Germany and the Pacific Islands: A Cross‐cultural Marketing Study

Since the nature of marketing is meeting the needs and wants of one′s customers and those needs and wants are culturally based, it is of especial importance for the marketeer to understand another culture and the differences inherent before he attempts to market goods or services to a foreign county. Culture preconditions a people to perceive, think,feel and act in the norms of their own culture. Norms and values between two cultures frequently clash. Yet it is the understanding, respect and acceptance of another culture and the ability to put aside one′s own cultural mores which separate the successful international marketeer from all others. Utilizes the experience of the authors and discusses examples of cultural differences between the German and the South Pacific Island cultures, their implications in the marketing and business decision‐making function, and provides recommendations for the conduct of a successful business arrangement between Germans and Pacific Islanders.