Content analysis of German and Japanese advertising in print media from Indonesia, Spain, and the United States. (includes appendix)

Publication: Journal of Advertising

Publication Date: 01-JUN-93

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COPYRIGHT 1993 M.E. Sharpe, Inc.

A number of cross-cultural studies exist comparing advertising and marketing strategies and tactics of companies in their home markets (e.g., Albaum and Peterson 1984; Dowling 1980; Gilly 1988; Hong, Muderrisoglu and Zinkhan 1987; Lazer, Murata and Kosaka 1985; Madden, Caballero and Masukubo 1986; Tansey, Hyman and Zinkhan 1990). However, few empirical studies have reported companies' advertising strategies in international markets. (Suzuki's 1980 study of Japanese firms' advertising in the United States is an interesting exception.) In the present study, German and Japanese print advertisements used in three foreign markets (Indonesia, Spain, and the United States) are compared using a content analysis approach.

Aside from the descriptive findings reported, two related issues are considered in the study. First examined is this question: Does home-country culture influence advertising approaches in foreign markets? Through the extensive literature in comparative management (e.g., Adler 1987; Negandhi 1983), we know that culture has important impacts on employees' and managers' behaviors and thinking. Further, differences across cultural groups often cause serious problems in multicultural organizations. We also know that culture has pervasive effects on consumer behavior (Albaum and Peterson 1985; Boddewyn 1981). While some recent attention has been given to the influence of culture on marketing strategies and tactics in home markets, almost no studies have considered how home culture influences marketing strategies and tactics in foreign markets. Specifically, we will consider the issues as to whether home-country advertising values and styles are projected or present in foreign market campaigns. This issue is extremely important in terms of advertising strategy. That is, if home-country advertising styles and cultural values are imposed upon consumers in other countries (who may not subscribe to them), less effective advertising may result. The current study is designed to detect the presence of such a home-country strategy effect, specifically for German and Japanese advertisers in Indonesia, Spain, and the United States.

Theoretical Background

Twenty years ago, Wind, Douglas and Perlmutter (1973) described firms' international marketing strategies as ethnocentric, polycentric, or geocentric. Companies taking an ethnocentric approach simply replicate home-market strategies in foreign markets. A polycentric approach entails adapting marketing strategies to each foreign market served. A geocentric approach integrates both of the former into a global strategy, consciously weighing the costs and benefits of each. These authors' ideas serve as the basis for two related research streams. Discussed first below are several studies which have examined the influence of home-country culture on marketing strategies and tactics. Second, several studies regarding the standardization (or "globalization," as Levitt 1983 has put it) of marketing strategies are summarized.

Home-country Influence in International Marketing Strategies

The pervasive influence of culture on human behavior and thinking is well-documented by anthropologists. Harris (1968) posited that physical environment has a direct impact on social organizations and processes. For example, because Japan is the most crowded large country in the world (i.e., considering people per square mile of arable land), an unusual degree of interpersonal and interorganizational cooperation (1) is made possible via constant face-to-face contact and (2) is made necessary because conflict in crowded circumstances magnifies negative consequences (Nakane 1970; Pascale and Athos 1981). Consequently, distribution strategies and tactics in Japan include greater exclusiveness and closer communication between vendors and clients (Cole and Yakushiji 1984; Prestowitz 1988) to an extent unheard of and even illegal in Western cultures. Thus, theory suggests the following relationships: physical environment |right arrow~ culture |right arrow~ marketing structures and decisions.

A few empirical studies confirm that home-country culture has important influences on firms' marketing strategies and sellers' behaviors. In terms of advertising, Rice and Lu (1988) reported that advertising strategy in the People's Republic of China is strongly influenced by the home-country culture. That is, the recent introduction of a consumption ethic in Chinese society, combined with low per-capital income, increases the consumer's involvement in many purchase decisions. Hence, advertisers in the PRC reflect this by including a significant amount of information cues per ad. Similarly, Tansey, Hyman and Zinkhan (1990) analyzed advertising themes in automobile print ads for the United States and Brazil and found significant differences between the countries in terms of work and leisure themes.

Regarding broader marketing strategy--to elicit hypothetical managerial decisions, Tse, Lee, Vertinsky, and Wehrun (1988) gave managers in Canada, Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China identical international marketing problem scenarios. They report differences in decision-making processes between the PRC managers and the Canadian managers. Graham, Kim, Lin, and Robinson (1988) report differences in simulated buyer-seller negotiation processes and outcomes among American, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese business people. Finally, Friedmann (1986) concluded that the "psychological meaning" which different cultures give to products, brands and attributes must be measured and addressed as a prerequisite to effective marketing strategy across countries.

Lazer, Murata and Kosaka (1985), Bishop, Graham and Jones (1984), Pascale and Athos (1981), and Ouchi (1981)--all agreed that Japanese international marketing strategies differ from those typical of American firms because of cultural differences. For example, all suggest that Japanese managers place a higher value on stability and long-term growth than do their American counterparts and that their marketing strategies and tactics reflect such fundamental differences. Campbell and Roberts (1986, p. 189) reported that Japanese strategy consultants "have used Lanchester's model of military combat to ... develop tactical guidelines for companies" to an extent unheard of in the West.

Finally, Meissner (1986) provided the most extensive theoretical discussion to date on how cultural differences pervasively influence international marketing strategies of German and Japanese companies. He suggested that both countries developed the American concept of marketing, but in different ways. Consequently, German marketing strategies are characterized as niche focused, personal selling oriented, and with promotions emphasizing information. Alternatively, Japanese strategies tend to be focused on mass markets that use mass-media and emotional appeals. He adds that such cultural differences manifest themselves in all aspects of marketing strategy--price, product, promotion, and distribution.

Considered together, the findings of the several studies cited above lead to the conclusion that international marketing strategies are influenced by home-country culture. Therefore, from an advertising perspective, the extent to which the home-country company adapts...

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