The invisible face of culture: why do Spanish toy manufacturers believe the British are most peculiar in business?

Abstract

Drawing on the model that explains culture through the metaphorical image of an iceberg, as well as on the concepts of cultural frame and strategic cultural orientation, the aim of this paper is to explore the reasons that might explain why Spanish toy manufacturers use adjectives such as peculiar, strict, severe, aloof, distant, unexpressive, cold, among others, to express the way they perceive their British customers. The data consists of eighteen authentic, audio-recorded face-to-face interviews with a selected sample of Spanish toy manufacturers from the Valencian Community, together with the information they kindly provided in the questionnaires they were requested to fill in.