Can Advertising be Standardized Among Similar Countries? A Cluster-Based Analysis

Cross-cultural advertising communication: Visual imagery, brand familiarity, and brand recall

“…Some researchers tended to cluster the countries to determine the degree of international marketing communications standardization (Sriram and Gopalakrishna, 1991;Katz and Lee, 1992). Sriram and Gopalakrishna (1991) identify six groups of countries and argued that communication strategies and imagery tactics could be attempted within each group by employing similar but not identical messages.…”

Complementary approaches to preliminary foreign market opportunity assessment: country clustering and country ranking

“…This factor has not been included in clustering studies because data are not readily available due to the difficulty of measuring and identifying cultural groupings for a large number of countries. Sriram and Gopalakrishna (1991) use Hofstede's (1980) cultural indicators in an attempt to identify homogeneous clusters for which advertising may be standardized. Yet, Hofstede's work is limited to 50 countries and has not been updated since 1983, raising doubts about its relevance in the contemporary environment.…”

“…An investigation by Sriram and Gopalakrishna (1991) aimed to identify candidates for standardized international advertising campaigns. They suggested clustering based on economic and cultural similarities as well as media availability and usage.…”

Strategy fit and performance consequences of international marketing standardization

“…The economic environment of the host country impacts the firm's cost structure, as it affects the cost of raw materials, labor, and allied resources needed to run local manufacturing operations (Samli, Wills, and Jacobs, 1993). A standardized strategy is more likely when the prevailing economic conditions in target markets are similar (Sriram and Gopalakrishna, 1991). The importance of economic conditions is also reflected in prior studies aimed at developing clusters of nations that share, inter alia, economic similarity as the basis for using standardized programs (e.g., Sethi, 1971;Day, Fox, and Huszagh, 1988 …”