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Retail prices ending in 0, 5 (even ending), and 9 (odd ending) are common in western countries. The purpose of this paper is to explain variances in odd versus even ending practices in western versus non‐western countries, using Hall's high‐low context construct.

A survey of web‐posted prices in ten countries is conducted.

Relative to their counterparts in low context, western cultures, consumers in high context, non‐western cultures may be less prone to the illusion of cheapness or gain created by odd endings, and more likely offended by such perceived attempts to “fool” them. Thus, odd endings are predicted to operate at a higher level of value significance to consumers, and to occur less frequently relative to even endings, in high than low, context cultures. Data support the predictions.

Additional empirical studies are recommended to further test the proposed theory.

Western firms need to be cautious when replicating odd ending practices in non‐western markets. Even ending is a “safer” pricing format. Odd endings, if used, should convey cheapness or gain that is more “real”.

The research results indicate that the results of western‐based consumer research cannot be treated as universally applicable. The high‐low context theory supplements prior theories for price ending patterns in non‐western countries, and those based on perceptions and affect in the west. The study also demonstrates the usefulness of the web method in international pricing research.

This study uses Hall's (1976) theory of low/high context culture with theories of interpersonal adaptation (Gudykunst, 1985; Patterson, 1983) to test communication preferences, flexibility, and effectiveness in same‐ and mixed‐culture negotiation. Ninety‐three same‐culture low context (Israel, Germany, Sweden, and U.S.), 101 same‐culture high context (Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, Thailand), and 48 mixed‐culture mixed context (U.S.‐Japan, U.S.‐Hong Kong) dyads negotiated a 1 ½ hour simulation. Transcripts were content coded for direct and indirect integrative sequences and analyzed with hierarchical linear regression. Supporting the theory, results revealed more indirect integrative sequences in high context dyads and more direct integrative sequences in low context and mixed context dyads. Direct integrative sequences predicted joint gains for mixed context dyads.

Many companies are shifting their focus away from individual transactions toward developing long‐term, mutually supportive relationships with their customers. Salespeople are the main implementers of such relationships, as they act as the interface between companies and customers. Negotiation is an important part of relationship development, but salespeople’s negotiating styles are influenced by culture and the ability to adapt to cultures of specific markets and specific customers. This study proposes a simple conceptual model of how cultural issues at three different levels – national, organizational, individual – influence salespeople’s negotiating styles. Qualitative in‐depth interviews were employed to explore the impact of national culture, organizational culture, and individual sales rep competence in dealing with culture on salespeople’s negotiating styles.

The paper, based on the concepts of means‐end chain (MEC) theory and high versus low‐context cultures, aims to understand whether the differentiation of culture connotations is directly reflected in the design of web advertisements and whether the text content of web ads is a reliable indicator of different context cultures (e.g. implicit and explicit).

Changing consumer attitudes toward the use of credit provides huge business opportunities for credit card issuers. Obviously, credit card issuers have continued their efforts to persuade large numbers of people to obtain and use the cards. Credit cards can thus be considered a successful intercultural marketing case of product internationalisation. Therefore, this paper used web ads for credit cards as research subjects. This paper adopts MEC theory and the distinction between high‐ and low‐context cultures to identify whether the cultural context directly affects the design and content of web advertisements.

Through examining the advertising copy of credit card web sites, this study found that the higher the cultural context, the more complicated the cognitive attribute‐consequence‐value structures of web ad design. Thus, web design analysis reveals that marketers living in countries with high‐context cultures normally communicate indirectly with their target audience, leading to highly complex attribute‐consequence‐value linkage structures with many layers.

This is the first study to integrate the concepts of MEC theory and high versus low‐context cultures for understanding the impact of culture on web advertising. By understanding the differentiation of web ad designs across various cultures it is possible to provide marketers with valuable insights for developing advertising strategies in global markets.

When multinational managers attempt to transfer best practices across cultures, the challenges inherent in cross‐cultural transfer may actually diminish competitiveness, instead of enhancing it. Multinational managers need to understand the cultural context of best practices, both at the source and at the target, in order to overcome these challenges and facilitate the transfer process. The challenges to effective transfer of best practices between cultures may arise because of the kinds of variances between cultural environments. These variances may pertain to concepts, perceptions, standardization, gradation and validation, substitutability and decision rules. Unmediated transfer of best practices across cultures may produce distortions in perceptions, understanding, interpretation and motivation of customers, competitors, employees and market players in the global markets. These distortions may in turn lead to conflicts and resistance and adversely impact the cost structure, revenue mix and profitability options. Understanding the cultural context and adapting best practices in tune to the recipient culture can be an invaluable tool to preempt or respond effectively to competitive challenges in the global markets.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key features of an identity standards manual and assess the differences in the rules used for applying the brand to both low‐ and high‐context cultures, companies selling consumer goods and those selling services, and multinational and local companies.

The methodology is based on the analysis of 341 identity standards manuals and on the analysis of three key features found in the manuals: contents, normative tone, and development.

The results divide the contents of the manual into two blocks: core and peripheral; and show that there are differences between the manuals of high‐ and low‐context cultures, companies selling consumer goods and those selling services, and multinational and local companies.

Type I errors could have been introduced and the conclusions must be regarded as tentative.

The findings show that applying the brand at an international level requires a strategy of adaptation which takes into account the particular nature of each culture.

This paper contributes to the debate on standardization/adaptation of the signs of visual identity (name, logo, and color) in global marketing, by studying the rules used in applying the brand and discussion of the documents which contain them.

The aim of this paper is to examine how the cultural context and other institutional factors may influence the amount of direct communication with employees in nine European countries.

Nine countries were selected from the Cranfield Network on Comparative Human Resource Management database varying from high to low context. The dependent or criterion variable, was direct communication, independent variables were organization size age and industry, strategic role of human resource management (HRM), union presence and communication culture context. Data were analysed using one‐way analysis of variance and hierarchical regression.

The results show that cultural communication context, union presence and strategic role of HRM all have an influence on direct communication. The authors also see that union presence and cultural context interact.

The paper relied on data collected from the human resource managers of the organizations; therefore the authors do not know how the communication is perceived by the employees themselves. Future research can investigate not only the amount, also but the quality of the communication by collecting data from employees.

In today's environment where people from different cultures and companies from different legal systems are increasingly working together, the authors need to realise that context matters. What has worked in one environment may not be successful in another. The authors need to develop models that can guide managers in how they can deal with the differences and be effective in communicating with their employees.

The paper investigates direct communication in low‐ and high‐context countries as well as medium‐context countries. European integration provides a move towards convergence in some practices, however, there remains cultural differences between groups of countries.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the hotel growth model including hotel brand, culture and life cycle phases of the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the fastest growing tourism destination in the United States.

Culture reflecting consuming behaviour of low-context innovators and high-context imitators is measured by the price elasticity of demand (PED). Hotel brand reflecting guests’ hotel class is measured by the income elasticity of demand. Autoregressive distributed lag has been conducted on the Smith Travel Research data in 33 years (1989–2022) to determine the relationship among hotel brand, culture and life cycles.

Skilled labour is the key to make hotels grow. Therefore, increase room rates when hotels possess skilled professionals and decrease room rates when hotels have no skilled professionals. During the rejuvenation in Myrtle Beach (1999–2003), hoteliers increased room rates for innovators due to skilled professionals to increase revenue. Otherwise, a decrease in room rates due to lack of skilled professionals would lead to increase revenue.

(1) Although Myrtle Beach is one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in the US, it has a relatively small geographic area relative to the country. (2) Data cover over one tourist life cycle, so the time span is relatively short. Hoteliers can forecast the number of guests in different culture by changing room rates.

To optimize revenue, hoteliers can select skilled labour in professional design hotel brands which could make an increase in demand for leisure transient guests no matter what room rates increase after COVID-19 pandemic.

The study has considered the applied ethical processes regarding revenue management that would maximize both revenue and customer satisfaction when it set up an increase in room rates to compensate for professional hotel room design or it decreases room rates for low-income imitators in exploration and development.

This research highlights that (1) skilled design in the luxury hotel brand is the key for the hotel growth and (2) there is a steady state of the growth model in the destination life cycle.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze perception of Russian national culture by Western managers in Western subsidiaries in Russia.

Interpretivist analysis of narratives have been collected by the authors by interviewing several Western managers in Russian subsidiaries, based on concepts of E.T. Hall.

We globally found more examples of high context than low context, but also of “hybrid context,” as well as more examples of polychrony than monochrony, and a mixture of polychrony and monochrony, the authors call “hybridchronie.” They show implications of socio-economic change in society, organizational structure and work hierarchical relationship, generation effect and importance of clans.

Limits of cultural analysis. Use of interviews (narratives) then bias of perception. Current changes in Russian society. Differences between generations in Russia and multi-ethnicity of Russia.

Danger of stereotypes in management. Implications for management.

Danger of stereotypes in perceptions and social life.

Qualitative, interpretivist approach based on in-depth interviews.

Recently scholars have been interested in examining social intelligence, emotional intelligence, and cultural intelligence, but none have examined all these in a comparative study of cultures. Here an empirical examination is conducted of a high-context culture, India, versus a low-context culture, the United States. Linear regression was conducted and findings indicate that the hypothesized relationships, that high-context cultures will have a higher social, emotional, and cultural intelligence, are not supported. In fact, social intelligence was found to be higher in the U.S. sample. Managerial implications and avenues for future research are presented.