Faculty of Management Sciences
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Item The influence of culture marketing communications : critical cultural factors influencing South African and German businesses(Sumy State University and "Business Perspectives", 2014) Schnalke, Marcel; Mason, Roger BruceThe area of international communication possesses great potential for research. This study is undertaken in order to understand the influence of national culture on marketing communications between South African and German businesses. The study is undertaken as a cross-sectional quantitative survey combined with qualitative in-depth interviews to provide better understanding of the information obtained from the survey. The data was collected with the aid of a research questionnaire, which was emailed to the research sample. Collected data was analyzed using SPSS (Version 17.0) and descriptive analysis was carried out using tables and figures as well as the application of inferential statistics. The research sample was obtained from the Membership Directory 2010/2011 of the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry with contact details of 500 companies located in South Africa and dealing with German businesses. Findings of the study revealed the following as critical cultural factors to marketing communication: language, value systems, religion, level of education, attitude towards time, as well as the marketing communication style and marketing messages. The study has revealed the emergence of new challenges for companies operating internationally. The national culture of each country is highlighted as an area of importance whose variables exert considerable influence on the communication process. In light of the research findings, recommendations for improving international communication between South African and German companies are provided.Item The influence of culture on marketing communications between South African and German businesses(2012-11-30) Schnalke, Marcel; Mason, Roger Bruce; Ngubane, ZwakeleGlobalization has brought new challenges for companies operating internationally. Various geographic locations, including numerous cultures, enhance marketing operations for an international company. The marketing communications process is influenced by culture and, therefore, it is important to identify the main national cultural factors and variables which influence this process. This study aimed to investigate the influence of national culture on marketing communications between German and South African businesses. The objectives of this study were to identify the main critical national cultural factors/variables influencing marketing communications between South African and German businesses and to develop a cultural framework to support marketing communications between German and South African firms. In order to accomplish the objectives, the study was undertaken as a quantitative survey combined with qualitative in-depth interviews to provide better understanding of the information obtained from the survey. The quantitative study was conducted from marketing staff selected from a population of 250 companies. Six in-depth interviews discussing the findings and results obtained through the quantitative study completed the qualitative part of the study. Language, value system, religion, level of education, attitude towards time, marketing communication style and marketing messages have been identified as the seven main cultural factors/variables to be critical and which have to be taken into consideration for marketing communications. Two cultural frameworks, one focussing on South Africa, the other one focussing on Germany, have been developed to provide South African and German businesses with the essential information and support if they want to implement a successful marketing communications strategy for either the German or the South African market.