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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Advertising--Social aspects--Costa Rica; Advertising--Social aspects--United States; Advertising--Social aspects; Costa Rica; United States;

Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore the possibility of using global advertising in the United States and Costa Rica. The researcher used content analysis to study words and images related to social values presented in 375 North American and 125 Costa Rican corporate advertisements during the decade 1980-1990. The social values found in these samples were classified according to the categories of the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS). Specifically, the researcher used what Rokeach called terminal values which are more socially oriented than personal values. A Chi-square statistical test was used to determine if differences between North American and Costa Rican values were significant. The final data showed that North American and Costa Rican corporate advertisements used similar values but their frequency was significantly different. According to Rokeach Value Survey (terminal values), eight social values showed significant differences during the decade under study: a sense of accomplishment, a world at peace, family security, mature love, pleasure, self-respect, national security, and true friendship. All these values were used significantly more in Costa Rica, except true friendship which was used more frequently in the North American Sample. This study concluded that since significant differences were found between these countries' sets of values, the global advertising approach is not the most appropriate strategy for a North American company to employ in Costa Rica. Instead, companies would better be served to use the cultural or the middle-of-the-road approach. Researchers who want to research in the same area could select to study values in other types of advertising in Costa Rica or in any other Central American country. Also, another possibility is to adapt, or to design, a new instrument to study values in Central American countries.

Year of Submission

1992

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Communication Studies

First Advisor

John Butler

Second Advisor

Victoria DeFrancisco

Third Advisor

Dean Kruckeberg

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

1992

Object Description

1 PDF file (100 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Included in

Communication Commons

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