German Philosophy. Development of long-term relationships; trust is created based on high-quality and reliability of services and products; quality may override price considerations. Reviewing the use of Hall's high-/low-context concept, Culture, attitudes, and media patterns in China, Taiwan, and the U.S.: Balancing standardization and localization decisions, Openness in metaphorical and straightforward advertisements, Points of view and pieces of time: A taxonomy of image attributes, Perceived complexity and appreciation of visual metaphors by consumers with different cultural backgrounds, The effects of syntactic complexity on advertising persuasiveness, Toward a new generation of cross-cultural research, Attitude change: The information-processing paradigm, Figures of rhetoric in advertising language, Visual rhetoric in advertising: Text-interpretive, experimental and reader-response analyses, Visual and verbal rhetorical figures under directed processing versus incidental exposure to advertising, A laboratory study of the effect of verbal rhetoric versus repetition when consumers are not directed to process advertising, Thinking into it: Consumer interpretation of complex advertising images, The impact of verbal anchoring on consumer response to image ads, Beyond visual metaphor: A new typology of visual rhetoric in advertising, Comprehension's role in persuasion: The case of its moderating effect on persuasive impact of source cues, The influence of high/low-context culture and power distance on choice of communication media: Students' media choice to communicate with professors in Japan and America, Mediation analysis in social psychology: Current practices and new recommendations, Spectacular vernacular: Literacy and commercial culture in the postmodern age, The impact of perceived message complexity and need for cognition on information processing and attitudes, Hofstede's dimensions of culture in international marketing studies, The pun in advertising: A pragmatic approach, Examining the impact of culture's consequences: A three-decade, multilevel, meta-analytical review of Hofstede's cultural value dimensions, Half a century of measuring culture: Review of approaches, challenges, and limitations based on the analysis of 121 instruments for quantifying culture, The occurrence and effects of verbal and visual anchoring of tropes on the perceived comprehensibility and liking of TV commercials, The impact of perceived complexity, deviation and comprehension on the appreciation of visual metaphor in advertising across three European countries, Finding the tipping point: Visual metaphor and conceptual complexity in advertising, The role of comprehension processes in communication and persuasion, Puffery in advertisements: The effects of media context, communication norms, and consumer knowledge. What is High Context Culture - Culture Matters People may say, you are wrong. Gudykunst, W. B., & Ting-Toomey, S. (1988). Figure 2. In high-context cultures (such as those in Japan, China, and Arab countries), the listener is already contexted and does not need to be given much background information[3]. Relevance Theory (Sperber & Wilson, Citation1995) has proven to be a successful approach for our understanding of the relationship between complexity and persuasion of such messages (cf. The mean scores for perceived complexity and ad liking were submitted to regression analyses for the direct effect of nationality on perceived complexity (H1) and ad liking (H3). Carolyn Meyer (2017)[4]discusses the prototypes for communication in low-context and high-context cultures: Communicators in low-context cultures (such as those in Germany, Scandinavia, and North America) convey their meaning exclusive of the context of a situation. Hugs and embraces are common in a social context; the occasional pat on the back (from the older superior to the younger subordinate) may be seen in a work environment. This means that messages beyond a certain tipping point (Van Mulken etal., Citation2014) are too complex, and therefore become less effective. As Hall (Citation1976, p. 79) states: A high-context (HC) communication or message is one in which most of the information is either in the physical context or internalized in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message. Germans have a decidedly pragmatic approach to this dimension, and score very high in this aspect. Next to this measure of perceived comprehension, other useful approaches are to ask participants to select the appropriate meaning among a list of potential meanings (cf. Register a free Taylor & Francis Online account today to boost your research and gain these benefits: The Influence of High-/Low-Context Culture on Perceived Ad Complexity and Liking, Centre for Language Studies, Communication and Information Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, Review of a 40-source debate in international advertising: Practitioner and academician perspectives to the standardization/adaptation issue, Ease of message processing as a moderator of repetition effects in advertising, The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations, The predictive validity of multiple-item versus single-item measures of the same constructs, Implicit meaning in visual print advertisements: A cross-cultural examination of the contextual communication effect, A critique of Hall's contexting model: A meta-analysis of literature on intercultural business and technical communication, How to persuade Belgian, French and Dutch business people to listen to your presentation, Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium, A new approach to country segmentation utilizing multinational diffusion patterns, Conducting experiments on cultural aspects of document design: Why and how, Adapting consumer advertising appeals to cultural values: A meta-analytic review of effects on persuasiveness and ad liking, Foreign language display in advertising from a psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic perspective: A review and research agenda, High- versus low-context culture: A comparison of Chinese, Korean, and American cultures, Beyond culture or beyond control? Having a Difficult Conversation with Someone from a Different Culture Meaning is determined not by what is said but by how it is said and by how social implications such as the communicators status and position come into play. $suH\ This is in part due to Germans unwillingness to reveal personal information to potential strangers. They were Belgian (n = 174) or Dutch (n = 115) students. In societies with a pragmatic orientation, people believe that truth depends very much on situation, context and time. High-Context and Low-Context Cultures - OUP Academic Bernstein, B. This result supported H1. While some cultures are low or high context, in general terms, there can also be individual or contextual differences within cultures. Democratic ideal; large middle class; long tradition of Mitbestimmung (employee co-determination), but respect for organizational hierarchy. Low-context communicators dont need to be provided with much background information, but they do expect messages to be professional, efficient, and linear in their logic. An overview of high context culture. For instance, if an ad contains a slogan in a foreign language that the recipient does not recognize (let alone understand), more effort will not result in better comprehension and better liking. In this study, we follow their classification: Belgium is expected to be a higher-context culture than the Netherlands. This post is a part of the series where I'd like to share some of my cross-cultural experiences and stories. Le Pair and Van Mulken (Citation2008, p. 289) stress that their choice to relate the findings on ad liking to participants' context culture is a tentative explanation, and Callow and Schiffman (Citation2002, p. 274) acknowledge, It would also be advantageous to measure context at an individualas opposed to a culturallevel.. People with this orientation have the perception that their actions are Restrained by social norms and feel that indulging themselves is somewhat wrong. Second, it seems useful to conduct conceptual replications of this kind of study with other complex ads that do not contain visual metaphors, but instead contain other complex message characteristics. Emotions are discredited as unprofessional; in a business context, trust and credibility are developed through suppression of emotions; tendency to be more emotionally expressive with family and friends, particularly in southern Germany. In other words, high-context communicators attach great importance to everything that surrounds the explicit message, including interpersonal relationships, non-verbal cues, and physical and social settings. Why is managing Cultural Diversity important? Some ideas are better understood when left unsaid. The Culture Map - intercultural communication - Project Abroad Loyalty is based on personal preferences for people as well as a sense of duty and responsibility. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine). `Sm-!qJsx(99&om,?Ub8R2yYY0(md]-zW.ASGwqNOY O `Y`\:gh&u Characteristics of HC and LC Communication. Another source of variation is consumers' cultural background; namely, their context culture, as the next section will explain. Low-context cultures can seem slightly more formal due to the explicit & precise nature of their messages. Generally, high-context cultures prefer oral communications, while low-context cultures favor written communications. Even if not stated exactly, a speaker's intent will rarely be misunderstood. Start by finding experienced, knowledgeable employees within your own company. Guffey, M. E., Lowey, D., Rhodes, K., & Rogin, P. (2013). According to the influential context theory of Hall (Hall, Citation1976; Hall & Hall, Citation1990; see also Kittler, Rygl, & Mackinnon, Citation2011), a person's cultural background affects how well that person is able to comprehend complex messages and how well s/he appreciates such messages. Politics latest updates: Union leader Pat Cullen says nurses are pushed It is important to note that no culture is low-context or high-context in absolute terms but a mix of both. In public, space is less of a physical concept: people bump into each other in the street and push others when queuing; it is more a concept of the mind. Germany Germany is one of the so-called " low-context " cultures. #o2G]K(@Z1 PDF THE CULTURE MAP - NetElixir [/footnote], Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits and Obstacles, Intercultural Communication in the Workplace, Additional Resources to Help you Format your Paper in APA Style. This study provides a unique contribution to the domain of culture and advertising in that it presents empirical evidence for the role that Hall's (Citation1976; Hall & Hall, Citation1990) context culture plays in cross-cultural communication. However, scholars have noted an increase in the use of complex advertisements; for instance, through visual images (Phillips, Citation1997; Scott, Citation1993). Details are equally important to create certainty that a certain topic or project is well-thought-out. Permission will be required if your reuse is not covered by the terms of the License. This means that the potential cross-cultural differences observed cannot be accounted for by different languages used in the study (following the suggestion made by Van de Vijver & Leung, Citation1997). In other words, the Federal Republic is well-known for an extremely direct way of speaking about things. Did you know that with a free Taylor & Francis Online account you can gain access to the following benefits? High-context cultures rely heavily on non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, etc. Culture and Interpersonal Communication. Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand, take a more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the future. Speakers should not expect that listeners will figure out what they really mean unless the intended message is stated precisely. 1.5: Taxonomies of Cultural Patterns - Social Sci LibreTexts 3~_9!1JLW? WC "9T$8jKX@N>@\b}16#Q{E82J7gxQWk7&nr^VRjxL%%o7%os ^URt_aOewb,im_ole)hdc|LE<6%E4TEo o@ W Examples of countries that Hall classified as low-context are Norway and Switzerland; examples of high-context countries are China and Japan. The reverse holds true for High (Collectivistic) Context Cultures. endstream endobj 313 0 obj <>stream Remember that culture is dynamic, and that every individual within a culture is unique and may not conform exactly to the general characteristics of that culture. The ads featured different products, such as a car, detergent, soda, and a mobile phone. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Communication is driven by cultural differences - MSU Extension In high-context cultures, people are used to messages that are implicit and for which it is necessary to use cues from the context to decipher the message, such as metaphors. Cultures and languages are defined as higher or lower context on a spectrum. All the advice on this site is general in nature. However, to access this market and connect with German partners and clients, localization is essential.Developing a strategy based on a holistic cultural analysis can feel difficult, if not impossible, to do without an organized approach. Oxford University Press. Source expertise did not play a role when the participants were able to understand the message. In particular he is known for his high and low context cultural factors. Learn more about our academic and editorial standards. Communicating With High- and Low-Context Cultures Xu & Wyer, Citation2010), or foreign languages (cf. Criticism is viewed as a sign of forthrightness and honesty. In the 21 st century, Germany has been key in developing analytic philosophy in Europe together with nations such as France, Scandinavian states, Switzerland, and Austria. Each participant judged all ads in the same order. The use of short scales is consistent with recommendations in the marketing literature (Bergkvist & Rossiter, Citation2007). The United States is the lowest context culture in the world followed by Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. In contrast, high-context cultures use facial expressions, body language, and gestures in a nuanced manner. In general, both Germany and the U.S. are low-context cultures, meaning that information and meaning are usually communicated explicitly through words. Potential characteristics may be verbal metaphors (cf. Belgian participants have a lower perceived complexity than Dutch participants, and this national difference is explained by the participants' personal context score. This methodological limitation makes it impossible to assess whether it is indeed context culture that is the explanatory factor of the results obtained. Thus, Relevance Theory accommodates two seemingly opposing outcomes: a more complex message may generate higher as well as lower appreciation than a less complex message. Guffey et al. The present study shows that individuals' context scores account for the national differences between perceived complexity and liking of ads with complex visual metaphors. Because directness may be thought of as disrespectful, discussions in high-context cultures can be circuitous, circling key issues rather than addressing them head-on. (2013)[2]explain the concept of cultural context: Cultural context is a concept developed by cultural anthropologist Edward T. Hall. A message does not have one given complexity; what is complex to one person is not necessarily complex to another. McQuarrie & Mick, Citation2003, Citation2009), jargon (cf. The low score of 40 on this dimension indicates that the German culture is Restrained in nature. When it comes to the role of context culture on liking, a linear regression first showed that nationality predicted ad liking (F (1, 287) = 4.39, p =.037, R2 =.01; B =.206, SE =.098): Belgian participants (M = 4.33, SD = 0.77) liked the ads better than the Dutch participants (M = 4.13, SD = 0.89). What makes a metaphor complex is that the message is not explicit. Two of the most cited theoretical frameworks in communication are the cultural dimensions of Hofstede (Citation1980, Citation2001) and the context theory of Hall (Citation1976; Hall & Hall, Citation1990; see Cardon, Citation2008, for citations of both authors). Such measures would allow a basis for effectively contrasting cultures and would allow for replication and extension studies.. Instead of doubling down on the tried and true method of fossil fuel power, however, Germany has launched a massive clean-energy revolution. More recent persuasion models, such as the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM; Petty & Cacioppo, Citation1986) and the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM; Chaiken, Citation1987), have nuanced the role of comprehension. For the indirect effects of nationality through context scores on perceived complexity (H2) and ad liking (H4), we used bootstrapping as mediation technique. The lower part of Figure1 models the relationship between receiver nationality and ad appreciation. Conflict Styles and HighLow Context Cultures: A Cross-Cultural Extension. Those in management are expected to have both, while also keeping an open mind to respectful critiques and challenges. The terms "low-context" and "high-context" usually refer to language groups or nationalities. Scheduling, punctuality emphasized; time is a commodity not to be wasted, Equality Germany - IOR In contrast, low-context websites had lesser animation and images, focusing instead on the information. 1 From High Context to Low Context . People tend not to smile in public with people they dont know. We used 2-item scales for perceived ad complexity and ad liking because participants had to assess these constructs for 12 different ads. According to M.Q. Also, in contrast to Indulgent societies, Restrained societies do not put much emphasis on leisure time and control the gratification of their desires. There is an aversion to letting the future take its course. 312 0 obj <>stream These results are visualized in the upper part of Figure2. Phillips (Citation2000), for example, constructed ads in three versions. . endstream endobj 314 0 obj <>stream Getting the message across. The ages ranged from 17 to 25 (M = 20.94, SD = 1.78). Based off those dimensions, there are several cultural aspects of German society that are of great importance when creating a localization strategy. That is, a limited number of experiments have examined whether people in countries characterized as high-context cultures comprehend and appreciate complex messages better than people in countries characterized as low-context cultures (e.g., Van Mulken, Le Pair, & Forceville, Citation2010). - |Cjg@Q.TN"8. Although the use of understandable messages is commonplace in advertising and communication, complex messages are regularly used; for example, through the use of jargon, foreign languages, or verbal or visual metaphors. Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine. Surprisingly, despite the research attention devoted to context theory (for a review, see Cardon, Citation2008), one of the central tenets of the theory has only been tested indirectly. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(3356907, 'f3c79a54-94fa-4875-95d8-58d85fe04dc8', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); St. Patricks Day, cable-knit wool sweaters, and lush, green rolling landscapes are what people Read More, How people communicate with one another varies wildly from culture to culture. While some traditions and norms are important to Germans, they can also be adapted to suit solutions that are dependent on time, situation, and context. IOR collects cookies to improve your experience on our website. Van Mulken etal., Citation2014) or to ask them to write down what they think is the meaning of the message (cf. Also remember that although cultures are different from one another, no culture or cultural characteristic is better or worse than any other. April 28, 2023. It is understood that advertising messages targeted at audiences from different parts of the world do not always travel, which increases the need for adapting messages across the globe instead of standardizing them (e.g., Agrawal, Citation1995; Hornikx & O'Keefe, Citation2009; La Ferle, Edwards, & Lee, Citation2008). The results of their study showed that the Filipino participants scored higher on both scales than the American participants, leading Callow and Schiffman (Citation2002) to conclude that images evoke more implicit meanings in high- than in low-context cultures. Croucher, S., Bruno, A, McGrath, P, Adams, C, McGahan, C, Suits, A & Huckins, A. German society also stresses compartmentalizing personal and professional lives in this pursuit of success. In low-context cultures, people are used to messages that are direct and simple; for them, interpreting metaphors is relatively more demanding. In other words, messages should not be too complex. In high-context cultures, communication cues are transmitted by posture, voice inflection, gestures, and facial expression. Results of regression analyses in the theoretical model. We cite peer reviewed academic articles wherever possible and reference our sources at the end of our articles. Deutsch-lernen.com recommends: Learn melodious standard German at ActiLingua Academy in Vienna. Bill McDermott, the CEO of SAP, details his methodology when he began working with the German company, saying, When I present to a U.S. audience, I try to inspire them quickly, get them engaged right from the beginning. The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau. That is, the more benefits they expect, the more willing they are to invest in processing the message. These countries are quite explicit and elaborate without having prior knowledge to each member's history or background. Low-context and high-context culture are anthropological concepts that describe the level of explicit information and the importance of context in a cultures communication. Future studies should, however, incorporate study background as a personal characteristic. While tokens of status and long-term relationships are valued, the general concept of leisure time and instant gratification is regularly put on the backburner in favor of self-satisfaction down the road. A direct and participative communication and meeting style is common, control is disliked and leadership is challenged to show expertise and best accepted when its based on it. All details are transmitted explicitly. From the same gender distributions in the two samples, it might be considered unlikely that, for instance, one sample contained predominantly arts students (which are mostly female students) and the other predominantly engineering students (which are mostly male students). Yet, relatively little is known about how affordances provided by social media platforms affect whether and how users express political opinions. Which countries have low context. G~D6cA>`E4SR_.H@vuc_FT_+ QY6PCz~Y*MLH4+p} Germany is valued around the world for its precision engineering, especially in the auto industry. A low score (Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A major limitation of the studies providing this evidence is that they drew their conclusions on the basis of groups of people: consumers from a country with a presumed lower-context culture versus consumers from a country with a presumed higher-context culture. Depending on the amount of information conveyed, cultures are classified as being high-context and low-context. What is the perfect Organisational Culture? Copyright 2023 Helpful Professor. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. This is where the study of cultural dimensions is useful. Relatively weak control is called Indulgence and relatively strong control is called Restraint. The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. There are smaller communities and specific settings within national/linguistic cultures, and they may exhibit different communication patterns. This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal it expresses the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. More responsibility; moving up in the company; time off (as monetary rewards are taxed at a very high rate). While Germany is an extremely culturally aware nation, they also have expectations when it comes to others understanding their culture as an independent country - so preparation is a must if you are to build a positive image from the beginning of negotiations. Based on their fact-orientation, they may appear confrontational and overly critical. Low-context and high-context culture are anthropological concepts that describe the level of explicit information and the importance of context in a culture's communication. Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab. As Lowrey (Citation2008, p. 173, italics in original) argued: The important issue is the recognition that complexity effects occur in the individual. When we refer to the complexity of a message in this article, we therefore also refer to the comprehension of the message by the receiver. Our Privacy Policy can be found. Use our contact page or For this reason, understanding differences between U.S. and German business communication may prove useful when starting conversations and negotiations with German business partners. Navigating the Cultural Minefield - Harvard Business Review and the German culture is referred to low context and status-oriented cultures [Kulikova, 2006; Kotthoff, 2003; Gnther, 2002; Khorrami . Germans tend to make a strict distinction between work and social life; therefore expect little small talk in a business context. High-context cultures are built on a sense of shared experiences and history. This proved to be the case (F(1, 287) = 5.85, p =.016, 2 =.02). Cultures with a low-context orientation, including North America and Western Europe, tend to solve problems with logic rather than intuition and highly value directness. Germany, Sweden, and the United States are generally classified as low-context cultures. Finally, place focus on personal achievement, success, and competition, values which drive the German business world. Theoretical model of the role of context culture in perceived complexity and liking of ads. The general terms "high context" and "low context" (popularized by Edward Hall) are used to describe broad-brush cultural differences between societies. In a toothpaste ad that featured a pearl necklace, one version included an explicit headline as verbal anchoring (Makes your teeth pearly white), one version included an implicit headline as verbal anchoring (Flash em), and one version did not include a headline (the complex ad). Keep away from uncertain situations, and instead focus on the known and practical. (2014, May 9). Studies have shown that this satisfaction transfers to higher ad liking and to a more positive product attitude for ads that require considerable cognitive efforts than for ads that need lower cognitive efforts (e.g., Forceville, Citation1996; Phillips, Citation2000; Tanaka, Citation1992).

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