1. Chapter 2 Cross-Cultural Variations in Consumer Behavior

2. Culture
Culture is the complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by humans as members of society.
“everything that people have, think, and do as members of their society”
“the totality of the knowledge and practices, both intellectual and material, of society”
“the institutions, values, beliefs, and behaviors of a society; everything we learn, as opposed to that with which we were born”

3. Culture
Culture:
Is comprehensive
Is acquired or learned
Provides boundaries for members
Is typically “invisible”
Enculturation is the process of learning one’s own culture.
Acculturation is the process of learning a new culture.

4. Culture
National culture refers to the culture prevalent in a nation. It comprises the norms, rituals and values common to everyone in that nation regardless of the subgroup affiliation.
Popular culture is the culture of the masses, with norms, rituals and values that have a mass appeal.
Subculture is the culture of a group within the larger society. The group may be based on any common characteristics identifying that group as distinct from other groups or from the society at large.
A firm’s corporate culture is reflected in a company’s values, rituals and customs, and even in corporate myths and celebrations of its heroes.

5. Culture
Self-Reference Criterion -- an unconscious reference to one’s own cultural values, experiences, and knowledge as a basis for decisions.
Cultural Adaptation:
Imperatives
Adiaphora
Exclusives

6. Views of Foreign Expats in the U.S.
“There are no small eggs in America. There are only jumbo, extra large, large, and medium.”
“If you are not aggressive, you’re not noticed.”
“For a foreigner to succeed in the United States…he needs to be more aggressive than in his own culture because Americans expect that.”
Americans say “Come on over sometimes,” but foreigners learn (perhaps awkwardly) that this is not really an invitation.
“Here that [socializing outside the business relationship] is not necessary. You can even do business with someone you do not like.”

7. Cultural Factors Affect Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy
Language
Demographics
Consumer
behavior
Marketing
strategy
Values
Nonverbal
communications
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1998

8. Culture Cultural Norms are accepted rules for behavior.
Cultural Values are widely held beliefs about what is good or right.
Cultural Sanctions are penalties for violations of cultural norms or disrespect for cultural values.
Cultural Rituals are sets of symbolic behaviors that occur in a fixed sequence and tend to be repeated periodically.
Cultural Myths are stories that express some key values of society.

9. Values, Norms, Sanctions, and Consumption Patterns
Specify ranges
of appropriate
behavior
Consumption
patterns
Cultural
values
Sanctions
Penalties for
violating norms
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1998

10. Value Orientations Influence Behavior
Environment-
oriented
values
Other-
Self-
Consumption
Purchase
Communications
Society’s view
of relationships
between people
with environment
Objectives/
approaches
to life society
finds desirable
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1998

11. Cultural Values of Relevance to Consumer Behavior
Other-Oriented Values
Individual/Collective. Are individual activity and initiative valued more highly than collective activity and conformity?
Extended/Limited Family. To what extent does one have a life-long obligation to numerous family members?
Diversity/Uniformity. Does the culture embrace variation in religious beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, political views, and so forth?
Masculine/Feminine. To what extent does social power automatically go to males?
Competitive/Cooperative. Does one obtain success by excelling over others or by cooperating with them?
Youth/Age. Are wisdom and prestige assigned to the younger or older members of a culture?
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1998

12. Cultural Values of Relevance to Consumer Behavior
Environment-Oriented Values
Cleanliness. To what extent is cleanliness pursued beyond the minimum needed for health?
Performance/Status. Is the culture’s reward system based on performance or on inherited factors such as family or class?
Tradition/Change. Are existing patterns of behavior considered to be inherently superior to new patterns of behavior?
Risk taking/Security. Are those who risk their established positions to overcome obstacles or achieve high goals admired more than those who do not?
Problem-solving/Fatalistic. Are people encouraged to overcome all problems, or do they take a “what will be, will be” attitude?
Nature. Is nature regarded as something to be admired or overcome?
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1998

13. Cultural Values of Relevance to Consumer Behavior
Self-Oriented Values
Active/Passive. Is a physically active approach to life valued more than a less active orientation?
Material/Nonmaterial. How much importance is attached to the acquisition of material wealth?
Hard work/Leisure. Is a person who works harder than economically necessary admired more than one who does not?
Postponed gratification/Immediate gratification. Are people encouraged to “save for a rainy day” or to “live for today”?
Sensual gratification/Abstinence. To what extent is it acceptable to enjoy sensual pleasures such as food, drink, and sex?
Religious/Secular. To what extent are behaviors and attitudes based on rules specified by religious doctrine?
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1998

14. Nonverbal Communications
Nonverbal communication systems are the arbitrary meanings a culture assigns actions, events, and things other than words.
In his book Silent Languages of Doing Business Overseas, anthropologist Edward Hall describes and illustrates how a culture’s norms and values are manifested through friendship, agreements, and other similar actions. Hall calls these behaviors “silent languages.”

15. Cultural Communication Orientations
Low-Context countries (North American and northern European countries):
messages are explicit and clear
actual words convey the main point of information
words and meanings can be separated from the context in which they occur
High-Context countries (Japan, France, Spain, Italy, Asia and Middle Eastern Arab countries):
communication is more indirect
expressive manner in which the message is delivered is critical
message cannot be understood without its context

16. Factors Influencing Nonverbal Communications
Time
Etiquette
Space
Nonverbal
communications
Things
Symbols
Agreements
Friendship
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1998

17. Orientations Toward Time
Monochronic cultures (Americans, Germans, Swiss) handle information in a direct, linear fashion
schedules, punctuality and a sense of time that forms a purposeful straight line
“time is money”
Polychronic cultures (Japanese, Hispanic) work on several fronts simultaneously time is less important than task
time and money are separate; timing is more important than time