L4: Culture and Consumer behaviour Flashcards

1
Q

Definition of culture (Cateora et al., 2012; Tylor, 1881; Hofstede, 1996)

A

Culture is a complex sum of values, rituals, symbols, beliefs, thought process, knowledge, morals and any other capabilities and habits acquired that are learned and transmitted within generations. That collective and like-minded feature is the source of differentiation between international markets.

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2
Q

Origins of culture (Cateora et al., 2012)

A

Geography, history, technology and political economy, social institutions

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3
Q

The process of adopting cultures (Cateora et al., 2012)

A

Humans make adaptations through innovation. They learn culture from social institutions through socialization (growing up) and acculturation (adjusting to a new culture). They also absorb culture through imitation of their peers. Finally, people make decisions about consumption through application of their cultural-based knowledge.

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4
Q

1) Language elements of culture

A
  • 2 types: (high and low-context)
  • Verbal language
  • Non-verbal language: time, space, material possessions, business arrangements.
  • Role in global marketing: gather information, business communicates to local, interpret of context.
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5
Q

2) Aesthetics elements of culture

A
  • Attitudes towards beauty and good taste in art, music,..

- Role: to evaluate in depth the factors like product design, package, colour, symbols, logo.

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6
Q

3) Values and attitudes elements of culture (Lee and Carter, 2012)

A
  • Affect the way in which work is conducted and other organizational issues, such as personnel and culture universally.
  • ‘Fad attitude’ to products / services as a complicating factor. Consumer want to be satisfied in different and constantly changing ways.
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7
Q

4) Religions elements of culture

A
  • The basis of transcultural similarities under shared beliefs.
  • Role: consumption behaviour, rituals, organization’s products and services, or the way business is conducted.
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8
Q

5) Education elements of culture

A
  • The process of transmitting skills, ideas and attitudes, as well as training in particular disciplines.
  • Role: segmentation, communications, training programs, sophistication of products, and cultural change.
  • The more educated, the less accepted of products.
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9
Q

6) Social institution elements of culture

A
  • Social institution - business, gov, media, family or school-related. It influences on the behaviour and the ways in which people relate to each other.
  • Reference groups: provide values and attitudes that become influential in shaping behaviour.
    + Primary: family, co-workers, other intimate groupings
    + Secondary: social organizations (Hollensen)
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10
Q

7) Technology and material elements of culture

A
  • It is how people adopt and adapt to technology in a material sense. Poor country = Simple technology.
  • Material culture results from technology and is directly related to how a society organizes its economic activity. It is manifested in the availability and adequacy of the basic economic, social, financial and marketing infrastructures.
  • Technological advancement comes with cultural convergence.
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11
Q

Symbols elements of culture

A

It is used to stand for something. People rely on objects or natural elements to express or transmit meanings.

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12
Q

Values elements of culture

A
  • Generally determine what standards is right, important, acceptable and desirable. They are beliefs guiding the actions and judgements across specific situations and to an ultimate existence.
  • Every culture is governed by a unique values set.
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13
Q

Norms elements of culture

A

Specific defined expectations of behaviour (e.g. queuing)

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14
Q

Elements of culture include 10 factors: (Cateora et al., 2012; Hollensen, 2013; Lee and Carter, 2012)

A

1) Language
2) Aesthetics
3) Values and attitudes
4) Religions
5) Education
6) Social institutions
7) Technology and material culture
8) Manner and customs
9) Symbols, values and norms

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15
Q

Layers of culture (Hollensen, 2013)

A
  • National culture: Overall framework of cultural concepts and legislation of business activities
  • Business/Industry culture: Its own cultural roots and history, with similar behaviour and ethics across borders.
  • Company culture: Contains subcultures of various functions. Functional culture is expressed through the shared values, beliefs, meanings and behaviour of the members
  • Individual behaviour: Learned from other cultural levels.
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16
Q

Hall’s approach definition (1976)

A

Information transactions from low (rely on spoken and written message for meaning) to high context (interpret elements surrounding the message for meaning).

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17
Q

Pros and cons of Hall’s approach (1976)

A

Pros: Can offer insights how different cultures communicate.
Cons: Simple approach that fails to offer a big picture of what culture is.

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18
Q

Monochronic time and Polychronic time

A

Cultures structure their time in relation to interpersonal relations, activity coordination, personal time and organizations.

  • M-Time: one thing at a time, rigid, low-context, straight to the point.
  • P-Time: multiple tasks all at once, flexible, high-context, wait-and-see-what-happens.
19
Q

5 dimensions of Hofstede’s framework (1994)

A

1) Power distance: Japan, China vs US, Canada
2) Uncertainty avoidance: Japan, Germany vs US, Canada
3) Individualism: US vs China
4) Masculinity (competitive): US, Japan vs Denmark
5) Long-term oriented (Confucian dynamism): Universalistic / Particularistic: Korea, China vs European countries

20
Q

Pros of Hofstede’s framework

A
  • Transferable and can be applied to infer behavioural patterns in society, which includes consumers.
  • Visual aid: can plot dimensional scores to compare and contrast
21
Q

Cons of Hofstede’s framework

A
  • Can’t encapsulate diversity, complexity and sensitivity of culture.
  • Not apply for non-work behaviour / Single industry.
  • Limited to national boundaries. Many economies do not fit easily into framework: UK, China, Malay.
  • Overlap between dimensions (ex: power distance)
  • Different definitions of the dimensions (ex: collectivism in Japan as organization and China as family)
22
Q

Hofstede’s framework (1994) in relation with other data in countries

A
  • PDI ~ The use of violence and income equality.
  • Ind ~ National wealth and mobility between social classes from generation to the next.
  • Masc >~< Share of GNP
  • UAI~ Legal obligation in developed countries.
  • LTO ~ National economic growth.
23
Q

Organizational cultures (Hofstede, 1994)

A
  • It is partial and voluntary nature.
  • Leaders create the symbols, heroes, rituals.
  • Cannot be managed by changing practices
  • Latent values can be activated.
  • Members have to adapt their personal values to the organization’s needs.
24
Q

Dimensions for Organizational cultures (Hofstede, 1994)

A

1) Process-oriented vs. Results-oriented
2) Job-oriented vs. Employee-oriented
3) Professional vs. Parochial (jobs or organizations)
4) Open System (ease of accept newcomers) vs. Closed System
5) Tightly (formality, punctual) vs. Loosely Controlled
6) Pragmatic (unit selling services) vs. Normative (legal rules)

25
Q

Managing Organizational Cultures (Hofstede, 1994)

A
  • Structure follows the culture: adopt the “patchwork structure” - it follows market needs and SBU culture.
  • The availability of suitable people at the right moment: Country business unit managers and Corporate diplomats.
  • Balance between uniformity and diversity in personnel policies.
  • Managers’ role in: no passive judgement on different way of thinking; culturally related leadership style and motivation patterns
26
Q

The model of culture with 3 layers (Trompenaars, 1996)

A

1) Artefacts and products: the observable reality.
2) Norms and values: what is considered to be right.
3) Basic assumptions: the key to work with other cultures - a series of rules and methods which a society has evolved to deal with the regular problems.

27
Q

How to manage the organization’ cultural change by adopting 3 layers framework (Trompenaars, 1996)

A
  • Changes at the explicit level (ex: organizational charts, HR systems and MKT strategies) need to be connected to the changes at fundamental levels.
  • Changing the core assumptions means that everyone must share the awareness of firm’s survival status. The one in serious (financial) trouble is the easiest to change.
  • Technique: building stories or scenario thinking.
28
Q

7 dimensions by Trompenaars (1996)

A
1/ Universalism vs Particularism
2/ Individualism vs Collectivism
3/ Neutral vs Affective
4/ Specific vs Diffuse
5/ Achievement vs Ascription
6/ Sequential vs Synchronous
7/ Internal vs External control
29
Q

Universalism vs Particularism (Trompenaars, 1996)

A
  • Universalism: General rules and obligations are a strong source of moral reference. Ex: US, Sweden
  • Particularism: “Particular” circumstances are more important. Flexibility of rules. Ex: Korea, China
30
Q

Neutral vs Affective (Trompenaars, 1996)

A
  • Neutral: Seek an indirect response. It gives objectivity and reserved from detachment. Ex: Korea, New Zealand.
  • Affective: Seek a direct response. It allows our feeling about a factual proposition. Ex: Spain, France.
31
Q

Specific-oriented vs Diffuse-oriented (Trompenaars, 1996)

A
  • Specific-oriented: getting straight to the point and getting the job done.
  • Diffuse-oriented: avoiding private confrontation so others won’t feel offended and take disagreements personally. Ex: Japan - tennis with boss.
32
Q

Achievement vs Ascription (Trompenaars, 1996)

A
  • Achievement: Status is based on performance or function skill. (USA, Norway)
  • Ascription: Status is based on durable characteristics (age) and admiration from others. (Egypt, Spain)
33
Q

Sequential vs Synchronous (Trompenaars, 1996)

A
  • Sequential: Events happen in order. Value the punctuality, planning, and staying on schedule. (UK, US)
  • Synchronous: work on several projects at once, and view plans and commitments as flexible. (Japan, Germany)
34
Q

Internal vs External control (Trompenaars, 1996)

A
  • Internal control: “inner-directed” people have the belief that man can dominate nature. Ex: USA, Canada.
  • External control: “other-directed” people want to survive. They focus on the environment. Ex: Japan, Egypt.
35
Q

Schwartz’s value inventory with 10 values (Schwartz, 2012)

A

Power, Achievement, Hedonism, Stimulation, Self-direction, Universalism, Benevolence, Tradition, Conformity, Security.

36
Q

Self-reference criterion (Hofstede, 2013)

A
  • Our unconscious references to our own cultural values.
  • The possibility of offending one another or misinterpreting others’ motives if using SRC as the basis for assessing the situation.
    => Need to eliminate SRC to manage cultural differences.
37
Q

Four steps to eliminate self-reference criterion (Lee, 1966)

A

1) Define problem/goal in terms of home country’s culture, traits, habits and norms.
2) Define problem/goal in terms of foreign country’s culture, traits, habits and norms.
3) Isolate SRC’s influence in the problem and examine it carefully to see how it complicates the problem.
4) Redefine the problem without the SRC influence and solve for the foreign market situation.

38
Q

5 Implications of cultural differences for consumer behaviour (Lee and Carter, 2012)

A

1) Different patterns of behaviour (type of products purchased in Christian New Year and Jewish New Year)
2) Different values attached to products (water in Europe and in Africa).
3) Different decision-making (pestering children in US vs. family survival in Africa).
4) Different forms of communication (ban cigarette in UK vs. no ban in US)
5) Different forms of retailing and other intermediaries

39
Q

Cultural intelligence (Earley and Mosakowski, 2004)

A
  • The natural ability to interpret someone’s unfamiliar and ambiguous gestures the way that person’s nation would.
  • People who are detached from their own culture can more easily adopt than who fully embody nation’s culture.
  • 3 components: Understanding; Actions and behaviour; and Belief
40
Q

6 types of culture intelligence profiles (Earley and Mosakowski, 2004)

A

Provincial => Analyst (learning) => Natural (intuition) => Ambassador (claim to belong) => Mimic (high control of action) => Chameleon (high level of all CQ components).

41
Q

Glocal consumer culture (Merz et al., 2008)

A
  • Consumers integrate all available global and local sources as they use products to position themselves.
  • Glocalization is a mixture of convergence and divergence, a hybrid blend of invisible and visible consumer culture from multiple sources.
42
Q

Convergence (Hollensen, 2013)&raquo_space; (Levitt, 1983)

A
  • Nations are increasingly integrated into the world economy, being homogenous.
  • Development and fast dissemination of new technology
  • Global marketing standardization, intercultural collaboration, global competition, global market participation.
43
Q

Divergence (Hollensen, 2013)

A
  • Distinctive local consumption cultures are resilient against globalization.
  • The success of MNC is based on variation.
44
Q

How language shapes the way we think? (Boroditsky, 2009)

A
  • Navigational ability and spatial knowledge: Kuuk (east, west) and UK (left, right)
  • Time perception: Mandarin (vertical) and UK (horizontal)
  • Visual perception (to distinguish color): “blue” in UK and Russia.
  • Grammatical gender: “key” in German and Spanish.