Nowadays companies are faced with the challenge to successfully place their services and service products in highly competitive local as well as global markets. Therefore this challenge also applies for service designers in established markets and for service design pioneers in emerging markets. With user experience and customer centered approaches becoming increasingly important business factors, proceeding globalization demands a better understanding of how cross-cultural differences shape the way services are used and how they are created.
New and emerging service markets like India and China rise the demand for internationally working service designers to incorporate cultural aspects in their process to stay competitive and to nurture and grow the service design sector in untouched markets. Examples from practice in Asia have shown that service providers as well as service users reject approaches which don’t resonate with their culture.
Cross-cultural tools, such as the cultural dimensions, are used by International Management for decades in order to allow efficient management of multicultural teams and organizations. Their main fields of application certainly lies in business, but in recent years they are also used by design disciplines. Since service design connects design and businesses, it seems to be predestined for a possible application of cultural dimensions.
Therefore one the main question of this research paper is whether methods from international management, cultural dimensions to be more specific, can be applied to service design and how internationally active service design providers have to adapt their process of service design to specific cultures.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – Introduction
1.1 – Culture in a Nutshell
1.2 – What is Service Design?
1.2.1 – Stakeholders
1.2.2 – Human Actors
Chapter 2 – Culture in Detail
2.1 – The Hofstede Model
2.1.1 – Hofstede’s Culture Theory
2.1.2 – Cultural Levels
2.1.3 – Depths of Culture
2.1.4 – Cultural Layers
2.2 – Fons Trompenaars’ & C. Hampden-Turner’s Model
2.2.1 – Trompenaars’ Cultural Theory
2.2.2 – Trompenaars’ Cultural Layers
2.2.3 – Levels of Culture
2.2.4 – Corporate Cultures
2.3 – Culture repeats itself
2.4 – Why Stereotypes are dangerous
2.5 – Cultural Competence by Cultural Dimensions
2.6 – Advantages of a Global Mindset
2.7 – Conclusion
Chapter 3 – Being Human in Service Design
3.1 – Human Interactions in Process Stages
3.1.1 – Research (Explore, Discover, Insights)
3.1.2 – Ideation (Define, Create, Concepts)
3.1.3 – Prototyping (Develop, Evaluate, Reflect, Builds)
3.1.4 – Implementation (Deliver, Transformation)
3.2 – Stakeholder Relations
3.3 – Co-Creation means Value-Creation
3.4 – Increase Value with Relations & Interactions
3.5 – Using Cultural adequate Management as Catalyst
3.6 – Conclusion
Chapter 4– Cultural Dimensions
4.1 – Hofstede‘s six Cultural Dimensions
4.1.1 – Low vs. High Power Distance (Power Distance Index, PDI)
4.1.2 – Individualism vs. Collectivism (IDV)
4.1.3 – Masculinity vs. Femininity (MAS)
4.1.4 – Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI)
4.1.5 – Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation (LTO)
4.1.6 – Indulgence vs. Restraint (IND)
4.2 – Trompenaars’ seven Cultural Dimensions
4.2.1 – Universalism vs. Particularism
4.2.2 – Individualism vs. Communitarianism
4.2.3 – Neutral vs. Affective
4.2.4 – Specific vs. Diffuse
4.2.5 – Achievement vs. Ascription
4.2.6 – Time Orientation: Past vs. Future & Sequential vs. Synchronic
4.2.7 – Human & Nature relation: Internal vs. External Control
4.3 – Critical Remarks on Cultural Dimension Models
4.4 – There is no Right nor Wrong
Chapter 5 – Cultural Dimensions in Service Design
5.1 – Cross-Cultural Feedback Structures
5.2 – Quantitative Research vs. Qualitative Research
5.3 – About Cultural Immersion
5.4 – Time to chose: Trompenaars or Hofstede?
5.5 – Merging both Models
5.6 – Applying Cultural Dimensions
5.6.1 – Universalism vs. Particularism in Service Design
5.6.2 – Individualism vs. Communitarianism in Service Design
5.6.3 – Neutral vs. Affective in Service Design
5.6.4 – Specific vs. Diffuse in Service Design
5.6.5 – Achievement vs. Ascription in Service Design
5.6.6 – Time-Orientation in Service Design
5.6.7 – Uncertainty Avoidance in Service Design
5.6.8 – Quantity of Life vs. Quality of Life in Service Design
Chapter 6 – Concluding Thoughts, further Development
Research Objectives and Themes
The research paper investigates whether methods from international management, specifically cultural dimension models, can be effectively applied to the field of service design, and explores how service designers operating in international environments should adapt their professional practices and processes to accommodate specific cultural contexts.
- Application of cultural dimension models (Hofstede and Trompenaars) in service design
- Management of human relations and interactions in diverse cross-cultural settings
- Development of a global mindset for internationally active service design professionals
- Balancing service design methodology with local cultural requirements and preferences
Excerpt from the Book
2.4 – Why Stereotypes are dangerous
When cultural inexperienced people work in nternational environments there are often two ways of handling cross-cultural encounters: Either one is not aware of or not interested in managing cultural differences or one just accepts the typical stereotypes »which everyone knows about« and assumes this would be enough to work with.
According to Trompenaars prejudices and stereotypical assumptions mostly start on the observable, explicit layer of culture. But each opinion we voice regarding explicit culture usually says more about where we come from, than about the community we are judging. People within a culture do not all have the same sets of artifacts, norms, values and assumptions. There is a wide spread of these, which often enough creates their own sub-cultures (similar to the levels of culture in Hofstede’s theory). Trompenaars describes this variation as normal distribution of cultural features. Each culture shows the total variation of its human components. By comparing these distributed cultures to each other, it becomes visible that – even though the average behaviors will be different in each culture – they have more or less similarities.
Cultures whose norms and values are not the same tend to use extremes when speaking about each other. This makes sense, because the surprising differences are rather more noticeable than the familiar similarities. This usage of exaggerated forms is called stereotyping and can be dangerous.
A stereotype is a very limited view of the average set of norms and values of a culture. It exaggerates the observed culture and the observer’s one and this exaggeration will push both sides away from each other. Another danger is equating something that is different with something that is wrong, so one might think »they do it different from us, so that cannot be right«.
Finally stereotyping ignores the fact that individuals of the same culture can be very different from the cultural norm in both directions and might be closer to the observer’s own culture, which might lead to eye-opening insights like »Hey that person is not so different to me after all« but more often denies that insight by making the intercultural communication quite difficult from the very beginning.
Summary of Chapters
Chapter 1 – Introduction: Defines the scope of the research and introduces the core definitions of culture and service design within an international context.
Chapter 2 – Culture in Detail: Examines cultural theories by Geert Hofstede and Fons Trompenaars, discussing their models of cultural layers and the risks associated with stereotyping.
Chapter 3 – Being Human in Service Design: Explores the human-centric aspects of service design, focusing on stakeholder relations, co-creation, and the importance of interpersonal management.
Chapter 4– Cultural Dimensions: Provides an in-depth analysis of the cultural dimension models developed by Hofstede and Trompenaars, including their specific categories and critical perspectives.
Chapter 5 – Cultural Dimensions in Service Design: Discusses the practical application of cultural dimension models in service design, including strategies for research, feedback, and process adaptation.
Chapter 6 – Concluding Thoughts, further Development: Summarizes the research findings and suggests future directions for integrating cross-cultural management insights into design practice.
Keywords
Service Design, Cultural Dimensions, Cross-Cultural Management, Hofstede, Trompenaars, Stakeholder Relations, Co-Creation, Intercultural Competence, Global Mindset, Cultural Immersion, Behavioral Tendencies, Human-Centered Design, Organizational Culture, Cultural Sensitivity, Stereotyping
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this work?
The work examines how service designers can utilize cultural management tools, specifically cultural dimension models, to adapt their processes when working in international environments.
What are the primary thematic areas?
The main themes include cultural theories, the application of these theories to service design methodology, managing stakeholder interactions, and developing sensitivity to different cultural norms.
What is the primary goal of the research?
The goal is to determine how methods from international management can be adapted for service design and to provide a framework for internationally active designers to handle cross-cultural differences.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The research relies on literature analysis of existing cultural models (Hofstede and Trompenaars) and in-depth qualitative interviews with international service design professionals.
What is covered in the main section of the document?
The main section details the cultural dimension models, discusses their strengths and limitations, and provides specific recommendations for applying these dimensions to service design stages like research, ideation, and implementation.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include Service Design, Cultural Dimensions, Cross-Cultural Management, Hofstede, Trompenaars, Co-Creation, and Cultural Competence.
How does the author propose to merge the models of Hofstede and Trompenaars?
The author suggests combining overlapping dimensions into unified categories where appropriate, while retaining the most practical dimensions for service design to simplify application without losing depth.
Why is "Cultural Immersion" considered important despite the use of dimension models?
The author argues that while dimension models provide a useful fast-track framework, they cannot replace the deep understanding gained through real-world experience, living in the culture, and conducting hands-on field research.
- Citation du texte
- Manuel Kniepe (Auteur), 2018, Cultural Impacts on Service Design, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/423526
