The Hofstede Model - Global Branding & Advertising -...

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International Journal of Advertising, 29(1), pp. 85–110
© 2010 Advertising Association
Published by Warc,
DOI: 10.2501/S026504870920104X
The Hofstede model
Applications to global branding and
advertising strategy and research
Marieke de Mooij and Geert Hofstede
Recent years have seen increasing interest in the consequences of culture for global mar-
keting and advertising. Many recent studies point at the necessity of adapting branding
and advertising strategies to the culture of the consumer. In order to understand cultural
differences, several models have been developed of which the Hofstede model is the
most used. This article describes elements of this model that are most relevant to brand-
ing and advertising, and reviews studies that have used the model for aspects of inter-
national branding and for advertising research. It provides some cautious remarks about
applying the model. Suggestions for more cross-cultural research are added.
Introduction
The study of culture for understanding global advertising results from the
global–local dilemma: whether to standardise advertising for efficiency
reasons or to adapt to local habits and consumer motives to be effective.
Only recently have studies included performance criteria and several have
demonstrated that an adaptation strategy is more effective (Dow 2005;
Calantone et al . 2006; Okazaki et al. 2006; Wong & Merrilees 2007). As a
result, understanding culture will be viewed as increasingly important. In
the past decades, various models have emerged of which the Hofstede
model has been applied most to global marketing and advertising. 1 Geert
Hofstede’s dimensional model of national culture has been applied to vari-
ous areas of global branding and advertising, and the underlying theories
of consumer behaviour. The model has been used to explain differences
1 When we use the term global marketing and advertising, we refer to advertising worldwide, not to
standardised advertising.

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING, 2010, 29(1)
of the concepts of self, personality and identity, which in turn explain
variations in branding strategy and communications. Another area is infor-
mation processing, including differences in perception and categorisation
that influence interpersonal and mass communication, and the working
of advertising. This article summarises various elements of consumer
behaviour that affect global branding and advertising strategy, and that
have been explained by the Hofstede model. Referring to several issues
from Taylor’s (2005, 2007) research agenda, we not only cover advertising
research, but also questions concerning global brand image, brand equity,
advertising and consumer behaviour theories in cross-cultural contexts.
We have pulled a number of topics of this article together in Figure 1.