Tag Archives: international business

International Branding: Oosthuizen’s “ The Core Value Model”

31 Saturday Aug 2013

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I’m going to analyse some examples of  international branding using Oosthuizen’s “ The Core Value Model”.

An example of successful international branding is  McDonald’s and its “ Golden Arches”; one immediately pictures fast food and American culture.According to the psychologist Louis Cheskin, the round M represents a mother’s breasts.

Breasts can be seen as a symbol of nourishment  that connect the individual with his mother at an unconscious level.  According to Oosthuizen’s Core Value Model,  core values are composed by universal symbols that can be understood by everyone.

Those symbols represent innate values and one of them is the procreation factor. Virtually anywhere in the world an individual regardless of language, sex, age, culture, will be able to identify the female breasts as a source of food, universal belonging and family.

When it comes to the other levels of communication presented by Oosthuizen, McDonald’s demonstrates efficient marketing since it localizes its strategies respecting and answering to religious demands such as the vegetarian burgers in India, the non pork menu in the Middle East and offering espresso coffee in Argentina and Portugal.

 McDonald’s, built up a global message and it is being localizing it throughout the years.

Heineken is an example of international branding that failed one of its projects, due to lack of attention to learned values.  Heineken’s logos carry universal symbols such as the star and  the smile in its 3 Es and those can  communicate globally.

However, according to  Williamson ( 2013) it failed when trying to launch a featured bottle with the world cup finalists. Heineken designed featured bottles of beer containing the flags of the countries that were in the world cup .  Saudi Arabia was featured and the country’s flag contains a verse from the Koran.

After the bottles were released, not only Saudi Arabia but all the Arab world were outraged because  their religious verse was linked to alcohol. Long story short, Heineken had to recall all the bottles and create a new design.

Although Heineken was not trying to market alcohol to the Arab countries it created social commotion by not paying attention on local religious values.

In conclusion, it is fundamental to align universal elements that can effectively communicate a company’s brand and local adaptation of services and products.

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By A. Kaye – Contributor

References:

Zara, T. Cenedella P. (2013) ‘ Citizens all: the rules of corporate citizenship’ Interbrand: creating and managing brand value [Online] Available at : http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/2012/articles-and-interviews/citizens-all-the-new-rules-of-corporate-citizen.aspx ( Accessed: August 28 2013)

Williamson, A. (2013) ‘ Four international branding design failures’  Adhere  [online] Available at: http://blog.theadhereagency.com/2013/4-international-branding-design-failures/(Accessed: August 28 2013)

E3 Marketing Agency (2009) Defining Cross Cultural Marketing [Online] Available at: http://e3network.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/defining-cross-cultural-marketing/ (Accessed: August 27 2013)

Oosthuizen, T. (2004) ‘In marketing across cultures: are you enlightening the world or are you speaking in tongues?’, Design Issues, 20 (2), 61–72, MIT Press Journals [Online]..http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=13269965&site=ehost-live&scope=site (Accessed: 21 August 2013).

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Building Strong International Branding using an Ethical Approach – University of Liverpool

28 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Business Management

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The business patterns and consumer awareness are certainly in a changing process.

More attention is being paid on social and ethical aspects of a company and the kind of impact it is causing on society. MacKey & Sisodia (2013, pp. 59)

In addition to cultural challenges, strong international branding is also linked to real positive social impacts. Consumers don’t want to support companies that are not social friendly through the purchase of products.

Moreover, besides buying great products  and services from brands they smartly choose, they also want to identify themselves with  a bigger purpose. Mankind carry this inherent need of feeling helpful and that must be developed both at personal and group levels functioning as motivational factor.

Businesses could work with this subtle variable not only in the marketing field but in each sector of the company such as hiring, retention and HR functions. Thus, providing its customers and employees with the experiences they desire; not only buying experience but also social experience. Who has never dreamed of being a superhero?

Mackey & Sisodia (2013, pp. 65) highlight the importance of the private sector for society and how significant are the private sector’s contributions to minimize or even solve social problems.

Zara & Cenedella (2013) corroborate Mackey & Sisodia, presenting the difference between corporate citizenship and  corporate social responsibility.

It is quite interesting because while corporate social responsibility is basically a set of good actions that the company would practice, totally separated from the purpose of the company; corporate citizenship is the real perception that members of society have of an enterprise’s positive contribution to society.

I strongly believe that for the majority of businesses, corporate social responsibility is been a marketing strategy based on superficial actions that at the end of the day is inversely proportional to the  damage caused by the companies ( environment, sweatshops, consumerism).brand-portfolio

On the other hand, corporate citizenship takes into consideration the strategic interaction with consumers, employees, government, environment, suppliers and the community in which the organization is inserted. Corporate citizens master their abilities to solve global social challenges while building up credibility and consequently attracting consumers who will choose them over other competitors.

An interesting example is the company Windhorse . It was founded in 2007 and sells drinkable water to poor communities in India; people who live with  $2.00 a day. The company proves that it is possible to work in new markets with consumers who live with $2.00 a day, help the communities to get rid of illnesses due to contaminated drinking water,  do it at scale and be profitable. What the Indian government did not do, it is been done by the private sector.

A.Kaye,  Contributor

References:

Hanlon, P. (2012) ‘ Conscious capitalism: can empathy change the world? ‘  Forbes [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickhanlon/2012/09/23/conscious-capitalism-can-empathy-change-the-world/3/ (Accessed: August 28 2013)

Zara, T. Cenedella P. (2013) ‘ Citizens all: the rules of corporate citizenship’ Interbrand: creating and managing brand value [Online] Available at : http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/2012/articles-and-interviews/citizens-all-the-new-rules-of-corporate-citizen.aspx ( Accessed: August 28 2013)

MacKey, J. Sisodia, R. (2013) Conscious Capitalism: liberating the heroic spirit. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.

 

Convergence, Divergence or Crossvergence ? University of Liverpool Forum.

21 Wednesday Aug 2013

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Ralston (2008, pp.28,29) defines convergence and divergence as opposites tendencies when it comes to values formation and evolution. I do not believe those theories would be as efficient as the crossvergence theory in explaining complex relationships between headquarters and subsidiaries. Convergence and divergence assume extreme positions, in which a given society would or would not be influenced by factors such as technology and that technology itself would reshape values. Let’s compare Ralston’s convergence theory with economics convergence theory or The Catch Up Effect. The catch up growth consists of poor economies growing faster than rich economies and eventually converging with regards to per capita income. However, not every poor country would benefit from it. In order to achieve an income convergence a given country should have the abilities of absorbing new technology, attracting foreign direct investment and participating in global markets. Thus, I strongly believe that more complex variables shape and reshape values; technology might be one factor influencing people and consequently relationships, but surely not the only one. Abramovitiz & David (1994,pp.4)

With regards to crossvergence theory, it considers several important macro and micro predictors of values development. In other words, socio cultural aspects and business ideology would play significant role when it comes to values formation and evolution. Ralston (2008, pp. 35).

The author’s framework is based on many aspects of Hofstede’s cultural analysis model such as individualism versus collectivism dimensions. It is of fundamental importance the analysis of national culture in order to bring about more effective and efficient integration between headquarters and subsidiaries. However, the industry standards, business environment situation and organizational culture must also be carefully taken into account in order not only to have a successful integration process but also minimize risks.

 I would consider applying Hofstede’s cultural analysis framework and Oosthuizen’s “The Core Value” framework during headquarter and subsidiary integration process. I find Oosthuizen’s Framework very helpful when it comes to core values and learned values observations and comparisons. For instance, a manager could use those two dimensions in order to identify and compare his/her core and learned values with the core and learned values of the members of the subsidiary where he is conducting business.

According to Oosthuizen (2004, pp.68) core values are universal. Therefore, exercising   core and learned values self-awareness could help managers to align more efficiently organizational and individual’s goals. In addition, when marketing a product, Oosthuizen’s Core Value Model helps to effectively establish local and global presence through the incorporation of local and universal symbols, generating multicultural communication empathy. Hofstede’s framework provides important parameters of analysis that can be converted into strategic information inside an organization, facilitating the relationship between headquarters and subsidiaries. 

Adriana Kaye

 

References:

Abramovitiz, M. David, P. (1994) ‘Convergence and deferred catch up: Productivity Leadership and the Waning of American Exceptionalism.’Stanford University [Online] Available at :http://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/rmpdf/1994/rm1994-027.pdf (Accessed: August 17 2013)

 

Hofstede, G. (2013) The Hofstede Centre [Online] Available at: http://geert-hofstede.com/italy.html (Accessed:  17 August 2013)

 

Oosthuizen, T. (2004) ‘In marketing across cultures: are you enlightening the world or are you speaking in tongues?’, Design Issues, 20 (2), 61–72, MIT Press Journals [Online]. DOI: 10.1162/074793604871293 (Accessed: 17 August 2013).

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=13269965&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Ralston, D.A. (2007) ‘The crossvergence perspective: reflections and projections’, Journal of International Business Studies, 39 (1), pp. 27–40, Palgrave Macmillan [Online]. DOI:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400333 (Accessed: 17 August 2013).

http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400333

Cultural Analysis and its Controversies- University of Liverpool

12 Monday Aug 2013

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Culture is an important variable to be analyzed in the international business field and it can affect a company in several ways such as strategy definition, organization design, foreign investment decisions, human resources management, marketing management, supply chain, accounting, taxation and many other areas. However, according to Shenkar and Luo (2008, pp. 157), culture isn’t able to provide explanation for every phenomenon since non-cultural environmental variables can also greatly influence individuals and groups.

Therefore, the definition of culture and its measurability; the influence of cultural exchange; the existence of complex cultural interactions in the business scenario; are some of the motives in which comparative analysis of culture for management purposes is been sharply questioned. Yet, Mead and Andrews (2009, pp.57) further clarify that comparative methods of cultural analysis generate controversies since their reference frame is not definite and the weight attributed to cultural values differ significantly across borders.

Culture has paradoxical aspects. On one hand it can take centuries to change, but on the other hand it can change within decades. Hamamura (2009, pp.4)

Many cultural changes have been happening; for instance, the role of women in the US, raise of individualism in Japan and the consequences of globalization such as the influence of American brands in countries like Brazil and India. It is interesting to observe English words being incorporated into Brazilian Portuguese. Another interesting example is the Matsushita’s changing employment policies. The traditional Japanese company, known for having a ‘lifetime employment policy’ had to change its policy due to decreasing revenues, losses and slowdown in the global economy. The lifetime employment policy is known to be part of the Japanese style system and due to internal and external variables it had to be changed inside Matsushita company. Gupta and Sirisha (2003)

IBM Australia is an example on how managers should understand and forecast changes regarding values and cultural norms. Lee (2011) states that IBM frequently applies an opinion survey in order to embody business interpretation of cultural diversity. Education and awareness of different cultures is one of IBM focus, since it provides training and workshops through its own professional development of business culture studies. It consists of intranet based material on how to successfully conduct business with foreign partners.

          It can be concluded that managers need a flexible approach when analyzing cultural aspects, understanding that each individual has unique features, respecting and learning from them. Moreover globalization has undermined the premises of the comparative analysis of culture because management practices involve different values not just culture. Lee (2011)

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Mead, R. & Andrews, T.G. (2009) International management. 4th ed. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons.

Shenkar, O.& Luo, Y. (2008) International business. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Hanamura, T. (2009) ‘ Are cultures becoming individualistic? A cross temporal comparison of individualism-collectivism in the United States and Japan’ Personality and Social Psychology Review 16 (1) 4-24 

 Gupta, V. Sirisha, D. (2003) ‘ Human  Management   Resource  at   Matsushita‘ Academic Pub [ Online] Available at: http://www.academicpub.com/map/items/189485.html  (Accessed: 13 July 2013)

 Lee, J. (2011) ‘ Globalization and cross-cultural analysis of cultures’  Global Communication Consulting [ Online] Available at: http://blog.daum.net/ethinktank/9455198 ( Accessed:  13 July 2013)