Cultural dimensions are the mostly psychological dimensions, or value constructs, which can be used to describe a specific culture[1].More precisely:
Cultural dimensions are sometimes not specified. Culture refers to a broad category of variables which are not defined
Culture is sometimes presented as being the factor responsible for cross-national differences which are otherwise unexplained.
Cultural dimensions are only loosely identified. For instance, some authors will use almost interchangeably terms like values, attitudes or norms.
In turn, marketing dimensions may not be defined precisely enough. For instance, an assessment of the cultural impact on distribution cannot be performed meaningfully in broad terms. Even if these concerns were properly addressed, a key issue would remain: how to identify commonly shared traits in societies before attempting to investigate their impact on marketing variables? Existing studies presume that the differences observed in the measurement of cultural variables between countries reflect real differences in commonly shared attributes in each country[2]. This may not necessarily be the case. It should first be established that commonly shared traits of each country have been isolated. As a matter of fact, Inkeles and Levinson in their discussion of national character warn that "...it appears unlikely that any specific personality characteristic or any character type will be found in as much as 60-70 percent of any modern national population[3]." One would suspect that the same would hold true with respect to cultural traits relevant to consumption behaviour. Unfortunately, the dangerous road to national stereotyping is paved with plenty of statistically significant yet irrelevant findings.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_dimensions
[2] Jean-Emile Denis,” Culture and International Marketing Mix Decisions”, University of Geneva.
[3] Inkeles, Alex, and Daniel J. Levinson (1969), "National Character: The Study of Modal Personality and Sociocultural Systems", in G. Lindsay and E. Aronson (Eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology, Vol. 4, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
Cultural dimensions are sometimes not specified. Culture refers to a broad category of variables which are not defined
Culture is sometimes presented as being the factor responsible for cross-national differences which are otherwise unexplained.
Cultural dimensions are only loosely identified. For instance, some authors will use almost interchangeably terms like values, attitudes or norms.
In turn, marketing dimensions may not be defined precisely enough. For instance, an assessment of the cultural impact on distribution cannot be performed meaningfully in broad terms. Even if these concerns were properly addressed, a key issue would remain: how to identify commonly shared traits in societies before attempting to investigate their impact on marketing variables? Existing studies presume that the differences observed in the measurement of cultural variables between countries reflect real differences in commonly shared attributes in each country[2]. This may not necessarily be the case. It should first be established that commonly shared traits of each country have been isolated. As a matter of fact, Inkeles and Levinson in their discussion of national character warn that "...it appears unlikely that any specific personality characteristic or any character type will be found in as much as 60-70 percent of any modern national population[3]." One would suspect that the same would hold true with respect to cultural traits relevant to consumption behaviour. Unfortunately, the dangerous road to national stereotyping is paved with plenty of statistically significant yet irrelevant findings.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_dimensions
[2] Jean-Emile Denis,” Culture and International Marketing Mix Decisions”, University of Geneva.
[3] Inkeles, Alex, and Daniel J. Levinson (1969), "National Character: The Study of Modal Personality and Sociocultural Systems", in G. Lindsay and E. Aronson (Eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology, Vol. 4, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
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