Introduction
Culture is one of the most pervasive forces affecting business today. It refers to a set of beliefs, norms, and values that guide people’s behaviors in markets. Inherently, most business functions that depend on people’s input, such as marketing, purchasing decisions, employee motivation, and customer loyalty are affected in this regard (Sethna & Blythe, 2019). Cultural differences have influenced business performance through changes in consumer behavior and business management (Tarka & Harnish, 2020). Nonetheless, despite the pervasive nature of culture in business operations, the focus of the present study will be on its effects on consumer behavior. This scope of the investigation is informed by the quest to understand how consumer behaviors could be moderated to increase the uptake of new products in the market, such as smartphones. Therefore, the relationship between culture and consumer behavior will be pivotal to the present investigation.
Research Problem
The impact of consumer attitudes towards Chinese products sold in the UK has been a topic of interest among marketing scholars in the West. Particularly, they have focused on trying to understand the perceptions of UK consumers towards “Made in China” products. This curiosity stems from the poor performance of Chinese-made products in the UK. Particularly, there has been a stagnation of market share for Huawei products in the UK smartphone market, despite it being a leader in the same industry in other parts of the world (Statistics Counter, 2022). Interestingly, western brands such as Apple have a bigger market share of more than 54%, while South Korea’s Samsung commands a 29.3% market share in the same industry (Statistics Counter, 2022). Comparatively, Huawei commands a paltry 3% of the market. Figure 1.1 below summarizes the performance of the major smartphone brands in the UK market.
As highlighted above, Huawei is the third largest company in terms of market shares in the UK smartphone industry with less than 5% market share. Samsung and Apple have bigger market shares and operate in an environment with near monopolistic tendencies. The relatively smaller market share of Huawei, compared to other non-Chinese smartphone brands is a significant problem affecting the brand’s success. Indeed, there is a lot of potential lying idle in harnessing the company’s resources for the betterment of all its stakeholders.
In this study, culture is a tool for addressing this gap in the research because it can be used as a mobilization agent for creating increased awareness of the Huawei brand in new markets. However, unlike other brands with a negligible impact on the market, Huawei may be affected by negative perceptions about “Made in China” products that exist in some sections of the market (Hackley & Hackley, 2021). To address this problem, culture is used as a tool for increasing product awareness programs and creating an environment where innovation can thrive. The use of cultural elements to increase market share stems from a growing interest among observers who have questioned the importance of trying to change consumer behavior, while culture plays a more powerful role in influencing their purchasing decisions. The present study recognizes this power and seeks to find out how to leverage it to increase corporate performance.
Research Aim
Globalization has created an environment of intercultural exchange at consumer and product development levels. Consequently, companies operating in different markets are developing products that compete with others that hail from different regions (Masterson et al., 2021). In the process, cultural influences moderate the impact that such products would have on the market, thereby highlighting the need to understand their impact on consumer purchasing decisions. Stemming from this background, the current investigation aims to explore ways of leveraging cultural differences between the UK and China to increase smartphone sales of the latter.
Research Objectives
The objectives of this investigation are intended to meet the aim of the study, which is to investigate ways of leveraging cultural differences between the UK and China to increase the sales of Chinese smartphones in the British market. This aim of the investigation comes from the backdrop of concerns about differences in perceptions about Chinese tech pouts in the UK. As highlighted in this chapter, this concern is linked to the need to understand the attitudes of UK smartphone buyers towards “Made in China” products. Thus, the first objective of this investigation is to ascertain whether there is a negative attitude among British consumers towards Chinese smartphones. Secondly, the present study will seek to find new ways of addressing different perceptions that British consumers have towards Chinese products. These objectives are summarized in the list below.
- To determine the attitude of British consumers towards Chinese smartphones and products
- To explore new ways of addressing different perceptions of Chinese products in the UK smartphone market
- To identify marketing opportunities for increasing the share of Chinese smartphones in the UK
Research Questions
- In what ways can Chinese smartphone companies leverage their host cultures to increase brand awareness in the UK?
- How can Chinese smartphone companies use cultural appeal to promote brand interaction with UK customers?
- In what ways can Chinese cultural elements be used to increase the color and imagery appeal of Chinese smartphones in the UK?
- To what extent can Chinese smartphone companies leverage their host cultures to increase brand loyalty in the UK?
Importance of study
The current study is focused on analyzing the nuances of cultural exchange between UK and Chinese cultures to exploit these differences for their marketing potential. This investigation will be instrumental in understanding how to launch Chinese products in the UK market and by extension, the European market. Notably, the findings of this investigation will help understand the status of Chinese technology production in the UK. The same context of investigation may be useful in understanding perceptional differences between Chinese tech products in the UK that influence consumer behavior.
Structure of Dissertation
This dissertation contains six distinct chapters. The first one is the introduction section, which sets the stage for the rest of the investigation by highlighting the research problem, aim, objectives, research questions, and background of the study. These key parts of the chapter were important in determining the direction of the current probe. The second chapter is the literature review section, which highlights the state of current research in the field of consumer marketing. Discussions contained in this section evaluate the theoretical underpinning of consumer purchasing behaviors and the conceptual framework that will guide the rest of the analysis. The third chapter is the methodology section, which highlights techniques that the researcher employed to answer the research questions. The fourth chapter is the findings section, which highlights key discoveries of the study. A discussion of the same content appears in the subsequent chapter of the study to link the findings with the objectives of the investigation prioritized. The last section of the dissertation is the conclusion and recommendation chapter, which will provide a summary of the findings and highlight potential areas of further research.
Concept of Culture
Cultural factors are worth considering in almost every industry because understanding people’s cultural practices and beliefs in a particular part of the world enables a firm to define its products and marketing strategies. According to Hofstede (2011), culture is a collective programming of thought that differentiates members of a group, or category of people, from one another. Each group within a culture comprises a variety of individuals who may be interconnected and working for a common collective good (Armstrong, 2018). Comparatively, Fill and Turnbull (2019) define culture as a complex, multidimensional construct rather than a simple categorical function of human behavior.
In the context of cultural communication, culture does not exist alone and is not hereditary. Instead, it is built by members of society and is identified as an essential element in constructing the social dimension (Matsumoto & Hwang, 2019). According to the transparency of the message, the way information is communicated can be classified into two types of culture: high context (most of the message is implicit) and low context (almost everything is explicit) (Mooij, 2019). Relative to this assertion, culture is a variable that plays a critical role in understanding or comparing differences in behavioral patterns, personalities, norms, and attitudes across different geographical locations in cross-cultural marketing activities (Hofstede, 2011). This is because the multidimensional nature of culture can lead members of different groups to view, interpret, and evaluate things distinctively and consequently act in different ways (Matsumoto & Hwang, 2019). Consumers in different cultural contexts also think and behave differently because of cultural differences. Therefore, in cross-cultural marketing, it is essential to adapt and adopt a marketing approach with different cultural dimensions and values to enable businesses to enter markets with people who hail from different cultural backgrounds (Scott, 2017). The following section draws on Hofstede’s culture dimensions theory to elaborate on how culture can be classified into different dimensions to understand consumer behavior
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory is a theoretical framework used to describe cultural differences across countries. The theory consists of six cultural dimensions, including power distance, individualism and collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence vs. restraint (Hofstede, 2001). This research will employ these cultural dimensions to predict consumer behavior.
Power distance is a strong indicator of interpersonal power or influence between superiors and subordinates. It represents the degree to which a social group or society accepts that power is unequally distributed within institutions and organizations (Hofstede, 1983). Groups or individuals with a high power distance index are more accepting of power inequalities between superiors and subordinates (Gbadamosi, 2019). Similarly, they tend to comply with formal norms of behavior, are less willing to disagree with their superiors, and believe that their superiors are entitled to special privileges (Hofstede & Bond, 1984). Conversely, it is difficult for groups or individuals with a low power distance index to accept the unequal power distribution within an organization (Leon, 2020). They value the equal distribution of
power and wealth within these setups, demonstrate low obedience, and strongly emphasize individualism (Triandis, 2019). Thus, a culture with high power distance promotes the idea that each individual in the society should have a specific and stable place to maintain social order. In contrast, cultures with a lower power distance index believe that there should be no high or low power distribution between groups. Therefore, they promote inherent equality in social activities (Hofstede, 2001). Overall, power distance is expressed in terms of the acceptance of power gaps in different business settings.
Differences in beliefs about power distance have been widely documented in different cultural contexts, with some countries, such as China, Malaysia, and the Philippines, exhibiting high power distance beliefs while others exhibiting low power distance beliefs, such as Austria, Denmark, and Ireland (Hofstede, 2001). For countries with high power distance beliefs, the inequality in power distribution is seen as a social rule or norm for maintaining social order, even for those with low power distance (Bjorklund, 2020). Furthermore, people in social groups with high power distance beliefs tend to follow people with high power and authority because they perceive these individuals or groups as superior and elite (Brown & Rocha, 2020). Therefore, they believe that they are more capable of making reliable decisions compared to those with a lower power distance. Thus, the social norms of a high-power distance culture will be more tolerant of differences in decision-making power between those with high power and those with low power. Conversely, the norms of a low power distance culture aim to reduce the differences in power between individuals with decision-making power. More broadly, the belief in low power distance can be interpreted as a quest for egalitarianism. In contrast, the belief in high power distance can be understood as respect for hierarchy and authority, regardless of one’s position in the social hierarchy.
Accepting the power gap mentioned in high power distance suggests that everyone should have a proper place in the social hierarchy. Consumers should remain aware of the gaps and act according to their social position (Fisher et al., 2020). As an example of a high-power distance society, people in the Japanese system place great emphasis on the consistency of individual behavior and social status, and they believe that a person’s behavior should depend on their position in the social hierarchy (Hofstede, 1984). Accordingly, the cultural practice of this high-power distance belief constantly reminds members within the culture of their corresponding social status, which in turn leads to the salience of status concepts and status differences.
In communities that are highly sensitive to social status differences, like Japan, most consumers tend to be aware of their position in the social status continuum. Moreover, consumers in this cultural context are more likely to be motivated to seek ways to improve their social status (Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2020). Therefore, it can be concluded that consumers with high power distance beliefs will show a stronger preference for brands that can enhance their social status (high-end luxury brands) than consumers with low power distance beliefs. Suppose this individual preference is taken to the national level, it follows that countries with high power distance beliefs should prefer brands that they perceive can help enhance their social status (high-end luxury brands) more than countries with low power distance beliefs. (Kotabe & Helsen, 2020).
Individualism/collectivism refers to the relationship between an individual and the social group to which that individual belongs. Individualism refers to societies where people are loosely connected and tend to be self-oriented, driven by their preferences, needs, and power to achieve their personal goals (Hofstede, 2001). Individualists value the gains and losses of the individual and prefer to think and act in pursuit of self-interests. They equally value individual expression and personal goals, which are considered to be more important than group benefits (Hofstede and Bond, 1984). Individualists also place a high value on individual achievement and emphasize universal rights, minimizing conflict and the possibility of compromising individual goals (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2019). As such, in individualistic societies, members tend to spend all their resources on themselves by maximizing personal values and individual benefits.
Collectivist societies place a high value on building long-term relationships and trust between individuals, so members of society are often motivated by social duties and norms (Cliquet & Baray, 2020). For example, there is a contrast between individualistic cultures where members value the acquisition of personal gains, and collectivist cultures where members place a greater emphasis on collective benefit and responsibility (Hofstede, 1984). In other words, as Hofstede (2001)) demonstrates, collectivist societies are “more ‘interpersonal’ than individualistic ones. Furthermore, collectivism emphasizes care and welfare among groups. It tends to view the individual as part of the group, with the acquisition of group benefits as the primary goal and prioritizing group interests. In this regard, collectivists do not regard themselves as existing in society as separate individuals but as an extended family of which they are integral members (Hofstede & Bond, 1984). Taking Chinese society, a collectivist society, as an example, Chinese people often feel obliged to help their close friends because they emphasize the Confucian value of harmony. Therefore, they often feel obliged to care for their families and relatives. The concept of Chinese collectivism has created a society whose primary goal is to protect the interests of its members, albeit at the expense of individual interests.
Moreover, collectivists value favors, rewards, and a sense of belonging in society. Relative to this assertion, Nunan et al. (2020) found that people in individualist communities are less moral than those in collectivist societies. This is because individualists are more concerned with their benefits than those of others.
Collectivists are more sensitive than individualists to promoting group benefits because group interests and goals are their primary concerns. Therefore, they are more likely to maintain an organization’s ethical standards for protecting group benefits, even at the expense of their own. Individualists are more inclined to think and act in a way where the satisfaction of self-benefit is the primary goal (Newbert et al., 2020). Therefore, if their benefits are infringed upon to comply with organizational rules and regulations, they may abandon compliance to defend their benefits (Triandis, 2019). According to Ozgen (2019), the conclusions drawn by the United Kingdom (UK) have a high index of individualism, which is relatively higher compared to the Chinese society. This statement means that the UK tends to be more of an individualistic society compared to China. Therefore, when purchasing goods, Chinese consumers’ social values may substantially influence their decisions than British consumers, as they will consider their friends/families’ advice in their core decision-making processes. The conceptual framework for this study highlighted in Figure 2.2 below is based on the Hofstede cultural framework discussed above.
Figure 2.2 above shows that four cultural elements formed the basis for understanding the impact of culture on consumer purchasing decisions. They include a sense of belonging, achievement, collectivism, and power distance. These elements of cultural appeal are not isolated because they have been used by researchers, including Sethna and Blythe (2019), who have investigated their importance in explaining consumer behavior. Thus, they have been strategically included in the current probe to explain consumer purchasing decisions, from a cultural standpoint.
Summary
The findings of this study indicate that consumer behavior when analyzed from a cultural standpoint, is a complex concept. Thus, there is a need for a nuanced understanding of the impact of cultural factors on people’s actions. The present study seeks to fill this research gap by investigating aspects of cultural competence between Chinese and British cultures. The aim is to expand the outreach of “Made in China” products in the UK, using Huawei as a case study. The investigation is domiciled in the smartphone industry and is designed to reflect consumer, as opposed to managerial views.
Methodology
As highlighted in Chapter 1 of this document, the investigation aimed to explore ways of leveraging cultural differences between the UK and China to increase smartphone sales in Britain. This chapter highlights techniques adopted by the research to meet the objectives of the investigation. Key sections detail the data collection, analysis, and sampling procedures. Additional evidence about the data analysis and ethical implications of the study are further proved
Research Design
This investigation included a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques in answering the research questions. The main aim of doing so was to gather different forms of data to help in answering the research questions (Alturki, 2021). Stated differently the mixed methods approach highlighted above was justifiably used in the investigation because it suited the study’s exploratory nature (Atmowardoyo, 2018). To recap the main variables assessed in the investigation included changes in consumer purchasing behaviors as the dependent variable and “uncertainty avoidance,” “individualism vs. collectivism,” “long-term vs. short-term orientation” and “masculinity vs. feminity” as independent variables.
Sample Population
Data was generated from UK-based brand followers of Huawei smartphones. The researcher recruited members of this group of respondents from social media – Facebook and Twitter. Given the difficulty of ascertaining their history of smartphone ownership, one of the basic assumptions made in this study is that they have owned a Huawei smartphone at least once in their lifetime. Similarly, the researcher assumed that they have a basic understanding of the Huawei brand and its features, especially of the UK smartphone market. Initially, the researcher contacted 169 participants, but 67 of them dropped out of the study for various reasons. Eventually, 102 respondents participated in the probe by giving their views regarding cultural factors affecting consumer purchasing decisions in the UK. The respondents were expected to answer a series of questions relating to different aspects of cultural behaviors affecting consumer brand perceptions of “Made in China” smartphones. A copy of the questionnaire is attached in his document as Appendix 2.
Data Collection
The researcher collected data using the questionnaire survey method. This instrument of data collection contained a set of 20 statements that the respondents were expected to react to. Each of these questions was linked to one of the four variables of cultural appeal investigated in the study – uncertainty avoidance, individualism vs. collectivism, long-term vs. short-term orientation, and masculinity vs. feminism scales. These four indicators of cultural appeal are derived from the theoretical framework of the study, which is based on the Hofstede framework of cultural analysis.
The four cultural elements listed above were selected for review because they had the strongest correlation to consumer purchasing behaviors based on scholarly texts developed by Dawson (2020). Additionally, including all six elements of cultural appeal in the questionnaire could have taken additional time to complete given that each variable had five items associated with them. Stated differently, including all cultural elements of analysis could have generated too many questions for the respondents. Therefore, a select group of variables that had the closest relationship to consumer purchasing decisions were included in the study. Thus, each of the four variables of cultural analysis sampled in the questionnaire aimed at addressing one aspect of product appeal.
Data Analysis
The 5-Point Likert scale was used to assess the views of the respondents based on their reactions to statements highlighting various types of cultural factors influencing consumer purchasing decisions. This scale measured the responses along five key criteria that evaluated their action to cultural statements of strategic marketing importance. These feelings were related to the researcher based on whether the respondents” strongly agreed,” “agreed,” neither agreed nor disagreed,” “disagreed,” or “strongly disagreed” with the statements highlighted above. These categories of assessment meant that five levels of data analysis were generated, each with its unique code as follows: 1= “strongly agreed,” 2=” agreed,” 3=” neither agreed nor disagreed,” 4=” disagreed” and 5= “strongly disagreed.”
The data analysis process was undertaken using the Statistical Packages for the Social Science (SPSS) software – version 24. This instrument was included in the investigation because of its advanced analytical technique for analyzing large volumes of data (Deplano & Tsagourias, 2021). Particularly, its descriptive and inferential data analysis instruments were appealing to the researcher because they explained the characteristics of variables and the relationships that exist among them.
Ethical Implications of the Study
Respondents who took part in the investigation did so voluntarily – meaning that they were not incentivized or coerced to give their views. To guarantee this right, the researcher provided them with an informed consent form that highlighted details relating to the research process and other terms and conditions relating to their participation in the study. A copy of this document is attached as Appendix 1. In this document, the aim and objectives of the study were highlighted and implications for participation were explained. Three ethical issues were of importance to the study and techniques that the researcher used to address them are provided in Table 3.1 below.
Table 3.1: Ethical Considerations in the Study
Limitations of Study
As highlighted in this study, information that was gathered in this investigation was sourced from UK-based Huawei customers. Therefore, one of the limitations of the study is that it is premised on understanding the implications of cultural adjustments to increase smartphone sales from a consumer. At the same time, the findings of this study are limited to the perceptions of customers regarding Chinese products in the UK smartphone market. This statement means that the views presented in this document may not necessarily apply to other Chinese-made brands sold in the UK, aside from Huawei. Therefore, there is a need for a context-specific understanding of the research findings.
Findings
As highlighted in the methodology section of this study, data was analyzed using the SPSS technique. Descriptive and inferential techniques were employed as the main data analysis tools with a bias towards understanding the relationship among the variables and the intensity of respondents’ reactions towards statements posed to them on the questionnaire. The findings of the descriptive analysis section are highlighted below.
Descriptive Analysis Findings
The descriptive analysis section sought to evaluate the distribution of respondents across age, education, gender, and brand loyalty divides. As highlighted in Table 4.1 below, most of the respondents were male, accounting for 59.8% of the total sample, while females comprised 37.3% of the sample.
Table 4.1: Distribution of respondents according to gender
The findings highlighted above were further analyzed according to the distribution of respondents according to age. Table 4.2 below shows that most of the informants were young people, aged between 18 and 25 years. This finding is consistent with the high representation of young people, compared to older consumers on social media.
Table 4.2: Distribution of respondents according to age
As highlighted above, participants who were aged 46 years and older accounted for the smallest percentage of the total sample, with only one person stating they were older than 55 years. Thus, it could be argued that the views presented by the respondents were mainly of young consumers.
Comparatively, the respondents’ educational background was an additional variable assessed in the investigation. According to Table 4.3 below, those who had a high school qualification formed a majority of the sample (45.1%).
Table 4.3: Distribution of respondents according to education qualification
The findings highlighted above mean that most of the views presented by the respondents were from people with average or low education levels. The impact of this variable on the findings is discussed in subsequent sections of this chapter. A summary of the distribution of respondents according to education qualification is provided in Figure 4.1 below.
The last demographic variable assessed in the current probe is related to brand loyalty. The respondents were asked to state how long they had followed the Huawei brand on social media and according to Table 4.4 below, most of them (32.4%) had been following the brand for less than six months.
Table 4.4: Distribution of respondents according to brand following
The above findings imply that the views presented by the respondents were largely made up of new brand recruits. Thus, it is possible to assume that most of the participants had not demonstrated their loyalty to the company by following the brand for a longer period. The impact of this variable on the overall findings will be further discussed in subsequent sections of this study.
Part of the descriptive analysis section of this study involves understanding the views of the respondents regarding ways to improve the performance of Huawei smartphones in the UK market based on four cultural indicators – masculinity vs. feminity, individualism vs. collectivism, long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation, and uncertainty avoidance. Table 4.5 below highlights the views of the respondents regarding the masculinity vs. feminity index.
Table 4.5: Masculinity vs. Feminity Findings
Based on the nature of the research questions posed to the respondents in Appendix 2, an average mean of 2, as highlighted above, implies that most of the participants “agreed” with the statements posed in the questionnaire. These sentiments mean that most of them believed that the Huawei smartphones satisfied their masculine and feminine needs. Similarly, none of the respondents held negative views regarding this cultural element. The second cultural attribute explored in the current investigation is related to the individualism and collectivism cultural cohort of the Hofstede framework. As highlighted in Table 4.6 below, the average mean was 2 with a standard deviation of less than 1 decimal point. These findings indicate that the Huawei smartphone met the individualistic and collectivist needs that the respondents enjoyed from purchasing non-Chinese smartphones.
Table 4.6: Individualism vs. Collectivism Findings
Table 4.7 below highlights the findings associated with the statements exploring the Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation of Huawei smartphones to the UK consumer base. Similar to the findings highlighted above, the statistics presented in Table 4.7 below suggest that Chinese smartphones met the short-term and long-term product requirements of the customers. This statement is supported by the low mean values of less than 3 recorded in the transcripts. This finding implies that most of the respondents “agreed” with the statements posed to them.
Table 4.7: Long-term vs. short-term orientation findings
In terms of uncertainty avoidance, the findings of Table 4.8 below indicate that the Huawei smartphones helped to alleviate some of the uncertainties consumers had about purchasing Chinese smartphones. This finding is supported by the low mean findings for the four statements representing this cultural element of analysis. Stated differently, most of the informants “strongly agreed” with the statements posed to them.
Table 4.8: Uncertainty avoidance findings
Inferential Analysis Findings
The second part of the data analysis process is related to the process of establishing relationships among different variables characterizing the study. Particularly, the emphasis was on exploring the impact of the respondents’ characteristics on the views they presented in the study. To this end, the inferential analysis part investigated the relationship between the respondent’s ages, educational qualifications, gender, and loyalty to the findings. Appendix 3 shows that gender differences did not impact the findings despite there being more men than women who participated in the investigation. This outcome is supported by the fact that none of the 20 statements posed to the respondents in the questionnaire met the significance threshold of p>0.05. The same finding was replicated when analyzing the impact of age on the views of the respondents because none of the itemized statements met the significance threshold highlighted above as well. Appendix 4 contains the results of the impact of age on the respondents’ views on the research topic.
Similar to the other demographic variables mentioned in this study, age did not impact the respondents’ findings because none of the itemized statements met the significance threshold of p>0.05. Appendix 5 contains the results of the impact of education qualifications on findings. The statistics show that this demographic variable had the same null effect on the findings. Thus, it could be argued that the respondents’ educational backgrounds did not affect their perceptions of Huawei and other Chinese smartphones sold in the UK. Appendix 6 equally shows that the time spent following the Huawei brand on social media did not impact the findings. This finding is not strange given that most of the informants had followed the brand on social media for less than 6 months or one year. Thus, it could be argued that this time was too short to develop reliable data on the impact that customer brand loyalty would have on performance.
Overall, the inferential analysis section revealed that none of the demographic variables sampled in this investigation affected the respondents’ views on the research topic. This result is inconsistent with those of other researchers who have investigated their impact on consumer purchasing behaviors. Notably, they have indicated that these variables have a moderating effect on consumer intentions to buy new products (Krittinee, 2019). However, given that culture transcends the demographic divide, the findings depicted above are consistent with the pervasive nature of cultural forces across the demographic spectrum. Thus, it was possible to understand why age, education qualifications, gender, and years following the Huawei brand on social media had no significant impact on the findings.
Analysis
Broadly, the findings highlighted above indicate that the features of the Huawei smartphone matched the expectations of the four elements of cultural analysis highlighted in this document. The findings of this probe are useful in answering the research questions as stated at the onset of this investigation, which sought to explore ways of leveraging cultural factors to increase brand awareness, customer loyalty, brand interaction levels, and product appeal to potential smartphone customers in the UK. Subsequent sections of this chapter elaborate on how these goals could be achieved.
How to Leverage Host Cultures to Increase Brand Awareness
One of the main issues underpinning this research investigation was the need to explore ways to increase the market share of Huawei products in the UK market through increased brand awareness. A background assessment of Huawei’s market share that was conducted in the first chapter of the investigation indicated that Huawei’s market share in the UK market was a paltry 3% (Statistics Counter, 2022). At the same time, the findings of the investigation demonstrated that the respondents did not harbor negative attitudes about Huawei or “Made in China” products. Therefore, there was immense potential to increase brand awareness through cultural innovation. This statement highlights the potential for Chinese companies, such as Huawei, to further enhance the cultural appeal of their products to distinguish them in the market. Doing so is likely to have a neutral or positive impact on brand awareness in the UK. This is because the respondents demonstrated their receptiveness to increase their awareness of Chinese-made brands.
Using Cultural Appeal to Promote Brand Interaction
The second research question of this study sought to understand how Chinese smartphone companies can use cultural appeal to promote brand interaction with UK customers. Brand interaction emerged as a useful concept for expanding the market outreach of the Huawei brand because it indicates the level of brand engagement to expect (Tarka & Harnish, 2020). This research variable was linked to the concept of long-term vs. short-term orientation in the conceptual framework of this study. The association was made because of its link with quality concerns about “Made in China” and European smartphone brands. Thus, the quality of smartphones is assessed based on whether it is designed or manufactured with a long-term or short-term focus. A short-term approach is linked with poor-quality products, while a long-term perspective is associated with quality items (Paul, 2018). Given that the respondents had a positive attitude towards Huawei and other Chinese products, the potential of promoting brand interaction among UK customers is high. Particularly, there is increased potential associated with tapping into an existing market of UK customers who are familiar with Chinese use as a baseline market. This population can be used to generate a critical mass of smartphone users who can then later create momentum for promoting brand interaction among other potential customers
Using Culture to Promote Color and Imagery Appeal of Smartphones in the UK
The third research question that was explored in this study focused on examining ways of using culture to promote the color and imagery appeal of Chinese-me smartphones in the UK. This research attribute is linked to the masculinity v. feminism category of Hofstede’s cultural model. As highlighted in this chapter, the respondents believed that Huawei met their masculine and feminine expectations of a good smartphone. This finding paves the way for the use of innovative methods to add aesthetic attributes of Chinese cultural components in product design. Again, this strategy can be used as a differentiating feature that can set Huawei apart from its competitors in the UK market.
Using Cultural Appeal to Promote Brand Interaction
The last part of this probe sought to investigate the extent to which Chinese smartphone companies can leverage their host cultures to increase brand loyalty in the UK. The findings of this investigation were linked to the uncertainty avoidance index of cultural appeal that is present in Hofstede’s cultural matrix. The sentiments expressed by the respondents suggested that Huawei was a reliable product with similar utility functions as any other non-Chinese smartphone. This statement indicates that the use of cultural factors to create brand appeal has the potential to increase interaction levels among consumers. The strategy may be useful in garnering interest in Huawei products among segments of the population that had no prior knowledge of its existence.
Based on the findings associated with each of the research questions addressed above, it could be argued that the findings of this study are consistent with those reported in the Hofstede country comparison framework between Chinese and UK cultures. Figure 5.1 below shows how each of the two countries performed in terms of the six dimensions of cultural formation highlighted below.
As highlighted in Chapter Three, two of the six indicators of cultural competence were excluded from the investigation – power distance and indulgence – because of their weak correlation with consumer purchasing behavior, relative to the other four indicators chosen. The findings highlighted in Figure 5.1 above demonstrate that the UK culture has a relatively high score in terms of individualism. The difference is measured on a scale of 1:4 as demonstrated above. This finding is consistent with those of the respondents sampled in this study who indicated that Chinese people tend to have a collectivist mindset compared to their Western counterparts. However, in terms of masculinity, both countries share an almost even score of 66 points, meaning that they share masculine traits in a nearly equal proportion. A marginal difference in uncertainty avoidance was equally observed in the investigation with the UK culture showing a higher affinity or uncertainty avoidance of 35 points, relative to 30 points associated with China. Despite the existence of this difference, it could be argued that its small volume was inconsequential in creating differences in consumer purchasing decisions among Chinese and British smartphone users. Overall, the findings highlighted in this probe are consistent with similar cultural differences observed between China and the UK.
Conclusion and Recommendations
This study has aimed to investigate ways of leveraging cultural differences between the UK and China to increase the sales of Chinese smartphones in the British market. This research study hails from a backdrop of growing concerns about the potential existence of negative attitudes towards Chinese tech products sold in the UK. Huawei was used as a case study because it is one of China’s leading smartphone companies operating in the UK. The concern is that a negative attitude about Chinese products could negatively influence how new customers perceive chines products. Thus, the first objective of the investigation was to ascertain whether there was a negative attitude among British consumers towards Chinese smartphones. The investigation showed that such negative attitudes do not exist, or are at a minimum level that they cannot influence behavior. This finding means that there is potential for Chinese companies to leverage their cultural competencies and differentiate their products in the market. They dispel the belief that British buyers hold a negative attitude towards “Made in China” products. Therefore, it could be argued that the cultural environment in the UK is open to new ideas from the Chinese market.
The second objective of this study was to find new ways to address different perceptions that British consumers have towards Chinese products. The investigation revealed that opportunities lie in including more cultural attributes in product design features to distinguish Chinese smartphones from those of the competition. This statement stems from the views of the respondents sampled in this study who indicated that Chinese aesthetic characteristics could be included in product design to improve imaging. Another objective of this investigation was to identify marketing opportunities for growth in smartphone sales. This goal was met by analyzing the influence of demographic factors on the respondents’ findings and ascertaining the role of younger consumers in shaping the culture surrounding smartphone sales. The lack of demographic influences on the respondents’ views means that a standardized marketing campaign can be designed to appeal to all audiences. This strategy may create a homogenous market plan for smartphone sales but such a proposal is not uncommon in the industry.
Broadly, the findings of this investigation could be useful in developing marketing strategies for foreign tech companies operating in the UK and the wider European market. It presents a real-time understanding of issues that are relevant to consumer purchasing behaviors from a cultural standpoint. In today’s fast-paced world, such discussions are useful in appealing to the diverse needs and requirements of different customer groups. Overall, the Huawei case study highlights the potential that foreign firms have in expanding their outreach in more developed markets. Nonetheless, future researchers may consider expanding the sample population to create more generalizable findings for marketers. The same investigation can be applied to other segments of the tech market to investigate whether the same outcomes suffice.
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