Group 3 Arjun Kumar Chhetri, Himadri Palikhe, Shrawan Tamrakar

Chapter Notes_Influence of Culture on Consumer Behavior

Culture is a detailed examination of the character of the total society, including such factors as language, knowledge, laws, religion, food customs, music, art, technology, work patterns, products, and other artifacts that give a society its distinctive flavor. In a sense, culture is a societys personality. Culture is the sum total of learned beliefs, values, and customs that server to direct the consumer behavior of members of a particular society. It is the accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms, and traditions among the members of an organization or society and determines: Overall priorities a consumer attaches to different activities and products Success or failure of specific products and services

Consumers both view themselves in the context of their culture and react to their environment based upon the cultural frame work that they bring to that experience. Each individual perceives the world through his own cultural lens. Culture is also associated with what a societys members consider to be a necessity and what they view as a luxury. For instance, 55% of Americans adults consider a microwave to be a necessity and 36% consider a remote control for a TV or VCR to be necessity. The learning of ones own culture is known as enculturation. The learning of a new or foreign culture is known as acculturation. Culture is learned. At an early age, we begin to acquire from our social environment a set of beliefs, values, and customs that make up our culture. Anthropologists have identified three distinct forms of cultural learning: 1. Formal learning: in which adults and older siblings teach a young family member How to behave; 2. Informal learning: in which a child learns primarily by imitating the behavior of selected others, such as family, friends, or TV stars. 3. Technical Learning: Which teachers instruct the child in an educational environment about what, how and why it should be done. Advertising can influence all three types of cultural learning's.

Group 3 Arjun Kumar Chhetri, Himadri Palikhe, Shrawan Tamrakar

Culture is shared. Culture is viewed as group customs that link together the members of the society. Common language is the critical component that makes it possible for people to share values, experiences, and customs. Social Institutions transmitting the element of culture and sharing of culture 1. Family: primary agent for enculturation 2. Educational Institutions: imparts learning skills, history, patriotism, citizenship and technical training. 3. Religious Institutions: Perpetuate religious consciousness, spiritual guidance, and moral training. 4. Mass Media: wide range of cultural values. Culture is Dynamic. To fulfill the need gratifying role, culture continually must evolve if it is to function in the best interests of a society. The marketers must carefully monitor the socio culture environment in order to market an existing product effectively or to develop promising new products. Aspects of culture. A cultural system consists of 3 functional areas: Social Structure: Way in Which Orderly Social Life is Maintained Ecology: Way a System is Adapted to Its Habitat Ideology: Way in Which People Relate to Their Environment and Social Groups Other aspects of culture - Although every culture is different, 4 dimensions appear to account for much of this variability. Power distance - how interpersonal relationships form when power differences exist. Uncertainty avoidance - degree to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations Masculinity/ femininity - degree to which sex roles are clearly delineated. Individualism - extent to which the welfare of the individual Vs the group is valued.

Group 3 Arjun Kumar Chhetri, Himadri Palikhe, Shrawan Tamrakar

Values are very general ideas about good and bad goals Enacted Norms - Explicitly Decided On Crescive Norms - Embedded in Culture. Like Customs, Mores, Conventions

A myth is a story containing symbolic elements that expresses the shared emotions and ideals of a culture. Myths serve 4 interrelated functions in a culture: Metaphysical Cosmological Psychological Sociological

A ritual is a set of multiple, symbolic behaviors that occur in a fixed sequence and that tend to be repeated periodically. A ritual is a type of symbolic activity consisting of a series of steps occurring in a fixed sequence and repeated over time. The standpoint of marketers is the fact that rituals tends to replete with ritual artifacts that are associated with or somehow enhance the performance of the ritual. The gift - giving ritual can be broken down into the following three distinct stages: Gestation - giver is motivated by an event to buy a gift Presentation - process of gift exchange Reformulation - bonds between parties are adjusted

Rites of passage can be construed as being special times marked by a change in social status. Stage 1. Separation detaching from the original group Stage 2. Liminality person is in-between statuses Stage 3. Aggregation person reenters society after rite-of-passage is complete Sacred and Profane Consumption Sacred consumption - involves objects and events that are set apart from normal activities, and are treated with some degree of respect or awe. Domains of Sacred Consumption:

Group 3 Arjun Kumar Chhetri, Himadri Palikhe, Shrawan Tamrakar

Sacred Places - May have religious or mystical significance. Others are created from the profane world and given special sacred qualities (i.e. Disney World, or shopping malls). The home is a particularly scared place.

Sacred People - Memorabilia can take on special meaning, from baseball cards to clothing the special person has touched or worn. Sacred Events Many consumers activities (events) have taken on special status. Examples would include the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the World Series, even family vacations. Personal mementos from sacred events can include: Local products (i.e. wine from California). Pictorial images (i.e. post cards). A piece of the event such as a rock or seashell. Symbolic shorthand (i.e. a miniature Statue of Liberty). Markers (i.e. Hard Rock Cafe T-shirts).

Profane consumption - involves consumer objects and events that are ordinary, everyday objects and events that do not share the specialness of sacred ones. Some sacred things have become profane, and some profane things have become sacred. Desacralization occurs when a sacred item or symbol is removed from its special place or is duplicated in mass quantities, becoming profane as a result. Examples: Monuments, artwork, American flag, religion. Sacralization occurs when ordinary objects, events, and even people, take on sacred meaning to a culture or to specific groups within a culture. Examples: Super Bowl, or Elvis. Objectification occurs when sacred qualities are attributed to mundane objects. Collecting refers to the systematic acquisition of a particular object or set of objects.