Cross Culture Affects The Global Fast Foods

flub acculturation Affects The Global fast FoodsMichel Camdessus, former managing theater director of the International M unrivaledtary Fund (IMF) said that Globalization is simply the continuation of the trend toward greater international economic integration that has been under get rid ofice for the last fifty years. The difference is that todays markets argon larger, more than(prenominal) complex, and more closely integrated than ever before. And now capital moves at a speed and in volumes that would sustain been inconceivable a few decades ago. (Walker, Walker, Schmitz, 2003, p.2). One could surely compete that, globoseisation as defined by our contemporary experience, is a continuation of a historical evolution that has been underway for at least the one- term(prenominal) five hundred years, with European colonialisation and imperialism leading to a dynamic between parochial tribalism and planetary employ ment that frames the modern state of affairs- a dialectica l dynamic that Benjamin Barber (1996) fittingly calls Jihad vs. McWorld.As stated by Elmer (2003), Stepping knocked out(p) and fitting in just about the world is what multinationals brand of companies argon doing to usurp new markets and to be sustainable on the long run. The challenge of crisscrossing the border to step out and fit in severally and every stopping point worldwide (Elmer, 2003), and be both a global and a local anaesthetic company is the effort of stiff Food brands like KFC, McDonalds and Nandos. Downs (1993) stated that One of the greatest stumbling blocks to understanding new(prenominal) peoples inwardly or without a particular refining is the black marketency to judge former(a)s look by our own standards. As per Criag Storti (1989. P. 32-34) The more we retreat from the farming and the people the less we learn near them the less we know about them the more uncomfortable we feel among them the more uncomfortable we fell among them the more inclined w e argon to withdraw. Therefore to survive a multinational has to learn about the people of the terra firma they argon operating in.Hofstede (1991), Trompenaars (1993), Czinkota and Ronkainen (1993) all agreed that shade is based on languages, economy, devotion, policies, friendly institutions, class, nock, status, attitudes, manners, customs, material items, aesthetics and education, which subsequently influences managerial values. The ability of Hofstedes framework to capture more than the single(a)ism-collectivism property of culture contri thated to its popularity (Sivakuma and Nakata, 2001). fit in to Hofstede (1980), the suspicion avoidance dimension deals with the national cultures ability to tolerate ambiguity. Individuals in these high gear uncertainty avoidance cultures slant to be rigid and dogmatic. They are threatened by unknown situations. Life is comprehend to go through and through numerous risks, and the resultant stress needs to be lessened. So the cu ltures may rely upon such mechanisms as rules, customs, laws, and religion in pursuit of security.1.2 Problem DefinitionWith the effect of globalization, it has been noted that many multinational fast nourishment brands are establishing in the Mauritius. After nearly 30 years that KFC implemented itself in Mauritius, we now contrive an influx of different famous brands of fast regimens. Another phenomenon leading to this increase of fast aliment on the market is the opening of retail outlets like Bagatelle and Cascavelle. Mauritius is known for its history of different ethnic thoughts and with a variety show of food culture, the question arising is how these companies are able to gain share of the market and how they relieve oneself suitable themselves to the Mauritian culture.1.3 The industry under field of operationsThis study testament be conducted for the Fast Food industry with citation to the following multinational brands KFC, McDonalds and Nandos. This result e nable us to analyse how they are operating and how the importation of American and Portuguese food culture are adapting to our famous Mauritian cuisineBryani, Dal puri, Gateaux Piment, Mine Bouille and other typical Mauritian food.1.4 Aim of exploreThe aim of this research is to investigate how these multinationals are facing the cross ethnical barriers and how they let been able to overcome them.1.5 Objective of ResearchTo identify cross heathen barriers animated in the Mauritian Market and the fast food sector.To analyse how cross culture barriers affects the Marketing strategies of Fast Food CompaniesTo analyse the adjoin of cross culture on the brand equity of these transnationalsTo analyse the advert of the anxiety and uncertainty avoidance theory showd by Fast Food Multinational on the Market.To evaluate how Mauritians has accepted these Multinationals in their culture.1.6 Research Structure and hypothesesCompanies who extend their ancestry abroad have to face a challe nge of cross- ethnic converse. Bennis and Nanus (1985) refer to Erez (1992) and claim that communication is the only approach by which assembly members can cooperate with each other toward the goal of organization. In line with this a workable hypothesis is as followsHYPOTHESIS 1Ho Cross pagan barriers have no impact on fast food multinational marketing strategiesH1 cross heathen barriers have impact on fast food multinational marketing strategiesSteenkamp et al. (2003) found that perceived brand globalness was positively cogitate to perceived quality and prestige. Another hypothesis can beHYPOTHESIS 2H3 Cross ethnical barriers have no impact on brand equity of fast food multinational marketing strategiesH4 Cross cultural barriers have impact on brand equity of fast food multinational marketing strategiesHofstede (1991, p. 116) points out that uncertainty avoidance should not be confused with risk avoidance even more than reducing risk, uncertainty avoidance leads to a reduct ion of ambiguity. One of hypothesis will show this from the studyHYPOTHESIS 3H5 The anxiety and uncertainty avoidance theory have no impact on Fast foods Multinationals on the Market.H6 The anxiety and uncertainty avoidance theory have impact on Fast foods Multinationals on the Market.Levitt (1983, p. 87) argues that well-managed companies have moved from emphasis on customizing items to offering globally standardized products that are advanced, functional, authorized and low priced. The following hypothesis will try to this point.HYPOTHESIS 4H7 Mauritian has adopted these Multinational Fast Foods.H8 Mauritian has not adopted these Multinational Fast Foods.1.7 Structure of the StudyThe dissertation will comprise of different chapters as dodgingd below.Chapter 1 Introduction defines the background of the research and outlines the aim and research objectives. It in any case gives an overview of the structure of the study to be carried out.Chapter 2 literature Review -presents a d etailed draw of applicable materials in relation to the subject publication including theories and principles relating to cross-cultural barriers, also in relation to the food and fast foods multinationals. It also emphasizes on Individualism versus collectivism and uncertainty avoidance in relation to Hofstedes cultural framework.Chapter 3 Situation Analysis It provides a truncated of the Mauritian Fast food Multinationals and the problem they have encounter to be present on the MarketChapter 4 Methodology defines the basic methods used to hire out this study along with the procedures that are used to analyse and prepare the collected data. It also identifies the problems and limitations during the research.Chapter 5 Analysis Findings Presents an analysis of the data collected together with a questionion.Chapter 6 Recommendations Conclusion provides recommendations to provide a smoother adjustment for the Fast Food Multinationals in view with cross cultural issues.Chapt er 2 Literature reviewSince the very beginning of human history, food has assembled peoples in the way that no any other things have been able to do. No matter whether it was the ancient agora or todays modern day supermarket or restaurant, the market of food has always played a central role in humans lives, communities, communication, and culture (Huddleston et al., 2009 DeJesus and Tian, 2004). gloss is ofttimes defined as a system of values as well as a determinant of consumer behavior. Members of a particular culture transform their experiences with their physical and social environments to an abstract take of belief about what is desirable and what is not (Lillis and Tian 2010). Such encoded beliefs, called values, act as a general engineer for everyday behaviors, including those pertaining to buying and consumption. Cultural values differ among nations along Hofstedes four dimensions of national character (Emery and Tian, 2003 Hofstede, 1984 Tian, 2002). The ripening add of international job has increased the need to understand consumer behavior from a cross-cultural situation (Mooij, 2004 Senguder, 2001 Sunderland and Denny, 2007 Tian 2002 a).With the globalisation of markets, marketing research has assumed a truly international character and this trend is liable(predicate) to continue (Malhotra et al., 1994). Todays Consumers have greater knowledge of the value of various competing offerings. Effective communications may be the most important competitive advantage that firms have to meet diverse consumer needs on a global rear end. According to Edmondson (2000), two-thirds of all industries either already operate globally or are in the process of doing so, McDonaldss earns over 62% of its income outside the U.S. For cross-cultural acceptance, Altering and adjusting the marketing mix determinants are indwelling and vital to suit local tastes, meet special needs and consumers non-identical requirements (Czinkota and Ronnenken, 1995). Growing i nternationalization of tastes and buying patterns has make the development of global and regional brands more feasible (Doyle, 1994).2.1 Fast Food Industry and Food cultureThe fast food revolution essentially had its origins in the US in the mid 1950s and this musical mode of catering has continued to grow there and to spread to most of the rest of the world in the decades since past (Jones et al, 2002, p.41). Schlosser (2001) has suggested that within the US the impact of this revolution has been seen to be particularly pervasive. He argues, for example, that during a relatively brief period of time the fast food industry has helped to transform not only the American nourishment but also our landscapes, economy, workforce and popular culture. More generally fast food can be seen as a causalityful symbol of globalisation and of post-modern society and few countries of the world seem resistant to its apparent attractions. McDonaldss, for example, claim to serve 45 million custome rs every day in 30,000 restaurants in 121 countries around the world (Jones et al, 2002, p.41).Fast food have been defined by Bender and Bender (1995) as a general term used for a limited menu of foods that lend themselves to production-line techniques suppliers tend to specialize in products such as hamburgers, pizzas, chicken, or sandwiches. Fast food is one which gained acceptance of Indian palate by and by the multinational fast food players satisfactory the basic Indian food requirements with vegetarian meals and selected non-vegetarian options excluding beef and pork solely from their menu (Goyal, and Singh, 2007).Carmouche and Kelly (1995) suggested a list of factors that shape the food consumption behavior social class, gender, age, culture, race, and religion (also considered a cultural factor). Food is one important factor that influences the choice to visit a particular buns and affects tourists attitudes, decisions, and behavior (Henderson 2009 Hjalanger and Coriglia no 2000). Ample evidence has been found that religion can influence consumer attitude and behavior in general and food purchasing decisions and eating habits in particular (Bonne and Verbeke 2008b).In many societies, religion plays one of the most influential roles in shaping food choices and consumption behavior the types of food that can be consumed, who should prepare and cook the food at what times, and how and when to eat it. However, different religions have different rules and teachings about food consumption behavior. Followers of religions also differ in observance of these rules some follow the rules strictly, while others sway with more flexibility, and few may not care at all. Hence, in order to investigate the human relationship between food consumption behavior and religion, it is important to give ample consideration to this religious diversity both within and among the followers of each religion. (Maedeh Bon, Mazhar Hussain, 2010) All restaurants of KFC, an America n fast-food chain, in France are Halal conscious and KFC also serves such food in eight of its British restaurants on a trial basis (The Economist 2009).2.2 Culture and Cross Culture2.2.1 Definition of CultureAccording to Ferraro (1994), the only requirement for culture is to be human is that the people in the world belong to a culture. Marzheuser (1995) stated that culture consists in general of the symbols and stories people use to communicate their history and values. For Hall (1976), culture is a enunciate which stands for the sum of take in behavior, patterns, attitudes and material things. Culture has been defined as the collective programming of the mind which classifyes the members of one human group from another (Hofstede, 1980). Beyond individual differences, human dispositions and behaviors are influenced by the norms, beliefs and values of their cultural environment (Triandis, 1989).Furthermore, cultural values shape not only ones behavior, but also ones perceptions of the self and of the social environment (Triandis, 1989). much insight has been gained from the GLOBE research project (House et al., 2004), where culture was measured both as values of the respondents and in terms of their perceptions of how people deal with collective challenges within their culture.2.2.2 Cross CultureOkazaki et al (2011) defined global consumer culture spot as a brand is associated with a widely understood and recognized inflexible of symbols believed to constitute emerging global consumer cultures. As Simon and Dolan (1997) illustrate McDonaldss has been very successful with package offers in the the States and in Germany, where a hamburger and fries offered together with a beverage. While Local consumer culture positioning is defined as a strategy that associates the brand with local cultural meanings, reflects the local cultures norms and identities, is portrayed as consumed by local people in the national culture, and/or is depicted as locally produced for local people (e.g., McDonaldss chicken teriyaki ads in Japan). In contrast, foreign consumer culture positioning positions the brand as emblematical of a particularised foreign consumer culture (e.g. KFC slogan Finger-lickin good was translated as Eat your fingers off in China).Beyond individual differences, human dispositions and behaviors are influenced by the norms, beliefs and values of their cultural environment (Triandis, 1989). Furthermore, cultural values shape not only ones behavior, but also ones perceptions of the self and of the social environment (Triandis, 1989). Cultural differences have significant impact on our intercultural communication. They are the source of misunderstanding, mis envisionation, anxiety, and uncertainty, which ultimately result in miscommunication (Stephan and Stephan, (2002) Gudykunst (2002) Gudykunst and leeward, (2002). Generally, culture is conceptualised as a shared way of life collectively developed and shared by a group of people and transmitted from generation to generation (Tubbs and Moss, 1994). Culture embodies many complex elements such as beliefs, values, language, political systems, and tools which together give a group its code or characteristics (griffon (2000) Tubbs and Moss (1994). This code is not imposed by one individual or an external body. Rather, it is socially constructed (by members that make up the group) and historically transmitted (Philipsen, (1992) and Griffin (2000)).Intercultural communication is thus the exchange of information between well-defined groups of people with significantly different cultures (Barnett and Lee (2002). The process is quite complex in the sense that this exchange of information takes place in a context which is a fusion of significantly different systems. The process also requires conscious attempts by each party at reducing uncertainty about the future deportment of the other party through an increase in understanding of the other group (Barnett and Lee (2002 ) Gudykunst, (2002)). For Gudykunst and Lee (2002) and Griffin, (2000) Cultural variability (the conclusion to which cultures differ) is key to any conceptualisation of intercultural communication. Various studies have examined cultural variability at the level of strength distribution (or power distance), uncertainty avoidance, gender roles, face negotiation, individualism-collectivism, and others.Mazneski (1994) opines that cross-cultural awareness facilitates to perform a set task successfully. Berthon (1993) views culture as the results of the human actions and shows the link between the ideas of mental programming and the consequence of behaviour derived from this. Therefore, cross-verging across culture has different aspects such as attitude, communication, conflict and negotiation, performance and compensation, which explain the ethical issues and how to prise them. Bond and Forgas (1984) concluded that different perceptions, attitudes and biases in different cultures ulti mately mould the ethical monochromes across-culture, have a distinct presence ubiquitously. In that light, McFarlin and Sweeney (1998) observe that once you perceive and interpret the behaviour of another person, you often must communicate your feelings or reactions to what took place which is an extension of the ethical base to appraise performance and preference. Ambos and Schlegelmilch (2008) argue that one culture may support certain type (or types) of organizations rather than other types, and culture differences will eventually influence on the performance of company.International marketers have long realized that products and services a great deal must be adapted to the varying needs and preferences of consumers in different countries (Cateora and Graham 2002). As McDonaldss adapted its products in India and has made changes to its menu to cater to local tastes elsewhere in the world. In 1996 McDonaldss launches its first restaurants in India and to respect local custom the menu there did not include beef. Instead, there was a refreshed item the Maharaja Mac, made with mutton but served in the McDonaldss sesame-seed bun (Rugimbana and Nwankwo, (2003).The goal of marketing concern is to create positive identity operator impressions in the local consumers minds, even if this entails some alteration to the companys global identity expressions. As reported in The Economist (2001), in the fast-food industry, menu offerings are influenced by the prevailing cultural values Maharaja Macs at McDonaldss India, Teriyaki McBurgers at McDonaldss Japan, and Kosher and non-Kosher restaurants in McDonaldss Israel and advertising, outdoor signage, and in-store ephemera need to be in the native language. Restaurant architecture frequently incorporates native motifs and global trade characters can take on a local flavor. A Starbucks in Shanghai has a Ming Dynasty faade and the entrances of some Chinese KFC restaurants are guarded by full-size, fiberglass models of Colonel Sanders who, in his Asian reincarnation, looks a small(a) portly like a Buddha. According to former CEO, Jack Greenberg, localization has contributed to McDonaldss worldwide success (Foreign Policy 2001), although some analysts warn that decentralization has become so pervasive that it threatens to undermine the main pillars of the brand service, quality and cleanliness (The Economist 2001).2.3 Cross Culture BarriersHofstede (1991), Trompenaars (1993), and Czinkota and Ronkainen (1993) all agreed that culture is based on languages, economy, religion, policies, social institutions, class, values, status, attitudes, manners, customs, material items, aesthetics and education, which subsequently influences managerial values. Witkowski and Wolfinbarger (2002) found that the relationship between the different components of service quality reliability, empathy, responsiveness, assurance, and tangibles and perceptions of overall service quality wide-ranging across both cultures a nd across service settings.2.3.1 LanguageLanguage is the key to the heart of a culture, so related are language and culture that language holds the power to maintain national or cultural identity. Victor (1992) noted that there are at least 2, 796 languages spoken on planet earth. According to Rubin (1992), language is a set of characters or elements and rules for their use in relation to one another and as described by Nanda and Warms (1998) language does more than just reflect culture it is the way in which an individual is introduce to the order of the physical and social environment. As the definition of Dawson (1967), language lies at the root of culture, and that culture and language are inseparable aspects of the same process. According to Edwards (1985), language is important in ethnic and nationalistic sentiment because of its power and visible symbolism (reason why the Mauritian government as implemented Mauritian Creoles in schools). For Bolch (1996) language and culture are so firmly intertwined that optional cross-cultural international business cannot be attained without substantial foreign-language capabilities. Reasonable cultural awareness without foreign-language capabilities is common, especially among English speaking business people, but such a lack of skills set very definite limits on the efficacy of cross-cultural performance. Intercultural communication gained prominence later on efforts by anthropologists and linguists like Hall and Lado to link language, culture, and communication (Kramsch, 2001).2.3.2 Norms, Roles, Beliefs and ValuesNorms are culturally defined rules for determining acceptable and appropriate behaviour (Tubbs and Moss, 1994). They include those that govern social situations and informal routines such as greetings, making requests, and expressing various emotions. Roles are also sources of cultural variability. Roles are sets of norms applicable to specific groups of people in society. As culture relates to norms, values and customs of people it generates behavioural differentiation. Culture as a set of norms, rules and customs, as a result people from different cultures have differences in their norms and customs. Culture is a pattern of spiritual, emotional, mental and physical realities, all of which interact in the life of society and individuals. It involves the way we think, dress and speak, the words we use, our beliefs, the food we eat, the style of our clothes and our homes, the relationship between relatives, our music and our art, and much more. high education levels expose individuals to different cultural perspectives and make them less likely to follow local behavioural norms and more global as consumers (Keillor et al., 2001). Cultural syndromes are cognitive structures that help one organize and interpret the world by focusing attention on certain patterns or themes in the subjective elements of the environment, such as values, norms, beliefs, and assumptions (Triandis, 1994 a)2.3.3 StatusHomer and Kahle (1988), the value attitude behavior hierarchy would support the contention that cultural values do correlate with attitudes. Orientation toward status is another cultural dimension identified as affecting human behavior and refers to how people are judged in society (Trompanaars Hampdon-Turner, 1997). Achievement is a cultural predilection where people are accorded status based on how well they perform their functions (e.g., subject matter expertise) and on what they have accomplished. Ascription is a cultural druthers where status is attributed based on who or what a person is (i.e., based on age, gender, or social connections).2.4. steep context-communication and low context communication.High context or Low context communication theory is one of the most important theories in cross-cultural research, which can be viewed as a culture based on the messages that people within the culture prefer to use (Richardson and Smith, 2007). It properly links management style and staff behaviour to discuss the issue of cross-cultural management in communication. According to Richardson and Smith (2007) refer to Hall (1976) and argue that cultures cannot be easily classified into High Context or Low Context, but to some extent, some cultures tend to be at the higher end while others are at the lower end of the continuum. In a high-context culture, people interdepend on each other. Information is widely shared through the word with potential meaning. In a low-context cutlure, people tend to be individualized, kind of alienated and fragmented, people do not involve with each other too much. High context communication tends to engage an verifying way to express while low context communication prefers direct information exchange (Kim, go and Park, 1998, Richardson and Smith, 2007). In a low-context culture, people coming from other culture can easily match these machinations, but in a high-context culture, these high-context machinations ca nnot be easily matched by people coming from low-context culture (Holden, 2002).The characteristic of high-context communication is economical, fast, efficient, and satisfying, however, programming is time-consumed (Kim, Pan and Park, 1998). Contrarily, low-context massages are more context-free than high-context communication, information about the character and background and values of the participants are less influencing on people to make deals, however, the reliance to make deal is upon the explicit communication. In high context cultures communication involves messages in which most of the information is already in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message While low context the mass of the information is vested i n explicit code (Hall Hall, 1990). Cultural dimensions such as uncertainty avoidance, high-low context, field dependence-independence, and analytic-holistic reasoning are all cultural dimensions that may impact the leade rs search (Salas e t al., 2004).2.5 Hofstede cultural dimension FrameworkThe human relations theme contains cultural dimensions that address how members of cultures react, interact, and develop relationships with others. Specifically, this theme includes dimensions that describe the naming of in- versus out-groups and corresponding expectations (Hofstede, 1980), preferences for individualistic tendencies versus group consensus and corresponding behavioral consequences (Trompenaars Hampden-Turner, 1998), and the maintenance of the status quo (Schwartz, 1999). The power relations theme contains cultural dimensions that revolve around peoples beliefs, values, and subsequent behaviors resulting from perceptions of power. Cultural dimensions within this theme guide rules and regulations get wording peoples reaction to power as well as the perception, acceptance, and adherence of power being distributed unequally (Hofstede, 1980). Hofstedes classification was originally related to work values rather than consumer behavior and other micro phenomena it might be less relevant in more culture specific studies on more micro phenomena in consumer behaviors (Yau et al. 1999). However, his work appears to be heavily relied upon because of its extensiveness across cultures and its intuitive appeal.While the first four themes deal primarily with direct social interactions, the next several themes pertain to differences in cultures druthers to more inanimate objects (i.e., rules, times, nature). Dimensions, which pertain to a cultures orientation to rules, include those that describe the adherence to, application of, and comfort with rules for members of a certain culture. Specifically, this theme refers to attitudes and preferences for ambiguity, rules guiding actions, and the amount of rules that govern behaviour for a particular society (Hofstede, 1980). National cultures also have different preferences with regard to perception of time and how those perceptions guide b ehavior. The time orientation theme refers to dimensions that explain how time perceptions of members relate to rewards, how time is viewed, and whether or not members pay attention to time (Hofstede, 2001 Hall Hall, 1990).The following provides a brief outline of the six dimensions of national cultures (Hofstede, 2001 Hofstede et al., 2010).(1) Power distance refers to the extent to which a society accepts the fact that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally. It is shown as much by the behavioural values of superiors, who display their power and exercise it, as by the behavioural values of subordinates who wait for their superiors to show their status and power, and are uncomfortable if they do not in person experience it.(2) Uncertainty avoidance refers to the extent to which members of a society feel uncomfortable in evasive and uncertain situations and take actions to avoid them. The dimension of uncertainty avoidance measures the extent to which peop le in a society tend to feel threatened by uncertain, ambiguous or undened situations. Where uncertainty avoidance is high, organizations bear on stable careers, produce rules and procedures, etc. Nevertheless societies in which uncertainty avoidance is strong are also characterized by a higher level of anxiety and aggressiveness that creates, among other things, a strong home(a) urge to work hard (Hofstede, 1980a).(3) Individualism versus collectivism refers to the extent to which individuals are supposed to look after themselves or remain integrated into groups. Hofstede (2001) defines it as the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. According to this definition, national culture is a set of collective beliefs and values that distinguish people of one nation from those of another.(4) Masculinity versus femininity refers to the distribution of emotional roles between the genders. It contrasts tough manfu l with tender feminine societies. A society is masculine when the dominant values favour assertiveness, earning money, showing off possessions and caring little for others. Conversely, feminine societies favour nurturing roles, interdependence between people and caring for others (who are seen as worth caring for, because they are temporarily weak). The masculinity/femininity dimension has been so called because, on average, men tended to score high on one extreme and women on the other, across societies.(5) languish-term versus short-term orientation refers to the extent to which a culture programs its members to accept delayed satisfaction of their material, social and emotional needs. Long-term orientation is future-focused and has long-term goals whereas short-term orientations focus on respect for tradition and are oriented toward the past and the present. Long marge Orientation stands for the fostering of virtues oriented towards future rewards, in particular, perseverance a nd thrift. Its opposite pole, Short Term O