Global insights: Embracing international and intercultural research for innovation
Summary
Many multinationals default to researching within US and European settings, missing out on the rich opportunities yielded by other cultures. We’ll inspire you to embrace the power of international and intercultural research, providing practical techniques to approach this work with sensitivity and impact. We’ll explore when and why to broaden your research, the benefits and trade-offs, and how to operationalize these methods to unlock deeper insights and fuel innovation across cultures.
Key Insights
-
•
Superficial localization like language or currency changes is insufficient for global market success.
-
•
Deep culturalization requires ongoing understanding of local values, beliefs, social norms, and history.
-
•
Sephora failed in South Korea because its makeup products and sales approach conflicted with local preferences for skincare and self-exploration.
-
•
iCare succeeded in India by adapting physical store design and product offerings to local height, price sensitivity, and dietary preferences.
-
•
Small cultural behaviors, such as the Filipino 'sari-sari' economy buying small product quantities, can significantly inform digital service models like Spotify’s mini subscriptions.
-
•
Cross-cultural research must uncover unconscious cultural drivers behind customer behaviors, not just surface actions or stated preferences.
-
•
Cultural nuances impact research logistics profoundly, such as time perceptions in Kenya and incentive relevance in Qatar.
-
•
Participatory methods like ethnography and emotional immersion reveal richer consumer insights than traditional interviews alone.
-
•
Businesses need collective alignment across teams for successful cultural adaptation strategies.
-
•
The best cultural adaptations are seamless to users, preventing friction like booking errors from overlooked date format differences.
Notable Quotes
"Do you have any questions before we start? Usually no, but one Filipino participant asked how old I am because it helps him know how to address me appropriately."
"Understanding local culture and context is often the make or break for success in global expansions."
"Sephora failed in South Korea because their bold makeup focus did not align with the local preference for soft, natural looks and skincare prioritization."
"I tend to avoid the term localization because it’s often mistaken as mere language translation; I prefer culturalization—it’s a deeper, ongoing process."
"iCare adapted to India by lowering cupboard heights and changing cafeteria menus to fit Indian tastes and lifestyle habits."
"The Filipino habit of buying products in small quantities stems from economic hardship and historical influences like pre-colonial trade practices."
"Spotify introduced weekly mini subscriptions in the Philippines inspired by the local 'tenny' culture of small purchases."
"Cross-cultural research isn’t just what people say or do—it’s understanding the unconscious motivators behind behaviors."
"In Kenya, flexible attitudes toward time caused delays in sessions, which stressed our team but were culturally normal."
"The best cultural adaptations fit so seamlessly into the experience that local audiences don’t even notice the difference."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Many stakeholders don’t inherently understand the difference in quality outcomes from workshops, so we must be explicit."
Anne MamaghaniHow Your Organization's Generative Workshops Are Probably Going Wrong and How to Get Them Right
March 28, 2023
"This is a story about what happens when you stop trying to will others to think like you and start creating conditions under which both frames can coexist productively."
Kurt McCullochFaster alone, further together: Rebuilding collaboration in the age of AI research
March 10, 2026
"Good design needs better PR and the government has to be actively involved in the process."
Sofía Delsordo Kassim VeraPublic Policy for Jalisco's Designers to Make Design Matter
December 8, 2021
"What is going wrong? What’s the matter? What’s the cause of that?"
Christian CrumlishIntroduction by our Conference Chair
December 6, 2022
"Sustainable teams require visible shared growth paths; designers’ growth should be supported, not accidental."
Ebru NamaldiDesigning the Designer’s Journey: Scaling Teams, Culture, and Growth Through DesignOps
September 11, 2025
"Critiques help teams stop being the lone ranger and instead iterate faster together with purpose and clarity."
Joseph MeersmanSweating the Pixel: Scaling Quality through Critique
June 10, 2021
"Service design and enterprise design are not just for digital or government—they're applicable to complex organizational change and B2B market entry."
Milan Guenther Benjamin KumpfThe $212 billion ‘so what?’: unlocking impact in development cooperation
November 20, 2025
"Sometimes democratized research happens in silence, with little coordination, causing duplicated efforts."
Kathleen AsjesResearch Democratization: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
March 10, 2022
"We can’t design for every possible outcome anymore. We have to anticipate fuzzy ranges of results and channel behavior accordingly."
Josh Clark Veronika KindredSentient Design, AI, and the Radically Adaptive Experience (1st of 3 seminars)
January 15, 2025
