Institutional Affiliations
The entrance ofany firm in a new market is determined by among other things thecultural dimensions of the host country. Therefore, there is a needfor a company that is globalizing to consider the cultural dimensionof the host country before it ventures. In this scenario, a hamburgercompany will be considering the cultural dimension of four countriesin comparison to the US. The considerations made after the comparisonwill enhance the company determine the most favorable investmentdestination. This paper aims at comparing the cultural dimensions ofChina, UAE, Israel, and Mexico against the US based on a six tiersystem that was developed by Geert Hofstede.
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
Power Distance
In the US, theless powerful residents fairly believe that power is distributedequally among the people. In contrast, Israel has the lowest powerdistance amongst the other four countries with a score of 13. Thisindicates that in Israel the exertion of power among the lesspowerful individuals is quite low which means that the power isequally distributed among the people. Mexico, China, and United ArabEmirates has the highest power distance scores which indicates thatpower is highly exerted among the less fortunate members. A powerdistance score of more than 60 indicates unequal distribution ofpower in the society (Yuan & Zhou, 2015).
Individualism
Under thiselement of cultural dimensions, US posts very high scores 91. Thehigh scores indicate that the American society is highlyindividualistic and the residents are more likely to do business withforeigners compared to their fellow citizens. Mexico, China, and UAEposts very low scores in this element. This indicates that the threecountries have close-knit societies and citizens support each otherin most cases. On that regard, foreigners doing business in thiscountry might find it hard to penetrate in the market. Based on thescores, the Israelite society is fairly closely-knit which indicatesthat foreign business might find it a bit easier to enter theIsraelite market.
Masculinity
Under thisaspect, the United States scores 62 which indicate that the Americansociety is based upon competition which might be as a result of highindividualism. However, it should be noted that the high masculinityis practiced individually and the element could be low in lessindividualistic societies (Barry, 2014). Mexico and China also posthigh levels of masculinity, that is, above 60. Therefore, a newcountry entering those markets should be ready to brace highcompetition. In Israel and UAE, the level of competition is quitefair which is quite accommodative for a new entrant in the market.
Uncertainty Avoidance
Under thiselement, the US scores 46 which indicate that the American residentshave a fair tendency to anxiety about the future. The average scoresindicate that the Americans fairly accept new ideas and innovativeproducts without much ambiguity. The Mexican, Israelites, and UAEsocieties have high anxiety regarding the future of a new idea orinnovative product. These countries are, therefore, expected to bereluctant in accepting new products. However, the Chinese society haslow scores under this aspect which indicates that the acceptance ofnew products in this country is quite high.
Long Term Orientation
Under thisaspect, the US scores 26 which positions it as a normative societybased on the parameter. The score indicates that the country likes tomaintain its norms and traditions as they evaluate new culturalelements provided to them. Mexico and Israel are also normativesocieties considering their low scores. These societies maintaintheir previous cultural links as they grapple with future culturalchallenges in attempts to avoid societal breakdown. China on theother side possesses a pragmatic approach to long term orientation asindicated by the high score. This indicates that the Chinese easilyaccommodate new cultural links. No data about this aspect has beenprovided for UAE.
Indulgence
The scores postedby US depict it as an indulgent society which has very little controlover its desires and impulses. The scores indicate that the USpossesses contradictory attitudes and behaviors regarding differentproducts and services. In contrast, China is depicted as restraintsociety due to the high scores of this aspect. On that regard, theChinese are significantly able to control their urges. Mexicans, onthe other hand, have no control over their urges and theirs is atotally indulgent society. There is no data available for Israel andUAE regarding this cultural dimension.
Conclusion
The data providedin this scenario can be used to determine the country that is bestfor investment. In this case, China seems to be at par with the US onthe cultural dimension scores. On that regard, the hamburger companyshould consider prioritizing its investment in the Chinese market.The fact that China assumes a pragmatic approach to the externalcultural link is a clear indication that the society is more likelyto adopt the hamburger products as compared to the other countries.The company should also consider venturing into the United ArabEmirates which is more similar to the American market compared to theother two countries.
References
Barry, H. (2014). Proximity of Paired Nations Reveals Correlation ofMasculinity with Individualism. Journal of Cross-CulturalPsychology, 46(2), 290-295.http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022022114557480
Yuan, F. & Zhou, J. (2015). Effects of cultural power distance ongroup creativity and individual group member creativity. Journalof Organizational Behavior, 36(7), 990-1007.http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/job.2022
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