Globaliseringen spelar en stor roll i dagens konsumtionssamhälle. Multinationella företag breder ut sig över världen och anpassar sig efter lokala arbetsförhållanden i hopp om att anställa kompetent personal, minska utgifter och konkurrera med både lokala och globala företag. Med internationaliseringen av företag följer även vissa svårigheter, inte nog med att kulturen inom ett företag kan skilja sig, är även ledning och arbetsstyrka från olika kulturer. Människor socialiseras in i hemlandets kultur via familj och sociala institutioner som också grundlägger värderingar, normer och beteende. Organisationskulturen har en stor inverkan på de anställda och påverkar bl a. uppfattningen av företaget, prestation och engagemang. Undersökningen syftar till att kartlägga om företagets ledarskap eller den nationella kulturen har tyngst vikt när två kulturer möts i en organisation. Studien baserades på en kvantitativ enkätundersökning, som syftade till att beskriva medarbetarnas syn på Toshiba de México’s organisationskultur i Ciudad Juárez, Mexiko. Enkäten utformades utifrån Hofstedes kulturdimensioner; maktdistans, individualism kontra kollektivism, maskulinitet kontra feminism, osäkerhetsundvikande samt långtids- kontra korttids inriktning. En litteraturstudie låg till grund för att förklara begreppen ”japanskt ledarskap” och ”mexikanskt kultur” samt relatera dem till rådande organisationskulturen på det multinationella företaget Toshiba. Enligt resultatet påverkas organisationskulturen i stort till lika delar av båda variablerna. Det visade sig att Toshibas organisationskultur karaktäriserades av en jämn grad av maktdistans, hög grad av kollektivism, maskulinitet samt osäkerhetsundvikande. Inga slutsatser kunde drags om långsiktigt- kontra kortisktig inriktning. Nyckelord: Organisationskultur, japanskt ledarskap, globalisering, mångfald, mexikansk kultur, Hofstede

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze (1) how Vietnamese business culture resembles and differs from Unilever corporate culture, (2) what advantages and disadvantages are resulted from these similarities and differences, and (3) how the company made use of the advantages and overcome the disadvantages. This thesis also aims at (4) indicating some shortcomings in Unilever‟s adaptation strategy and providing some recommendations. This research work is qualitative in nature and is based upon a case study. Both primary and secondary data are used for the case analysis. Primary data are collected by semi-structured interviews. As a Western company entering Vietnam – an Eastern market, Unilever has encountered both challenges and benefits from the differences and similarities between its global core values and Vietnamese culture. With its global vision: “We have local roots with global scale”, the company made a number of changes to accommodate the differences and took advantage of the similarities. Its adaptation strategies not only build up a strong and appropriate culture but also act as a source of competitive advantage, which contributes to Unilever impressive success in theVietnamese market. However, there are still some shortcomings that need to be taken into consideration.

UNIVERSITY Mälardalen University (Mälardalens högskola) School of Sustainable Development of Society and Technology COURSE Master Thesis in Business Studies with Specialization in International Marketing COURSE CODE EFO705 TITLE Cultural influences on the social network marketing effectiveness: A case study in Thailand. RESEARCH QUESTIONS How does collectivism influence the effectiveness of social network marketing? PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and analyze whether the cultural dimension of collectivism among Thais has an influential impact on the effectiveness of social network marketing implementation on clothing retailing companies toward online customers or not. METHODOLOGY This thesis has employed both primary and secondary data to operationalize the conceptual framework. A questionnaire given to 160 respondents and the interview of 2 Thai expert marketers has been carried out to operationalize this research question. CONCLUSION The collectivistic behaviors among Thais show a slightly positive relationship which supports the effectiveness of social network marketing implementation. The other influential factors, apart from collectivism, are detergency in educational levels, knowledge of using social network, smart phone trends, and internet facility readiness.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), which has emerged as a global trend, has gained increased focus in the everyday media and among practitioners on the political agenda. CSR has also risen as an important research topic in the field of organization. This study investigates European multinational corporations’ tendencies to adapt CSR policies and practices, or more specifically corporate community involvement, to different national cultures. The paper explores if/how and why companies with subsidiaries in different countries differentiate CSR policies. Theories of culture are used to analyze the basis and/or validity of such adaptation. The units of analysis in this research paper are two European multinational corporations, namely, the Husqvarna Group and Nestlé S.A.

South Korea is one of the fastest growing economies of the world and experts claim that it’s headed towards the same direction as Japan. This doesn’t imply that the countries are similar to an extent where companies don’t have to consider the differences while entering the host market. This study was conducted for the purpose of giving a view of the business climate in the countries and thereby could help companies who see the countries as potential host markets. The purpose is to study eight Swedish companies which have established themselves in Japan and South Korea, the main difficulties they had to overcome, which entry-method was most successful and the companies’ views on their future in the countries. A qualitative method with quantitative elements was used by conducting interviews and short questionnaires. The collected data has been analyzed with the help of renowned establishment theories such as the Uppsala model, network based model, Hollensen’s entry methods and prior research. The results show that the companies have used classic entry methods with minor deviations, the biggest difficulties the companies had to face were culture related and the most effective entry methods proved to be acquisition in South Korea and joint venture in Japan. Furthermore, the study sheds light on a variety of differences between Japanese and Koreans. / Sydkorea är en av världens snabbast växande ekonomier och experter menar att landet utvecklas i samma riktning som Japan. Detta betyder dock inte att länderna är så pass lika att företag inte behöver beakta skillnader vid etablering. Denna undersökning utfördes för att kunna ge en bild av skillnaderna mellan Japan och Sydkoreas affärsklimat och därmed kunna hjälpa företag som planerar att etablera sig i länderna. Syftet med undersökningen är att ta reda på hur åtta svenska företag har etablerat sig i Japan och Sydkorea, vilka svårigheter de har stött på, vilken etableringsmetod som har visat sig vara effektivast samt hur framtiden ser ut för företagen i de båda länderna. Metoden som användes var kvalitativ med kvantitativa inslag i form av intervjuer och kortare enkäter. Insamlade data har analyserats utifrån kända etableringsteorier som Uppsalamodellen, Nätverksmodellen, Hollensens etableringsstrategier samt tidigare forskning kring utlandsetableringar. Resultatet visar att företagen har använt klassiska etableringsmetoder med vissa avvikelser, de största svårigheterna för företagen består av kulturella skillnader och de effektivaste etableringsmetoderna har varit förvärv och joint venture i Sydkorea respektive Japan. Dessutom har en mängd olika skillnader mellan japaner och koreaner har upptäckts.

Bakgrund:  Globalisering har medfört att fler utländska företag intresserat sig av utlandsetableringar. Europeiska Unionen har lett till att fler utländska företag väljer att etablera sig i medlemsländer och därmed även i Sverige. Detta har medfört att konkurrensen på den svenska marknaden ökat. Den svenska marknaden har gått från att endast omfatta inhemska aktörer till att även inkludera utländska aktörer. För att kunna lyckas etablera sig på en främmande marknad måste det utländska företaget förstå kultur och eventuellt anpassa sig till den för att kunna uppnå en lyckad etablering. Problemformulering:  Vilka faktorer var viktiga för att den danska klädkedjan Vero Moda skulle nå framgång när de etablerade sig i Sverige? Syfte:  Syftet är att genom en fallstudie analysera och utvärdera kulturens påverkan på Vero Modas val av strategier vid etablering i Sverige. Metod:  Studien består endast av kvalitativ data, i form av intervju med marknadschefen på Vero Moda. Resultat:  Eftersom Danmark har små kulturella skillnader jämfört med Sverige hade Vero Moda lätt att förstå den svenska kulturen och behövde därmed inte anpassa sig till svenska förutsättningar. Företaget hade istället samma koncept och marknadsföring som i hemlandet. Det enda skillnaden är att de ändrar färger som passar i Sverige. Kulturen hade med andra ord inte haft stor påverkan på Vero Modas val av strategier, utan det har däremot marknaden. Detta på grund av att Vero Moda ändrar strategier efter hur marknaden ser ut. Slutsats:  De faktorer som är viktiga för Vero Moda att nå en lyckad etablering är; att forma ett konkurrenskraftigt konkurrensmedel, välja rätt etablerings- samt internationaliseringsstrategi. Eftersom Vero Moda inte behöver bemöta kulturskillnader som brukar förekomma för ett utländskt företag, behöver de ändå ha en produkt som säljer i Sverige och som efterfrågas på den svenska marknaden.

As globalization is proceeding, it is more and more important to understand effective leadership also in terms of cultural dimensions. This new challenge in the business world has not been approached by scientists in a satisfactory way so far and was the main reason for the conduction of this study. The aim of this research is to investigate how effective leadership varies between cultures and to state the crucial differences of leadership effectiveness among Sweden, England, France and Germany. To be able to figure out these differences a research team out of four students and one professor designed a questionnaire which was sent out to employees in the four studied countries. In this questionnaire the subordinates had to assess different behaviours and skills of their direct leader. The different questions belong to a list of predetermined topic groups which were planned to be used afterwards to set the results into connection with existing theories. The results of this multinational survey offer a general picture about the differences among the average leaders in the four cultures. To be able to make statements about the different importance of leader attributes for effective performance, a statistical evaluation is made. After given the reader a general idea about the gathered data and its composition, the adequateness of the combinations inside the topic groups are revised and some additional topic groups are build up. The findings of the study are used to discuss and challenge McClelland’s Research on Managerial Motivation and to figure out the different relevance of Katz’ three skill dimensions for each national culture. The difference emphasis of task-, relations- and change oriented behaviour in relation to effective leadership as well as the importance of charismatic leadership for effectiveness is exposed and distinguished for every country. Hofstede’s theory of five cultural dimensions is used to provide the necessary explanation for the cultural differences regarding the different theoretical dimensions. As an additional theory the GLOBE Project is introduced. Unfortunately, the results of this project were not available on time, so that they could not be compared to the results of the study. The conclusion at the end of the paper summarizes the general outcome of the thesis and points out the found cultural differences of effective leadership in the four cultures. Charisma and Human skills were found to be important for effective leadership in all countries. However, for effective German leaders it is concluded to possess more technical skills as in the other cultures and to have a higher need of achievement. Controlling employees is much more important in Germany than anywhere else. In England the need of achievement is also higher than in France and Sweden. Effective French leaders have the strongest socialized power orientation. For Sweden no big difference to the others countries could be found. Effective Swedish manager mostly possess a good mixture of the different skills, needs and behaviours suggested in the theory, but were not outstanding significantly in one dimension in comparison to the other three countries. In total, a high concern for relations is concluded for them.

<p>Background: Today many companies are competing to get space in our minds. Companies spend a tremendous amount of money on building strong brands. It is not just about making us aware of their logo, today it’s more about giving the brand a ”soul” and to load it with different values. Due to today’s globalization there is also interesting to look at it from a cultural perspective. To export a brand name into a new market abroad is not the same as just transferring your knowledge and believe it should work in another country and culture. A brand is consciously and unconsciously loaded with values, especially cultural values. In Sweden there are values typically Swedish that might not be obvious to you but still follow us. These values might not fit the new market the company is entering, therefore some values might get left behind, while others are easily transferred to another country. We therefore find it very interesting to study these cultural values. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose with this essay is to describe which cultural values Swedish company’s brands intend to communicate abroad. </p><p>Performance: We have done a qualitative study. Our empirical study is based mainly on personal interviews. The frames of references are based on well established theories within the brand- and cultural field. </p><p>Result: Our study showed that Swedish companies load their brands with the four values; quality, reliability, simplicity and modern&innovative. We also found that the Swedish culture is reflected in these values, in both national-, business- and corporate culture.</p> / <p>Bakgrund: Idag slåss många företag om att få en plats i vårt medvetande och de lägger därmed ut stora summor på varumärkesbyggande och varumärkesvård. Det handlar inte längre om att bara pränta in logotypen, utan även att ge sitt varumärke en "själ" och ladda det med olika värden. I och med dagens globalisering är det också ur ett kulturellt perspektiv mer intressant. Men att exportera ett varumärke till en utländsk marknad är inte samma sak som att ta med sig sin kunskap och tro att det ska fungera lika bra i det nya landet. Ett varumärke är medvetet och omedvetet laddat med värderingar, både kulturella och affärsmässiga. I Sverige har vi typiskt svenska värden som man kanske inte direkt tänker på men som faktiskt följer med oss. Dessa värden kanske inte passar in på den nya marknaden, utan vissa värden kanske tas med medan andra byts ut. Vi finner det därmed intressant att undersöka dessa kulturella värden.</p><p>Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att beskriva vad för slags kulturella värden svenska företags varumärken avser kommunicera utomlands.</p><p>Genomförande: Vi har gjort en kvalitativ studie. Vår empiriska studie är huvudsakligen baserad på de personliga intervjuer och den telefonintervju vi gjort. Referensramarna bygger på väletablerade teorier inom området.</p><p>Resultat: Vår studie har visat att svenska företag laddar sina varumärken med värdena kvalitet, pålitlighet, enkelhet och modern&innovativ. Vi har funnit att dessa värden finns återspeglade i den svenska kulturen både vad gäller national- respektive affärs och företagskultur.</p>

<p>As globalization is proceeding, it is more and more important to understand effective leadership also in terms of cultural dimensions. This new challenge in the business world has not been approached by scientists in a satisfactory way so far and was the main reason for the conduction of this study.</p><p>The aim of this research is to investigate how effective leadership varies between cultures and to state the crucial differences of leadership effectiveness among Sweden, England, France and Germany.</p><p>To be able to figure out these differences a research team out of four students and one professor designed a questionnaire which was sent out to employees in the four studied countries. In this questionnaire the subordinates had to assess different behaviours and skills of their direct leader. The different questions belong to a list of predetermined topic groups which were planned to be used afterwards to set the results into connection with existing theories.</p><p>The results of this multinational survey offer a general picture about the differences among the average leaders in the four cultures. To be able to make statements about the different importance of leader attributes for effective performance, a statistical evaluation is made. After given the reader a general idea about the gathered data and its composition, the adequateness of the combinations inside the topic groups are revised and some additional topic groups are build up.</p><p>The findings of the study are used to discuss and challenge McClelland’s Research on Managerial Motivation and to figure out the different relevance of Katz’ three skill dimensions for each national culture. The difference emphasis of task-, relations- and change oriented behaviour in relation to effective leadership as well as the importance of charismatic leadership for effectiveness is exposed and distinguished for every country. Hofstede’s theory of five cultural dimensions is used to provide the necessary explanation for the cultural differences regarding the different theoretical dimensions.</p><p>As an additional theory the GLOBE Project is introduced. Unfortunately, the results of this project were not available on time, so that they could not be compared to the results of the study.</p><p>The conclusion at the end of the paper summarizes the general outcome of the thesis and points out the found cultural differences of effective leadership in the four cultures. Charisma and Human skills were found to be important for effective leadership in all countries. However, for effective German leaders it is concluded to possess more technical skills as in the other cultures and to have a higher need of achievement. Controlling employees is much more important in Germany than anywhere else. In England the need of achievement is also higher than in France and Sweden. Effective French leaders have the strongest socialized power orientation. For Sweden no big difference to the others countries could be found. Effective Swedish manager mostly possess a good mixture of the different skills, needs and behaviours suggested in the theory, but were not outstanding significantly in one dimension in comparison to the other three countries. In total, a high concern for relations is concluded for them.</p>

Public Diplomacy has been around for decades, in some parts of the world more than others. Despite that, research related to public diplomacy has mainly focused on approaches serving governments’ policy concerns. A large part of the research has also surrounded efficiency aspects: the level of impact culminating from public diplomacy activities. This tunnel vision has undoubtedly contributed to the limitation of theoretical and methodological development. From that standpoint, this study attempts to contribute and fill the existing theoretical and methodological gap. The study builds on the research by Yun (2005), directed by J. E. Gruing, and examines the reliability of her framework and sheds light on some potential shortcomings and eventual amendments. Suggesting the convergence of public diplomacy and public relation, the model is composed of two theoretical frameworks. Public diplomacy as the dependent variable is anchored in Grunig’s excellence theory and national culture as determinants (independent variable) is anchored in Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory. As did Yun, the study finds that cultural dimensions as determinants for South Korea’s public diplomacy do not possess sufficient explanatory power to understand South Korea’s public diplomacy management. A historical lens and additional contextual factors would hypothetically better explain Korea’s public diplomacy, paving the way for future studies.