advertising and cultural china: challenges and opportunities in asia

Katherine T. Frith and James Tsao

Katherine T. FrithJames Tsao

Advertising and Cultural ChinaChallenges and Opportunities in Asia

This article presents the emergence of Cultural China as a productof global change in the post cold war world—an example of a newclass of affiliation based on ethnic identity rather than nationality.It discusses some of the defining aspects to the formation of CulturalChina and the implications they hold for advertising strategies targetingthis supranational group. It also highlights some of the potentialreciprocal effects the application of unified marketing strategies couldhave for the region and the rest of the world.

'China is not just another nation-state in the family ofnations, China is a civilization pretending to be a state.'

(Pye, 1990: 58)

• End of the Cold War—Reframing of the World

As the 20th Century draws to a close, the outlines of a newworld seem to be emerging. It has been argued (Drucker,1993; Naisbitt, 1996; Kotkin, 1992) that the importance of

the political formulations that shaped the Cold War world,including nation-states, are receding and new formulations ornetworks based on supranational cultural-ethnic entities arebecoming increasingly important. Both Naisbitt (1996) and Kotkin(1992) argue that in the 21st Century the fading of military forceas the prime element in determining economic position willnaturally reduce the traditional power of the nation-state structure.They suggest that, in the future, affiliations based on race, religion,and ethnic identity will determine success in the new global order.

In terms of Asia, the entity most powerfully positioned for

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Asian Journal of Communication, Volume Eight Number Two 1998

future economic expansion is the universe known as 'GreaterChina'. In this essay, the authors attempt to discuss the factorsthat have helped shape the formation of Greater China and toexplain the role advertising may play in this emerging centre. Thisstudy is significant because for the first time, we are examiningthe role that media, and particularly advertising, play in theshaping of this new geopolitical cultural-ethnic entity. Previousdiscussions of Greater China (Myers and Puchala, 1994; Baldinger,1992; Tu, 1991) have described it from either an economic or acultural perspective. This study offers a conceptual model forunderstanding the emergence of Greater China from a multi-dimensional point of view.

• The Concept of Greater China—Varying Definitions

D Geographic Aspects

Myers and Puchala (1994) and Baldinger (1992) define GreaterChina geographically to mean the emerging community composedof mainland China, particularly the southern coastal provinces ofGuangdong and Fujian, plus the island of Taiwan and the city ofHong Kong. This definition is based on the increasing economicinterdependence between China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan that hasbeen growing rapidly over the past few decades. China suppliescheap, abundant labour and Hong Kong and Taiwan provide thevalue-added services such as packaging and distribution for thisburgeoning economy (Baldinger, 1992). Hong Kong is generallyseen as the crossroads of Greater China (Crane, 1995).

• Cultural Aspects

A second way of looking at Greater China is through the lens ofculture. 'Cultural China' can be defined as a community whichshares a common written language, Chinese ethnicity and lifestyle,family ties, lingering and underlying Confucian social norms, anda Chinese self-identity. Tu Weiming (1991) has included in hisdefinition of Cultural China, three symbolic universes. The first,consists of the inhabitants of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, andSingapore, the societies with predominately Chinese populations.

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{Catherine T. Frith and fames Tsao

The second symbolic universe consists of the communities ofethnic Chinese scattered throughout Asia and around the world.Estimated to number between twenty and fifty million, theseChinese are often referred to as the 'overseas Chinese' or theChinese diaspora, meaning 'those who have settled in scatteredcommunities...far from their ancestral homeland' (Tu, 1991: 13).To a large extent the glue that ties these first two universestogether is a set of shared cultural values that transcendgeopolitical boundaries. As Tu points out, 'Chinese culture, thegeneric term symbolizing the vicissitudes of the material andspiritual accomplishments of the Chinese people' unites thissymbolic region.

Tu's third symbolic universe consists of those individuals,scholars, journalists, writers, and entrepreneurs who try tounderstand China intellectually and bring this understanding backto their own linguistic communities. This universe has'expandedlargely as a result of China's open door policy that began in the1970's. Since that time, ties between the various parts of GreaterChina have grown dramatically through the exchanges ofjournalists (Liu, 1998), academic research and exchange (Chang,1998), art exhibits (Lin, 1997), the growth of regional advertising(Hu, 1998), and growth of regional media and regional televisionprogramming.

D Economic Aspects

While the Japanese economy has suffered severe setbacks in thepast few years, it continues to be the dominant economy in theregion. However, a Chinese-based economy is rapidly emerging inAsia. This informal economic network,

...contains substantial amounts of technology andmanufacturing capability (Taiwan), outstanding entre-preneurial, marketing, and service acumen (Hong Kong),a fine communications network (Singapore), a tremendouspool of financial capital (the Overseas Chinese) and verylarge endowments of land, resources and labour (mainlandChina).

(Weidenbaum, 1993a: 72)

The interconnectedness of the various Chinese societies beganin 1978 with China's open-door policy which was a period of

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economic reform coupled with a rejection of Maoist ideas (Crane,1995). Hong Kong was the first to take advantage of the mainland'snew policy. Special Economic Zones (SEZ) were created inGuangdong and Fijian provinces and into these SEZs, overseasinvestors poured capital. Hong Kong's laissez-faire commercialpolicies allowed trade to move easily in and out of the mainlandand thus, Hong Kong became both the major centre for trade withChina and China's leading investor—a position it has held for thelast 15 years (Crane, 1995).

Because restrictions on trade across the Taiwan Straits have beenrelaxed only recently, investors and traders from Taiwan could notmove directly into the mainland markets. The restrictions beganto ease in the mid 1980's when travel to the mainland waspermitted. In 1978, two-way Taiwan-mainland trade totaled onlyabout $47 million, but by 1997, trade figures had reached $9.24billion (Crane, 1995; Shen, 1997).

The economy of Greater China differs from more officialeconomies of the world in that it consists of midsize, family-runbusinesses rather than the huge multinational corporations thatpredominate in Japan, Europe, and the United States. In thiseconomy, trade and commerce travel through formal and informalnetworks, 'These transnational networks seem to be the naturalaccompaniment of the Chinese trading tradition' (Weidenbaum,1993a: 73). The organizations within this network are charac-terized by a relative efficiency in operations; informal agreementsand transactions based on family or clan affiliation; and a flexibilitythat allows these firms to be responsive to changes in theenvironment. The fact that Taiwan's economy has been leasteffected by the recent economic meltdown is perfect testimony tothis argument (Seth, 1997). Therefore, at a macroeconomic level,Greater China has the potential to be an economic superpower.With its combined gross domestic product now approaching $1trillion per year it is the world leader in terms of economic growth(Weidenbaum, 1993b).

• Historical Aspects

The migration of the mainland Chinese to other parts of Asia hasbeen going on for millennia. For centuries merchant ships traversedthe South China Seas and small groups of Chinese migrated toforeign communities in Southeast Asia, like those of Penang and

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Katherine T. Frith and fames Tsao

Malacca in Malaysia and Cirebon in Indonesia. But the largestmigrations from China occurred during the nineteenth and earlytwentieth centuries. The Treaty of Nanking in 1842, under whichHong Kong was ceded to the British, contributed to a flood ofChinese leaving the mainland. Most of those who left came fromthe coastal provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, and Hainan. Anotherwave of migration occurred following the Communist takeover in1949 when thousands fled the mainland.

Often these immigrants encountered hostility in their new lands.One system that helped them to survive was the establishment ofmutual help societies, or gongsi. These gongsi were usually basedon kinship, clan or speech group affiliation. Members pooled theirresources of capital and labour. The Gongsi helped new arrivalsin getting settled, offered a way in which contacts and informationcould be exchanged, and acted as banks though which money couldbe borrowed. While some of these organizations eventuallydeteriorated into secret societies, the concept behind the mutualhelp societies is the basis upon which the overseas Chinesebusiness networks of today are modeled.

Originally, the Chinese term for the Overseas Chinese washuaqiao which referred to Chinese sojourners—those Chinesesubjects or nationals temporarily residing abroad. More recentlyhowever, the term huaren meaning everyone of Chinese descent isbeing used to describe the population of Greater China. As TuWeiming notes, 'Huaren is not geopolitically centered for itindicates a common ancestry and a shared cultural background...'(1991: 22).

Spread among sixty nations of the world, it is estimated thatmore than 90 per cent of the 50 million Overseas Chinese are nownaturalized citizens of their adopted countries and that only abouttwo million have kept their Chinese nationality (Naisbitt, 1996).

The Overseas Chinese in Southeast AsiaAccording to some estimates, Chinese-run companies in Thailand,Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines have been estimated tomake up about 70 per cent of the private sector in these nations(Weidenbaum, 1993b). While the recent economic crisis hasconsiderably altered the wealth of the region, the ethnic Chinesewere estimated to account for about 10 per cent of the populationof Thailand and nine of the 10 largest business groups. InIndonesia about four per cent of the population is Chinese and thisgroup was estimated to control about 73 per cent of the Indonesian

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economy prior to the economic collapse. In Indonesia all of the10 largest business groups were owned by local Chineseentrepreneurs (Weidenbaum, 1993b). Unfortunately, during therecent economic meltdown, this fact caused a serious backlashagainst the smaller ethnic Chinese businesses.

In Singapore 81 per cent of the economy is controlled by Chinesebusinessmen (Naisbitt, 1996). While Malaysia has mandatedaffirmative action programmes to spread the wealth throughout thethree racial groups in this country, nonetheless, Naisbitt assertsthat the Chinese still control about 61 per cent of the economy.

In a recent book, Overseas Chinese Business Networks in Asia,published by the East Asia Analytic Unit in Canberra, Australiathe researchers note that:

• The overseas Chinese are among the most dynamic businesspeople in Asia. Making up about six per cent of the populationin Southeast Asia, they control more than 70 per cent of theregion's corporate wealth.

• The overseas Chinese account for 86 per cent of the region'sknown billionaires.

And all the figures listed above account only for the declaredwealth of publicly listed companies and individuals. The additionalsmall and medium-size enterprises that together may constituteas much as 96 per cent of all companies in the Asia-Pacific regionare not included. Naisbitt (1996) asserts that the Chinese own 90per cent of these companies.

Before the recent economic meltdown in Asia, the OverseasChinese were estimated to control between $2 trillion and $3trillion in assets. Naisbitt (1996: 20) estimated that 'the economyof the borderless Overseas Chinese is the third largest in theworld'. Investments by the Overseas Chinese account for as muchas 70 to 80 per cent of China's total foreign direct investment(Tefft, 1994: 11). Through their investments, the Overseas Chinesehave propelled China's economic revolution.

D Political Aspects

Greater China Does Not Exist in Political TermsWhile it is clear to many that China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan arebecoming increasingly economically interdependent and thatGreater China has become a de facto economic force of global

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significance, the political disharmony between the partnerscontinues to hinder the institutionalization of these ties into aformal economic organization like the European Union or theNorth American Free Trade Area. In fact, as Bouteiller (1995)points out, in political terms, Greater China does not exist.

The political ties between mainland China and the rest of theChinese trading area range from loose to nonexistent. As oneauthor notes:

'Greater China can be defined as an economic area withgrowing mutual integration of trade and investment flows.This integration is not led by a bureaucracy but bybusinessmen, sometimes against the governments' will.'

(Bouteiller, 1995: 56)

The organic character of Greater China stands in contrast to thefragmentation of the political situation. There is no centralcoordination for this economic growth, no planning forinfrastructure or communication and, as such, the looselyarticulated economic entity known as Greater China is unique fromother world structures that are defined by politics and geography.

The concept of Greater China is not an altogether welcome ideain many circles: Beijing does not recognize it because it alreadyconsiders all the main components of Greater China to be part ofthe national territory; and the Taiwan government also dislikes theconcept because of its implication for expansionism by China andthe potential consequences of this for their internal politicalsituation (Wang Gungwu, 1995).

The idea of becoming part of 'Greater China' is anathema tomany of the governments in Southeast Asia where various, andoften violent means, have been used in the past to reduce theinfluence of the Chinese in these countries. Singapore provides aninteresting illustration of the dichotomy between Chinese cultureand the political interests of some of the states that are overlaidby Greater China: Geopolitically isolated from mainland China,Singapore has positioned itself as a haven of multiculturalism, inspite of its demographics. While Singapore has systematicallyerased much of the evidence of its cultural origins (few shophousesremain on its splendid boulevards) its strength as a trading nationrests firmly on the value system that it shares with the rest ofGreater China. So, in fact, the concept of Greater China is aneconomic reality that is growing without much political support.

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Sociological Aspects—The Role of Cultural ValuesWhile political scientists and even economists might find it hardto concretize a symbolic universe, those in advertising would haveno trouble. Advertisers routinely divide up universes of consumersinto lifestyle and value segments that often transcend geographicand political boundaries. The universes of Cultural China are heldtogether by a set of lifestyles and values, 'such as strong ethnicidentity, a belief in self-help, hard work, thrift, education and thefamily', (Kotkin, 1992: 9) that transcend national boundaries andbond the inhabitants of Greater China into a 'global tribe'.

Kotkin predicts that as the conventional barriers between nation-states become less meaningful under the increasing weight ofglobal economic formations, we will see the evolution of businessand cultural networks that will increasingly shape our globaleconomic destiny. These supranational cultural-ethnic entities orglobal tribes share three crucial characteristics:

1. A strong ethnic identity and sense of mutualdependence that helps the group adjust to changesin the global economic and political order withoutlosing its essential unity.

2. A global network based on mutual trust that allowsthe tribe to function collectively beyond the confinesof national or regional borders.

3. A passion for technical and other knowledge fromall possible sources, combined with an essential open-mindedness that fosters rapid cultural and scientificdevelopment critical for success in the current workeconomy.

(Kotkin, 1993: 5)

He asserts that ethnicity will be the 'defining factor in theevolution of the global economy' and he defines five global tribes—all of which serve to powerfully illustrate his points. They are theJews, the Japanese, the British/Americans, the Chinese and theIndians. While these groups are not alone in displaying tribal traits,he uses them as prototypes to develop his theory. In the case ofthe Chinese, he believes that by the early twenty-first century, theChinese global tribe likely will rank with the British-Americans andthe Japanese as a driving force in transnational commerce (Kotkin,1992: 9).

Various authors have described the underlying cultural valuesthat hold the peoples of Cultural China together. Briefly outlined

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these include:

Hard Work and ThriftHard work and thrift are the hallmarks of the Chinese. They worklong hours, often six days each week and rarely take holidays. Likemost Asians they save a high proportion of their earnings, 'Asiancountries have high savings rates, averaging around 30 per cent(Naisbitt, 1996: 113).

The Centrality of the FamilyAmong the ethnic Chinese, family is a central theme that runsthrough most aspects of business and everyday life, 'the family...istreated as the main source of economic support, educationalassistance, social connections, cultural heritage, and recreationalgathering (Tsao, 1996: 185). Filial piety, the core value of familism,means that sons assume financial support for their parents in theirold age and that mutual assistance is expected among siblings(Wong Siu-lun, 1995: 143).

PatriarchyWealth moves from father to son in Chinese families. In business,'the boss' is almost always the father or a father figure who playsthe role of paternalistic owner and manager. In any Chineseorganization it is the role of the patriarch to maintain harmonious,considerate relationships with the employees and define clear-cuttasks for each member of the group (Bond, 1986).

HierarchyConfucianism creates a well-ordered society from the ground-uprather than the top-down. This philosophy stresses the moralobligations of family life as the basic building block of society.Bonds within the family must take precedence over other sorts ofties, including obligations to political authorities (Naisbitt, 1996:62). In the Confucian tradition, certain relationships were accordedparamount importance. These were the Five Cardinal Relations fyvulun), namely, 'those between sovereign and subject, father and son,elder brother and younger brother, husband and wife, and friendand friend...In each cases, the senior member was accorded a widerange of prerogatives and authority with respect to the junior'(Bond, 1986: 215).

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Personal TrustIn making business deals, Chinese entrepreneurs emphasize 'face-to-face contacts and verbal agreements' (Wong Siu-lun, 1995: 143).They shun formal legalistic contracts and prefer to distancethemselves from the state. This way of doing business has its rootsin Confucianism where the actions of a gentleman follow what is'right'. In this system verbal promises are given and accepted ona strict principle of reciprocity.

Social HarmonyThe concept of virtuous behaviour (ren/li) denotes the qualitiesof human-heartedness whereby one can only be considered fullyhuman when one takes others into account (Westwood, 1992).

'In contrast to Westerners, for whom ego-centered needs suchas self-actualization tend to dominate, both Chinese managers andChinese employees are reported as giving a higher rank to socialneeds than to ego need' (Bond, 1986: 285).

TradeThe Chinese have been traders for more than a thousand years.In terms of conducting business, the Chinese:

1. favour owning and operating their own businesses2. are pragmatic, and not overly legalistic3. are willing to take risks4. are normally not constrained by rigid adherence to

religious dogma5. highly value education6. are quick decision makers7. do not like organizational charts8. are family oriented, involve relatives in the business9. understand cash flow better than profit and loss10. generally eschew direct involvement in politics but

maintain good relations with parties in power andpoliticians

{Overseas Chinese Business Networks in Asia, 1995: 131)

Add to these commonly held cultural values and practices, acommon written language, common festivals, customs, foods andties to the ancestral homeland and one begins to see the glue thatholds together the symbolic universe of Cultural China.

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• Implications for Advertising StrategyThe fact that more than two billion people who inhabit the variousuniverses of Cultural China are held together by a common set ofvalues and lifestyles portends a huge market for advertisers. Thequestion then becomes, can commercial messages be standardizedand broadcast across a wide network of nations aimed at thisspecific segment—the Chinese global tribe?

The discussion is of interest, not just to marketers andadvertisers who could profit from this type of standardization, butalso to academics who continue to debate the pro's and con's ofstandardization and its impact on indigenous cultures (Mueller,1996; Janus, 1986; Mattelhart, 1985; Frith and Frith, 1990). Formultinational advertisers the prospect of running a singleadvertising campaign, translated into many languages, offers greatappeal. Standardized advertising campaigns offer the advertisergreater control over content, reduced costs, unified brand image,and simplified strategy planning (Mueller, 1996; Tansey, Hymanand Zinkham, 1990). In the past, proponents of standardizedadvertising, like Levitt (1983) and Fatt (1967) have recommendedthat multinational advertisers down-play cultural differences andtreat the world as if it were one homogeneous market.

Critics of standardized campaigns have argued that advertisingmust be tailored to particular cultures. The proponents of'specialization' have pointed out that standardized advertisingthemes should be used only when similarities exist betweencultures. Yet, both critics and proponents would have to agree thata similarity of cultures exists between the members of GreaterChina. So, in fact, this marketplace, that transcends nationalboundaries, offers great potential for standardized advertising.

Already advertisers are beginning to mine this rich field. AlanFairington, Asian regional chairman of J. Walter Thompson stated,'I have seen a staggering change in the last three to five years infavor of finding regional strategies' (FEER, 25 February 1993: 51).While not all advertisers can find a single message that is resonantacross all cultures, the number of products that are going Pan-Asian is expanding from luxury items to a broad array of consumerand packaged goods. Kodak, for example launched its first Pan-Asian venture, a campaign for Kodak Gold II, in 10 differentcountries using the same basic strategy. Kodak estimated that itsaved more than 50 per cent of what it would have cost to shootseparate commercials for each separate target market. While

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regional campaigns are still a small slice of the overall advertisingspending, new satellite television stations like Hong Kong's StarTV,with 2.8 billion people and 38 countries under its footprint, makesregional advertising a reality for many multinational corporations.Add to this Australian Television International, whose footprintcovers eastern India, southern China and all of Southeast Asia, andthe Gang of Five, a consortium of international broadcasters(Fortune, 1994: 99) which includes HBO, Turner Broadcasting, AsiaBusiness News (produced by Dow Jones), Television Broadcasts Ltd(TVB), and the ESPN Sports channel, and the range of regionalprogramming offerings available to advertisers is vastly multiplied.

StarTV has been the pioneer in terms of making a regional visionpossible to advertisers. By stating its goal as 'seeking to reach therichest five per cent of Asian consumers' StarTV has forcedmultinational advertisers to think in terms of Pan-Asian strategies(FEER, 25 February 1993). By offering six 'free to air' channelson a round-the-clock basis: BBC World Service Television, MTVAsia, Star Plus entertainment, Prime Sports and Chinese Channelin Mandarin, and Cantonese programming, StarTV has opened upthe Pan-Asian market to eager multinational advertisers.

Not only is StarTV becoming competitive in terms of mediabuys, 'in Taiwan and India penetration is deep enough to makeadvertising as cost effective as local TV, but it also has theadditional benefit of allowing advertisers to bypass localgovernment regulations. Both United Distillers and Hennessycognac used StarTV to target Taiwan, which limits ads for importedliquor. Manufacturers of feminine hygiene products, includingProcter & Gamble, find StarTV the only way into India, which banssuch ads on terrestrial TV (FEER, 25 February 1993: 51).

As multinational corporations and their agencies adapt theirstrategies from country-by-country to a Pan-Asian or regionalstrategy, the universe of Cultural China, framed by linguistic andcultural ties, provides a rich source of opportunity.

• Discussion

• Unintended Consequencesof the Reifaction of Greater China

Advertisers have a history of identifying and reinforcing separategroup identities through audience stratification, market

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segmentation and targeted messages (Guitterez, 1990). In fact, inrecent years, Identifying racial and ethnic audiences as marketsegments has been one of the more successful strategies ofadvertisers and marketers in the US. As Felix Gutierrez has noted,along with the growth in racial and ethnic pluralism, this pastdecade has witnessed an increase in advertising and media directedto minority groups. Advertisers have not only identified andtargeted these groups, but 'through these advertisements and themedia in which they appear, members of a racially pluralistic nationare portrayed to themselves...'(Gutierrez, 1990: 13). Gutierrezargues that in the US the increasingly important 'Hispanic' markethas actually been a construction of advertisers and their media.What was once a heterogeneous group composed of Mexicans,Spanish-speaking Europeans and South and Central Americans hasbeen constructed by advertisers as one great homogeneoussegment—The Hispanic Market.

If the Chinese are in fact being addressed by multinationaladvertisers as a contiguous, transnational market, it may havebeneficial effects for advertisers, but in the process of constructinga unified Chinese segment, advertisers may also be responsible forsome unintended consequences. After years of exerting a strongpolitical presence in the region, it now appears that the British,Europeans, and North Americans are relaxing political control. Inthe process of constructing a unified Chinese segment, advertisersmay unwittingly be reinforcing China's political position in theregion. In other words, there may be a disharmony of interestbetween the goals of advertisers (consumption) and the goal ofregional harmony (development). On the other hand, if the nextcentury will see the evolution of business and cultural networksbased on global tribes, then advertising can contribute to theconstruction of this unified Chinese segment.

• ConclusionBased on the previous discussion, a conceptual model is presentedoverleaf which features the factors related to the formation ofGreater China. The model takes into account the Enduring Factorssuch as cultural values, history, geography and language that haveexisted for centuries and form the backbone for the concept.

The Stabilizing Factors are those mentioned that will contributeto the growth of Greater China and these include regional trade,

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Figure 1Factors Affecting the Emergence of Greater China

Enduring FactorsCultural valuesHistoryGeographyLanguage

Stabilizing FactorsRegional tradeRegional mediaFree flow of informationStandardized advertising

GreaterChinaModel

Mitigating FactorsEconomic turmoilPolitical instabilityMedia censorship

regional media, a free flow of information and standardizedadvertising campaigns that tie the region together with a set ofsymbols and appeals that can cross national boundaries. Asconsumerism and modernization continue in Greater China,advertising will play a vital role as will the transfer of Chineselanguage television programming from country to country. Both ofthese factors can help to build a sense of cohesiveness and unityto the Greater China market.

The media's ability to lend cohesiveness to the region, however,is dependent on a free flow of information. Currently there is animbalance in this area. While the media in Taiwan have earned anunprecedented degree of press freedom in recent years, media inChina are still very much controlled by the government. Thisimbalance is compounded by the uneven availability and usage ofcommunication technology in the region.

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Katherine T. Frith and James Tsao

The Mitigating Factors are those which will hamper the growthof Greater China. These include economic turmoil, politicalinstability and media censorship. For example, after the People'sRepublic of China launched a series of military demonstrationsacross the Taiwan Straits, a survey by the United Daily NewsSurvey Center indicated that the percentage of people who self-identified as Chinese had declined. A further repercussion was thatTaiwan began to take a rather conservative attitude and began toreview its investment policy on China. Therefore, actions whichcreate political or economic instability, may mitigate the growthof Greater China.

If Kotkin (1992), Drucker (1993), and Naisbitt (1996) arecorrect in their predictions regarding the supranational cultural-ethnic entities that will shape our global economic destiny of the21st Century, then the emergence of Greater or Cultural China isa phenomenon that is of great importance to Asia, and advertisingis one of the forces that is powerfully positioned to play a part inthe formation of this new entity.

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Review (May-June): 13-7.Bond, Michael (1986). The Psychology of the Chinese People. London: Oxford

University Press.Bouteiller, Eric (1995). 'The Emergence of Greater China as an Economic Force',

Long Range Planning 28(1): 54-60.Chang, Linda (1998). 'Taiwan, Mainland Scientists Find Oldest Animal Fossils',

The Free China Journal (13 February): 4.Crane, George T. (1995). 'Greater China: The Ties that Don't Bind', Current

History (September): 270-4Drucker, Peter (1993). Post-Capitalist Society. New York: Harper Business.Fatt, Arthur (1967). 'The Danger of "Local" International Advertising', Journal

of Marketing 31: 60-2.Fortune (1994). 'TV is Exploding all over Asia', (24 January): 98-101.Frith, Katherine T. and Michael Frith (1989). 'Western Advertising and Eastern

Culture: The Confrontation in Southeast Asia', Current Issues and Researchin Advertising. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan School of Business.

Gutierrez, Felix (1990). 'Advertising and the Growth of Minority Markets',Journal of Communication Inquiry (14)1.

Hu, Guang-Shiash (1998). 'An Analysis of the Entry and Performance ofTransnational Advertising Agencies in Taiwan', Asian Journal ofCommunication 8(2).

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Janus, Noreene. (1986). 'Transnational Advertising: Some Considerations onthe Impact on Peripheral Societies', in R. Atwood and E. McAnany (eds.)Communication and Latin American Society. Madison: University of Wisconsin.

Kotkin, Joel (1992). Tribes: How Race, Religion and Identity Determine Successin the New Global Economy. New York: Random House

Levitt, Theodore (1983). 'The Globalization of Markets', Harvard Business Review61: 92-101.

Lin, Diana (1997). 'Cross-Strait Film Exchanges Bridge Political, Cultural Gaps',The Free China Journal (11 July): 7.

Liu, Weiling (1998). 'Cross-Strait Media Exchange to Expand', The Free ChinaJournal (17 April): 2.

Mueller, Barbara (1996). International Advertising: Communicating across Culture.Belmont, California: Wadsworth

Myers, James T and Donald Puchala (1994). 'Greater China: Some AmericanReflections', Asian Affairs 21(1): 3-13.

Naisbitt, John (1996). Megatrends Asia: Eight Asian Megatrends that are ReshapingOur World. New York: Simon & Shuster

Overseas Chinese Business Networks (1995). East Asia Analytic Unit, Departmentof Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, Australia.

Pye, Lucian (1990). 'China: Erratic State, Frustrated Society', Foreign Affairs69(4).

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Tansey, Richard, Michael Hyman and George Zinkhan (1990). 'Cultural Themesin Brazilian and U.S. Auto Ads: A Cross-Cultural Comparison', Journalof Advertising 19: 30-9.

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Katherine T. Frith is currently an associate professor at the Pennsylvania StateUniversity. During the 1997-98 academic year she was a visiting Senior Fellowin the School of Communication Studies at Nanyang Technological Universityin Singapore.

She has been a Fulbright Professor at the School of Mass Communicationsat Institute Technology MARA in Malaysia in 1986-87 and a Fulbright Professorat the Institute Technology Bandung in Indonesia in 1993.

Her publications include scholarly work on advertising in: Media Asia,Journalism Quarterly, Current Issues and Research in Advertising, and the AsianJournal of Communication. She has edited two books: Advertising in Asia:Communication, Culture and Consumption published by Iowa State UniversityPress and Undressing the Ad: Reading Culture in Advertising.

Before joining academia Dr. Frith worked in New York as an advertisingcopywriter for J. Walter Thompson, N.W. Ayer and Grey Advertising. She receivedher doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

James Tsao teaches in the Department of Journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, USA. He received his PhD in mass communications from TempleUniversity. He has diverse interests in research including cross-cultural advertising,minority media, and advertising strategy.

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advertising and cultural china: challenges and opportunities in asia

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