Culture Week 4 Lecture 1 Chapter 2

Consumer Behaviour

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Culture

Week 4 Lecture 1

Chapter 2

Consumer Behaviour

Bangor Transfer Abroad Programme

Basic Framework

Motivation Perception

Search

Evaluation

Choice

Learning

What is culture?

It is a combination and mixture ofValuesNon verbal communicationsDemographicsLanguage

It is not just music and art

What is culture?

In other words it is based upon

Knowledge – EducationBeliefs' - ReligionMores – moralsCustomsAny other capabilities and habits acquired /

learned by members of a society.

Cultural Norms

• Must comply with

• Optional – nice to conform

• Not significant

Orientation of culture

• Other• Environment• Self

• Hofstede

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Other Orientation

• Individual vs Collective•Youth vs Age•Family - Extended vs Limited•Masculine vs Feminine•Competition vs Co-operation•Diversity vs Uniformity

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Environment Orientation

•Cleanliness•Performance and Status•Tradition vs Change•Risk – taking vs Security•Attitudes to Problems•Nature – live with or change

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Self Orientation

•Lifestyle – physical / active•Sensual gratification / abstinence•Hedonism - materialistic•Work ethic – hard work / Leisure•Gratification – want it now or save for later•Religion vs Secular…

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Sub CulturesGlobal CulturesGlobalisation of Brands – media

Teen culture T Shirts Music Jeans and McDMiddle Classes – Designer Clothes, HotelsWealthy Pensioners – equivalent ppp Foreign Travel

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Cultural Variations in Non Verbal Communications

TimeSpace Etiquette – politenessArtefacts – SymbolsRelationshipsAgreements

CULTURE,

• Hofstede’s Dimensions

• Globalization and anti-globalization

• Western vs. Asian culture

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions• Individualism (vs. collectivism)• Power distance• Masculine vs. feminine• Strong vs. weak uncertainty avoidance• Short vs. long term orientation

(Confucianist dynamics)– “The Foolish Old Man Who Moved

the Mountain”

Based on interviews with IBM executives throughoutthe World--1980s

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There is an ancient Chinese fable called "The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains". It tells of an old man who lived in northern China long, long ago and was known as the Foolish Old Man of North Mountain. His house faced south and beyond his doorway stood the two great peaks, Taihang and Wangwu, obstructing the way. He called his sons, and hoe in hand they began to dig up these mountains with great determination. Another graybeard, known as the Wise Old Man, saw them and said derisively, "How silly of you to do this! It is quite impossible for you few to dig up those two huge mountains." The Foolish Old Man replied, "When I die, my sons will carry on; when they die, there will be my grandsons, and then their sons and grandsons, and so on to infinity. High as they are, the mountains cannot grow any higher and with every bit we dig, they will be that much lower. Why can't we clear them away?" Having refuted the Wise Old Man's wrong view, he went on digging every day, unshaken in his conviction. God was moved by this, and he sent down two angels, who carried the mountains away on their backs. Today, two big mountains lie like a dead weight on the Chinese people. One is imperialism, the other is feudalism. The Chinese Communist Party has long made up its mind to dig them up. We must persevere and work unceasingly, and we, too, will touch God's heart. Our God is none other than the masses of the Chinese people. If they stand up and dig together with us, why can't these two mountains be cleared away?

Individualism vs. collectivism

• The extent to which– Individuals as opposed to groups are rewarded– It is desirable to “stand out” from others

• In collectivism, the unit of responsibility can be (sometimes depending on context)– Work group– Family– Nation, community, or society as a whole

Power Distance

• The extent to which “rank” is important in work and relationships

• Rank can be based on– Position– Family/ethnic status– Age

• Implications for – Strategy formation– Delegation– Correcting mistakes

“Masculine” vs. “Feminine”

• “Masculine” values: Dominating environment, “conquering” nature, “progress”– E.g., damming, tunnels, land development, land

reclamation• “Feminine” values: Harmony, preserving

environment– E.g., environmental impact, working around

nature

Uncertainty Avoidance

• Low uncertainty avoidance– Willingness to

• Take risks – Investments– Social situations

– Consider new ideas

• High uncertainty avoidance– Reliance on authority for decision making

Long vs. short term orientation

• Not included in Hofstede’s original work• Complications—is U.S. shortsighted?

– Short term financial performance– Investment in new technologies; firms with high

price/earnings ratios

• Net present value (NPV) analysis/discounted cash flows

• Economic structure– Accountability to stockholders; disclosure of information

Characteristics of Culture

• Comprehensive• Acquired (learned)• Manifested in boundaries of acceptable

thought and behavior--norms and sanctions

• Conscious awareness limited (frequently taken for granted)

• Dynamic vs. static

Homogeneity of Culture—Some Dimensions

• Linguistic• Religious• Ethnic• Climatic• Geographic• Institutional/political• Social/income

Source: Usinier and Lee, 2005

Eastern vs. Western Culture

• Differences in– Values– Perceptions of

• Objects• Reality

– Stability vs. change– Control

– Perceived roles

Time Issues in Culture• Time as tangible, valuable

commodity– “Time is money” vs.– Traditional means of relations

• Monochronic vs. polychronic approach to combining events

• Eating times– Regularity vs. flexibility– Social purpose– Meal purpose and content– Distribution of food consumption

across the day

• Life as “single continuous event” vs. a series of repeating cycles– Impact of religion, attachment to

nature’s cycles• Preferred temporal orientation

– Past– Present– Future

Relating to Outsiders

• Perceptions of outsiders—may be seen as– “barbarian”– “lazy”– “backward”– “inefficient” vs. “un-

cultured”– profane (relative to in-

group’s religion)

• Tendency to perceive “out-groups” as more homogeneous than one’s own group—the Sherif Boys’ Camp studies

• Locus of in-group—may depend on context

Source: Usinier and Lee, 2005

Acculturation, Not Assimilation

• Assimilation: – A group leaves culture and customs behind

and adopts culture and customs of another group

• Acculturation:– A group adopts or borrows customs and traits

from another culture

Acculturation is Defined as…

• “Change resulting from contact between cultures”

• “The process by which people adopt or borrow customs and traits from another culture”

• “A merging of cultures as a result of prolonged contact”

• “Mutual influence of different cultures in close contact”

Source: “Acculturation” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2000Strategy Research Corp.

Webster New World Dictionary, Third College Edition

Key Indicators of Acculturation

• Language• Values

Cultural “borrowing”

• Adoption of elements from other cultures—e.g.,– Language and writing systems– Products (e.g., jeans, pizza)

• Adjustments/adaptations• Hidden process; origin may be unknown to

contemporary members of the culture

Source: Usinier and Lee, 2005

Some Examples of Borrowing

• Japanese writing system (sound and concept pictorals)—adapted with difficulty from Chinese (concept only pictorals)

• Arabic numeral system and mathematics

• English language words from– Latin– Arabic– Germanic and Nordic

languages• Major world religions

Perceived Control Over Reality

• World is not generally seen as predictable– Trends are not expected to

continue

• Individual has little control over the world

• BUT– Outcome is believed to be tied

to effort, not individual skill

Some TendenciesIssue Western Culture Eastern Culture

Focus of attention Objects Environment

Composition of the World

Objects Substances

Controllability of environment

More perceived control

Less perceived control

Perceived stability More stable More change

Organization of the world

Categories Relationships

Reasoning Formal logic Less use of formal logic

Resolution of disagreement

Dialectic “Middle way”

Source: Richard E. Nisbett, The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently … and Why, New York, 2003, The Free Press

More Tendencies

• Westeners tend to rate themselves– More unique than average and what they are– “Above average” in ability

• Easteners tend to rate themselves– Less unique than they really are– “Below average”

Parenting• Western

– Child given choices– In play, parent asks questions about objects

• Eastern– Choices made for the child– Child reared to stay with mother most of the time– Parent asks questions about feelings– Feelings in disciplinary talks

• “The farmer feels bad that you did not eat everything…”• “The toy is crying because you threw it.”

Teaching Language to Children

• Emphasis is on verbs, not on– Nouns– Adjectives, adverbs (except if related to emotions)

Categorization

• Tendency to group into categories based on members that go together (e.g., monkey/banana rather than monkey/panda)

Proverbs

• Western: “The early bird gets the worm”• Eastern:

– “The first bird in the flock gets shot”– “A nail that stands out will be hammered down.”

ValuesIssue Western

ValueEastern Value

Distinctiveness of people

Want to be distinctive Not valued; emphasis on tie to group

Perceived control Significant; values determine choices

Modest—societal values are already established

Emphasis Success and achievement; relationships may get in the way

Best outcome for relevant group (e.g., family, work group)

Self-esteem Strive to feel good; assurances wanted

Tied to belonging with group

Relationships Equality or superior position

Clearly defined; hierarchical

Rules Same rules apply to all Depend on context and relationship

Source: Richard E. Nisbett, The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westeners Think Differently … and Why, New York, 2003, The Free Press

Some implications

• Thanking people—for things they are clearly supposed to do?

• Why the need for a choice between 40 different brands of cereal?

Socialization

• Western textbook: “See Dick run. See Dick play. See Dick run and play.”

• Chinese: “Big brother takes care of little brother. Big brother loves little brother. Little brother loves big brother.”

Perception of People

• Western: People have characteristics independent of the situation– Fundamental attribution error: People attribute

their own behavior to the circumstances but that of others to innate characteristics.

• Eastern: Person is connected; behavior is the result of specific roles played at the time

Contrasting Advertising Perspectives (Aithison 2002)

• Western– “Atomistic”—broken down to

smallest component parts– “Unique selling propositions”– “How to”– Positioning– May be “dull and boring”– “Copy focused”

• Asian– Holistic– “Everything relates

to everything else”– How things “fit

together” and “relate”

– Visual and oral

Jim Aitchison, How Asia Advertises, New York: Wiley, 2002.

Advertising Content Comparisons

• American:– Individual benefit and pleasure (e.g., “Make your

way through the crowd)

• Korean– Collective values (e.g., “We have a way of bringing

people together)

“Priming” and learning in a culture

• U.S. professor in Hong Kong started letter apologizing for his unworthiness for the job

• U.S. manager left room so that an employee could “snoop” on unfavorable report

Debate and Conflict

• “The first person to raise his voice has lost the argument.” (Chinese proverb)

• Use of indirection and projection• Face-to-face vs. anonymous comments• Western adversarial “rule of law” based on

consistent universal ideals vs. solution for the case at hand in context

Resolving Disputes

• Not based on– Universal principles– Formal logic (not because of inability but because this is

not a “mature way” to resolve disputes)

• Emphasis on– Compromise– Discouragement of bringing about conflict

• Inherent belief that “contradicting” statements can each have some truth (attraction to paradoxes)

Relationships, Education, and Work

• Western – Standing out; being “better”– Self perceived favorably– Self-esteem building– Work longer on successful job

• Eastern– Harmony– Must “weed out” personal characteristics that might annoy others– Taught self-criticism– Not recognized in profession until after many years of practice– Work longer on unsuccessful job

Chinese Involvement in Product Selection

• Low for products consumed individually in private—emphasis on price and quality

• Higher for products consumed in public setting—social significance becomes more important—e.g.,– Status– Harmony with others

Mexican vs. U.S. culture

• Cautions– Mexico is a large, heterogeneous country– “Urban” areas vs. indigenous cultures– Large regional variations– Some differences based on income and lifestyle– Some impact of religion

Mexican Culture: General Issues

• High power distance• Strong uncertainty avoidance• Tendency toward “theoretical” education• Strong patriotism• Relatively formal etiquette• Strong emphasis on family

– Extended family– Strong family emphasis within private life– Relatives may be favored for jobs/business

Wealth, Positions, Power, and Privileges

• “He can’t be the owner; he works there!”• Emphasis on titles—e.g., licenciado/licenciada• Titles may be part of address• Importance of connections

– U.S.: “Networking”– Mexico: Greater emphasis on family and social class

connections• Manager/subordinate relationships:

– Less question of “why” directions are given

Time and Planning

• Balance of reality and stereotypes• Often less of a feel of urgency• Speech may be less clear on timing (e.g., “I

did” vs. “I am going to”)• Keeping customer waiting may not be

recognized as inconvenience—but…• Planning may be limited due to changing

environment (e.g., laws)