Chapter 16

Cultural Influences on Consumer Behavior

At the end of this chapter you should understand: What is culture? What are cultural dimensions? Myths and assumptions Rituals (gift-giving, holiday) Rites of passage Sacred and profane Consumption (sacred

places, sacred people, sacred events)

Chapter Objectives

Culture is the accumulation of shared meaning, rituals, norms and traditions among the members of an organization/society

Culture is a society’s personality

What is Culture?

Our culture determine the overall priorities we attach to different activities and products

Products can reflect underlying cultural processes of a particular period:

Examples: Gablinger’s low-cal beer

introduced in the 1960’s failed

Cosmetics made from natural material without animal testing-pollution, waste and animal rights

Understanding Culture

Functional Areas in Culture System

Ecology

Social structure

Ideology

Ecology: the way a system adapt to its habitat, resources shape its ecology. Example: Japanese greatly value products that make efficient use of space because of the cramped conditions in their urban centers

Social Structure: the way people maintain an orderly social life-product purchase also depend on ur social structure. Example: representative govt. (democracy) vs. dictatorship

Ideology: the way people relate to their environment and social groups Examples: Water Kingdom in Bombay (Theme park), consumers are unaware with mixed-sex swimming in public- the swim suits cover the women from wrists to ankles

Functional Areas in Culture System

Cultural Dimensions

Power

Distance

Way members perceive differences in power when they form interpersonal relationships

UncertaintyAvoidance

Degree to which people feel threatened by ambiguous/ unknown situations

MasculineversusFeminine

Degree to which social and gender roles are clearly delineated

IndividualismversusCollectivism

Extent to which culture values the welfare of the individual versus that of the group

Enacted norms are specifically chosen Crescive norms are discovered as we

interact with others◦Customs: norms handed down from the

past that control basic behavior◦Mores: custom with a strong moral

overtone◦Conventions: norms regarding the conduct

of everyday life

Norms in Culture

Every culture develops stories and ceremonies that help members make sense of the world◦ Lucky rabbit’s foot◦ Lucky numbers (e.g.,

number 8 in China)◦ Magic remedies

(computers)-simplify our “lives” by providing easy answers

◦ Evil eye, stone rings (amulets to ward off bad-luck)

◦ Lottery

Cultural Stories

Myths are stories with symbolic elements that represent the shared emotions/ideals of a culture

Myths are culturecentric so they take on different forms around the world

Story characteristics◦ Conflict between opposing forces◦ Outcome is moral guide for people◦ Myth reduces anxiety by providing guidelines to

the consumers

Myths

Myths

Myths are often found in comic books, movies, holidays, and commercials

Monomyths: a myth that is common to many cultures (e.g., Spiderman and Superman)

Many movies/commercials present characters and plot structures that follow mythic patterns◦ Gone With the Wind◦ E.T.: The Extraterrestrial◦ X-Men

Myths Abound in Modern Popular Culture

Myths Abound in Modern Popular Culture

Eggs are bad for your heart Carbohydrates make you fat Calories eaten at night are more fattening than

those eaten early in the day Radiation in microwaves create dangerous

compounds in your food Microwaving zaps nutrients You crave certain foods because you’re deficient

in one of the nutrients they provide Its important to fast periodically, to cleanse

toxins from your body

Biggest Nutrition and Food Myths

Rituals

What are Rituals? Multiple, symbolic behaviors/ series of acts

performed in a same way. We perform Rituals according to our cultural and

religious values for example; wedding ceremonies.

Ritual artifacts

This refers to all those specialty

products that are used and

consumed in various religious and social rituals

Ritual scripts

Ritual script guides the use of various artifactual materials.

Muslim wedding rituals.

How Rituals influence consumer behavior?

Consumers buy products according to their rituals for example particular wedding consumptions.

Businesses supply ritual artifacts (Items needed to perform rituals) to consumers for example wedding rice, birthday candles etc.

Types of Rituals

Grooming Rituals All consumers have private grooming

rituals.They aid in transition from private to

public self.

A women believes in going to parlor before going to a social gathering, if she won’t visit a parlor she wouldn’t be able to move confidently in the gathering.

Men shaving before going out is another example of grooming rituals

Types of Ritual Experience

Grooming Rituals (cont.)

Private/public and work/leisure personal rituals Beauty rituals reflect transformation from natural state

to social world or vice versa

Gift-giving Rituals

Consumers try to procure a perfect object to gift someone and before giving it they remove the price tag and carefully wrap it.

Gift-giving is form of; Economic exchange Symbolic Exchange Social Expression

Stages of Gift-giving Rituals

Gestation: Giver is motivated by an event to procure a gift. Structural event: prescribed by culture (e.g; Basant) Emergent event: more personal. Presentation: process of gift exchange when recipient

responds to a gift and donor evaluates the response. Reformulation: Giver and receiver adjust the bond between

them

Example of Structural Event (Basant)

Holiday Rituals Holidays are based on a myth with a character at center of

story Marketers find ways to encourage gift giving and provide

artifacts to perform those rituals Businesses invent new occasions to raise on need for

cards/ritual artifacts Mother’s day, Grandparents’ Day etc Retailers elevate minor holidays to major ones to provide

merchandising opportunities

Christmas gifts

Definition: A rite of passage is a ceremony and marks the transition from one phase of life to another. 

& A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's

transition from one status to another. It can beNatural (Death, Puberty) Individuals (Getting divorced)

Rites Of Passage

Phases of Rites of Passages:

• Separation

• Liminality

• Aggregation

Phases of Rites of Passages

Sacred: It involves objects and events that are set apart from normal activities that are treated with respect. Profane: It describes the objects and events that are ordinary.

Sacred and Profane Consumption

Sacred places:

Sacred people:

Sacred events:

Domains of Sacred Consumption

Local products

Pictorial images

‘Piece of the rock

Literal representations

Markers

Sacred Souvenir Icons

Definition: Sacralization occurs when ordinary objects, events, and even people take on sacred meaning

Sacralization

Desacralization: when a sacred item/symbol is removed from its special place or is duplicated in mass quantities (becomes profane).

Desacralization