Global cosmetics going local Global versus Local 2010 Lisanne Mulder Supervisor: Drs. A.M van Gool Word count: 8938 How should global cosmetics companies tailor their glocalization strategy to the Chinese and the United States markets for ethnic oriented cosmetics products?
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Global cosmetics going local Global versus Local 2010
Lisanne Mulder
Supervisor: Drs. A.M van Gool Word count: 8938
How should global cosmetics companies tailor their glocalization strategy to the Chinese and the United States markets for ethnic oriented cosmetics products?
Market analyst Mintel (Smithers, 2007) published a study containing the statement that
manufacturing companies are failing to enter a possibly profitable market because they are not
aware of the specific demands of black and Asian consumer of make-up and hair products.
Mintel believes a minor investment could shift the ethnic cosmetics and toiletries market into
one of the cosmetic industry‟s most profitable and promising sectors.
Merely knowing that there is a market for ethnic orientated products is not sufficient. The
most complicated element of the case is that ethnic groups have different properties by nature;
these can limit or enhance a person‟s physical attractiveness (Adams & Read, 1983). These
can also be contradictory to the ideal perspective of beauty that their ethnic group maintains.
For example, “whiteness” or having white skin is considered an important element in
constructing female beauty in the ethnic group of the Han Chinese (Li, Min, Belk, Kimura, &
Bahl, 2007) as from ethnic perspective they do not have a pale skin by nature. However in the
United States, having a sun tanned skin is considered an important element in constructing
female beauty by the Caucasian ethnic group, while this group has a white skin from ethnic
property perspective. The result is that these ethnic groups need cosmetic products to close
this gap. These different perspectives of female beauty can be traced to the behavior of the
ethnic groups; Caucasians use more foundations, while Asians use more sunscreen. When
considering these facts together with growth strategies for increasing profit and market share,
there are ample opportunities. These opportunities and properties of ethnic skin have only
seen limited research, while marketing and tailoring strategies to ethnicity have seen even
less. Multinational cosmetic companies could benefit when implementing these strategies, for
example by achieving an increase in profit (Svensson, 2001) (Samiee & Roth, 1992).
Glocalization is one of these possible strategies. Glocalization refers to implementing a local
component in a global strategy (Giulianotti & Robertson, 2007). Global companies must
discover this possibility. However, this will result into the conclusion that they will have to
adapt their broad global standardized strategy to local needs. A local factor in the
glocalization process is ethnicity. All ethnic groups are accompanied with certain average
traits. Ethnicity is a component of culture, but choosing culture as the main variable raises the
issue that culture can harbor different ethnicity, such as Afro-Americans or Asians in the
United States. This diversity issue makes it difficult to recognize skin traits of a country.
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Separating the ethnicities makes it possible to recognize opportunities in the natural
characteristics of the skin and traits given from ethnic origin.
1.2 Problem statement and research questions
It is clear that global cosmetic companies cannot use one global strategy to fulfill the needs of
all their customers, regardless of their ethnic background. As a result the question arises how
a multinational cosmetic company should cope with organizing their global standardized
strategy and still have success on local markets. Furthermore a global cosmetic company
needs to know the characteristics and ideals of the various ethnic groups in order to step into
the market of ethnic cosmetics and understand and react to their ethnic history and beauty
ideals.
This leads to the following problem statement:
How should global cosmetics companies tailor their glocalization strategy to the Chinese
and the United States markets for ethnic oriented cosmetics products?
To answer the problem statement this thesis contains four research questions;
1) What is glocalization and what is a glocalization strategy?
2) Why do consumers use cosmetics, and how does the cosmetics industry cope with
this?
3) What is ethnicity, and which role does ethnicity have in China and the United
states concerning cosmetics and beauty?
4) How can glocalization as strategy be used in marketing an ethnic oriented
cosmetic product in the Chinese and United States market, and what are the
marketing challenges?
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1.3 Academic relevance
Research has been done about glocalization (Keillor, Hausknecht, & Parker, 2001) and
explanatory analysis has been done about the global cosmetic industry (Sameer, 2005), and
even the role of ethnicity in marketing research has been investigated (Costa & Bamossy,
1995). However, a combination of these subjects has yet to be explored. The cosmetic
industry is a very lucrative, innovative, and fast paced industry where product innovation is
the key to success (Kumar, Massie, & Dumonceaux, 2006). This research may be helpful
finding the product innovation needed. It will also serve as a future reference for researchers
on the subject of ethnic cosmetic products and global companies. This paper extends previous
work on the globalization of marketing activities by advancing the region and ethnicity as an
important unit of analysis. It helps understand implementation of glocalization in a part of the
world that is becoming more important at the economic and political level and providing a
clear theoretical framework for the possible implementation levels and the basis for further
research.
1.4 Managerial relevance
As cited in the background, many of the important issues with which marketeers are
confronted are related to the ways consumers identify themselves (Costa & Bamossy, 1995).
In the cosmetic branch self image and identification are particularly important. The SWOT
analysis in the article (Sameer, 2005) clearly states that a weakness of the worldwide leader in
cosmetics, L‟Oreal, are the challenges in Latin America and Asia. Identification of this
weakness is the first step, coping with the difficulties and defining the strategy is the next
step. Numerous news articles can be found stating “large cosmetic company trying to find its
way on a global market”. Some launches are successful, but there is still much to be learned.
This thesis will give more managerial insight on how to act local as a global company, which
could lead to enhanced profits and market share. By understanding the needs of the consumer
and benefits of glocalization, global cosmetic companies can be assured of a competitive
advantage.
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1.5 Thesis structure
This is a literature based research. In the second chapter the definition of glocalization will be
discussed. Also the origin will be explored. Then an image will be sketched on how
glocalization defines itself in practice. The third chapter will discuss why consumers use
cosmetics. The main characteristics of the industry and the market leaders will also be
defined. The newest trends according to the literature will also be considered. Chapter four
will discuss the definition of ethnicity and it will become clear to which borders ethnicity
belongs, zooming in on the definition of ethnicity in China and the United states. In addition,
the role of ethnicity in cosmetics and its relationship with the definition of beauty will be
explored. In China cosmetics will be applied with different purposes compared to the United
States considering the fact that beauty is different and thus for example what to camouflage or
to accentuate. In chapter five glocalization and ethnicity will be combined and compared with
each other. This chapter will look at the requirements, the benefits and the possibilities. In the
last chapter a more in depth view of the Asian and European market, the cosmetic industry
and glocalization is made. Examples of glocalization in the cosmetic industry will be
reviewed and the requirements strategies need to fulfill in theory to be successful will be
discussed. At the end, conclusions regarding the problem statement will be drawn and
recommendations will be given.
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Chapter 2: What is glocalization and what is a glocalization strategy? “In the future, there will be two kinds of corporations. Those that go global and those that go
bankrupt”
C. Michael Armstrong CEO, AT&T
The strategy or term glocalization has found its way into research and literature, although
there are still many unresearched issues and opportunities. The development of glocalization
finds its history in the globalization process. The globalization process is the growing
interdependence of nations economies and the decrease of relevance of economic boundaries
(Knight, 2000). Globalization comes with the distinct advantage that it is cost and time
efficient (Simon-Miller, 1986). Globalization at the same time generates some degree of
cultural unity while it also stimulates people to increasingly identify themselves with their
ethnic grouping (Maynard & Tian, 2004). Furthermore globalization should entail more than
just being present in a couple of countries, it should entail adjusting the messages sent to a
customer (Cooney-Curran, 2000). Many issues arise because not everything can be
standardized; glocalization is a theory that provides the ablitiy to manage these challeges.
2.1 History
The term „Glocalization‟ has developed into a well-known and important keyword in
explaining certain social scientific issues of globalization (Giulianotti & Robertson, 2007).
Glocalization as a term first ascended in the social theory, the first English interaction with
the term was via a British sociologist Roland Robertson in the 1990‟s . In the course of the
years many researchers used the theory to explain diverse social phenomena such as
Argentinian riots, Asian beauty pagents or Japanese Film. (Auyero, 2001;Yomota, 1999).
The term glocalization is obtained from the Japanese term dochakuka, which when
translated means „global localization‟. Originally glocalization refers to a way of using and
adjusting farming or agricultural techniques to local circumstances. Dochakuka developed
into a business strategy when the Japanese business circle adopted it in the 1980‟s (Svensson,
2001).
Followers of the glocalization theory commonly resist the notion that globalization processes
always jeopardize the local component (Giulianotti & Robertson, 2007). When glocalization
is taken seriously, globalization in combination with localization can be developed, in doing
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so not jeopardizing the local component. Another difficult issue is that local elements adapt
and change throughout history and the development in culture. Because it is ever changing
and will need alterations over time, local elements are not a binary or static fact companies or
organizations can deal with. A local component is not necessarily a culture; it is not a
geographically fixed unit. It can vary with race, ethnicity and even supporters from a football
club.
2.2 Defining Glocalization and Glocalization as a strategy
There are many definitions of glocalization in the literature. Roman wrote in his paper for the
78th conference of the Canadian political science association that there are three specific uses
for glocalization (Roman, 2006). He states that sociological ideas of glocalization focus on
how local cultures are customized along global lines and specify the need to take more
seriously how consumers redefine themselves. He also researches the glocalization of scale,
and Neo-liberal glocalization. However, these functions are not applicable in a business sense.
According to Svensson the definition of glocalization considers the ambition of a
global strategy approach while at the same time acknowledging and the need for the local
alteration and adapting of business activities are recognized (Svensson, 2001). In the example
of a global cosmetic company this would mean that the multinational has its standardized
marketing strategy to concentrate on opportunities. Simultaneously, to be successful locally
they will have to act locally, meaning they will adapt their strategy to fit the needs of the local
targeted market to seize opportunities and thus sell more and increase market share.
In the social perspective of the glocalization theory thorough research is already
obtainable. For instance, Guilianotti and Robertson have identified four categories of
glocalization in their article (Giulianotti & Robertson, 2007).
1) Relativization: The local entity seeks to preserve their prior environment. (preserve
black skin)
2) Accommodation: Absorb the new practices but maintain key element of the prior
environment
3) Hybridization: The local entity synthesizes with the host, making an blend
4) Transformation: The local entity favors the hosts‟ and abandons the local one.
The issue with this glocalization theory is that it has a social background and it has not been
translated as a business theory that often. The uses for glocalization in a business setting have
not been modeled in a theoretical framework. Combining multiple research studies the
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following framework is constructed for implementing glocalization on different levels in a
business setting:
Figure 1:Framework glocalization: Constructed in 2010 by L.E. Mulder using the sources: (Suigiura, 1990)
are seen as generalized beauty ideals (Grayson, 2009). Striving towards perfecting these
ideals will result in higher attractiveness.
Ethnicity comes with traits; every ethnic group is accompanied with certain average
properties. In the following table the skin traits we need to consider are discussed. In the third
column named „Consideration concerning culture of origin‟, the origin of culture of the
ethnicity will be considered. For example for the ethnic group the Han Chinese the behavioral
characteristics of their ancestors (origin) such as traditions have an influence on their modern
day manner of thinking. Culture of origin is often used as theory regarding the origin of the
company selling the product, however in this situation but has to do with the culture of the
ethnic origin. It can actually be seen as the historical beliefs and values of an ethnicity given
along generations after generations, making them imprinted in the ethnicity and thus still
influencing perceptions of beauty (Smith, 1990).
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Ethnic group Properties Considerations
concerning culture of
origin
Conclusions
Black Signs of aging appear very late
Very little fine wrinkling
Formation of keloids is possible
Pigmentation changes may occur
Thicker cartilage hard to change
Skin cancer is very rare broad nasal base prominent lips
--Natural ethnic variations of the hips and thighs in African/African-American have been embraced, with more cosmetic procedures being performed to enhance these features. -
- Less focus on slender bodies -Less focus on anti-aging products - Emphasis on rounding by use of make up - Camouflage broad nasal base
White Fair, dry thin-skinned Scars heal well Signs of aging appear
earlier Burn easily in the sun Bruising more obvious Increased chance of
skin cancer Men have more hair
loss in comparison with other ethnicities
-Burn easily but sun tanned is preferable. -Slenderization preferred, as is long legs. -Show most body dissatisfaction in comparison with other ethnicities
- Sunscreen - Bronzing powder - More cover-up for bruising - Moisturizing - focus on body enhancement
Han Chinese Signs of aging appear late, Fine wrinkling does not usually occur
Pigmentation changes may occur
Skin cancer is rare Scar more easily Tends to be smoother,
with a yellowish undertone
The pores may be less visible over the face, but tend to be larger on the cheeks and around the nose (thus more prone to acne)
Dark spots as they age Widest pigment range
of all the skin types Higher eyebrow More receded chin lower nasal bridge
- Wide pigment range but overall white skin is most appreciated. - Delicate contour is preferred
- Whitening powder - Emphasis on delicate contour via make up - Anti-scarring products - Anti-aging products specialized in dark spots
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Figure 6: This table is constructed using the sources: ( Siegenthaler, 2009) (Sugiyama-Nakagiri, Sugata, Hachiya
Beauty ideals of the United States based on the largest ethnic group also referred to as the
„whites‟ will be reflected, besides this a look will be taken at the perception of beauty in the
ethnic group „black‟.
Perhaps most known white ethnic group ideal of beauty is the trend of slenderization.
This means that the beauty ideal is to be slender; being fat is mainly not considered as an ideal
beauty. Another beauty ideal is big breasts. (Mazur, 1986 ). Pale complexion of the skin is
not preferred either, tanning has become increasingly popular over years even though it is
well known that it brings health risks with use. (Reilly & Rudd, 2008). Further elaboration
can be found in the table above.
4.6 Perception of Beauty in China
The beauty ideals of China will be based on the ethnic group also referred to as the Han
Chinese. This because the largest ethnic group is by far the largest, and thus the average
perception of Chinese culture does not deviate significantly from the Han Chinese perception
of beauty. Factors that need to be considered are that the ethnicity involves a wide pigment
range but overall white skin is most appreciated. Also a delicate body and facial contour is
preferred. (Talakoub, 2009). Further elaboration can be found in the table above.
4.7 Conclusions
Both the United States and China are Multi ethnic countries, although there is a
different spread; the United States have two major ethnic groups that together overlap 90
percent of the inhabitants. China has one major ethnic group that overlaps 93 percent of the
inhabitants. This means that the ethnicity perspective in China does not deviate as much from
the cultural perspective as the ethnic perspectives of the ethnic groups in the United States. A
culture can contain different ethnicities such as in the United States, because of this diversity
it makes it difficult to recognize skin traits. Separating the ethnicities makes it possible to
recognize opportunities in the natural characteristics of the skin and traits given from the
origin (Doane & Ashley, 1997).
Ethnicity has great influence on the perception on beauty. Perception of beauty is not only
dominated by ethnicity, subgroups could possibly also be defining. However in this thesis the
average perspective of the ethnic group will be used.
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The issue arises if in the multicultural world we live in today there are still ethnic
groups to be found suiting the definition of Doane and Ashley (1997) and Phinney (1996).
Another issue is the choice of their ethnicity; for example one could be from historical
perspective a Mexican-American but not identify with them anymore. Another issue that
should be taken in consideration is the feeling about their ethnicity. Some ethnic orientated
products market their product to enhance ethnic features. However, if the market the company
is marketing to do not identify themselves with the ethnic group, marketing will have a
negative effect. Self-identification in ethnicity is a very important factor.
An additional issue is the choice for ethnicities and not for culture. Ethnicity is a
component of culture. When ethnics of an ethnic group intermingle with one and other
ethnicity becomes a method by which culture is transmitted, ethnicity is thus a part of culture
and very important, nevertheless it can also been seen in separate context.
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Chapter 5: How can glocalization as strategy be used in marketing an ethnic oriented cosmetic product in the Chinese and United States markets, and what are the challenges?
“In the factory we make cosmetics; in the drugstore we sell hope.
Charles Revson (Former executive Revlon cosmetics)
Glocalization in an ethnic market requires marketing on ethnicity, influences and
consequences must be considered. Besides this, challenges in the Chinese and United States
market must be reviewed to be able to predict possible strategies. In this chapter these issues
and challenges will be investigated.
5.1 Marketing ethnicity
Promotional activities are inclined to communicate efficiently and achieve the approval and
acceptance of the targeted niche (Holland & Gentry, 1999). To achieve this approval and
attention companies may go above and beyond to simply match their niche‟s tongue or
language styles and use cultural symbolism. The model below shows the factors that affect the
strength and kind of reaction to the marketer's accommodation attempt, as well as the
consequences of that reaction. The dominant subject in the model is the consumer‟s reaction
to an intercultural accommodation attempt. It is important to understand prospective
relationships amongst the concepts involved in the consumers reaction, when we do we can
begin to forecast the probable outcomes of the attempts to target ethnic groups (Holland &
Gentry, 1999). When the antecedents are not taken into consideration the outcome of the
marketing attempt will be very uncertain. Understanding the responses of ethnic consumers
will lead to an effective marketing strategy and an effective glocalization strategy.
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Figure 7: Source: (Holland & Gentry, 1999)
Ethnic Marketing for cosmetics entails first developing a particular product for a specific
group and adjusting promotional and sales efforts to target a specific group. Especially in the
latter stage the model of Holland & Gentry (1999) becomes important. The strength of the
ethnic identification is also very important. For example, the white ethnic groups in the U.S.
do not perceive their ethnicity as visible, promoting on issues as what it actually does for the
consumers will be more effective than majorly promoting the specificity for the white
ethnicity. While for the black American race the strength of expressing their ethnicity is more
important thus marketing that this accentuates their ethnicity becomes more important. Again
as in chapter 4.1 the consumer‟s identity, or in other words their sense of belonging to their
group is considered important (Costa & Bamossy, 1995).
In the next paragraph we will consider the antecedents, the consumer‟s response and the
consequences of the Holland & Gentry (1999) model considering glocalization.
5.2 Glocalization strategy in ethnic orientated cosmetics markets
Glocalization can be applied in three different levels; Innovation, Superficial and Core
Company function. This is also applicable for a cosmetic ethnic orientated product. In figure 7
a comparison is made from the previous chapters. Examples of different glocalization
strategies are given and examples for the different ethnicities are proposed. These aspects are
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important but the implementation cannot be successful when a marketer attempting to market
ethnic orientated product does not consider the antecedents mentioned in 5.1.
The United States China
White Black Han Chinese Innovation anti-aging
for dry skin Anti-
pigmentation Whitening product
Superficial Blond hair blue eye
packaging
Packaging for black ethnicity
Chinese model for western product
Core company Computer systems
Corporate orientation
Delegation of authority
Figure 8: Comparative analyses: constructed by L.E Mulder using the sources: (Costa & Bamossy, 1995) (Holland & Gentry, 1999)
The consumer response must be considered, however this again differs from the Chinese and
the United States market, both these markets have their own challenges and guidelines to
follow. An example of glocalization on Superficial level for ethnic cosmetics could be having
an overall eye shadow line, however emphasizing which colors go best with different kind of
colored skin. In the next paragraph these differences, challenges and guidelines will be
considered.
5.3 Challenges accompanying the different markets
The Chinese market has a different structure compared to the United States market, evidence
of this was given in chapter 3, considering regulations and demand. In this paragraph first
behavioral aspects towards China will be considered, for example issues as; what to do and
what not to do?
China‟s current state of economic development has led to an increasing number of
multinationals trying to penetrate the Chinese market. During this process many mistakes
have been made, however these could help other companies in the future.
Mistakes Consequences
Double standards ( for example with quality) Associated with discrimination Ignorance of the law Embarrassment, loss of face Bending the rules Losing licenses; losing first mover
advantage Making “symbolic” purchases Perceived monopolistic behavior Overly aggressive tactics over intellectual property rights
Viewed as eager to suppress Chinese companies
Non-sensitive management Negative public relations "Strip mining" profits Tax audits and investigation; difficulties with
profit repatriation Using China as a lab Perceived as taking without giving
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Figure 9: Source: (Park & Vanhonacker, 2007)
In Figure 8 challenges in the Chinese market and mistakes made are portrayed. Considering
these will make the implementation of the glocalization strategy more smoothly. These factors
are implementable as antecedent discussed in chapter 5.1 for marketing ethnicity (Holland &
Gentry, 1999).
5.4 Discussion
According to Cayla & Eckhardt (2007) there are two major challenges for regional branding
in Asia these are; negative county of origin perceptions and regional positioning being
fundamentally brittle. However, brands can achieve a regional positioning by concentrating
on Asian modernism rather than on communal cultural tradition. They can also benefit from
the newfound Asian pride and confidence, and as a final point they can use a Western stamp
of approval to indicate to Asians the feasibility of the brand. The Innovation level of
glocalization would thereby become very important
Challenges in the United States market are completely different. In comparison to
China it is not an up and coming country but already established. A major challenge in the
United States market is the increasing global competition; due to globalization cheaper brands
find their market share in the United States, stimulated by the economic crisis (Shocker,
Rajendra , Srivastava , & Ruekert, 1994). Consumers from the United States put more value
into brand name and price compared to other countries (Chike, 1994) .Marketing seems to be
of great influence in the United States, certainly compared with other countries (Song &
Parry, 1997). The superficial level of glocalization would thereby become very important.
5.5 Conclusion
The challenges are widespread. The most important factor is that the company must
understand the ethnic group it is orientating. Marketing is a very important factor, the way one
perceives the product but certainly also the way a consumer perceives the company is a
crucial element.
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Chapter 6: Conclusion and recommendations How should global cosmetics companies tailor their glocalization strategy to the Chinese and
the United States markets for ethnic oriented cosmetics products?
The question how a multinational cosmetic company should cope with organizing their global
standardized strategy, and still have success on local markets was central in this thesis.
Additionally a global cosmetic company needs to know the ethnic groups to step into the
profitable market of ethnic cosmetics and understand and react to their ethnic history and
beauty ideals. In this chapter these answers will become clear, and solutions will also be
defined.
6.1 Conclusions
An overall conclusion that can be made is that a multinational company must identify clusters
of ethnicities that have similar traits or require similar products. Multinationals should target
these different clusters of ethnicities with differentiated selling, emphasizing behavioral
(culture of origin) aspects and skin traits segmentation factors (Hassan, Craft, & Kortam,
2003).
The United States strategy has always had the vision “if we have it we can sell it to the
consumers”, different from the Chinese vision; “if consumers need something we can sell it to
them” (Mohame & Ahmad, 2007).These visions implicate the difference in marketing needed.
However, there are multiple factors that must be considered when introducing a new product
on the market; one of these factors is ethnicity. Due to the growing globalization and increase
of products, the consumers‟ needs to identify themselves with some aspect of the product
have increased as well. This identification of ethnicity is visible in most situations, only the
ethnic group whites perceive their own race as invisible. A different tactic must be considered
when marketing to this niche. They would really have to be approached at the level of their
beliefs and the product really has to exhale a feeling. Still considering the white ethnicity, this
group has natural traits such as early aging signs. The combination of these natural traits,
perception of beauty and values and beliefs of their origin makes a cosmetic orientated
product marketable.
Maybe one could say that only the marketing itself makes ethic cosmetics important;
in every ethnic group consumers exist with dry skin. However, it is a fact that ethnic oriented
products are a profitable market for multinationals. In addition the market is not only
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dependent on ethnic body differences; it is also dependent on the ethnic identity a consumer
searches for. There are also numerous difficult or impossible variables to control, for instance
a negative country of origin perspective. Then it becomes an art to make these variables less
present even if it is only for the eye.
Glocalization also contributes to a better understanding of the opportunities and
challenges associated with regional implementation of strategy and glocalization of different
levels of a multinational company. There are three different levels of glocalization possible
Innovation, Superficial, and Core Company function. Implementing these will be explained in
the section recommendations.
The literature study done in this thesis clearly implicated that marketing plays a large
role in a glocalization strategy for ethnic orientated products. The identity of a consumer, the
antecedents, the response and consequences of ethnic marketing is related to the glocalization
strategy a marketer takes for the specific product. The acting local part in the glocalization
theory has a correlation with the ethnic identity in combination with the ethnic skin traits of
the consumer. The global part of globalization has the correlation with the standardized
overall strategy of the global cosmetic company.
6.2 Recommendations
Firstly recommendations for a global cosmetic company that wants to tailor its strategy to the
Chinese market will be considered, assuming that the multinational is planning to implement
an ethnic oriented cosmetic product. The multinational must consider on which level they will
implement their strategy.
1) On Innovation level an example could be a whitening product to emphasis whiteness
in the ethnic skin. The whiter the skin, the higher the physical attractiveness of a
woman is. When choosing this level challenges as concentrating on Asian modernism
rather than on communal cultural tradition is important, also double standards for
example with quality should be handled with care.
2) On Superficial level an example could be changing the packaging. Research has
confirmed that Chinese woman prefer Chinese woman on their cosmetic packaging
(Hung, Li, & Belk, 2007). One must consider the challenge to use a Western stamp of
approval to indicate to Asians the feasibility of the brand.
3) On Core function level there are also multiple possibilities for China. For example,
different Accounting or ERP system. Investors in China require a different level of
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information, this due to regulations of the government for accounting principles.
Another example of glocalization on core function level is delegation of authority.
Secondly recommendations for a global cosmetic company that wants to tailor their strategy
to the United States market will be considered, again assuming the multinational is planning
to implement an ethnic oriented cosmetic product.
1) On Innovation level one can consider the different ethnic groups present in the
United States. The Black ethnic groups in the United States have more need for dry
scalp treatments and the White group for anti-aging. Important for Ethnic
marketing in the United States is the large differences between the groups and that
emphasis on this can result in more sales.
2) On Superficial level an example could be a marketing campaign. Marketing a
product on television with a Black Ethnic person will attract this Ethnic group
increasingly.
3) On Core function level it is very difficult to really largely adapt to the different
ethnic groups in the United States. Core functions are very different per company,
however being a company that silently promotes it is ethnicity friendly (to Black
for instance) the products will also sell better. An example of glocalization on core
function level is corporate orientation what entails the process of accommodation
in which a new employee is enlightened concerning issues as the firm‟s history,
and its beliefs and values, unwritten rules, long term goals and management
structure. (Deshpandé, Farley, & Webster, 1993)
In cosmetics the skin traits of an ethnicity is the local component, a marketer must consider
the fact that in a country where certain skin traits hardly exist, such as the trait that in the Han
Chinese aging is not an issue, marketing an anti-aging cream especially for the Han Chinese
would not be such a considerable success due to the fact that ethnically speaking there is not
marketing for such a product. Realizing where the needs are for ethnic oriented cosmetics due
to the many factors acknowledged in this thesis and adjusting the strategy that ethnicity or
ethnic skin traits are the main focus as local component in a glocalization strategy will result
(ceteris paribus) in a positive result.
More research should be done considering ethnic oriented cosmetics. Considering that
knowledge for a marketer concerning the precise aspects of the ethnicity is very important.
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Having this knowledge will help in making the right marketing related decisions and provide
the ability to localize a global cosmetic orientated product.
6.3 Limitations
In closure it is important to note some of the main limitations of this study. This thesis is
limited to female orientated ethnic cosmetics. This because male cosmetics is a total different
market and is still up and coming and not comparable. Another limitation is the fact of the
choice for using ethnicity and not culture. This because there are multiple ethnicities in a
culture, for instance in the United States, and that does not leave the possibility to zoom in on
specific biological skin traits. A third limitation is the fact that glocalization is a social theory
and not often translated to business context.
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States Wal-Mart have greeters at the front door. However, this „aggressive‟ approach is not
welcome in countries such as Britain or the Netherlands; it would be counterproductive and
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this case.
Nokia (Kamineni, 2005)
Nokia received many complaints from Native Americans as the phones built by Nokia were
not appropriate for their daily lives due to sand damage. Nokia replied to these local customer
needs with introducing the dust-resistant keypad, anti-slip grip and a built-in flash light. This
is the innovation level.
McDonald (Vignali, 2001) (Saeed & Kendall, 1992)
McDonald‟s preserves standardized levels for its equipment technology, product offerings,
customer service, cleanliness, and operational systems. However, McDonald‟s glocalization
strategy is to increasingly pay attention to local consumers and then actually act on it. For
instance, localize favorite foods around the world such as the McItaly burger in Italy,
Maharaja Mac in India, the McLobster in Canada, the Ebi Filit-O in Japan. McDonald is
focusing on local food behavior with a global standardized management strategy; they use the
innovation level in this case.
41
How should global cosmetics companies tailor their
glocalization strategy to the Chinese and the United States
markets for ethnic oriented cosmetics products?
What is glocalization and what is
a glocalization strategy?
Why do consumers use cosmetics, and how does the cosmetics industry cope with this?
What is ethnicity, and which role
does ethnicity have in China and
the United states concerning
cosmetics and beauty?
How can glocalization as strategy be used in marketing an ethnic oriented cosmetic product in the Chinese and United States market, and what are the marketing challenges?