A Cross—cultural Analysis of Starbucks in America and Hong Kong

李麗枚

【Abstract】Starbucks coffee is widely spread worldwide. From the perspective of Halls High context and Low context culture and the perspective of Globalization and Glocalization， American Starbucks and Hong Kong Starbucks will be compared and the reasons of how Starbucks can also be successful in Hong Kong will be analyzed. After analysis， it can be concluded that there is no clear-cut in English-speaking culture.

【Key words】High context； Low context； globalization； glocalization

1. Introduction

Starbucks coffee is very popular and it symbolizes American culture in some extent. By comparing American Starbucks and Hong Kong Starbucks from the perspective of Halls High context and Low context culture and the perspective of globalization and glocalization， the author tries to find out the reasons why Starbucks coffee could be also successful in Hong Kong. The reason why chosen Hong Kong as the comparative target because it was colonized by the UK， and it was effected by the UK in terms of many aspects， including language. According to Kachrus model of English categorization， Hong Kong belongs to the outer circle， which English speaking as a second language， since the paper looks into English speaking culture from Starbucks coffee， Hong Kong will be the best choice to compare with America.

2. Culture and English-speaking culture

Edward and Mildred Hall （1990） have defined culture as communication， for without the ability to communicate within and across cultures， neither insiders nor outsiders can understand one another. Harry Triandis （1994） defined culture as a shared meaning system found among those who speak a particular language dialect， during a specific historic period， and in a definable geographic region. No matter from the definition of Edward and Mildred Hall or from Harry Triandis， language is an important aspect in Culture. With the globalization in the world， is it a clear-cut in English-speaking culture？ The paper will discuss this question through Starbucks Coffee Corporation.

3. Halls High context & Low context culture and Starbucks

3.1 High context and Low context

Hall （1976） proposed that cultures can be identified based on the messages the members in a given culture prefer to use， and he defined these as high context or low context communication. Culture cannot be categorized as exclusively high context or low context， but some cultures tend to be at the higher end while others are at the lower end of the continuum. According to Hall， America belongs to low context and China belongs to high context. Since Starbucks succeeded also in Hong Kong， does it also reflect the high context in some extent？

3.2 Analysis of Hong Kongs High context culture and American Low context culture through Starbucks

Starbucks changed the lifestyle of Americans and offered the working class a “third place” besides their home and place of work （Schultz and Yang 1998）. Starbucks entered Hong Kong market in May 2000 and it has influenced peoples diet and living habits a lot. According to Hall， in high context cultures， speakers have amount of information that is implied or shared. In this case， relationship is important and its culture tends to be collective. In contrast， for low context culture as America， it tends to be individual culture. Starbucks mission and its corporation culture meet American culture in the following ways： people who succeed in business in the United States are goal-oriented， concerned with individual achievement， and interested in the development of their own careers. In Starbucks， it is one person， one cup and one neighborhood at a time. They all called ‘partner because it is not a job but passion and everyone is equal. All these represent their individual identity. Instead， for Hong Kong where belongs to a high context culture， it tends to be collective culture. When they talk about to each other， they dont need to speak everything in detail because they share much information together， relationship for them is very important. Starbucks employees care much about their connection or relationship with their customers. They try to create a sweet place to make customers feel a sense of belonging which fit into Hong Kongs high context culture.

4. Globalization and Glocalization in Starbucks

Globalization is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of worldviews， products， ideas and other aspects of culture. People of the world are incorporated into a single world society. （Albrow， Martin & Elizabeth King， 1990）. Glocalization is the product or service adapts to each local characteristic or specific culture. According to Robertson （1997）， glocalization describe a new outcome of local conditions toward global pressures. For Starbucks， we all know that it is a typical globalized Corporation， which spread its business and culture to all around the world. Meanwhile， Starbucks reflects many glocalized characteristics during its spread.

Globalized characteristics include：

Globalization of management： Its management mode has made a great impact on Hong Kong Starbucks， which can be concluded in a single sentence： make it your own. Starbuckss way to stimulate staffs energy and enthusiasm spontaneously also be used in Hong Kong Starbucks.

Globalization of “The Space”： Starbucks tries to create “The Third Place” for people this concept also be reflected in Hong Kong Starbucks. It is a frequent meeting place for consumers and a place to spend time besides home and work.

Globalization of atmosphere and experience： Starbucks offers a wide and clean space， high coffee quality， good service， a pleasing decoration and design， enjoyable music， cozy surroundings and comfortable seating attract consumers. People can be immediately associated with a relaxed and intelligent experience. It is the cozy atmosphere that the brand presents that not only attracts people into the store， but also makes people linger and return more regularly.

Glocalized characteristics include：

Glocalization of food taste： Starbucks Hong Kong has successfully used the product differentiation strategy to attract customers to consume in retail chain stores. It allows customers to freely choose personalized coffee and drinks. The stores even provide soy milk and pineapple bread for consumers.

Glocalization of building style： Every Starbucks chain stores design in Hong Kong has been investigated in detail. The surrounding elements and culture will be taken into consideration. We can see the branch store in Mongkok has preserved local cultural elements of Chinese calligraphy graffiti and vintage decoration.

5. Conclusion

After analysis， it can be concluded that there are two reasons why Starbucks could be successful in Hong Kong. Firstly， Starbucks culture fits into Hong Kongs High context culture. Secondly， with the globalization， American culture influences Hong Kong peoples lifestyle， and they adapt to it time by time； Starbucks also adjusted its strategy in Hong Kong market， which we call ‘glocalization， such as they made some products which fit into Hong Kong peoples food taste and its store is also combined with the characteristic of local buildings.

References：

[1]Albrow，Martin and Elizabeth King（eds.）.（1990）.Globalization， Knowledge and Society.London：Sage.

[2]Edward T.Hall.（1976）.Beyond Culture.Garden City，N.Y.： Anchor Book.

[3]Edward T.Hall and Mildred Reed Hall.（1990）.Understanding Cultural Differences.Yarmouth，Me.：Intercultural Press.

[4]http：//www.starbucks.com.hk/about-us/our-company/mission-statement.

[5]Robertson，R.（1997）.“Comments on the “Global Triad” and“Globalisation”.Globalisation and Indigenous Culture，P.217-225.