The role of national culture in international marketing research

TLDR

The paper reviews the role of national culture in international marketing research and offers concluding remarks and future research suggestions. The authors analyze national cultural frameworks—Hofstede and Schwartz—examining their interrelations, deriving four dimensions, and exploring their usefulness, contextual layers, acculturation processes, and antecedents in international marketing research.

Abstract

Reviews and discusses the role of national culture in international marketing research. Special emphasis is given to national cultural frameworks. The two main national cultural frameworks – the Hofstede and the Schwartz – are discussed. Their interrelations are examined and four comprehensive national‐cultural dimensions are derived – autonomy versus collectivism, egalitarianism versus hierarchy, mastery versus nurturance, and uncertainty avoidance. The usefulness of national culture as an analytical basis in international marketing research is discussed and the construct of national culture is placed in the context of layers of culture, ranging from global cultures to micro cultures. Acculturation processes to other national cultures and antecedents of national culture are examined. The paper ends with concluding remarks and suggestions for future research.