International marketing and intra-cultural heterogeneity

Abstract

Purpose Most international marketing studies, taking a sociological position, assume homogeneity within and heterogeneity between cultures. Taking a psychological position and based on the Mindscape Theory, the purpose of this paper is to support the hypothesis that there is intra-cultural and intra-market heterogeneity. Design/methodology/approach The translated survey for international use has many problems. These problems can greatly be minimized by the use of pictorial/geometric shapes that were used in this study. These shapes were constructed using redundant and non-redundant complexity, and made to be culture neutral. Findings Data analysis supported the presence of three of the four Mindscape types as was hypothesized, indicating individual intra-market heterogeneity in the three cultures under investigation. Additionally, the corollary hypothesis of transcultural heterogeneity was confirmed. Research limitations/implications It has been proposed that Mindscape types are partly innate and partly learned. What proportions constitute each part? Can the learned aspect be unlearned? Can different marketing strategies appeal to each? What marketing programs are better suited to influence the learned aspect? Future studies could explore these issues. Practical implications The findings of this paper have wide applicability and implications for international marketing strategy, including ways of deploying market segmentation, target marketing, positioning strategies, as well as configurations of marketing mix elements. Originality/value This paper used a novel and unique way for data collection and analysis. A geometric-pictorial survey was used for data collection. Data analysis was done with factor analysis and cluster analysis combined.