1. The Influence of Culture on Consumer Behavior
Chapter 10
The Influence of Culture on Consumer Behavior

2. The plan of chapter 11 What is culture? Characteristics of culture
Issues in Culture
The Measurement of Culture
American Core Values
Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture
Subcultures

3. What is culture?
Culture as The sum total of learned beliefs, values, and customs that serve to regulate the consumer behavior of members of a particular society.

4. Characteristics of culture
Culture satisfies needs
Offer order, direction and guidance
Culture is learned
Culture is shared
Culture is dynamic

5. Issues in Culture
Enculturation and acculturation
Language and symbols
Ritual
Sharing of Culture

6. Enculturation and acculturation
Enculturation : The learning of the culture of one’s own society.
Acculturation : The learning of a new or “foreign” culture.

7. Language and symbols
Symbol : Anything that stands for something else. Symbols can be verbal or nonverbal.

8. Ad Using Visual Imagery as a Symbol
Chapter 11 The Influence of Culture on Consumer Behavior

9. Ritual
Ritual : A type of symbolic activity consisting of a series of steps (multiple behaviors) occurring in a fixed sequence and repeated over time.

10. Weeknights are Rich with Ritual

11. Selected Rituals and Associated Artifacts
TYPICAL ARTIFACTS
Wedding
White gown (something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue)
Birth of child
U.S. Savings Bond, silver baby spoon
Birthday
Card, present, cake with candles
50th Wedding anniversary
Catered party, card and gift, display of photos of the couple’s life together
Graduation
Pen, U.S. Savings Bond, card, wristwatch
Valentine’s Day
Candy, card, flowers
New Year’s Eve
Champagne, party, fancy dress
Thanksgiving
Prepare a turkey meal for family and friends

12. Table 12.1 continued SELECTED RITUALS TYPICAL ARTIFACTS
Going to the gym
Towel, exercise clothes, water, portable tape player
Sunday football
Beer, potato chips, pretzels
Super Bowl Party
Same as Sunday football (just more)
Starting a new job
Get a haircut, buy some new clothing
Get a job promotion
Taken out to lunch by coworkers, receive token gift
Retirement
Company party, watch, plaque
Death
Send a card, give to charity in the name of the deceased

13. Types of Ritual Experience
A Ritual is Set of Multiple, Symbolic Behaviors That Occur in a Fixed Sequence and That Tend to Be Repeated Periodically

14. Types of Ritual Experience (cont.)
Ritual Type
Examples
Religious
Ceremony, Meditation, Mass
Rites of Passage
Graduation , Marriage
Cultural
Festivals, Holidays
Civic
Parades, Elections, Trials
Group
Business Negotiations
Family
Mealtimes, Birthdays
Personal
Grooming, Household

15. Discussion Question
Advertisers often show their products being consumed around sacred rituals, such as this ad showing the bride consuming Haagen Dazs apparently right before her wedding.
What significance does the ritual lend to the consumption of the product? What is this ad saying about eating Haagen Dazs?

16. Grooming Rituals
Nivea is well-known for its numerous skin care products. Research conducted for the company as it sought to develop a more consistent brand image for all of its lines in the 1990’s confirmed the important, yet intangible functions played by these items for women as they conduct private grooming rituals.

17. The Measurement of Culture
Content analysis
Consumer Fieldwork
Value Measurement Instruments

18. The Measurement of Culture
Content Analysis : A method for systematically analyzing the content of verbal and/or pictorial communication. The method is frequently used to determine prevailing social values of a society.

19. The Measurement of Culture (cont.)
Field Observation : A cultural measurement technique that takes place within a natural environment that focuses on observing behavior (sometimes without the subjects’ awareness).

20. The Measurement of Culture (cont.)
Value Measurement Survey Instruments
Rokeach Value Survey (RVS)
List of Values (LOV)
Values and Lifestyles (VALS)

21. Rokeach Value Survey
A self-administered inventory consisting of eighteen “terminal” values (i.e., personal goals) and eighteen “instrumental” values (i.e., ways of reaching personal goals).

22. List of Values
A value measurement instrument that asks consumers to identify their two most important values from a nine-value list that is based on the terminal values of the Rokeach Value Survey.

23. The Rokeach Value Survey Instrument
TERMINAL VALUES
INSTRMENTAL VALUES
A COMFORTABLE LIFE
AMBITIOUS
AN EXCITING LIFE
BROAD-MINDED
A WORLD AT PEACE
CAPABLE
EQUALITY
CHEERFUL
FREEDOM
CLEAN
HAPPINESS
COURAGEOUS
NATIONAL SECURITY
FORGIVING
PLEASURE
HELPFUL
SALVATION
HONEST
SOCIAL RECOGNITION
IMAGINATIVE
TRUE FRIENDSHIP
INDEPENDENT
WISDOM
INTELLECTUAL

24. Table continued TERMINAL VALUES INSTRMENTAL VALUES A WORLD OF BEAUTY
LOGICAL
FAMILY SECURITY
LOVING
MATURE LOVE
OBEDIENT
SELF-RESPECT
POLITE
A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
RESPONSIBLE
INNER HARMONY
SELF-CONTROLLED
Chapter 11 The Influence of Culture on Consumer Behavior

25. Hofsted’s Dimensions of Culture
Power Distance
Management of inequality between people
Individualism/Collectivism
The relationship between individuals and collectives
Uncertainty Avoidance/Uncertainty Seeker
Stance toward future
Masculinity/Feminine
The degree to which males of females are the predominant in the society.

26. subcultures
A distinct cultural group that exists as an identifiable segment within a larger, more complex society.

27. Subcultural Categories
Nationality subcultures
Spain, Italy, Germany, China, Korean, Kenya
Food, Cultural artifacts
Religion subcultures
Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Buddhism
Symbolic and ritualistically
Chapter 11 The Influence of Culture on Consumer Behavior

28. Subcultural Categories (cont.)
Geographic and regional subculture
Regional identification “New Yorker”
Food Consumption, brand preference
Racial subculture
Caucasian, African-American, Asia-American, Native American
Age subculture
Generation X, Gen.com, Baby Boomers, Seniors
Gender subculture
The working woman

29. Consumer behavior based on religious platforms
Thaksin University
Consumer behavior based on religious platforms
Humanistic
Pragmatic Optimist
Ultimate Recycle
Active Entrepreneur
Personal Servant
Fatalistic
Multiplicity
Singularity
Consumer Behavior

30. Factors Influencing Nonverbal Communications
Thaksin University
Factors Influencing Nonverbal Communications
Time
Etiquette
Nonverbal
Communications
Space
Things
Agreements
Symbols
Friendship
Consumer Behavior

31. Any Questions?