at the end of this chapter you should understand: what is culture? what are cultural dimensions? ...
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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
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