A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY OF GLOBAL MARKETING AND ETHNOCENTRISM: THE INTERNET AS A MARKETING TOOL AND ITS

EFFECT ON THE ETHNOCENTRIC MESSAGES PERCEIVED VIA US COMPANIES MARKETING ACROSS CULTURES.

A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts in Communication, Culture and Technology

By

Adrienne Marie Tony, B.S.

Washington, DC June 20, 2002

ii

Copyright 2002 by Adrienne Marie Tony All Rights Reserved

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A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY OF GLOBAL MARKETING AND ETHNOCENTRISM: THE INTERNET AS A MARKETING TOOL AND ITS

EFFECT ON THE ETHNOCENTRIC MESSAGES PERCEIVED VIA US COMPANIES MARKETING ACROSS CULTURES.

Adrienne Marie Tony, B.S.

Mentors: Dorine C. Andrews, D.C.D.

Abbas Malek, Ph.D.

ABSTRACT

This thesis studies ethnocentrism in global marketing, focusing on the Internet

as a global marketing medium. It asks whether or not the Internet as a marketing tool

aggravates or helps to break down the barriers of Western culture ethnocentrism in

cross-cultural marketing messages. The methodology examines three U.S. based

company websites marketing to Brazil to test the hypothesis that U.S. based companies

promote Western culture ethnocentrism across country and cultural boundaries when

marketing through the Internet. This thesis demonstrates that Internet marketing

allows for the same cross-cultural and ethnocentrism issues that are inherent in

traditional marketing, and it seeks to establish a prototype model for developing

culturally sensitive websites.

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I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all those whose encouragement and support were instrumental in my completion of this thesis.

First and foremost many thanks go to my professor and thesis advisor, Dorine

Andrews, who constantly provided me with brilliant advice, read many drafts, and took the time to thoroughly critique and edit my work. Thank you for not letting me settle for anything less than my full potential, and for always pushing me to do my very best.

Thanks also to Abbas Malek, my second reader, whose course in Cross-Cultural

Communication solidified my intention to pursue this topic of study.

To each and every person who gave so generously of their time and allowed me to survey and interview them as subjects for my case studies. You people are the

substance of this thesis. Thank you!

To my amazing parents, family and friends who have had to listen to all of my graduate school trials and tribulations for the past two years. Thank you for being

there, for your endless backing, especially over the past six months, and for the many, many times you told me I could do it. I love you.

I dedicate this thesis especially to my uncle, Mike Tony, without whom I would never

have had the courage to begin this program in the first place. For all the help and encouragement you selflessly gave me whenever I needed it, you have my most

heartfelt gratitude.

Finally, to Matthew Porzio. Thank you for your unconditional support, for being my source of strength, for talking me down from the ledge every night, for always pointing out the light at the end of the tunnel, and for a million other reasons too numerous to

name. We did it!

Adrienne Marie Tony

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Literature Review 4 Ethnocentrism 5 Ethnocentrism Measurement 10 U.S. Ethnocentrism 12 Global Marketing and Ethnocentrism 15 Global Marketing Pre-Internet 21 The Internet as a Global Marketing Tool 23 Chapter 2: Methodology 28 Testing the Hypothesis 28 Research Protocol 29 Case Studies 30 Measurement Scale 31 Survey and Structure 33 Marketing Factors Examined in Interview Questions 35 Data Analysis 40 Testing Survey Questions 42 Methodology Summary 43

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Chapter 3: Research Results 44 Subjects 44 Modified CETSCALE Results 46 Evaluation Questions/Interviews 49 Consistent Response Patterns 50 CETSCALE Patterns 51 Patterns in Interview Responses: Ranking Pattern 52 Language 54 Message and Content 56 Image 57 Brand 62 Cultural Positioning 63 Data Validation 64 Results Summary 66 Chapter 4: Results Discussion 67 Key Findings 67 Hypothesis: True or False? 71 Meanings and Implications of Other Findings 72 Message/Content 73 Brand 73

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Cultural Positioning 74 Discussion Summary 75 Chapter 5: Conclusion 77 Prototype Model for Cross-Cultural Sensitive Internet Marketing 77 Limitations of Study 79 Appendix A: Interview Transcripts 82 Appendix B: Original and Modified CETSCALE 88 Appendix C: Qualitative Interview Questions 91 Appendix D: Raw Data From Scaled Survey 99 Appendix E: Qualitative Interview Table 101 Works Cited 114

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2-1: Language Questions 36 Table 2-2: Message Questions 37 Table 2-3: Image Questions 38 Table 2-4: Content Questions 38 Table 2-5: Branding Questions 39 Table 2-6: Cultural Positioning Questions 40 Table 3-1: Demographics of Interview Subjects 45 Table E-1: Case Study of GM Website 102 Table E-2: Case Study of GM Website (continued) 104 Table E-3: Case Study of Chrysler Website 106 Table E-4: Case Study of GM Website (continued) 108 Table E-5: Case Study of Ford Website 110 Table E-6: Case Study of GM Website (continued) 112

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LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3-1: Graphical Representation of Survey Data 48 Figure 3-2: Graphical Representation of Same Survey Data-Varying Perspective 49 Figure 3-3: GM Uses Good Translation and Grammar 54 Figure 3-4: Ford’s Use of Quality Care 56 Figure 3-5: Ford’s Environmental Message 57 Figure 3-6: GM’s Environmental Message 57 Figure 3-7: The GM site Uses Colors of the Brazilian Flag 58 Figure 3-8: GM Uses Many Photos of People 58 Figure 3-9: GM Photos Authentically Brazilian 59 Figure 3-10: GM Homepage 59 Figure 3-11: Kid’s Section/Animation on the Ford Site 60 Figure 3-12: Chrysler Homepage 60 Figure 3-13: Chrysler Site Uses Inappropriate Photos 61 Figure 3-14: Ford’s “wow” Logo 62 Figure 3-15: GM Family Photo 63 Figure 3-16: Chrysler Using Camping Gear Photo 64 Figure 5-1: A Prototype Model for Developing Culturally Sensitive Websites 79

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INTRODUCTION

This thesis studies ethnocentrism in global marketing, focusing on the Internet

as a global marketing medium. It asks whether or not the Internet as a marketing tool

aggravates or helps to break down the barriers of Western culture ethnocentrism in

cross-cultural marketing messages. It tests the hypothesis that U.S. based companies

promote Western culture ethnocentrism across country and cultural boundaries when

marketing through the Internet. Additionally, it seeks to establish a prototype model

for developing culturally sensitive Internet marketing.

Ethnocentrism is a universal phenomenon that affects all kinds of interactions

between different groups of people (Sinkovics and Holzmuller 4). The term

“ethnocentrism” was coined in 1906 by William Graham Summer who defined

ethnocentrism as having a view of things in which one’s own group is the center of

everything and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it (Summer 13). It is

generally thought of as the feeling that one’s own culture is better than all others. Past

research in the area of global marketing and ethnocentrism shows that ethnocentrism

can determine how companies act in and toward certain cultures when conducting

business. Examples of many traditional cross-cultural marketing practices reveal that

ethnocentric thinking is detrimental to international advertising and product design.

This has been especially true for U.S. based companies marketing to non-western

cultures.

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The channels through which ethnocentrism has historically been communicated

include television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, transit ads, and

infomercials. Today, however, the advent of the Internet provides a new path for

marketing messages to cross. The Internet seems to offer the potential for eliminating

barriers between country and cultural borders. Nevertheless, the same kinds of

ethnocentrism issues exist when marketing cross-culturally through the Internet.

In order to test the hypothesis that U.S. based companies promote Western

culture ethnocentrism across country and cultural boundaries when marketing through

the Internet, a two-phase methodology was formed. This methodology used three

cases comparatively, and examined three U.S. based companies that use the Internet to

market cross-culturally to Brazil. These companies were chosen because they are the

top three automobile companies in the Unites States. It incorporated elements of both

quantitative survey and qualitative interview techniques, and was administered to eight

Brazilian subjects. The quantitative survey was based on the CETSCALE, a well-

known scale which measures consumer ethnocentric tendencies (Shimp and Sharma

280). The scale used in this study was a modified version of the CETSCALE so as to

test the marketing company’s ethnocentric tendencies. The qualitative survey was

developed as a set of interview questions to analyze each of the three U.S. based

websites in terms of six basic marketing factors: language, message, image, content,

brand and cultural positioning.

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Results from the modified CETSCALE and the qualitative interviews show that

Internet marketing does indeed allow for the same cross-cultural and ethnocentrism

issues that are inherent in traditional marketing. It neither overcomes ethnocentric

marketing, nor makes it worse. Merely, it acts as yet another tool through which

marketers can manipulate messages being sent to consumers. Key findings in the

results also show that people are sensitive to ethnocentric presentations in marketing,

and cross-culturally marketed websites demonstrate varying levels of cultural

sensitivity. Furthermore, certain marketing factors, such as language and image, have

the most significant impact on the cultural sensitivity of a website.

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CHAPTER 1

LITERATURE REVIEW

This thesis explores the cultural issues companies encounter in global

marketing. There has been much discussion in recent years concerning global

marketing, and it seems impossible to talk about doing business globally without

considering the impact of cultural differences as on message and brand. Additionally,

one cannot begin global marketing discussion without focusing on the Internet as a key

in the marketing mix.

The hypothesis argues that U.S. based companies continue to promote Western

culture ethnocentrism across country and cultural boundries when marketing through

the Interent. In preparation for testing this hypothesis, this thesis will explore several

questions:

1) (a) How has Western culture ethnocenrism been experienced through

traditional marketing communications?

(b) Is there are way to measure the level of ethnocenricity in a

communication?

2) What characteristics of the Internet offer the potential for eliminating

ethnocentrism in marketing communication?

3) Have U.S. companies that market to other cultures leveraged the Internet to

reduce the Western culture ethnocentric experience?

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Therefore, the topics discussed in this chapter include ethnocentrism, ethnocentrism

measurement, U.S. ethnocentrism, global marketing, and the Internet as a global

marketing tool.

Ethnocentrism

The term “ethnocentrism” derives from a more general concept first introduced

by William Graham Sumner in 1906. Sumner defines ethnocentrism as the view of

things in which one’s own group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled

and rated with reference to it (Sumner13). He goes on to say that each group nourishes

its own pride and vanity, boasts itself superior, exalts its own divinities, and looks with

contempt on outsiders (Sumner 13). In this initial concept, ethnocentrism was a purely

sociological construct wherein Sumner described “in-group” vs. “out-group” conflicts.

He relates that a differentiation arises between ourselves, the we-group or in-group,

and everybody else, or the others-group, the out-group (Sumner 12). This concept has

persisted for almost a century. A recent article in “MC Technology Marketing

Intelligence” discusses a similar “us vs. them” theory of ethnocentrism. It states that,

no matter what country you live in, people living in your country are considered “us”

and people living in other countries are “them”(Zhivago 97). Later studies then dealt

with ethnocentrism as a psychological construct, describing the tendency of an

individual to identify strongly with his or her own in-group and culture, the tendency to

reject out-groups, or the tendency to view any economic, political or social event only

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from the point of the in-group (Sinkovics and Holzmuller 3). In fact, psychologist

Donald Campbell and his associates have shown that all people have tendencies to:

Ø Define what goes on in their own cultures as “natural and correct” and what goes

on in other cultures as “unnatural and incorrect”

Ø Perceive in-group customs as universally valid, meaning what is good for us is

good for everybody

Ø Think that in-group norms, roles and values are obviously correct

Ø Believe that it is natural to help cooperate with members of one’s own in-group

Ø Act in ways that favor the in-group

Ø Feel proud of the in-group and hostile toward the out-group (Sinkovics and

Holzmuller 4)

From Campbell’s research one can conclude that ethnocentrism is a universal

phenomenon, that is rooted deeply in most intergroup, interracial and especially cross-

cultural relations. Therefore, it is a critical factor to be considered when conducting

research involving different groups of people. This is not to say that everyone is

always ethnocentric in their thinking; however, it does imply that this type of thinking

is natural and one may be ethnocentric without being conscious of such thinking.

Ethnocentrism has also been defined as a tendency to be ethnically centered and to

be rigid in the person’s acceptance of the culturally “alike” and in his or her rejection

of the “unlike” (Adorno 102). Dong-Jin Lee and M Joseph Sirgy write about this

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concept in an article via the Journal of Business Ethics wherein they apply it to

marketing relations. Lee and Sirgy talk of individuals and groups, in their

ethnocentricity, viewing other societies as necessarily “abnormal” and therefore

“inferior” (78). From a marketing standpoint this statement is especially important.

Ethnocentric marketers are likely to believe that what is good for consumers of their

own country is also good for consumers in foreign markets. Thus they may not see a

need to enhance consumers’ well being in foreign markets with different marketing

approaches (Lee and Sirgy 79). This cultural insensitivity in marketing is discussed in

more depth in the section on global marketing and ethnocentrism.

Stephen Mailloux ponders the question, “Are cross-cultural comparisons

transcendentally absolute or sociohistorically relative?” He argues that Western

intellectual history has continually re-staged this conflict between relativism and

absolutism, and mere opinion and true knowledge (Mailloux 114-115). The relativist

says the text is measured by communal standards, while the absolutist says there is a

standard of value that transcends any historical community. In short, Mailloux is

posing a question and asking "who is right?", "who is wrong?", "what is better", and

"what is worse?" He goes on to say that any comparison of cultural productions from

different communities inevitably faces these questions, and comparing two demands a

third measure to which they are compared as a standard (115). He says right and wrong

depends on the situation at hand. He uses Richard Rorty’s notion of ethnocentrism as a

basis for his work, calling ethnocentrism an “inescapable condition”. He relates that

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we are “we” because of being positioned within a culture in a particular set of practices

that empowers and constrains acts of interpretive and evaluative comparison (118).

He also argues that there is no absolute incomprehensibility or impassable boundary

permanently separating one culture from another’s (at least partial) understanding, and

that no community can be so different from another that cross cultural communication

is doomed to fail (120-121). It seems acceptable to agree with the author on this point

and that Rorty is correct in his thinking that ethnocentricity is in some form

unavoidable. However, his attitude toward its inevitability can be a dangerous point of

view. Mailloux should be considered as part of the total research on this subject,

however he uses certain assumptions that are better left for other research. This thesis

will not concern itself with what is “right” or “wrong” between cultures. It will only

posit the idea that being ethnocentric in one’s thinking in a business situation is a

detriment to effectively communicating with people not of your own culture.

Another perspective on ethnocentrism comes from the book, Cultural Otherness

and Beyond, a compilation of works edited by Chhanda Gupta and D.P.

Chattopadhyaya. According to these authors, the concept of culture stems from human

activities, ideas and ideals and their more or less durable expressions (Gupta and

Chattopadhyaya 1). They suggest that belief, knowledge, art and crafts, customs and

morals are all constituents of culture as are human abilities and dispositions. This

work also discusses extensively ethnocentrism between industrially developed

countries and the peoples of the underdeveloped or developing countries in the world.

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It is not surprising, they relate, that many people of the industrial cultures think that the

developing cultures are inferior to them (1). This hidden assumption is embedded in

countries like the U.S., Canada, UK, France, Germany Italy and Japan, which are rated

higher than most in terms of science and technology achievement. Such an assumption

prompts one to ask, why should industrial, scientific or technological achievements be

accorded such a high value in rating a culture? How can one discount the moral,

aesthetic, ecological and other aspects of a culture, which are often found to be

neglected in the economically developed societies (Gupta and Chattopadhyaya 2)? In

an anxious search for cultural universals, common structural features of all cultures,

one tends to lose site of the distinct identity of each (Gupta and Chattopadhyaya 11).

Kalyan Sen Gupta defines culture as a specific society with all of its tools,

possessions and characteristic ways and conceptions of life (115). In this sense culture

has a distinctive flavor of its own that is not shared by other cultures. Ethnocentrism is

described here in terms of failing to appreciate the normative traits and excellence of

other cultures besides one’s own. The more one can leave behind the pejorative sense

often attributed to such words as “savage” or “tribe”, the easier it becomes to

understand people who do not belong to one’s own culture (Gupta and Chattopadhyaya

1).

Richard Shusterman argues that understanding the other is a necessary means

of understanding oneself and vice versa (107). He is saying that to be culturally aware

is not only a good thing in terms of getting to appreciate another culture, but it is also

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vital to appreciating one’s own culture. When pretenses are dropped, one tends to put

oneself in the proverbial shoes of the other person. Shusterman calls this being aware

of and, in fact, encountering the “culturally other” (111). This type of act will surely

diminish ethnocentrism in one’s thinking while helping to better know oneself. In

short, an encounter with the culturally other not only enlarges the self with the

experience and beliefs of others, but by providing a rich and articulate background of

comparison and contrast, enables us to form, define and assert our own distinctive

identity with greater richness and clarity (Shusterman 111).

Ethnocentrism Measurement

Over the years many scholars have attempted to find ways to measure the

amount of ethnocentrism perceived between cultures, individuals, nations…etc. Since

ethnocentrism is a socio-psychological concept rather than a concrete phenomena, it

has been difficult to find a way to accurately represent the level of ethnocentrism in

any place at any time. It should be studied as an attitude, a theoretical construct,

unobservable in a direct manner, and thus should be measured with socio-

psychological instruments such as questionnaire techniques (Sinkovics and Holzmuller

7-8). There are two specific studies referred to by scholars as the basis for scales of

measuring ethnocentrism - the E-scale by T.W. Adorno and more recently the

CETSCALE by Terrance Shimp and Subhash Sharma.

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The E-scale was developed in 1950 and is hailed as the first scale ever to

accurately represent a measure of ethnocentrism. It uses a questionnaire method and a

Likert-type scale. It poses all questions in a negative format. That is, all items were

hostile to the group in question (Adorno, et al 104-105). However, it is a bit outdated

in its approach, as it was developed for the purpose of measuring classic attitudes of

racism and ethnicity. Some feel it is even inappropriate for the contemporary

American situation (Shimp and Sharma 281).

A more recent scale, based in part on the E-scale, is the CETSCALE

constructed by Shimp and Sharma, both professors of marketing in the College of

Business Administration at the University of South Carolina. The scale was developed

as the first ever to accurately measure consumer ethnocentrism in America (280).

Shimp and Sharma characterize this scale as a measure of ethnocentric “tendency”

rather than “attitude” because the latter term suggests a greater degree of object

specificity than the CETSCALE is intended to capture (Shimp and Sharma 281).

Shimp and Sharma felt that it was necessary to construct a unique scale that

would measure ethnocentrism differently than had ever been done before. The classic

measure of ethnocentrism developed by Adorno is not directly relevant to consumer

behavior, therefore Shimp and Sharma set out to create a better, more timely and

relevant model to study marketing phenomena specifically (Shimp and Sharma 281).

The CETSCALE was tested against specific facts of consumers’ orientations toward

foreign products: (1) consumer ethnocentric tendencies, (2) price-value perceptions,

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(3) self-interest concerns, (4) reciprocity norms and (5) rationalization-of-choice, (6)

restrictions-mentality, and (7) freedom-of-choice views (Shimp and Sharma 281). It

was passed through a judgmental panel screening, two purification studies and a final

refinement, which took the 25 items remaining on the scale down to 17. The

CETSCALE was deemed reliable and valid and has been applied to consumer

ethnocentrism studies since its inception with fascinating results.

U.S. Ethnocentrism

The United States is a useful culture from which to study ethnocentrism in

marketing practices. In the Glen Fisher book, American Communication in a Global

Society, it is argued that the United States is the world’s most communicating nation

(1). He relates that the U.S. is the largest producer and exporter of information of all

kinds, and it is the most advanced “information society” in the world. Fisher also

illustrates the centrality of the United States in the world as having one of the most

highly advanced communications technological capacities, the advantage of a free

society and its own international initiatives in business travel and commerce (12).

Furthermore, according to the Handbook of Cross-Cultural Marketing, ethnocentric

thinking has led many U.S. companies down the path to unexpected, painful and

sometimes overwhelming failure (Herbig 2).

In an interview with Uwe Bergmann, one can see just how much work is

needed on the part of the U.S. when marketing to other countries and cultures because

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of U.S. ethnocentric tendencies. Mr. Bergmann teaches German language classes at

NYU. He has a degree in Language instruction from Beijing University, has studied in

Moscow, and specializes in interpretation (Chinese, English, Russian and German).

Bergman translates, edits and supervises rather large U.S. advertising efforts to ensure

that meaning is not lost or completely changed when messages are transferred into

another language from English. He relates that there are many hundreds of mistakes

made by the U.S. companies in advertising to other cultures. U.S. companies and the

U.S. population in general are unaware of the fact that when English words are

translated into another language they might become offensive and actually provoke the

opposite reaction from what was intended. For example, Bergmann cites the well-

known “Got Milk?” campaign. The U.S. company who ran this ad did not feel they

needed any counseling before marketing in Mexico and Germany, however, in both

countries the phrase translated as, “Are You Lactating?” and was not well received.

(Bergmann interview transcript in appendix A). Keep in mind that U.S. ethnocentrism

may be used as an advertising advantage when marketing in the U.S. itself, and rising

consumer patriotic emotions may be successful in producing responses in favor of

American products (Beaudoin, Goldsmith and Moore 1240). However, Bergmann also

adds that there are many more problems than just translating. He relates certain images

of people, places and things can bring specific messages across to certain cultures, and

a negative reaction is often the result. Many U.S. produced ads fair terribly in

Germany for this very reason.

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More discoveries were made to support this notion of US ethnocentrism via

consumer interviews. While interviewing several consumers from cultures other than

the U.S. it became clear that these people tend to view the U.S. as the most

ethnocentric society they have experienced. For example, Carla Lopez, a Brazilian

native of Kenyan and Tanzanian descent, has lived in South America, Grenada,

Malaysia, Portugal and the United States. According to Ms. Lopez American

marketing very dominantly projects the image that the U.S. should be the standard and

others should follow its lead. She also added that it is difficult for developing

countries especially, as they depend heavily on the United States for so many

resources, but do not want to give up their own cultural identity (Lopez interview

transcript in appendix A). It is interesting to note from these interviews that people of

cultures other than the U.S. strongly feel that many countries of the world absorb the

U.S. culture, while the U.S does not reciprocate the same. Richard Rorty, a professor

of cross-cultural communication/specialist in the religion and philosophy aspect of

cross-cultural thought, comments on a similar point (Rorty 68). He states he cannot

imagine that any argument that the virtues of the West are commendable for the entire

world could ever show anything of the sort, any more than an argument can show that

the West should devote itself to studies of the East (68). According to Rorty, to have

such an argument would be to have premises which were neutral between cultures, and

he cannot agree with such a premise.

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Clearly the United States has a long history of failed attempts at marketing to

other cultures (Herbig 2). Nevertheless, some disagree that the U.S. is a particularly

ethnocentric society. Lee and Sirgy theorize that Americans are likely to have

comparatively lower ethnocentric tendencies than some other cultures because the U.S.

is a pluralistic society (80). They suggest the United States has many different

interacting ethnic groups within it, thus the boundaries and distinctions may be more

blurred here than in Korea, for example. In addition, Steven Mailloux writes in his

essay, “Making “Comparisons”, the “we” in ethnocentrism must always be understood

as sociohistorically specific and politically contingent. Especially in the multicultural

that is the U.S., this “we” needs to be specified in each ethnocentric claim (112-113).

Still, the dominance of the U.S. has often led to the neglect of other nations in the

Western Hemisphere, each of which has its own complex multicultural and

multilingual history (Rowe 24).

Global Marketing and Ethnocentrism

Many books, journal articles and white papers have been written about the

concepts discussed above. Of special interest are the ones that target the conceptual

identification of different areas of corporate strategy formulation, particularly

marketing strategy formulation, which are assumed to be influenced by varying levels

of ethnocentrism. Sinkovics and Holzmuller suggest that individual sentiments toward

other cultures might influence a manager or management as a whole in terms of certain

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cross-cultural decisions (2). The level of ethnocentrism might determine how

companies act in and toward certain countries when conducting business. This section

considers the traditional ways in which U.S. companies have conducted their global

marketing practices, and it provides examples of problems that have occurred when

ethnocentrism is prevalent in global marketing campaigns.

When marketing internationally, culture should be viewed as the domain of

pure quality (Usunier 9). One cannot think in terms of good or bad elements of a

particular cultural group, and value judgements should be avoided as much as possible.

Obviously cultural differences exist, and they cannot be ignored, but this is no reason

for judging a particular culture as globally superior or interior to others (Usunier 9). In

marketing, cultures may be evaluated and indeed ranked, but only on the basis of facts

and evidence according to precise criteria and for very specific segments of culture-

related activities. When corporations overstep these bounds in their marketing

practices, problems of ethnocentrism tend to arise. According to Shuster and Harris in

their book, Newer Insights into Marketing: Cross-Cultural and Cross-National

Perspectives, doing business effectively in the global marketplace requires the

understanding of these elements of other cultures and the ability to adapt to them

successfully (2).

Global marketing (i.e. cross cultural marketing) is defined as the strategic

process of marketing to consumers whose culture differs from that of the marketer’s

own culture at least in one of the fundamental cultural aspects such as language,

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religion, social norms and values, education and the living style (Tian

studyoversees.com). According to Robert Guang Tian, Ph.D., Associate Professor of

Business Administration, not only does culture influence marketing; but marketing also

influences culture. Marketers act as agents of change within a culture

(studyoversees.com). Thus, ethnocentric marketers would tend to force a foreign

culture to adopt the marketer’s culture.

Business managers and marketers, inevitably view the world from the point of

view of their own environment. This is called the Self Reference Criteria (SRC)

(Lewis and Housden 14). James Lee in 1966 recognized this unconscious reference to

one's own cultural values, and he identified a four-stage approach to mitigate

decisional bias related to the SRC when dealing with international operations.

1) Define the problem in terms of one's own domestic culture.

2) Define the problem in terms of the foreign culture making no value judgments.

3) Isolate the SRC which affect the problem. How does it complicate the problem?

4) Redefine the problem without the SRC. (Lewis and Housden 15).

The SRC is practical, but Usunier, in his book Marketing Across Cultures, reminds us

that it comprises a degree of naivety and insufficiency (384). It presupposes that it is

possible to easily penetrate the mysteries of culture without being a native of that

culture in question. Sometimes neither marketing experts from the original country nor

foreigners are capable of diagnosis in the second and third phases of the SRC, and the

effects of bias removal are not immediate (Usunier 384).

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In home markets self-reference criteria provide the marketer with insight and

intuition about how customers will respond to an offer. However in other cultural

markets, customers are a product of their own unique environment. Even when great

care has been taken to produce an international marketing strategy which avoids

cultural problems, many factors can lead to misunderstandings. Lewis and Housden

tell of one example involving the Nestle' corporation and Kit Kat (16). An

advertisement which used a local language voiceover was shown in both Italy and the

UK. It displayed duck hunters using duck callers and the universal language of ducks

(the quack) to attract birds toward their guns. The hunters became frustrated in the

commercial and needed a Kit Kat for a break. Since there are such fundamental

differences in the social norms between the marketer’s culture and the consumer’s

culture, the advertisement was a failure. The negative association with hunting in Italy

was more prominent than the humor in the ad. Additionally, the Kit Kat was believed

by Italians to be an expensive luxury confectionary item. It is clear that understanding

the customer is always a critical success factor of any marketing strategy, and it

becomes even more so with global marketing. The following are additional examples

provided by Lewis and Housden (25):

Ø British racing green would be unlikely to succeed in China as green is a color

representing vegetable sellers in Chinese Markets

Ø Yellow in Brunei is discouraged as it is a royal color

Ø Purple may be perceived as mourning the death of old labor in Mexico

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Ø The number 8 in China is considered lucky. Cars with the number 8 in the

license plate can command a premium in China, while the number 4 does just

the opposite.

As discussed in the previous section, it is often not adequate to simply translate an

advertisement or brand name into another language when marketing globally. Doing

so is a detriment to any marketing campaign. There are hundreds of examples of

inappropriate design and brand names that have failed because ethnocentric thinking

was not addressed. The following are further examples from Lewis and Housden (23,

25, 125):

Ø Superpiss - a Scandinavian deicer which is not appropriate when translated into

English

Ø Pschitt – this French Lemonade cannot be advertised to the Germans

Ø Bum Crisps and Bimbo Bread in Spain are not acceptable names to advertise in

the United States

Ø Smeg electrical appliances in Italy

Ø Supermodel Claudia Scheffer initiated furor when she appeared on the catwalk

wearing a designer outfit featuring words from the Quran, hence offending

Muslim beliefs.

Ø The Slogan "Come Alive with Pepsi" when translated into Chinese means,

"Pepsi raises relatives from the dead."

20

The examples to this point have all demonstrated ethnocentrism in various

areas of advertising. It is prudent in this discussion to note also that advertising is not

the only marketing element in which companies often convey their ethnocentric

tendencies. Product design is another such area wherein companies have fallen victim

to ethnocentricity. Unilever, Federal Express, and Mattel provide some examples.

Unilever introduced a detergent version of Surf to the Japanese market, only to

find that the product was not designed to work in a new, popular low agitation washing

machine, and the "fresh smell" it advertised was not relevant in Japan since most

consumers hung their wash outside to dry (Herbig 69). When Federal Express went

into the European market they didn’t realize that keeping package pickup times set at

5:00pm (the typical end to an American workday) was detrimental in Europe where

close of business in normally much later (8:00pm). (Herbig 2). Another example

demonstrates how the U.S. company, Mattel, fell victim to ethnocentricity when they

attempted to market the Barbie doll in Japan. Most Japanese girls thought that the

doll’s breasts were too big and the legs unrealistically long. Once the doll was

overhauled complete with brown hair and brown eyes, Mattel sold millions in Japan.

Clearly, failure to correctly promote marketing messages for other cultures

creates irreversible and long-term issues. Customers do not easily reinvent a brand

position once it has been established in their minds through marketing and advertising.

21

Global Marketing Pre-Internet

A review of the tools that have been used to conduct global marketing prior to

the Internet provides a foundation for the discussion of Internet marketing. These tools

will continue to be used, but they will be integrated with Internet marketing strategy.

There are many components used to market across cultures besides a

company’s advertising. However, when the average consumer thinks about and speaks

of global marketing practices, one typically refers to the visual aspect of the marketing

- the advertising. Advertising is the most widely used promotional tool, and mass

media advertising has paved the way for global marketing in the past. According to

Paul Herbig, it is not unusual for consumer product firms to spend 10% or more of

their annual revenues on mass media advertising (109). In the United States, entire

industries rely upon mass media advertising. In fact, global advertising revenues in the

U.S. were approximately $650 billion in the year 2000 (Herbig 109).

Global marketing via mass media advertising is executed through mass media

channels of communication designed to reach the general public. It includes but is not

limited to television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, transit ads and

infomercials. It is these channels through which ethnocentrism in global marketing has

historically been communicated.

As shown previously, when marketing internationally using these channels of

media, companies must be entirely aware of the cultural norms and issues upon which

successful marketing is so dependent. Additionally the availability of certain media

22

channels in a particular country is a real concern for marketers (Herbig 124). Many

cultures have underdeveloped or lack of channels. The following list provides a series

of examples to this effect:

Ø In many parts of rural India, television does not exist or is very minimal;

Ø In northern and central Europe, radio is the most important medium, while southern

and Western Europeans are more apt to respond to television commercials;

Ø Seventy percent of people in Scandinavia and Germany read the newspapers,

whereas only 15% do so in Portugal;

Ø The average Japanese consumer is an avid television watcher and newspaper

reader, therefore the fold-in advertisement for newspapers (called orikami) is

widely used;

Ø Transit advertisements work well in Japan because of the high reliance on public

transportation and the long commutes for the typical worker;

Ø With Mexico’s traffic clogged main streets of slow moving traffic at nearly all

hours of the day, billboards provide a large captive audience. Mexicans also enjoy

being outdoors more so than Americans (Herbig 124-125).

In addition to media constraints, certain cultural situations should be avoided to

prevent global marketing failure. Marketers continue to make errors in mass media

advertising when going global. Case in point: Pan American erected huge billboards

in Japan showing a reclining Japanese woman in a kimono. Unaware to Pan-Am, in

23

Japan only prostitutes recline in such a manner. The public found the advertisement

extremely offensive (Herbig 125). Thorough market research, extensive knowledge

of the targeted customer and cultural norms is required to overcome ethnocentric

thinking in promotional marketing. It is the goal of this project to determine whether

or not the Internet, when used as a global marketing tool, follows these same lines of

global marketing mishaps due to ethnocentric thinking.

Today, the Internet is challenging the fundamental basis of traditional

marketing discipline. The Internet is transforming the practice of marketing as well as

the way marketers think about marketing. This change is not happening overnight and

it is not absolute, but the changes that are occurring are real and are not reversible.

The Internet as a Global Marketing Tool

Increasing access to advanced technologies such as the Internet has

significantly reduced the distances between the most remote parts of the world during

the 20th century, allowing the catch phrase “global village” to appear in many

discourses. According to Richard Rorty, a consequence of this technological closeness

becomes that our awareness of the conceptual and cultural distances that divide us has

been augmented considerably (Rorty 9). Ed Clark, General Manager of the Internet

consulting firm, m5I, contends, based on his company’s experience, that although the

Internet may indeed be a global community it does not erase the cultural and linguistic

barriers, but rather it magnifies them (Clark brandchannel.com). Like non-Internet

24

media, he suggests that Internet website design, presentation, and formatting that

appeal to one culture may not necessarily appeal to others. The uniqueness of the

Internet is that as a distribution and communication medium it provides either a

powerful opportunity or an immense challenge to a global marketer (Clark

brandchannel.com).

Although many people consider the Internet as the first truly global

marketplace, the previous discussion demonstrates the inherent flaws in such thinking.

The Internet is something that marketers worldwide are only just beginning to deal

with sufficiently. Situations now exist where one cannot assume that a television

commercial shown in the U.S. will not be seen by someone in Japan. The barrier

between borders no longer exists. But what of the Internet itself? Is there evidence of

ethnocentrism, particularly on the part of the U.S. one can readily discern? Of the 160

million people browsing online, almost half are from outside North America (Georgia

108). Moreover, that number is expected to reach 65% by 2003. These numbers imply

that U.S. marketers must be cognizant of a new kind of audience, a global audience

consisting of many different cultural segments. Yet the Web is almost entirely

dominated by the English language. Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg observes that of the

2.5 million Web pages on the Internet about 85% of the text is in English (Nunberg

prospect.org). He adds that the prevalence of English on the Internet threatens to

impose linguistic and cultural uniformity on the world. It is essential for marketers to

keep in mind that while many people can speak English, they do not necessarily think

25

in English, work in English, negotiate or like to be marketed to in English (Zhivago

98).

Wind and Mahajan in their book, Digital Marketing, provide insights into what

global marketers must face now that the Internet is the global marketing tool. They

discuss branding and he believes that branding has become significantly more

important with the advent of digital technology (11). Brands become a vehicle of trust

for Internet purchase decision-makers, therefore establishing a positive brand on the

Internet is critical. Where so many choices are available, marketers need good brand

positioning to compete for the buyer’s attention. Digital technology transcends

national borders, raising the need for more attention to global brand development

(Wind and Mahajan 12). However, as documented with pre-internet international

marketing, companies cannot simply transfer their U.S. brand strategies and business

models to oversees markets. Brands still must be shaped and tailored to succeed in

different parts of the world.

As discussed eariler, the hypothesis of this thesis poses a set of questions. One

of these underlying questions addresses the characteristics of the Internet that offer the

potential for eliminating ethnocentrism in marketing communication. Wind and

Mahajan contend that the Internet is more addressable and responsive than broadcast

media. Interactivity within the architecture of the Internet releases customers as passive

recipients of ads. It affords them an active role in marketing. Consumers study the

products while being entertained and persusaded by the ads (Wind and Mahajan 16-

26

17). There is the possibility of continuous diaologue between the customer and the

marketer when a website is the communication medium. Finally, the Internet has the

potential of eliminating ethnocnetrism in marketing because it holds the promise of

powerful and subtle interactivity. Many cycles of “send” and “respond” can occur in a

short time. The result is a medium unlike any other with the potential to be more

flexible and uniquly more responsive (Wind and Mahajan 344). However, despite

these seemingly ethnocentrism-preventing characteristics, many of the same cross-

cultural marketing issues still exist. For example, most U.S. company webistes that

have links marketing to other cultures, also have very promininet navigation buttons

linking the consumer back to the U.S. centered website. This gives the impression that

the webiste is not authentic to that particular culture, and in many cases it is not. A

more specific example is seen on the website for Chrysler, a U.S. based company, that

has an internet componenet for Brazil. The domain name for this site shows the word

“brazil” written with a “z” rather than “brasil” with an “s”. This is a sure sign of U.S.

ethnocentrism, as no Brazilian would spell his or her country name with a “z.”

Interactivity provides a beginning, but alone cannot eliminate a problem as

grandiose as ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is an issue which we can eventually hope to

overcome, but one in which we currently do not have the tools to do so (Rorty 73).

The Internet allows every company to think globally (Zhivago 97). Lars Hallen

and Madelene Sandstrom talk about the relationship atmosphere in international

business citing that personal interaction becomes more important than ever and more

27

sensitive as personal interaction is necessary to neutralize the possible cultural barriers

to business exchange (108). Perhaps the Internet can be seen as an attempt to make the

most of this personal interaction because of its two-way architecture. Again, this may

be a step in the right direction, but certainly not a solution to overcoming

ethnocentrism issues in this type of marketing.

This review has attempted to bring together the relevant thoughts that have

been circulated over the years in relation to global marketing, the cultural issues

therein and the new technology that is taking over the global marketing scene.

Obviously much had been written and discussed on all of these topics independently,

however little has been written to find a correlation between the U.S. related

ethnocentrism involved in global marketing and the advent of the Internet. Therefore

the question is, “Does the Internet continue to foster the problem of U.S. ethnocentrism

in global marketing, or is it a marketing tool that U.S. companies can leverage to help

to overcome it?”

28

CHAPTER 2

METHODOLOGY

As discussed in the literature review, the testable hypothesis of this thesis is:

U.S. based companies continue to promote Western culture ethnocentrism across

country and cultural boundries when marketing through the Interent. Subsequently, the

primary research question is: “Does the Internet amplify, or perpetuate, the problem of

U.S. Western culture ethnocentrism in global marketing practices, or is the Internet a

marketing tool that can be used to reduce it?” The questions examined as subsets of

this one overarching question are:

(a) How has Western culture ethnocenrism been experienced through

traditional marketing communications?

(b) How can the level of ethnocenricity in a communication be measured?

(c) What characteristics of the Internet offer the potential for minimizing

ethnocentrism in marketing communication?

(d) Have U.S. companies that market to other cultures leveraged the Internet to

reduce the Western culture ethnocentric experience?

Testing the Hypothesis

According to King, Keohane and Verba in their book Designing Social Inquiry,

a good way to begin testing a hypothesis is to formulate the hypothesis so that larger

generalizations can be made (10). The contribution of this project shall hopefully

29

reflect an idea that can be applied to many organizations within most any type of

industry. The literature review has shown that ethnocentric thinking should be

eliminated in cross-cultural marketing. This testing of the hypothesis will attempt to

either confirm or deny that this is especially true where the Internet is concerned. It

will examine whether or not the Internet is a global marketing tool that further

contributes to the ethnocentrism problem, as it does not create the "global village” that

many perceive.

King, Keohane and Verba offer a way to merge the two realms of quantitative

and qualitative research. They suggest that if one holds a variable constant, and

changes the value of another variable, a causal effect can be found which answers the

original question or hypothesis (King, Keohane and Verba 10).

Research Protocol

This research is structured based on a protocol that administers the study in two

parts. Subjects were first given a survey consisting of 17 Likert-type scaled questions

to which they must answer with a response ranging from strongly disagree (a score of

1) to strongly agree (a score of 5). This portion of the study was completed while the

subject was not in the presence of the researcher. Secondly, the subjects participated in

qualitative interviews conducted by the researcher wherein the subject is asked to

exercise each of three websites and answer predetermined interview questions. To

prepare for the interviews, approximately one week before the interviews, the subjects

30

were given the list of websites to be analyzed along with the interview questions that

deal with each of six marketing factors in the websites. In this way the subjects

became somewhat familiar with the website content and had an opportunity to

formulate thoughts in relation to the marketing questions before the researcher

conducted the qualitative interviews.

Case Studies

Case study methodology was used for this research. It uses three cases

comparatively. If the three cases prove true to the thesis, then the results provide

strong indicators as to what should and should not be done to mitigate ethnocentrism in

marketing. This methodology adopts the explaining/outsider model of qualitative

research, wherein variables are tested in each of the cases for causality, to either prove

or disprove the hypothesis (King, Keohane and Verba 75-85).

The case studies chosen for this project are corporations in the U.S. automobile

industry, all of which are marketing to Brazil. They are the “big three” in the U.S. auto

industry: General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. Each uses the Internet as a global

marketing tool to reach the Brazilian population. By using these three companies there

is an attempt to control as many variables as possible to isolate the factors that

determine the level of ethnocentrism communicated in the marketing message. The

control variables in this case are the industry (automobile), the culture from which the

31

marketing is origniating (United States), the culture the marketing is directed toward

(Brazil), and the marketing medium (the Internet).

Measurement Scale

The most well known scale to measure ethnocentrism is the CETSCALE

developed in 1987 by Shimp and Sharma. The 17 item scale was rigorously

formulated, refined and validated in the United States, and was subsequently applied

and validated internationally (Bandyopadhyay and Muhammad sbaer.uca.edu). The

acronym stands for Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies Scale, and was designed as a

way to measure consumer ethnocentric tendencies related to purchasing foreign versus

American made products. Shimp and Sharma wanted to formulate this concept to suit

the marketing discipline, something that had not been done before (Mavando and Tan

1). Their construct involved normative beliefs in people’s buying behavior. They

tested the hypothesis that U.S. consumers prefer not to buy foreign made products

because ethnocentrism carries with it the notion of consumer's patriotic emotions. It is

important to note that the reliability of the CETSCALE is extremely high. Validity

testing included panel screening, two purification studies, refinement (consisting of 25

items), and finally an aggregate test that deemed the 17 items acceptable as they

satisfied the .5 reliability criterion (Shimp and Sharma 282).

This methodology does not use the CETSCALE directly but rather a

modification of the CETSCALE. This hypothesis is testing reverse ethnocentrism, a

32

modified CETSCALE to measure the ethnocentrism on the part of the corporations

doing the marketing rather than the ethnocentrism of the consumer. It measures how

much or how little the consumer perceives the company as ethnocentric in their

marketing. Shimp and Sharma use the term “consumer ethnocentrism” to represent the

beliefs held by American consumers concerning the purchasing of foreign products

(Shimp and Sharma 280). Therefore, this thesis considers "corporate ethnocentrism”

as seen through the eyes of the consumer. Since the CETSCALE has paved the way

for measuring ethnocentrism in the marketing arena, and it has been validated

thoroughly for reliability, it is appropriate to use it as a basis for the scale developed in

this methodology.

The Shimp and Sharma 17 scaled questions were inverted to test the hypothesis

(original and modified scales in appendix B). The response format uses a 5 point

Likert type scale with “strongly disagree” (value = 1) to “strongly agree” (value = 5).

For example, question number 5 on the CETSCALE states “Purchasing foreign made

products is un-American” then question number 5 on the modified scale states,

“Purchasing American products makes me feel like I am compromising my culture.”

Keep in mind, the CETSCALE surveyed American consumers, the modified scale

surveys Brazilian consumers.

In the reporting of results, some of the question values were transposed in order

to maintain reporting consistency. For example, a response of “1” indicates a

perception of very low ethnocentrism coming from U.S. companies. However,

33

subjects’ scores were inverted on statements that are worded in an opposite manner

wherein a response of “1” (strongly disagree) indicates the perception of extreme

ethnocentrism rather than very low ethnocentrism (i.e. question 9 states “It is best to

purchase American products rather than Brazilian”). In this case an answer of “1” or

strongly disagree, represents a perception of high U.S. company ethnocentrism, which

is equivalent to the answer of “5”.

Additionally, in the modified version of the CETSCALE a score of “3”

indicates that the subject is “indifferent” in his or her perception of ethnocentrism

regarding that particular statement, because when looking at something as subjective as

perceived ethnocentrism, indifference conveys possible feelings on both sides of the

spectrum. It should not be interpreted as an outlier, but rather as a point on the

continuum of ethnocentricity.

Survey and Structure

To fully understand people’s perceptions, qualitative interview questions were

developed to supplement the 17-item scale. When analyzing something as qualitative

in nature as the perception of ethnocentricity, quantitative analysis should be

supplemented to increase understanding (Berg 2). Therefore, open-ended questions

were added to the survey (appendix C).

According to Oppenheim, it is likely that no other skill is as important to the

survey research worker as the ability to conduct good interviews (65). Open-ended, or

34

exploratory interviews, require significant interpersonal skills in order to put the

subject at ease, ask questions in an interested manner, and give support without

introducing bias (Oppenheim 65). There are essentially two different kinds of

interviews: standardized (such as those used in public opinion polls and government

surveys), and exploratory, which probe in-depth to develop ideas (Oppenheim 67).

The interview questions used in this study are of an exploratory nature. Exploratory

interviews can be thought of as collecting ideas rather than information, and must pick

up on what is not said in a subject’s response as well as what is said. The gaps and

hesitations given by the respondents in an exploratory interview can be just as

important as the main responses.

The interview questions in this study apply to each of the three case study

websites, in each of six marketing factors: Language, Message, Image, Content,

Branding, and Cultural Positioning. The research is sequenced so that each subject

exercises a website, then completes the interview questions. Too often surveys are

carried out on the basis of insufficient design and planning or on the basis of no design

at all (Oppenheim 7). Therefore, this study adheres to A.N. Oppenheim’s suggestion

that the researcher makes certain to establish operational aims. Doing so should lead

directly to clarity in the variables to be measured, and an established set of questions,

scales, and indicators to support each variable (Oppenheim 7). The study protocol

requires the researcher to be present while the survey is being completed to observe

35

subject behavior and ensure question completion. This observation protocol allows the

researcher to watch the subject’s reactions and capture non-verbal behavior.

The study subjects were required to be thoroughly familiar with Brazilian

culture, as the researcher is not in Brazil and not qualified to analyze Brazilian

websites. It was necessary that the subjects have lived in the Brazilian culture for a

significant portion of their lives. They must understand the cultural norms and values

of Brazil in order to appropriately assess whether or not the websites are marketing to

this culture ethno or non-ethnocentrically. Finally, all subjects were required to be

fluent in the Portuguese language, the national language of Brazil.

The sample size of subjects for this study is relatively small consisting of eight

subjects. A larger sample size would have been preferred, but additional subjects were

not available. Hopefully, the study is a model for a larger, more statistically valid

research effort. Subject demographics are provided in the following chapter.

Marketing Factors Examined in Interview Questions

The marketing factors used to assess website ethnocentrism are the foundation

of the open-ended questions in the survey. Each is defined on the survey to prevent

any subject confusion or misunderstanding.

Marketing Factor 1: Language. This factor includes issues of translation inaccuracy

that so often occurs when American companies attempt to translate messages into

36

another language. When message meaning is skewed by poor translation and

inappropriate language, the reaction of the consumer can be very negative. Usunier

states that language differences are one of the primary barriers to effective

communication in cross cultural marketing (411). Interview questions relating to

language are included in Table 2-1.

Table 2-1: Language questions (not in survey format)

Marketing Factor 1: Language Issues of translation inaccuracy

Does the language in this website seem to be translated well? (i.e. Does it read clearly and make sense as if it was not first written in English?) Do the words convey any strange or negative meanings? Is it well written and articulate, or does the working seem choppy and rough? Would you say there is much “Americanism” coming through in the language of this website? I specifically noticed with Ford that there are several English words being used. Comment? (ex. Quality Care).

Marketing Factor 2: Message : This factor is concerned with the meaning conveyed

through the marketing message. When cultural differences become a part of marketing,

the message received by the consumer might be entirely different than what the

marketer intended. Messages should be persuasive or informative, and should target

specific types of consumers directly with meaning that is clear to the receiver.

Interview questions relating to message are included in Table 2-2.

37

Table 2-2: Message questions (not in survey format)

Marketing Factor 2: Message Meaning conveyed through the marketing message

What is the marketing message being conveyed in this website? (i.e. What is the site saying to you, other than “buy this car”?) Is the message specific to Brazilian culture? If not, should it be? What kind of message is being conveyed with the timeline section of the GM site? Do you think the message is aimed with an American consumer in mind rather than a Brazilian consumer? If so, does that make the product seem less appealing to you?

Marketing Factor 3: Image. This factor includes the photos, drawings, animation

and other visual stimuli used to convey meaning in a marketing message. When

messages are presented through the Internet, photographs rather than language can be

more effective than words alone. What is aesthetically pleasing is culturally linked, so

it is essential to understand the tastes and preferences of the audience in this type of

marketing. Colors and symbols that communicate positive messages in one country

may have a completely different meaning in another. Interview questions relating to

image are included in Table 2-3.

38

Table 2-3: Image questions (not in survey format)

Marketing Factor 3: Image The actual photos, drawings, animation and other visual stimuli being conveyed

Image is extremely important in marketing. What meaning do the images in this website convey to you? Are there photos of people in this website? Do you think their image is too American? (Look specifically at the timeline section of the GM site and the professional section) Is there any meaning inherent in color in Brazilian culture? Do the color choices in this website follow such cultural “rules” about color? Does the animation of the Ford site appeal to you as a Brazilian consumer of American products?

Marketing Factor 4: Content. This factor asks the question, how meaningful and

comprehensive is the information being conveyed? Content is very closely related to

message, but it refers to the factual information the message is trying to convey.

Interview questions relating to content are included in Table 2-4.

Table 2-4: Content questions (not in survey format)

Marketing Factor 4: Content How meaningful and comprehensive is the information being conveyed

Is there enough appropriate information given in the content to make you comfortable shopping on this website? Is there anything in the site content that is inappropriate to Brazilian culture? Do you consider this to be a sophisticated website by Brazilian standards?

39

Marketing Factor 5: Branding. This factor is testing whether or not the brand is

established in the mind of the international consumer. Consumers in certain countries

view the brand as suggesting the overall desirability of a product (Batra et al. 84). For

example consumers in developing countries often view Western brands as portraying

Western practices and lifestyles, therefore making brands that symbolize affluence

seem highly desirable (Batra et al. 84). Certain brands have the capacity to convey

meaning internationally, while the majority are only conceived on a national level

(Usunier 293). It is important, then, to consider how a brand will fair in its

international appeal. Interview questions relating to branding are included in Table 2-5.

Table 2-5: Branding questions (not in survey format)

Marketing Factor 5: Branding Does the brand ring familiarity in the mind of the subject/consumer

Is the brand being marketed in this website a familiar brand in Brazil? Do the slogans/taglines being used convey the brand well? Is the corporate logo familiar to you? Would you be able to tell one logo from the other without seeing its name? Is the site assuming a consumer familiarity with the product? Should it be? Are you familiar with this brand?

Marketing Factor 6: Cultural Positioning. Cultural positioning looks at the kind of

cultural scenarios at work in the marketing (i.e. how many women, men,…etc are

shown, and does that type of positioning matter to a particular culture?). Traditional

roles that people play in one culture may not be the same as in the other culture.

40

Therefore, the way people are portrayed in marketing messages and ads matters a great

deal. For example, an originally U.S. brandy advertisement transformed to target the

South African Bantu market showed a couple seated at a table with a bottle

superimposed over them. This created an unintended contrast between the traditional

local aspect of the culture and the situation as the audience assumed the woman was

carrying the bottle on her head as many African women do (Usunier 413). Interview

questions relating to cultural positioning are included in Table 2-6.

Table 2-6: Cultural Positioning questions (not in survey format)

Marketing Factor 6: Cultural Positioning What kind of cultural scenarios are at work in the marketing (i.e. how many women,

men,…etc are shown. Doing what? Does that matter to this culture?) Do you see any cultural scenarios being played out in the marketing of this site? (either American or Brazilian cultural situations) Consider the images discussed previously. Are the images of people doing things appropriate to Brazilian culture? (i.e. A girl doing Yoga is not an appropriate ad in Germany as it conveys laziness to the German people). Are automobiles as important (i.e. do they carry the same status) in Brazilian culture as they do in American culture? Do these websites show an understanding of the cultural positioning of automobiles in Brazil?

Data Analysis

Bruce Berg in his book, Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences,

talks about analyzing the data gained from qualitative research and that it is

simultaneously the most difficult yet creative aspect of any research project (Berg

41

102). Although qualitative analysis sometimes is thought to lack the precision assumed

to be present in quantitative research, this is not necessarily the case because if it is

done correctly it demonstrates a much deeper understanding of the project (Berg 102-

103).

The data from the modified CETSCALE is numerical. It contains Likert scale

answers, and it provides a general sense of the subjects’ overall perception of U.S.

marketing ethnocentricity. These survey results were plotted using graphical

representation on a charted scale of ethnocentrism. The X-axis represents each of the

17 CETSCALE modified questions, and the Y-axis measures the amount of

ethnocentrism perceived via the average of combined subjects’ Likert scale answers.

A second set of graphical representations illustrates the average ethnocentrism score

for each of the eight individuals. In this way one can see the results of each individual

as well as the group as a whole. It provides a quantitative baseline for the study.

The qualitative answers provide a richness and in depth understanding by

allowing insights into the ethnocentrism survey results. They are presented according

to website and subdivided into each of the six marketing factors using a chart of tables

shown in appendix E. The analysis of this qualitative data is modeled after Bruce

Berg’s pattern of systematic filing systems and his “Major Topic/Theme” chart (Berg

104).

42

Testing Survey Questions As discussed in the previous chapter, this research was structured based on a

protocol that administers the study in two parts. Subjects were first given the modified

CETSCALE survey, which was completed by each before meeting with the researcher

to assess subjects’ general ethnocentric perception of U.S. cross-cultural marketing.

Secondly, the subjects participated in qualitative interviews conducted by the

researcher. Subjects were asked to exercise each of three specific websites and to

answer predetermined interview questions which were given to the subjects for

consideration a week in advance.

The questions were pre-tested using subjects who were not involved in this

research project. By doing this, many potential problems were averted, and general

misunderstanding was kept to a minimum during the actual interview process.

The pre-test interview subjects signaled revisions that were necessary to clarify several

of the questions on the CETSCALE survey portion, and various spelling and

grammatical errors. Additionally, the subjects indicated that many of the qualitative

interview questions could be answered with a simple yes or no, and that they should be

expanded upon in the interview process with probes to ensure more complete answers

that include examples.

43

Methodology Summary

This methodology administered a three-step protocol which uses both

quantitative and qualitative techniques to test the hypothesis.

Ø Step 1 (Quantitative): Administered the modified CETSCALE to subjects in the

form of 17 Likert-type scaled survey questions. Subjects completed this survey

prior to any face-to-face meeting with the researcher.

Ø Step 2 (Qualitative): As a preparatory step, subjects were given the list of websites

to be analyzed along with the interview questions approximately one week prior to

the qualitative interviews.

Ø Step 3 (Qualitative): Conducted qualitative interviews with each subject as he or

she exercised each website and answered pre-determined interview questions

regarding six marketing factors. The six factors discussed were language, message,

image, content, brand and cultural positioning.

44

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH RESULTS This chapter summarizes the results of 8 subjects who answered scaled survey

questions and analyzed three U.S. based Brazilian websites for Western U.S

ethnocentrism to answer the question of whether or not the Internet helps overcome the

problem of U.S. ethnocentrism in cross-cultural marketing. These results also attempt

to prove the hypothesis that U.S. based companies promote Western culture

ethnocentrism across country and cultural boundaries when marketing through the

Internet.

Subjects These 8 subjects were chosen because of their extensive knowledge of

Brazilian culture and the Portuguese language, as well as basic capability to navigate

the Internet. There was a mixture of male and female subjects with an age range from

19 to 74 years old. Table 3-1 presents the subject demographics:

45

Table 3-1: Demographics of interview subjects Age Sex Education

Level Ethnicity Years

lived Brazil

Familiarity w/Brazilian Culture

Knowledge Portuguese Language

Subject 1 23 F College Brazilian 6-10 Average Excellent Subject 2 37 M Post Grad/

Doctorate Brazilian 20 + Excellent Excellent

Subject 3 26 F Some Grad Brazilian 6-10 Excellent Excellent Subject 4 31 M Graduate Brazilian 20 + Excellent Excellent Subject 5 74 F Post Grad/

Doctorate Brazilian 20 + Excellent Excellent

Subject 6 28 F Graduate Brazilian 20 + Excellent Excellent Subject 7 19 F Some

College American 6-10 Excellent Excellent

Subject 8 24 F Some College

Brazilian 11-20 Good Good

The subjects’ demographics are somewhat homogeneous in terms of education

and knowledge of the Brazilian language and culture. However, such similarities bode

well for the focus of this study. Although the Internet came to Latin America in 1995

and has been growing rapidly, only 1.5 percent of Latin Americans have access to the

Internet today (Treverton and Mizell xiii). Internet penetration is projected to be less

than 12 percent in Latin America in 2005, and most of this Internet use is concentrated

in the wealthiest 20 percent of the population (Treverton and Mizell xiii). The

wealthier people of Brazil tend to be the ones with the highest levels of education, and

so it follows that Brazilian subjects with more education are better able to assess

Internet issues. They are the people who have access to the Internet.

46

Modified CETSCALE Results The response data from the modified CETSCALE represents the subjects’

general perception of U.S. company ethnocentrism when marketing cross culturally.

The perception was scored according to a 5-step Likert type scale, which was applied

to 17 questions and given to the subjects as the first part of the research to be

completed before meeting with the researcher. The subjects answered each of the 17

questions by indicating a score of one, two, three, four or five. An answer of “1”

indicates the subject strongly disagrees with the statement, while and answer of “5”

indicates the subject strongly agrees with the given statement. Perception of U.S.

ethnocentrism is indicated with a score of “strongly agree” or “5” in that the subject

perceives U.S companies as being extremely ethnocentric in attempting to reach other

cultures. Conversely, if a subject answered “strongly disagree” or “1” he or she is

indicating a perception of very low ethnocentrism on the part of U.S. companies.

The results are shown in figures 3-1 and 3-2. In both graphs, the Y-axis

represents the Likert types scores from 1-5. Figure 3-1 presents a total perspective of

how these Brazilian subjects view U.S. company ethnocentrism as the average score of

all subjects on each question is given.

Figure 3-2 represents the same data, but displays it from a slightly

different standpoint. This graph shows how each subject individually perceived

ethnocentrism, by showing the average and median scores of each subjects’ total

47

answers to all 17 questions. A table of the raw data from this survey is available in

appendix D.

48

Figure3-1: Graphical Representation of Survey Data

Total Perception of U.S. Company Ethnocentrism:Across all Subjects

0.00.51.01.52.02.53.03.54.04.55.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

17 CETSCALE Questions (modified)

Ethnocentrism Perceived (Average score) Ethnocentrism Perceived (Median score)

Scaled Questions 1-17

1. American companies should primarily market to non-American cultures using the Internet.2. Only those American products that are unavailable in Brazil should be marketed to Brazil through the Internet.3. American companies encourage Brazilian consumers to buy American products.4. American companies promote their products as being the first, last and foremost.5. Purchasing American products makes me feel like I am compromising my culture.6. It is not right to purchase American made products because it puts my own people out of jobs and at a disadvantage.7. American marketing is aimed at me to make me perceive American culture as better than mine.8. We should purchase products manufactured in America because they show us that they are the standard.9. It is always best to purchase American products rather than Brazilian.10. The perception I get from American marketing is that there should be very little trading or purchasing of goods from non-American countries unless absolutely necessary.11. American do not buy foreign products.

12. American Internet marketing is significantly different than American traditional marketing (i.e. Print advertisements, TV commercials, Billboards, Radio advertisements).13 . American companies encourage me to support for American products, even when it will cost me more in the long run.14. American companies should not be allowed to market products in Brazil.15. American products should be taxed heavily so as to reduce entry into Brazil.16. I do not want to rely on American products, however I feel there is no choice but to do so.17. American companies who market to Brazil are responsible for putting the value of Brazilian consumers below the value of American consumers. * Results reversed to appropriately parallel scale.

* * *

*

*

*

49

Figure 3-2: Graphical Representation of Same Survey Data-Varying Perspective

Evaluation Questions/Interviews To supplement the scaled survey answers and enhance the understanding of

various perspectives on U.S. ethnocentricity, open ended interview questions were

administered as the second phase of research. As discussed in the methodology

chapter, the subjects were given the websites and the interview questions one week

prior to each interview so that they did not begin the interview unaware of the subject

matter. The answers to interview questions were given while the researcher observed

each subject as he/she analyzed the three cases (websites) in relation to six marketing

factors. The researcher posed questions in a conversational dialogue. The interview

results are tabulated below using the “Major Topic/Theme” method suggested in

qualitative research method literature (Berg 102-105).

Individual Perception of U.S. Company Ethnocentrism: Across all Questions

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Subjects

Ethnocentrism Perceived (Average score) Ethnocentrism Perceived (Median score)

50

The Major Topic/Theme method of data analysis provides a way to organize

and arrange open-ended interview data so that it can be studied in a comprehensive

form. The data is divided into naturally occurring classes of things, events and

important characteristics of the items so that one can find similarities, dissimilarities

and patterns in the data (Berg 104). The findings that emerge from the data are among

the most interesting and important results obtained in this research. In this case, the

major topics listed are the observed websites, and the themes involve the various

marketing factors applied to each one. The tables in appendix E display a break down

of qualitative data gathered through observational interviews of eight subjects’ scrutiny

of three cross-culturally marketed websites.

Consistent Response Patterns

This research produced outcomes and patterns that speak to the original

hypothesis. The quantitative data reveals a commonality in the way these subjects

view ethnocentrism as projected by U.S. companies marketing internationally.

Additionally, the majority of subjects responded consistently when analyzing each of

the three American created/ Brazilian targeted websites. In many cases different

examples were given to justify the response, but the majority of those surveyed had the

same thoughts involving the six given marketing factors.

51

CETSCALE Patterns

Subjects have the relatively strong perception that U.S. companies are

ethnocentric in their cross-cultural marketing. Eleven out of the 17 questions (65%)

yielded a response of 3 or higher where subjects were indifferent (but not in

disagreement), in agreement, or in strong agreement with statements that make U.S.

companies seem heavily ethnocentric. The average and median scores for these

subjects did not fall below a 1.5 on any of the questions, meaning that on average none

of the subjects had “strong” disagreement with statements that exposed U.S.

ethnocentrism. The lowest score, meaning the strongest disagreement in perception of

U.S. ethnocentrism, occurred on question 14 where both the average and median scores

of all eight subjects were 1.5. Respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that,

“American companies should not be allowed to market products in Brazil.” It appears

that even if subjects agree that American companies market to Brazil from a U.S.

centric perspective, they are hard pressed to suggest that these companies should not be

allowed to market in Brazil.

Subjects consistently viewed U.S. companies as being ethnocentric in their

marketing. Survey question numbers 3, 4, 8, and 9 were given the highest scores

(medians of 4 and 5, average of 4.3 and 4.5). The questions presented statements such

as, “American companies promote their products as first, last and foremost,” and

“American companies encourage Brazilians to buy American products.” The high

52

response scores given to these statements indicate that the subjects perceive U.S.

international marketing as being forced on them and presented as the “best”.

In looking at the average and median scores of the individual subjects’ responses to all

17 questions, similar patterns appear. No single subject yielded an average or median

score of less than 3. Interestingly, the one subject who is American with immersion in

Brazilian culture, scored highest on perceiving U.S. companies as being ethnocentric.

Patterns in Interview Responses: Ranking Pattern

The interview results gathered during the analysis of the sites provide rich

detail on these subjects’ perceptions of American ethnocentrism. The data reveal

ethnocentrism in relation to Internet marketing and the reasons for these perceptions.

Several patterns were detected in the analysis of the qualitative interview data.

The broadest and most consistent pattern is seen in the way the subjects

“ranked” the websites from the one which seems to do the best job of marketing to the

Brazilian culture, to those which do not. In other words, which of the U.S. companies

was least or most ethnocentric in its marketing, which are appealing to Brazilians

because it appeared to be authentically “Brazilian,” and which is not appealing because

it markets from a Western cultural perspective.

Six of the 8 subjects (75%) reported that the General Motors (GM) is the most

authentically Brazilian and therefore presents the least ethnocentric perspective. These

subjects also reported that Chrysler does the worst job of marketing to Brazil, and is

53

therefore not appealing to a Brazilian consumer. Perceptions of U.S ethnocentricity in

the Ford website were mixed. All subjects reported that some aspects of the Ford site

were very culturally appealing, while other parts were very “American”. The study

shows that 75% of subjects interviewed felt the websites can be placed in the following

order of best to worst case of cross-cultural Internet marketing:

1) General Motors;

2) Ford;

3) Chrysler.

An interesting aspect is that there is a relationship between the amount of

product oriented content on a site and the level of cultural sensitivity the site displays.

It appears that the more authentically Brazilian the marketing is, the more difficult it is

for one to navigate to specific auto information. The subjects who perceived GM as the

least ethnocentric also said that the General Motors site is the most difficult on which

to find meaningful and pertinent car purchase information. The opposite was true for

Chrysler. Chrysler seems to do the best job of providing the car content, but it is the

most U.S. ethnocentric. All eight subjects (100%) agreed on this point. Subjects

suggested that this may be so because the people are more interested in other aspects of

a company than the product (i.e. does the company care about the people or is it just

trying to make money?). Conversely, American consumers are more immediately

interested in the type of car, how much it costs, and where to purchase it, not about the

company. Therefore, marketing that understands this cultural trait for Brazil, as does

54

GM, would clearly have the least ethnocentric, yet most difficult to find product

information, while ethnocentric companies such as Chrysler are less in tune with the

culture, but have easy, immediate access to content about the product.

Many specific patterns and examples were found to support this finding. These

patterns and examples are presented by the six marketing factors of language, message,

image, content, branding and cultural positioning.

Language

The ability of the marketers to make the site appear to have been written in

Portuguese rather than translated from English was a major factor in determining the

cultural authenticity. All of the subjects interviewed conveyed that, as a whole, these

websites were generally well written and easily understood. However, 100% of those

interviewed said that they could definitely tell General Motors’ website was originally

written in Portuguese. The

language was absolutely flawless, and

one subject noted that the punctuation

was very good as seen in Figure 3-3.

Mistakes normally made by

Americans when writing in

Portuguese are not made in the GM

Figure 3-3: GM Uses Good Translation and Grammar

55

text. For example, one subject reported that many Americans, when writing or

translating in Portuguese, fail to put a comma between the word “and” and the last

word in a series of elements because it is not done in English grammar. However, this

punctuation was correctly displayed in Portuguese all through the GM website. Two

of the eight subjects also noted that there is a little bit of “Americanism” coming

through in the phrase “Fear this” on the GM site, because is not easily translated into a

meaning Brazilians can understand.

Conversely 75% of the subjects related that the language in the Chrysler

marketing is very awkward and appeared to be translated verbatim from English. The

general response was that although there are no strange or negative meanings in the

language, it is not well written for the target culture. For example, one subject

indicated the translation of the American phrase, “any less ordinary” is very poorly

done and would not make sense to a Brazilian. This site also uses many English words

that could have been translated (i.e., limited, preferred, suede, airbags). Another

subject related that the site uses a lot of American words and innuendoes, such as

“exciting” in the wrong context when describing the Sebring model. Also, one portion

of the section on PT Cruisers translates as, “get close physically and emotionally,”

which really does not make sense.

Translation on the Ford site falls somewhere in between. It is generally well

written and articulate but does tend to use some English words could have been

translated. For example, in the page that talks about “quality care” (Figure 3-4), the

56

Figure 3-4: Ford’s use of “Quality Care”

phrase “Quality Care” would be more appealing to Brazilians if translated into

Portuguese. However, all of the subjects thought most of the English words used by

Ford are well known Internet Jargon

such as, “chat room,” “e-gifts,”

“newsletter,” and “wallpaper,” which do

not pose the same negativity as do other

English words.

Message and Content

One subject related that Ford is sending a negative message in the 1995 bullet

of the timeline section where it states that Ford had put all Latin car makers out of

business and that good cars cannot be produced in Latin America. It talks of the

“dissolution of the Latin Auto.” Furthermore, only 50% of the subjects said both Ford

and General Motors do a good job of presenting a message of caring about the

Brazilian people, community, and environment (Figures 3-5 and 3-6). Both sites give a

detailed account of the company histories, which is important to the Brazilian culture,

and they work hard to establish credibility, another important cultural factor. For

example, most agree that GM presents a message of the company caring about the

57

country, the Brazilian community and the environment. It is a message that is very

contextualized to Brazil, which is a high context culture (Hall 39).

The message that subjects take from the Chrysler site is nothing more than “buy

this car.” In fact, one subject cited that the message overwhelmingly conveys, “you

should want an American car,” a consumerism message. Five out of the eight

interviewees (63%) feel the Chrysler message targets the very wealthy, elite, upper

class Brazilians.

As discussed previously, the less product content a site provides, the more

authentically Brazilian the site is perceived to be. Several subjects report that although

General motors is correctly appealing to the culture, it is virtually “not shoppable.”

Inversely, Chrysler provides easy to access and pertinent product information, but

misses the mark when it comes to understanding its audience culturally.

Image

The images in these sites heavily influenced the subjects’ perception of

marketing ethnocentrism. Again, the majority of subjects selected GM as having the

most authentically Brazilian marketing style with respect to images, followed closely

Figure 3-5: Ford’s Environmental Message Figure 3-6: GM’s Environmental Message

58

Figure 3-8: GM uses Many Photos of People in the Website

by Ford. Chrysler fell short of the mark as it presented a very American look and feel

and was perceived as portraying a U.S. ethnocentric perspective.

Color has meaning in culture (Usunier 257-259). The incorrect use of color can

be detrimental or supportive to the message text. Seven of the eight subjects

interviewed (88%) recognized General Motors’ use of Brazilian flag colors. The blue,

yellow and green are on each page of the site (Figure 3-7). One subject commented on

the appealing nature of these colors

because Brazilians are generally

extremely patriotic people. Also, the GM

site uses many photos of people, which is

very appealing to the Brazilian

culture (Figure 3-8). Ford and

Chrysler are both lacking in this area.

Figure 3-7: The GM Site Uses the Colors of the Brazilian Flag

59

Photos on Ford and Chrysler sites depict the products almost entirely. One subject

pointed out that the photos of people make the entire site appeal real and not staged.

GM used pictures of real events, not stock photos. The other two sites do not take this

approach to image use and, as a result,

tend to appear more sterile and less

“Brazilian.” The images on the GM site

also depict regular working people to

which the consumers can relate. One

subject reported that the photo of the

elderly woman on the GM site presents an image of the “essence” of Brazilian culture

(Figure 3-9). Additionally, another subject posited that the yellow license plates

shown in the timeline section are a subtle but sure sign of Brazilian authenticity.

Although General Motors presents a total image that Brazilians find extremely

favorable, there were a few places where the company’s ethnocentrism was revealed.

For example, 4 of the 8 subjects (50%)

reacted negatively to the picture on the

homepage showing a blond girl as the

focus of the image (Figure 3-10).

Seemingly, this image is very American

looking. One subject commented that

Figure 3-10: GM Homepage

Figure 3-9: GM photos Authentically Brazilian

60

you would very rarely see a blond in Brazil, and others surmise that even the posture

and indifference portrayed has an American style to it.

Ford has a cleaner, more Americanized look than General Motors, however, it

does make use of animation, a favorite in the Brazilian culture. The Flash used on the

homepage was very appealing to all subjects and the “kids” section, shown in Figure 3-

11, appealed to five out of the

eight subjects (63%).

Other than the use of

animation, Ford presents a

fairly generic image that did

not “grab” the majority of the

subjects one way or the other culturally.

The image presented by Chrysler is riddled with Western culture ethnocentrism

according to 6 of the 8 subjects (88%). It has the look and feel of everything that is

culturally American and almost nothing that is Brazilian. This site is very dull in color,

very bland and extremely linear in the

way it is structured (see homepage in

Figure 3-12). One subject remarked that

Brazilians prefer blocky sites with lots

of movement. They like a page that

Figure 3-12: Chrysler Homepage

Figure 3-11: Kids Section/Animation on the Ford Site

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looks busy, almost to the point where it is hard to navigate. Another subject said that

Brazilians would not like the clean, sophisticated look of the Chrysler site, but rather

like a busy look because that seems more casual and fun. Several subjects also pointed

out the use of photos that are not appealing or unknown to Brazilians. For example, the

photo of the PT Cruiser with a set of skis loaded in it was ridiculous in several

subjects’ estimation (Figure 3-13). There is no place to ski in a country like Brazil and

skiing is not part of the common culture. Furthermore, two subjects commented that

the image of a New York City building would not be something most Brazilians would

recognize (Figure 3-13). Most agreed also that the Chrysler site looks like a typical

American car commercial with no attempt to adjust it culturally to Brazil.

Edward Hall, in his book Beyond Culture, discusses high and low context

cultures. He categorizes that Western culture is low context, meaning people are

individualistic and do not require interaction with their surroundings (Hall 85-86).

Low context cultures are also time and space-oriented, paying particular attention to

Figure 3-13: The Chrysler Site Uses Inappropriate Photos

62

Figure 3-14: Ford’s “Wow” Logo

punctuality and time limits. American culture, in particular, is a linear or

monochromatic society, because it tends to prefer to address one thing at a time (Hall

17). The Chrysler site marketing is perceived as highly linear and obviously American

in nature for this reason. It is straightforward and it presents its products very

succinctly, one after the other without much to detract from the product. Latin

American culture, on the other hand, is a high context society. People are more apt to

immerse themselves in the context of their surroundings and multitask. They take in

many things at the same time and deeply involve themselves in the context of the

culture. This is likely why marketing like that of GM and Ford is more appealing to

Brazilians when it has a lot of color and animation. It also demonstrates why the

Brazilian culture finds marketing that focuses on company information rather than

product information more culturally engaging.

Brand

All eight subjects acknowledged the extremely sophisticated presentation of

these three sites. They said it is obvious that these sites represent large name, big

brand companies. Half of the subjects interviewed agreed that GM is the most well

known brand in Brazil. One subject commented that it is so familiar that most

Brazilians do not even consider it to be foreign. The other

half say that Ford is by far the most recognizable automobile

brand in Brazilian culture. In both cases the majority report

63

that the websites assume a consumer familiarity with the brand in a culturally sensitive

manner. Actually, the Ford logo, which incorporates the word “wow” in Portuguese

(Figure 3-14), was a positive branding aspect for 3 of the 8 subjects (38%). Chrysler is

another largely familiar brand, but all eight subjects agreed that it does not come close

to the brand recognition of either GM or Ford.

Cultural Positioning

Cultural positioning is always at work in marketing, and it is particularly

noticeable when marketing across cultures. All eight subjects said that none of the web

sites present a negative or offensive position culturally. However, there are some

cultural scenarios in each site that can be considered not sensitive to the Brazilian

culture.

One of the subjects commented on a “people” photo on the GM site that was

culturally positioned in a very non-Brazilian way. The photo of a family dressed for

the outdoors, going hiking using their SUV, “could not look more American,” said one

subject (Figure 3-15). On the other hand, the

photos of the beach are positioned very well, as

they convey the traditional image of Brazil with its

exotic landscapes. The photos of children position

GM positively to Brazilians as well, and the

Figure 3-15: GM Family Photo

64

community service projects seem to be especially

culturally oriented.

The Chrysler site is not very creative in terms of

Brazilian culture. Four of 8 (50%) subjects said it

positions itself as being incredibly elitist and conveys a

foreign, upscale cultural position. Additionally, the

camping gear shown in the photos is not very Brazilian (Figure 3-16). As discussed

above, this site is positioned more toward the “rich” audience who can afford such

luxuries.

Ford, again, falls somewhere in between. It does not offend, yet it does not

particularly impress in a culturally sensitive way. The environmental section of Ford is

much more Brazilian though as it positions the forests and the beaches to be culturally

appealing.

Data Validation

Some subject data verification was done through interviews with website

managers. Electronic Data Solutions (EDS) is a leading global information technology

services company that provides strategies and solutions to help companies succeed in

their digital marketing strategies. They work to eliminate boundaries and collaborate

in new ways so that their clients understand the implications of marketing in a digital

world, and in doing so across cultures. In speaking with two executives at EDS

Figure 3-16: Chrysler Using Camping Gear Photo

65

responsible for the GM Brazilian website operations, one can see the legitimacy in the

subjects’ perception of which websites are Western U.S. ethnocentric and which are

not. Teri Takai is the Vice President of Internet Operations with the GM Global Supply

Chain division of EDS. Paul Durrer is the president for EDS GM Latin America,

Africa and Middle East Operations. Personal interviews with these individuals provide

study results validation.

Mr. Durrer noted that the data gathered in this study make sense, as the GM

Brazil website is almost entirely managed directly by Latin American administration.

The marketing, sales and technical staff is entirely Latin American and therefore they

understand the cultural issues at the source. GM uses local people to produce the

website. He believes that both GM and Ford produce uniquely Brazilian products and

use local Brazilian marketing staff. This supports the study’s findings that GM was

seen as the most appealing site for Brazilians, followed by Ford.

Furthermore, an article titled, “GM Sees Net Car Sales Boom in Brazil,” stated,

“General Motors believes they are still scratching the surface of a car market with

enormous potential.” GM realizes that the challenge is to bridge the gap between

Internet use and new-car buying patterns specific to the Brazilian culture (Mohoney

ecommercetimes.com). GM appears to have succeeded in using the Internet not only to

help it produce and distribute a car, but also to penetrate a market segment that largely

lacks online access (Conner kioskcom.com). It is able to do this by eliminating

ethnocentric thinking and tendencies. The company also responded to the cultural

66

issue of lack of online access by working with 500 of its dealers to set up electronic

sales kiosks in Brazil (Conner kioskcom.com).

Results Summary

The results reveal several important findings. The most prominent finding is

that people are sensitive to ethnocentric presentations in marketing and can distinguish

differences as seen in the consistent ranking of these three automobile websites. A

second significant finding is the apparent relationship between Western ethnocentrism

in the website marketing and the usability of the website for finding actual product

information and using e-commerce capabilities. A third significant finding is that out

of the six marketing factors studied, language and image have the biggest impact for

developing cultural sensitivity in website marketing. The following chapter discusses

these key findings in greater detail.

67

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS DISCUSSION Key Findings

As summarized in the previous chapter, these study results reveal three

prominent findings:

1) People are sensitive to ethnocentric presentations in marketing and can

distinguish differences as seen in the consistent ranking of these three

automobile websites.

2) There is a relationship between Western ethnocentrism in the website

marketing and the usability of the website for finding actual product

information and using e-commerce capabilities.

3) Of the six marketing factors studied, language and image have the biggest

impact for developing cultural sensitivity in website marketing

The results support the notion that marketing across cultures is quite different

from marketing domestically, and it requires an understanding of issues inside as well

as outside the realm of marketing. For example, knowing the target audience is an

essential aspect of any marketing effort. However, as demonstrated by this study,

when marketing across country and cultural boundaries the marketer’s knowledge of

the target audience must expand to include psychodemographic factors like social

norms, lifestyles, values, religion, and education (Usunier 385).

68

The relationship between Western ethnocentrism in the website marketing and

the site usability for product information and e-commerce is striking. A high context,

culturally sensitive website is more likely to focus its marketing on information other

than products. For example, a website that appeals to the Brazilian culture, makes it

simultaneously more difficult for the Brazilian consumer to locate information about

products and to purchase them online. This demonstrates a fundamental difference

between the U.S. and Latin American cultures. It is difficult for a low context, U.S.

based company to understand a consumer that is not as interested in product purchases

as in the company itself. Inversely, it is equally difficult for a high context, Brazilian

based company to understand a consumer that is more interested product information

than in the company standards and commitment to its culture and community.

Nevertheless, understanding these cultural differences is key to building culturally

sensitive Internet marketing, and hence creating a website that appeals to the target

audience. General Motors was able to achieve this cultural sensitivity and develop a

culturally sensitive website; Chrysler, on the other hand did not.

Language and image are key marketing factors that make a statement about

cultural understanding. Since Internet marketing is extremely visual in nature, the way

a website looks and how effortlessly it reads determines, in large part, how appealing

the marketing message is from the consumer viewpoint and that of his or her entire

culture.

69

When marketing domestically, poorly structured sentences create a negative

reader reaction. Language is especially important in marketing as specific words can

make or break positive consumer attitudes. But more importantly, language is crucial

when marketing across cultures because translation determines many aspects of

consumer interpretations and attitudes about the company. Incorrect grammar can

cause the company to appear uneducated and may be a telling sign that an effort was

not made to understand the consumer’s culture. If words appear to be directly

translated from English, as was the case with the Chrysler site, then the language may

become confusing and not read smoothly. It is yet another sign to the consumer of

carelessness on the part of the marketing company. A consumer should never have to

read a sentence more than once to understand the message. Even the smallest sign of

incorrect language is noticeable and can impact cross-cultural marketing effectiveness.

For example, several subjects in the study expressed disapproval of the Chrysler site

using the letter “z” in “Brazil” when it appeared in the domain name. Authentic

Portuguese language always spells Brazil with an “s” (i.e. Brasil). By the same token,

most of the positive reaction toward authenticity of the GM site can be credited to how

well it was written, how clearly the language read, and the care that was taken to use

correct grammar. The use of English words that could have been translated into

Portuguese had a negative impact on subjects’ reactions to both the Ford and Chrysler

sites. Again, the general perception was that the marketing company should have

70

taken the time to learn how to translate these words so they made as much sense in

Portuguese as they did in English.

Image is another factor that has a large impact on consumer’s perception of

ethnocentrism in Internet marketing. Image is the “face” of the website, and it causes

consumers to form an opinion almost immediately. Most of the immediate negative

reaction to the Chrysler site had to do with the look and feel of the photos, the color,

and entire layout of the site. As discussed previously, there was very little color, and

the site had a clean, upscale, American look. This image projected onto the Brazilian

culture had an adverse affect, as the Brazilians subjects were not drawn to it in any

way. Subjects reported that they like to see people, color, and animation in the

Brazilian culture. Also, some of the photos that were shown on the Chrysler site were

out of place in this particular culture and gave the impression that the company did not

care about the Brazilian people.

In summary, it is important, when building websites for cross cultural

marketing, to understand the contextual nature of the culture and express that context

through the site design, the images, the text used, and the content that is emphasized.

For example, images of people appeal to the Brazilian culture because the typical

Brazilian consumer wants to know that the company cares about them and not just

about making a sale. Images focused on products only create the opposite effect in the

consumer’s mind, and therefore make the marketing company appear to be

ethnocentric.

71

Hypothesis: True or False?

The hypothesis of this thesis stated that U.S. based companies promote Western

culture ethnocentrism across country and cultural boundries when marketing through

the Interent. Based on the results of this study, this hypothesis has not been confirmed

or denied conclusively. However, the results do show that the same cross-cultural and

ethnocentrism issues that are inherent in traditional marketing are hard at work in

Internet marketing as well. Therefore, there is a tendency for some, perhaps many,

companies to demonstrate Western culture ethnocentrism when marketing through the

Internet. Furthermore, in response to the original research question, “Does the Internet

aggravate the problem of U.S. Western culture ethnocentrism in global marketing

practices, or is it a marketing tool that can help to overcome the problem?”, the answer

is that it does neither. It is a medium through which either can occur.

According to the results of this study, the same basic issues involved in

marketing across cultures exist just as powerfully when marketing through the Internet.

At this time, the Internet as a medium neither overcomes ethnocentric marketing, nor

makes it worse. Merely, it acts as yet another tool through which marketers can

manipulate messages being sent to consumers. If the marketing company understands

the ways in which the end consumer will view ethnocentrism, as GM appears to, then

the message comes across successfully. If the company uses the Internet without

considering the fundamental cross-cultural issues, as does Chrysler, it can be a

hindrance. In the interview with Paul Durrer, he concurred adding that it is very hard

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to determine the Internet’s impact on a marketer’s ability to reach customers across

cultures.

An interesting result that corroborates this finding may be found in the answers

subjects gave to the scaled survey question that stated, “American Internet marketing is

significantly different than American traditional marketing.” Five of eight subjects

(62%) responded with “indifferent.” Additionally, during the open-ended interviews,

each subject was asked how he or she perceived the ability of the Internet as a

marketing medium to reach consumers cross culturally compared to traditional

marketing media. The answers were consistently either “not sure” or “the same.” This

may be because they felt that the Internet marketing is not significantly different than

traditional marketing. These responses support the position that the Internet provides

neither a help or a hindrance, but rather another path for ethnocentrism to cross.

Meanings and Implications of Other Findings

Of the six marketing factors studied, results show that language and image have

the most significant implications for developing cultural sensitivity in website

marketing. However, the other four factors should not be ignored. These factors are:

message, content, brand and cultural positioning.

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Message/Content

Message and content tend to work in tandem. The message expressed through

the content of a culturally sensitive website is often not related to the typical message

of, “buy this product.” The study results demonstrate that when companies understand

their audience they can adjust the overall message of the website accordingly, and thus

rid themselves of an unappealing ethnocentric facade. The GM and Ford sites in

particular exude a message of caring about the Brazilian community and the people

while at the same time enticing the consumer into buying a car. They both place great

emphasis on environmental consciousness, and GM takes the message further by

showing a concern for the Brazilian people who work for the company.

Messages that go beyond the traditional U.S. buyer/seller relationship and show

concern for issues that are important to a target audience have far reaching

implications. If the audience perceives the marketing message is empathetic to their

core issues, they will be more apt to enjoy using the website, favor the company, and in

turn, become a buying customer. Cultural awareness in the marketing message can

translate into the bottom line, company profit.

Brand

Consumer brand familiarity appears to parallel the level of Western culture

ethnocentrism that comes through in the website marketing. This study shows that GM

and Ford are far and away the most recognizable automobile brands in Brazil. A 1999

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report by Adbrands.net named General Motors as a leading advertiser in Brazil in 1999

(mind-advertising.com). Accordingly, AV’s World Automobile Industry reports that

General Motors and Ford are among the leading automobile producers worldwide

(pommert.de). It is not surprising, then, the GM and Ford websites were found to

demonstrate the least ethnocentricity in their marketing respectively. These two issues,

brand familiarity and ethnocentric marketing, appear to correlate. The less

ethnocentrism detected in a company’s marketing, the more likely it is to appeal to the

end consumer, thus establishing consumer familiarity and brand recognition.

The reverse of this statement may also be true and is demonstrated by the

results found in the Chrysler website. Of the three companies studied, the Chrysler

brand and logo are the least recognizable in the Brazilian culture, and simultaneously

the Chrysler site was the most ethnocentrically expressive. This implies that

consumers will likely become more familiar with a brand if it is positioned in their

minds with marketing that displays cultural sensitivity.

Cultural Positioning

Cultural positioning in this study tends to have the same meaning and

implications as image because positioning a company online has everything to do with

visual marketing. The results reveal that certain photos in these sites can influence the

way a culture will react positively or negatively toward the company. The images of

the people and the scenery that culturally position the company as being Brazilian, or

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of appreciating and supporting Brazilian culture, appeal to the consumer and entice

them to linger at the site. The images that position a company as culturally American

convey an attitude of cultural carelessness to Brazilians, and in turn, cause consumers

to go elsewhere for product purchases. Clearly, the way in which a company chooses

to position itself in a cross cultural setting can determine whether or not it will succeed

in a particular culture.

Discussion Summary

This chapter focused on the study results and their key findings which have

implications for Internet marketing across cultures. A culturally sensitive website

depends heavily on the contextual nature of the consumers’ culture. Therefore, to

market successfully, the cultural high or low context atmosphere needs to be

understood and subsequently expressed through the website images, language and

other site design elements.

The hypothesis has not been confirmed or denied conclusively, however, the

results show that the same cross-cultural and ethnocentrism issues that are inherent in

traditional marketing exist in Internet marketing as well. Therefore, there is definitely

a tendency for companies to demonstrate Western culture ethnocentrism when

marketing through the Internet. The Interent provides a new medium through which

ethnocentrism can exist, and does not necessarily serve to aggrevate or overcome this

issue.

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Finally, all six of the marketing factors (language, message, image, content,

brand and cultural positioning) were found to have cultural implications for consumer

purchases. All six place great importance on cultural concoiusness, and can work for

or against positive consumer reactions depending on the marketer.

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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION

The results discussed in the previous chapter can be translated into a prototype

model for low context cultures like U.S. companies to follow for developing culturally

sensitive website marketing to high context cultures such as Brazil. To validate the

model, a full scale, in depth research study should be conducted. The study should

validate the model in multiple industries and cultures. In this way a comprehensive

understanding of the cross-cultural issues can be obtained. The study methodology

applied in this thesis, and the prototype model, are the foundation for conducting this

broader research.

Prototype Model for Cross Cultural Sensitive Internet Marketing

Any well-designed marketing website model must have the prospective

consumer in mind. Therefore, the first step in developing a culturally sensitive website

is to determine whether the target culture is high or low context.

Cultural context is determined by performing extensive market research into

the culture. The marketer must conduct a survey with a large sampling of subjects

from the target culture, asking pertinent questions involving marketing preferences,

social norms, values and lifestyle customs to determine cultural traits. This cultural

research should also include economic trend developments, pricing, distribution and

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selling activities within the culture. Other differences to consider are in the

environment and parameters such as business rules and regulations.

Once high or low context is determined in the target culture, the company

should compare that cultural context to its own. If the home culture is the same as the

target, marketers must understand the cultural issues at work within the target culture

and subsequently, use marketing approaches similar to those already in use in the home

culture. If the context is the opposite, the marketer must design the site to be culturally

sensitive to the target culture. Most importantly, if the target culture is high context,

marketers should focus the site content on information in addition to product

information (company history, credibility, and care for cultural issues like environment

or needy people). If the target culture is low context, marketers should design the site

to be a “shopping site” and focus on products, prices, and how to make purchases.

Designing website sensitivity across cultures requires staffing the web design

and development team with local people and local advertising. The language must be

written directly in the target culture’s language, not translated, and all images must be

tested to be sure they are being used appropriately. When the site design is complete,

interviews must be conducted with consumers from the target culture. The consumers

should exercise the website for usability, as marketers assess consumer reactions.

Based on the usability results, adjustments should be made to the website accordingly.

The prototype model for developing culturally sensitive websites is shown in figure 5-

1.

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Figure 5-1: A Prototype Model for Developing Culturally Sensitive Websites

Limitations of Study

The primary lesson learned from this work is that one cannot attempt to

generalize from a small study to all Internet marketing as was originally thought. This

study presents a direction as to how non-western cultures tend to perceive U.S.

ethnocentrism and is worthy of further research. The results established here are

Researchtarget culture

If LowContextCulture

If HighContextCulture

MarketNormally

Same

Staff WithLocal Team

WriteAuthentically,

Do NotTranslate

Focus onProduct Info

Opposite

MarketNormally

Same

Staff WithLocal Team

WriteAuthentically,

Do NotTranslate

Focus on Infoother thanproducts

Opposite

Determine extentof differencesbetween home

and target culture

Determine extentof differencesbetween home

and target culture

80

specific to the companies that were studied and the specific culture to which they are

marketing. However, in some instances a generalization using case studies may be

possible if the three cases demonstrate direct cause and effect relationships (King

Koehane, and Verba 45).

The limitations in this study were in the subjects and the case studies chosen for

analysis. The sample size was not large enough to achieve statistically applicable

results. Trends and patterns in the subjects’ responses did clearly emerge, however

with a small sample, the results should be considered indicators, rather than predictors

of cross cultural marketing sensitivity. A random sample of subjects from the total

population is needed to truly represent Brazilian cultural reaction to U.S. marketing.

Additionally, the subjects in this study were very homogeneous in their demographic

characteristics, which do not reflect the full range of Brazilian diversity, only the

current Brazilian Internet users.

The study was not conducted in Brazil, but rather in the U.S. with Brazilian

subjects who were equally familiar with American culture. It is possible that this

factor may have biased their answers because they may have been more aware of both

cultural perspectives than the majority of Internet users who live in Brazil.

In conclusion, the Internet itself is not the answer to eliminating ethnocentrism

in marketing, nor is it the problem. The issue at hand is that U.S. companies must have

a full understanding of the cross-cultural marketing fundamentals, whether or not the

medium is the Internet. The subtle social norms and values of the audience drive how

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consumers will react to marketing directed to them from a foreign culture. In many

ways, the Internet provides the technology to make cross-cultural marketing easier, but

it is the marketers’ job to acknowledge, understand and overcome ethnocentrism in

marketing messages.

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APPENDIX A

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Interview with Uwe Bergmann

Date: Feb 7, 2002. Phone Interview. 10:00 am Your Position/titles….expertise? Doctor? He is a consultant who teaches at NYU-German, Business German language, Financial German language. He also has a degree of Beijing University in Language Instruction. Went to school at U of Moscow as well and specializes in interpretation. His expertise is in Chinese, English, Russian and German are his language areas of work and study. He started in the translation business by doing voiceovers in Germany. I understand you do some translation for American Companies Advertising in Germany? Explain? He does translating, editing and supervising of ad companies. Mostly huge International corporations. He specializes in the translation of the language used in the ads so that the meaning is not lost or completely changed when put into another language from English. In your experience, are there a lot of mistakes made on the part of the US when trying to market across cultures? I have been reading about the many problems especially in translation. YES! He can only really speak for the German market expertly, but absolutely. U.S. companies, and the US population in general are unaware of the fact that when words are translated to another language, they might become offensive and in turn provoke the opposite reaction from what was intended. Ex) The well known GOT MILK? Campaign. The company did not feel that they needed any counseling before marketing in Mexico and Germany. In both countries that phrase translated as, “Are you Lactating?” Ex) United Airlines just recently wanted to advertise to Germany with a campaign that said something like “We are Americans and nothing is going to knock us down.” But it sounds awkward when translated becoming more like, “We are Americans and we’ll fall from the sky”. Not a good image to portray especially when advertising and airline. With Uwe’s help they changed it to “We all live in a free world”. They chose this phrase because it cannot be constructed to mean anything other than what it says. Companies lose millions of dollars because of these types of mistakes all the time.

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Would you classify this as U.S. Ethnocentrism? Certainly! The majority of U.S. citizens do not even have a passport. They have never been anywhere else in the world so they basically have no clue. They think that the U.S. way is and should be the standard way of doing things. This attitude translates into corporations when they are trying to market to other countries. Many U.S. corporations are getting more aware these days, however. They have to because they are beginning to realize, if you are going to spend million of dollars on an ad campaign overseas…it has better be done right so it works. Are there more factors than just translation problems? Content, message of advertising? Brand names? Certainly! Certain images of people, places and things will bring specific message across….some of which provoke a negative reaction from the audience. For Example in East Germany they are not into any kind of spiritual experiences…they consider these “silly”. There was a U.S. produced ad campaign that flopped terribly in Germany because of problems other than the words and translation. It was an as for tea, pictured a girl in a NYC studio doing yoga with her tea sitting beside her. This provoked a message of laziness to the East German audience….especially at a time when unemployment was very high there. As you can see, economic factors come into play as well. Advertisers also need to be aware of this problem within the same country…..ex) East and West Germany see things very differently. This ad might have done fine in West Germany. Do you think the Internet has made any kind of impact one way or another on this problem of U.S. Ethnocentrism in advertising across cultures? Is it basically the same issues as involved in print and other kinds of traditional advertising or have U.S. companies leveraged the Internet to help overcome the ethnocentrism? He thinks this is a generational question and the target group for Internet marketing is entirely different than traditional marketing (not sure if I agree with that). The Internet appeals to the younger generation and it is a more universal way of advertising. They older generation is still swayed by tradition media ads more so. In any case Uwe thinks the same issues and problems are arising when companies use the Internet to market across cultures.

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Do you know of any way to measure ethnocentrism by way scale or model? Nothing universal that he knows of. Measuring ethnocentrism is a very individual thing and has a lot to do with perception.

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Interview with Carla Lopez: Date: November 12, 2001 Personal Interview 9:00 am

Where are you from? I was born in Brazil. My mother was born in Kenya and my father in Tanzania. Where have you lived? Northern Brazil, the Caribbean island of Grenada, Malaysia, Portugal and currently the United States. So you have experienced many different cultures other than and including American? Yes, definitely. What are your views on Ethnocentrism in American versus other cultures? Definitely feel that the U.S. is the most ethnocentric culture I have experienced. It very dominantly projects the image that US is the best culture and others should follow its lead. It’s hard for developing countries because they depend heavily on the U.S. for so many resources, but they don’t want to give up their own cultural identity. The above questions were scheduled and pre-planned before the interview. The following bullet points contain the major information gained from the rest of the interview, which was basically a casual conversation: • Other countries take in the U.S. culture but that is not reciprocated by the U.S. • Many developing countries are resentful of American influence on their culture. • There is a lot of British influence in Malaysia and Granada. Especially in terms of

business and popular cultures, the U.S. and Britain are very ethnocentric. • Brazilian economics are heavily based on the U.S. therefore U.S. thinking

dominates these institutions. Brazilian film industry is non existent…it is American.

• People of other cultures absolutely feel that the U.S. thinks they are better than everyone else.

• World powers have managed to reshape the economics in developing worlds; therefore developing countries have to tailor their economies to suit this.

Conversation turned more toward marketing and ethnocentricity:

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• Carla definitely sees U.S. (and British) ethnocentricity in marketing. • T-shirts in Brazil are sold in English. • Brazilian name brands are often English sounding words. • In Japan a lot of logos there have English words in them but they don’t make sense.

People buy them just because they are written in English. • Carla was not really on the Internet much until she came to the U.S. She did

mention the overwhelming domination of American websites. • In Brazil you need a good command of English in order to use the Net, especially

to shop on line.

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APPENDIX B

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Original CETSCALE 1. American People should always buy American made products instead of imports 2. Only those products that are unavailable in the U.S. should be imported. 3. Buy American-made products. Keep America working. 4. American products, first, last and foremost. 5. Purchasing foreign made products is un-American. 6. It is not right to purchase foreign products because it puts Americans out of jobs. 7. A real American should always buy American-made products. 8. We should purchase products manufactured in America instead of letting other

countries get rich off us. 9. It is always best to purchase American made products. 10. There should be very little trading or purchasing of goods from other countries

unless out of necessity. 11. Americans should not buy foreign products because this hurts American business

and causes unemployment. 12. Curbs should be put on all imports. 13. It may cost me in the long run but I prefer to support American products. 14. Foreigners should not be allowed to put their products in our markets. 15. Foreign products should be taxed heavily to reduce their entry into the U.S. 16. We should buy from foreign countries only those products that we cannot obtain

within our own country. 17. American consumers who purchase products made in other countries are

responsible for putting their fellow Americans out of work.

Modified CETSCALE

1. American companies should primarily market to non-American cultures using the

Internet. 2. Only those American products that are unavailable in Brazil should be marketed to

Brazil through the Internet. 3. American companies encourage Brazilian consumers to buy American products. 4. American companies promote their products as being the first, last and foremost. 5. Purchasing American products makes me feel like I am compromising my culture. 6. It is not right to purchase American made products because it puts my own people

out of jobs and at a disadvantage. 7. American marketing is aimed at me to make me perceive American culture as

better than mine.

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8. We should purchase products manufactured in America because they show us that they are the standard.

9. It is always best to purchase American products rather than Brazilian. 10. The perception I get from American marketing is that there should be very little

trading or purchasing of goods from non-American countries unless absolutely necessary.

11. American do not buy foreign products. 12. American Internet marketing is significantly different than American traditional

marketing (i.e. Print advertisements, TV commercials, Billboards, Radio advertisements).

13. American companies encourage me to support for American products, even when it will cost me more in the long run.

14. American companies should not be allowed to market products in Brazil. 15. American products should be taxed heavily so as to reduce entry into Brazil. 16. I do not want to rely on American products, however I feel there is no choice but to

do so. 17. American companies who market to Brazil are responsible for putting the value of Brazilian consumers below the value of American consumers.

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APPENDIX C

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Qualitative Interview Questions

Marketing Factor 1: Language Issues of translation inaccuracies

• Does the language in this website seem to be translated well? (i.e. Does it read

clearly and make sense as if it was not first written in English?) • Do the words convey any strange or negative meanings? • Is it well written and articulate, or does the working seem choppy and rough? • Would you say there is much “Americanism” coming through in the language of

this website? • I specifically noticed with Ford that there are several English worlds being used.

Comment? (ex. Quality Care). • In assessing this factor of marketing (language), how would you say the Internet as

a medium compares to traditional marketing mediums.

q Better q Worse q Same

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Marketing Factor 2: Message Meaning conveyed through the marketing message

• What is the marketing message being conveyed in this website? (i.e. What is the site saying to you, other than “buy this car”?)

• Is the message specific to Brazilian culture? If not, should it be? • Do you think the message is aimed with an American consumer in mind rather than

a Brazilian consumer? If so, does that make the product seem less appealing to you?

• What kind of message is being conveyed with the timeline section of the GM site? • In assessing this factor of marketing (message), how would you say the Internet as

a medium compares to traditional marketing mediums.

q Better q Worse q Same

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Marketing Factor 3: Image The actual photos, drawings, animation and other visual stimuli being conveyed

The actual photos, drawings, animation and other visual stimuli being conveyed • Image is extremely important in marketing. What meaning do the images in this

website convey to you? • Are there photos of people in this website? Do you think their image is too

American? (Look specifically at the timeline section of the GM site and the professional section)

• Is there any meaning inherent in color in Brazilian culture? Do the color choices in

this website follow such cultural “rules” about color? • Does the animation of the Ford site appeal to you as a Brazilian consumer of

American products? • What do you think about the images in the kids’ section of the Ford site? • Do the color changes within Ford site help or hurt the overall image? • In assessing this factor of marketing (image), how would you say the Internet as a

medium compares to traditional marketing mediums.

q Better q Worse q Same

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Marketing Factor 4: Content How meaningful and comprehensive is the information being conveyed

How meaningful and comprehensive is the information being conveyed

• Is there enough appropriate information given in the content to make you

comfortable shopping on this website? • Is there anything in the site content that is inappropriate to Brazilian culture? • Do you consider this to be a sophisticated website by Brazilian standards? • In assessing this factor of marketing (content), how would you say the Internet as a

medium compares to traditional marketing mediums.

q Better q Worse q Same

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Marketing Factor 5: Branding Does the brand ring familiarity in the mind of the subject/consumer

• Is the brand being marketed in this website a familiar brand in Brazil? • Do the slogans/taglines being used convey the brand well? • Is the corporate logo familiar to you? Would you be able to tell one logo from the

other without seeing its name? • Is the site assuming a consumer familiarity with the product? Should it be? Are

you familiar with this brand?

• In assessing this factor of marketing (branding), how would you say the Internet as

a medium compares to traditional marketing mediums.

q Better q Worse q Same

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Marketing Factor 6: Cultural Positioning What kind of cultural scenarios are at work in the marketing (i.e. how many

women, men,…etc are shown. Doing what? Does that matter to this culture?) • Do you see any cultural scenarios being played out in the marketing of this site?

(either American or Brazilian cultural situations) • Consider the images discussed previously. Are the images of people doing things

appropriate to Brazilian culture? (i.e. A girl doing Yoga is not an appropriate ad in Germany as it conveys laziness to the German people).

• Are automobiles as important (i.e. do they carry the same status) in Brazilian

culture as they do in American culture? Do these websites show an understanding of the cultural positioning of automobiles in Brazil?

• In assessing this factor of marketing (branding), how would you say the Internet as

a medium compares to traditional marketing mediums.

q Better q Worse q Same

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Confidentiality Statement Signed by all interview subjects

The individual responses given during this investigation will have no association with the subjects personally. Only the aggregate data obtained via subjects’ responses will be summarized and used in the thesis report. Signature of Subject Signature of Investigator

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APPENDIX D

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Raw Data from Scaled Survey

Subjectquestions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Average Median

1 2 3 3 1 2 2 2 1 2.00 2.002 1 4 2 2 4 2 2 1 2.25 2.003 5 5 4 4 5 4 4 4 4.38 4.004 5 4 5 3 5 4 4 3 4.13 4.005 3 4 2 2 3 4 4 2 3.00 3.006 3 4 4 3 4 2 4 2 3.25 3.507 5 2 5 2 4 2 5 2 3.38 3.008 5 5 5 4 5 5 4 4 4.63 5.009 5 2 5 5 5 5 5 5 4.63 5.00

10 3 5 5 5 5 2 3 3 3.88 4.0011 2 5 2 1 2 1 2 1 2.00 2.0012 4 3 4 3 3 3 4 3 3.38 3.0013 4 3 3 3 2 3 4 3 3.13 3.0014 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 1.50 1.5015 4 4 2 3 2 2 4 2 2.88 2.5016 4 4 1 1 3 1 2 4 2.50 2.5017 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 2.25 2.00

Average 3.41 3.65 3.24 2.65 3.41 2.71 3.35 2.59Median 4 4 3 3 3 2 4 2

CETSCALE Questions (modified)

Ethnocentrism Perceived (Average score)

Ethnocentrism Perceived (Median score) Subject

Ethnocentrism Perceived (Average score)

Ethnocentrism Perceived (Median score)

1 2.0 2.0 1 3.41 42 2.5 2.0 2 3.65 43 4.4 4.0 3 3.24 34 4.1 4.0 4 2.65 35 3.0 3.0 5 3.41 36 3.3 3.5 6 2.71 27 3.4 3.0 7 3.35 48 4.6 5.0 8 2.59 29 4.6 5.0

10 3.9 4.011 2.0 2.012 3.4 3.013 3.1 3.014 1.5 1.515 2.9 2.516 2.5 2.517 2.3 2.0

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APPENDIX E

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Table E-1: Case Study of General Motors Website General Motors for Brazil

Marketing Factors Language Message Image Subject 1 Reads clearly, is well

written and articulate. Some English words show a bit of “Americanism” coming through (i.e. gifts, screen savers, wallpapers, fear this). These could have been translated authentically

A company that cares. The timeline talks about the history of GM specifically in Brazil and its contributions to Brazil. Very contextualized to appropriate culture. Good.

People look “real” and authentically Brazilian. Not generic. Background colors and banner are the 3 colors of the Brazilian flag. Nothing other than that is inherent in meaning of color to a Brazilian.

Subject 2 Well translated. Articulate. No strange or negative meanings in the language here.

Concern about environment and diversity. Trying to humanize the work of making cars with the Solidarity program. Not really good for making Brazilians want to buy a car.

Pictures trying to give an idea of diversity. Concerned with not hurting feelings in Brazil. Images seem to target younger market. Strange to see Afro-Brazilian photos. Rare.

Subject 3 Informal and articulate. Some very technical terms but nothing really strange or negative. Very well written, easy to read and understand. Seems like Brazilians wrote this site.

Saying that cars have a purpose and convincing people that the company is doing a good job environmentally. Very Brazilian message.

Very Brazilian looking images. Kid pictures are good for this culture. Colors of the Brazilian flag displayed. Blond on homepage a surprise though.

Subject 4 Seems very good, very articulate Portuguese. Was obviously not translated from English.

Message of adventure, community, family, leisure. Very Brazilian.

Timeline shows links w/ Brazilian images (yellow license plates). Mix of races shown on homepage. Colors change to more serious on the section about careers at GM.

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Subject 5 Very good use of language. Well written and articulate. No Americanism coming through in language.

Looks like a Brazilian message. Appealing to Brazilian consumer. Good use of people and places in culture.

Brazilian flag colors, obvious cause not generally used together. Color changes with the context. Images of GM workers shows the company cares.

Subject 6 Absolutely well translated. Very well written. “Fear this” section is not easy to understand.

Message is not so much culturally specific as it is to a specific audience.

Nothing specific in the colors. Design of site looks American and the people in homepage photo look very American is style and posture.

Subject 7 Very good translation. Obviously written by a Brazilian, even punctuation is good.

Big on establishing credibility and history which is important to Brazilians. Site talks about investing $1 billion into Brazil by 2005. “We care about country.”

Nothing odd in photos, they are very Brazilian. Blond on homepage is odd, but likely because of their fascination with Blondes. Unappealing to me though.

Subject 8 Doesn’t seem to be translated at all, but rather written originally in Portuguese.

Difficult to find a message about cars because it’s saying so many other things (community, we care, protect environment)

Everything looks Brazilian, especially the people. Time line has some section that really have a Brazilian look. Flag colors.

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Table E-2: Case Study of General Motors Website (continued) General Motors for Brazil

Marketing Factors Content Branding Cultural Positioning Subject 1 Not a lot readily

available about kind of cars. Cars specified as having “Brazilian” design. Nothing offensive in content.

Very recognizable in Brazil, not necessarily as GM, but as “Chevette.” Website assumes this consumer familiarity by not readily providing profile of cars.

Community service projects are specific to Brazil. Nothing inappropriate. Very much in the context of a Brazilian website.

Subject 2 Color meaning is flag colors. Content shows a lot about how cars are produced and company ethics. Sophisticated looking site.

People know this brand well and the slogans/taglines in this site convey the brand well.

Nothing really culturally negative to brazil. The beach photo portrays a traditional image of Brazil as exotic paradise.

Subject 3 Can’t make purchase here but good at telling where and how you can buy car. Nothing inappropriate. A well done site.

Familiar brand but not the most well known in Brazil. Site assumes the consumer knows the brand, but still gives good info.

Generic Brazilian cultural positioning. A lot about how the company cares. Nothing offensive here

Subject 4 Great. First car company in Brazil to allow building an entire car online. Nothing inappropriate. Very sophisticated site.

Huge familiarity in Brazil. The site conveys this well.

One very culturally charged image showing the old woman in the section on literacy issues.

Subject 5 Nothing inappropriate in content. Sophisticated design.

Familiar brand in Brazilian culture. Logo is very recognizable.

Positions itself as being part of the entire world with pictures and content.

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Subject 6 Good content, except for the expression “fear this” = makes no sense to Brazilian.

Very familiar, and site shows that knowledge but only a specific public has access to the Internet anyway.

Image of boys in sprinkler could be happening anywhere. Could be more appealing if positioned as more typically Brazilian.

Subject 7 A lot of useful info in content. Sophisticated site. Nothing inappropriate to Brazilian culture.

Familiar brand. It’s been there a long time so it’s not facing Anti-Americanism as much as other companies.

Some photos are really American looking as you get deeper into site. (ex, outdoor family, clothes, big cars) All these not very Brazilian positioning.

Subject 8 Hard to find info on specific cars, not very shoppable. Sophisticated site though.

GM has been around in Brazil for so long that people don’t even think of it as American.

Nothing inappropriate culturally but that may be simply because it is hard to defend Brazilians.

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Table E-3: Case Study of Chrysler Website

Chrysler for Brazil Marketing Factors

Language Message Image Subject 1 Nothing seems odd or

strange. Not really enough text to tell if it makes sense.

No message. They don’t even have a link to social support like the others. Not specific to any culture. Generic

No people. Very sterile. Not contextual to Brazilian culture at all. Nothing meaningful in the color. Bland.

Subject 2 Language is more personal here. No negative meanings, conveys that the car is made for you. The car is personalized (it’s got charm, attractive).

Makes you feel more comfortable with the car rather than the company itself. Overall pretty generic message. Aimed toward picky buyer.

A monotone image look. No people but that’s probably good in this situation. Not customized at all to Brazil.

Subject 3 Some parts are hard to understand where they mix English w/ Portuguese. Mostly well written, but some very poorly translated phrases. Domain name shows it’s not an authentic Brazilian site

Fairly general message, but very “high class”. Definitely a “foreigners” in the message.

Images of van are not really Brazilian. Very non-Brazilian look in the color of the site. Railway photo completely non-Brazilian.

Subject 4 Big technical descriptions, hard to understand. Some choppy sections but mostly good. Bad translation of “not your usual Sedan”.

Very neutral site, but certainly not Brazilian. Message is all about buying cars and not empathetic to the people of Brazil as is GM.

Really bad use of ski image in the Sebring section, as there is no place to ski in Brazil.

Subject 5 Reads well. Well written.

Very informative car info but not much else. Not culture specific at all.

No people images make it much less appealing. Very bland use of color, no meaning attached.

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Subject 6 Very bad translation. A lot of American words and innuendoes. This site is full of Americanism in language.

No message other than “but this car”.

Couldn’t look more American than this. Colors are very neutral, very American. Designs are very linear, a very American way of organizing.

Subject 7 Many translation mistakes. Awkward sounding. Definitely not written originally in Portuguese. Incorrect grammar, American sounding, non-user friendly.

Message has a lot of English. It is saying, “you want an American car.” Maybe it’s appealing to an upper class Brazilian consumer.

Very American. Entire site looks like an American car ad. Boring neutral colors. Brazilians like movement and bright colors.

Subject 8 Appears to be translated from English. Uses a lot of words not typically used in Brazil. Has an American style of writing.

Specifically for buying cars. Looks like anything you’d see in America.

Doesn’t look Brazilian at all. Kind of bland. Has a clean look and sleek feel whereas an appealing Brazilian site is usually Blocky and harder to navigate.

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Table E-4: Case Study of Chrysler Website (continued) Chrysler for Brazil

Marketing Factors Content Branding Cultural Positioning Subject 1 Gets job done but

doesn’t go out of its way. A bit static, not a lot of links but info about cars. A clean site though.

Not familiar to Brazilians. Because of this the site should do a better job of conveying the brand. Doesn’t grab the consumer.

Not enough images to tell. Cars not shown in any kind of context here. Nothing offensive, but nothing appealing either.

Subject 2 Info given is too general at first, but gets more detailed with clicks. More sophisticated than GM. Nothing inappropriate in content.

Not as familiar. Brand conjures up images of trucks. PT cruiser not familiar in Brazil, yet site assumes a familiarity.

No cultural scenarios here. Only cars. Very generic. Chrysler is very prestigious.

Subject 3 Gives a lot of info about the cars themselves. Images of Chrysler building and railway. Sophisticated in an elite sense.

Not as familiar. Much less than GM. The site shows 31 places to buy the car in mostly upgraded areas.

This culture would not recognize the Chrysler building. Conveys a foreign, upscale image. Ski picture is very inappropriate.

Subject 4 Info aimed at rich people. Vans are not big in Brazil. Easily seen as an “American” content site.

Not very familiar brand. Site does not do good job of making Brazilians feel familiarity with brand.

Trying to position an American car as being better because it is imported. Several images that are not offensive but that Brazilians shouldn’t recognize (New York, camping gear).

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Subject 5 A lot of good information about the cars. Not much about company. Would be better if content included more social issues and company info. Not as sophisticated as others.

Not as familiar brand in Brazil because of the very dry marketing.

Nothing special here. Just cars and locations. Very stale culturally.

Subject 6 Content doesn’t connect with Brazilians.

Less known in Brazil. Obvious in this site.

Missed the mark with cultural positioning to Brazil. Especially in the language use and design of the site. Positioned more for Americans.

Subject 7 Not enough info to decide on buying a car. GM is more informative. Language is inappropriate, as is the “z” in the domain name.

Familiar but not as much. Obvious in the look and feel of this site.

Positioned as an American car with a feeble attempt at targeting an authentic Brazilian culture.

Subject 8 Could use more information but it is really sophisticated.

Not at all a familiar brand in brazil, but the logos on site convey it well.

Too bland and neural to get a feel for whether or not there is positioning at work.

110

Table E-5: Case Study of Ford Website Ford for Brazil Marketing Factors

Language Message Image Subject 1 Seems clear if not a

little flamboyant. Sort of an anti-Latin comment on the timeline. “Quality” is not a word in Brazilian vocabulary. Uses a lot of Internet words that are in English.

Fairly generic except for message about imports putting an end to the Latin car. Some social causes but only about what Ford has done, not Brazil.

No people, so not very culture specific. No preference for the colors used. Animation looks fairly Brazilian, especially in kids’ section.

Subject 2 Easy to understand. Nothing negative. There are some English words that could be translated but it’s an upper-class connotation not to.

Message shows “courage and determination…etc.” Not specific to Brazilian culture, pretty general message.

Images are appropriate for what they are trying to sell. Rustic, earth, country, off road cars. The interactivity and animation are very appealing to Brazilians

Subject 3 Well written. The “wow” logo is good. Words like e-gifts, pickup, airbags, showroom are no good to use, but mostly the language is very Brazilian.

Seems very balanced between American and Brazilian.

Great animation. The red and brown go well with the site for off road, but not particularly culturally specific. Animated sections much more Brazilian than the rest.

Subject 4 Some bad Portuguese, but mostly well written. Ford “direct” should be translated. Many English words used. Ford “mobility” makes no sense in Brazil.

There is environmental message

Overall nice images, but not necessarily Brazilian. Kids section is good culturally.

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Subject 5 Good use of language. Gives a history of Ford. A bit of Americanism coming through in the English, some words should really be translated.

Conveys fun, clubs, contests, and kids. Pretty generic message. More American idea and impression overall.

More modern look and feel than GM. Generic use of color. Animation is really good for targeting Brazilian culture.

Subject 6 Good translation for the most part, good car descriptions. English words are used but are not a detriment here.

Message here could be applied to any culture. Could focus more on the Brazilian people for this culture though.

Animation is appealing. Great use of colors and photos for this culture.

Subject 7 Much better translation than Chrysler but not as good as GM. Words establish credibility through history. Uses English but mostly for well-known Internet Jargon.

Environmental policy trying to show message of concern and compassion. Brazilian message, especially with initial pop-up.

Great animation on homepage, very appealing. Images of building, mountains, beaches, very good representation of Brazil. Color is good overall, not boring like Chrysler. Kid’s section is a little odd.

Subject 8 Good language. Reads normally. Seems to be written originally in Portuguese.

Fairly neutral culturally where message is concerned.

Yellow boxes on top make it appear to be something you’d see in Brazil. Nothing else meaningful in color.

112

Table E-6: Case Study of Ford Website (continued) Ford for Brazil Marketing Factors

Content Branding Cultural Positioning Subject 1 A lot of good content

given on cars but fairly generic. Seems like a sophisticated site.

Hugely familiar brand in Brazil. Website conveys this familiarity well.

Very sterile, not really conveying anything culturally. No people images in the site.

Subject 2 Trying to make you feel like part of their family or club. A lot of info about cars and price. A sophisticated site but you can get lost in the info.

Very popular brand in Brazil. The site assumes a familiarity by saying “our home is the size of Brazil.”

Not much of this because of lack of photos, but it does use a lot of English words which can either be negative or give the site distinction.

Subject 3 Good. Can easily research car. Much less busy that typical Brazilian web content.

Huge brand in Brazil. Site really gets at this familiarity, especially with the modification on the logo (wow).

Rugby section is not Brazilian, rather very American. Environmental part is more Brazilian, but would be better culturally with people.

Subject 4 Good info on car but not as much as other two. Nothing really inappropriate in content but they use too much English.

Huge brand in Brazil. Site recognizes this and acts on it in certain ways.

Uses a lot of car names, which can or cannot be seen as culturally specific. “Action,” for example is in English and may be negative to culture.

Subject 5 Almost too text heavy. More images would be appealing, but nothing inappropriate.

Familiar Brand. Most Brazilians recognize immediately.

A mix of American culture with Brazilian. Nothing stands out either way, except the flash animation.

Subject 6 Good content for the most part. Good car descriptions and info.

Huge brand in Brazil. Neutral positioning, nothing significant either way (Brazilian or American).

113

Subject 7 Good graphics and generally good content. Very sophisticated site.

Really huge brand and very familiar. The site makes us aware of this.

Nothing offensive. Appeals to Brazilians in general especially with the water images.

Subject 8 A little difficult to find things. Better info than GM but not as good as Chrysler.

Well known brand. The site definitely assumes this consumer familiarity.

No specific scenarios that stand out.

114

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