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Based on data collected from an extensive survey with IBM employees across the world, Hofstede’s value model was developed to find an explanation for the fact that some concepts of motivation did not work in all countries in the same way. Hofstede has also identified four value dimensions that have a significant impact on behavior in all cultures; these are inpidualism versus collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and masculinity and femininity. Explanations of the value dimensions are shown as follows:
Inpidualism versus collectivism: this dimension is the most important dimension of cultural variability identified in cross-cultural research. Inpidualism can be defined as people looking after themselves and their immediate family only while collectivism refers to people belonging to in groups that look after them as exchange for loyalty.
Uncertainty Avoidance: “uncertainty avoidance” as Hofstede defined (Hofstede，1984) is “the extent to which people feel threatened by uncertainty and ambiguity and try to avoid these situations.” By providing stability and establishing more formal rules, people in high-uncertainty-avoidance cultures will try their best to avoid uncertainty and ambiguity. However, people in low-uncertainty-avoidance cultures are more easily to accept the uncertainty in their life. They believe that conflict and competition are not that threatening.
Power Distance: People in high-power-distance countries believe that power and authority are more important. In these cultures, both consciously and unconsciously, people are moralized that everybody has their own rightful place and people are not equal in this world. In contrast, people in low-power-distance countries, such as America believe that a hierarchy is an inequality of roles established for convenience.
In summary, here, table 1 show us Hofstede’s value dimensions. In my paper, Hofstede’s four value dimensions theory will be used to analyze the cultural differences reflected in cola advertising.
Table 1 Hofstede’s value dimensions
Dimension Description
Inpidualism People looking after themselves and their immediate family only (high inpidualism), versus people belonging to in groups that look after them in exchange for loyalty (low inpidualism)
Power Distance The extent to which less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally: high (high power distance) versus low (low power distance)
Masculinity The dominant values in a masculine society are achievement and success (high masculinity), the dominant values in a feminine society are caring for others and quality of life (low masculinity)
Uncertainty Avoidance The extent to which people feel threatened by uncertainty and ambiguity and try to avoid these situation: high (high uncertainty avoidance) versus low (low uncertainty avoidance)
3 Different Value Systems Reflected in Cola Advertisings
3.1 Collectivism vs. Inpidualism
Hofstede's study indicates that most Asian countries are collectivistic while Western countries are usually inpidualistic. In this dimension, the focal point emphases on the contrast between in-group and inpidual. Before we discuss the two different systems, we should first understand what collectivism is and what inpidualism is. G. Hofstede, a Netherlandish scholar, gives a clear definition of collectivism. Collectivism is born and raised in a very strong community with highly cohesion in which everybody is collected with each other from their birth. Based on this background, inpiduals are implanted with a responsibility of championing the community's interest, through which, each member show their loyalty to the community (Hofstede, 1984). China, the representative of collectivistic cultures, people emphasize more on views of the in-group than those of the inpidual. Those who shared in-group beliefs are always above unique inpidual beliefs and the social norms of the in-group are favored over inpidual pleasure. Collectivism, which is portrayed by the collection of inpidual, is more conspicuous in China. Characterized by a rigid social framework that discriminates between in-groups and out-groups, people count on their in-group to take care of them, and in exchange for that they believe they own absolute loyalty to the group. In the society of collectivism, the culture emphasizes belonging to organizations and inpiduals trust group decisions.