Cultural Issues in Internationa Business

In this paper, we will examine the concepts of culture and some salient cultural dimensions. We will then explain why it is important to understand cultural differences and how firms can cope with and/or manage such differences. First of all, we tried to find some definitions about the meaning of culture in the literature. Culture has been defined in various ways by different people. Kluckholn (1951) described culture as "patterned ways of thinking, feeling and …

…to multinationals on cross-cultural issues, stated: "Increasingly, international managers realize that they can gain competitive advantage by understanding cultural differences. Technologies can be copied quickly. Intercultural competence cannot be copied - it must be learned." In short, while knowledge of cultural awareness cannot compensate for deficiencies in product and technology in gaining market entry, in its absence, however, the best products and technology may yet fail to meet with acceptance in markets around the world.