Choices and Consequences: Recommendations for an Improved Understanding of Cultural Distance in International Marketing Research

Abstract

Cultural distance is an important element in the study of international marketing phenomena. However, scholars have voiced significant concerns with its use. Although reviews of cultural distance have been conducted, no research has yet been put forth that directly addresses how the choices that scholars make in relation to the conceptualization and operationalization of cultural distance influence our understanding of its role in international marketing phenomena. In this work, concerns pertaining to cultural distance are reviewed and used as a foundation to systematically analyze 83 articles referencing cultural distance within the international marketing literature to understand the choices that have been made. Significant heterogeneity in conceptualization and operationalization of cultural distance is found. Then, the empirical consequences of this choice heterogeneity are examined within a single data set of 148 suppliers to a European OEM. The findings demonstrate that differences in choices significantly influence the observed effects of cultural distance, and hence the understanding of its role in international marketing phenomena. Last, a series of recommendations are put forth aimed at enhancing the ability to build a strong foundation of knowledge of cultural distance’s role in international marketing phenomena.

Cultural Differences in an Artificial Representation of the Human Emotional Brain System: A Deep Learning Study

“…Third, some researchers find the use of a generalized compound index appropriate (e.g., Beugelsdijk, Ambos, and Nell 2018; Cuypers et al 2018). Others, however, reject the “black box explanation” (Griffith, Dean, and Hoppner 2021, p. 24) because specific research questions necessitate distinguishing differences between each cultural dimension (Tung and Verbeke 2010). Fourth, recognizing that countries are culturally heterogeneous (Sasaki and Yoshikawa 2014; Sirsi, Ward, and Reingen 1996) and that differences based solely on average scores are of limited usefulness (Venaik and Midgley 2015), some authors consider the distributional overlap between value priorities occurring within two countries (Kostova and Beugelsdijk 2021; Messner 2021a).…”

“…Of all existing cultural difference measures, and to the best of my knowledge, only the Kullback-Leibler divergence criteria introduced in the fourth research stream (by Messner [2021a]) have asymmetric properties. Seventh, recognizing the plethora of heterogeneous choices embedded in the research, recommendations are being developed to enhance the theoretical and empirical foundation of knowledge, with the aim of improving consistency in the research literature (most recently in Griffith, Dean, and Hoppner [2021]).…”

What Drives Royalty Rates in International Franchising?

“…Cultural distance, or “the degree to which culture in one country is different from another country's culture” (Griffith, Dean, and Hoppner 2021, p. 23), is a crucial factor in international business considerations, including international franchising (Contractor and Kundu 1998b; Elango 2007). In general, the term “culture” refers to the set of values that are shared by members of a social group, such as a nation, and that distinguish them from other groups (Schwartz 2014).…”

Introduction to the Special Issue on Data and Methodological Issues for New Insights in International Marketing

“…Following the tradition of prior methods-related articles in JIM , this issue includes two articles focused on the measurement of important concepts in international marketing, including the cultural distance concept (Griffith, Dean, and Hoppner 2021; Messner 2021) and perceived export performance (Sadeghi, Rose, and Madsen 2021). A fourth article, by Baumgartner and Weijters (2021), focuses on the topic of assessing common method variance in international marketing research.…”