PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
- Demographics
- Travel engine
- Past travel experiences
- Personal culture, social class
Tourists' assessment of the importance of criteria in creating the attractiveness of cultural tourism resources at the destination
CONTEXT FACTORS
- Geographical distance
- The degree of cultural difference between the place of origin and the place of destination (national cultural distance)
- Specific situation: purpose, cost, travel time...
Tourists' evaluation of the attractiveness of cultural tourism resource attributes at the destination
Figure 2.5. Factors affecting international tourists' assessment of the attractiveness of cultural tourism resources at the destination
(Source: Author's synthesis)
Thus, the international tourism industry's assessment of the attractiveness of cultural tourism is influenced by factors including: factors belonging to the individual consumer and the contextual factors of the trip. In which, the cultural distance between the sending country and the receiving country is classified as a group of contextual and situational factors of the trip (Juan et al., 2017). And is considered an important factor to explain the differences in human behavior, preferences, and conduct in a multicultural environment (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010; Reisinger, 2009; De Mooij and Hofstede, 2002; De Mooij, 2013; Leung et al., 2013; Ahn and McKercher, 2015; Buafai and Khunon, 2016).
In the tourism field, many studies have demonstrated that national cultural distance is related to preferences for tourism products and services (Leung et al., 2003; Reisinger and Mavondo, 2005; Tsang and Ap, 2007), preferences and intentions to choose a tourist destination (Crotts, 2004; Esiyok et al., 2017; Litvin and Kar, 2004; Lord et al., 2008), consumer behavior before and during the trip (Meng, 2010; Ng, Lee et al., 2007), image and perception of the tourist destination.
(Ahn and McKercher, 2015). However, there has been no specific research to determine the level of influence of national cultural distance on the attractiveness of cultural tourism. While cultural tourism has always been identified as an important factor in creating the attractiveness of a destination, especially in the current context where tourism consumers are more interested in the core attractive values of resources, cultural differences have become one of the factors that have a strong influence, even a driving force, a factor that attracts consumers to search for and choose a tourist destination (Kozak and Decrop, 2008; OECD, 2009; Isaac, 2008; Reisinger, 2009; Richards, 2002).
The above reasons demonstrate the need for research on the impact of national cultural distance on international tourism destination evaluations of cultural tourism attractions in order to better understand the consumption characteristics of each market. Furthermore, in the field of tourism behavior research, although the cultural distance variable is known to be an influential variable that impacts the preferences and behaviors of tourism consumers, the number of published studies is still quite limited (Juan et al., 2017). Therefore, it is necessary to have in-depth research on the relationship between national cultural distance and international tourism destination evaluations of cultural tourism attractions. The results of the research will help to better explain the differences in the cognitive and behavioral characteristics of international tourism destinations in different tourist destinations.
2.2. National cultural distance
Cultural distance between countries has been confirmed by researchers to be related to many areas of behavior such as: foreign investment decisions (Sousa and Bradley, 2006; Tang, 2012; Sousa and Brito, 2014), international consumer behavior (De Mooij and Hofstede, 2002; Crotts and Litvin, 2003; De Mooij and Hofstede, 2010, 2011), tourism consumer perceptions and behavior (Pizam and Sussmann, 1995; Reisinger and Turner, 2002; Crotts, 2004; Litvin and Kar, 2004; Tsang and Ap, 2007; Ng et al., 2009; Meng, 2010; Kim and McKercher, 2011; Shenkar, 2012; Leung et al. (2013; Martin et al., 2017).
2.2.1. National culture and national cultural differences
Culture is a polysemous concept because in each field of study, culture is approached in a different way. Definitions of culture from the perspective of approach
Approaches usually include the following groups: (1) definitions based on origin: focusing on the origin of culture, (2) definitions based on historical factors: focusing on tradition and inheritance, (3) definitions based on norms and values: emphasizing the concepts of norms and values of a community, (4) definitions showing psychological characteristics: focusing on the process of coping and taking advantage of natural and social influences to form appropriate behavioral patterns (Do Huu Hai, 2014).
It can be understood that culture is the whole of material and spiritual values created by humans. In The Origins of Culture, Tylor (1871) defined "Culture is a comprehensive complex including knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs and some other abilities and habits gathered and acted upon by humans as a member of society" (quoted from Do Huu Hai, 2014). Ronen et al. (1985) said: "The culture of a community includes the cognitive process, lifestyle, behavior, and attitudes of people in the community towards nature and society, expressed in values, social norms, concepts, symbols or ideologies and philosophies of life".
Approaching from the perspective of psychological and behavioral research, some researchers have argued that, “ National culture is a reflection of the personality and behavioral patterns of a nation... It is the collective intellectual software that distinguishes members of this nation from members of other nations” (Hofstede et al., 2010, p. 10). National culture is the synthesis of the accumulation of shared values, norms, rituals and traditions among members of a nation, which are collective psychological consciousnesses that distinguish members of this nation from members of other nations (Soloman, 1996, quoted in Shenkar, 2012) and become “the pattern of thinking, feeling and reacting of the majority of individuals in a national community” (Kluckhohn 1951, quoted in Ng & colleagues, 2007).
Because culture is a multidimensional and complex phenomenon, it is difficult to reach a consensus on the understanding of a country's culture. However, from the perspective of approaching national culture in relation to the behavior of individuals in the community, researchers share the view that national culture will (1) be common and shared by individuals in a country, (2) be acquired and learned by
individuals in that country, (3) have a relationship with the values, beliefs, attitudes, and emotions of each individual in the country, (4) influence or guide the behavior of individuals in the country, (5) are passed from one generation to the next, (6) are expressed in many different dimensions, (7) are responsive, creative, and change in accordance with reality, and (8) cultures between countries always have differences in values, norms, symbols, and behaviors (Hofstede et al., 2010; Tran Ngoc Them, 2004; Ronen and Shenkar, 1985).
There will always be cultural differences or similarities between different countries (Hofstede, 2010). National cultural differences or similarities are the differences or similarities in values, norms, symbols, and cultural elements that each country accepts and preserves in the past and present (Hofstede, 2010; Ronen and Shenkar, 1985). These differences and similarities are expressed through the cognitive process, lifestyle, behavior, and attitudes toward nature and people of individuals from different countries (Tran Quoc Vuong & associates, 2006; Tran Ngoc Them, 2004; Schwartz, 2006; Hofstede, 2011). In the process of explaining the differences in behavior and conduct of individuals from different countries, culture is mentioned as a major factor that has a strong and consistent impact on human perception and behavior. This is the basis for forming theories to determine the influence of national cultural differences on psychology and consumer behavior (Kogut and Singh, 1988; Jackson, 2001; De Mooij, 2010).
2.2.2. The concept of national cultural distance
To understand the influence of cultural differences on human behavior, many authors have sought typical cultural criteria to measure the relative distance of cultural dimensions between countries. Measuring national culture is to find universal measures, based on a certain approach, recognized by many individuals as being representative of national culture (Kluckhohn 1951, quoted in Ng & colleagues, 2007). From this common measure, the levels of cultural differences between countries can be determined and referred to by the concept of national cultural distance.
Thus, national cultural distance is understood as the degree of distance based on a scale measuring typical cultural aspects between different countries (Sousa and Bradley, 2006; Shenkar, 2012). In international tourism, national cultural distance has been identified by many researchers as a variable to explain differences in international business and in the consumer behavior of tourist destinations. And national cultural distance in tourism is defined as the degree of distance between the cultures of sending countries and receiving countries based on a certain scale (Jackson, 2001; Reisinger, 2009; Ng. Lee et al., 2009).
2.2.3. Measuring national cultural distance
The pioneering study proposing to measure the level of difference between cultures was conducted in the 1950s by Kluckhohn et al. Accordingly, Kluckhohn argued that elements of national culture influence individuals and therefore, it is necessary to search for typical factors to compare the differences between cultures through individuals in the community and consider how the differences affect individuals (Kluckhohn 1951, quoted in Ng & colleagues, 2007). From the studies of Kluckhohn (1951), the authors have collected and selected typical factors that reflect the characteristics of cultures and used them to measure and compare the differences between cultures. Some typical theories such as Hofstede (2010), Schwartz (1994, 1999), Ronen and Shenkar (1985, 2013) have been recognized as reasonable cores and used in many studies on human behavior in cross-cultural environments (Hsu & colleagues, 2013).
2.2.3.1. Ronen and Shenkar's subcultural theory and Clack and Pugh's method of measuring national cultural distance
Ronen and Shenkar's (1985, 2013) subcultural theory
In 1985, based on the differences and similarities of three factors: geography, religion and language, Ronen and Shenkar divided the world into eight cultural groups: Anglo-Saxon, Nordic, German, Latino-European, Latino-American, Near Eastern, Arab and Far Eastern (Ronen and Shenkar, 1985). By 2013, based on the theoretical analysis of the "iceberg", in which cultural differences
Considering the differences in cultural artifacts (symbols), values and norms among nations, Ronen and Shenkar divided the world into 10 cultural groups including: Anglo-Saxon, Northern European, Germanic, Latin European, Latin American, Eastern European, East Asian, South Asian, African, Middle Eastern.
Clack and Pugh (2001) method of measuring national cultural distance
Based on the cultural cluster model of Ronen and Shenkar (1985), Clack and Pugh (2001) set the cultural index for the initial 8 cultural groups and later 10 groups: Anglo (1), Northern European (2), German (3), Latin European (4), Latin American (5), Eastern European (6), Middle Eastern (7), African (8), East Asian (9), South Asian (10). From this index, Clack and Pugh (2001) determined the national cultural distance of two countries by the distance of the two cultural groups containing those two countries. For example, Bolivia belongs to the Latin American group with a cultural index of 5, the United States belongs to the Anglo group, with a cultural index of 1, the national cultural distance between Bolivia and the United States is 4 (Clack and Pugh, 2001).
The basic limitation in the method of measuring national cultural distance according to Clack and Pugh (2001) is that because it is too simple, the distance index cannot accurately reflect the level of difference between cultures, especially from the perspective of individuals. Even within a cultural group, the values, norms and symbols of two countries will have many differences and there cannot be no distance as proposed by Clack and Pugh (2001). Therefore, the use of Clack and Pugh's index of national cultural distance in the study of the impact of cultural differences on the perception and behavior of international tourism will be inappropriate.
2.2.3.2. Schwartz's cultural theory (1988, 1992,1994)
Based on the theory of values formed from human needs, Schwartz (1988 - 1992) built a model of personal cultural values, national culture and conducted a survey to measure the factors that characterize personal culture and national culture. The survey was conducted on a sample of students and teachers from 38 different countries. From the results of the survey, Schwartz (1994) proposed a model of cultural values at the individual level and cultural values at the national level (Schwartz, 2006). At the national level, Schwartz proposed 7 characteristic factors to distinguish cultures.
Table 2.1. National cultural factors according to Schwartz (1994, 1999)
Cultural factors
Element content description | |
Toryism Conservation | Factors that demonstrate that society values originality and status quo, avoiding actions that affect tradition. |
Intellectual autonomy Intellectual autonomy | The element demonstrates that society recognizes individual roles and autonomous actions; people can pursue their own interests and desires to learn. |
Emotional autonomy Affective autonomy | The element proves that individuals have the right to pursue their own desires and passions. |
Decentralized system ( Hierarchy) | The factor proves that society considers decentralization and the division of resources according to hierarchy as reasonable. |
Powerism ( Mastery) | The factor proves that society values and allows individuals to exercise power over others. |
Egalitarian commitment | Social proof factors emphasize the importance of altruism and equality. |
Harmony | Factors that demonstrate a society that favors harmony |
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Source: Schwartz, 2006
Schwartz's (1994; 1999) theory has been used in the field of consumer behavior to examine the relationship between national cultural characteristics and consumer behavior in an international context. In 2008, Schwartz measured the average index of 7 cultural factors for 80 countries on a scale of 1-7. However, some researchers in the field of cross-cultural behavior have argued that using Schwartz's cultural index to measure national cultural distance to examine the relationship of this distance with consumer behavior will be more difficult than Hofstede's cultural index because Schwartz's index ranges from 1-7, so if used to determine national cultural distance, there will be a large overlap in the distance, so Schwartz's index has not been widely applied when studying the influence of national cultural distance on consumer behavior (Steenkamp, 2001; De Mooij & Hofstede, 2011, Juan et al., 2017).
2.2.3.3. Theory of measuring national cultural distance through individual assessment
(Self-Rating of National Cultural Distance)
The method of measuring national cultural distance through individual assessment was proposed by the group of authors Boyacigiller (1990); Rao and Schmidt (1998). This is a method of measuring national cultural distance through the viewpoint of the target group and the research topic (Boyacigiller, 1990). Based on the research topic, the authors will conduct an investigation into the perception of the research target group in country A about the cultural distance with country B and the influence of this perception on the attitudes and behaviors of the respondents (Boyacigiller, 1990, Rao and Schmidt, 1998).
Studies using the self-perception measurement of national cultural distance will investigate the subject's perception of national cultural distance by asking the question: "How do you perceive the cultural distance between your country and country A?". Previously, national cultural distance was explained as a concept used to indicate the degree of distance between national cultures. Then, a Likert scale selection table included the levels: (1) no distance,
(2) very close distance, (3) close distance, (4) medium distance, (5) far distance, (6) very far distance, (7) completely different were given to the respondents to choose from. Combined with the impact analysis from some demographic variables, the authors determined the perception of national cultural distance of the target group and studied the impact of this distance on the perception and behavior of that target group (Wan et al., 2003). This method has the limitation that each individual will understand national culture in a different way. Therefore, their perception of national cultural distance will also be different. Therefore, using the method of measuring national cultural distance through individual assessment in research on the impact of national cultural distance on international tourism perceptions and behaviors will also encounter difficulties when respondents do not have the same understanding of national cultural distance (Ng et al., 2009).
It can be seen that there are many methods to measure national cultural distance. Each method has certain advantages and limitations. This is consistent with the fact that it is difficult for any measurement to cover all the very large and complex contents of culture. In this thesis, the author uses Hofstede's theory of measuring national culture because, up to now, this is still one of the theories considered to be reasonable and used more when studying the influence of national cultural distance on consumer behavior in the international context (De Mooij, 2010; Juan et al., 2017).