MODULE 3: THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE AND SUBCULTURE ON
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Define culture and subculture;
2. Understanding of the role of culture in consumer behaviour;
3. Identify environmental factors buyers black;
4. Discuss the role of culture in understanding the market behavior of
the consumer;
5. Discuss the characteristics of culture;
6. Describe the components of culture;
7. Define and give examples of subcultures;
8. Briefly discuss the types of Sub-culture.
3.1 What is culture?
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, Culture may be defined as the “personality of a society”. It is broad and all
pervasive in nature, inclusive of language, customs and traditions, norms
and laws, religion, art and music, etc. It also includes the interests of
people, the work practices and orientations, as also their attitudes
towards general and specific issues. Culture delineates precisely, the do’s
and dont’s of a society, and specifies all that is acceptable and all that is
not. It is reflective of values and beliefs that are widely accepted by
members of a society. The members of a society subscribe to the various
values, beliefs and norms, and this gives strength to a society’s culture.
This does not imply that cultures are truly rigid; in fact, they evolve and
adapt to changing situations and times. Culture is a society's personality,
unique in itself and differentiated from others; it is further divided into
various sub-cultures.
Culture is also trans-generational, and is passed on from one
generation to another. A study on our culture requires an elaborate and
detailed inquiry into the very character and personality of the society that
we live in. The culture of a society also has a bearing on buying patterns
and consumption behavior. In terms of consumer behavior, Schiffman
defines culture as “the sum total of learned beliefs, values, and customs
that serve to direct the consumer behavior of members of a particular
society”. The kinds of products and services and/or brands that
consumers’ buy and use, are all based on their cultures and sub-cultures.
For example, the food they eat and the kinds of clothes they buy and
wear, are all impacted by their culture, their customs, traditions, norms
and values.
3.2 The Role of Culture in Consumer Behavior
Consumer behavior is largely dependent on cultural factors consisting of
mutually shared operating procedures, unstated assumptions, tools,
norms, values, standards for perceiving, believing, evaluating, and
communicating. Cultural factors vary by country but become increasingly
complex when people immigrate to foreign countries that have different
cultural dimensions. In these situations, people are subjected to a wide
variety of cultural reference groups that ultimately affect their purchase
behavior. In addition, reference groups may consist of familial groups or
external peer groups with each group providing specific and often
conflicting information that affects purchase and consumption behavior. In
response, marketers must develop marketing communication that
addresses cultural and reference group factors from both a domestic and
global perspective. To this end, marketers use market segmentation and
micromarketing to develop customer-centric marketing messages with the
goal of providing precisely defined marketing messages that satisfy
consumer’s need for personal information regarding products and services
so that consumers should be adequately stimulated to purchase the
product or service being advertised.
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