EUROPEAN PERCEPTION OF EAST ASIAN CULTURESResearch on cultural values from China, Japan, South-Korea, and Thailand

Alexandre GENTNERDaniel ESQUIVEL ELIZONDOAurélien BADOILCarole FAVART

TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE

.eu

Product and service experience design

Dinner scene - Mr. Baseball (1992)

CULTURE IS A “FUZZY SET OF BASIC ASSUMPTIONS AND VALUES, ORIENTATIONS TO LIFE, BELIEFS, POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND BEHAVIOURAL CONVENTIONS”

(Spencer-Oatey, 2012)

Contemporary design inspired by culture

Liu Jiakun Min Chen Sozen design Studio KDSZ

Kengo Kuma Jin Kuramoto Eisuke Tsuboi Yoshihara works

Iroje KHM architects Jeonghwa Kim Daegun Chaehoon Moon

JUNSEKINO architects Annop Jareonkitpoolpol Jitrin Jintaprecha Jitrin Jintaprecha

HOW TO OBSERVE AND COMPARE COUNTRY-RELATED CULTURAL VALUES?

Taxi scene - Lost in translation (2003)

Chinese culture Japanese culture

South-Korean culture Thai culture

Scope of the project

Chinese culture

Connoisseurs from EU

Japanese culture

Connoisseurs from EU

South-Korean culture

Connoisseurs from EU

Thai culture

Connoisseurs from EU

Compare European perception of East Asian cultures

Chinese culture

Connoisseurs from EUChinese nationals

Japanese culture

Connoisseurs from EUJapanese nationals

South-Korean culture

Connoisseurs from EUSouth-Korean nationals

Thai culture

Connoisseurs from EUThai nationals

Compare perception of an East Asian culture (internal vs. external POV)

Value cards

CULTURAL/VALUE MODELS

SCHWARTZ VALUE SURVEY (1995)

• Structure of human values• 10 dimensions

KLOCKHOLN & STRODTBECK FRAMEWORK (1961)

• Conceptualization of cultural dimensions

• 6 dimensions

TROMpENAAR’S DiMENSiONS (1993)

• Value orientations at work• 7 dimensions

SOCiAL AxiOMS (2002)• Basic truths or premises• 5 dimensions

ROKEACH VALUE SURVEY: TERMiNAL VALUES (1973)

• Desirable end-states of existence

• 18 values

SCHWARTZ CULTURAL DiMENSiONS (2000)

• National-cultural values• 7 dimensions

HOFSTEDE’S STUDY (1980)• Classic study of work values• 4 dimensions

THE gLOBE SURVEY (2004)• Cultural variations at work• 9 dimensions

5-FACTOR MODEL OF pERSONALiTY, RUSSEL (1989)

• Personality-trait theory• 5 dimensions

ROKEACH VALUE SURVEY: BEHAViOURAL VALUES (1973)

• Preferable modes of behavior• 18 values

Category cards

Category cards

INTRODUCTIONDiscussion based on category cards• “Whichofthesecategorieswouldyoupickas

mostimportanttodescribethisculturetosome-one?”QUALITATIVE

VALUE EVALUATIONEvaluation of values on 5-point scale (from notatallcorresponds to completelycorresponds)• “Towhatextentarethesevaluesrelevant

todescribethecultureunderstudy?”QUANTITATIVE

Explanation of each value score• “Whythisscore?”QUALITATIVE

SINGULARITY EVALUATIONJapanese culture interviews> Japan, East-Asia, & Western Europe optionsOther interviews> [Country], Japan, & Western Europe options• “Whichvalueswouldyousayareuniqueto

thesecultures?”• “Pleasecommentyourselection”

PARTICIPANTS• 45% female, 55% male• 10 natives & 10 connoisseurs from Eu-

rope per country• 80 participants in total• 1 hour long individual interviews

Protocol

completelycorresponds

corresponds

moderatelycorresponds

doesnotcorrespond

doesnotcorrespondatall

EUJP

JP

EUCN+KO+TH

EXAMPLE OF VALUES ASSOCIATED BY EUROPEANS- “Respect for traditions” (EU

JP.AVG: 1.9)

- “Polite” (EUJP.AVG

: 1.7)- “Meticulous, attention to details” (EU

JP.AVG: 1.6)

- “Obedient, docile” (EUJP.AVG

: 1.4)- “Logical” (EU

JP.AVG: 1.1)

SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EU & JP- “Organized” (EU

AVG: 1.0, EU

SD: 0.44, JP

AVG: 1.8, JP

SD: 0.17)

EUJp •“Normallyyes,butproblemcanoccurwhenunusualsituationsoccur.” (P-67, EU

JP)

Jp •“Thereisnomess.”(P-78,JP)

- “Self-discipline” (EUAVG

: 1.4, EUSD

: 0.7, JPAVG

: 0.5, JPSD

: 1.1)EUJp •“Ifyoudonotdisplayself-discipline,youarebadlyseem,notrecognizedas JapanesebyJapanese.”(P-76,EU

JP)

Jp •“Whenpeoplelookatthem,butinsecrettheyarenotself-disciplined.”(P-87,JP)

- “Logical” (EUAVG

: 1.1, EUSD

: 0.7, JPAVG

: 0.1, JPSD

: 0.9)EUJp •“Verylogical,acertainconsistentlogic:notnecessarilythesamethatother culturesmighthavebutthesameamongallJP.”(P-71,EU

JP)

Jp •“Atworkyes,whenwefinishworkitisveryillogic.”(P-80,JP)

- “Respect for traditions” (EUAVG

: 1.9, EUSD

: 0.1, JPAVG

: 1.0, JPSD

: 0.66)EUJp •“Morethan100yearsoldfestivalsarekeptentirelyovertime.”(P-74,EU

JP)

Jp •“Sometraditionsgotforgottenbyyoungergeneration.”(P-69,JP)

Example of results

Japanese cultural values

Values singular to Japanese culture from a European POV

ValuesspecifictoJapanese culture and another East Asian culture from a European POV

SignificantdifferencesbetweenEuropeanandJapanesePOVs≠

PARTICIPANT NATIONALITYCOUNTRY CULTURE

Example of results

East Asian common cultural values from European perspectiveEU

CN.AVG : 1.5 EU

CN.SD: 0.9

• “They have high respect for the elderly. They fell that there are structures that must be respected.” (P-34, EU

CN)

• “During ceremonies the rituals are coded. Things are done according to the rules.” (P-18, EU

CN)

• EUJP.AVG

: 1.9 EUJP.SD

: 0.1• “Huge number of events marking things from the past. There is a unique

“tension” between modernism and traditions.” (P-70, EUJP

)• “More than 100 years old festivals are kept entirely over time.” (P-74, EU

JP)

• EUKO.AVG

: 1.6 EUKO.SD

: 0.7• “They are closer to traditions han we are here in Europe. i also think they are

more superstitious: they believe in things from the past.” (P-10, EUKO

)• “There is a yearly celebration when you go back to the village or city where you

where born. it is a way to show respect for your ancestors.” (P-56, EUKO

)

• EUTH.AVG

: 1.8 EUTH.SD

: 0.4• “They go forward while respecting their traditions.” (P-45, EU

TH)

• “Most Thai have a Buddhist temple in their home. i could experience it in my fiancé’s family.” (P-24, EU

TH)

Values singular to a country culture

Values specific to the cultures of two countries

Example of results

East Asian cultural values cartography from European perspective

Conclusion

• UNDERSTAND CULTURAL VALUES PERCEIVED BY EUROPEANS

• pERCEpTiON DiFFERENCES BETWEEN INTERNAL AND EUROPEAN POINT OF VIEWS

• CARTOgRApHY OF EUROpEAN PERCEPTION OF EAST ASIAN CULTURES

• INSIGHTS FROM pARTiCipANTS’ COMMENTS

• TOOL TO DESIGN PRODUCTS WiTH CULTURAL REFERENCES

• NExT STEp: pERCEpTiON OF PRODUCTS WITH CULTURAL REFERENCES

• NExT STEp: pERCEpTiON OF OTHER CULTURES

THANK YOUAlexandre GENTNER | UX Strategist, KokekokoDaniel ESQUIVEL ELIZONDO | Kansei Expert, Kansei Design - Toyota Motor EuropeAurélien BADOIL | Designer, Kansei Design - Toyota Motor EuropeCarole FAVART | General Manager, Kansei Design - Toyota Motor Europe

TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE

.eu

Product and service experience design