Polycentric Orientation

Definition (1):

Polycentric Orientation occurs when the culture of the country in which the strategy to be implemented is allowed to dominate a company’s international decision-making process.

Definition (2):

Polycentric Orientation is the unconscious belief or bias that it is essential to adopt completely to the local practice and culture. “It is a host country orientation in management.”

Definition (3):

Under Polycentric Orientation, businesses believe that each country is unique and requires a different approach for matching the cultural and social norms. Here, a business applies a country-specific strategy for business and marketing to successfully develop and build its presence in every country it operates. Big polycentric-oriented companies are sometimes called multinationals or multinational companies. This type of orientation differs from an ethnocentric orientation where a business applies the same product and marketing strategy in every country as it does in its country of origin.

Functioning under this approach serves businesses with different benefits. One benefit is that prospective clients in every country often recognize the products as local, instead of foreign. If the product is well-marketed, it can sometimes lead to greater sales and eliminates or reduces nationalistic backlash.