A Comparison of Japanese and U.S.

Attitudes Toward Foreign Products

AKIRA NAGASHIMA

How are U.S. products per-ceived by foreign consumers?How do these product imagesaffect international marketingstrategies? What are the re-lationships between the "coun-try product" image and inter-national marketing strategies?These questions are of con-cern to all engaged in inter-national business. This studymeasures the cross-culturalimage of "made in . . ." prod-ucts as perceived by bothJapanese and U.S. business-men.

Journal of Marketino. Vol. 34 Ijanuary.1970). pp. 68-74.

THE IMPORTANCE of consumer attitudes toward productsand classes of products in determining purchase behavior is

well established. This concept can be usefully applied to productsmoving between national and international boundaries. Con-sumer attitudes toward the products of a particular nation areof major importance in determining international marketingstrategies.

This article reports the results of two studies conducted by theauthor. The first survey, conducted in 1965 among Minnesotabusinessmen, was aimed at measuring U.S. businessmen's attitudestoward products made in the U.S., Japan, England, Germany, andItaly.^ The second study, conducted in 1967, surveyed the attitudesof 100 prominent Tokyo businessmen along the same dimensionsfor the same countries, except that France replaced Italy.

Study ObjectiveFor the purpose of this discu.ssion, "image" means ideas, emo-

tional background, and connotation associated with a concept.Thus, the "made in" image is the picture, the reputation, thestereotype that busines.smen and consumers attach to products ofa .specific country. This image is created by such variables asrepresentative products, national characteristics, economic andpolitical background, history, and traditions. It has a stronginfluence on consumer behavior in the international market, as itis associated with mass communication, personal experience, andviews of national opinion leaders. Although the basic desires andneeds of people are similar throughout the world, the means ofsatisfying them differ widely. The critical issue for internationalmarketing is adjusting existing marketing strategies to the worldmarket by taking into account such factors as language, customs,living standards, religion, and tradition. Thus, it would appearlogical that cross-cultural image studies are worthy of seriousconsideration.

MethodologyThe semantic differential method developed by Charles Osgood

and modified by W. A. Mindak was employed in both surveys.''

1 Akira Nagashima, "Minnesota Businessmen's Image of Foreign MadeProducts by Semantic Differential Method," unpublished master'sthesis. University of Minnesota, 1965.

2 C. E. Osgood, G. J. Suci, and P. H. Tannenbaum, The Measurementof Meaning (Urbana, 111.: University of Illinois Press, 1957); C. E.Osgood, "The Nature and Measurement of Meaning," PsychologicalBulletin, Vol. 49 (May, 1952), pp. 197-262; and W. A. Mindak, "Fit-ting the Semantic Differential to the Marketing Problem," JOURNALOF MARKETING, Vol. 25 (April, 1961), pp. 28-33.

68

A Comparison of Japanese and US. Attitudes Toward Foreign Products 69

In addition to the simple one-word adjectives fromthe original 50 polar terms of Osgood. tailor-madedescriptive nouns and phrases recommended byMindak were used to give the method fiexibilityand appropriateness. Denotative and nonpolaroppositea were used to avoid the psychologicalhesitancy to check either extreme of the denotativepolar terms. Out of three pretests, 20 tailor-madeadjectives and phra.ses were selected as the basisfor both studies. The questions were carefullytranslated into Japanese so that the associativevalue of the English language was not lost in thetranslation.

A seven-point scale was used with each scaleposition arbitrarily weighted from -*-3 to —3:

G o o d : : : : : : : : Bad

The subjects were asked to complete the question-naire as rapidly as possible, answering according totheir first impressions. A profile was obtained bycalculating individual or group mean scores. Inorder to maintain a high comparative value for thestudy, all concepts were presented at one time. Theprincipal objective was to ascertain the discrimi-nation between concepts.^

The results would seem to indicate that thesemantic differential can be used cross-culturallyand cross-linguistically as a standard of measureagainst which the meaning of the same concepts fordifferently measured individuals could be com-pared.* For example, the respondents were askedto mark the seven-point scale for "reliable—unre-liable" according to the strength of impression ofthe "made in" concept for the test countries. Everyeffort was made to eliminate bias in the structuringof the questions. The answer to one question mighthave looked like this:Reliable Unreliable

U.S.A.

Japan

France

England

Germanv

X

X

X

X

X

The order of the concepts and the polar adjectivesand phrases were rotated to avoid any kind of haloeffect.

The United States study consisted of a random.sample of 230 Minnesota businessmen selectedfrom the Minne.sota Directory of Manufacturers.

3 W. A. Mindak, "Measuring Advertising Effectivenessfrom a Communication Point of View," unpublisheddoctoral dissertation. University of Illinois, 1955; and"The Credit Union Image," Credit Union Magazine,Vol. 28 (June, 1963), pp. 36-41.

•» H. Kumata and W. Schramm, "A Pilot Study ofCross-Cultural Meaning," Public Opinion Quarterly,Vol. XX (1956), pp. 229-238.

Seventy replies were received which formed thebasis for the study. It must be remembered, how-ever, that "regionality" may have weighted theanswers of the respondents. The Japanese studywas based on replies from 100 Tokyo businessmenselected from the Tokyo Directory of Companies.

Results of the Research

Made in US.A.The Japanese businessmen associated the label

"Made in U.S.A." with high cost. They perceivethis concept to be associated with heavy industryproduct.s. which connotes less reliable and lessmeticulously made products than does the label"Made in Germany" or "Made in England."Nevertheless. "Made in U.S.A." is a highly regardedlabel because of the engineering and marketingtechniques of the United States. It was ratedhighest in technical advancement, mass production,and worldwide distribution. The U.S. was ratedhigh in "inventive products." but not as high asGermany.

Japanese see a definite prestige value in owningU.S. products, even though they are not as highlyrated overall as are European products. Becauseof its out.standing marketing and advertising ac-tivities, the United States was .seen as having themost recognizable brands and the largest choice ofsizes and models, even surpassing the native Jap-ane.se products.

In regard to good use of color combinations,products from the United States are rated secondonly to those from France. They appeal stronglyto the younger generation and to the middle class,thus indicating that the United States is holdingits lead position in the growing sectors of themarket.

Made in JapanJapanese think of their own products as "inex-

pensive." "common." and "neces.sary." They tendto associate the label "Made in Japan" with carelessor poor workmanship. These products, however.

• ABOUT THE AUTHOR. Akira Naga-shima is the international account ex-ecutive for Daily & Associates. LosAngeles, and Far Eastern associatemember of Haug Associates. Inc.. LosAngeles. Previously, he was with Camp-bell-Ewald Co.. Detroit and Meiji Tsu-shinsha Co., Tokyo. Mr. Nagashima hasa BA from Waseda University and anMS in marketing from the Universityof Minnesota. Several of his articleshave been published in lapcm.

The author expresses sincere appreciation to Dr. R. I.HoUoway of the University of Minnesota for his guidance inthis study; to Mr. Yasoji Shimizu. president of Meiji TsushinshaCo.; and to Mr. Peter Dailey. president of Dailey & Associates,who gave their support in executing the studies reported inthe United States and in lapan.

70 Journal of Marketing, January, 1970

are believed to be as reasonably priced as Englishand German products.

The U.S. businessman thinks more highly ofJapanese products than does the Japanese. "Madein Japan" indicates "inexpensive," "technically ad-vanced." "mas.s-produced," and "worldwide dis-tributed." Businessmen from the United Statesand Japan agreed in their rating of the Japaneseimitativeness. The U.S. businessman is also im-pres.sed with the esthetic quality of the products.

The Japanese feel little pride in owning their ownproducts; they take much more pride in possessingboth U.S. and European products. Although ad-vertising for Japanese products is considered to beas heavy as for U.S. ones, there are relatively fewrecognizable Japanese brands. Choice of size andmodels is improving, which is a reflection of theincreasing demand for wider product .selection onthe part of the Japanese consumer. Japaneseproducts appeal to young people and to the majorityof the middle and lower class consumers.

Made in Germany

A product labeled "Made in Germany" seems toindicate to Japanese businessmen better economythan their own products. This is i)articularly truewhen the exclu.siveness and reliability which theyattribute to German products is considered. How-ever, U.S. busine.ssmen rank products labeled "Madein Germany" almost equal to U.S. products relativeto technical and engineering aspects. Germany isrecognized more as a heavy industry producer,operating on the mass-producing and internationaldistribution level. For the Japanese businessman,however, all European products are prestigious.

Although Germany does little advertising in theJapanese market, German brands are well known.Like Americans, Japane.se bu.sines.smen believeGerman manufacturers are more concerned withperformance than with outward appearance, andthat they pay little attention to color, size, andmodel variations. It is thought that German mar-keting efforts are directed more to the middle class,the older generation, and especially to men. SuchGerman marketing factors as advertising, distribu-tion, and variety were not rated highly by eithergroup of respondents.

U.S. businessmen ranked their own products first,but German good.s ran a strong .second. Japanesebusinessmen have a higher regard for products"Made in Germany" than they do for products"Made in U.S.A." They e.specially appreciate theproducts' reliability, reasonable price, and perform-ance factors.

Made in England

The Japanese respondents in this study regardedEnglish products as expensive and as luxury items,but at the .same time considered them very reliableand handmade in the old tradition of careful and

meticulous workman.ship. England ranks withGermany and France in prestige; brand names areknown in spite of very little advertising. TheBritish are judged as being inventive and techno-logically advanced, although not to the degree ofthe Americans and Germans.

From the Japanese point of view English manu-facturers, like their German counterparts, concernthemselves little with outward appearance andvariety of sizes and models. The U.S. businessmanrated English products as less esthetically appealingthan German ones. The British production tech-niques are considered to be geared to the oldergeneration and to men. Thus, the products carrythe image of being expensive and luxurious whichplaces them in the prestige market.

Made in FranceProducts "Made in France" are characterized as

exclusive, handmade, and luxurious, according toJapanese businessmen. This label is usually foundon products in the light rather than heavy industryfield. In fact, French products are considered to bethe most expensive—to the extent of being unrea-sonably priced—of all countries studied. At thesame time, however, French products are ratedlowest in regard to technical and engineering fac-tors. France has had little political or traditionalinfluence in Japan .so there is not much interest orfamiliarity with French products. This is reflectedin the lack of recognized brands, volume of advertis-ing and publicity, limited distribution, as comparedto brands "Made in U.S.A." and "Made in Ger-many." Yet despite this negative image, Frenchproducts, possibly due to scarcity, excessive cost,and a certain exotic appeal, have a surprisingly high-prestige rating among the Japanese. It is recog-nized that the French manufacturer attempts todevelop esthetic product characteristics and, as aresult, pays careful attention to outward appear-ances and clever use of color. Generally speaking,the "Made in France" label appeals to young people,to women, and to the upper class.

The results of the semantic differential profilesare summarized in Figure 1 and 2.

The Supplemental QuestionnaireIn addition to the semantic differential method

u.sed in the basic questionnaire, three additionalquestions were administered; an unaided reeallque.stion and two national image ones. Tables 1,2, and 3 outline the results of these questions.

Question 1 verifies the findings that representa-tive products of a country are associated with the"made in" concept of that country, showing this tobe one of the most important intervening variablesin this concept fsee Table 1).

Question 2 confirms the results on the stereotj^peimages of Japanese and U.S. busines.smen towardproducts of the various countries (see Table 2).

A Comparison of Japanese and US. Attitudes Toward Foragn Products 71

"Made in U.S.A."

"Made in Japan"

"Made in Germany"

Inexpensive

Reasonably priced

Reliable

Luxury items

Exclusive

Heavy industry product

Careful and meticulousworkmanship

Technically advanced

Mass produced

World wide distribution

Inventive

Pride of ownership

Much advertising

Recognizable brand names

Large choice of size &model

More concerned with outwardappearance

Qever use of color

More for young people

More for men

Upper class

"Made in England" • • • • • • • • •

PRICE & VALUE

"Made in France" - ^ .— ̂ —

•\ Expensive

Unreasonably priced

Unreliable

Necessary items

»—I 1 \ Common

SERVICE AND ENGINEERING

ADVERTISING AND REPUTATION

DESIGN AND STYLE

Light manufactured product

Not so careful andmeticulous workmanship

Technically backward

Hand made

Mostly domestic distribution

i Imitative

Not much pride of ownership

Little advertising

^ Unrecognizable brand names

Limited choice of size &model

More concerned with

I I

performance

J 1 Not clever use of color

CONSUMERS' PROFILE

I ^

1 More for old people

More for women

Lower classFIGURE 1. Profile of "Made In" concept by Japanese businessmen.

72 Journal of Marketing, January, 1970

"Made in U.S.A."

"Made in Japan"

"Made in Germany"

Inexpensive

Reasonably priced

Reliable

Luxury items

Exclusive

Heavy industry

Careful & meticulousworkmanship

Technically advanced

Mass produced

World wide distribution

Inventive

Pride of ownership

Much advertising

Recognizable brand names

Large choice of size &model

More concerned with outwardappearance

Qever use of color

More for young people

More for men

Upper class

"Made in England"

"Made in Italy"

PRICE & VALUE

SERVICE AND ENGINEERING

1 Expensive

Unreasonably priced

i Unreliable

Necessary items

\ Common

J Light manufactured product

Not so careful and meticulousworkmanship

Technically backward

\ Hand made

Mostly domestic distribution

J Imitative

ADVERTISING AND REPUTATION, Not much pride of ownership

DESIGN AND STYLE

Little advertising

Unrecognizable brand names

Limited choice of size &model

More concerned withperformance

Not clever use of color

CONSUMERS' PROFILE, More for old people

More for women

Lxjwer classFIGURE 2. Profile of Made In concept by U.S. businessmen.

A Comparison of Japanese and US. Attitudes Toward Foreign Products 73

TABLE 1

QUESTION # 1 . PLEASE LIST THE PRODUCT NAMES WHICH COME FIRST TOYOUR MIND WHEN YOU SEE THE FOLLOWING "MADE IN" NAMES

"Made In"Concept

U.S.A.

Japan

Germany

England

France

Italy

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.

1.2.3.4.

5.6.1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.

Products Associated

Japanese Businessm.en

AutomobileFoodsElectronic productsComputersCoca ColaMachineryAirplanes

CamerasElectronic productsTransistors (radios)WatchesShipbuildingToysPrecision machinesMotorcycles

AutomobilePrecision machineryRazorsMedical andpharmaceutical productsMachinery and toolsCameras and optical goods

ClothScotchAutomobileTextiles and woolensConfections

CosmeticsPerfumesDecorationsWineClothes and fashions

NOTIN

SURVEY

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.6.

1.2.3.4.

5.

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.

with Concept

US. Businessmen

AutomobileElectronic productsClothesTextile productsComputers

Electronic productsTransistors (radios)CamerasOptical goodsSilkTextiles

AutomobileMachinery and toolsElectronic productsCameras and optical products

Toys and sporting goods

AutomobileWoolens and textilesChina and silverwareWhiskeyLeather and leather goods

NOTIN

SURVEY

AutomobileShoes and leather goodsTypewriters and otheroffice machines

TABLE 2

QUESTION #2. SUPPOSING THAT MANY COUNTRIES HAD AN ITEM EQUAL INPRICE, QUALITY, AND STYLING, WHICH COUNTRY'S PRODUCT WOULD YOU SELECT?

"Made In"Concept

U.S.A.EnglandGermanyJapanFranceItalyCanadaSwitzerlandOthersDon't Know

U.S.*Consumers

1st

80%

4

3122

——8

—

2nd

—

27%23

393

16118

—

U.S.Businessmen

1st

93%

43000

——

—

2nd

—

30%

60334

__^_^^

—

JapaneseBusinessmen

1st

3%1421674

» .^_

^^

1

2nd

19%

14411781

^_

*Time Magazine survey, 1958, among 2600 U.S. Consumers, "Is Made in U.S.A. Passe?"

74 Journal of Marketing, January, 1970

TABLE 3

QUESTION # 3 . W H I C H COUNTRY DO YOU T H I N K PRO-

DUCES THE PRODUCT OF THE GREATEST VALUE W H E N ONE

CONSIDERS PRICE, QUALITY, DESIGN, SERVICE, Etc.?

Products

Automobile

ElectricalAppliances

Textiles

Cosmetics

Foods

Pharma-ceuticalProducts

CountryU.S.A.GermanyEnglandJapanOthersU.S.A.JapanGermanyOthersEnglandU.S.A.JapanFranceAustraliaOther.sFranceU.S.A.JapanU.S.A.JapanFranceOthersGermanyJapanU.S.A.Others

U.S.Business-

men

81.07r14.5

——

4.594.0 9̂

4.5—1.5

50.0 Vf43.0

———7.0

—

———

—

JapaneseBusiness-

men

54.0'7f25.013.0

5.03.0

40.0%48.010.02.0

59.0 9̂

27.06.04.04.0

81.0%10.09.0

44.0%39.0

6.011.068.0%18.012.02.0

Que.stion 3 explores concepts of the country whichproduces the best product. The ratings confirm thefindings that Japane.se businessmen rate the U.S. asthe best overall j)roducer of automobiles and foodproducts, and .second in electrical appliances. Theircounterparts in the United States also rate products"Made in U.S.A." as the best on automobiles andelectrical appliances, giving second place to U.S.textiles. For the Japanese, "Made in Japan" de-notes best electrical appliances and second besttextiles, pharmaceutical products, and foods (seeTable 3).

Summary

The "Made in U.S.A." designation is not regardedtoday a.s highly by Japane.se businessmen as U.S.businessmen seem to think. Only 3% of Japanesebusinessmen gave the U.S.A. label first choice. Yetthe Japane.se market is more highly saturated withproducts from the United States than from anyother foreign country. This would seem to indi-cate that aggressive marketing and advanced engi-neering overcomes many handicaps of a poor stereo-type image. Also, this low rating may be due inpart to the viewpoint commonly held in prewarJapan that the U.S. is a young, traditionlesscountry. It does appear, however, that the younger.

postwar Japanese generation has a stronger prefer-ence for U.S. products. This preference may bedue to world changes after World War II.

Japanese busine.s.smen associate "Made in U.S.A."with automobiles, food, electronic products, com-puters, machinery, and airplanes.

Japane.se businessmen do not regard "Made inJapan" as enthusiastically as U.S. businessmen re-gard "Made in U.S.A." Only 57^ cho.se their ownJapanese goods over foreign products. "Made inJapan" is associated with cameras, electronic prod-ucts, transistors, watches, and shipbuilding.

In the semantic profile and the stereotype image,"Made in Germany" appears to be appreciated mostof all foreign labels. This label was chosen by 21%of the Tokyo respondents, "everything being equal."

"Made in England" still carries the traditionalimage of excellence, and maintains a strong pres-tige value in Japan. This is not strongly held inthe United States.

Although the national stereotype image of "Madein France" was the poorest of the five countries, itstill has a unique prestige value in Japan.

In some factors of the semantic profile, such astechnical advancement and worldwide distribution,U.S. businessmen rated Japane.se products muchhigher than Japanese businessmen rated their OWTIproducts. This may be a refiection of the rapidgrowth of the Japanese economy and the success ofsome representative Japanese iiroducts. And, con-trary to the Japanese businessman, the U.S. busi-nes.sman rated his own products at a very highlevel. He believed "Made in U.S.A." denoted thebest in automobile and electrical appliance produc-tion ; he gave a strong second place to textiles,Pharmaceuticals, and food products. In fact, 93%of U.S. businessmen gave first place to "Made inU.S.A."

As with his Tokyo counterpart, the U.S. business-man rated "Made in Germany" as a sign of practi-cality, con.servatism. and masculinity. Such prod-ucts as Volkswagen and Leica, as well as Ger-many's national stereotype, might be responsiblefor this.

The "made in" image is naturally affected by thefamiliarity and availability of the country's product,and the stereotype of that country. Some repre-.sentative products of the country influence the totalproduct image. Such products as Coca Cola, Chev-rolet, Ford, IBM, and Sunkist, are forming theJapanese image of "Made in U.S.A." On the otherhand, such prominent Japanese products as Sony,Nikon, Toyota, and Honda are the driving force inchanging the image of "Made in Japan" in the U.S.market. Prejudice against Japanese products in theU.S. market is fading as a result of satisfactory con-sumer experience with Japanese products.