Gunn-Graffy, Colin. “When in Rome, Beijing or Brussels”, Boston College, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/565.
Abstract
This thesis examines the role of culture in international business communication through case studies of several multinational corporations. The first case looks at Coca-Cola's product recall crisis in Belgium in 1999, which exhibited an uncharacteristic deviation from the company's well-known brand marketing brilliance. The second case deals with problems that Disney encountered as it tried to establish its first theme park in Europe in the 1990s and found itself facing a culture as proud and protective as Disney itself. At the heart of these cases were outdated international strategies and an attitude of arrogance that assumed that an American business approach could easily be transferred to a different country and culture. The thesis concludes with an analysis of Google as a case study for the future followed by suggestions for successful international strategies and final thoughts on globalization's effect on culture and corporations.
