketing strategy according to it. The importance of national cultural values helps in reacting to stimuli and processing the information accordingly.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that, cultural values plays an important role as it decides the way employees will interact with each other. Apart from that, in international marketing it is important for the marketers to understand the customers’ belief so that they can deliver services as per their demands and expectations. The culture of very organisation is different as it represents some predefined policies that help customers to get a direction in which they should move. The cultural value is one of the key factor that helps in creating brand image of the organisation. The above discussion contains a critical discussion about the role of cultural values in the international market.

References

Beck, J. T., Chapman, K., & Palmatier, R. W. (2015). Understanding relationship marketing and loyalty program effectiveness in global markets. Journal of International Marketing, 23(3), 1-21.

Eajournals. (2016). THE INFLUENCE OF NATIONAL CULTURE ON INTERNATIONAL MARKETING & CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN IRAQI KURDISTAN, USING HOFSTEDE’S MODEL AT INDIVIDUAL LEVEL. Retrieved from https://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Influence-of-National-Culture-on-International-Marketing-Consumer-Behavior-in-Iraqi-Kurdistan-Using-Hofstede---s-Model-At-Individual-Level.pdf.

Gopalakrishnan, S., & Zhang, H. (2017). Client dependence and vendor innovation: The moderating role of organizational culture. Industrial Marketing Management, 66, 80-89.

Mazanec, J. A., Crotts, J. C., Gursoy, D., & Lu, L. (2015). Homogeneity versus heterogeneity of cultural values: An item-response theoretical approach applying Hofstede's cultural dimensions in a single nation. Tourism Management, 48, 299-304.

Petersen, J. A., Kushwaha, T., & Kumar, V. (2015). Marketing communication strategies and consumer financial decision making: The role of national culture. Journal of Marketing, 79(1), 44-63.

Samaha, S. A., Beck, J. T., & Palmatier, R. W. (2014). The role of culture in international relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 78(5), 78-98.