Culture & Subculture

Overall Conceptual Model of

Consumer Behavior
 External Influences
Culture
Subculture
Demographics
Social class
Reference group
Family
 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.
 Culture determines how we view the world around us
 Culture includes the traditions we inherit and pass on to
the next generation

 Culture offers order, direction, and guidance in all phases

of
human problem solving
- e.g. What to eat, When to eat, Where to eat, how to eat
Culture
What is culture?
Cultural values give rise
to norms (celebrating
pohela boishakh,
valentines day etc.) and
associated sanctions
(class appearance, fine for
public smoking), which in
turn influence
consumption patterns.
Cultures are not static.
They typically evolve and
change slowly over time.
 Cultural values of relevance to Consumer
Behavior
Other-oriented values
 Reflects a society’s view of the appropriate relationships
between individuals and groups within the society.
Consumers will not respond favorably to promotional
appeals ‘to be individual’ if it is used in a society that
values collective activity. (British airways)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixbLMsVlpes

Environment-oriented values
 Prescribe a society’s relationship to it’s economic and
technical as well as physical environment.

Self-oriented values
 Reflect the objectives and approaches to life that the
individual members of the society find desirable.
 Other-oriented values
• Individual/Collective: Are individual activity and initiative valued more highly
than collective activity and conformity? Eating alone?? More imitative or less
innovative? ‘Be yourself’- will not work out
• Youth/Age: Is family life organized to meet the needs of the children or the
adults? Are younger or older people viewed as leaders and role models? Who
is given prestige, rank and important social role?
• Extended/Limited family: To what extent does one have a lifelong obligation
to numerous family members? Guidance/advice of parents in decision making
• Masculine/Feminine: To what extent does social power automatically go to
males? Does the husband, wife or make important family decisions?
• Competitive/Cooperative: Does one obtain success by excelling over others
or by cooperating with them? Cultures with more masculine and individualistic
orientations tend to value competitiveness and demonstrate it openly.
• Diversity/Uniformity: Does the culture embrace variation in religious belief,
ethnic background, political views, and other important behaviors and
attitudes?.

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 Environment-oriented values
• Cleanliness: To what extent is cleanliness pursued beyond the minimum
needed for health? Is it a minor issue or next to godliness?? US-germ-
fighting liquid soaps alone are a $16billion market.
• Performance/Status: Is the culture’s reward system based on performance
or on inherited factors such as family or class? Equal opportunity?? A status
oriented society prefers quality or established and prestigious brand names.
• Tradition/Change: Are existing patterns of behavior considered inherently
superior to new patterns of behavior? Is tradition valued? Is change or
progress accepted? Use of technology, modernness.
• Risk taking/Security: Are those who risk their established positions to
overcome obstacles or achieve high goals admired more than those who do
not? Why wait for job-Entrepreneurship! (Blink-din bodol)
• Problem solving/Fatalistic: Are people encouraged to overcome all
problems, or do they take a “what will be, will be” attitude? We can do it/ don’t
have control over the come of the events. Likelihood of formal complaint with
an unsatisfactory purchase

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 Self-oriented values
• Active/Passive: Is a physically active approach to life valued more highly than
a less active orientation? An exercise or sports theme for bottled water
won’t be appropriate in a country where most people exercise less than
twice a year.
• Sensual gratification/Abstinence: To what extent is it acceptable to enjoy
sensual pleasures such as food, drink, and sex?
• Material/Nonmaterial: How much importance is attached to the acquisition of
material wealth? Does material wealth bring more status than family ties,
knowledge, or other activities?
• Hard work/Leisure: Is a person who works harder than economically
necessary admired more than one who does not? Lifestyle and demand for
leisure activities.
• Postponed gratification/Immediate gratification: Are people encouraged to
“save for a rainy day” or to “live for today”? Credit card/cash or debit card use
• Religious/Secular: To what extent are behaviors and attitudes based on the
rules specified by a religious doctrine? (Aromatic soap/ Lafz body spray)
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Determine the Bangladeshi Culture: Past,
Present and Future

8
Cultural Variations in Nonverbal
Communications

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Cultural Variations in Nonverbal
Communications

Time
The meaning of time varies between
cultures in two major ways:

• Time perspective
• monochronic
• polychronic

• Meanings in the use of time

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 Time Perspective
Monochronic Polychronic
 One thing at a time  Many things at once
 Concentrate on 1  Highly distractible
job  Deadlines are
 Deadlines matter secondary
 Commitment to task  Commitment to
 Adhesion to plans people
 Promptness is  Changing plans is
valued easy
 Short term  Promptness
relationships depends
 Long term preferred11
Cultural Variations in Nonverbal
Communications

Space
• Overall use and meanings assigned to
space vary widely among different
cultures (office space, lift)

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Cultural Variations in Nonverbal
Communications

Symbols
Colors, animals, shapes, numbers, and
music have varying meanings across
cultures.
Failure to recognize the meaning assigned
to a symbol can cause serious problems!
Pink shirt , Thumbs up ad
Owl- wisdom in us, bad luck in India
Number 7- unlucky in Singapore, Kenya

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Cultural Variations in Nonverbal
Communications

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Cultural Variations in Nonverbal
Communications

Relationships
How quickly and easily do cultures form
relationships and make friends?
• Americans tend to form relationships
and friends quickly and easily.
• How much does this commitment
matter?
• Few takes time, & what about us???

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Cultural Variations in Nonverbal
Communications

Agreements
How does a culture ensure
business obligations are
honored? How are
disagreements resolved?
Some cultures rely on a legal
system; others rely on
relationships, friendships, etc.

Japan-US business deal

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Cultural Variations in Nonverbal
Communications
Things
The cultural meaning of things leads
to purchase patterns that one would
not otherwise predict.
The differing meanings that cultures
attach to things, including products,
make gift-giving a particularly
difficult task.
Necklace from Aarong as a gift
Clock in China- funeral

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Cultural Variations in Nonverbal
Communications
Etiquette
The generally accepted ways of behaving in
social situations.
Behaviors considered rude or obnoxious in one
culture may be quite acceptable in another!
Normal voice tone, pitch, and speed of speech
differ between cultures and languages, as do the
use of gestures. (how you come in class)

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 Cultural values of relevance to Consumer
Behavior

As a marketer you must develop a very different

marketing program for societies that focus
different values

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=lOwOZwtLD5c
EUROPE

India
 Change Adjustment
What do the local ads focus? i) reality ii) desire
Is value pattern of the society changing?
Reflection of cultural changes in our local ads-

Tanishq
 Subculture
 As there can be broad differences between the cultures of various
societies, there can also be differences within the same culture.
 Every culture contains subcultures, defined as groups that share
the values and artifacts of the larger society, but also have
distinctive practices, preferences, and beliefs.
 i.e., A distinct cultural group that exists as an identifiable
segment within a larger, more complex society
 For example, we are Bangladeshi having a distinct culture, share
certain types of values and maintain certain common norms
around the country. -respecting olders, hospitality, festive and fun
loving, having rice and fish, wearing lungi-panjabi, shari, having
food with hand, maintaining religious values and so ones.
 Islam is the dominant religion in the culture of Bangladesh; while
Sunni and Shiaa, for example, may be viewed as subcultures
within the larger Muslim culture here in our country. Businessmen
living in the old part of Dhaka share distinctive subcultures, what
about people in coastal areas(dry fish, resilience), hill tracts ??.
Subculture may also be defined in terms of such factors as region,
rural or urban residence, ethnic background, and religion.
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada 10-23
Types of Subcultures
Categories Examples of
Nationality Subcultures
Bangladeshi, French, Malaysian,
Australian, Indian
Ethnic group
Chakma, Marma, Khasia, Shia, Sunni
Geographic
region Rural/Urban, Coastal area/others, Hill
tracts
Religion
Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism
 Importance of Subcultures

Core
Identificati
cultural
Mass
on with market
values and
core behaviors
norms
culture
Individuals
Sub- Unique
Identificati
cultural market
on with a
values and
subculture behaviors
norms
 Learning Culture

Culture is learned through enculturation and

acculturation

Acculturation: The process by which people in

one culture or subculture come to understand
and adapt to the cultural meanings used in
another culture or subculture.

Enculturation: The process by which people in

one culture or subculture come to understand
and adapt to the cultural meanings used in the
culture or subculture they live in
 Forms of Cultural Learning
Formal Learning

Informal Learning

https://
www.youtube.com/shorts/nO6Kw3c-1F0

Technical Learning

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada 9-27

 The Measurement of Culture and
Cultural trends

Content Analysis
Consumer Fieldwork
Value Measurement Instruments

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada 9-28

 Content Analysis

A method for systematically analyzing the

content of verbal, written and/or pictorial
communication.
Outcome is theme or key concepts
Frequently used to determine prevailing
social values of a society.

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada 9-29

 Field Observation
A measurement technique that takes place within
a natural environment that focuses on observing
behaviour (sometimes without the subjects’
awareness).
As trained researchers, they are likely to select a
small sample of people from a particular society
and carefully observe their behaviour.
Based on their observations, researchers draw
conclusions about the values, beliefs and customs
of the society under investigation.

Example: How men select ties in a store

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada 9-30

 Participant-Observers
Researchers who participate in the environment
that they are studying without notifying those who
are being observed
Researchers become active members of the
environment that they are studying. For example,
if researchers were interested in examining how
consumers selected computer software, they might
take a sales position in a computer superstore to
observe directly and even to interact with
customers in the transaction process.
Example: working as a salesperson to sell a tie

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada 9-31

Value Measurement Survey Instruments
Rokeach created Rokeach Value Survey
(RVS) consisting of two sets of values
eighteen “terminal” values (i.e., personal
goals) and eighteen “instrumental” values
(i.e., ways of reaching personal goals).
Each of the value is ranked in order of the
value’s importance or marked on an agree-
disagree scale.

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada 9-32

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada
Value Measurement Survey Instruments
Researchers at the university of Michigan
created List of Values (LOV)
 A value measurement instrument that asks
consumers to identify their two most
important values from a nine-value list
that is based on the terminal values of the
RVS (Rokeach Value Survey)
One study showed that LOV has a higher
percentage than RVS of terms that people
say influence their daily lives

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada 9-34

 LOV Segments
Self-respect
Security
Warm relationships with others
Sense of accomplishment
Self-fulfillment – young urban professionals
Sense of belongingness
Fun and enjoyment of life
Being well respected
Excitement
Culture and Marketing Strategy
 Identify key cultural values that affect the
consumption of the product
Ensure the marketing mix appeals to
these values
Examine changes in cultural values and
adapt the marketing mix if needed
Modify marketing mix to subcultures if
the culture is heterogeneous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVdO
AM4oyP0
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education Canada 9-36
 Subcultures and Marketing Strategy

Segment the market using subcultures

Adapt marketing mix to suit subculture’s
needs
Use ethnic media to reach racio-ethnic
subcultures
Incorporate members of subcultures in ads
Be aware of segments within each
subculture