Mini-Case Happy Global Customers? Cultural Differences on Surveys Austen is a CMO in a consulting firm out of Miami that specializes in creating loyalty programs for its clients. As a first step, the company gathers customer satisfaction data, and the results for an internatioyal hotel chain follow. These data draw from three samples: Brazil, Japan, and England. Here is the hotelier's response to seeing these data: Wow, we'e doing great in Japan, and pretty good in Brazll except for their perception of value. The English either don't like us or they're indifferent about hotels:" Marketing managers of global multinationais frequently gather customer satisfaction data from their customers all over the world. The question is how to make sense of the data. When the Japanese customer satislaction ratings look higher than those in England, does that mean the Japanese customers are truly more satisfied, or is something else going on? Austen has a lot of experience with international data and knows the cross-cultural literature. There are known response tendencies found in different countries. These are stereotypes, of course, but here are the generalities typical in such data: - Some cultures are said to be "enthusiastic," meaning that the ratings display high variance (very high and very low). Thus, - Some cultures are said to be "enthusiastic," meaning that the ratings display high variance (very high and very low). Thus, customers in the U.S., Brazil (and many other South American countries), France, Italy, and Australia produce data indicating that, when customers are happy, they're really happy, and when they're not, they're really most sincerely not. - Other countries, such as England and Germany, are more "reserved." The numbers on surveys show less variability (closer to the mid-points of the scales). Ratings tend to be near the middle, which means customers won't indicate liking or disliking anything all that strongly. - Some countries (e.g., Japan and some other Asian countries) have an "acquiescence" or courteousness bias, saying things look favorable when maybe deep down that's not quite what they think. Thas, while the Japanese ratings appear more positive, giving the impression they're happier, it's more likely that they're just being polite on the survey. Case Discusslon Questions 1. How would you interpret the data? Where is the hotel chain doing a good job? 2. How could you tease out the effects of customer satisfaction vs, cultural biases