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CULTURAL ISSUES A COMPANY FACES WHEN EMERGING IN A NEWMARKET

Both the lit review and methodology need amending see below:

Lit review needs to be amended (notes within the document)

Methodology:

– notes within the document

– the whole methodology needs to be changed to secondary data ONLY see explanation below:

The research should mostly refer to case studies / the past experiences of a few firms such as: McDonald’s when it launched in Japan, the changes they had to make to adapt to the culture there (e.g. the teriyaki burger) and the difficulties Walmart has faced when trying to enter new markets. The study should also use models and theories that explain how firms should deal with cultural issues. The study should examine diverse literature on cultural issues, emerging markets, and globalisation.

Also need the following two chapters to be done:

– Case study chapter; research and summary of findings(approx 2000 – 2500 words)

– Conclusion and Recommendations for future research (approx 1500 words)

Cultural Issues a Company Faces when Emerging in a New Market 11

CULTURAL ISSUES A COMPANY FACES WHEN EMERGING IN A NEWMARKET

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Background

A company can develop a new product or emerge in a new market by using its ideas or those of others. However, there are several issues, such as cultural problems, that it can encounter during the entire process. Firms have to take cultural issues into consideration before deciding to enter into a new market. Some of cultural issues include religion, norms, customs, and language. When a company has adequate knowledge and information it needs, the process of emerging into a new market will be less painful.

The most important thing for a company is to consider the market it’s about to enter, once it begins the process of developing a business model and concept (Govindarajan and Ramamurti 2011). The key to a successful venture is taking time to understand the market, which means carrying market research to evaluate every aspect of the market including cultural issues.

The reason for this study is that firms always look to expand to new opportunities and markets, and for each new market that a firm establishes itself in, there is always a different culture that might sometimes generate different problems for the firm. This paper aims to research the cultural issues that companies face when emerging in the new market and how they solve the issues. This study is hence so important since it will create a guide to those firms planning to enter new markets. The guide will provide the best way possible on how to avoid or/and deal with cultural issues.

Overall aim Comment by Chi Maher: Overall aim missing

1.2 Objectives/Aims Comment by Chi Maher: You need 3 research Objectives

The objective of the research is to increase our understandings of the various cultural issues that most companies face when emerging in new markets.

1.3 Research Questions

· How do firms gain understanding and knowledge concerning the cultural issues of a new market?

· How do firms overcome these issues?

· What is the utmost efficient and effective technique to lessen risk relating to cultural issues in new markets?

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Culture is the knowledge and characteristics of a particular group of individuals encompassing religion, language, arts, cuisine, social habits, and music. According to Hofstede Geert “culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another” (Hofstede 1991, p. 90). In general, culture is a way people do their things. The chief cultural issues that an organization must consider before entering a new market include religion, norms, customs, and language. Over the years, the changing landscape of technology has made it possible for people from different sides or regions of the planet to interact, especially through social networking sites. These interactions and information exchange have opened regions to foreign people making it possible for new organizations to move to such regions.

The most advantage that organizations have harnessed from these interactions is the ability to learn about the cultural norms of people from a particular region of interest. This way, the top management can collaborate with relevant people within the firm to develop and adapt business models and strategies with the ability to succeed in the targeted market segment (Logemann and Piekkari 2015, p.33). Importantly, it is essential for organizations to adopt a localization strategy, which incorporates religion, norms, customs, and language of the local people in the model and strategies. Ideally, the targeted people have to feel that they are part of the company, which would then make them to support the company. Therefore, it is mandatory for the new entrants in the market to initiate and actualize various corporate social responsibilities as well as adopting a localization strategy.

2.1 Culture Categories

One has to understand the diverse cornerstones of culture, to understand the various issues that firms face when entering new markets. Culture can be categorized into various categories for easy understanding. The sense of space and self is the first category. Self-identity and appreciation can be expressed differently in a different culture. For example, it is more okay to boast in some cultures, whereas people have a habit of being humble in other cultures (MacCormack et al. 1980). People are structured and formal in some cultures, whereas others are flexible and informal.

The other category of culture is body language and spoken language. Body language differs between different cultures. People speak different languages with different dialects in various parts of the world. Body language is somehow universal; however, signals and gestures have a different explanation in different cultures. For instance, most European culture prefers hugging as a sign of greeting while in some Asian nations, culture abhors body contact especially when it involves people of different gender. In particular, most nations where Islam is the dominant religion advises against shaking hands people of opposite gender. The differences in these practices imply that the ways of greeting also vary. For instance, Cambodians greet by one person touching their chest and bowing to the other person, who must be older than them or occupy a higher sociocultural class (Jensen 2017, p.137). On the other hand, people in many African nations prefer handshaking as compared to hugging or pecking. Therefore, the top management is responsible for understanding the practices pertinent to the targeted market and liaising with the relevant stakeholders to adopt a business model and strategy with high efficacy.

There are diverse feeding habits and diets in different cultures. For instance, many Americans and Europeans eat a lot of beef, which is unacceptable among Hindus. Jews and Muslims are not permitted to eat pork, whereas several Swedes have distinct harm for Christmas. The food generally varies from culture to culture, and the way food is served and eaten also differ. Food is eaten directly with bare hands in some cultures, while in other cultures, individuals use wooden sticks and many more. Comment by Chi Maher: Reference required

People have different norms and values in different cultures. In several parts of the world, individuals try to survive due to the absence of food and water, whereas individuals in other regions concentrate on upgrading their standards of livings through material possessions and better employment. Success is frequently measured in wealth in the United States, whereas in other regions such as Pacific Island, success is measured on the bases of how much an individual shares his/her wealth.

Attitude and beliefs of people are other significant factors of culture. This is an aspect of culture that is difficult to measure. People have different attitudes and cultures. Religion has the same effect on the attitudes of people, but a person interprets a message might be different from the other interpretation. Generally, message interpretations depend on attitudes, norms, and religion. Understanding this concept is imperative because the new market entrants must develop and implement promotional activities intended to introduce the products or services of the company to the customers. The only known way for an organization to enter a new market and mount a stiff competition with the existing players is when the potential customers in the market segment can comprehend the message. In this respect, it is advisable to use promotional methods and messages that would reach many people in the market and be understood. As long as the customers interpret the messages in the advertisements as intended by the organization, they would demand for the products and services, especially when they prove more superior and advantageous in comparison to the existing products. Comment by Chi Maher: Same as above Comment by Chi Maher: Sae as above

Apart from message interpretation, the top management must also understand the attitudes of the host people towards certain tendencies. For instance, environmental protection is one of the most crucial responsibilities of organizations when they enter a new market. This responsibility has crept to the top of the CSRs pile due to the heightened calls on the need to slow climate change. Different types of pollution undermine the quality of life of people, and therefore, it is necessary for firms to play critical roles in ensuring that their operations do not jeopardize lives of the host people. This is principally crucial in societies where people are much concerned with environmental protection. Comment by Chi Maher: Reference your work throughtout

Additionally, the adopted localization strategy must make people feel that they are part of the company. The human resources department must adopt a recruitment framework that hires local people. These people would help the company to understand the local market much better, thereby positioning it as a competitive player in the local market.

The competitiveness of the company would depend on its market share. Through recruiting the local people, the company would receive the support of people within the market segment, which would be instrumental in cementing the operations of the organization within the industry. Even so, the organization has to adopt the human resource department with the local market since the variables that influence job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and employee motivation varies across culture. Some studies have indicated that the failure of firms to align the human resource department with the cultural profile of the locals is one of the main reasons for the failure of organizations in foreign markets. Also, performance appraisals differ across cultures due to the underlying differences in the conflict resolution modalities and giving and receiving of feedback (Luo and Shenkar 2017, p.72). Therefore, the pinnacle management must align the practices of the human resource debarment with the cultural profile of the host region to raise the likelihood of success.

2.2 Deciding the Mode of Entry

A firm has to choose the means of entry when it decides to emerge into a new market. This decision is thought to be affected by the following aspects: external factors, internal factors, favorite mode characteristics, and so on. The most interesting factor in our study is the external factors because cultural issues belong to external factors that face a firm (Zhang et al. 2007). The socio-culture comprises of language, cultural characteristics, and education level, to name a few. The socio-cultural issues influence a choice of means of entry for a company because it can generate internal indecision in the business and by that, it will influence their choice. Perhaps, deciding on the best entry model is the hardest for an organization that wants to emerge in a new market (Azhar and Lin 2017, p.15). The people concerned with the development of business models and entry strategies must liaise with numerous stakeholders to position the company on the brink of success.

Importantly, conducting a PESTEL analysis would help reveal internal and external variables that are likely to determine the success of the firm. For instance, studies have indicated that the failure of the firm to understand the local legal and ethical issues is one of the underlying causes of company failure. Globally, the operations of firms are governed by the existing laws and ethical guidelines, which ensure that these operations do not undermine the rights of any stakeholder. Therefore, the apex leadership in a company intending to enter a new market must understand the local legal and ethical issues to develop a strategy that can foster the success of the firm.

Apart from the local legal and ethical issues, organizations must also understand the socio-cultural and economic variables of the targeted market segment. As pointed out earlier, adopting a localization strategy positions the company on the brink of success. Some of the elements within this strategy that a firm must consider include spending power of the targeted customers, the cultural norms, educational level of most people, and their overall attitudes. Normally, a society that has a high literacy percentage expects much from the entities. For instance, people from such communities would likely demand that organizations act by the laws of the land along with protecting environment. Failure of the organization to practice this would attract the anger of the locals, thereby shaking the continued operation of the firm.

Furthermore, the spending capacity of the targeted customers determines the type of pricing strategy adopted by the organization (Davcik and Sharma 2015, p. 770). There are various pricing strategies that firms can adopt when entering a new market segment. The adopted pricing strategy must incorporate the purchasing power of the targeted people along with the quality of the products or services. Some of the most popular pricing strategies that a firm can adopt when emerging in a new market are penetration and premium.

Ideally, the penetration strategy is adopted to assist the company in entering a new market and expanding its customer bases. In most cases, penetration pricing is lower than the existing market prices, which plays a crucial role in attracting and retaining customers. The major drawback of this strategy is that it leads to narrower profit margins and might cause the company to go under when the established companies also decide to lower their prices. Conversely, the premium pricing strategy generates the illusion of quality and exclusivity. In simple terms, those products or services offered at high prices generate the feeling that they are of high quality, thereby making people to increase their demand for them. However, this strategy should only be used when the potential customers in the market segment have a high purchasing power. Due to this condition, this strategy is mostly applied in societies where most of the targeted customers are within the middle or rich classes. Concisely, an organization emerging in a new market must utilize a localization strategy, which would also include a pricing strategy that matches the socio-economic and cultural variables of the potential customers.

2.3 Method of Exports

The products of a country are both manufactured in either the third country market or domestic market and then indirectly or directly exported to a new market or a new country. Export is the most common means for the initial entry of a company and is essential in evaluating the market growth. It is normally the distinctive way for firms to initiate entry to external markets, which changes towards foreign-based activities. The major types of export methods include cooperative exports, direct exports, and indirect exports.

Cooperative exports are when a company collaborates with other companies in exporting functions (Michaely 1977, P.50). Direct exports are when the firm itself carry out the exporting processes, and also the company is in direct connection with the intermediary. Indirect export, on the other hand, is when the firm indirectly carry out the exporting processes. As an alternative, a domestic corporation, for example, export house or trading company accomplish those activities. When entering a new market, the company must do all it can to attract and retain the potential customers. This can only be achieved by adopting a localization strategy, which focuses on empowering and motivating the community. Based on this requirement, a company emerging in a new market must utilize cooperative exports as a strategy to build and expand its market share. Importantly, the selected company must have an exceptional reputation in the market, thereby helping the new entrants to make good strides. The fact that the new entrant collaborates with the local existing company to export the produced products would auger well with the community. For most outsiders, this would be a perfect expression of the company in its bid to support the community. Therefore, the apex management in a company entering a new market must select the cooperative exportation strategy, which would appeal to both the emotions and logic of the potential customers, thereby promoting the growth of the company.

2.4 Economic Model Comment by Chi Maher:

References

required

There are different economic models established to evaluate how cultural issues affect the decision of a company to emerge in a new market. There are four main types of economic models used to tell a story about the performance of the economy of the targeted market. These models include simulation, visual, empirical, and mathematical. The models used in exploring the economy put in consideration the behaviour of the customers in the market. Visual models provide the pictures and charts that illustrate the performance of the economy. For instance, the line graphs could show the variation of a nation’s GDP over a given period. The main advantage of these models is that an individual can read and understand them with easy and within a short time. The decision-makers in an organization can then make the expansion decisions based on the graphical representation of the changes in the economy. A very popular visual representation of the economy focuses on the supply and demand curves in a nation or a region. Demand is based on the purchasing power of people, which depends on the socioeconomic variables within the society. Therefore, the visual models showing high demand would indicate that the socioeconomic variables in the society are attractive for business operations. This is the most popular model applied by business organizations to understand the performance of the economy before deciding to expand and venture.

2.4.1 PESTEL model

The PESTEL model categorizes six key types of the external environment that have an influence on a company. These factors include economic, social, political, environmental, technological, and legal factors. The PESTEL model is suitable for viewing the future effects of environmental aspects to the company. The socio-cultural factors are the most interesting aspect of the model to this study (Issa et al 2010). The sociocultural factors include income distribution, lifestyle changes, population demographics, attitudes to leisure and work, consumerism, education level, and social mobility. Moreover, the political variables have a profound influence on the business climate in a nation. For instance, a move by the national government to scale up taxes would likely lead to inflation. This might not be great for business operations. Therefore, decision-makers must explore the political variables existing in a region before deciding on entry. Environmental and legal issues must also be explored and adhered to when an organization enters a new market segment. As pointed out earlier, environmental protection has become a popular initiative for many organizations globally. In this respect, management must explore the legal policies regarding environment protect within the target region and adhere to the policies accordingly. Today, technology has become a cornerstone of many operations. Although an organization can import technology, it is also important to have an idea of how technology-developed a region is before entering the market. Comment by Chi Maher: Same as above

2.5 Marketing and Culture

Culture varies from one state to another. A company, therefore, has to strategize its marketing approach to fit the values and principles of a particular country. Culture entails individuals’ beliefs, attitudes, and values, what works in a particular state may not work in another. Culture plays a crucial role for a firm when it comes to understanding consumer behaviour, therefore, culture influences customer’s consumption at the end of the day (Deshpande and Webster 1989). It is important for firms to carry thorough marketing research to know how a particular aspect works in an external market, to assist them in selecting the perfect promotional mix that is suitable for the culture of a particular country (Webster 1995, p.10). A company needs to design the market mix: price, product, people, and promotion to fit the culture of a particular country.

References

Azhar, A. and Lin, C.W., 2017, April. The fundamental business strategy for state owned mobile provider company enter the regional market community. In 2017 3rd International Conference on Information Management (ICIM) (pp. 16-20). IEEE.

Davcik, N.S. and Sharma, P., 2015. Impact of product differentiation, marketing investments and brand equity on pricing strategies: A brand level investigation. European Journal of Marketing, 49(5/6), pp.760-781.

Deshpande, R. and Webster Jr, F.E., 1989. Organizational culture and marketing: defining the research agenda. Journal of marketing, 53(1), pp.3-15.

Govindarajan, V. and Ramamurti, R., 2011. Reverse innovation, emerging markets, and global strategy. Global Strategy Journal, 1(3‐4), pp.191-205.

Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill, 4(1), pp.70-100.

Issa, T., Chang, V. and Issa, T., 2010. Sustainable business strategies and PESTEL framework. GSTF International Journal on Computing, 1(1), pp.73-80.

Jensen, C.B., 2017. ‘Integrating Human to Quality’: Capacity Building across Cambodian Worlds. The Cambridge Journal of Anthropology, 35(1), pp.131-145.

Logemann, M. and Piekkari, R., 2015. Localize or local lies? The power of language and translation in the multinational corporation. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 11(1), pp.30-53.

Luo, Y. and Shenkar, O., 2017. The multinational corporation as a multilingual community: Language and organization in a global context. In Language in International Business (pp. 59-92). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

MacCormack, C., MacCormack, C.P. and Strathern, M. eds., 1980. Nature, culture and gender. Cambridge University Press.

Michaely, M., 1977. Exports and growth: an empirical investigation. Journal of development economics, 4(1), pp.49-53.

Szabo, V. and Strang, V.R., 1997. Secondary analysis of qualitative data. Advances in nursing science, 20(2), pp.66-74.

Webster, C., 1995. Marketing culture and marketing effectiveness in service firms. Journal of Services Marketing, 9(2), pp.6-21.

Wilcox, A.B., Gallagher, K.D., Boden-Albala, B. and Bakken, S.R., 2012. Research data collection methods: from paper to tablet computers. Medical care, pp. S68-S73.

Zhang, Y, Zhang, Z and Liu, Z., 2007. “Choice of entry modes in sequential FDI in an emerging economy”. Management Decision, Vol. 45 No. 4, 2007, pp. 749-772

Cultural Issues a Company Faces when Emerging in a New Market 20

CULTURAL ISSUES A COMPANY FACES WHEN EMERGING IN A NEWMARKET

TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………….3

1.1 BACKGROUND……………………………………………3

1.2 OBJECTIVES AND AIM………………………………….4

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS…………………………………4

LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………….5

2.1 CULTURE CATEGORIES……………………………….5

2.2 DECIDING THE MODE OF ENTRY……………………6

2.3 METHODS OF EXPORTS……………………………….7

2.4 ECONOMIC MODEL………………………………………7

2.4.1PESTEL MODEL…………………………………7

2.5 CULTURE AND MARKETING…………………………8

METHODOLOGY AND METHODS…………………………9

3.1 METHODOLOGY………………………………………9

3.2 DATA COLLECTION………………………………….9

3.2.1 PRIMARY DATA………………………………9

3.2.2 SECONDARY DATA………………………….10

3.3 RESEARCH APPROACH…………………………….11

DISCUSSION AND LIMITATIONS………………………….12

4.1 DISCUSSION……………………………………………12

4.2 LIMITATIONS………………………………………….12

WORK SCHEDULE…………………………………………….14

REFERENCES………………………………………………….15

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Background

1.2 Objectives/Aims

The objective of the research is to increase our understandings of the various cultural issues that most companies face when emerging in new markets.

1.3 Research Questions

· How do firms gain understanding and knowledge concerning the cultural issues of a new market?

· How do firms overcome these issues?

· What is the utmost efficient and effective technique to lessen risk relating to cultural issues in new markets?

Chapter 2

Literature Review

2.1 Culture Categories

2.2 Deciding the Mode of Entry

2.3 Method of Exports

2.4 Economic Model

2.4.1 PESTEL model

2.5 Marketing and Culture

Chapter 3

Methodology and Methods

3.1 Introduction

The research aims to find out more about cultural issues when a company enters a new market. The research will mostly refer to the past experiences of a few firms. The study will also use models and theories that explain how firms should deal with cultural issues to analyse the answer from the respondents. The study will look at diverse literature on cultural issues, emerging markets, and globalization. The literature was analysed to facilitate the completion of the literature review section. The section contains summaries of previous studies that investigate how new firms navigate the cultural barriers in the host nations or regions to attain the set goals. Notably, most of these studies converged on the observation that cultural barriers must be addressed to enhance the chances of realizing the set objectives.

Today, navigating the cultural landscape has been made easy by the advancements in technology. As people from different corners of the world interact, especially on social networking sites, the differences among cultures are explored, thus positioning organizations on solid grounds to emerge in new markets. Countries work diversely, and whatever works in a region does not normally work in another region. The research wants firms to understand the difficulties that different cultures can bring to a company emerging in a new market. This research will do that by using theories and models and what companies do. Particularly, the study will collect first-hand information from employees in management positions of organizations that have emerged in new markets. The respondents will provide both quantitative and qualitative data regarding the impact of culture on the performance of their organizations. Furthermore, the respondents will provide information about the change and penetration strategies that have been employed to promote the continued growth of the organizations in the host regions or nations amidst the cultural barriers. Comment by Chi Maher: using theories and models such as ?

3.2 Research Design

The research problem is the underlying determinant of the type of research approach or design adopted to complete the study. As mentioned above, the study will investigate the types of cultural barriers that influence the penetration of organizations in the new markets. Additionally, the study will investigate the types of penetration strategies that can enable the company to succeed in the emerging market. In this regard, a need exists to collect both quantitative and qualitative data, thereby making mixed-method research design the most relevant and applicable choice.

Since the study will collect primary data from participants meeting all the requirements of the adopted selection criterion, then the experimental approach will be relevant. The study will involve interviews and responding to questionnaires with a few companies that have emerged in new markets to find answers to the objectives. The interview will provide a further understanding of the issue and offer sufficient evidence to come up with a better deduction than other firms, thinking of moving to new markets can benefit from. Furthermore, the study will employ data collection techniques that facilitate the gathering of relevant data.

3.3 Data Collection Methods

In research, the selected data-gathering instruments must align with the research design, the needed type of data, and the research question. Canals (2017) asserts that interviews and questionnaires are some of the common data collection techniques employed by researchers. While these techniques foster the collection of credible and reliable data, some researchers prefer using them along with the triangulation matrix. This matrix eliminates the limitations of using a single method, thus guaranteeing data credibility. In such studies, the established findings could inform practice in relevant settings without questioning the study’s reliability.

The formulated research question is the primary determinant of the research design, type of desired data, and data collection instruments selected to complete the study. Evaluation Toolkit (n. d.) reveals that after deciding the data gathering instruments, it is vital for researchers to triangulate these methods to eliminate bias and limitations that arise from depending on a single data-gathering method. A host of instruments exist that foster the collection of required data, including interviews, observations, questionnaires, surveys, and existing data. Each of these instruments has weaknesses that might undermine the reliability and credibility of data. In this light, it is recommended for researchers to use two or more methods to triangulate the data sources and data-gathering instruments, thus eliminating the limitation of individual techniques.

Interviews and questionnaires are popular techniques employed in gathering useful data. Wilson, Onwuegbuzie, and Manning (2016) maintain that interviews could contain both open-ended and closed-ended questions, which leads to the collection of the desired data. In this manner, some researchers prefer using interviews to collect reliable and credible data. However, researchers need to have essential research skills to guarantee the collection of desired data. Importantly, the interviewer has to guarantee the privacy and confidentiality of the provided data, which gives the interviewees the confidence to respond to questions without holding back. Moreover, interviewees need to sign the informed consent forms, which provide them the freedom to cancel their involvement in the study at any time. Moreover, questionnaires are employed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from the selected participants. These tools have a series of questions that are tailored to collect data relevant in responding to the formulated research question.

The study will investigate the impact of cultural barriers on the performance of organizations that have emerged in new markets. Primarily, the cultural shocks in the new markets can undermine the core operations of an organization, thereby derailing its growth. Therefore, interviews and questionnaires will be crucial for collecting desirable data aimed at explaining the cultural occurrences in the host markets that might jeopardize the attainment of the set objectives. These instruments will be relevant in collecting data from employees in managerial positions in organizations that have emerged in foreign markets. The responses by the study participants will be crucial for the successful completion of the study. Comment by Chi Maher: Reference required

3.4 Data Collection Process

The literature has to achieve the following criteria when selecting the information for the dissertation; it must be in an understandable language, be contemporary, and must relate to the subject. The dissertation will use the following type of data; secondary data and primary data. Notably, the secondary data will be collected and used to complete the literature review section of the paper. The data might also be used to complete the discussion section of the paper. On the other hand, the primary data will be foundational to the establishment of credible and reliable recommendations and conclusions. Primary data will be collected from the respondents using questionnaires and interviews. The study participants will be identified using a suitable selection criterion; then, they will sign the informed consent forms before the data collection process starts.

Primary data is the category of data collected from the source by a researcher. This type of data can be collected differently, for example, through interviews or observations. Interviews are useful for gathering reliable and valid data, which is essential to the research (Wilcox et al. 2012). There are different methods of interviews, and they can either be informal and unstructured, or they may be formalized and structured or semi-structured method. The interview method that will be used for this study is the semi-structured because the study will not use similar questions for all firms, only for a few, and it will not use pre-coded responses as is done in structured interviews. Further or follow up inquiries may be asked during the interview to explore the answers/questions deeper. The research will not conduct unstructured interviews because the research uses predetermined questions.

A semi-structured method of interview is usually used to evaluate data qualitatively, therefore, the semi-structured method fits this research because the data in the study is of a qualitative and quantitative nature. Additionally, semi-structured methods are suitable when the research is investigative, this will fit this research because it is examining in what manner cultural issues create challenges for companies. Moreover, employing questionnaires will facilitate the collection of primary data from the study participants. The participants will be issued questionnaires with pre-set questions and asked to respond to them with the highest level of sincerity. Questionnaires are excellent data collection tools because they enable comparison of data provided by the respondents exposed to the same conditions, thereby making it possible to establish the credibility of the responses.

Secondary data was also used to facilitate the completion of the project. Notably, it was crucial to conduct a literature review of the previous study to establish common themes and patterns. Secondary data is the information that has already been collected by another individual in other studies. It includes both quantitative and qualitative data. Secondary data comprises the following categories; survey-based data, government database, and documentary data, to name a few (Szabo and Strang 1997). The documentary data that the research will use is from the website of the companies, newspapers, articles and from books relating to the subject. To add to that, documentary data is frequently suitable in the study that also uses primary data collected by different methods. In this situation, the questionnaire.

3.5 Sampling

Sampling is an essential process in data collection. During sampling, the study participants are selected from the population, and there is a need to ensure that the sample is a good representative of the entire population. In this study, participants will be from organizations that have emerged in foreign markets. The parent firms or their headquarters must be located in different nations, implying that the selected participants must have been subjected to cultural shocks. The study will employ a random sampling procedure to eliminate the possibility of bias in data collection (Emerson, 2015). The first step in sampling will involve identifying the companies that have established subsidiaries in foreign nations. Participants must have worked in the organization for a minimum of three years within the managerial position.

Employees at the management level have access to pertinent information, especially quantitative data. Additionally, the participants must be foreign, too, and this will make them the best sources of data based on the objectives of the study and the underlying problems that the study seeks to address. A minimum of two hundred participants will take part in the study. Such several participants will be essential to provide credible data that will be used to formulate reliable recommendations and conclusions.

3.6 Data Analysis Method

The mixed-method research design employed in the study will facilitate the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. Therefore, the analysis techniques and software used in the study must facilitate an effective analysis of the collected data. A host of techniques and software exist that are used in analyzing qualitative and quantitative. For instance, SPSS and MS excel are common software used in the analysis of quantitative data, while webQDA and HyperRESEARCH are both common software employed in analysing qualitative data. The study will utilize SPSS and webQDA to facilitate the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data respectively. After analysis, inferences will be derived from data that are essential in the formulation of relevant and accurate recommendations and conclusions.

3.7 Data Quality Issues and Preparation for Research

The quality of data collected in the study determines the effectiveness and accuracy of the recommendations established in the study. Researchers must adopt a technique that can guarantee the quality of data, thereby guaranteeing the formulation of reliable recommendations. Sometimes, it is impossible to establish the reliability of the data provided by the respondents. In such cases, researchers are at the mercy of the respondents and only hope that the participants provide correct data. In this study, data collection will target at least ten employees from a single organization. These employees will be subjected to similar pre-set questions in the questionnaire with the variations in their responses helping to establish the credibility of some responses. Importantly, it will be possible to identify outliers during data collection, thereby enhancing the quality of data.

3.8 Limitations

Despite the ability to control the quality of data at some considerable level, the existence of several outliers from a single organization will make it hard to establish the credibility of data. Therefore, the underlying limitation in this study will be the inability to guarantee the accuracy of the data provided by the respondents especially when using questionnaires. Comment by Chi Maher: So what could have done to minimise the limitations?

Chapter 4

Discussion and Limitations

This chapter will analyse the findings and the expectations of the research. It will also include limitations of the study.

4.1 Discussion

People tend to think that all human beings are the same when it comes to actions and behaviour, no matter what culture. Directors make a lot of wrong choices because perform in a way that they would have performed in their local culture. A business deal or a relationship can be damaged easily because of misunderstanding that arises due to cultural issues.

Cultures might bring substantial problems for firms when emerging into new market. A market culture may influence a strategy of a company. An important aspect that this study concentrates on is the mode of entry of a company. Cultural issues will influence the mode of entry of a company. Cultural problems will also influence marketing strategy of a company. Additionally, culture will also influence the mode of exports for company products. Many companies hesitate when it comes to emerging into new markets, since it is understood as a risk.

4.2 Limitations

There may be a possible limitation in this study, some of the limitations include the following;

· Limited access to data

When research involves questioning certain organizations or people, a problem may arise of limited access to the respondents.

· Time constraints

Academic researchers must always meet the deadline for submitting the research. Thus, the time available to carry out the research may be constrained by the deadline of the assignment.

· Conflict arising from personal issues and cultural bias

Sometimes the researchers may be biased due to their perspectives or cultural background, and this may affect the legitimacy of the study. The researcher may also have biases towards results and data that only support their arguments or hypothesis.

References

Canals, L., 2017, ‘Instruments for gathering data.’ Institute of Education Sciences. Accessed from

Deshpande, R. and Webster Jr, F.E., 1989. Organizational culture and marketing: defining the research agenda. Journal of marketing, 53(1), pp.3-15.

Emerson, R. W., 2015, ‘Convenience sampling, random sampling, and snowball sampling: How does sampling affect the validity of research?’ Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 109(2), pp.164-168.

Evaluation Toolkit. (n. d.). Linking your research questions and data collection methods. The Pell Institute. Available from