Virtual Relationship Marketing:A Cross-cultural Analysis among Television Home Shopping Channels in Taiwan, Japan and USA
Author
Abstract
The current study explores cultural perspectives underlying fundamental retailing assumptions of consumers in the three countries of Japan, the United States, and Taiwan. Core cultural values are drawn out and contrasted by examining retailing customs transferred to television home shopping, where relationship marketing is emphasized but the -one-way medium forces artificial simulations of relationships. By defining the uniquely local values of relationship marketing with easy to understand analogies and metaphors, results supply retailers with a head start on creating a meaningful localized exchange relationship.
Relationship marketing is receiving increasing attention as marketers orient efforts to center on consumers and develop long-term exchange behaviors. Television home shopping (THS) has experienced success in a short time due to its ability to create a perception of a strong relationship with consumers. Little research has contrasted THS marketing messages in different cultural settings. Recent growth of THS in distant cultures now opens this opportunity. The basic research question examined here is what differs, f anything, in the THS marketing message within different cultural settings. The answer to this question is critical for remote and virtual relationship marketers in many different channels, such as radio, television, and the Web.
We integrate Bitner (1994) and Baker's (1987) servicescape categories as a research framework used in coding the component parts of the THS production as it is broadcast over live television. Special attention is paid to observable behaviors and communications that constitute a servicescape-exchange law-cultural analog/metaphor. This content analysis then acts as a framework for contextualizing the cultural differences among broadcasts in the three countries of the United States, Japan, and Taiwan.
Data were collected for the current study through a preliminary observation of all three broadcasters, listing all details in both screen, set, camera, music, hosts, guests, speaking, etc. These artifacts and behaviors were then categorized for a coding form to be used for all three countries. Categories used in the coding forms were based on Bitner and Baker's servicescape concept with the specific items coming from this preliminary analysis stage. Content analysis, Chi-Square Automated Interaction Detection (CHAID), Chi-Square test, and Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) were employed in order to develop and test emergent grounded theory. In-depth observation of the THS programs, by the leading researchers, feed into and was influenced by the categorical statistical testing, combining together in a grounded theory resulting in analogies and metaphors that captured the differences in relationship marketing emphasis.
The resulting three analogies found were built upon local preferences for shopping in the traditional physical shopping space. In Taiwan, we found THS employed an analogy to night market shopping through an emphasis on excitement, movement, high volume, numerous actors, and highly discounted products. Japan THS used an analogy to department store shopping through formal hosts, organized sets, avoidance of pressure sales tactics, and product explanation with historical and background information. American THS emphasized an analogy to garage sale shopping with friendly attitudes and interaction with hosts, guests, and audience along with abstract set design and much time spent on supplying viewers with exclusive opportunities just for friends.
From the apparent shopping analogies, we next drew out the core cultural values being leveraged in the localized THS efforts. Within each of the three countries, the analogies enabled us to view what local consumers value within the marketing relationship, what we referred to as the marketing metaphor being used. The metaphor in Taiwan was found to be one related to the local concept of Renao, and ancient and highly valued positive concept of a situation involving many people, loud sounds, great bargains, all in the context of shopping. In Japan, the metaphor of Sabisu was suggested. Sabisu is a localized concept related to service quality, but involving many aspects of Japanese formalized service behaviors. In America, the metaphor suggested was fraternity, a value that places emphasis on friendship, sharing., and openness. The resulting metaphors are finally combined with the analogies and the specific servicscapes to create a servicescape constellation perceptual map that positions each of the three cultures relative to each other and the servicescape components. The resulting constellation perceptual map provides a starting point for further research ax well as a basis for localization efforts.
