When does culture matter for international business decisions?

By Julie Lee

Clearly culture does not influence everything in international business. There are plenty of practices that are at least somewhat universal, but when culture matters it really matters. And, not just in terms of the relatively transparent translation blunders that have undermined even well-established global businesses and brands. The impact of culture is much more ubiquitous and often obscured to cultural outsiders. This creates the impression that broad global, and sometimes ethnocentric, firms that replicate existing home country practices are ok or even superior to locally adapted practices. However, relying on home country practices often leads to ineffective strategies that leave a firm open to serious competition.

To assist those who are relatively new to international business, we wrote a short 6-chapter book, titled Business and Marketing Across Cultures, that aims to support those grappling with the complexities of cross-cultural business and collaborations. We begin by explaining, and integrating, broad cultural frameworks that can provide a scaffolding upon which more detailed cultural knowledge can be integrated. With almost 200 countries in the world today, and few being truly homogeneous (e.g., in language, ethnicity, and religion), it is well beyond anyone’s capacity to gain a deep and meaningful understanding of all the world’s cultures. However, it is within our capacity to learn enough about broad cultural similarities and differences upon which deeper knowledge about specific cultures can be integrated, to effectively inform cross-cultural business decisions. This knowledge should include enough information to consider potential individual and subgroup differences with countries. Given that individuals within any society are exposed to their culture in different ways and to different extents, we will naturally see variations in the way culture in internalised. For instance, people who grow up in different religious communities, or were educated in different schooling systems, or work in different occupations, are exposed to subcultures that emphasise different norms. However, we still expect that most people will share a similar and profound knowledge of the pervasive cultural norms in their society. And, they may not be aware of how much they are enculturated until they are exposed to cultures that are very different from their own.

Throughout the book we examine how culture influences our understanding of how things should be done in business and marketing. We build on basic knowledge about brand and product development, modes of market entry, distribution systems, pricing strategies, and communication with stakeholders, to identify where it is essential to consider culture and how this might be done. We provide practical advice on a wide range of relevant issues, such as how to choose a target market, translate brand names, work effectively in intercultural teams, deal with communication misunderstandings and conflict, structure and write a culturally sensitive business plan and how to write more effectively in English for non-native English speakers. As part of this process, we invite readers to participate in experiential activities, such as the X-Culture project, which is designed to help students and professionals learn business by working within a global team on real international business challenges. The book is designed to be a stand-alone resources, or be combined with a more traditional text, as a deeper dive into cross-cultural issues in business. We hope our approach to global business, based on the recognition of diversity in world markets and on local consumer knowledge and marketing practices, will encourage the reader to engage with cultural self-reflection and use this knowledge to understand how to design and implement more effective business strategies in local markets.

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About the Author

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Julie Lee is a Winthrop Professor in Marketing and the Director of Research and Research Training at the University of Western Australia Business School. She is also the Founding Director of the Centre for Human and Cultural Values, which was established in 2018. She holds a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and previously worked at the University of Hawaii-Manoa and University of Miami, Florida, in the USA. Her research interest are in cross-cultural consumer behaviour, with a focus on human values and how they are expressed in a wide range of behaviours.