An Analytical Review of Standardization of International

IRJMSH Volume 5 Issue 5 [Year 2014] online ISSN 2277 – 9809

International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity ( IRJMSH ) Page 74

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An Analytical Review of Standardization of International Advertising

Dr. Sudhanshu Singh,

Head- Department of Business Administration,

United College of Engineering and Management, Allahabad

Email id: [email protected]

Amit Kumar Pandey,

Ph. D. Research Scholar (Management),

Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad

Email id: [email protected]

Abstract:

The present content analysis of the literature on cross-national advertising tries to make sense of

what seems a priori isolated, and therefore non conclusive findings by bringing them together in an

analytic review of 210 research papers from the early 1960s to 2006. Our findings show that the

cross-national advertising literature leans toward adaptation over the whole period, however with

increasing standardization over time. Taboos, customs, and social mores still require local

adaptation. Advertising execution should be customized while there is no clear recommendation for

ad strategy. In fact, ad standardization is shown to be contingent on product category.

Keywords: advertising, content analysis, cross-cultural

Introduction

The debate about the way in which cross-national meaning transfer can be realized most

effectively has been going on for at least 45 years (Elinder, 1961) - if not longer (e.g. Brown, 1923).

It is embedded in the more general issue of standardization of marketing programmes and processes

(i.e. Levitt, 1983; Jain, 1989; Solberg, 2002; Theodosiou and Leonidou, 2003). More than 200

research articles dealing with cross-national advertising have been published over 40 years. Three

schools of thought regarding cross-national advertising can be distinguished: standardization,

adaptation, and compromise. Proponents of the standardization approach argue that because of a

converging international environment, standardized advertising can provide the desired meaning to

people of different cultures. According to the adaptation school, cultural, linguistic, religious, and

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legal barriers subsist and make customized advertising inevitable for being successful in local

markets. Between these two opposing views, proponents of a compromise approach caution against

too far-reaching standardization while advocating for some advertising uniformity. This paper is

inspired by the compromise perspective. Its project is to make sense of the wide body of research on

cross-national advertising to investigate key aspects of the advertising adaptation/standardization

decision. This research uses content analysis to assess the influence of different variables on the

degree of standardization of cross-cultural advertising. The first section of the paper presents the

review of literature and hypotheses development. The second section deals with the methodology

(database, categories, coding, and reliability). The third section presents data analysis and empirical

findings. The last section briefly discusses the findings and concludes.

Literature review and hypotheses development:

Adaptation as a general tendency of the cross-national advertising

literature

The feasibility of ad standardization depends on variables related to the economic,

technological, legal, social, and cultural environment. Within a homogeneous environment,

advertising standardization is recommendable. If, on the contrary, environmental variables across

markets are heterogeneous, customized advertising should be favoured. Reviews of cross-national

advertising studies, either regional (e.g. Ha, 1997; Snyder, 1991) or global (e.g. Onkvisit and Shaw,

1987; Harvey, 1993; Han and Shavitt, 1994), generally conclude in favour of adaptation.

Standardized advertising is hindered if the use of certain media or executional elements is restricted,

for instance in countries such as Malaysia which prohibits the use of foreign models in advertising

(Wee et al., 1995). In a similar way, a heterogeneous economic environment across countries makes

advertising standardization more difficult. Advertising execution has to take into account the

education, literacy, and income levels of target groups. For instance, while advertising messages in

Sweden mostly try to inform the audience, the main purpose of Canadian advertising is to remind,

while in Turkey advertising typically strives to persuade the target (Kaynak and Ghauri, 1986). The

competitive environment as well as the actual life cycle stage of a product are further factors in

favor of adaptation. The cultural environment is seen as the highest barrier against standardized

advertising. Differing needs, traditions, consumption habits, religion etc. make the use of an

identical advertising approach across markets difficult (De Mooij, 2000). Therefore, we expect that:

H1: On average, the cross-national advertising literature leans towards adaptation rather



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than standardization of advertising worldwide.

Change over time

Many studies point to the persistent need of ad adaptation (e.g. Tansey et al., 1990). For

instance, an analysis of U.S. companies operating in Europe showed that, between 1963 and 1983,

advertising was more resistant to standardization than product or brand policies (Boddewyn et al.,

1986). Similarly, a trend toward advertising based on more national cues could be observed in

Europe (Snyder et al., 1991). However, there are many arguments in favour of a trend towards

advertising standardization, especially due to strong globalization over the last 20 years. A number

of developing countries have been accessing the status of advertising intensive countries. China is a

case in point for a dramatic change in the place of advertising in the overall business and consumer

scene (see for instance the striking contrast between Ho and Sin (1986), Swanson (1996) and Zhou

et al. 2002). Agencies have similar practices worldwide and tend to adopt organizational structures

that fit with their multinational clients (De Mooij, 2003). Authors coming from the corporate world,

either advertisers or agencies, have consistently argued in favour of ad standardization (Peebles,

1988) and the possibility of putting up a global message with localized communication

(McCullough, 1996). Furthermore, rapidly changing communication technologies (Internet ads,

satellite TV) influence global advertising: media overlaps push companies to more standardized

advertising approach. Therefore we expect that:

H2: Advertising standardization is increasing over time due the globalization trend.

Adaptation to local contexts still needed

Mores and religion act as filters of advertising messages, transforming factual information

into culturally interpreted meaning. A lot of evidence in this area is anecdotal, However,

quite convergent (e.g. Luqmani et al., 1988; Deng et al., 1994; Al-Mossawi and Michell, 1992;

Ford et al., 1997). Therefore, we expect:

H3: Culture and local customs are positively related to adaptation recommendation

Advertising strategy versus advertising execution

Advertising content consists of two major elements: strategy and execution. Although there

is obviously some overlap between both categories, advertising strategy comprises 'what is said' and

execution concerns more 'how it is said'. Van Raaij (1997) adopts the view that the globalization of

marketing communications is less pervasive than it seems at first sight; therefore the necessary

degree of adaptation should increase over a continuum of four levels: mission (long term, identity



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and vision of the communicator), proposition (campaign themes), creative concepts (how themes

are translated in the language and cultures of the target groups) and execution. While mission and

proposition can rather easily be globalized, execution will need much local tailoring. We expect

therefore that:

H4: Advertising strategy is more standardization prone than ad execution.

Influence of product category on the degree of standardization of international advertising

Product type may have an influence on advertising standardization. Products satisfying

fairly universal needs whose ad messages mostly carry rather context-free information cues are

easier to standardize. Ads for certain product categories may be easier to standardize because they

correspond to global (airlines, tobacco, banks, …) rather than multi domestic industries (food, motor

insurance, …). About two thirds of the studies we reviewed do not take into account product

category, although it might be an essential covariate of ad standardization. Most studies that

conclude to an absence of product effect on ad standardization use highly aggregated product

categories, opposing for instance durables to non-durables or personal to non-personal products.

The key to the understanding of product influence may lie in the interaction between product effects

and cultural effects. Both products and advertising are embedded in a cultural context. Products

advertised, ad appeals, benefits, and existential themes reflect a particular cultural context (Tse et

al., 1989). Overall advertising differences across countries tend to become weaker when product

influence is not considered (Pasadeos and Chi, 1992; Cheng and Schweitzer, 1996). Product

influence appears as a weak covariate when cross-cultural differences are large. Conversely, when

culturally similar countries are compared, product influence may be strong enough to override

cultural influence (e.g. Gregory and Munch, 1997; Han and Shavitt, 1994). Therefore, we expect:

H5: The level of advertising standardization is contingent on product category

Methodology

Specifically, we study relationships between variables by means of regression analyses on the basis

of coincidence (events being simultaneous) with the basic inference that they are connected. For

instance, if research articles that study the presence of elderly people in ads across countries

conclude in favour of ad adaptation, we infer that older audiences need more localized ads that

those featuring young people. It is important to note that we do not claim for causation. A meta-

analysis could not be performed because this literature does not have a set of identical variables

consistently operationalized across research studies. A content-analytic approach was therefore



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chosen to construct indicators of the overall degree of adaptation/standardization which were used

as dependent variables in the analyses.

Constitution of the data base / Selection of studies

A multistage process was used to obtain an inclusive article base about cross-national/cross-

cultural advertising. An extensive literature review was first undertaken, based on 26 leading

marketing and international business journals where relevant research studies were searched from

the early 1960s to 2006. Proceedings of several peer-reviewed conferences on cross-cultural

consumer behavior, international marketing, as well as advertising research were used to

complement the review and reach a near-to-exhaustive list. When the same study was both

conference and journal published, only the journal publication was retained. Additional studies were

obtained by systematically reviewing relevant references in the reference lists of the studies

previously found. Searches on several bibliographic databases (e.g. ABI/Inform, LEXIS/NEXIS,

EBSCO) and personal queries from scholars in the field complemented the process.

Studies dealing with the degree of cross-cultural advertising standardization and/or

analyzing variables influencing this process were included in the database. Although most studies

are quantitative in nature, this was not a condition for their inclusion in the data base. Several

qualitative studies (e.g. Deng et al., 1994; Di Benedetto et al., 1992) were also retained. Conversely,

purely normative, conceptual (e.g. Harvey, 1993; Levitt, 1983), or primarily anecdotal contributions

(e.g. Colvin et al., 1980; Kashani, 1989) were not integrated into the database. A total number of

210 studies about cross-national advertising were retained, reviewed, and coded.

Description of the cross-national advertising research database

The coding process first deals with a description of the cross-national research studies: full

reference, family names of the authors, publication year, journal, countries surveyed, number of

authors, authors countries, nature of samples (TV, print, other media, advertisers, agencies,

viewers), and size of samples. Contributions were written by 2 authors on average (94.8 % percent

of all articles were written by 3 or less). Most authors had positions in U.S. universities (59.7 %). 4

countries on average were analyzed. Overall, 60 different countries were surveyed in at least one

article. Seven countries (i.e. United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, China, and

Taiwan) accounted for 52 % of the country samples. Most research studies were based on content

analysis of ads (magazine ads: 29.9 %, television ads: 20.5 %). Subject samples were used in 24.6

% of the articles for experimental designs. The remainder was based on surveys of advertisers (12.1



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%), advertising agencies (6.3 %), reviews of research articles (4.5 %) and miscellaneous (2.1 %).

The average sample size is 617.

Coding procedure and assessment of intercoder / intracoder reliability

Coding of research studies was performed independently by two coders at least and three

coders for the first half of the articles reviewed (this for team learning purposes). At least one of the

authors of this study was involved in coding each article. Disagreements among coders were

resolved among each team of coders after discussion and on the basis of a majority decision with a

third coder in case of persistent disagreement. Intercoder reliability was assessed by using a per-

item-agreement method (Kassarjian (1977). In each case, the percentage of final agreement for all

descriptive categories cited above was between 95 and 100 %. Intercoder reliability (IR) for

dependent and independent variables is reported below Intracoder reliability was calculated for each

coder on a sub-sample of twenty articles within a one-month interval. Average internal consistency

levels were above .9.

Dependent variables

Two dependent variables were created. The first indicator was created to test hypotheses one

to three. The main rationale behind this first indicator is that the standardization debate has shifted

from an either/or question to a contingency approach, carefully considering available marketing

options within specific contexts. Hence, research articles present nuanced recommendations, in

between adaptation and standardization. In order to keep track of subtle differences in degree, we

created a variable based on the ‘findings’, ‘discussion’, and ‘conclusion’ sections. The degree of

standardization recommended by a particular article was rated on a five-point scale ranging from +2

("strong standardization") to –2 ("strong adaptation"). The ‘standardization score’ is based on

averaging the different scores given by coders for the same article.

To test hypothesis 4, a second dependent variable was created. For each research article, the

number of confirmed / disconfirmed hypotheses stating cross-cultural advertising divergence (i.e.

Country or Culture A ads are different from Country or Culture B ads) was counted (IR = .85). The

main objective of cross-cultural studies being to investigate differences or similarities between

countries, the number of confirmed divergence hypotheses is an appropriate proxy for the necessity

of adapting ads across countries/cultures.

Independent variables

Eight independent variables were coded as either studied (1) or not (0). They were labelled:



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‘Temporal Evolution’ (IR = .97): A diachronic research design with at least two years between data

collections; ‘Hofstede’ (IR = .96): At least two, generally four, Hofstede's cultural dimensions (i.e.

Power Distance, Individualism-Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity-Femininity) are

explicitly considered as likely explanations for cross-national differences; ‘Taboos’(IR = .95): The

influence of social mores, religion, and/or taboos on local ads are taken into account; ‘Execution

Style’ (IR = .83): That is, authors studied the kind of execution styles used in ads; ‘Media’ (IR =

.88): When cross-national differences were assessed across different media samples (e.g. print,

television, and or radio ads); ‘Visual/Textual’ (IR = .92): When visual or textual elements of ads

were considered; ‘Appeals’ (IR = .89): cross-national differences in ad appeals were systematically

studied by the authors; ‘Creative Strategies’ (IR = .85): creative strategies were content-analyzed

following categories by e.g. Frazer (1983), Laskey et al. (1989), or Muller (1987). Product influence

on advertising standardization was coded "significant product influence" when acknowledged by

authors and "no significant product influence" when no such influence was found (IR = .81).

Findings

Multiple regression was performed to test hypotheses H1 to H3 with the ‘standardization

score’ as the dependent variable (see Table 1). The overall equation was significant, indicating that

the model with the independent variables (temporal evolution, Hofstede, taboos) performed better

than the null model (F=5.876; p < .01). All three variables as well as the constant term were

significant at the .05 level.

The constant term (intercept) has a significant, negative beta value (β= -.424, p < .01),

showing that the findings of the research articles favour adaptation over standardization. The scale

being defined over the range [–2 (adaptation); +2 (standardization)], the literature on cross-national

advertising leans toward adaptation, confirming H1. ‘Temporal evolution’ has a positive impact on

the ‘standardization score’ (β = .141; p < .05). As argued by H2, research articles investigating

cross-national advertising over time recommend standardization more than adaptation.

The ‘Hofstede’ variable is negatively related to the standardization score (β= -.168; p < .05),

indicating that research articles based on Hofstede's cultural dimensions conclude in favour of ad

adaptation. A similar pattern appears for ‘social mores or taboos’ which is negatively related to the

standardization of international advertising (‘Taboos’: β = -.177; p < .01). Culture and local

customs favor adaptation over standardization in international advertising as stated by H3.

Hypothesis 4 states that advertising strategy is easier to standardize across countries than ad

execution. Two independent variables represent advertising strategy (‘Creative strategies’ and



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‘Advertising appeals’). Three independent variables represent advertising execution (‘Execution

style’, ‘Visual/Textual’, ‘Media’). A regression was performed (see Table 2) with the number of

confirmed divergence hypotheses as dependent variable The overall equation is significant (F =

6.044; p < .01). Two of the three advertising execution variables are significant at the .01 level

(execution style: β = .361; p < .01; visual/textual: β = .315; p < .01). The last variable (media) is

near to significance at the .05 level (β = .206; p = .053). Coefficients of ad execution variables are

positive, indicating that articles comparing cross-national ad execution favour adaptation.

Regression coefficients for advertising strategy variables are not significant (appeals: β = .098; p =

.159; creative strategies: β = -.154; p = .345). This provides partial support for H4. When there are

significant differences across contexts, advertising execution should be adapted while it is unclear

whether advertising strategy should be adapted or standardized.

A binomial test was used for validating H5. Frequencies are compared for the two categories

(influence of product category on advertising standardization vs. no influence). 86% of the articles

(67 out of 78 studying product category influences) conclude in favour of an influence of product

category on ad standardization; a proportion significantly different from a 50/50 split (χ2

= 40.21,

p< .000). H5 is confirmed: ad standardization is contingent on product category.

Discussion and conclusion

Recent criticism of content analysis in cross-cultural advertising research questions whether

comparative analyses of advertisements across countries lead to insightful or superficial findings

(Lerman and Callow, 2004). The present content analysis of the literature on cross-national

advertising tries to make sense of what seems a priori isolated, and therefore non conclusive

findings by bringing them together in an analytic review, a true meta-analysis being impossible

given the dispersed nature of the data. Our findings suggest that the debate over ad standardization

should be considered from a pragmatic rather than a dogmatic perspective, taking into account the

product category and its degree of cultural embeddedness. Increasing standardization is inevitable

as markets globalize and advertisers as well as agencies become themselves global players.

However, consumers are still local with different cultures, languages, and religious norms. While it

seems possible to standardize advertising strategy, execution will still require much customization.

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IRJMSH Volume 5 Issue 5 [Year 2014] online ISSN 2277 –

9809


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Table 1: test of hypotheses H1 to H3

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate

1 .281(a) .079 .065 .88568

Unstandardized

Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta

(Constant) -.424 .074 -5.755 .000

Taboos -.699 .265 -.177 -2.635 .009

Hofstede -.428 .173 -.168 -2.470 .014

Temporal evolution .399 .191 .141 2.081 .039

a Dependent Variable: Standardization Score

Table 2: test of hypothesis H4

R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate

.538(a) .290 .242 3.14571

a Predictors: (Constant), Creative strategies, Appeals, Visual/Textual, Execution Style, Media

Unstandardized

Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients t Sig.



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B Std. Error Beta

(Constant) 1.468 .517 2.839 .006

Execution Style 3.537 1.023 .361 3.457 .001

Visual/Textual 3.087 1.004 .315 3.074 .003

Media 1.774 .902 .206 1.966 .053

Creative strategies -1.306 .917 -.154 -1.423 .159

Appeals .792 .834 .098 .949 .345

a Dependent Variable: Divergence Hypotheses confirmed

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An Analytical Review of Standardization of International