The Role of the Filipino Consumer Culture to Filipino Self and Identity

By

Kathreen R. Dimalibot

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Ms. Gisselle V. Averion

October 8, 2018
 The concept of self has been considered by many social scientists as an
important variable that influences a perceptions, emotions, and behaviour. The Filipino
concept of self reflects a collectivistic perspective, which manage to emphasize
interdependence and group’s interest predominate the goals of the individualism
(Triandis, 1995). Filipinos tend to emphasize values and traits that promote
intrapersonal cooperation, social acceptance and reciprocity. In addition, the Filipino
concept defined as Juan masipag, ‘dalagang Filipina, parang tala sa umaga’, with their
brown skin and ‘mano pos’. Obedience and respect to parents and elders are highly
valued and individual interests are secondary to those of the family (Edman & Kamecka,
2000). s

According to Castillo, (2018) in his journal article entitled Consumer Buying

Behavior: The Multicultural Influence in the Philippines, Filipino consumer buying
behaviour are already affected by modern philosophy as influenced by Asians,
Americans and Europeans which brought to the Filipinos to have an international
standards in terms of its buying habits and lifestyle. Moreover, he further discussed the
major components of Filipino consumer attitudes proposed by Perner (1999) which
represent forces that influence how the consumer will react to the object. The three
major components mentioned are the beliefs, affect or feelings and the behavioural
intention. He elaborated that old beliefs influenced by western principles comprises the
culture of Filipino and these beliefs are interconnected to the certain feelings of the
consumers toward to brands or other objects. However, he also introduced that Filipinos
want products that will last even if the product is expensive because they believe that in
the long run, they will save a lot than buying more cheaper or alternative things as
compared to the original.

However, the Filipino consumer behaviour as one of the most influential buyers
today do not behave consistently with their attitudes because of several reasons. First,
the ability of the Filipinos to purchase object or services as long as it is with their
budget. Due to the Western influences, Filipino consumers prefer to buy branded things
as they know it came from a reputable brand of quality. Filipino always wanted to
expose the brand of their bags they carry or shoes they are wearing in order to show
people how proud they are to have such expensive and class A products. Second,
many products and services are out in the market today but it is the consumer’s choice
that will prevail the most. Consumers have different reasons why they buy products.
They might be their needs, wants, wishes, or desires and they are all part and parcel of
why people buy. Lastly, social influence is widely spread for most Filipino consumer in
taking their buying decisions (Castillo, 2009).

Moreover, according to Wang & Waller (2006), in their journal article entitled
Measuring consumer vanity: A cross-cultural validation, the society gained an obsession
driven by money as it permitted extravagances and signified prestige. Money has made
it easier to focus one’s image and social status by obtaining materialistic goods that
would appeal to the sensory and symbolic desires instead of usual basic necessities.
They also emphasized that the consumer vanity includes the underlying consumer
value orientation wherein consumer behaviour is influenced by a fixation with physical
appearance and success, thus making consumers spend more for aesthetics than for
function or need. Thus, the Filipino consumer buying behaviour is mostly influenced by
advertisements that puts an emphasis on vanity and materialistic pleasure (Chang et
al., 2011).

Therefore, the consumer buying behaviour of Filipino give rise to the Filipino
self and identity because it reflect the culture, beliefs, and practices of the Filipino. The
high focus on vanity and the wide-variety of branded products in the Philippines could
have shaped the overall behaviour of Filipinos towards the consumption of goods.
Moreover, the Filipino consumer behaviour influenced by colonial and foreign
consumerism. This phenomena may be caused by the large influence of Western
culture brought by the period of Western colonization and the rising globalization (Frith
& Frith, 1990). In the consumer attitudes and practices presented above, Filipino
presented not just as a consumer that will find the product they want wherever and
whatever it takes but also the identity that this culture is typical to Filipino and only for
Filipino.

REFERENCES:
Castillo, F. (2009). Consumer Behavior: The Unique Filipino Way. APQO , 50-55.
Castillo, F. J. (2018). Consumer Buying Behavior: The Multicultural Influence in the
Philippines . The International Journal of Business Management and Technology,
71-75.
Chang, W., Lu, L., Su, H., Lin, T., & Chang, K. (2011). Mediating effect of buying
motives between physical vanity and online compulsive buying. African Journal
of Business Management, 3289- 3296.
Edman, J., & Kameoka, V. (2000). Intracultural variations in the concept of self: A
comparison of educated and less educated Filipino women. South Pacific
Journal of Psychology, 8-11.
Frith, K., & Frith, M. (1990). Western advertising and Eastern culture: the confrontation
in Southeast Asia. Current Issues and research in advertising, 63-73.
Perner, L. (2008, October 7). USC Marshall. Retrieved from Consumer Behavior: The
Psychology of Marketing : https://www.consumerpsychologist.com/
Triandis, H. (1995). Individualism and Collectivism. Canada: Westview Press.
Wang, P., & Waller, D. (2006). Measuring consumer vanity: A cross-cultural validation.
Psychology & Marketing, 665-687.