On the Windows 95 operating system, Microsoft chose to color 800,000 pixels a slightly different shade of green which, unknown to Microsoft, represented disputed Kashmiri territory in India. The different color was interpreted in India as meaning that the territory was not part of their country. The product was promptly banned by the nation and 200,000 copies of the system were returned. Had the team at Microsoft taken more time to understand culture, the losses – both moneta

One person steps forward, the other steps back. This sequence can be observed in two places: a dance hall, where it is appropriate, natural, and harmonious; or a conference hall, where business professionals from different cultures are hesitant and stilted, making one another uncomfortable. This “little dance,” highlighted by Julien Bourrelle—founder of Mondå, a Norwegian cultural diversity project—demonstrates the importance of behavioral cultural intelligence. Rather than i

Russians love soup. That is why Campbell Soup Company decided to enter the Russian market in 2007. After surveying close to 10,000 consumers, Campbell’s decided the market was ripe for their products. But after just a few short years, they ended up pulling out of the country. The main reason for their failure? They didn’t understand that Russian tradition focuses not just on eating soups, but on making them from scratch as well. In order to avoid failures like Campbell’s, it

In 2013, Nike initiated a women’s athletic clothing line patterned after traditional Pacific tattoos. The line quickly received backlash, however, due to cultural insensitivities. One Polynesian native said “To the outside world it’s just a design. But to my Polynesian people, it’s sacred.” Nike’s mistake was that the pattern they chose for the women’s leggings resembled the Samoan Pe’a, atattoo reserved for men. Receiving the Pe’a is an often long and painful process. Origin