Onkvisit S., Shaw J. International Marketing: Analysis and Strategy

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CULTURE

Spelling

Every word in Esperanto is pronounced just as it is

spelt, with each letter corresponding to a single sound.

There are no silent letters.The stress is always on the

penultimate a/e/i/o/u, for example, rapide (quickly) is

spoken rah-PEA-deh.

■ c = ts

■ ^c (circumﬂex over c) = ch, tsh

■ g = g (hard as in get)

■ ^g (circumﬂex over g) = g (soft as in ginger), dzh

■ h = h (never silent)

■ ^h (circumﬂex over h) (rare) = ch in Scottish loch

■ i = ee

■ j = y

 aj = eye

 ej = ay in hay

 oj = oy

 uj = u + short I

■ ^j (circumﬂex over j) = s in pleasure, zh

■ s = ss (never like z)

■ ^s (circumﬂex over s) = sh

■ u = oo

■ ù (breve over u) (rare) = w

 aù = ow in now or how

 eù (rare) = e + short u

■ x = extending letter. X is not one of the 28 letters

of the Esperanto alphabet, but some people do use

it to indicate a circumﬂex or breve on the preced-

ing letter (cx = ^c, gx = ^g, hx = ^h, jx = ^j, sx

= ^s, ux = ù). This is only a temporary measure

used on the Net: the true Esperanto letters will be

used when Unicode WWW browsers become wide-

spread.

Verbs

There are no irregular verbs. All verbs (even esti = to

be, havi = to have, iri = to go, and fair = to do/make)

take the same simple declination: add -is -as -os -us -

u or -I to the root (est- hav- ir- far-).This is illustrated

in the following examples.

■ -is for past: Li vidis kaj ^si aùdis = He saw and

she heard

■ -as for present: Mi sidas, sed ili staras = I sit/am

sitting, but they stand/are standing

■ -os for future: Mi ferios julie = I will go on holiday

in July

■ -us for conditional: Se me estus rica, (tiam) mi

a^cetus helikopteron = If I were rich, (then) I

would buy a helicopter

■ u for imperative: Envenu! = Come in!

■ -i for inﬁnitive: Mi volas na^gi en la maro = I want

to swim in the sea

Nouns

There are no word genders in Esperanto, and “the”

is always “la”. There is no word for “a”, so Domo =

A house = House. Plurals are always formed by

adding -j.

■ -o for singular nouns: Viro kun hundo = A man

with a dog

■ oj (pronounced -oy) for plural nouns: Homoj en la

lando de espero = People in the land of hope

Pronouns are short words ending in an I (li = he,

^se = she, ^gi = it). Objects are without exception

formed by adding -n: La kato rigardas lin/^sin/^gin =

the cat watches him/her/it.

Adjectives and adverbs

■ -a for singular adjectives: Unu verda stelo = One

green star

■ -aj (pronounced -eye) for plural adjectives: Du

feli^caj amantoj = Two happy lovers

■ -e for adverbs: Ni kuros rapide = We will run

quickly

■ -ant => -ing: La ku^santa viro = The lying man

(Ku^si = to lie, mensogi = to tell a lie)

■ -it => -ed: La fermita pordo = The closed door

(fermi = to close)

EXHIBIT 6.1 QUICK GRAMMAR OF ESPERANTO

166

the language to be used to communicate with

bilingual consumers. One study focusing on how

bilingual individuals process advertising messages

examines the assumption that advertisements in the

consumers’ ﬁrst language gave better results than

those advertisements in their second language.The

results indicate that second-language messages do

not have to result in inferior memory. When the

advertisement’s picture and text are highly congru-

ent, memory for second-language advertisements,

compared to memory for ﬁrst-language advertise-

ments, was raised to a similar level. At the same

time, these second-language advertisements can

also maintain product evaluations at a relatively

high level.

COMMUNICATION THROUGH

NONVERBAL LANGUAGE

People do not always communicate solely through

the spoken or written word. Knowingly or not,

people routinely communicate with one another in

a nonverbal manner (see Exhibit 6.2 and Figure

6.1). Body language includes movement, appear-

ance, dress, facial expressions, gestures, posture,

use of silence, use of touch, timing, distance

between speakers and listeners, physical surround-

ings, tone, and rhythm of speech. Some body lan-

guage “phrases” (e.g., a smile) are universal, but

other phrases vary in meaning across cultural lines.

Whereas the Japanese view prolonged eye contact as

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Asking questions

■ ^Cu = Is it true that. This word is used to make

simple yes/no questions: ^Cu mi rajtas eniri? =

Can (may) I enter?

■ Kial (pronounced KEE-al) = Why. Kial vi volas

transiri? = Why do you want to cross (over)?

■ Kiam (pronounced KEE-am) = When. Kiam vi

devas foriri? = When must you leave?

■ Kie (pronounced KEE-eh) = Where. Kie oni povas

eniri? = Where can you (one) enter?

■ Kio (pronounced KEE-oh) = What. Kion vi diris?

= What did you say? (-n because kio is used as the

object here)

■ Kiu (pronounced KEE-oh) = Who. Kiu donos la

bluajn al mia amiko? = Who will give the blue ones

to my friend? (No -n because kiu is used as the

subject here)

Source:

Courtesy of Travlang.com.

Of all the traditional English languages, Welsh faces

a tough challenge to survive. Since 1536, Wales, as a

constituent part of the United Kingdom, is governed

from London. Wales’ three million people are over-

whelmed by the English majority (forty-nine million).

Being unable to comprehend or pronounce names

such as Llanystumdwy or Pwllheli, the English out-

lawed the local language until 1920. Ancient city

names were anglicized, and Caerdydd became Cardiff.

Such language restrictions led to a protest, and a

group of local patriots did so in 1870 by giving their

village a name that no Englishperson could pronounce

– Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysili-

ogogogoch.

The push for Welsh-language instruction began in

1990, and it is now required for all students up to the

age of 16. The instruction is the central element in

the revival of the language.The strategy is to promote

a bilingual Wales so that the two languages can

coexist.

Source:

“Proud Effort to Revive Tongue Meets Success,”

San José Mercury News

, August 26, 2001.

IT’S THE LAW 6.1

LLANFAIRPWLLGWYNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROBWLLLANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH

rude, Americans instead feel that avoidance of eye

contact is impolite. In Latino cultures it is also rude

to sustain eye contact. In addition, nonverbal cues

may vary with a person’s gender and social or eco-

nomic class. Sitting at a table at an angle signals

cooperation and active listening. Sitting straight

across from one another, on the other hand, may be

perceived as being confrontational.Yet sitting side by

side makes conversation awkward.

Beckoning someone with a wave of the hand with

palm up is ﬁne in America, but very rude in Japan.

Foreigners in Indonesia should also think about local

nonverbal communication.

Indonesians are polite people. . . . A business

guest will often be served something to drink

and should not reach for his drink until the host

gestures to do so. It is polite to at least sample

the drink or any food offered. Indonesians are

not known for their punctuality, so offence

should not be taken if events do not start on time

or if your guest arrives late. Indonesians avoid

the use of the left hand when offering food and

other objects, as it is regarded as the unclean

hand. It is also considered rude to point with a

ﬁnger.

Figures 6.2 and 6.3 describe the impact of Asian

cultures and how to do business in Japan, Korea, and

Singapore.

In a popular and often-quoted article,“The Silent

Language in Overseas Business,” Edward T. Hall

explains that there is a need to appreciate cultural

differences in matters concerning the language of

time, space, objects, friendship patterns, and agree-

ments. For the purpose of illustration, these lan-

guages are discussed here, modiﬁed but derived

from work done by Hall and by Arning.

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Impressions of each other

Americans talk too much, the Japanese are too polite.

Americans are too time-conscious, the Japanese are

too slow at making decisions.

These are just some of the perceived and real cul-

tural differences between these two countries that can

affect business decisions, according to Hiroki Kato,

who spoke at the Paciﬁc Rim Futures Conference on

cultural differences. Kato, vice-president of Asian

development at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange,

listed top complaints Japanese and Americans have

of each other from John C. Condon’s book,

With

Respect to the Japanese: A Guide for Americans

Americans believe the Japanese are so polite that

no one knows what they’re thinking.The Japanese are

so ambiguous,it’s hard to know where they stand.They

are conformists. They are always expressing thanks

and appreciation and are always apologizing – some-

times for nothing.They put too much weight on certain

actions and are too slow at making decisions.They are

very ethnocentric, yet imitative, and they are overly

impresses by status.The Japanese are too formal.

What do the Japanese think about Americans?

Besides talking too much, they constantly interrupt

other people – even ﬁnish sentences. Americans don’t

listen enough and seem to think if they don’t divulge

something, no one will know it. Americans are too

direct in asking questions, giving opinions and poking

fun. They fail to express thanks sufﬁciently. They are

reluctant to admit faults and limitations. American

managers give more attention to individuals than to

the entire group, which is very embarrassing to the

Japanese. Americans do not appreciate the impor-

tance of certain formalities in Japan – even to the

point of joking about them. Americans are too much

in a hurry.

One point was clear in both cultural sessions:Know

the proper business etiquette when doing a business.

It could make or break the deal.

Source:

Ginger Szala, “Are Joint Ventures Worth the

Effort?”

Futures

(December 1991): 6. Reprinted from

Futures

Magazine, 219 Parkade, P.O. Box 6, Cedar Falls,

Iowa 50613.

EXHIBIT 6.2 JAPANESE CULTURE AND BUSINESS PRACTICES

Language of time

Time has different meanings in different countries.

An American and an Asian do not mean the same

thing when they say, “Why don’t you come over

sometime?” In the USA, the statement takes a

formal tone, implying that advance notice should be

given if the visit is to take place. For an Asian, the

meaning is exactly what is said – drop in any time

without an appointment, regardless of how early or

late it may be in the day. If a person has friends who

are moochers, they might conveniently drop by at

mealtime so that they will be invited to partake in

the food being served.

In Saudi Arabia, a Western-style calendar or daily

appointment book is unsuitable as a gift because the

1 January is already halfway into the Islamic year. In

Jordan, an Islamic country, the ofﬁcial weekend is

on Friday, and the new week begins on Saturday.

Therefore, Fridays in Jordan and most of the Middle

East are like Sundays in the West. As a result, the

outside world can do business with Jordan and other

Muslim countries only on Mondays, Tuesdays,

Wednesdays, and half of Thursdays (when most

businesses close down early).

In the USA, there is a direct relationship between

time and the importance of a matter.When a matter

is important, it requires immediate attention and

action. In some countries, a reverse relationship

exists. A matter of importance requires more time

to ponder, and to declare a deadline is to exert

undue pressure.

Perceptions of time are culture bound, and three

different perceptions may be identiﬁed: linear-sep-

arable, circular-traditional, and procedural-tradi-

tional.

In the case of linear-separable time,

common in most European and North American

cultures, time is linear in the sense that it has a past,

present, and future. Therefore, time is valuable –

time spent in the past will make some contribution

to the future. In the case of circular-traditional

time, life is supposed to follow a cycle, and the

future thus cannot be altered.As a result, the future

is seen as the past repeated, and there is no need to

plan because time is not valuable. Finally, in the case

of procedural-traditional time, the activity or

procedure is more relevant than the amount of time

spent on it.Time and money are separate, and earn-

ings are determined by task rather than by time.

When one activity ends, the next one may begin.

Based on cultural and market-related data col-

lected from the USA, Mexico, Great Britain,

France, Germany, Spain,Taiwan, and Korea, adver-

tising strategies appear to be affected by whether or

not a culture is linear with regard to perception of

time (see Table 6.3 and Figure 6.4).Advertising cul-

tures with a nonlinear perception of time appear to

provide scattered and symbolic information without

explicit conclusion, and to take the form of a drama-

lecture. In contrast, linear cultures tend to use rea-

soned arguments, visual information, and a credible

source that addresses viewers directly.

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Figure 6.1 Nonverbal communication and

enduring culture

Source:

Courtesy of Jim Beam Brands Co.

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Figure 6.2 Doing business in Japan

Source:

Courtesy of Northwest Airlines.

Americans tend to value time highly – both work

time and leisure time – because “time is money.”

They often feel that things need to be settled and

completed as soon as possible and that they have no

time to waste or spare. American impatience is not

a virtue in dealing with foreign ﬁrms. In general,

American negotiators tend to skip the nontask activ-

ities and go directly to the agreement stage.

Russians, in contrast, have formal classroom train-

ing in bargaining and chess. They are patient and

careful before making a move, often taking extra

time just to gain an advantage in the process of

negotiation.

Time takes a more “leisurely walk” in many non-

Western societies, where people have ample time

and see no need why any situation should be urgent.

Whereas Latin American people are usually late,

Swedish people are very prompt. Actually, lack of

punctuality may even imply importance and status

in some places. But any generalization about punc-

tuality is risky. Asians, for instance, tend not to be

punctual, but the Chinese observe strict punctu-

ality for social occasions and appointments. In

general, there is a lack of punctuality in Asia and

Africa, and it is not uncommon for people to be half

an hour or an hour late for an appointment. Usually,

no excuse is offered to those who are kept waiting.

If an excuse is needed, it may sound something like

this: “If I would have hurried through the trafﬁc, I

may have been involved in an accident that would

have delayed me even more.”

Societies hold various views on urgency and

punctuality. Time may be important to non-

Westerners in different ways. Astrologers and

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Figure 6.3 Doing business in Korea

Source:

Courtesy of Northwest Airlines.

monks are frequently consulted in order to deter-

mine the proper time for personal and business

matters. The beginning of a construction project,

the ceremonial opening of a new building or busi-

ness, and the right time to marry or to sign a con-

tract are all affected by timing. In India, one should

not travel in a time period determined to be unsafe

or unlucky. This creates a dilemma for those who

are traveling on a plane whose departure time is

deemed to be inappropriate. The traveler can,

however, circumvent the inappropriate departure

time by being ﬂexible. To accommodate both the

modern world of travel and the traditional belief

concerning the inappropriate departure time of his

plane, a traveler may choose to view his departure

from home, not from the airport, as the actual time

of beginning the travel. If the departure time from

home is also inappropriate, the traveler may leave

home an hour earlier and drive around for an hour

or two before going to the airport.

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Table 6.3 Cultural measures by country

Cultural dimensions

Countries* Uncertainty Power Perception

Individualism avoidance distance of time

Asia/Paciﬁc Taiwan 17 69 58 Polychronic

Korea 18 85 60 Polychronic

Japan 46 92 54 Polychronic

Hong Kong 25 29 68 Polychronic

Australia 90 51 36 Monochronic

New Zealand 79 49 22 Monochronic

India 48 40 77 Polychronic

Europe Norway 69 50 31 Monochronic

Sweden 71 29 31 Monochronic

Denmark 74 23 18 Monochronic

UK 89 35 35 Monochronic

Netherlands 80 53 38 Monochronic

Germany 67 65 35 Monochronic

Belguim 75 94 65 Monochronic

France 71 86 68 Monochronic

Austria 55 70 11 Monochronic

Italy 76 75 50 Monochronic

Spain 51 86 57 Polychronic

North America Canada 80 48 39 Monochronic

USA 91 46 40 Monochronic

Mexico 30 82 81 Polychronic

South America Argentina 46 86 49 Polychronic

Brazil 38 76 69 Polychronic

Note

*Boldface type indicates sample countries.

Source:

Fred Zandpour

et al

., “Global Reach and Local Touch: Achieving Cultural Fitness in TV Advertising,”

Journal of

Advertising Research

34 (September/October 1994): 42.

Language of space

Space has its own special meaning. Its importance is

most evident when people converse with one

another.When the other party is nearby, such as in

the same room, communication is easily facilitated.

Difﬁculty of communicating increases sharply when

the distance between the receiver and sender of a

message is great (e.g., when one party is across the

street, on another ﬂoor, or in another room). In

such cases, people have to speak loudly or shout in

order to be heard, and the other party may still not

hear every word, if any words at all.

Space also has implications for personal selling.

Latin Americans are comfortable with ony a few

inches of distance between them and repeated

embracing. Asians, on the other hand, prefer sub-

stantial conversational distance and no physical

contact. For Americans, a comfortable distance is

something in between these two extremes. An

American can give the impression of crowding to an

Asian and of running away to a Latin American.

Space is also relative: what is perceived as

crowded in the USA may be perceived as spacious

somewhere else.A small room with low ceilings, by

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Taiwan

Korea

Japan

Hong Kong

Australia

New Zealand

India

Norway

Sweden

Denmark

Creative strategy Informativeness Style

Netherlands

Germany

Belgium

France

Austria

Italy

Spain

Canada

Mexico

Argentina

Brazil

Europe

North America

South America

*Boldface type indicates sample countries

Asia/Pacific

= most likely

= least likely

Drama-

lecture

DramaSoundVisualTotalSymbolic

association

Psychological

appeals

Reasoned

argument

Unrelated

information

Figure 6.4 Creative approach, informativeness, and style of TV commercials

Source:

Fred Zandpour et al., “Global Reach and Local Touch: Achieving Cultural Fitness in TV Advertising,”

Journal of

Advertising Research

34 (September/October 1994): 49.

US standards, is not small to the Japanese. In US

department stores, executive suites are on the top

ﬂoor and the budget store is in the basement. In

Japan, top executives have ofﬁces on the ground

ﬂoor, and the top ﬂoor is reserved for bargain-

priced merchandise.

Language of agreement

The USA is a very legalistic society. Americans are

both speciﬁc and explicit in terms of agreement,

making legal contracts common and indispensable.

Not surprisingly, lawyers become partners in virtu-

ally all business deals.When Japan wanted clariﬁca-

tion concerning AT&T’s products, the company

reacted in a typically American fashion by sending a

lawyer instead of a manager. Per capita, the USA has

more lawyers than any other country in the world.

American lawyers earn a good income and are

accorded social status not found elsewhere.

According to an old saying in Thailand, “it is

better to eat a dog’s feces than to engage in a

lawsuit.” Such thinking explains why the Chinese

abhor litigation and why they prefer to withdraw

from a deal rather than be involved in potential legal

disputes. In many cultures, written contracts are

not as binding as one’s word. According to people

in these societies, if a person cannot be trusted as a

friend, then it is futile to expect that person to live

up to obligations – written or otherwise.

Even when an agreement is reached, that agree-

ment may not necessarily be ironclad since it can be

modiﬁed by changing circumstances. In South

Korea, a businessperson considers a contract to be

a loosely structured consensus statement that allows

ﬂexibility and adjustment. In some societies, agree-

ments merely signify intention and have little rela-

tion to capacity to perform.

Culture dictates how a disagreement is expressed

and resolved. North Americans generally prefer a

straightforward approach. Elsewhere, one must be

careful in a disagreement never to cause someone

else to lose face. Asians, in particular, are sensitive

to affronts and can become violent when “loss of

face” results. Public humiliation or criticism must

thus be avoided in Asia, where politeness is valued

over blunt truth.

In Mexico,direct statements of criticism are con-

sidered rude, and thus Mexicans practice circumlo-

cution, making it difﬁcult to determine the true

meaning. In Latin America, disagreements may be

viewed as personal attacks against the individual.

Subordinates are expected either to support their

managers openly or to keep silent. Similarly, in

Japan,silence is perceived as a positive concurrence,

and open exchanges and debates are considered

inappropriate. Only the top decision maker may

comment freely. Japanese stockholders are not

allowed to question management critically; com-

panies may hire “guards” to dissuade those who are

too curious from asking more questions.

US ﬁrms prefer to base decisions on objective

criteria, or at least they make that claim.The system

makes allowances for those who strongly criticize

decisions, but such a process would be unacceptable

in countries where it is inappropriate to question an

executive’s personal judgment. Managers often ﬁnd

themselves in a dilemma,as one cannot consult with

others on matters about which one is presumed to

be the expert.

As might be expected, the different forms of

disagreement may confuse American managers.

When potential customers keep quiet, nod their

heads, or state that they will think about it,

American managers may believe that a deal is devel-

oping. But foreign buyers may stay quiet even when

the product in question is clearly unsuitable for their

needs, because they do not want to offend the

American by saying something critical.

Language of friendship

Americans have the unique characteristic of being

friendly, even at ﬁrst meeting. Americans seem to

have no difﬁculty in developing friendship in a very

short time, and this trait is carried over into busi-

ness relationships. American businesspeople are

impatient to develop the deep personal ties that are

crucial overseas.In many countries, friendship is not

taken lightly – it involves real obligations such as

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providing ﬁnancial and personal help when friends

are down and out. It is thus not uncommon that

an American businessperson is expected to help

his foreign partner to ﬁnd a school in the USA for

the partner’s son or daughter. Friendship is not

developed as fast in these other countries, but when

it is developed it tends to be deeper and longer

lasting.

Quite often, it is necessary for potential business

partners to become friends ﬁrst before business is

transacted. General Motors Corp. has learned that,

in China, the Chinese dine together ﬁrst before

talking business, unlike the US approach of talking

business before having a meal together if things go

well. Likewise, business is a personal matter in

Turkey where friendship should be developed ﬁrst

before determining whether a business relationship

is feasible.This is different from the practice in the

USA where businesspeople want to do business ﬁrst

before thinking about being friends later.

The manner of addressing a friend can differ

depending on the person being addressed, whether

a colleague, a business acquaintance, or a customer.

The quick friendship characteristic of the USA

prompts Americans to use ﬁrst names in social as

well as business encounters soon after a ﬁrst

meeting.This informal approach, claimed to be used

to make foreigners feel comfortable, actually makes

Americans themselves comfortable at the expense

of foreigners.

The American practice of using ﬁrst names can

be very offensive in other countries, where formal-

ity and respect are strongly established traditions.

Foreigners ﬁnd it distasteful for American children

to address their parents by their ﬁrst names. The

French as well as most Northern Europeans ﬁnd

the practice offensive. Germans are also formal, and

addressing each other by ﬁrst names is reserved for

relatives and close friends. Germans answer the

telephone by announcing their last name only. First

names, often considered a secret, are revealed only

to good friends. In China, it must be understood

that the name mentioned ﬁrst is actually the family

name, and thus it would be a mistake to assume that

Chinese social customs permit addressing someone

by their ﬁrst or given name.

Addressing someone by their ﬁrst name is not

common outside of the Western hemisphere, unless

the ﬁrst name is accompanied by the proper pronoun

or adjective (e.g., Mr. or Mrs.). This formal ﬁrst-

name approach is customary in Asia, Latin America,

and the Arab world, whereas the formal last-name

approach should be used in Europe. It is thus very

important for a businessperson to remember to

address foreign counterparts with formal pronouns

unless or until being asked to do something else.

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In Japan, every act of generosity, no matter how

small, must be paid back. But the practice also allows

people to use it as a disguise to buy access. A renter

gives reikin (key money) amounting to two or three

months’ rent to a landlord as a token of humble appre-

ciation for agreeing to provide an apartment for

rental. A few thousand dollars of shiyarei (thankyou

money) must be given to entice popular doctors,

lawyers, and teachers to take care of you or your

family. It is also customary to pay several thousand

dollars as thankyou money to a primary school when

one’s child passes the school’s entrance exam, and

Catholic schools are not shy about taking this kind of

money. Renting a place or getting good medical treat-

ment requires a person to fork out the expected money

to a service provider. Money thus deﬁnes access or

favorable treatment. In these instances, is money an

expression of thanks for a special favor, or is it merely

a form of institutionalized extortion?

Source:

“In Tokyo, You Need a Gift for Giving,”

BusinessWeek Online

, June 20, 2001.

MARKETING ETHICS 6.1 APPRECIATION VS. ACCESS