Core Concepts of Marketing

THEINTERNATIONALMARKETINGENVIRONMENT 141

India,theHindureligionforbidstheconsumptionofbeef, andfast-foodrestaurantssuch

asMcDonald'sandBurgerKingwouldencountertremendousdifficultieswithoutproduct

modification.Americansspendlargeamountsofmoneyonsoap,deodorant,andmouth-

washbecauseofthevalueplacedonpersonalcleanliness.InItaly,salespeoplecallonwomen

onlyiftheir husbandsareathome.

Aesthetics
Thetermaestheticsis usedtoreferto theconceptsofbeautyandgood taste.Thephrase,
"Beautyisintheeyeofthebeholder"isa veryappropriatedescriptionforthedifferences
inaestheticsthatexistbetweencultures.Forexample,Americansbelievethatsuntansare
attractive,youthful,andhealthy.However,theJapanesedonot.

Time
Americansseemtobefanaticalabouttimewhencomparedtoothercultures.Punctuality
anddeadlinesareroutinebusinesspracticesintheU.S. However, salespeoplewhosetdef-
inite appointmentsforsalescallsintheMiddleEastandLatinAmerica willhavea loto!
timeontheirhands,asbusinesspeoplefrombothoftheseculturesarefar lessboundby
timeconstraints.Tomanyofthesecultures, settinga deadlinesuchas"Ihavetoknownext
week" is consideredpushyandrude.

BusinessNorms
Thenormsofconciuctingbusiness alsovaryfromonecountrytothenext.Hereareseveral
examplesofforeignbusinessbehaviorthatdifferfromU.S.businessbehavior:

1. InFrance,wholesalersdonotliketopromoteproducts.Theyaremainlyinter-
   estedinsupplyingretailerswiththeproductstheyneed.


2. In Russia,plansofanykindmustbeapprovedbya seeminglyendlessstringof
   committees.Asa result,businessnegotiationsmaytakeyears.


3. SouthAmericansliketotalkbusiness"nosetonose."Thisdesireforclosephys-
   icalproximitycausesAmericanbusinesspeopletobackawayfromtheconstantly
   forward-movingSouthAmericans.
   4.InJapan,businesspeoplehavemasteredthetacticofsilenceinnegotiations.Amer-
   icansarenotpreparedforthis,andtheypanicbecausetheythinksomethinghas
   gonewrong.TheresultisthatAmericansbecomeimpatient,pushfora closure ,
   andoftenmakebusinessconcessionstheylaterregret.

Thesenorms arereflectedinthedifficultyofintroducingtheWebintoEurope(seethenext
IntegratedMarketingbox).

ReligiousBeliefs
Aperson's religiousbeliefscanaffectshoppingpatternsandproductspurchasedinaddi-
tiontohis/hervalues,asdiscussedearlier.IntheUnitedStatesandotherChristiannations,
Christmastimeis a majorsalesperiod.Butforotherreligions, religiousholidaysdonotserve
aspopulartimesforpurchasing products.Womendonotparticipateinhouseholdbuying
decisionsincountriesinwhichreligionservesasoppositiontowomen'srightsmovements.
Everyculturehasa socialstructure,butsomeseemlesswidelydefinedthanothers.
Thatis,it is moredifficulttomoveupwardina socialstmcturethatis rigid. Forexample,
intheU.S.,thetwo-wageearnerfamilyhasledtothedevelopmentofa moreaffluentset
ofconsumers.Butinothercultures,it is consideredunacceptableforwomentoworkout-
sidethehome.