Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior: Use of Local Language for Market Communication—A Study in Region Friuli Venetia Giulia (Italy)

Abstract

Cross-cultural consumer behavior is of market interest due to globalization of marketplaces, migration, multicultural marketplaces, and diffusion in the EU of many languages. The objective of this study is to check whether the local language used in a marketing communication could affect the consumers’ preferences for food products. The theoretical foundation is the consumer motivational approach that goes deeper into motivations interfering with the consumers’ preference order. The multivariate conjoint analysis is used to evaluate the preferences for attributes described in different languages. A number of students from the University of Udine (located in the northeastern part of Italy) have been submitted to interviews to examine their preferences for a simulated sandwich package reporting information in different languages, distributed by vendor machine. The results suggest that the consumer’s reaction to local language depends on sociodemographic profile, cultural background, language knowledge, and family education, and the local language could actually be used as a market tool for market segmentation. These results are of interest to many EU countries with bilingual communities such as Spain, Belgium, the UK, Switzerland, and most of the Italian regions where local languages are still alive. © 2016 Taylor & Franci

How do international advertisers use consumer culture positioning strategies? A cross-national, cross-category approach

“…Taking into account the crucial role of language in defining and maintain national heritage and culture (Rosa, Sillani, and Vasciaveo, 2017), it is not surprising that advertisers often utilise this cue to come closer to local societies. Interestingly, language is the most utilised symbol in hybrid strategy (Alden et al, 2006) in general, and across all three countries.…”

“…Grey goose: World' best tasting Vodka), while LCCP relies more on language as a COO symbol. In this instance, language seems to help portray a connection with a local culture (Rosa et al, 2017), irrespective of whether individuals see the products as personally important or relevant to them. Interestingly, (and contrary to hypothesis H3a), we find that GCCP is the most utilised strategy in the advertising of both categories followed by LCCP, however the products differ in terms of the use of implicit symbols (stereotypical people, landscapes and monuments) in GCCP and explicit symbols (e.g.…”

“…Given the wide diffusion of English language across the globe and people's familiarity with English, it appears that language, as a creative element, is relatively stronger in inducing the notion of localness and weaker in evoking a GCC. Taking into account the crucial role of language in defining and maintaining national heritage and culture (Rosa et al, 2017), it is not surprising that advertisers often utilise this cue to come closer to local societies. Interestingly, language is the most utilised symbol in hybrid strategy (Alden et al, 2006) in general and across all three countries.…”

Expatriate Consumers’ Adaptations and Food Brand Choices: A Compensatory Control Perspective

“…Consumers who have intensified contacts with foreigners have less tendency to develop ethnocentric behavior in their food product choices (Carpenter et al 2013). In a similar fashion, studies suggest that language knowledge has the capacity to influence product choice, thus becoming a significant driver of buying behavior (Rosa, Sillani, and Vasciaveo 2017).…”

Consumer Culture Studies, a Glance at the Literature’s Contributions to the Concept

“…The analysis of Trade Enterprises is explained in the article How consumer mindsets in ethnic Chinese societies affect the intention to buy Fair Trade products: The mediating and moderating roles of moral identity (Yen et al, 2017) and in the article Strategies for trade sales in a changing Asian business culture (Leach, Liu, & Pelton, 2011). Another important text for the Market Communication concept is Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior: Use of Local Language for Market Communication-A Study in Region Friuli Venetia Giulia (Italy) (Rosa, Sillani, & Vasciaveo, 2017). Another article that stands out from the SLR is Psychological, economic and social efficiency of advertising in modern marketing communications by Lebedev (2015).…”