Mr Kwame Miller

5. The influence of religion to consumer behaviour and further implications to international marketing. Majić, Olivera Jurković; Kuštrak, Ana. International Journal of Management Cases. 2013, Vol. 15 Issue 4, p287-300. 14p.

Religion holds a special place in every national culture because it determines many codes of conduct. The problem is that the relationship between religion and reality cannot be empirically proven and thus it is difficult to assess to what extent it influences consumer behaviour. Bitner (1990) explains that products and services are not just a set of physical and utility properties, but rather a basis of communication with customers and users through additional features (eg colour, brand and design) (Pullman, 2004). Marketing at its core is about the communication of ideas and is about spreading those ideas (Godin, 2005). Therefore religion plays an important role in how some products and services are marketed and how they are perceived by customers. It is imperative to evaluate whether an understanding or misunderstanding of cultural values impacts international marketing.

The article begins with addressing the consequences of not understanding the value of cultural minorities (Majic, 2013). Thus the bigger picture is the concept of global standardization and local customization as individual countries may require different brand strategies (Harish, 2008). Before, the idea of having a McDonalds with an alcoholic beverage was unheard of but the article explains that today you can have a McDonald’s meal in Germany with a beer, wine in France or a cocktail in Hong Kong (Majić, 2013). We can clearly see the evolution of not only marketing but of culture also. In Hinduism, beef is forbidden and thus a McDonalds being built in wasn’t before possible. But now there are hundreds of McDonalds franchises established in India where the burgers are not made with beef to appeal to the wider majority and McDonalds “is now planning to add more than 90 new restaurants in the next three years” (Dash, 2005, p1). This shows how a global model can be adapted to a local model successfully. However Chaturvedi (2008) disagrees strongly with this as McDonalds India were clear in their approach to separate themselves from their foreign counterparts for example creating products such as the McAloo Tikki burger (Harish, 2008). McDonald 's India wanted to make sure they positioned themselves as 'Indian ' to stay true to their ‘values and culture ' (Chaturvedi, 2008, p2). Therefore although at first sight it may seem that some cultures are being embraced, in reality they are not being fully accepted and may be culture has not evolved as much as was first thought.

On the contrary, Majic (2013) explains that consumers worldwide are becoming more prone to wearing the same clothes, eating the same food and listening to the same music. This is known as cultural homogenisation (Fairweather, 2003). Ulf Hannerz describes the threat of cultural homogenisation as a ‘tempting master scenario of global cultural development’ (Tomlinson, 1995) Therefore it describes the process by which cultures are coming under western consumerism (Liebman, 1997). Juxtaposed to this view is Homi Bhabha who claimed that western culture never totally dominates other cultures because resistance through "translation" operates at the intersection of two (Sandikci, 2001). Jean- Claude Usurier agrees with Bhaba as he felt that ‘no cultural evolution is final’ (Majic, 2013). He suggested that consumers may change their habits from traditional to modern but they will always return to traditional ways of spending in the long run. This makes international marketing even more complex as international organizations find it more difficult to know how to target these consumers.

However, we can see an evolution of culture in the British society. Since the labour party banned smoking in public places, this has led to British people conforming to an Arab tradition of smoking shisha which has become a social norm. The Economist (2013) tells us that a study carried out by the British Heart Foundation found that the number of Shisha bars had risen from 179 in 2007 to 556 in 2012. A decade ago there was a worry that Asian Muslims in Britain were living “parallel lives” that rarely intersected with whites (Economist, 2013). It seems that in today’s day and age shisha lounges are an exception. This clearly demonstrates that perhaps culture has developed and evolved over the years in some respects with some cultures becoming more widely accepted and embraced. With such eastern cultures being embraced in western countries, this makes international marketing a lot more fluid and an easier strategy to implement.

According to Doole (2008), religion is a major cultural variable and has a significant effect on marketing strategy. Also, at the organizational level, if a company understands faith and work integration, it can produce potential business benefits, including increased diversity and inclusion; avoidance of religious harassment and retention (Miller 2010). This is highly evident in today’s society as there is an increasing number of companies that have infused the principles of product from the marketing mix together with segmentation, differentiation, targeting and positioning (SDTP) into their marketing strategy to extend their customer base. For example, restaurant chains, Nandos and KFC both offer halal food on their menus in areas where they have calculated a high demand. Nandos state that approximately one fifth of their stores serve halal food whilst KFC have worked with the Halal Food Authority to discover the necessary requirements involved in supplying and producing halal approved products and have 96 stores serving halal food (Mutsikiwa, 2012). In reference to the adaptations KFC and Nandos have made by incorporating “halal” menus, we can see how major companies are positioning themselves to successfully retain their mass market appeal whilst enabling themselves to target and remain able to sell products to customers of the Islamic macro segment thus, granting them competitive advantage (Wilson, 2010).
It is evident that having a brand that can accommodate people of all cultures can contribute to the strength of the brand’s marketing strategy in terms of positioning and its overall success. However, conflict can arise when major companies create advertising campaigns that aim to portray their diverse customer base by including people of different cultural differences, including religion. There can be downfalls to companies associating themselves with religion as it can potentially open company up to controversy (Bhasin, 2012). The controversy can be exacerbated when the advertisement is shown in a country where a number of citizens may hold extremist, prejudice views towards a particular religion as people from different countries may have social misunderstanding, or even conflicts (Hofstede, 2005). The difficulty global brands have when targeting consumers of all cultural backgrounds can be understood using the negative image the media that has been given to the religion of Islam. This was exemplified by the reaction the US public gave to Coca Cola’s 2014 Superbowl advertisement. Coca Cola’s superbowl commercial caused a spark amongst some of the American public of which they took to twitter to voice their opinions on Coca Cola and organise a boycott. The ad featured a number of people from different religions and cultures, including a homosexual couple and a lady wearing a headscarf singing the American national anthem in nine different languages. According to an article taken from the guardian, one American stated “Nice to see that Coke likes to sing an American song in the terrorist 's language." due to the singer being an Arabic lady wearing headscarf (Younge, 2014).
These views can be seen as prejudice, however these reactions could have developed through international events such as the Gulf War and various reports in the media in which Muslims are described as fanatics, irrational, primitive, belligerent, and dangerous (Shadid,2002). This can also be intensified with the development of Web 2.0 and interactive communication which can cause negative ideas to spread (Andriole, 2010) as 75% of Internet surfers use social Media (Kaplan, 2010) and individuals can spread their opinions both positively or negatively, influencing the perception people have of religion. Therefore when including people of cultural differences within a marketing campaign, global companies must consider the geographical locations in which the advert will be shown as it can damage the reputation of a brand as well as further negative perceptions of religion (Czinkota, 2012).
This firmly leads me on to my next point which is globalization. Shisha culture being accepted into the British culture paves the way for the evolution of marketing but we must not forget that this is one example of many. There has been many a case where cultures have not been accepted by the wide majority. For example looking at America, there were proposals to locate a Mosque near the World Trade Center which sparked controversy. Park51, which the building was going to be named would not be visible from the World Trade Center site but opponents of the project felt that establishing a mosque so close to Ground Zero would be offensive since the hijackers in the September 11, 2001 attacks were Islamic terrorists (Foley, 2010) This clearly marks a case where there has been a misunderstanding of cultural values. Hannerz follows on from this claiming that although at first sight embracing all cultures is very attractive, it is often very difficult and ‘these attractions might also be dangers’ (Tomlinson, 1995, p891). This makes international marketing very difficult as at first sight it is a very attractive market but it comes with many obstacles.
Keeping on this topic, we can see how globalization has an impact on religion and culture as the implementation of multinational organizations such as Tesco’s means that local markets such as butchers and local grocery stores will suffer as a result. Secondly, reduced custom for local suppliers results in a less competitive trading environment (Paddison, 2007). This is known as what Schumpeter described as ‘creative destruction’ (Schumpeter, 1942). The process by which technological progress and the implementation of new products causes losses as well as gains (Aghion, 1992). Thus when big supermarkets such as Tesco enter the market, something has to be destroyed. Opposed to this view was Kearney (2006) who stated that modern retail expansion leads to economic growth as it drives the economy through increased productivity, new job creation and lower prices. However, Theodore Levitt stated that the convergence of technology and globalization lead to higher standardization on global markets which erode differences in national and regional preferences (Aliber, 1993). Thus, perhaps a result of globalization can be a loss of culture.

Nonetheless, Majic (2013) disagreed with this as the article states the power and relevancy of some local brands. This is linked to one of Porters five forces, ‘rivalry amongst competitors’ (Porter, 1979). The article shows that brands such as Mecca Cola, a halal brand are causing competition for global brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi. The words ‘Mecca’ and ‘Cola’ evoke the question; what is becoming of ‘authenticity’ in a thoroughly ‘commodified’ world society? (Ram, 2007) This shows that as a result of big global brands being present, the result is actually increased competition in the market rather than having the opposite effect. What is clear to see is the impact of religion on consumer buying trends as other brands such as Quibla Cola in the UK and Zamzam Cola in Iran have rivalled the Coca-Cola brand. The products have managed to attract customers who desire cola-like drinks but are against ‘cocacolonization’ (Zimmet, 2001).
This leads me on to our final point, which is religions buyer power. Majic (2013) states that religious institutions can make it difficult to introduce or sell some products or technologies if they assess them as a threat or in contrast to their customs and on the other hand they can ease selling products if they consider them aligned to their customs and values. We can see this if we look at the sale of pork and alcohol in the Islamic community. In The Telegraph Mendick (2013) discusses how Muslim staff at Marks and Spencers who do not wish to handle pork or alcohol can actually politely ask customers to be served at a different till. This clearly demonstrates the power religion has and shows the influence it can have on major brands. On the contrary this could be seen as a disadvantage to some Muslims as it is a priority at some supermarkets to work in the meat section and thus this may lead to discrimination against Muslims (Reardon, 2005). Tesco’s backs up this previous statement as they said that ‘it would make no sense to employ someone that refuses to touch specific items’ (Salkeld, 2013).

If the understanding of culture does impact international marketing then Tse (1988) argues that this can be seen in foreign managers whose characteristics, which are a make-up of their culture impact their marketing decisions. Pye (1982) felt that an understanding of how cultural differences affect international marketing is important for a company as it can be used to design effective competitive strategies not only in marketing but in international sales negotiations also. From our research we found that cultural values are extremely important for a multinational organisation to understand. We agree with Montgomery and Weinberg (1979) who’s thoughts were that a knowledge of cultural influences enables a firm to adjust, adapt and better understand these differences and thus results in a reduction of errors in decision making.

Word Count; 2178
Bibliography
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Majić, O; Kuštrak, A . (2013). The influence of religion to consumer behaviour and further implications to international marketing. . International Journal of Management Cases. 15 (4), p287-300.
Mendick , R. (2013). Muslim staff at Marks & Spencer can refuse to sell alcohol and pork. The Telegraph. (Retail and Consumer).
Miller, D , Ewest, T. (2010). Rethinking the impact of religion on business values: understanding its reemergence and measuring its manifestations . Journal of International Business Ethics . 3 (2), p55.
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Paddison, A; Calderwood, E. (2007). Rural retailing: a sector in decline?.International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management. 35 (2), p136-155.
Pullman, M. (2004). Ability of Experience Design Elements to Elicit Emotions and Loyalty Behaviors. A Journal of the Decision Sciences Institute. 35 (3), p551-578.
Pye, L. (1982), Chinese Commercial Negotiation Style, Oelgeschlager, Gunn, and Hain, Cambridge,
MA.
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Tomlinson, J. (1995). Homogenisation and globalisation. History of European Ideas . 20 (4-6), p891-897.
Tse, D. (1988). Does culture matter? A cross-cultural study of executives ' choice, decisiveness, and risk adjustment in international marketing. The Journal of Marketing. 52 (4), p81-95.
Wilson, J. (2010). Shaping the Halal into a brand?. Journal of Islamic Marketing. 1 (2), p107-123.
Younge, G. (2014). Coca-Cola 's Super Bowl ad showed that some Americans still can 't take diversity. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/09/coca-cola-super-bowl-ad-america-diversity. Last accessed 10th Mar 2013.
Zimmet, P. (2001). Globalization, coca-colonization and the chronic disease epidemic: can the Doomsday scenario be averted?. Issue Journal of Internal Medicine Journal of Internal Medicine. 247 (3), p301-310.

Bibliography: Aghion, P; Howitt, P. (1992). A Model of Growth Through Creative Destruction. The National Bureau of Economic Research. 60 (2), p1-48. Aliber, R; Click, R (1993). Readings in International Business: A Decision Approach. 3rd ed. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. p249-257. Andriole, S. (2010) 'Business Impact of Web 2.0 Technologies ',53 (12), pp. 67-79 http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2010/12/102142-business-impact-of-web-20-technologies Bhasin, K & Hicken, M Bitner, M. (1990). Evaluating service encounters: the effects of physical surroundings and employee responses. Journal of Marketing. 54 (2), p69-82. Chaturvedi. P (2008). How McDonald 's evolved its marketing in India. 3 (2), p1-4. Czinkota, M (2012). International Marketing Dash, K . (2005). McDonald 's in India. Thunderbird: The Garvin School of International Management. 4 (5), p1-10. Donavon, R Doole, I; Lowe, R (2008). International Marketing Strategy: Analysis, Development and Implementation. 5th ed. London: Jennifer Pegg. p76. The Economist. (2013). Shisha lounges: Hubble bubble. Fairweather, N Foley, K. (2010). Not In Our Neighborhood; Managing Opposition to Mosque Construction. Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. 11 (3), p1-11. Godin, S. (2005). All marketers are liars. New York: Portfolio. Harish, R. (2008). Building a Global Brand Through the Local Route..ICFAI Journal of International Business. 3 (3), p22-28. Hofstede, G (2005). Cultures And Organizations - Software of the Mind. 2nd ed. USA: McGraw-Hill . Kaplan, A, and Haenlein, M. "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media." Business horizons 53.1 (2010): 59-68. http://www.kfc.co.uk/about-kfc/halal Kearney, A Liebman, C. (1997). Reconceptualizing the Culture Conflict among Israeli Jews. Israel Studies . 2 (2), p172-189. Majić, O; Kuštrak, A . (2013). The influence of religion to consumer behaviour and further implications to international marketing. . International Journal of Management Cases. 15 (4), p287-300. Mendick , R. (2013). Muslim staff at Marks & Spencer can refuse to sell alcohol and pork. The Telegraph. (Retail and Consumer). Miller, D , Ewest, T. (2010). Rethinking the impact of religion on business values: understanding its reemergence and measuring its manifestations . Journal of International Business Ethics . 3 (2), p55. Mutsikiwa, M. (2012). The Influence of Socio-cultural Variables on Consumers ' Perception of Halal Food Products: A Case of Masvingo Urban, Zimbabwe.. International Journal of Business & Management . 7 (20), p112-119. Porter, M (1979). How competitive forces shape strategy. Boston: Harvard Business School . p137-145. Paddison, A; Calderwood, E. (2007). Rural retailing: a sector in decline?.International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management. 35 (2), p136-155. Pullman, M. (2004). Ability of Experience Design Elements to Elicit Emotions and Loyalty Behaviors. A Journal of the Decision Sciences Institute. 35 (3), p551-578. Pye, L. (1982), Chinese Commercial Negotiation Style, Oelgeschlager, Gunn, and Hain, Cambridge, MA. Reardon, T (2005). The supermarket revolution with Asian characteristics. International Conference “Agricultural and Rural Development in Asia: Ideas, Paradigms, and Policies Three Decades After,”. Viewed 05th March 2013 Ram, U Salkeld, L. (2013). M&S faces boycott as it lets Muslim staff refuse to sell alcohol or pork. Daily Mail. Sandikci, O; Ger, Güliz Schumpeter, J. (1942). Creative destruction. Capitalism, socialism and democracy. 4 (2), p82-85. Shadid, W.& van Koningsveld P.S (2002). The Negative Image of Islam and Muslims in the West: Causes and Solutions. Religious Freedom and the Neutrality of the State: The Position of Islam in the European Union, p174-196. Tomlinson, J. (1995). Homogenisation and globalisation. History of European Ideas . 20 (4-6), p891-897. Tse, D. (1988). Does culture matter? A cross-cultural study of executives ' choice, decisiveness, and risk adjustment in international marketing. The Journal of Marketing. 52 (4), p81-95. Wilson, J. (2010). Shaping the Halal into a brand?. Journal of Islamic Marketing. 1 (2), p107-123. Younge, G. (2014). Coca-Cola 's Super Bowl ad showed that some Americans still can 't take diversity. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/09/coca-cola-super-bowl-ad-america-diversity. Last accessed 10th Mar 2013. Zimmet, P. (2001). Globalization, coca-colonization and the chronic disease epidemic: can the Doomsday scenario be averted?. Issue Journal of Internal Medicine Journal of Internal Medicine. 247 (3), p301-310.