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IS CU L TU R E A SU P E R F I C IA L BA RRIER TO
GLOBAL MARKETING?: A CASE STUDY
OF FOOD AND DRINK PRODUCTS IN TURKEY
A THESIS
S U B M I T TE D TO THE D E P ARTMENT OF M ANAGE MEN T AND
THE G RA D UA T E SCHOOL OF BUSINESS A D M I N I S T R A T IO N OF
BILKENT UNIVE R S I TY
IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE R EQUIR E M E N T S FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF BUSINESS A D M I N I S T R A T IO N
BY
SİBEL SEZER JUNE 7,1989
H P / é
1
I certify that I have read this thesis and that in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Business Ami ni stration.
Assist. Prof. Guliz Ger
I certify that I have read this thesis and that in my opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a
thesis for the degree of Master of Business
Aministration.
Assist. Prof. Kiirsat Aydogan
I certify that I have read this thesis and in my ooinion it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a
thesis for the degree of Master of Business
Aministration. ,
L
ABSTR/KO-r
IS CULTURE A SU P E R F ICIAL BARRIER TO
GLOBAL MAR K E T I N G ? : A CASE STUDY
OF FOOD AND DRINK PRODUCTS IN TURK EY
SİBEL SEZER M.B.A. thesis
Supervisor: Dr. GULIZ GER
June, 1989
In a world of converging needs and desires,
globally s ta n dardizing products would lead to
lower production costs, improved quality of
products as well as management. The validity of
this a r g u m en t proposed by "global marketing" is
disc u s s ed taking into cons i d e r ati on the diff er e n c e s
e x i s t i n g within cultures and w hether culture is in
fact a barrier to globalization. A study was
cond u c t ed in order to e x p l ore whether global
mark e t i ng strategies can be successful in Turkey
for food and drink products c ompeting with local
c o u n t e r p a rt s with regard to age, sex and s o c i o
economic status comparisons.
Keywords: Globalization, Standardization, Culture,
Perception, Demographics,
OiTü E T
KÜ L T ÜR GLOBAL PAZA R L A M A İÇİN YAPAY BİR
ENGEL Mİ TEŞKİL E D E R MEKTE DİR :
T ÜR K İ Y E DEKİ BESİN Ü R ÜNLE R İ N İ N BİR İNCELEMESİ
SİBEL SEZER M.B.A TEZİ DR. GÜL İZ GER
h a z i r a n, 1989
İhtiyaç ve isteklerin bütünleştiği bir dünyada,
ürünleri evrensel çapta s t a n d a r t 1 aştırarak daha
düşük m a l i ye t t e üretim, daha üstün kalite ve daha
iyi bir işletme elde etmek mümkündür. Her kültürün
kendi içindeki f a r k l ı l ı k l a r göz önünde tutularak,
global p a za r la m a n ın ön görmekte olduğu bu a r g ü man ın geçerliliği t a r tı ş ıl m a k ta ve kültürün gerçek ten bir
engel o l uş t ur u p oluşturmadığı araştırı lmakt adır.
Global p azarlama s t r a t e j i s i n in Türkiye için geçerli
olup olmadığını öğrenmek amacıyla yabancı besin
ürünleri ile benzeri yerel ürünler tüketici
a çı s ı n d a n karşılaştırmalı bir araşt ırma konusu
oluşturmuştur.
“TABLE O E C O M T E M T S
A B S T R A C T ... i
OZET ... ii
A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S ... İİİ TABLE OF C O N T E NT S ... v
LIST OF FIGURES ... vii
LIST OF TABLES ... viii
I. INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.1 G L OB A L IZ A TI ON ... 2
1.1.1. Strategies dealing with Globa l i z a t i on ... 3
1.1.2. Standardization, C en t r a l i z a t io n and Differ e n t i a ti o n ... 5
1.1.3. Arguments For and A gain st Global Marketing ... 8
1.1.4. Some G u i d e l i n e s to S u c cessf ull y Achieve G l o b a l i z a t i on ... 14.
1.2. CULTURE AND M A R K E T I N G ... 15
1.2.1. The Study of C u lture ... 1 5 l' 1.2.2. C u l t u r e ’s Affect on Consumer Behavior ... 19
1.2.3. Culture, Soc i o - E c o nomic and
Dem o g r a p h i c Factors ... 21
I . 2.4 Semiotics and Culture ... 25
II. PRESENT RESEA RC H ... 28
1 1 . 1. THE PURPOSE AND THE H YPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY ... 28
1 1 . 2. RESEAR C H DESIGN AND ME T HODO LOG Y ... 30
I I . 2.1. Sample ... 30
1 1.2.2. Material ... 32
11 .2.3. Procedure ... 34
1 1 . 2.4. Results ... 35
1 1 . 2.4.1. Overall Usage Frequencies .. 35
1 1 . 2.4.2. Usage Frequencies Between D ifferent Levels of SES .... 37
1 1.2.4.3. Usage Frequencies Between Diff e r e n t Age Groups ... 37
11.2.4.4. P erceived Substitutes ... 33
1 1 .2.4.5. P e r c e ptions Towards the Products Within Groups .... 39
11.2.4.6. Sex Differences Within Each Professional Group ... 43
II.3. DI SC USS ION AND CONCLUSION 44 RE F E R E N C E S 50 APPEND I X A - THE QU E ST I O N N A I R E 52 APPENDIX B - FIGURES 58 APPENDIX C - TABLES 82
VI
L I S T O R RTG5URES
FIGURE 1 - E v o l u t i o n a r y Stages of the Global Firm ... 59
FIGURE 2 - Multinational, Sub-Global and Global M a r k e t i n g S t r ategies ... 60
FIGURE 3 - R e l a ti v e A d va n ta g e s of S t a nd ardiz ation and D i f f e r e n t i a t i o n ... 61
FIGURE 4 - Geographical S t a n d a r d i s a ti o n ... 62
FIGURE 5 - P e r c en t ag e of Goods with very Substantial P r oduct S t a n da r d i z a ti o n ... 63
FIGURE 6 - O b s t a c l e s to S t a n d a r d i z i ng the Marke tin g Mix .... 64
FIGURE 7 - N o n - Pr i ce Co m p e t i t i v e Tools Used by U.S. Firms ... 65
FIGURE 8 -A - W o m e n ’s Perception Towards Hamb u r g e r s ... 66
B - M e n ’s P e r ception Towards Ha mb u r g e r s ... 67
FIGURE 9-A - W o m e n ’s Per ce p t i o n Towards Doner ... 68
B - M e n ’s Perception Towards Doner ... 59
FIGURE 10-A - W o m e n ’s Perc e p t i o n Towards C o ca-C ola ... 70
B - M e n ’s Pe r ception T o wards C oc a-Col a ... 71
FIGURE 11-A - W o m e n ’s P e r ception Towards Ayran ... 72
B - M e n ’s Per c ep t i o n Towards Ayran ... 73
FIGURE 12-A - W o m e n ’s Per c e p t i o n T o wards Nescafe ... 74
B - M e n ’s Perc e p t i o n T o wards Nescafe ... 75
FIGURE 13-A - W o m e n ’s P e r ception T o w a r d s T u r k i s h - C o f fe e .... 76
B - M e n ’s P e r ception T o wards T u r k i s h - C o f fe e ... 77
FIGURE 14-A - W o m e n ’s P er ception T o wards Tea-Bags ... 73
B - M e n ’s P er ception T o wards Tea-Ba gs ... 79
FIGURE 15-A - W o m e n ’s Pe r ception T o wards D e mli-T ea ... 30
B - M e n ’s Perception Towards D e mli- lea ... 31
L I S T O F t a b l e :
TABLE 1 - D i s t r i b u ti o n of the Age Groups Within the
Occupational Groups ... .
TABLE 2 - Usage Frequencies of the Products with Respect
to O c c up a ti o n ... ...
TABLE 3 - Usage Frequencies as P erceived by Respondents
for their Parents ...
TABLE 4 - C o m p a r i s o n of Usage Frequencies between SES »
- Usage Frequencies with R e spect to Age ...
- C o m p a r i s o n of Usage Frequencies between
G e n e ra t i o ns ...
- P e r c e iv e d Substitutes ...
- P e r c e pt i o n s of the Academic Staff C las sifie d
by Age and Gender ... ...
- P e r c e p ti o n s of the Adm i n i s t r ative Staff
C l a s s i f i e d by Age and Gender ...
- Pe r c e pt i on s of Students C l a ssified by Age
and Gender ...
- Pe r ce p t i on s of the Support Staff Cl ass ified
by Age and Gender ...
- P r e f e r en c es of the Acade m i c Staff Class ifi ed
Gender ...
- Pr e f er e n c es of the A d m i n i s t ra tive Staff
C l a s s if i e d by Gender ... ...
- Pr e f er e n c es of Students C l a ssified by Gender TABLE 5 TABLE 6 TABLE 7 TABLE 8 TABLE 9 TABLE 10 TABLE 1 1 TABLE 1 2 TABLE 13 TABLE 14 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 92 94 95 97 99 101
VI 1 1
This study intends to explore the question of
w h e t h e r global m arketing s t r ategies are appli cable
t h r o u g h o u t the world. Part I, which is largely
theoretical, ap p roaches the question of globalization by
focus i n g on several relevant issues. These are, namely,
the st r a t e g i e s that deal with globalization; the concep ts
of standardization, c e n t r a l i z a t io n and di fferentiation and
what they represent; a rguments made by the leading
advo c a t e s for and a gainst global marketing; and, some
guid e l i n e s to succe s s f u l l y achieve globalization.
Secondly, Part I deals with how m arketing and culture are
related. Under this title, an overview of the study of
c ulture is presented, including the socio- eco nomic and
d e m o g r a p h i c factors influencing culture, followed by an
e la b o r a t i o n of c u l t u r e ’s affect on consumer behavior.
Part II, which is empirial, begins by ex plaining the
purpose of the survey that has actually been conducted in
order to test certain h y p o thesis relating to our basic
question. The hypothesis are followed by research design
and m e t h o d o l o g y which include the sample, material,
p rocedure and results. The final section includes the
d i s c u s s i o n and conclusion.
I. INT RO DU CTI ON
1.1 G L O B A L I Z A T I ON
Global m arketing is a very popular topic in which
cu rrent debates take place on its a p pl icabi lity regardless
of the c o untry targeted. A related issue is whether the
future m a rk e t i n g s t rategies should pursue a standardised
or a localized strategy for the m arkets considered. In
this study, issues regarding global marke tin g strategies
and their relation to culture are discussed. A survey is
used to e x p lo r e whether global marketin g strategies are
successful in Turkey for products competing with local
c o u n t e r p a r t s and whether culture is a possible barrier to globali z a t i o n .
The c o ncept of g l o b a l ization ori g i n a t e s from the
evolu t i o n of the world economic system, that is the
evolu t i o n from trade to foreign direct investment up to
globalization. Countries, esp e c i a ll y England and Holland,
realized the importance of trading with foreign c ountries
starting f r o m the sixteenth century on. The successful
firms of the home country realized they could enlarge
their profits by seeking o p p o r t unit ies abroad. Black
(1986) is among many who emp h a s ize s the role of mass
pro du c t i o n in the ability to sell abroad. When a country
mass produces, an abundance of products produced arise due
to increased e f fi ciency in which case e xporting proves
profitable. As the number of nations exportin g increases,
barriers such as tariffs and quotas. These devel opments
give way to the multinational firm. The multinational
firm is d e fined as evolv i n g seperate international
divisions acting as s e m i - i n d e p e nd e n t o perating units
focused upon their p a r ticular countries with key
co m p e t i t o r s defined in relation to each seperate market
(Halliburton and Hunenberg, 1987). Finally, the last
stage along this c o n t i n u u m is global m arketing for which the a r g u m e nt is that the most suitable method to deal with rising costs of producing for seperate markets would be to produce a p r od u c t in high qua n t i t i e s which would meet the
demand of the entire world. Kaynak (1987) provides a
summary of the stages involved f rom initially producing solely for the home e c o n o m y towards producing global products (Figure 1).
The c o ntent of co m p e t i t i on changes depending on
the strat e g y of the firm, that is to say, whether it is
local, multinational or global. In export markets the
c om p etition is in the home country from which it exports; in the multinational firm c o m p e t i t i o n is seperate in each
seperate ma r ke t it operates; and, in the global market
co mp e t i t i o n is global.
1.1.1. Stra t e g ie s Deali ng with Globali zation
Mesdag (1971) argues that the strategy of
trying to sell a successful product in the country of
trying to discover the needs (manifest or latent) of that
particular country, can be called "The shot- in- the-d ark
m e t h o d ” , and is an "unmarketing" approach. The strategy
is based on the premise, or the hope that the
d o m e s t i c a l l y successful p r oduct will sell abroad. More
ap pr o p r i a t e stra t e g ie s to deal with international markets
are the multinational strategy, the sub-global strategy
and the global strategy.
The multinational strat e g y treats the world in
seper a t e m a rk e t s and thus uses differ ent ma rketing
strategies in each ma rk e t it operates. Farley (1985) says
that "companies pursuing the multinational strategy ignore s i m il a r i t i e s and c o n c e n t r a t e on di ffe rence s in their
operational policies and programs." Ignoring
s i m i l a r i t i e s may be due to the realization that even
if si m i l a r i t i e s exist, they may not be suff icien t to
provide the firm with the n e cessary sales in those
countries. Thus, c o n c e n t r a t i n g on dif feren ces may
prove to be more profitable.
The Sub-Global Stategy tries to meet the
e x p e c t a t i o n s of the international product while satisf ying the needs of different target groups such as d ifferent
cultures, e c o n o mi c status or d e m o g raph ic areas. A lthough
basic human needs are the same t h r o ugh -ou t the world, the
symbols in which they are interpreted and the ways they
are sati s f i ed differ between d i f f erent cultures. Thus,
the e x e c u t i o n s of the p r oduct having basic global appeals.
The Global Mark e t i n g Strategy argues for globally
s t a n d a r d i z e d products because they satisfy the consumer
with regard to lower cost, improved quality and
management. The products would benefit from econo mies of
scale, as well as from the transfer of ideas. Thus, a
f irm with a su c c e ss f ul l y mass produced product in its home c o untry can mass produce it t h r oughout the entire world.
It is argued that technology has become the power whi c h drives the world "toward a converging commonality"
(Levitt, 1983). Accordingly, the technological
d e v e l o p m e n t s that took place in transportat io n and
c o m m u n i c a t i on have led to products which are d esirable
t h r o u g h - o u t the world. This has enabled many diff ere nt
c u l t u r e s of varying c ountries to experience and thus become f a mi l i ar with a wide array of foreign goods. C e r t a i n barri er s exist such as different ma rket and
industry characteristics, legal restrictions and company
o r g a n i z a t i o n (Buzzell, 1968). These three m a r k e tin g
s t r at e g i e s for international sales are illustrated in
Figure 2 (Kaynak, 1987).
1.1,2. S t a n d a r d i z a t i o n . Centrali zation and P i f f e r e nt iatio n
Global m a r k e t i n g strategies are linked to the conce pts of
standardization, cent r a l i z a t io n and differentiation.
S t an d a r d i z a ti o n implies a common marketi ng "mix"
to another. C en t r a l i z a t io n refers to organizational stru c t u r e and decision-making. Thus, sta ndar d i z a ti o n is an
external m a r k e t i n g question, w h ereas c e n tra lizat ion is
specific to the o rg a ni z a t i o n and is t herefore an internal
question. S t a n d a r d i z a t i o n implies a higher degree of
c e n t r a l i z a t i o n but the opposite does not have to hold t r u e .
If st a n d a r d i z a t i o n is found to be inappropriate,
the products m u s t be adapted with regard to market needs
of the co u nt r y being targeted. The "degree of
adaptation" is of concern once a decisio n has been made
that s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n will not be a ppr opriate for the
product. A d ap t a t i o n can be in several c o m pon ents such as
packaging, pricing, distri b u t i ng as well as the
ingredients, or the combination of certain ingredients.
Differentiation, unlike standardization, implies marke tin g
the p r oduct to diff e r e n t segments on the bases of
m a r k e t i n g activities. Mark e t i n g a ctivities have been
cla ss i f i e d on three levels. The first is the m a r k et ing
strategy in which the m a r k e t e r selects certain target
groups and sati sf i es their specific needs in order to gain
a c o m p a r a t iv e advantage. The second activity is the
marke t i n g mix which is composed of price, product,
p romotion and distribution. The third group of act iviti es
are the m ar k e t i n g procedures whi ch are organisational procedures, information, planning and control (Halliburton
international m a rkets with regard to the levels of st a n d a r d i z a ti o n and di f f e r e n t i a ti o n are depicted in Figure 3 (Halliburton and Hunenberg, 1987).
Resear c h findings suggest that the overall
marke t i n g o b j e c ti v es and strategies as well as the
m ar k et i n g pro c ed u r e s are more easily standardized than the
m a r k e t i n g mix elements; and, that with the marketing mix,
the seque nc e of ease of s t a n d ardization starts from
product decisions, followed by promotion and advertising,
deci s i o n s (Walters, 1986).
No strict rules exi s t as to whether s tanda rdi zatio n
or d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n is appropriate. The relevant question
is the degree of each to be applied. An ex amp le of
a d v er tising as an instrument; and cultural co ntext as a
mark e t i n g o b j ec t i v e is illustrated in Figure 4
(Halliburton and Hunenberg, 1987) with the degree of
g e ographic standardization.
It has been found that st andar diz ation is
relatively high and growing for certain industries
(Boddewyn et.al., 1986) An investigation of the U.s.
compa n i e s in the European Economic Commu nit y (EEC)
indicate a slight increase in product st and a r d i z a ti o n
from 1973 to 1983 in consumer durables, a substantial
increase in nondurables, and a decrease for industrial
products wi th i n the same time period (see Figure 5 ). A n t i c i p a t i o n of a more s t a ndardized marketing mix for five
s t an d a r d i z a ti o n that took place for consumer durables and industrial goods.
They also found that "the standar diz ation of product,
brand, and adv e r t is i ng do not necessarily move apace, and
that a d v e rt i s in g is more resistant to uniformiz ation than are the other two" (Boddewyn et.al., 1986).
1.1.3. A r g u m en t s For and A g ainst Global Marketing
There are two major view points on the question of
the relevance and merits of global marketing. While one
view supports the concept and strategy of global
marketing, the second one argues that global mark eting is not suitable to the realities of a multi-cultural world. These argu m en t s are s u m m arized below.
The su p porters for global market ing
argue that the w o r l d ’s needs and desires are becoming very
similar, and a cultural c o n v e rgence is taking place. For
example, Levitt (1983) d e scribes this c o n v erg enc e by
pointing out the increased w o r l d w i de communication. "The
same c ountries that ask the world to recognize and respect
the individuality of their cultures insist on the
whole s a l e tran s f e rs to them of modern goods, serv ice s and
technologies" (Levitt, 1983). Kaynak also e m p h a s i z e s
the "homogenized" world needs. He argues that the
television programs and motion pictures shape shared
cultures, and that the use of L-SAT high power TV
satellites mig h t eve n t u a l l y get rid of cultural barriers
(Kaynak, 1987). Thus, c u lture is viewed to be a barrier
that can easily be overc o m e in our modern world. Cultural
factors are c o n c ep t u a l i ze d as being superficial and that
cultural preferences, national tastes and standar ds as
being v e s t i g es of the past (Levitt, 1983). A more
flexible u n de r s t a n d i ng towards p ref erences and needs of cons u m e r s from varying cultu r e s may yield profitab le
results. Thus, mark e t e r s may realize the other side
of the coin: that p r ef e rences are homogenized.
Furthermore, the s u p p o r t e rs of global ma rketi ng
argue that international c o m p e t i t i o n will force
g l ob a l i z a t i on (Levitt, 1983; McNally, 1986). The global
firm will totally sp e cialize on one thing and e ven tuall y
gain great e x p e r t i s e and k nowledge on it. By using "high-
tech" m e t ho d s and benefiting f rom econ omies of scale the
global firm will be able to m a n u f a c t u r e high quality at
very low costs. Studies (e.g. Levitt, 1983; Keegon, 1987)
argue that c o n s um e rs are influenced greatly by low price regardless of features and heavy prom oti on regardless of
price. Thus, high quality toget h e r with low prices may be
strong enougn incentives to break down barriers such as
culture. The question persists as to the time needed to
a c hieve low price and high q u ality simultaneously.
Japan e s e firms have been w o rking towards this goal for
many years. As they have been producing low-cost
tech n o l o g y and highly a utomated factories, they obtained
believes that unless the afflu e nt U.S. firms do not go
global they will not be able to compete in our
inter n a t i o nall y competitive age, especially now that
a g r e s s i v e l y competing in global markets is becoming a national o bj e c t i v e for many countries.
On the other hand, many criticisms are raised
against these arguments. For example, Boddewyn
et.al. ( 1 9 8 6 ) argue that the evide nc e in L e v i t t ’s article
is as sc a r c e as the beef in the now famous W e n d y ’s
commercial. If the world is in reality becoming a
"global village" then pr a c t i c a l ly every product would
benefit f rom standardization. However, this statement
sounds u t opian due to very o b vious obstacles such as the varying d e grees of d e ve l opment between countries and the e xt e n t to whic h they can benefit from technology.
Nevertheless, even those w ho strongly reject the
co ncept of globalization, accept the fact that global
m a r ke t i n g str at e gi e s are suitable for certain industries such as for high technology, rapid innovation products and the truly international consumer products such as C o l a ’s. C e rtain e x a m p l e s are given of firms which have taken adva nt a g e of these di s t i nction cited above (Keegon, Still
and Hill, 1987; Kotler, 1984). Hilton and Gilette serve
the mo b i l e businessmen and tourists; Marlbor o and L e v i ’s
(Western Cowboy), Coca - C o l a and hamburgers (American
co n su m p t i o n habits). Hertz and Pan-Am (U.S. service
efficiency) all take a dvantage of the strong and favorable 10
U.S. image. Other ’’global" produc ts target the same consu m e r s e g m e n t whose purchasing moti ves and product-use
habits are similar t h r o u g h - o u t the world. Examples of
such produ c ts are baby food p roducers such as Gerber baby food; p h a r m a c e u t i c a l s which target health related problems;
and, Rolls-Royce, French Cha m p a igne and Russian Caviar
serve the el i t i s t segments (Keegan, Still, and Hill,
1987). Agnew (1986) also argues that the industries
s p e c i f i c a l l y a p pr o priate for global marketing are fast food and beverages, automobiles, airlines, packaged goods,
m a n u f a c t u r e d goods, and consumer goods of general use. In
general, though, st a nd a r d i z a ti o n for markets that show
marked national d i f f e r e n c e s are inappropriate and the
"whole global mark e ti n g craze is a ploy by advertising
agencies to get new business" (Kotler, 1984).
The ones who reject global marketing believe that comp et i n g all over the world at the same time may yield
more harm than profit (Black, 1986; L e n r o w ,1984). The
firms that wish to become world brands are advised to resolve the language, product, p r oduct usage, competition,
target groups as well as socio-economic, cultural and
technological di ff e re n c e s among nations (Lenrow, 1984).
Accordingly, Black (1986) advises that one should "think
globally and promote and sell locally".
Sup p or t for these c o n c e p t i o ns seem to be provided
by a study in which the participants, who are managers
asked to rate obstacles to s t a n d a rdizing their marketing
mix in the EEC (Boddewyn et a l , 1986). The largest
o b s ta c l e was found to be that of national difference s in
tastes, habits, regulation and technical requirements
(See Figure 6 ).
In addition, price was not found to be a major
c o m p e t i t i v e tool for 58% of consumer nondurable, 50% of
the durables, and 61% of the industrial goods. The non
price c o m p et i ti v e tools used by U.S. firms are depicted in
Figure 7 ( Boddewyn et a l , 1986). These findings suggest
that lower prices, which were argued to be one of the
crucial a d vantages that would be sought for by the global
consumer, may not in reality be the most critical
attr i b u t e desired. Thus, even though very low prices are
o b t a i n e d by the use of advanced technology and mass
production, the “global" consumer may prefer a slightly
higher priced local product because he believes it is
heal th i e r or has higher quality. However, these findings
do not indicate whether c onsumers would prefer a global pr oduct w ith extremely high quality as well as low prices to a local product he is accustomed to using.
According to Locke (1986), c ulturally
d e t er m i n e d attitudinal conflicts constitute a threatening
barrier in global marketing. He observed that "...those
hidden d i f f e r e n ce s -t h e ingrained socio-cultural patterns,
biases, customs and attitudes we all bring to every aspect
of our 1 ives-represent the global m arketing c o n c e p t ’s
fatal flaw". He points out that two con str aints have to
be exami n e d before global m a r ketin g st rategies are
considered: First, the instinctive sensitivity of people
who grew up in the same ma r k e t environment; second, enough market research to uncover c u s t o m e r s ’ needs.
In summary, supporters of global m arke tin g argue
that glob a l i za t ion will provide better quality with
reliability at lower costs because it will speci ali ze on
one p a r ticular c o mmodity for the wor ld consumer. O ther
a dv a ntages stated are the increasing degree of managerial
control, simplifying strategic planning efforts, taking
a dvantage of the home-c o u n t r y h e a d q u a r t e r ’s expertise, increased simplicity in dev e l o p i n g specific s ubs trate gies
(e.g. packaging, promotional, pricing, distribution), and
an overall reduction in problems resulting from ov erlaps
created by misusing both human and material resources
(Friedman, 1986). It is pointed out that the facts
indicated, along with advanced c o mm unica tion practises
going on t h r oughout the world are suff icien t to break
cultural barriers. On the other end of the pole are
advocates who argue ag ainst g l o b a l izat ion indicating that
societal differ en c es such as socio-cultural patterns,
biases, language, compet i t i o n and technology are inherent
in the society, i.e. they have been with the particular
culture for generations and thus are almost impossible to b r e a k .
to satisfy the c o n s u m e r ’s needs and wants. Thus, producers should not try to sell what they produce in the global context, just be global, but pursue globaliz ati on if
it fits with the c o n s u m e r ’s needs and desires. They
should sell their global products keeping in mind the
ch a r a c t e r i s ti c s of the culture they are targeting. In the
following sections, we should consider the various aspects of culture that might have important impacts on mar keting s t r a t e g i e s .
1.1.4. Some Guideli nes to Successful 1v Achieve Globali zation According to Ha l l i b u r t o n and Hunenb erg (1987) a firm should evaluate itself on the basis of certain rules in order to successfully apply s t a n dard iza ti on and thus
they identify nine guidelines. First of all,
s t a n d a r d i z a tio n is more applicable when marketing
obj ec t i v e s and strategies are taken into a ccount than the
marketing mix operations. Second, market ing procedures
and processes can be relatively sta ndard ise d while
retaining differen t ia te d m arketing mix operations. Third,
in the m arketing mix instruments, product deci sions such
as positioning, branding and p ackaging are the first to be st andardized followed by c o m m u nication decisions such as
the message and media, then by the sales force decisions,
di s tribution decisions and finally by the pricing
decisions. Fourth, ma r k e t leadership is necessary to
prolong global success. Leadership can be in size
cost, mass volume, industrial products); innovation
(value-added, hi-tech products); p erceived quality (added
value, mark e ti n g driven consumer goods). Fifth,
s t a n d a r d i z a ti o n of industrial and h i g h -t ech nolog y products
are more suitable to world conditions. Sixth, global
o p p o r t u n i t i e s are constrained by global competition.
Seventh, g lobalization is facilit ate d the greater the
c o n v e r g e n c e of customer demand and attitudes. Eighth,
g l o b a l i z a t i on is facilitated the greater the trade
patterns and the lower the trade restrictions. Finally,
more ce n t r al i z e d organisational stucture and proced ures are required for standardised approaches.
Altho u g h several guidelines have been sugges ted to
s u cc e s s f u l l y achieve globalization, there cerainly exists
certain barriers that are d i fficult to overcome. Cultu re
is one of the most critical barrier and thus shall be
exami n e d in more detail in the f ollowing section.
1.2. C U L T U R E AND MA R KETING
1.2.1. The Study of Culture
Althou g h as human beings we all have certain needs
or values that are crucial for survival, the means in
which we satisfy them differ across cultures. For
example, a basic inborn drive is hunger. What is
fas c in a t i n g is that we learn to eat certain things but
never to touch others. In Turkey, we learn not to eat
Europe is sold in the Turkish markets, it could only have
the few non-re l i g ou s as its customers. If we are hungry,
we turn to other types of food to satisfy our hunger. D i f fe r e n t cultures of the world prefer d ifferent types of
food, varying in taste. There are hundreds of different
cuisines in the world. Although every human being has a
tongue, and everyone uses it to communicate, not everyone
uses the same language in doing so.
C u lture is defined as the composition of the
learned programs for action and understanding that is
socially t r an s mitted from one generation to the next
(Linton, 1936). In the environment, the factors
influencing our learning process are the complex m essages
and signals, rights and duties, roles, tastes, habits,
regulations, language as well as institutions within our
s ociety ( D ’A n d r a d e , 1981). Thus, culture is also a part of
c o g n it i v e de ve l o p me n t as it primarily deals with shared
information upon which cognitive processes operate.
C e rtain forms of behavior are learned by a process of
repeated social transm i s s i o n ( D ’Andrade, 1981) By this
process the human brain is protected from overload pre ve n t i n g it from making an effort to learn.
The a s similation of the cultural traits by the me m b e r s is not always a concious and directed process.
For example, children do not always learn how to behave
by the use of strict guidelines but there are some types
of information available to lead them on. In other words.
there are indirect guidelines such as observation of adults or finding out that certain behaviors are not treated with sympathy but may result in pu nishment of some
sort. Thus, a child mostly learns the cultural traits by
imitating the adult models and by the reinforcements
given for ap p ro p ri a t e behavior.
Before the role of mores, norms and values in
culture are discussed, a brief review may be helpful in
clarifying our u nderstanding of these concepts. Mores
have the most powerful social influence among the three.
Everyone is expected to c o nform to mores which are
unwritten rules that the society e x pects the individual to
obey. Their power derives either from the fear of
punishment by law or fear of puni shm ent by social
pressure that would ensue breaking the s o c i e t y ’s ’'taboos” . A fre q u e n t l y given example of a taboo is eating human
flesh known as can n i b al i s m (Robertson, 1981). Norms, on
the other hand, are only gui deli nes to appropriate
behavior in a particular situation. Hence, in marketing a
global product, the firm can find ways around the norms
around a particular society if ap pro priat e strategies are taken but can do nothing to modify or change mores.
Soci e t i e s generally feel sel f -rig hte ou s about their particular ways of thinking and behaving while being
scornful or critical of the norms of others. In a sense,
there is an aspect of inevitability about s o c i e t i e s ’
guidelines as norms do; they are more general concepts.
Social values ev e ntually create norms. Like norms,
values are also regarded by the society that holds them as the only proper and a c c e ptable way of thinking and
behaving about particular situations. Un conditioned
respect for o n e ’s own values is generally equated with
ethnocentrism. E t h n oc e n t r i sm is defined as the evaluation
of the traits of another culture by the standards of the
own culture (Roberston, 1981) An thropologist Linton
(1966, p p . 6 6 ) observed:
It has been said that the last thing which a dweller in the deep sea would discover would
be water. He would become conscious of its
e x i s t en c e only if some accident brought him to
the s urface and introduced him to air. The
ability to see the culture of o n e ’s own society as a whole ... calls for a degree of o b j e c ti v i t y which is rarely if ever achieved.
For an example of ethnocentrism, one can cite the
case of how m a ke-up and jewelry used by women in two diff er e n t cultur e s can be viewed in two opposing ways: favorably for o n e ’s own but unfavorably for the other
society. For example, the European women place metals
through their ears and wear cosmetics on their faces
because they enhance their beauty; in contrast, the
Europeans think that the African women, who stick bones
through their noses and cut scars on their faces but due
to their ignorance, they do not realize how ugly they
become (Robertson, 1982).
I.· 2 . 2 . C u lture * s Affect on C o n s u m er Behavior
How does culture relate to consumer behavior? People living in diff e re n t cultu r e s tend to live their lives
under the domina n t influence of the values, norms and
mores of the society. Altogether, they usually add-up to
a life-style. Thus, c u lture affects p e o p l e ’s and
i n d i v i d u a l s ’ p r ef e rences and tastes. Accordingly,
d ifferent s ocieties may enjoy d i f f e r e n t products.
C o n s u me r s in varying c ult ures enjoy different drinks at meals although they may have to choose from the
same variety of drinks. People w ear d i ff ere nt styles of
clothing and prefer diff e r e n t types of e n t e r t a i n e m e n t , The p r e f erence of colors in funerals and weddin gs may be
totally oppos i ng in two cultures. If a firm producing
black w e d di n g gowns in its home country attempts to go
global, it would undoub t f u l l y prove to be an unsuccessful
strategy. One culture may find it proper to drive on the
right-hand side of the road whi le another culture may
prefer to drive on the left-hand side. Thus, a successful
British car company p roducing cars with the steering wheels on the right-hand side of the cars should think twice if he believes that s t a n d a r d izi ng his product would
increase his profits. Fasting may be perceived to be
superficial and silly in one s ociety and a crucial
necessity of life in another. A society may hold a
totally diff e re n t idea, or belief about what is
For example, the norms of the Menawei of Indonesia require women to become pregnant before they can be considered
eligi b l e for marriage; the norms of the Keraki of New
Guinea require premarital h o m o sex ual ity in every male
(Robertson, 1982). In contrast, Turkish norms forbid
premarital sex. These are very sensitive cultural
di f fe r e n c e s in which an u n a p p r o p r i a te advert ise ment could be s u f f i c ie n t to insult the society and thus should be selected with care.
There are a wide array of examp les that can be given in order to indicate how d i f f erent societies behave
and how u nsimilar they perceive similar behaviors. One is
an ad v e r t i s e m e nt for Ego, a new deodaran t brand that was
being a d v ertised in an A f rican country. The t elevision
commercial showed a short, fumbling man failing to be
sexually s u c e s s f u l , in a harem full of women. After
applying Ego, the women pulled him inside the tent and
ov e rp o w e r e d him. It was a very successful ad among the
white, but a failure among the black consumers. The
reason is that, in the African culture, deodorant does
not have the same sexual c o n n o t a t i o n s for blacks as it
does for whites. In their culture, there is a strong
belief that weak men are not respected. A man
o v e r po w e r e d by women would be acce pti ng that he was a weak person and thus would not be respected! Thus, the cultural traits are somewhat unique since they are rooted in
history, education, econ o m i c s and legal systems of the
relevant culture (Mesdag, 1987), and may lead to opposite
reactions to identical stimuli. Another example of an
unsuccessful attempt is made by General Foods in the
1960s. Having made a success with its nondairy whipping
cream, G.F. introduced the identical whipping cream to the
Swedish Consumer. Swedish women take pride in their
deserts and thus refused to use an artificial product
(Runyon and Stewart, 1987). The American consumer thus
peceived the c on v e nience of the p roduct to be a favorable
differential advantage and very beneficial as opposed to
the Swedish consumer who may have taken it as an insult. In the above sections it has been demonstrated that it is rather dangerous to treat one particular country as
a ho m o g e ni z ed market, let alone the entire world.
Accordingly, segmen t at i o n or adaptation strategies have
been put forward in order to deal solely with consumers
who have varying tastes, needs and preferences, that is,
with the assu m p t io n of no individual has identical needs,
desires, preferences, dreams, etc., with another
i ndividua 1 .
1.2.3. C u l t u r e . Soc i o - e c o n o mi c and Demographic Factors
An important issue is w h e t her everyone in a given society compl ie s with its culture, that is, with its norms
and values. The dominant culture has many su b-cultures
that have their own distin c t i v e values and norms. If the
diffe r e n t f rom that of the dominant culture, conflict may
arise. For example, a non-religous group may exist within
Turkey who reject the religous norm that eating ham is
sinful; thus may consume ham. In addition, major
normative dif f er e n c es are observed between different
social classes, for example, on how to raise daughters
and the e xt e n t to which girls may be liberated in the
We stern sense. Thus, consumers f rom different s oci o
econo m i c and e ducation levels and hence different life
styles may have varying c o n s u mption levels as well as
pe r c e p t i o n s towards products.
Regional marketing is argued to be a necessity in
order to increase sales of national brands (Edmonson,
1988; Carpenter, 1987; Moore, 1985). Firms learn to
compete with local competitors in each region and
di s c o v e r i n g new areas to compete by revealing facts of life
about consumers, lifestyle surveys that uncover consumers
desires, media monitors and sales records on each
individual m ar k e t (Edmonson, 1988; Carpenter, 1987). The
leading U.S. national brands are not market leaders in all
regions of the U.S.: for example, while Kraft Miracle
Whip is the national best seller in mayonnaise it is only mu n be r three in the North East competed out by H e i l m a n ’s
who is the regional leader (Edmondson, 1988). Data
collected by a subsidiary of Time Inc. reveals No.1
ma rkets for selected products. For example. Coffee sells
most in Pittsburgh; Iced Tea in Philadelphia; Vitamins in
Denver; T oo t h b r u s h e s in Seattle, and so forth ( Moore,
1985). It wou ld have been a fa s c i nati ng study if the data
had been coll e c t ed to reveal the c ountries in which each
product was found to be most popular! The study hints to
the m a g n i t u de of assumptions one must take in order to go g l o b a l .
On the other hand, one must be careful not to
e x plain all differences in preferenc es and tastes by
cultural differences. Soc i o - e c o n omic differences such as
d i f f e r e n c e s in per capita income among societies also
influence tastes and choices. In other words, it is
d i ff i c u l t to measure the extent to which cultural factors
influence behavior independent of income. For example, it
is said that only in the U.S. people are interested in
newly innovated products with gadgety quality. Perhaps if
electrical knives were offered for a low price in Turkey
it would become very popular.
A n other means of exp l a i nin g the relevance of culture to consumer behavior is by the use of Maslow.’s
H ie r ar c h y of needs, which is a universal hypothesis
(Keegon, 1974). In the h ierarchy of needs, an
individual first satisfies the physiological needs such as
food, wat e r and air. As soon as the lower needs are
satisfied, s/he goes on to fulfill the next steps on the
hierarchy, which are safety needs, belongingness needs,
es t e e m needs and self - a c t u a l iz a t i o n needs respectively.
social and economical welfare of a country, the higher the
level of needs mostly attained to; and the lower the
welfare, the lower the needs that will be attained to.
Thus, the consumer needs and desires may vary with respect
to the d ifferent cultures of differ ent social and
economical welfare conditions of a particular country,
and thus, have noteworthy d i fferences that might
co n stitute an important barrier to global marketing.
There are certainly exeptions to this hypothesis in which the even the poorest countries feel the need to fulfill
the upper needs on M a s l o w ’s Hierarchy. For example, "kan
davasi" is very frequently heard of in the p oorest regions
of Turkey. The poor Turkish families take revenge from
one another because they believe or feel that their honor
has been destroyed, or has become ‘‘filthy". It is heard
that families can use all their means to take revenge and can easily sacrifice their own lives to regain the lost "honor" of their families.
From the above discussions, it may be seen that
identical events, behaviors and products may evoke
diff e r e n t ideas, thoughts, feelings, emotion and images in diff e r e n t societies and thus may be associated with
di fferent types of behavior. Semiotics is a field we
shall go into because it will increase our und erstanding
on the impact of signs on culture, of semiotics because it deals with the impact of signs on culture.
1.2.4. Semio t ic s and Culture
Semi o ti c s studies how signs, or symbols operate to
make an impact in an environment. Its primary focus is on
conveying meaning. It not only deals with how reality is
co n st r u c t e d but also how it is represented. A symbol is
anything that can denote or represent something else. It
represents either tangible objects or non- tangi ble
objects. Referential symbols bring to mind the tangible
objects; w he r e a s c onnotative symbols introduce expres siv e
signs (Wilkie, 1986).
A semio ti c model puts forth three categor ies of how
products are perceived: Utilitarian, commercial and as
socio-cultural signs (Noth, 1988). Symbols come about
not directly from the product itself but f rom w hat the
producer says about the product or after the consumer
becomes s o me w ha t familiar with the product.
Produc t s in general are perceived to perform
certain functions. In reality they evoke or represent, in
an implicit or unverbal w a y , c e rt ain ideas, thoughts,
actions, feeling, emotions and images. In other words,
they create assoc i at i o n s and images in our minds with the
reality we are familiar with. Barthes (in Noth, 1988)
expla in s the process of sem a n t i zat ion of objects as
e v e n tu a l l y becoming "pervaded with meaning". He says that
"as soon as there is a society, every usage is converted
co r r e s p o n d e nc e between the perceptions of the products and the culture the individual lives in.
A consumer generally relates a particular product
to the culture he belongs to. In many cases, the consumer
may feel a certain product reflects, or relates to his
norms and values and thus may prefer to consume it as
opposed to a product which he feels is useless, silly or
unappropriate. Thus the consumer makes an associaton with
the products and his culture. Some items have
sociological signs, implying that the particular product
leads us to refer to a particular sociological group. We
can apply the same argument to cultural signs. Frequently
used examp le s are those of food, beverages, cars and
fashion products. Turkish coffee may stand for
relaxation, comfort, completion of a meal, whereas instant
coffee may stand for convenience, practical 1 ity and
studying (caffein). Certain foods may refer to certain
life-styles and cultural tastes. For example, pizza,
hamburgers and Sodas may refer to the American way of
life. Among the most successful products that have gone
global is instant coffee, hamburgers, and C o l a ’s. These
successful products are marketing in Turkey as well. What
are they compe t in g against? They are competiting with
their local counterparts, thus with Turkish tastes and
habits that reflect consumer behavior. Doner, Pide, Sis
Kebap, Ayran, Turkish Coffee and local tea reflect the
Turkish way of life.
As a conclusion, it seems that the global mark e t i n g co ncept needs to be considered in the context of
cultural differences. Treating each culture without
taking into cons i de r at i on cultural traits that lead to
certain perceptions, beliefs, images and thus different
con s um p t i o n patterns may yield many difficulties and
failures for the global products. Furthermore, treating a
p ar t icular culture or a group with certain socioeconomic, d e m o gr a p h i c or life-style chara c t eri stics as one piece of a pie would be very u n r e a listic because these certain c ha r ac t e r i s ti c s are relevant not only between cultures but
within c u l t ur e s as well. Thus, a very successful! brand
in its home country, such as Nescafe and Coca-Cola, may be very successful within only certain groups within Turkey.
II. P R ESENT RESEARCH
1 1 .1. The Purpose And The H v p othesis Of The Study
The study is based on the premise that the
m a r ke t i n g mix can not be s t a ndardized without taking into c o n si d e r a t i on factors such as the c haracteristics of the p r oduct itself, how it relates to the variety of cultures
exist i n g and to the degree of cultural sensitivity.
Food and drink are accepted to be among the most
cul t u r a l l y sensi t i v e products and thus " g l o b a l ” firms should adopt their mixes in line with the national tastes,
p r e fe rences and needs. Foreign food products are tested
with their local count e r p a r t s ( H amburgers and Doner;
C o l a ’s and Ayran; Turkish Coffee and Instant Coffee; and.
T e a - b a g s and Local Turkish tea). In Turkey, Nescafe is a
word that means "instant coffee", that is, the brand has
become the generic name for the product category. The
products in the same use categories and the same price-
ranges shall be tested. Food taste is a vital,
un i ve r s a l l y accepted habit of all societies. We are all
aware of national ca t egories of cuisines differentiated along cultural lines.
Taste is reasoned to be d ependent on intra-country
di f f e r e n t i a l s of d e m o g raphic and cultural variables.
Tastes in Turkey differ according to many variables such
as educ a t i o n and income; to demographic status such as sex
and age; to the region of origin; and finally to the
extent of expos ur e to mass media, hence to global
marke t i n g strategies.
The purpose of this survey is to explore the
possible answers to the following questions: 1) Are
global m a rk e ti n g s tr ategies useful in selling products
that have local competitors that benefit from the cultural
a c c eptance of their products through generations? 2) Do
the d i f f e r e n c e s in cultural traits of di fferent cultures
complicate, even prevent the deve lopment of global
marke t i n g strate g ie s ? Specifically, how global food and
drink produ ct s m arketing in Turkey are affected from
cultural traits such as preferences and tastes. 3) How
national differ e n ce s as well as local d ifferences
influence consumer behavior. Specifically, how
demographic, S o c i o - E c o n o mi c - S t a t us and life-style
d i ff e rences within a society lead to differ ent perceptions and c o n s u m p t i o n patterns of food and drink products.
The foll ow i n g hypothesis are p o s i t e d :
In order to posite the following hypothesis An
a s s umption has been made that firms attempting to
globalize food products are faced with co mpe tition from
local products in regard to national tastes, preferences
and habits.
1) Local c o un t e r pa r ts selected a priori are perceived to
be s u b s t i t u te s of the foreign products selected. Although
local count e r pa r ts perform different functions and are
consu m e d at different times, occassions, places and
frequenci e s .
2) The foreign products result in c ompetition with its
local co un t er p a r t because they are perceived to be
substitutes, thus both the foreign and local products must ma rk e t accordingly.
3) Within a culture different occupational groups, one
of the indicators of social status, leads to different
pe rc e p t i o n s and use frequencies of the products.
4) Within a culture, different perceptions and usage
fr e q u e n c i e s exist between the age groups, thus
generational differences are expected.
I I .2. Research Design and Methodology
I I .2.1 . Sample
The total sample consisted of 120 respondents at
Bilkent University in Ankara. Although a University
p o pulation may not be representative of the Turkish
population, a convenience sample of four different groups
(students, academic faculty, the administra tive staff and
the s u pport staff) were taken within the University. The
four groups within the total sample were selected to cover
v ariation in sub-cultures, income levels which in effect
relate to social status and life-styles. In each group,
thirty q u e stionnaires were a d m i n i s r a t e d . The groups were
broken down by the age and the sex of the participant in
order to give an insight to the effect of these variables on percep t i o ns and usage f r e q u encies of the product tested,
The first group cons i s t e d of students, a A0%
(n=12) female and 60% (n=i8) male. 97% (n=29) of the
students are in the 16-24 age bracket (see Table 1).
They may represent the new "generation" of the middle,
up p er-middle class Turkish youth. A majority of them
come from a relatively w e althy backgrounds. The second
group is the academic faculty, 53%(n=16) consisted of
women and 47%(n=14) of men. 60% (n=18) are in the 25-35
age bracket, followed by 24% (n=7) in 36-45 age bracket,
13% (n=4) over the age 45 and 3% (n=1) between 16-24(see
Table 1). They are well educa t e d and have high command
of the English language. They are the only group who have
either received a degree abroad or at least visited a
foreign country, the foreign country being the US for a
majority. Most are in their early thirties and have
com f o r t a b l e salaries. The third group is the
a d m i n i s t r a t iv e staff con s i s t i n g of 50%(n=15) men and 50%
(n=15) women. The 16-24 age bracket compose 50% (n=15) of
the a d mi n i s t r a t iv e staff, followed by 33% (n=10) 25-35 age groups, 10% (n=3) over 45 and 7% (n=2) 36-45 age group(see
Table 1). They are also educated, although at a lower
degree than the faculty. The salaries they receive are
below that of the faculty, but above that of the support
staff. Finally, the last group c o n sidered is the support
57% (n=17) consist of ages between 25-35, 23% (n=7) of
ages 16-24, 13% (n=4) and finally 7% (n=2) of ages over
45(see Table 1). They represent a lower income group, with
el e mentary school education. This group has totally
different cultural values and a d ifferent life-style than the other groups.
I I .2.2. Material
A que st i on n a i re (See Appendix A) has been
designed to assess the v ariation in consumption patterns and p e r ception of eight products tested pertaining to the d ifferent levels of sex, age and occupation.
The q u e st ionnarie was designed in a fashion that
would not offend the respondents in any respect. Food is
a product category that is consumed no matter what the
educational, cultural or income level of the respondent
and thus relates to every o n e that has filled out the
questionnaire. Thus, the respondent is capable to answer
the q uestions accurately wi t h o u t facing any di fficulties in comp r e h e n di ng what is being asked about products for
which they are well informed. The local food products
selected are Doner, Ayran, Turkish Coffee and Demli-tea.
The foreign c o unterparts selected, repectively are
Hamburgers, Coca-Cola, Nescafe and Tea-Bags. Hence, they
are products already a success in their home markets. Nescafe is a word representing instant coffee in Turkey
and is used likewise. No word exists for soda in Turkish,
thus the most popular soda in Turkey is tested. 32
The first three q u estions in the ques tio nnaire have
been asked in relation to the independent variables of
age, sex and occupation. Ques ti ons four through eight
were asked to assess the depe n d e nt variable. The fourth
question was posed so as to m e asure the frequency of use
of the eigh t food products in question. A scale of six
fr e q u e n c i e s were provided ranging from c onsuming the
product e v er y d a y to never c o nsuming it at all. The
fifth question was posed in order to measure the frequency
of use of each product by the r e s p o n d e n t s ’ parents.
This questi o n is intended to be a proxy measure whether
there is a generation gap by means of comparing the
ratings of parents and children on the consumption of
these products. The respondents were told that health
co n s i d e r a t i o n s should be brought down to a minim um level in order to prevent responses such as fatty foods are not
for elder people. It has been observe d that some of the
respondents are not c onscious of the exact rate of co n su m p t i o n by their p a r e n t s ’ and thus p redictions to some
ex t e n t prevail. Some of the r e s p o n d e n t s ’ p a r e n t s ’ no
longer live and thus have left this question unanswered. The sixth question is asked in order to get an
idea of pe r ce p ti o n s towards each of the products. It is
designed in an o p e n-ended format in order to enable the
respondent to give their own answers witho ut being
influenced or limited to a p r e - d e t e r m i ne d set of multiple
researcher an insight of how each sample perceives the p r o d u c t s .
The seventh question was also formated in an open- ended fashion in order to yield the reasons underlying the preferences for or rejections of the pa rticular products. It is crucial that the respondent comes up with his own
attributes, drawbacks etc. w i thout being influenced so
that the researcher can more o b j ec tiv ely understand the
actual reasons behind its being favored to or by other
p r o d u c t s .
Q u e s t io n number eight, the final question, was
asked in order measure w h ether the foreign products of
similar usage value are perceived to be substitutes to
their local counterparts. A pilot study has been
conducted after which question number eight was designed
in a multiple choice fashion. In the pilot survey, the
question was designed in an o p e n - e n ded fashion in which some of the respondents were unable to clearly understand
what was being asked. Thus, by providing a list of
products to choose from, as well as an " o t h e r ” option,
the exper i me n t e r could get the intended results in order to serve the purpose of the survey
I I . 2.3. Procedure
The ques t io n n a ire s were handed out individually to
each respondent. Each pa r t i c i p a n t was screened according
to their status in the Uni v e r s i t y and the surveys were
given out to add up to exactly 30 per group. Each
respondent was approached individually and his cooperation
was securred. The following day the surveys were
recollected by the researcher. Response rate was 100% for
all the groups except for the support staff whose response rate was 70%.
I I .?.4. Results
The data were analyzed with SPSS (Statistical
Package for Social Sciences) first in terms of the
overall c on s u mption frequencies of each of the eight
products (See Row Totals of Table 2), followed by the
usage f r e q uencies of parents as pe rceived by the
pa r ticipants (See Table 3). Usage frequencies were then
analyzed with regard to different levels of s ocio-economic
status in which a comparison was made by grouping
o c c u p a t i o n groups in two (See Table 4): The academic
faculty and students were collapsed to represent the
u p pe r - m i d d l e class; and, the adm i nist rat iv e staff and the
support staff represent the lower-middle class. Usage
fr e qu e n c i e s were also analyzed with regard to age (See
Table 5). Finally, an analyses of usage frequencies
between two different age groups were made in order to
m e asure the generational d i f f e rences (See Table 6). The
four age groups were not taken in order to avoid d ou ble
counting. A 45 year old p a r t i cipant in our survey may
have been compared with the 35 year old parent of an 18
