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INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS
JANURAY 2011
VOL 2, NO 9
7- Ritu Lohtia , Daniel C. Bello and Constance Elise Porter‟s research
Cultural sensitivity is defined as a firm's awareness of differences between domestic and
foreign market business practices and its willingness to address and manage these differences.
Given the many fundamental differences between the cultures of Japan and the United States,
it is crucial for US sellers in Japan to be sensitive to the unique set of cultural forces
influencing the behaviour of Japanese buyers. Such sensitivity is critical to gaining legitimacy
in Japan and reflects a foreign seller's intention to engage in culturally effective exchange with
local buyers. In this way, sensitivity to local cultural practices validates the foreign seller's
benevolent motivations and demonstrates its underlying concern for the Japanese buyer. As
LaBahn and Harich (1997) illustrate, buyers are more ―critical and sensitive to culturally
inappropriate behaviour‖ compared to sellers. We hypothesize that certain drivers of trust (e.g.
long-term orientation, relationship building, etc.) establish and enhance the perception that US
seller's are culturally-sensitive and, in doing so, foster trust with Japanese managers. our
model also suggests that while cultural sensitivity is an important antecedent of trust, it is not
the only pathway and not a requirement for trust-building with Japanese buyers. The
capability- based process focuses on trust building through the delivery of key aspects of the
marketing mix that satisfy exchange requirements. Indeed, theory underlying our model
suggests that other variables can directly build trust by signaling capability to deliver on key
aspects of the marketing mix (e.g. product differentiation, after-sale services, etc.). Because
technical competence is task-centered and focuses on the instrumental purpose of transactions,
capability-based trust development functions separately from the social and cultural facets of
exchange, the above statement are adopt from following outhors: Holzmuller & Stottinger,
2001; LaBahn & Harich, 1997; Rice & O'Donohue, 2002; Grewal & Dharwadkar, 2002;
Morgan & Morgan, 1991; Doney & Cannon, 1997 (Ritu Lohtia et al., 2009, pp. 241-242).
Intentionality-based Antecedent
Long-term
orientation
Relationship
building
Investments in
Japan
Capability- based Antecedent
Product
Differentiation
Product
Modification
Channel
Support
After-sales
Service
Fig 6. Theoretical Model
Source: R. Lohtia et al., 2009, p. 240
Cultural
Sensitivity
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