文化差异视角下我国跨境电商面临的挑战及应对策略

论文总字数：33816字

摘 要

本文以文化差异的视角，分析我国跨境电商面临的挑战，并提出应对策略。在设计生产环节我国跨境电商缺少创新，缺少文化差异意识，没有定位目标消费人群的问题。此外还面临营销环节选择营销渠道和营销方式，商务谈判中文化差异带来冲突与误解，支付安全性和售后服务的差异性带来的挑战。最后提出三个策略：学习目标语言并提高文化意识、制定合理营销策略、加强政府管理来应对挑战。

关键词：文化差异；跨境电商；挑战；策略

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 3

3. The Challenges in Cross-border E-commerce from the Perspective of Cultural Differences 4

3.1Challenges in design and production 4

3.2 Challenges in network marketing 5

3.3 Challenges in negotiation 6

3.4 Challenges in payment 7

3.5 Challenges in after-sales service 8

4. The Strategies to Tackle Challenges in Cross-border E-commerce 9

4.1 Target language learning and cultural differences awareness 9

4.2 Market research and marketing strategy 11

4.3 Government administration 12

5. Conclusion 13

Works Cited 14

1. Introduction

With the rapid development of economic globalization and e-commerce, the cross-border e-commerce has emerged as a new mode of trade. The term cross-border e-commerce has come to refer to an international business activity which belongs to different trading entities, through which transactions are concluded, payments and settlements are made, and goods are delivered through cross-border logistics to complete transactions. The local stores and e-commerce websites are no longer keep up the demand of consumers, so e-commerce platforms started to import products from other countries and sell them on the websites. This trading mode makes products from different countries available to all the consumers, and has changed their living standards. While some producers also seized this opportunity, exporting their domestic products through e-commerce networks. In the cross-border e-commerce, barriers among nations has broken down, therefore nations joint together closer. Nevertheless, though inter-cultural communication has increased, traders might encounter a lot of problems and risks due to the cultural differences among nations.

As a global consuming power and manufacturing power, China has engaged in this global trend in the past few years. In 2018, our export volume of cross-border e-commerce has reach the peak at 16.4 trillion yuan, 1.1trillion larger than the figure of 2017. Moreover, the figure is expected to increase in the next few years. Besides, China"s cross-border e-commerce mainly focuses on export trade, account for more than 80% of the total trade volume of cross-border e-commerce since 2015. Many e-commerce giant developed their cross-border e-commerce platform, for example, Ali baba and JD. At the same time, some start-ups also emerged, y matou for example. Among these platforms, NetEase Koala, Tmall hk, VIPS and The Little Red Book dominated the market in 2018. Especially the NetEase Koala, who occupied the largest market share. However, like other participants in the cross-border e-commerce trade, China is also struggling to deal with cultural barriers, which originated from cultural differences.

The term culture is generally understood to mean "common psychological procedures" of people in the same environment. The reason why people from different groups, nations and areas have different psychological procedures and thinking pattern is that they are different in education, life experiences and societies. The definition of culture and cultural differences are proposed by Geert Hofstede, who is a famous doctor of Social Humanities.

He divides culture into five dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and collectivism and individualism, masculinity and femininity, as well as short-term and long-term orientation. But how do these cultural factors affect cross-border e-commerce is worth considering. For instance,consumers from individualistic country like America may have different preference for products compared with those who come from collectivist States like Japan. The former prefer personalized products, while the later may choose standardized products. In this case, it challenged cross-border e-commerce suppliers whether they are capable of adjusting their designing and marketing strategies according to different countries. In addition, the culture differences in cross-border e-commerce is not just national differences, it also comprises differences of business culture and corporate culture,which have great impact on cross-border e-commerce business. Besides, cross-border e-commerce is also not just open an online shop, which merely operated in the virtual world, the most of selling procedures are offline. If companies take different cultural factors in to consideration, the processes of transaction may go on smoothly, which means that some practical measures and strategies must be carried out.

In the former research done by others, the relationship between cross-cultural factors and business had been deeply discussed, but few of them look into the impact of cultural factors on cross-border e-commerce, which is equally sophisticate. Based on the current situation of cross-border e-commerce in China, the first step of this research is to investigate the cultural differences which existed in different process of cross-border e-commerce, such as designing, marketing, payment and after-sales service. Then challenges faced by cross-border e-commerce in china will be illustrated through certain cases. In the final step, the corresponding strategies will be established to cope with these challenges. The main purpose of this thesis is to raise the cultural differences awareness of Chinese cross-border e-commerce companies,and get rid of the adverse impact of cultural differences, thereby making their products more competitive in the global e-commerce market and boost the domestic economic growth.

2. Literature Review

Wealthy research can be found on the issue of challenges in cross-border e-commerce faced by companies in China. In this section, the brief review of studies will be given from different aspects of challenges in cross-border e-commerce, which developed by Li-jun Zhu, Audrey Guo, Xing-yu Jin, Qing Zho and Bai-xing Li .

On the basis of summarizing the connotation and characteristics of cross-border e-commerce, paper written by Li-jun Zhu mainly analyses the problems existing in the development of cross-border e-commerce in China from three aspects: imperfect logistics distribution support system, service quality of e-commerce platform to be improved and lack of e-commerce operation personnel. Finally, it puts forward optimizing the logistics distribution support system, actively improving the service quality of e-commerce platform and increasing the training of cross-border e operation personnel. In order to provide reference for promoting the high quality development of cross-border e-commerce in China, specific countermeasures such as transportation intensity are put forward.

Audrey Guo, who believes that policy and regulation play an important role in cross-border e-commerce. Everyone engaged in some illegal transaction in cross-border e-commerce would be punished. Furthermore, it includes not only domestic e-commerce policies and regulations, but also differences in policies and regulations among countries. According to the practice, many companies broke the law because they failed to respect and protect the intellectual property rights. He also found that both ends of transaction have complex characteristics which increase the difficulty of carrying out the intellectual property verification.

In Xing-yu Jin’s passage International Logistics problems under the High-speed Development of Cross-border E-commerce in China, she holds the view that the development of cross-border logistics lags behind, which to some extent restricts the healthy development of cross-border e-commerce. How to establish an efficient international logistics system that matches the development of the industry has become a problem to be solved. By analyzing the opportunities and challenges of cross-border e-commerce development to international logistics, this paper helps to establish an efficient, high-quality and low-cost international logistics system for cross-border e-commerce.

In the passage named The opportunities and challenges of the Belt and Road Initiative for cross-border e-commerce written by Qing Zho claimed that laws and regulations, financial integration, logistics, etc., are not perfect which create a bottleneck in the development. The "Belt and Road Initiative" cooperation countries and regions, but also some of the laws and regulations are not sound. The uncertainty of participants" credit has become a shackle in the development of cross-border power companies because of the virtual and open-play of the network.

The paper written by Bai-xing Li studies the opportunities and challenges of the development of cross-border e-commerce in China under the new situation. In recent years, the proportion of cross-border e-commerce transactions to the total value of imports and exports has increased year by year. With the continuous changes in computer technology and the upgrading of big data"s technology, cross-border e-commerce should build platforms, improve the logistics system, establish market supervision mechanisms, and raise the level of cross-border payments, so as to fundamentally adapt to the changes in the international situation.

3. The Challenges in Cross-border E-commerce from the Perspective of Cultural Differences

There are many modes of cross-border e-commerce, among which B2B(Business-to-Business) and B2C(Business-to-Consumer) dominant the market. While in China, it’s mainly export trade of B2B. It involves many processes, for example, design, selecting products, negotiation, pricing, marketing, logistics, payment, and after-sales service.

3.1Challenges in design and production

In the stage of design and production, cultural differences revealed in many aspects, materials, texture, function, package etc. The most crucial thing in this step is market positioning, which means to find the target consumers. But some manufacturers in China skip this step and just imitate best sellers in the market, they copied the function and style of these best sellers with the changed appearance and package . In fact, this behavior is illegal and regarded as piracy in other cultures, where articles about intellectual property rights of products are clearly stated. The consequence is that they may be accused by intellectual property rights owners and excluded their counterfeits. Besides, there are too many similar products in the market, though cross-border e-commerce flourished and countless industries sell their products. These sellers overlooked cultural differences and different demands of consumers, only care about current interests and have a short-term goal.

The main problem of this stage is the lack of innovation and the awareness of cultural differences. It’s a challenging work to find out the demand of target consumers, which is a crucial step. For example, some Europeans prefer products made of environmental friendly materials, and they have high standards for the quality of products rather than the price. In contrast, people in less developed countries may show their interest in affordable products with cheaper price. In order to meet this demand, companies should make sure their products and packages are made of environmental friendly materials. There are different needs of consumers because of their differences in values and consumption habits. One successful case in cross-border e-commerce transaction of identifying the cultural differences is that wigs made in china become the best seller in America and Kenya. Many Chinese wig factories sold their wigs through cross-border e-commerce platforms and gain a large profit for they found the huge potential market among Africans, who are found of wearing wigs. That is because of the special nature of their hair, which grows slowly, and becomes curly once growing longer. The texture of their hair is thin, dry and brittle due to the climate and location, so wigs are necessary and very common in their lives.

3.2 Challenges in network marketing

Traditional marketing is promoting products by TV, radio, newspaper, while network marketing is the marketing activities carried out by the Internet, in order to promote products and boost sales. And network marketing is usually carried out through search engines, platforms and social media. Network marketing has many benefits on a cross-border e-commerce company in several aspects. It has much significance in promoting a company"s popularity and diffusing its culture. Network marketing could also save money and time, compared with promotions in the real world, which is relatively time-consuming and need more workforce.

So in cross-border e-commerce, companies should choose appropriate methods and channels, otherwise the marketing results may be not satisfactory. It’s a great challenge for companies to figure out ways that their target consumers used to acquire information of products, which vary in different countries. In China, people tend to look for information and user experience within the platforms like the Little red book, or in same social medias like weibo if they are interested in one product or a type of product. However, people in western countries may prefer to search product information through search engines like Google before purchase. While social medias like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are also popular in recent years, where many online celebrities are paid to promote products. The differences in ways of searching products information before shopping make it difficult for companies to choose efficient marketing strategy.

Beyond that, adjusting the form of network marketing according to different cultures are also a challenging task for Chinese companies. In the process of network marketing, website design, advertising language, the layout of products should be carefully organized, otherwise cultural risks may arise. For example, the appropriate font can greatly improve the experience of visitors. In China, most people use Times New Roman font when they type English, while the British and Americans prefer Tahoma and Trebuchet MS, which is actually adopted on foreign trade websites.

3.3 Challenges in negotiation

Business negotiation is a method to facilitate transactions or resolve disputes between two parts, thereby obtaining their own interests. In cross-border e-commerce, it’s generally carried out between sellers and suppliers to negotiate the commodity price, sellers also use it to gain the authorization from brand traders and large retailers. Negotiators of different cultural backgrounds may have different styles of negotiation, so misunderstanding and conflicts may arise if culture elements are not well evaluated. The communication styles are determined by various cultural factors, such as value, concept of time, ways of thinking and body language.

In terms of value, in collectivism countries, interpersonal relationships are more important than personal interests and consensus are emphasized. On the contrary, self-interests and individual value are emphasized in individualism countries. And ways of thinking also differ among nations. In Chinese thinking pattern, things go from general to specific, from large to small. So Chinese negotiators may work on an general agreement first, then go through the specific conditions or problems. While American counterparts may attach greater importance to details, which means that they may discuss details at the very beginning stage.

The concept of time is another factor that affect the negotiation process. Generally, American negotiators may go into the issue directly without chit chat at first, which is because that they focus on progress and efficiency of negotiations. While Chinese negotiators may feel stressed in this way and they prefer traditional negotiation methods to establish a harmony interpersonal relationship and an easy atmosphere.

Negotiators from different cultures have distinct communication styles which are broadly divided into two types, the direct communication style and the indirect communication style. Negotiators from Japan and China, who have a indirect communication style, may express their ideas indirectly and ambiguously lest conflicts occur in the negotiation. In contrast, American negotiators may adopt direct and simple method in the discussion.

Overall, conflicts and disagreement may occur on details of contracts due to cultural differences, which will hinder the development of negotiation and have negative impacts on both sides.

3.4 Challenges in payment

Online payment is an indispensable part in cross-border e-commerce transaction. The emergence of third-party payment enhance the mutual trust between buyers and sellers, and do good to the development of cross-border e-commerce, therefore increasing the total trade volume. Nevertheless, the biggest problem in this stage is the overseas fraud. About a third of businesses worry about the security of payment systems, fearing of being cheated by fraud during the payment. A quarter of businesses believe that the risk of refusing to pay by overseas buyers in the future will increase dramatically. These concerns are all deter consumers from buying products on cross-border e-commerce platforms and suppliers from exporting products to foreign sellers. For example, only 35% of Internet users in Saudi Arabia and 55% of Internet users in the United Arab Emirates consume online. Because Middle Eastern consumers are generally worried about transaction fraud and data security, and the vulnerable payment system in the Middle East is another concern.

In addition, dealing with different payment habits in different regions is an inevitable challenge for cross-border e-commerce companies. In some countries, third party payment platform, such as PayPal, Ali-pay, We-chat payment are widely adopted. In North America,which is the most developed online shopping market in the world, consumers in North America are familiar with various advanced electronic payment methods, such as online payment, telephone payment, e-mail payment and other payment methods. And in the United States, credit cards are one of the most commonly used online payment methods. For consumers in Australia, Singapore and South Africa, the most common electronic payment methods are Visa and MasterCard, and they are also use Paypal electronic accounts for payment. While in Australia and South Africa, online payment habits are similar to those in the United States, where credit cards are used more frequently, and Paypal is also common. While consumers in Middle East prefer cash on delivery for online consumption. In Middle East culture, women dare not open doors for strangers if there is no male at home, so products may not be delivered because no payment was made.

3.5 Challenges in after-sales service

A comprehensive after-service system is a key for corporations to boosting sales. It could reduce after-sales disputes, handling consumer complaints, remedying business errors through perfect after-sales service, so as to protect the rights and interests of consumers, and reduce after-sales disputes caused by product quality and other issues effectively. Furthermore, a perfect after-service system makes a company more competitive in the cross-border e-commerce market, and highlight the advantage of enterprises, thereby creating a positive corporate image. In the market full of fierce competition, with the improvement of consumers" awareness of rights protection and the change of their consumption concepts, consumers not only pay attention to the products themselves, but also willing to choose those companies with high-quality after-sales service among similar products. So high-quality after-sales service is conducive to maintaining customers and developing loyal customers, so as to realize the re-sale of products. However, customers from different cultures may hold different attitudes towards after-sales service. When making a decision to buy certain product, people from less-developed countries have more concern about the price rather than the quality of after-sales service. On the contrary, consumers who live a fast-paced life may care more about the the quality of , because they do not willing to waste time on after-sales service issues.

The quality of after-sales service are mainly decided by customer service mode, management of returning goods, negative feedback, technology support and product maintenance. People from different culture may act differently if they find product problems. In individualism culture, people have very high standards on honesty, so they will make a complaint or even give a negative feedback on the website if the quality of products are found to be not in conformity with the order. While some Chinese after-sales consumer service may remain silent to admit mistakes, which is regarded as the indifference about the complaints. It’s essential for Chinese companies to contact with consumers admit mistakes promptly and propose solutions once conflicts and disputes occur.

4. The Strategies to Tackle Challenges in Cross-border E-commerce

Finishing identifying challenges which Chinese companies may encounter in cross-border e-commerce transaction, the corresponding solutions and strategies should be proposed to tackle challenges brought by cultural differences which might hinder the transaction.

4.1 Target language learning and cultural differences awareness

"Nothing more clearly distinguishes one culture from another than its language" (Samovar, Porter and Stefani 125). Language is the symbol and carrier of one culture, which conveys a nation"s unique traditional culture, way of thinking, social psychology, national customs, and values. Communication seems to be a mirror which reflects the individuals" perception. "Language expresses cultural reality." (Claire 3) As the most distinctive factor among cultural differences, acquiring languages of different countries or groups is the key to overcoming cultural barriers in the cross-border e-commerce. Target languages are used in every process of the international transaction, the usage and design of the website, translation of product information, negotiation, payment, marketing and after-sale service are all need verbal skills. So it’s imperative for border e-commerce companies to recruit people with excellent language skills, not just English, Japanese, French, but also some minority languages, such as Russian, Spanish, Portuguese which are widely used in Africa and south America.

However, having great language skills are not enough in the complicated global transaction, the awareness of cultural difference is another crucial elements in avoiding misunderstanding and conflicts, and facilitating different processes of trade carried out smoothly. Raising the awareness of cultural difference could be achieved by understanding different cultures on five dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and collectivism and individualism, masculinity and femininity, as well as short-term and long-term orientation. Power distance refers to the degree of centralization of power and authoritarianism of leadership. It represent the level of unequal distribution of rights that people can accept. In daily lives, Power distance reflected in the equality between people, the rights between leaders and subordinates, the wage gap and so on. Uncertainty avoidance refers to people have different attitudes when facing uncertainty. Collectivism and individualism refers to the relationships between social members, the former focus on interests of one group while the later stress individual interests. Masculinity and femininity refers to social status of male who represent the masculinity and female who stand for femininity. The last dimension short-term and long-term orientation means people look at the future in different ways . People from a short-term orientation culture may focus on the current freedom and goals, but those from long-term orientation culture tend to set up long-term goals and pursue interests in the future.

4.2 Market research and marketing strategy

Doing market research is a necessary step before establishing marketing strategy, which aims to locate the target market. In this step, companies should select target market according to its own supply channel and features of product, and analyze the cultural background, consumption habits, demands and preference of the target market. Meanwhile, the market research also makes a ground for positioning corporation image, pricing and making specific marketing strategy. The results of market research need to be revealed on the website through passages and pictures, which demonstrate the deep understanding of consumer demands and raise their interest.

The second step is to update and innovate their products, but companies should always focus on product quality. Products made in China are labeled to be bad quality, cheap, and full of counterfeit, so cross-border e-commerce companies need to improve the product quality and gain the credibility. Companies also need to improve their legal awareness, learn the relevant regulations and laws, in order to avoid breaching laws or being complaint.

Relying on the trade environment and supporting policies created by the state, companies should seize the opportunity and make steady progress, seeking for sustainable and steady development of Cross-border E-commerce. From an economic phenomenon to a business model, cross-border e-commerce has become a new mode of international trade in which cross-border trade e platform, cross-border logistics and cross-border payment are used to carry out import and export trade. Its trade chain is flattened, which reduces the intermediate links and improves the profit margin of R-B-Lan industry. According to the precise characteristics of large data, it can more intelligently develop, design, produce, manufacture and marketing; the globalization of the Internet of things helps to integrate global resources and deepen international division of labor and cooperation, all of which become the driving force for the development of cross-border e-commerce.

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