The cultural determinants of international business loyalty: a case study of Japanese and Portuguese firms

• Tipo: Livro de Atas de Conferência Internacional
• Data: 2006

Conferência Internacional

32ª Conferência Anual da EIBA - European International Business Academy

Fribourg, Suiça, 7 a 9 de Dezembro de 2006

Classificação Científica

FOS: Ciências sociais > Outras ciências sociais

CORDIS: Ciências Sociais

Outras Informações

Resumo (PT): Steenkamp et al. (1999) concluded that femininity is positively related to loyalty, being faithful to friends and group, in B2C markets. Can these findings be transposed to international B2B markets? Feminine cultures may well foster more international B2B loyalty than their masculine counterparts, who are more competitive and thus more ethnocentric (Yoo and Donthu, 2005). Further, Czinkota and Woronoff (1986) state that suppliers may be difficult to replace due to social or business customs, such as loyalty and reputation. If, as Narayandas (2005, p.136) states, B2B loyalty is “a commitment to continue buying a product or service, whatever the circumstances”, then this would allow us to believe that customers from more feminine (Hofstede, 1980a) cultures (e.g. Portugal) will be more loyal towards their international suppliers than companies from more masculine ones (e.g. Japan), as more feminine cultures are by definition more tolerant. In Portugal, an example of a more feminine culture, normative commitment with the exchange agent (Meyer, Allen and Smith, 1993) will dictate a moral obligation to follow collective rules, a feeling of duty to prolong the relationship (Meyer, Allen and Gellatly, 1990).

Abstract (EN): In business-to-business markets, customers’ loyalty is critical to success, although its building process may be different from consumer markets. Not only do we propose to investigate B2B loyalty but also how this construct occurs across cultures, i.e., is B2B loyalty affected by culture? Preliminary research results indicate that Japanese companies will change foreign supplier more easily than Portuguese companies as Japanese society is very competitive and has higher levels of ethnocentrism. Based on preliminary interviews and a literature review we propose that masculinity, ethnocentrism and suppliers’ cultural interaction capabilities are antecedents of cross-cultural customers’ loyalty.

Idioma: Português

Tipo (Avaliação Docente): Científica

Nº de páginas: 29