Dr. Jeanette S. Martin

Author/Researcher

University of Mississippi

Jeanette S. Martin is a Professor of Business Communication at the University of Mississippi.  Her area of expertise is Intercultural Business Communication.  She and Lillian Chaney have written four books:  Intercultural Business Communication (6 ed.), Global Business Etiquette (2 ed.), Passport for Success, and The Essential Guide to Business Etiquette.

Before entering academia she had her own business and worked in corporate America for several years (Baxter, Robert Bosch, Zenith, and Quaker Oats). All of the companies had global business positions at that time, and Robert Bosch is a German company with operations in the United States. It was while she worked for Robert Bosch that she became interested in intercultural business communication due to the interface of the Germans and the Americans.

As global alliances emerge in all aspects of business production, partnerships and communications, collaboration is taking place on a massive global scale and a balance must be found that addresses the local and individual nature of each global partner, competitor, market and consumer. As businesses grow, global expansion is the next natural step, but it‘s not as easy as it looks. Cultural differences in different countries have created challenges that businesses have had to address. Many times this has involved tailoring products to suit local preferences in a global market, a process known as “glocalization” which has resulted in reverse innovation. Even back in 1999, one of the original globalized markets, Coca-Cola, had to embrace changes to keep up with customer needs. New CEO at the time, Douglas Daft, soon realized he had to adapt his business model to incorporate localization. Many other businesses failed as a result of neglecting this integral part of the marketing process. PhD student, Danah Boyd spoke about glocalization in 2006. She noted that mass media had not resulted in a complete convergence of cultures because of the many unique sub-cultures that were too deeply ingrained within each country and community. Networking through technological media has brought people who may be globally diverse closer together but Boyd noted, “How you see the world and how you design or build technology is greatly influenced by the various cultural concepts you hold onto.”  However, social networks and virtual global alliances have made boundaries more permeable so there is less differentiation and more convergence among individuals, consumers and competitors. Global alliances may be great for business communications and shared resources, but ignorance of cultural differences could be catastrophic for all concerned—think politics, natural disasters, terrorist attacks and unpredictable labor. Along with the risks, the economic gap between rich and poor countries is widening and this affects global stability, so even when the economy improves the future of globalization is not certain. Different strategies may need to be applied to different elements of a business and diversification of communities may be critical. To act on this convergence of trends for a competitive edge, consider the following. Global scale cannot ignore individual needs. Employees must be treated individually. Competitors must be treated individually. Allies and partnerships need individual attention. Use networks (human, that is) to balance global scale and individual treatment.