Hall’s low- (LC) and high-context (HC) dichotomy
provides a simple two-category basis for grouping the
cultures of many different countries to help understand the
hidden codes in communication. In his framework, in LC
cultures, most of the information flowing between sender
and receiver is contained in the message itself. Consequently,
the message needs to be explicit and detailed
because each party will rely almost solely on the information
contained in the message itself. On the other hand, in an
HC culture, less explicit and detailed information is carried
in the message itself. Instead, the sender and receiver rely
more on the context of the communication process to
convey the message. Consequently, the human element
and personal relationships tend to play a much larger role
in communication in HC cultures. The cultural context (HC
vs. LC), therefore, may have an impact on how many
messages are sent between marketing channel partners to
achieve effective communication (frequency of communication)
as well as the type, or form, of the messages
themselves. Commonly cited examples of countries characterized
by LC cultures are the United States, Germany, and
Switzerland. Examples of countries with HC cultures
include Brazil, Japan, and Mexico (see Table 1).
Communication issues have been extensively researched
by business scholars and the link between culture and
communication has been reviewed [14], yet most efforts
addressing the importance of communication across cultures
have been primarily conceptual. It is accepted that it is an
important facet of marketing channels [15] and effective
communication in marketing channels is difficult enough to
achieve in domestic marketing channels where culture is
relatively homogeneous. Therefore, this paper addresses the
question, does greater cultural distance make even more of a
difference in how channel partners communicate in international
marketing channels?