CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND THEIR IMPORTANCE IN MARKET RESEARCH

Culture can be simply defined as a way of life of people in a particular society.  In a broad term, culture is a configuration of learned behaviour whose component elements are shared and transmitted by members of a particular community. People from the same cultural background have common trait, ideology, norms, belief, value system, consumption pattern, speak same language and use same currency. Different cultures show a tremendous spectrum of diversity in how a society perceives either a product, idea or service as well as what its members expect.

There are inhibiting factors that affect cross-cultural businesses, such as language barrier, currency, government policies, value systems, beliefs and norms of the society.  Many international researchers sometimes get sub-standard data or findings from studies conducted outside their home country because of their believe in the concept of “self reference criterion” – a concept that makes an individual to act unconsciously in a foreign land the same way he behaves at home.  A thorough understanding of product usage and attitude of people in a particular culture or society is paramount to data interpretation of cross-cultural or global studies rather than using the home country experience to generalize findings. 

For instance, a product consumes by both genders and of all ages in a particular country may be consumed by a particular age group in another country.  Similarly, urban and rural product in a particular country may also be urban product only in another country.   Ownership of personal computer is high in western countries both in the urban and rural settings, whereas, this is regarded as a premium product among the elites that reside in the urban areas in a country like Nigeria.  It will therefore be wrong to use the same research designs, sample structure and allocation of quota to urban and rural dwellings for study that concerns ownership of personal computer in Nigeria because it has worked elsewhere in the Europe. 

Recently, a research agency based in Nigeria got a project to be conducted in Nigeria and Ghana.  The management believed that every technique and strategy that worked in Nigeria will as well work perfectly in Ghana.  To their amazement, things turned the other way round.  Of important to mention is that 75% (15 out of 20 interviewers and supervisors) of the field personnel that were trained and briefed for the study pulled out after the 4 days training and briefing because they could not cope with the operational guidelines.  As a way of ravaging the situation, a team of field force consisting of five top managers and other supporting staff was raised from Nigeria to carry out the study in Ghana.  The big question is how can this team from Nigeria successfully operate in a strange environment? 

The most devastating mistake any researcher could make is to assume that cultures hold the same values, use the same symbols, exhibit the same behaviour and go through the same purchase decision processes.  To succeed in a different culture, you must adapt to the culture, its values, accepts its symbols, norms and reflect the appropriate behaviour.

By Ibhade Inegbenekalo, CEO
Market Surveys International Limited
Email: misi.research@yahoo.co.uk
Phone: 234 8062807319
Website: www.misi-ng.org

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