The Auto Ethnographer with John Stech
The Auto Ethnographer with John Stech
Podcast Description
John Stech, The Auto Ethnographer, draws on his thirty years in the global automotive industry to bring the world to your doorstep in both an informative and entertaining way using a style rooted in autoethnography. What is "autoethnography"? Derived from Tony E. Adams’ definition, "autoethnography" is a research method leaning on the experiences of individuals to analyze assumptions, culture, communication, local norms, traditions, emotional impact, and how they mesh with greater culture and society where they operate. Normally, "auto" relates to the self – as in "autobiography". But we put wheels on it, separated the words, and focus on vehicles and the cultural experiences related to the auto industry.The Auto Ethnographer and his guests tell the human stories behind the famous automotive and vehicle brands, spanning continents, countries, and cultures across the globe. Together, they unlock the mysteries of local culture, values, and approaches to success in the vehicle industry. Of course, every cultural interaction faces the risk of faux pas, and those will surely be covered as well. The Auto Ethnographer's guests made the vehicle industry happen in their country markets. Now they tell their stories. Each guest will relay their experiences while addressing cultural challenges they faced. Guests range from current and past industry leaders to newcomers and rising talents. They are either expats in a foreign land or local employees working with a foreign brand in their home country. The target audience are Individuals fascinated by the auto industry and how to navigate cultures for successful outcomes. The audience are either seasoned professionals or newcomers seeking to learn how to build their careers with global insights. But don't think this is limited to the auto industry. These international business principles are valid across industries.John Stech engaged in his 30-year career with Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler Corp (now part of Stellantis), Volvo Car Group, and VinFast Automotive of Vietnam. He has lived and worked on five continents, interacting with thousands of people from dozens of different cultures. Now he brings that experience to you.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on topics such as cultural interactions in the automotive sector, product strategy discussions, and marketing insights, with episodes exploring the strategies of Mercedes-Benz and comparisons between Volkswagen's presence in different countries.
John Stech, The Auto Ethnographer, draws on his thirty years in the global automotive industry to bring the world to your doorstep in both an informative and entertaining way using a style rooted in autoethnography.
What is “autoethnography”? Derived from Tony E. Adams’ definition, “autoethnography” is a research method leaning on the experiences of individuals to analyze assumptions, culture, communication, local norms, traditions, emotional impact, and how they mesh with greater culture and society where they operate. Normally, “auto” relates to the self – as in “autobiography”. But we put wheels on it, separated the words, and focus on vehicles and the cultural experiences related to the auto industry.
The Auto Ethnographer and his guests tell the human stories behind the famous automotive and vehicle brands, spanning continents, countries, and cultures across the globe. Together, they unlock the mysteries of local culture, values, and approaches to success in the vehicle industry. Of course, every cultural interaction faces the risk of faux pas, and those will surely be covered as well.
The Auto Ethnographer’s guests made the vehicle industry happen in their country markets. Now they tell their stories. Each guest will relay their experiences while addressing cultural challenges they faced. Guests range from current and past industry leaders to newcomers and rising talents. They are either expats in a foreign land or local employees working with a foreign brand in their home country.
The target audience are Individuals fascinated by the auto industry and how to navigate cultures for successful outcomes. The audience are either seasoned professionals or newcomers seeking to learn how to build their careers with global insights. But don’t think this is limited to the auto industry. These international business principles are valid across industries.
John Stech engaged in his 30-year career with Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler Corp (now part of Stellantis), Volvo Car Group, and VinFast Automotive of Vietnam. He has lived and worked on five continents, interacting with thousands of people from dozens of different cultures. Now he brings that experience to you.
Today’s episode is a bit of a back-to-school episode. Until now you have heard truly insightful stories from automotive executives that have navigated different cultures. Today we break out the chalkboard and try to fit a simple, yet complex, framework around those conversations. That framework was developed by Geert Hofstede.
Let’s have a short introduction to Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions. Based on research that he conducted in the 1970’s, Hofstede constructed six cultural dimensions by which different countries or cultures could be compared on a relative basis. These help to create context and understanding for differences that one could see or feel but not really explain.
The six dimensions are the Individualism vs. Collectivism Dimension, the Power Distance Dimension, the Uncertainty Avoidance Dimension, the Masculinity vs. Femininity Dimension, the Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation, and the Indulgence vs. Restraint Dimension. The names already hint at what each may be about.
Host John Stech provides a brief tour of Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions. He provides short examples from his automotive career for each dimension, helping to understand each. As a German immigrant to the United States, he had always felt a bit out of sync with peers. The “ah-ha” moment came when he first read Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. The light bulb came on.
This is just a short introduction to Hofstede’s work. Volumes have been written about it and other works are based on it. For more information, it is recommended to visit the website. There you can find the maps visible in the video version of this podcast. You can also find other resources, such as a tool where you can pick several countries and see how they line up on the six dimensions. This can be fascinating if you have a specific culture in mind. You can find these at https://www.geerthofstede.com .
For more information about The Auto Ethnographer, please visit the homepage at https://www.auto-ethnographer.com.
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-auto-ethnographer
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