Why should a foreign marketer be concerned with the study of culture?
In order to truly understand what it takes to introduce a new product into a market, or a complete business, a marketer must understand the market, which is the people. The people are who they are and want what they want because of their culture.
There is the factual knowledge which is something that is usually obvious but that must be learnt, ie different meaning of colours, tastes and other traits indigenous to a culture. These can be anticipated, studied and absorbed by marketers.
The interpretive knowledge refers to the ability to understand and appreciate fully the nuances of different cultural traits and patterns. Such as the meaning of time, attitudes towards other people, one's role in society and so on.
Ideally, a marketer possesses both these knowledges about the countries she works in. Facts are rather easily accessible these days through internet, but to truly understand a culture most people have to live amongst it for some time. Since this can be hard to achieve, the best solution is often to consult and cooperate with bilingual nationals that have a marketing background.