Snap Fitness Case Study

Culture: It’s More Than Food & Music The following sections explore the cultural differences encountered by all businesses desiring to expand their organizations internationally. There are many elements which comprise a country’s culture. Unfortunately, many of these elements are not obvious and are all too often overlooked. For most, international culture is typically associated with visible and/or audible elements such as language, food, music and fashion. In 1976 Edward T. Hall developed “The “Iceberg Model of Culture” (Figure 1) which provides a good visual aid to broaden one’s understanding of the plethora of cultural elements which businesses should understand and consider. The “Iceberg Model” illustrates both visible (surface)

Social culture is the shared values and knowledge of a society, whereas organizational culture is the shared values and knowledge of an organization (Payne). The two cultural categories are both relevant to Snap Fitness’s plan to open club locations in Tokyo, Japan. To begin, social culture is important for the organization towards attaining a greater understanding of the customer. A greater understanding of the Japanese customer will allow Snap’s management to create culturally tailored fitness programs and culturally sensitive marketing material thereby increasing overall club membership and revenues. In addition, this understanding of the Japanese social culture will assist Snap’s management team in avoiding the cultural pitfalls which adversely affect staff performance and overall business success. Equally important, a thorough understanding of Japanese organizational culture will greatly improve the organization’s probability of success in the host country. A strong organizational culture is one of the most sustainable competitive advantages a company can have because it is difficult to copy (Kokemuller). Consequently, Snap Fitness’s ability to effectively mesh its established organizational culture with Japanese organizational culture in the operation of the new fitness club will create a sustainable competitive advantage in the Tokyo

As defined by Merriam-Webster, “Americanization” is the instruction of foreigners (as immigrants) in English and in United States history, government, and culture (“Americanization”). Soon after World War I began, Americanization became a national movement driven by the paranoia of war. American citizens became concerned of an uprising by foreign immigrants within the borders of the Unites States. The “Americanization” movement was propagated through schools, businesses, volunteer organizations (i.e. YMCA), libraries and citizen bureaus(Wikipedia). After WWII, “Americanization” evolved and expanded outside of the U.S. with a particular focus on Japan. “Cultural Convergence Theory” suggests that cultural change occurs when different cultures experience frequent interactions, the cultures will become more similar over time (Axelrod). Arguably, Americanization was the accelerated application of “Cultural Convergence Theory” which has been largely limited to politics, fashion and music. Japan’s receptiveness to western culture has created tremendous opportunities for many American businesses in the last century. Today, Snap Fitness has an opportunity to capitalize on this cultural convergence. An example of Japanese postwar success in the fitness industry is the Gold’s Gym organization. Currently, Gold’s Gym International operates 48 locations throughout