1. Lecture Three The cultural environment
Dr Joanna Pokorska

2. Lecture Objectives To define the concept of culture
To explain the impact of culture on marketing decisions
To explain the relationships between cultural influences, consumer needs and consumer behaviour
To debate the usefulness and limitations of application of cultural frameworks

3. What is Culture?
Culture is “an integrated system of learned behaviour patterns that are distinguishing characteristics of the members of any given society. It includes everything that a group thinks, says, does, and makes - its customs, language, material artifacts, and shared systems of attitudes and feelings”
Czinkota & Ronkainen (1998, p. 65)

4. What is Culture?
“The collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another…Culture, in a sense, includes systems of values; and values are among the building blocks of culture”
Hofstede (1980)
“The sum total of learned beliefs, values and customs that serve to direct customer behaviour in a particular country market”
Doole and Lowe (2012)

5. The Components of Culture
Lee&Carter: Fig. 4.3, p. 115

6. The Interaction of Culture and Consumer Behaviour

7. Role of Language 6,912 languages in the world
96% of these languages are spoken by 4% of the population
Includes verbal & non-verbal communication
Four distinct roles of verbal language
Information gathering & evaluation efforts
Provides access to local society
Important for company communication
Allows for interpretation of context
Key topics of non-verbal communication
Time, space, material possessions, friendship & business agreements 7

8. Body language

9. Hall’s communication context
Concerns with the way in which information is transmitted or communicated
All ‘information transactions’ can be characterised as ‘High’, ‘Middle’ or ‘Low’ Context
High Context transaction feature pre-programmed information that is in the receiver and in the setting, with only minimal information in the transmitted message - Implicit
For Low Context transactions, most of the information must be in the transmitted message in order to make up for what is missing in the context - Explicit

10. Hall’s Communication Context
Hall, E.T. (1990) The Silent Language, New York: Anchor Books
CHARACTERISTIC
HIGH CONTEXT
LOW CONTEXT
COMMUNICATION
Implicit & indirect
Explicit & direct
SPACE
Formal hugs, bows, handshakes
Informal handshakes
FAMILY
Extended family, other-oriented
Nuclear family, self-oriented
TIME
Elastic, relative
Exact, promptness is valued
BUSINESS/WORK HABITS
Relationship oriented, hierarchical, gender roles, respect for authority
Deal oriented, egalitarian, gender equity, challenge authority
FOOD & EATING HABITS
Eating is a social event
Eating is a necessity, fast food 10

11. The Contextual Continuum of Cultures

12. Religion An important source of beliefs, attitudes and values
Can dictate what goods and services are purchased
Can affect diet
Can affect major holidays gift-giving

13. Aesthetics The sense of what is beautiful and what is not beautiful
What represents good taste in a culture
Can be embodied in the colour or shape of a product, label or package
Need to consider colours and symbolic meanings

14. Hofstede’s Cultural Framework
POWER DISTANCE
Degree to which less powerful members within a society accept that power is unevenly distributed
INDIVIDUALISM/COLLECTIVISM
Degree to which people learn to act as individuals or members of groups
MASCULINITY/FEMININITY
Preference in society for achievement, assertiveness and material reward
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
Degree to which people prefer formal rules and fixed patterns
TIME PERSPECTIVE
Future oriented perspective vs short-term point of view 14

15. The Four Dimensions of Culture
Power Distance
The extent to which the less powerful members of institutions/organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally
High Power Distance = More Hierarchical, Accepts inequality in wealth and power
Attitudes towards fear of expressing disagreement with managers or authority
India, the Philippines and China have high PDI score; Austria, Denmark, Finland and Sweden score relatively lower

16. The Four Dimensions of Culture
Uncertainty Avoidance
the extent to which the members of the culture feels threatened by uncertain or unknown future situations
High Uncertainty Avoidance = High need for written and unwritten rules
Cultures that have a low UAI score (e.g. Denmark, Sweden and HK) tend to accept each day as it comes and willing to take risks.
Cultures with high UAI score (such as Japan, France and Belgium) tend to be less risk-taking

17. The Four Dimensions of Culture
Individualism Vs. Collectivism
the degree of horizontal dependence of individuals upon the group
Individualism = ties between individuals are loose; everyone is expected to look after themselves
Collectivism = people are integrated into strong, cohesive groups in exchange for unquestioning loyalty
In a high IDV score culture (UK), consumers make individual decisions, whereas in low IDV score culture (China), family tend to be central to decision making and expected to look after one another

18. The Four Dimensions of Culture
Masculinity-Femininity
The degree to which society subscribes to the typical stereotypes associated with males and females
Masculine = assertive, competitive, tough, results/performance oriented
Feminine = co-operative, nurturing, tender, equity oriented
Masculine cultures stress making money and the pursuit of visible individual achievements. Feminine cultures tend to emphasise on the harmony of the wider society rather than individual material possessions

19. Limitations of Hofstede’s Framework
Lack of representativeness
Perpetuation of national stereotypes
Ignorance of complexity
Scores are relative 19

22. Stereotypes
“Heaven is where the cooks are French, the mechanics are German, the policemen are English, the lovers are Italian, and it is all organised by the Swiss. Hell is where the cooks are English, the mechanics are French, the policemen are German, the lovers are Swiss, and it is all organised by the Italians”
Adapted from Usunier & Lee, 2009