CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR – 7 : CULTURE & SUBCULTURE

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON CONSUMER

BEHAVIOUR
INTRODUCTION
To understand the buyer and to make a customer out of him is the main purpose of
the study of consumer behaviour. Though this problem has been analysed from
different view points under different premises, it still remains a complex one. On the
other hand the buyer is a riddle. He is a highly complex entity. His needs & desires
are innumerable. Some are latent, some manifest and some others are highly
dominant. These have different priorities in the his scheme of things. The buyer has
his own ideas & plans about realising these needs & desires. The first & foremost
task of the marketer is to get close to the buyer and understand his need-structure &
priorities.
There are four major factors which influence the behaviour of the consumers. They
are :
1. Psychological factors influencing Customer Behaviour
2. Social Psychological factors influencing Customer Behaviour
3. Sociological factors influencing Customer Behaviour
4. Economic factors influencing Customer Behaviour
These are grouped into two basic types as under :
1. Individual Determinants of Behaviour, or The Consumer as an Individual.
2. Environmental Influences on Consumer behaviour, or Consumers in their Cultural
and Social Settings.

SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS
These are the factors which are the environmental influences acting on an individual.
We shall study several of them : Culture & Sub-culture; Social Class, Social Group &
Reference Group; Family & Opinion Leadership. We shall discuss them one-by-one.

Culture :

Introduction :
Cultural Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour : The study of culture is challenging
because its primary focus is on the widest component of social behaviour – the entire
society. It includes the detailed analysis of characters of the total society like
language, knowledge, rules & laws, religion & rituals, food customs, music & art,
literature, technology, work patterns, products, and other artefacts. In short it’s the
society’s personality, and hence it is difficult to define its boundaries.

Definition :

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Defining Cultures : Culture is defined as the sum total of learned beliefs, values,
customs, that serve to direct the consumer behaviour of members of a particular
society.
1. The beliefs and values - refer to the accumulated feelings & priorities that
individuals have about things & possessions. In a broad sense, both beliefs &
values are mental images that affect a wide range of specific attitudes that, in
turn, influence the way a person is likely to respond in a specific situation.
2. Customs – are overt modes of behaviour that constitute culturally approved or
accepted ways of behaving in specific situations. While beliefs & values are
guides for behaviour, customs are usual & acceptable ways of behaving.

Influence of Culture :
Consumers both view themselves in the context of their culture and react to their
environment based on the cultural framework that they bring to that experience.
Each individual perceives the world thro’ his own cultural lens.
1. The cultural value system influences three essential constructs of human
behaviour :
a. Ethics – good, bad, moral, immoral;
b. Aesthetics – beautiful, ugly, pleasant, unpleasant;
c. Doctrine – political, social, ideological.
2. Culture exists and reveals itself at different perceived on subjective levels. For
the purpose of the study of Consumer behaviour three levels of subjective
culture that are especially relevant for the exploration of Consumer behaviour
and formulation of a marketing strategy.
a. Supranational Level : It reflects the dimensions of culture of multiple cultures
or different societies or nations.
b. National Level : It reflects the dimensions of culture of a country, with
underlying importance to its national characters.
c. Group Level : It reflects the dimensions of culture within a country, with
various sub-divisions of the society, like family, reference groups & other
closely held groups.

Culture Satisfies Needs :

One of the important characteristics of Culture is to satisfy the needs of the people.
It offers suggestions, guidance, direction, orders, standard practice, problem solving
methods to the people which are “tried-and –tested” of satisfying physiological,
psychological and social needs.
For example, it tells us regarding food habits & practices, dress codes & practices,
worships, rituals about birth, death, and other social occasions.
Culture is generally consistent and enduring. As long as it satisfies the needs of the
people, it is followed. However, if a specific standard is no longer able to satisfy the
needs of people it may be changed or replaced.

Culture is Learned :

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Culture is learned at the childhood itself from the social environment. Often we see
children play and enact the real life situations of social & cultural rituals.
Anthropologists have identified three distinct forms of learning culture :
1. Formal Learning : This is what the elder family members teach the younger ones
how to behave.
2. Informal Learning : This is what the child learns by imitating the some members
of family and friends, TV heroes, role models etc.
3. Technical Learning : These are the teachings and learnings that take place in a
school or an educational environment about what, why & how things to be done.
The marketers’ ads and appeals enhance the informal learning the most, though
these can influence all the three types of cultural learning.
Anthropologists often distinguish between the learning of one’s own culture and the
learning of some other or new culture :
1. Enculturation : is the learning of one’s own culture.
2. Acculturation : is the learning of some other or new culture. In today’s
Multinational & Global companies, this is very important for the marketers to
understand whether the foreign products are acceptable to the customers.

Culture is Dynamic :
In general, in this ever changing world, almost every thing changes. So does culture.
This happens because of changes occurring within a society due to technology,
migration, wars, resources availability, changing values and so on. Hence the
marketers must carefully monitor the evolution of culture in order to market the
current product effectively or develop a more suitable product.
These are sometimes known as “Trends”. The trends in fashion, automobiles, foods,
entertainment, lifestyle, are a hot object to monitor and study. For accurate results
these “Trends” or cultural changes are measured, as discussed in the following
section.

Measurement of Culture :
The study of culture and its estimation is known as measurement of culture. As
discussed in an earlier context it can be done thro’ the measurement of attitude,
motivation, perception & personality. There are some other methods too :
1. Content Analysis : This is an objective method of analysing the content of all
available sources of verbal, written, pictorial messages & communication about a
society. The marketers use the content analysis to understand the effects of
cultural shifts on consumption pattern.
2. Consumer Fieldwork : this involves the quantitative & qualitative techniques of
consumer research to understand the influence of their culture on their
behaviour and its subsequent effect on their consumption patterns. Researchers
use various methods like observation (both participative & non-participative),
focus groups, in-depth interviews to not only understand consumption in the
cultural context, but also to identify emerging cultural shifts.

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3. Value Measurement Survey Instruments : In this researchers use data collection
instruments called value instruments to ask people how they feel about such
basic personal & social concept as freedom, comfort, national security, peace,
etc. There are three popular methods :
a. Rokeach Value Survey – This is a frequently used method in which two
different lists of 18 values each are chosen. The first list consists of the
terminal value items which are designed to measure the relative importance
of end states of existence (or personal goals), like freedom, equality, social
recognition. The second list consists of the instrumental value items which
measure the basic approaches an individual might take to reach end state
values, like ambition, responsibility, and intellect. Thus, the first half of
measurement instrument deals with ends, and the second half considers
means.
b. List of Values (LOV) – This method is quite similar to the Rokeach Value
Survey, where the list of terminal values consists of only nine items and the
respondent is asked to pick up only two most important items according to
his priority.
c. Values and Lifestyle System (SRI VALS) – This system is based on the need
hierarchy and the social character concept. It consists of 32-36 questions
relating to the general & specific attitude of respondents and their
demographic profile. The respondents are then classified into one of the eight
Lifestyle groups as discussed earlier.
d. SRI Consulting Business Intelligence’s VALS (Value and Lifestyle System) –
i. Actualisers - Successful, sophisticated, active “take-charge” people.
Purchases often reflect cultivated tastes for relatively upscale, niche-
oriented products.
ii. Achievers - Successful, career- & work-oriented. Favour established
prestige products that demonstrate success to their peers.
iii. Believers - Conservative, conventional & traditional. Favour familiar
products & established brands.
iv. Fulfilled - Mature, satisfied, comfortable, and reflective. Favour durability,
functionality, and value in products.
v. Experiencers – Young, vital, enthusiastic, impulsive & rebellious. Spend a
comparatively high proportion of income on clothing, fast food, music,
movies & video.
vi. Makers - Practical, self-sufficient, traditional, family-oriented. Favour only
products with a practical functional purpose such as tools, utility vehicles,
fishing equipment.
vii. Strivers - Uncertain, insecure, approval-seeking, resource constrained.
Favour stylish products that emulate the purchases of those with greater
material wealth.
viii. Struggler - Elderly, resigned, passive, concerned, resource constrained.
Cautious consumers who are loyal to favourite brands.

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Sub-Culture :

Introduction :
A society with a common culture can be further subdivided on the basis of socio-
cultural (nationality, social class, religion) and demographic (region, language,
occupation, age, gender) variables into various groups called sub-cultures. A sub-
culture is a social group within a national culture that has distinctive patterns of
behaviour & beliefs. Culture is thus related to the dominant cultural beliefs, values &
customs of a society, irrespective of the different traits of the multiple sub-cultures
within that culture.
Sub-culture is defined as a distinct cultural group that exists as an identifiable
segment within a larger, more complex society.
The following section describes some of the important sub cultural categories on the
basis of nationality, religion, geographic location, race, age and gender.

Nationality Subculture :
Within a particular country, there are a sizeable proportion of population who have
originated from or have the roots in other countries. Like in India, we have Anglo
Indians, Parsees, Moghuls, Pathans, Indo-Chinese, Sinhalese, etc. These people show
a markedly different behaviour in purchasing of ethnic foods, cultural artefacts,
travelling to their homeland, etc.

Religious Subculture :
In any given country, there are always people belonging to different faiths, beliefs
and religions, like Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, etc. And again we have
various subdivisions or sects like Sikhism, Jainism within Hindus, Catholic and
Protestants within Christians, Shias and Sunnis within Muslims, etc. Some people
may consider them as separate religions on their own merit. Even within the same
culture these subdivisions show distinct purchasing behaviour.

Geographic & Regional Subculture :

Given a large country’s size and physical diversity, wide range of climatic and
geographic conditions, that the people have a sense of regional identification, like in
India & USA. On this basis the purchasing behaviours of people belonging to different
regions are different. The Consumer Research Studies can identify the regional
difference in consumption pattern.
In India we have distinct subcultures of (1) North Indians, (2) South Indians, (3) East
Indians, (4) West Indians, (5) North-East Indians (the seven sisters), (6) Hindi
Heartland (BIMARU states).
In India we also have subcultures based on Languages spoken, Like Hindi, Oriya,
Telugu, Tamil, Kannad, Malyali, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Assamese, Haryanvi,
Punjabi, Himachali, Kashmiri, etc.

Racial Subculture :
A culture can be subdivided on the basis of race like :

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1. In USA, they can be Caucasians, African American, Asian American, and
American Indians.
2. In India, they can be Parsees, Pathans, Pahadis, Jaths, Kashmiris, Chinese,
Aryans, Dravidians, Adibasis, Sinhalese, etc

Age Subculture :
Age is a major basis of subculture. We come across the different ways people of
different age groups behave in listening music, reading magazines, eating foods,
wearing dresses, watching TV & cinemas, etc. In USA, the following are considered to
be distinct subcultures on the basis of Age :
1. Generation Y : Born between 1977 and 1994 ( Children of baby boomers), also
known as “echo boomers” and “millennium generation”.
2. Tweens : Aged between 8 and 14 years.
3. Twixters : Age group of 21-19 years, spanning Gen Y and Gen X markets.
4. Generation X : Aged between 25 and 40 years. “Gen Xers work to live”.
5. Baby Boomers : Aged between 40 and 60 years. “Baby Boomers live to work”.
6. Older Consumers : Aged above 60.

Gender as a Subculture :
All societies have traditionally assigned different traits and roles to males and
females. Women have been historically cast as homemakers with child care, and
men as the providers or breadwinners. In certain advanced and developed societies
traditionally, masculine traits consist of aggressiveness, competitiveness, and
feminine traits consist of neatness, gentleness, tactfulness and talkativeness. But in
this multi-specialisation world the roles are slowly getting mixed and interchanged.
Both genders now do the other’s traditional roles.
A recent MR study found that men and women react differently to the same
advertisements. Men are more affected by simple, comparative, attribute oriented
Ads, while women are more affected by complex, verbal, harmonious, and category
oriented Ads. Hence marketers must see that for best results they advertise
differently for men and women.

© Himansu S M / 16 November, 2009