On Improving the Conceptual Foundations of International Marketing Research

International marketing research plays a vital role as firms expand globally. Yet limited attention has been paid to the conceptual underpinnings of research needed to guide expansion. This article focuses on these issues and specifically examines the conceptual framework that guides research, the geographic units of analysis, and the constructs. The authors suggest two alternative approaches to organizing cross-cultural research: the adapted etic and the linked emic. As markets and marketing activities become more integrated and global in scope, increasing interest has emerged among both academics and practitioners in conducting research in multicountry settings. Although the process of conducting international marketing research does not differ from domestic marketing research, there are pitfalls and problems associated with extending the scope of research beyond the confines of a single countrys borders. Many of these problems are readily apparent and are related to the need to arrange for data collection in multiple locations, to coordinate activities over substantial geographic distances, or to translate research instruments into different languages. Underlying these obvious differences are more subtle issues that threaten the integrity of the research and stem from differences in the sociocultural context in which research is conducted. Some of these issues have been discussed in the international marketing and cross-cultural psychology literature (Craig and Douglas 2005; Sekaran 1983; Van de Vijver and Leung 1997; Van Raaij 1978). In particular, issues related to measurement and scale equivalence and procedures to examine these have been extensively discussed (Steenkamp and Baumgartner 1998; Van de Vijver and Leung 1997). However, issues related to the underlying conceptual framework that guides the research have received considerably less attention (Nakata and Huang 2002). Yet if research is to expand knowledge of consumer behavior to guide management decision making, greater awareness of the importance of examining the universality of theories and constructs anchored in a specific research paradigm or developed in relation to a specific geographic or sociocultural setting is essential.

ABSTRACT

Susan P. Douglas and C. Samuel Craig

Submitted January 2005 Accepted July 2005 Journal of International Marketing 2006, American Marketing Association Vol. 14, No. 1, 2006, pp. 122 ISSN 1069-031X (print) 1547-7215 (electronic)

The purpose of this article is to argue for a greater emphasis on the early stages of research design in international markets and to suggest ways to improve international marketing research. Attention needs to be paid to the assumptions that underlie the theories and concepts used, particularly their relevance and meaning in a given sociocultural context. The equivalence of the constructs and the way they are operationalized in different sociocultural settings should be assessed and accurate, and reliable research instruments need to be designed to tap the meaning of a construct in a given setting. All too frequently, cross-country research begins with the third component (i.e., the research instrument) without consideration of the underlying conceptual framework and related constructs and their applicability in other research contexts. The major issues and their resolution appear in Table 1, which also outlines the structure for the article. The most critical aspect of international marketing research is the development of the conceptual framework that guides data collection and hypothesis testing. An important issue is the applicability of the original framework in different contexts or research settings. In some cases, the underlying theory may not be salient. Even when the basic theory applies, constructs may need to be modified or the nature of relationships may differ from one research context to another. Indigenous theories may suggest alternative frameworks or concepts to be considered. This implies that the original conceptual framework may need to be modified. Similarly, construct measurement and the unit of analysis

DEVELOPING THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Issues

Resolution
Refining the Conceptual Framework Decentering the research perspective Assessing the role of context Identifying the mediators and moderators Identifying construct bias

Table 1. Resolving Issues in Multicountry Marketing Research

Conceptual Framework Relevance of theory Relevance of construct Expression of construct

Unit of Analysis Relevance of unit Independence Comparability of country Heterogeneity within countries Construct Same operationalization Stimulus comparability Back transaction Method and item bias

Refining the Unit of Analysis Alternative units Purposive selection Degree of cultural interpenetration

Improving Contruct Measurement Preliminary research and pretesting Use of emic/etic instruments Use of parallel translation

Susan P. Douglas and C. Samuel Craig

may require modification. The same data analysis would typically be conducted as it was in the original country, but with the possible addition of control variables to account for contextual differences. A common procedure in many marketing studies is to take a conceptual model or research design used in one country (often the United States) and to extend or replicate the study in another country without consideration of the applicability or relevance of the research design in this new context. This approach assumes that the theory and constructs are universal, or etic. It assumes that they are relevant in any other research context and not specific to the context in which they were developed. This debate about the etic versus emic nature of theories and constructs is pervasive throughout cross-cultural research in the social sciences (Berry 1969; Triandis 1972). The emic school argues that constructs and theories are specific to and need to be developed and studied within a clearly defined context. The etic school argues that constructs and theories should be universal and apply to all contexts. A principal danger of the etic philosophy is that it will result in a pseudoetic perspective or bias (Triandis 1972); that is, theories and constructs are assumed to be universal when they are actually emic. Typically, a pseudoetic research perspective is strongly anchored in the domestic market context. The domestic market forms the dominant frame of reference. It is assumed that research questions and issues that are salient in that market and cultural context are also salient in other countries. Relevance of Theories. To avoid a pseudoetic bias, the relevance of theory and constructs in each research context needs to be assessed. A theory is typically developed within a given socioenvironmental context (often the United States) and thus reflects specific characteristics of that context (Nakata and Huang 2002; Van Raaij 1978). For example, although marketing orientation has been validated in developing countries, the antecedents have been found to differ. In Ghana, centralization and formalization are important antecedents of adoption of a marketing orientation and the tendency to acquire, disseminate, and use information. This has been attributed to the early stage in transition to a marketing orientation. African managers tend to be authoritarian and to endorse ascribed status, leading to greater centralization. In turn, this centralization is necessary to stimulate market-oriented behavior in the short run (Kuada and Buatsi 2005). Similarly, in Thailand, an innovation orientation is an important factor associated with management acceptance of a marketing orientation (Powpaka 1998). Thus, the real understanding of market orientation comes not from finding that it exists but in understanding its antecedents and the factors that influence it in each market.

Typical Procedure

Conceptual Foundations of International Marketing Research

Relevance of Constructs. Similarly, the relevance of constructs in each research context needs to be carefully examined. Even when a general theory applies, a specific construct may not be relevant or have the same meaning or implications in another context. Just as in the case of theories, constructs are identified within a specific socioenvironmental context, which differs in certain respects from other contexts. For example, Nakata and Sivakumar (2001) suggest that the implementation of marketing concepts can be expressed in the generation, dissemination, and utilization of different types of information in different national cultures. For example, in cultures that are low on individualism and uncertainty avoidance, there may be less market intelligence dissemination and utilization but higher information generation than in other types of cultures. This suggests that the way a theory is operationalized and the relative importance of different constructs can vary depending on the sociocultural setting. Therefore, researchers must pay attention to such issues in the development and testing of research hypotheses in different settings. Expression of Constructs. Constructs may be relevant in other contexts but not expressed in the same way. This is most likely to occur when constructs are related to attitudes or behaviors that are contextually embedded. For example, trust may be expressed in different ways in different cultures. Andaleeb and Anwar (1996) find that in a developing country, Bangladesh, customers trust in an organization had a significant impact on their trust in its salespeople. This was attributed to the sociocultural context, in which people did not inspire the same level of trust as did recognized and established organizations. Similarly, in the Chinese business environment, trust in a seller or salesperson is more a function of the sellers companys reputation or creditworthiness than a sellers individual product expertise or knowledge (Armstrong and Yee 2001) Consequently, trust in the organization has been found to be associated with trust at the individual level and to play a crucial role in facilitating the industrial selling process. This implies that careful attention must be paid to how a construct is construed in a given context. Rather than assuming that it will necessarily be expressed in the same way, it is important to examine the underlying sociological context and consult local experts to explicate the concept appropriately. Decentering the Research Perspective. The extrapolation of a research design used in the home country to other contexts is likely to result in bias arising from the cultural perspective of the researcher (Lee 1966). The researcher is likely to identify relevant constructs or relationships to be studied in the light of aspects and issues that are significant in his or her home context. Often, the researcher begins from a base of knowl-

Refining the Conceptual Framework

Susan P. Douglas and C. Samuel Craig

edge and experience from doing research in his or her own culture in relation to issues that are highly salient in that culture. For example, the role of public policy or government influence is more pervasive in many European countries than in the United States and is frequently the focus of or included in studies in Europe. For example, Hofstede (1980) notes that scholars with Western backgrounds often are interested in issues related to values and attitudes. Such issues may be of less significance to scholars in emerging markets, who may be concerned with issues related to economic growth or education. The researcher is likely to interpret events, behavior, and data in the light of his or her own experience and store of knowledge. Assessing the Role of Context. Because research is conducted in multiple sociocultural environments that differ from one another with regard to certain important characteristics, it is important to consider how this is related to the behavior studied. For example, small countries with high levels of foreign trade provide a different context for the examination of consumer ethnocentrism or attitudes toward foreign products than do large industrialized countries, in which foreign trade is a smaller percentage of gross national product (Nijssen and Douglas 2004). In the former case, there may be no domestic manufacturers for products such as automobiles or computers, resulting in a more favorable attitude toward foreign products than in countries in which domestic manufacturers for such products are a major source of employment. Identifying Mediators and Moderators. The role of mediating and moderating factors in the conceptual framework must also be identified. These are factors embedded in the sociocultural context that mediate or moderate the relationship under examination. For example, in the study of the impact of consumer ethnocentrism and of product evaluations on intentions to purchase foreign products, feelings of animosity toward a particular country affect the evaluation of products from that country. These feelings of animosity may stem from previous acts of aggression or fears of economic dominance. For example, Chinese peoples feelings of animosity toward Japan, due to the massacre at Nanjing in the 1930s, were found to affect their evaluations of and willingness to buy Japanese products in the 1990s (Klein, Ettenson, and Morris 1998). Identifying Construct Bias. Use of a research instrument developed in a single cultural setting in other research settings can result in construct bias.1 If the same instrument is used in another setting, bias will arise if the appropriate definition of the construct differs across cultures or research settings. For example, in developing the IGEN scale to measure

Conceptual Foundations of International Marketing Research

intergenerational communication and influence, an initial set of 37 items that measured three dimensions of intergenerational transmissionconsumer skills, preferences, and attitudes toward marketer-supplied informationwas developed (Viswanalthan, Childers, and Moore 2000). The scale was then pretested on undergraduate students in the United States, and it was reduced to 12 items. The reliability, dimensionality, and validity of the scales were then tested on samples of alumni of MBA programs in the United States and Thailand. Although the amount of pretesting was impressive, it was conducted primarily in the United States. It might have been desirable to allow for some emic input in Thailand to ensure that some other domain aspect was not underrepresented. This would seem to be particularly important because in contrast to the United States, in Thailand, there is a strong extended-family orientation, and respect for authority and obedience are important values. Thus, the influence of other family members, such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles, might need to be included; in addition, this research should have considered respect for senior family members in learning and adopting consumer skills. Because international marketing research is concerned with studying behavior in multiple settings or locations and making implicit or explicit comparisons about differences and similarities among locations, another important step is to define the research setting or context and to select the relevant setting or contexts to be studied. In essence, this implies the need to define clearly the unit of analysis for the study. In most international marketing studies, the country is used as the basic unit of analysis in the research design. The country becomes the spatial unit from which samples are drawn, from which surveys or experiments are designed, and from which inferences are made about similarities and differences. The country as a political and organizational entity provides a practical and convenient unit for data collection. Many secondary and industry data are available on a country-by-country basis. In many cases, countries also provide linguistic entities or have an official language. In addition, because countries are customarily used as the unit of analysis, findings can be related to and interpreted in the light of previous research. However, although use of the country to define the geographic boundaries of the research setting is convenient, it has unintended consequences. Relevance as a Unit. Use of the country assumes that it provides the relevant context or socioeconomic setting for the behavior studied. However, a more appropriate unit may be cities or regions or a specific linguistic grouping. In some cases, it is assumed that a country is synonymous with culture, which is then loosely viewed as implying national

UNIT

OF

ANALYSIS

Current Practice

Susan P. Douglas and C. Samuel Craig

culture (Hofstede 1980, 2001). Countries may also not be the relevant unit for issues related to activities that span national boundaries. As markets become increasingly integrated at both the product-market and the macroenvironmental level, studies may examine issues such as the impact of global media or the Internet on customer purchase and information-seeking behavior, the emergence of regional or global lifestyles, and the transfer of information or market experience across national boundaries. For such studies, the existence of country boundaries may have little or no relevance, and the relevant spatial unit may be the world or some other spatial configuration of markets. Recent work in spatial segmentation has demonstrated that segments can be identified across national boundaries (Ter Hofstede, Wedel, and Steenkamp 2002). Locations are spatially dependent, and this dependency crosses international borders. Independence. Use of the country as the unit of analysis also assumes that a country is an isolated or independent unit for the purpose of the behavior studied. As Galton notes in his remarks following E.B. Tylors presentation of his classic paper on the cross-cultural method at the Royal Statistical Society in 1889, it is typically impossible to obtain crosscultural sampling units that are independent of one another (see Naroll 1970). Supposedly, culturally distinctive traits have often spread among neighboring or historically linked regions through diffusion or migration. This problem, which was apparent more than 100 years ago, is even more significant in todays world in which countries are interlinked by the spread of the Internet, e-mail, satellite media, and massive waves of migration coupled with increasing regional economic integration. Research participants, especially when they are students, are likely to have traveled to other countries or, at a minimum, to have been exposed to ideas and influences emanating from other countries and cultures. Even those who have not traveled are exposed to images and information about other countries through television or print media. Consequently, findings related to differences or similarities among countries (e.g., in relation to consumption or purchasing patterns, attitudes toward different foreign or global brands) may reflect factors such as consumer mobility and migration, the spread of international retailers, and the promotional activities of international marketers rather than national or country characteristics. Comparability of Countries. Countries may also not be comparable as units relative to factors that may affect the phenomenon under study (e.g., size of the internal market, the nature of the market infrastructure, linguistic or cultural heritage, the degree of interconnectedness with other coun-

Conceptual Foundations of International Marketing Research

tries, geographic proximity). Such factors are key elements of the market context and, as such, play an important role in fashioning behavior in the marketplace. Consequently, the comparability of countries with respect to such factors needs to be carefully considered. In some cases, a country is selected as an exemplar of a particular category. When attitudes or behavior are being compared in individualistic versus collectivist societies, the United States is often selected as an exemplar of an individualistic, Western society, whereas an Asian society, such as Singapore, Hong-Kong, Thailand, or Taiwan, is often selected as an exemplar of a collectivist society. Again, comparability with respect to other confounding factors (e.g., industrialization, political regime, education) that may underlie or account for observed differences needs to be assessed. For example, in examining how economic ideology and industry type moderate the impact of market orientation and relationship on performance, Sin and colleagues (2005) compared Hong Kong and China because they were culturally similar but different in terms of economic ideology. As a result, they find clear support for their proposition that economic ideology moderates the link among market orientation, relationship market orientation, and business performance. Because they had matched countries on cultural factors, these factors did not contaminate or account for the observed relationships. Heterogeneity Within Countries. There is also typically substantial variation in attitudes and behavior within countries. In some cases, differences within countries may be greater than differences between countries. For example, there are vast regional differences within the Peoples Republic of China. Cui and Liu (2001) identify seven regional markets with substantial variation in terms of conservatism and preferences for foreign goods. Even in relation to concepts, which are defined in terms of country or national units (e.g., national culture), there may be considerable heterogeneity within countries. In assessing national identity using the national identity (NATID) scale, Thelen and Honeycutt (2004) found substantial differences between Soviet Russians aged 3765 and contemporary Russians in various dimensions of the NATID scale. Soviet Russians were less concerned with cultural homogeneity, were more ethnocentric, and, counter to the hypothesized attitude, were more likely to view religion as part of their national identity than contemporary Russians. This suggests the importance of examining differences both within and among countries because there may be considerable intracountry heterogeneity. Within-country heterogeneity is particularly relevant for international market segmentation because it results in seg-

Susan P. Douglas and C. Samuel Craig

ments that cross national boundaries (see Steenkamp and Ter Hofstede 2002; Ter Hofstede, Steenkamp, and Wedel 1999). The limitations of the country as a unit of analysis have several implications for the geographic units used in international marketing research. First, it suggests that alternative geographic units need to be considered, including hierarchical designs that incorporate multiple levels of units. Second, when countries are used as a unit in the design, they should be purposively selected with respect to factors, which may be relevant or affect the behavior being studied. In addition, the degree of cultural interpenetration and, thus, the contamination of the unit need to be considered. Alternative Units. In some international studies, use of more tightly defined geographic units within countries (e.g., major cities, urban areas, linguistic groups) is preferable. For example, studies of global market segments, such as teens or upscale consumers, might focus on major cities throughout the world. However, this approach is subject to the risk that there may be substantial differences among cities or other units within countries. Conversely, in other cases, use of units broader in scope than countries (e.g., regions) may be the relevant unit. Finally, combinations of multiple levels (e.g., groups of major cities within regions) might form the relevant unit in the design. Purposive Selection. When countries are used as a unit or level in the research design, it is critical that they be purposively selected to be comparable, to reflect variance on characteristics of interest, and to control for confounding effects. This requires careful attention and consideration of macroenvironmental or country characteristics that may be related to or affect the behavior studied and the mechanism by which these characteristics influence behavior. Sociocultural settings may be purposively selected on the basis of some key contextual variables that are assumed to affect variation in the patterning or frequency of the behavior or attitude studied. For example, in examining differences in service encounters in fast foods and grocery retailing, Keillor, Hult, and Kandemir (2004) selected eight countries that represented diverse positions on Hofstedes five measures of national culture. This allowed them to generalize their results to a wide range of different and culturally disparate types of countries. Degree of Cultural Interpenetration. Another important issue is to determine the degree of cultural interpenetration and, thus, the extent to which the country is truly an isolated or independent unit (Naroll 1970). Cultural interpenetration

Refining the Unit of Analysis

Conceptual Foundations of International Marketing Research

can occur in two ways: (1) It may reflect the extent to which people from a country have traveled to other countries and thus are familiar with the mores, artifacts, and behavior of other cultures, and (2) it may reflect the extent to which a society is exposed to other cultures through mass media, the Internet, foreign tourism, and other communication links. For example, when applying the NATID scale in a given country or examining the degree of consumer ethnocentrism, researchers should consider and examine the extent to which respondents have traveled to other countries and have been exposed to other cultures and whether they watch foreign news programs. At a minimum, the degree of exposure to other countries can be used as a covariate in the analysis. If the covariate is not significant, greater confidence can be placed on the obtained scale values. A significant covariate would indicate that the construct is different for respondents with external contacts, though this may be a function of selfselection. Research instruments that provide accurate and reliable measurement tools in multiple research settings need to be developed. Often these settings differ in terms of language, levels of literacy, educational systems, and rules of social interaction. These factors affect respondent comprehension, suitability of different response formats, differential response styles, and the nature of the interviewee interviewer interaction. Differences in the research infrastructure also affect the efficacy of different modes of data collection and administration procedures. As in the case of conceptual models and constructs, there is often a tendency, particularly in replication studies, to adopt research instruments used in the original, or base, study, appropriately translated when necessary into the language of the other research context. If the instrument works and exhibits acceptable levels of internal reliability, it is considered to provide an adequate measure. Typically, little attention is given to its appropriateness in another setting or to whether it covers all aspects of the construct to be measured. In addition, because the instrument exists, little consideration is given to whether an alternative instrument might provide a more accurate and reliable measure of the construct. The dangers inherent in this approach are particularly evident in the case of attitudinal scales. The typical procedure is to take a scale developed in one sociocultural setting, to back-translate it, and then to test the translated scale in another setting on the basis of measures of internal reliability, such as Cronbachs alpha or factor analysis. Items that exhibit low levels of reliability are eliminated. In some cases, external measures of validity (e.g., product-related pre-

CONSTRUCT MEASUREMENT

Current Procedures

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dictability) are examined. Rarely is nomological validity (i.e., relation to other similar constructs) considered. Application of a common research instrument in diverse research settings assumes that the construct is equally salient and can be measured in the same way in any research setting. It also assumes equal familiarity with stimuli and research instruments and the absence of method or item bias across research settings. Finally, it assumes that a faithful translation or replication of the research instrument provides the most effective measure of the construct. Same Operationalization. As we noted in our discussion of the conceptual framework, constructs may not be expressed in the same way in different cultures or research settings, insofar as the range or type of behavior and attitudes covered may vary. Thus, use of the same research instrument will not be appropriate. In addition, a key feature of cross-cultural research is that it is conducted at multiple sites in multiple contexts. Consequently, as we noted previously, there may be factors specific to a given context that affect the hypothesized relationship. Insofar as contexts may differ at both the macro and/or the micro level, their impact on the attitudes and behavior studied needs to be considered. For example, in examining service encounters in a diverse range of countries, Keillor, Hult, and Kandemir (2004) selected the fastfood and grocery industries because they assumed that these would provide relatively similar experiences in terms of basic want and need fulfillment. However, given the range of countries examined (i.e., from developing countries, such as India and Morocco, to highly developed countries, such as Sweden and the United States, which have sophisticated retail infrastructures), it seems likely that the context in which these services were provided may well have differed and influenced perceptions of the provision of services. Whereas the impact of the servicescape was examined in terms of ambient design, functional design, and social elements, other factors related to the service organization also could have been considered. Stimulus Commonality. Use of a common research instrument also assumes equal familiarity with visual and verbal stimuli (e.g., verbal rating scales, such as Likert scales or paired comparisons, or visual stimuli, such as photographs) as well as comparability in visual and verbal stimuli. This may not always be the case, especially when research is conducted in radically different sociocultural environments (see Deregowski and Serpell 1971). In addition, colors and color combinations have been found to have different associations in different countries (Madden, Hewett, and Roth 2000). This suggests that different combinations of color can evoke different meanings in different cultures and that a thorough

Conceptual Foundations of International Marketing Research

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understanding of colors and how color combinations are perceived in each location is needed when the same stimuli are compared in different countries. Back Translation. The use of back translation is the best known and most popular method in educational testing and psychology (Brislin 1980; Hambleton 1993, 1994). Following this procedure, a questionnaire is translated from the initial or source language by a bilingual translator, who is a native speaker of the target language, into the language in which the translation is being made. A bilingual who is a native speaker of that language then translates this version back into the original or source language. The two versions are then compared in the source language to check for errors and the quality of the translation. Back translation begins with the assumption of a source questionnaire or language. Evaluation of the translation is made in the source language and assumes that a faithful or literal translation reflecting the terms and phraseology used in the source language is required (Werner and Campbell 1970). Consequently, this raises the issue of the extent to which such structure and terms dominate the questionnaire. Not only are some phrases or terms nonexistent and difficult to render in other languages, but in some cases, it may also be preferable to translate the material into phrases that are equivalent in intent and meaning. Method and Item Bias. Use of a research instrument developed in another cultural setting can generate method bias due to factors such as differential response style (i.e., social acquiescence and extreme ratings), differential familiarity with response formats or stimuli, and interviewer effect (Van de Vijver and Leung 1997). Bias due to differential response style or response formats, such as extreme rating styles, is relatively well documented (Baumgartner and Steenkamp 2001). Statistical procedures can be used to assess the degree of bias. As we noted previously, this is especially likely to result in bias when stimuli developed in Western cultures are applied in Asian or emerging-market cultures. A typical procedure is to take items developed in a base country in which research has been originally conducted (often the United States), translate them into the relevant language, and assume that these will tap the relevant construct. If measurement equivalence is obtained, it is assumed that the construct is equivalent. However, there is a danger that this is not the case. For example, in taking data from a study on the effectiveness of television commercials with high and low information content in the United States and Korea, Myers and colleagues (2000) tested measurement equivalence for three measures: attitudes toward the advertisement,

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attitude toward the brand, and buyer intent. Two items were found to be nonequivalent, which suggests that this could reflect problematic operationalization. Therefore, the testing of construct equivalence in this manner is desirable to ensure reliable and valid measures. The dangers inherent in using a research instrument developed in one cultural context or research setting in another context or setting suggest the desirability of first conducting preliminary research to assess the degree of bias associated with using an existing research instrument and mode of administration. When examination of the construct or conceptual model suggests that these are expressed in a different way in different cultural settings or contexts, research instruments that tap specific elements or constructs need to be developed. When instruments are directly transposed to another setting, parallel translation helps provide a means to decenter a research instrument. Equivalent procedures can be used with visual stimuli. Finally, use of monotrait, multimethod procedures (triangulation) provides a means to assess potential method bias and to ensure that instruments are valid and reliable in each specific research or cultural context. Preliminary Research and Pretesting. Preliminary research and pretesting of research instruments in each cultural context is critical to detect potential sources of bias and to develop instruments specifically adapted to a given cultural setting or research environment. Here, qualitative research can be used to probe potential method bias and to construct bias associated with a given type of instrument. In-depth interviews and focus groups can be particularly helpful in the diagnosis of problems associated with comprehension of questions and sources of item bias. In some cases, preliminary research is undertaken to develop items relevant to a given cultural context (or to assess the appropriateness of items developed in one context in another). For example, in a study of new product performance in Taiwan and South Korea, Song and colleagues (1997) examined existing research and scales that had previously been designed to measure the constructs used in the study. These scales were then refined on the basis of a series of 36 in-depth case studies and focus group studies conducted in the context of Taiwanese and South Korean new product development. Team members were asked to elicit and define salient constructs to assess conceptual equivalence, to determine whether a list of items tapped these constructs, and to modify the items where appropriate. A list of constructs and measurement items was submitted to two panels of academic experts, and a draft questionnaire was then drawn up and pretested in both South Korea and Taiwan.

Improving Construct Measurement

Conceptual Foundations of International Marketing Research

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Prior experience with a particular type of research instrument (e.g., Likert scaling, semantic differential) in a given setting can also help provide insights into potential response bias. Again, instruments should be pretested, and multiple instruments or triangulation (Hui and Triandis 1983; Triandis, McClusker, and Hui 1990) should be used to identify potential bias and to develop improved and more reliable instruments. Use of Emic/Etic Instruments. When preliminary research suggests that certain constructs are not salient or are expressed in different ways in different cultures, use of a supposedly etic instrument will result in bias. If culturespecific elements of a conceptual model or constructs are identified, development of a hybrid emic/etic instrument or a purely emic or culture-specific instrument is necessary. In the former case, the core elements of a scale developed for a single country or context may be used to form the etic component of the scale. Scales developed in a single market or cultural context often include domains or aspects of a construct that are noncentral and context specific. Therefore, extraction of core items improves predictive ability (Baumgartner and Steenkamp 2001). In other cases, culture-specific instruments may be developed. In examining brand personality in Japan and Spain, Aaker, Benet-Martnez, and Garolera (2001) developed an instrument that incorporates measures specific to each market, replicating analogous measures in the United States. Some elements were found to be the same, but others differed. In the case of attitudinal scales, when a construct is found to have different dimensions in different cultures and contexts, emic or culture-specific items that tap culture-specific dimensions should be identified. These can then be included in the item pool and measurement instrument, resulting in a hybrid emic/etic measure. Use of Parallel Translation. Use of parallel or committee translation is increasingly recommended in educational psychology and other social sciences (Hambleton 1993, 1994). A questionnaire is first forward- and/or back-translated. A committee of bilingual translators and experts then compare versions of the questionnaire to check for errors of meaning. The adequacy of alternative translations is discussed and equivalence of meaning is examined until agreement is reached on a final version. This technique has been criticized on the grounds that there is no formal control over the accuracy of the translation. It appears to be a useful approach in international marketing research, in which a freer and less exact translation is often desirable (Bontempo 1993; Hambleton 1993, 1994). It also has the advantage of using people of different backgrounds and perspectives in a co-operative effort to improve the accuracy of the translation and assess its accuracy. Often, this approach is useful in decentering the

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research instrument and in developing one that is better adapted to a specific culture (Werner and Campbell 1970). Two alternative iterative approaches can be identified to arrive at a solution that provides comparability without ignoring emic elements. These differ in terms of the starting or base point. The first, the adapted etic approach, begins with a base culture or context and attempts to adapt the conceptual model developed in the base culture to other contexts, taking explicitly into account differences in the context being studied and their implications for the research design. The second, the linked emic model, takes the local context as its starting point, but at multiple research sites. Input from each site is then incorporated into the overall conceptual framework and research design. The adapted etic model begins with the assumption that the theory or conceptual framework used in the research design is panculturalthat is, it applies in all contexts or settings but that some adaptation to specific local research context may be necessary. Typically, research has been conducted and validated in a single research context or setting, and the researcher attempts to examine the extent to which the model and related research findings can be generalized to other research contexts and settings. An important first step is to explicate the underlying theory and conceptual framework in multiple sociocultural settings. This entails an examination of whether the assumptions that underlie the theory apply and are relevant in other sociocultural settings. For example, theories and research related to consumerism or consumer satisfaction may have little relevance in emerging or transitional economies, in which a consumerist society has not yet emerged and problems related to the supply or availability of goods are paramount. When the relevance of a theory or conceptual framework to a given sociocultural setting has been assessed, the next step is to examine the relevant constructs and hypotheses to determine whether they are equally valid and relevant in all settings. This typically requires obtaining input either directly by conducting research in other settings or indirectly by using other researchers experience in a given setting. Local researchers with expertise in the area can be asked to adapt constructs to the local research context or identify culturespecific concepts related to the topic studied. For example, in developing his universal values, Schwartz (1992) asked collaborators to examine the source list and identify any other values that might be relevant in their country/culture. An alternative approach that Hui and Triandis (1983) suggest is to build alternative measures of concepts explicitly into

A FRAMEWORK FOR CROSSCULTURAL STUDIES

The Adapted Etic Model

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the research design. This approach begins with a construct that is assumed to be etic. Different ways of operationalizing or measuring the construct in different cultures are then developed. Comparisons based on emic measurements of the etic construct in different contexts are conducted to develop a derived etic construct. This is an iterative, divergent approach that begins with an etic-based conceptual framework and gradually moderates the constructs and relationships in the framework on the basis of successive studies that examine modifications in different contexts. The wider the range of contexts studied, the more likely it is that modifications will be made in the original conceptual model. The adapted etic approach is likely to result in an emphasis on similarities rather than on differences. Even when modifications are made to the original etic construct to fit the specific context, the emphasis is on retaining the essence of that construct and the underlying assumption that it is pancultural or universal. The cultural perspective of the base country in which research was first conducted is likely to dominate. Therefore, little attention is likely to be paid to identifying emic-specific elements or constructs. This approach is likely to result in an emphasis on similarities rather than on differences and to facilitate comparison across countries and contexts. Modifications are made for differences in the context or setting, but explicit identification and in-depth examination of emic-specific constructs are less likely. In particular, the perspective of the researcher from the base country is likely to prevail. To incorporate culture-specific elements and effectively build a broader knowledge base, a hybrid, or linked, emic model is suggested. Emic research initially begins in multiple sites. A group of researchers, including at least one from each of the contexts being studied, begin by agreeing on the scope of common parameters of the research and the key research questions. This first step may create some difficulty insofar as each researcher may view the key research questions differently. Definitions or understanding the meanings of terms may be particularly problematic. In many cases, English is the common language in which the research is discussed and articulated. However, translation and interpretation of the meaning associated with key terms such as leadership, trust, and so on, in different languages may already give rise to issues of comparability and equivalence, which need to be discussed and resolved. For example, in the early stages of an international research study, qualitative research should be undertaken to assess the relevance of the theories and constructs initially hypothesized to be related to the research questions being studied and to identify how these constructs are expressed and

The Linked Emic Model

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whether any emic constructs relevant to the study need to be considered. This should include a literature search not only in the base language and country in which the study was initially conceived but also in all other countries and contexts that the study covers. It is particularly important to conduct this research in the language of the other cultural settings because this may reveal alternative theories or constructs that are salient to the research issue in that country or context and also may help broaden the overall perspective of the study. After consensus has been reached on the key research questions under investigation, each researcher develops a research design. This sets up a conceptual framework for the study that considers characteristics specific to each research context. This should also articulate how each element of the model (i.e., constructs and concepts) will be operationalized or, more specifically, how it will be defined and construed in each local context. At this point, researchers from all contexts discuss differences and similarities in these localized models and the role of contextual factors in accounting for these differences and similarities. This discussion may result in the identification of (1) elements, concepts, and relationships that appear to be common across contexts; (2) concepts that are common but are operationalized in different ways in different contexts; (3) relationships among constructs that differ across contexts; and (4) constructs that are unique to a given context. Further discussion is then aimed at moving toward greater harmonization of conceptual models across contexts. This may be achieved by including elements that are unique to one context in other contexts or by amalgamating or combining constructs from different contexts to develop multifaceted constructs that are then applied to all contexts. When it is feasible, a overarching model may be developed that incorporates all the elements from the local, context-specific models and delineates both etic and emic elements. Some theoretical rationale related to the impact of contextual factors should also be developed to account for the emic components and relationships within the model. For example, group-related variables may play a more critical role in explaining behavior in collectivist societies than in individualistic societies. This type of emic approach begins with an emphasis on local knowledge and a local perspective. As a result, it tends to emphasize the unique features that characterize each context rather than pancultural or etic aspects; in other words, the emic approach interprets these elements within the local context. This approach avoids potential ethnocentric or pseudoetic bias, insofar as researchers from each local con-

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text are responsible for building the research design and interpreting findings from each local context. Coordination at subsequent phases of research may also be facilitated when coordination and integration of findings across research contexts are conducted by a multicultural team of researchers from different backgrounds, each of whom contributes local and general knowledge. Adopting either an adapted etic or a linked emic approach to conducting international marketing research has several important implications for management. When conducting international marketing research, it is important to involve local management in the research effort. If research is designed and executed centrally, the purpose and implications of the research may not be clear to local management, resulting in misunderstanding, miscommunication, and a failure to act on the research findings. The involvement of local management also helps ensure that models and concepts are appropriately adapted to the local research environment and that emic, or country-specific elements, are included in the research design. In addition, research needs to be initiated in the local country context both to identify country-specific concepts and elements and to probe country-specific problems and issues. Again, local management is best placed to identify such issues and should have the capability of initiating and commissioning such research. Even when management is interested in developing a global strategy, it may still be important to account for local differences. Ultimately, the appropriate approach for conducting international marketing research depends to a large degree on the organizational structure of the company. A highly centralized company in which corporate headquarters exercises strong control over local operations will find that an adapted etic approach is best suited to its organizational structure. Conversely, a decentralized company in which local country management plays an important role is likely to find a linked etic approach more consistent with its decision-making structure. Regardless of the approach adopted in conducting international marketing research, it is highly desirable to develop teams that are composed of researchers from different countries and different cultural backgrounds. In particular, capability in multiple languages is essential to understand the difficulties of translation and to eliminate potential bias that results from a single cultural background. Although such multicultural research teams are difficult to organize, they are an important prerequisite to the generation of sound international marketing research.

MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

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Finally, research that is conceptually well grounded provides sounder information for decision making. Therefore, it is important to pay careful attention to the theoretical underpinnings of research and to ensure that these are relevant to the problem and context at hand. Sound research that can effectively guide management decision making will be generated only if there is a strong conceptual framework. International marketing research presents several unique design and methodological issues. With few exceptions, these have received relatively little attention in the marketing literature. Whereas methodological issues in the analysis of multicountry data have been extensively discussed, issues related to overall research design and, specifically, the relevance of theories and equivalence of constructs and concepts in multicountry research have been largely neglected. An underlying theme of this article has been the importance of decentering the research perspective, that is, removing the influence of a dominant culture or philosophy in the development and execution of the research design. Although this issue has been extensively discussed in relation to translation (Werner and Campbell 1970), the effects are less well recognized in relation to theories and constructs and in the design of the conceptual framework for international marketing studies. All too frequently, theories or constructs developed in relation to one sociocultural context or setting are used in the study of another, which can result in bias in the definition and measurement of constructs and in subsequent stages of research. No matter how accurate and refined the analytic procedures, if the underlying conceptual model is flawed, the findings and their interpretation will, at best, be biased. If future research in international marketing is to provide valid results and contribute to the advancement of knowledge, greater attention must be paid to the early stages of research design and, in particular, to the relevance and salience of the underlying conceptual framework in each research setting or context. Only then will data be generated from which valid and meaningful inferences can be drawn that can guide management decision making. 1. According to Van de Vijver and Leung (1997), equivalence can be viewed as distinct from bias. Equivalence is the level at which a comparison is made (i.e., the equivalence of a construct across contexts or cultures or of the measurement units, the scale, or the score). In contrast, bias is any factor that jeopardizes the validity of the comparison.

CONCLUSIONS

NOTE

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THE AUTHORS
Susan P. Douglas is PaganelliBull Professor of Marketing and International Business (e-mail: sdouglas@stern.nyu.edu), and C. Samuel Craig is Catherine and Peter Kellner Professor and Director of the Entertainment, Media and Technology Program (e-mail: scraig@stern.nyu.edu), Stern School of Business, New York University.

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