Environmental Environmental

influences on influences on

consumer behaviorconsumer behavior

Presented ByRohit BajpaiEnroll no. A30101909008Sem 4th

Submitted toAstha Gupta Sr. Lecturer

Environmental influencesphysical environment: collection of

nonhuman elements that comprise the field in which consumer behavior occurs (spatial and nonspatial elements);

social environment: all human activities and interactions;

culture subculture social class reference groups family

Dimensions of cultural variation (Hofstede 1980)

power distance: degree to which human inequality (in terms of prestige, wealth, power, etc.) is considered normal by the population of a country;

uncertainty avoidance: degree to which people in a country prefer structured over unstructured situations (rigidity vs. flexibility);

individualism/collectivism: degree to which people in a country prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of a group;

masculinity/femininity: degree to which values such as assertiveness, performance, success and competition prevail over values such as quality of life, warm interpersonal relationships, service, care for the weak, and solidarity;

use of status symbolsshowing people alone or as part of a grouplong copy and testimonials by expertsrespect for old agenonconforming lifestylesmen or women in nontraditional rolesimportance of being well-groomednuclear vs. extended family“It’s so good, you want to keep it for yourself”

vs. “It’s so good, you want to share it with others”

“Be the best” or “Big is beautiful” vs. “Brilliant in its simpleness”

Globalization vs. adaptationglobalization: argument that companies

should ignore superficial cultural differences, learn to operate as if the world were one large market, and pursue this market with standardized marketing mixes (Levitt 1983);

adaptation: argument that companies should emphasize local cultural differences, segment markets on the basis of these differences, and adapt their marketing mixes to the local culture;

In-class exercise: Cross-cultural marketing blunders

Describe an incident in which a marketing strategy failed because of the marketer’s ignorance of cross-cultural differences in consumer behavior. If possible, relate an example that you’re personally familiar with.

Subcultureculture of a segment of society that differs in significant ways from the culture as a whole;

ethnic groupsgeographic areasage groupsreligious affiliationssocio-economic groups

Social classa hierarchy of social status in a society

leading to interactions of people as equals, superiors, or inferiors;

influenced most heavily by educational credentials, occupation prestige level, income, and area of residence;

Reference groupsA group of people that serves as a standard of reference in guiding an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.Types of reference group influence:

informational:(acceptance of information from others);

normative (utilitarian):(conformity with expectations of others);

comparative (value-expressive):(identification with values of others);

To satisfy the expectations of fellow work associates, the individual’s decision to purchase a particular brand is influenced by their preferences.

The individual seeks information from those who work with the product as a profession.

The individual sometimes feels that it would be nice to be like the type of person which advertisements show using a particular brand.

The brand which the individual selects is influenced by observing a seal of approval of an independent testing agency (such as Good Housekeeping).

The individual feels that the purchase of a particular brand helps him show others what he is, or would like to be (such as an athlete, successful businessman, good mother, etc.).

Reference group influence on product and brand choice (Bearden and Etzel 1982)

necessity luxury

private

public

brandchoice

product choice weak reference

group influencestrong referencegroup influence

strongreference

groupinfluence

weakreference

groupinfluence

PuNe(e.g., wristwatch,

automobile,man’s suit)

PrNe(e.g., mattress,

floor lamp,refrigerator)

PuLu(e.g., golf club,

snow skis, sailboat)

PrLu(e.g., TV game,

trash compactor, icemaker)

Familiesfamilies vs. households:

a family is two or more persons residing together who are related by blood, adoption, or marriage;

a household is one or more persons sharing the same housing unit;

many decision are made by families or households, not individuals;

consumer behavior varies over the family life cycle (based on age, marital status, and number and ages of children);

The family life cycleyoung single 8.2 %young married without children 2.9 %other young

married with children 17.1 %divorced with kids 1.9 %divorced with no kids 0.1 %

middle-aged (35-65)married with children 33.0 %married with no dependent children 5.5 %married with no children 4.7 %divorced with no kids 0.3 %divorced with kids 1.9 %

older (65+)married, spouse present 5.2 %unmarried, no spouse present 2.0 %

all others 17.2 %

Thank you