Significance of culture in the marketplace : a proposed theoretical perspective

الملخص EN

As more businesses become global and as transnational corporations increase their borderless activities, culture matters more than any time before.

A successful economic transaction requires culture accommodation and understanding.

This paper examines the role of culture in the marketplace.

Despite the constraints capitalism imposes on culture, culture has been demonstrated to be a significant factor in the relationships that exist in any economic settings.

While several schools of thought such as the Marxists have devalued the role of culture, other schools such as the New Institutional School have pinpointed the major role culture plays in the economic systems.

However, this paper proposes a theoretical paradigm of five key elements to describe the relationships between culture and the economy from an economic sociological perspective.

These elements are : The relationship between culture and the economy makes up a continuum line ; Culture and the economy complement each other ; The relationship between culture and the economy is influenced by economic durations ; The relationship between culture and the economy is influenced by the specific type of the economic system of the society ; and the relationship between culture and the economy is influenced by the specific economic-political system of the society.