Defining Culture

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing

language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. Culture encompasses religion, food, what
we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we
sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things.

In consumer behaviour context, “Consumer Culture is defined as the sum total of learned beliefs,
values. And customs that serve to direct the consumer behaviour as members of a particular
society.” Culture influences consumers through the norms and values established by the society in
which they live. It is the broadest environmental factor that influences consumer behaviour. One of
the most iconic examples of consumer culture is Apple's rise to the top to technology, because it
created a product that fit the needs of consumers in a way that buyers became part of a technology
movement.

Nature/Characteristic of Culture

Following are the characteristics of culture;

 Culture Satisfies Needs: Culture exists to satisfy the needs of people within a society. It offers
order, direction, and guidance in all phases of human problem solving by providing “tried and
true” methods of satisfying physiological, personal, and social needs. Similarly, culture also
provides insights as to suitable dress for specific occasions (e.g., what to wear around the house,
what to wear to school, what to wear to work, what to wear to church, what to wear at a fast
food restaurant, or a movie theater).

 Culture is Dynamic: Cultures are not static. This simply means that cultures interact and
change. Because most cultures are in contact with other cultures, they exchange ideas and
symbols. All cultures change, otherwise, they would have problems adapting to changing
environments. And because cultures are integrated, if one component in the system changes, it
is likely that the entire system must adjust. For example, women working outside home in
Nepalese society, mobility of people to foreign countries for better employment opportunity,
change in food habits and lifestyle, increasing trends of using social media all depicts that
culture is dynamic and evolving over time.

 Culture is a Comprehensive Concept: It includes almost everything that influences an

individual’s thought process and behaviours. It influences not only our preferences but how we
make decisions and even how we perceive the world around us. But culture does not determine
the nature or frequency of biological drives like hunger.

 Culture is Learned: Culture is not biological; we do not inherit it. Much of learning culture is
unconscious. We learn culture from families, peers, institutions, and media. The process of
learning culture is known as enculturation.

 Culture is Shared: Because we share culture with other members of our group, we are able to
act in socially appropriate ways as well as predict how others will act. Despite the shared
nature of culture, that doesn’t mean that culture is homogenous (the same). Cultures are shared
 through social institutions such as family, educational institutions, religious institutions and
Mass media.

 Culture is based on symbols: A symbol is something that stands for something else. Symbols
vary cross-culturally and are arbitrary. They only have meaning when people in a culture agree
on their use. Language, money and art are all symbols. Language is the most important symbolic
component of culture.

Cultural Values

Culture consists of values and norms. Values are enduring beliefs about desirable outcomes that
transcend specific situations and shape one’s behaviour. Values have been defined as enduring
beliefs that specific mode of conduct or end states of existence are preferred to other specific
modes of conduct or end states. Norms are informal, usually unspoken rules that govern
behaviour. Values and norms help to determine perceptual and cognitive principles that in turn,
influence attitudes toward marketing offerings and consumption practice. Cultural values are of
two types- Instrumental and Terminal Values. Instrumental values are shared how people
should behave and terminal values are desirable life goals. Examples of instrumental values
include competence, ambition, compassion, sociality and integrity. Terminal values include
social harmony, personal gratification, security, love and affection, self actualization and
personal contentedness. It is important to identify how culturally relevant instrumental and
terminal values shape demand for goods and services by nations, economic blocks of nations,
and market segments within countries. Once the marketer identifies values being expressed by
particular products or services, it is possible to develop positioning strategies and
communication messages consistent with the values. A value concept that interests marketers
are;
Consumer Ethnocentrism: Consumer ethnocentrism is defined as “the beliefs held by
consumers about the appropriateness, indeed morality of purchasing foreign-made products”.
It is agreed that consumer ethnocentrism impacts negatively on consumers’ purchase intention
toward foreign products. This implies that the high ethnocentric tendencies lead to unfavorable
attitude toward purchasing imported products. Consumers refuse to buy foreign products
because it is harmful to the national economy and can also be a direct or indirect cause for
unemployment. Generally, the level of ethnocentrism may vary from one consumer to another
from one region to another within the same country and even from a whole country to another.
Studies conducted in developed countries prove that ethnocentric consumers are more willing
to buy domestic products instead of foreign ones. In contrast, it is generally believed that
consumers from less developed and developing countries have a marked preference for
imported goods over local ones. A good example is cars that are produced in the US, while the
US firms have assembly plants in China. Ethnocentric consumers will not consume such
products because they exclusively consume products that are produced within their own
country.

Consumer Materialism: Consumer materialism is a personal value that reflects the importance
a consumer places on the acquisition and possession of material objects. Materialist
consumer has high perceived social status and status consumption. As the level
of materialism increases, there is also an increased desire to purchase products in order to
obtain status. These people are in the pursuit of finding happiness by having material
possessions.
Defining Subculture

“A subculture is a distinct cultural group that exists as an identifiable segment within a larger,
more complex society.” It is a part of culture containing the important features of the main
culture. Subculture may also be defined in terms of factors such as region, rural or urban
residence, ethnic background, age, gender and religion. Those identified with a subculture may
be said to form around the common needs and problems of a social class. The knowledge of
subculture provides important guidelines to marketers in formulating strategies for effective
performance of marketing activities. Subculture may be categorized into many different classes.
Following are the major sub cultural categories:

 Nationality: Nationality is the status of belonging to a particular nation, whether by birth or

naturalization: the nationality of an immigrant. Nationality is also known as Ethnic
Subculture. When it comes to consumer behaviour, this pride or identification is
manifested most strongly in the consumption of ethnic foods, in travel to the homeland, and
in purchase of numerous cultural artifacts.

Functions Served by Ethnic Subcultures

Milton M. Gordon in his “The Sub-society and the Subculture” mentioned three functions
that an ethnic subculture may serve. They are:
 Ethnic subculture provides a psychological source of group identification. An individual
gains a sense of identity as he interacts with other members of the same ethnic group. The
interaction increases intimacy among the members and they feel good to identify
themselves with a distinct group.
 It also offers a patterned network of groups and organizations, and a member of the said
subculture may maintain cordial and intimate relationship with other members as long as
he wishes.
 An individual migrating to a new culture may find it difficult to understand many aspects
of that culture. Here the ethnic subculture to which he belongs may help him to view the
new culture by providing him a guideline on the new culture. Each of the ethnic subculture
has unique traditions and behaviors that have potential influence on product preferences
and consumption behavior. A particular market consisting of ethnic subcultures may be the
focus of a marketer. But, it is not very easy to reach effectively a particular ethnic subculture
with a particular type of product. The reason is that not everyone in the same ethnic
subculture will consume the same

 Age: Consumers undergo predictable changes in values, lifestyles and consumption

patterns as they move through their life cycle. In other words, consumer behaviour changes
accordingly with the change in the age trend. For example, new born needs items like
diapers, Cerelec, Lactogen etc. On the other hand, those who belong to the teen age group
will behave quite differently than those of a middle age or elderly because the outlooks,
experiences, attitudes and other aspects vary among people of different age groups. So their
consumption patterns are likely to vary. The youth, as they start their career in this age are
flaunt with more luxury items. Since they have little obligation at this age, they can spend
whatever they are. Their consumption patterns lean toward personal care and luxury items.
The middle aged group, on the contrary, are matured, and worried about the future and
careful in making purchase decisions. As an attempt to build a reserve for the future, they
are likely to be conservative in buying many material goods, and are found to spend money
 on protective investments. Therefore, it is important for marketers to understand the need
according to age group and segment their market accordingly.

 Regional: The way people lead their lifestyles may also vary according to where they live or
from which part of the country they have moved to the other part of the country. People
from a particular part of the country or people living in a particular part constitute what we
call regional or geographic subculture. On this basis, there could be two different types of
regional or geographic subculture. One could be based on geographic region of the country
and other could be based on urban, suburban or rural distinction. Differences in region
influence the type of products used as well the way they are produced and used. Nepali, for
example, living in the hill districts display different patterns in food consumption, housing,
and recreation than those of the people living in the other parts of the country. Regional
subcultures clearly influence many aspects of consumer behavior. The consumption process
also is influenced by the urban, suburban, and rural distinctions, another type of regional
subculture. The urban and suburban people, for example, prefer ready or instant food,
prefer eating out, and enjoy their leisure in a way different from rural people.

 Gender: The subculture based on Male-Female divide is known as Gender Subculture. The
needs and wants of men and women differ to a great extent. Since every society emphasizes
distinct, specific roles for men and women, they are likely to behave differently. As their
behaviors vary, they consume different types of products and respond differently to
marketing appeals. Accordingly, their buying habits also differ. Men for example, are
influenced more by aggressiveness, competitiveness, independence and masculinity.
Women on the other hand, are influenced by neatness, gentleness, tactfulness and feminity.
There are products which are equally used by men and women but different appeals in the
same product are needed for these two groups. For example, bicycle is designed differently
for men and women. Again, among the females, those who are professionals, behave
differently than those of non-professionals/housewives. The working women, particularly
those, who are married, will again require different types of products and services that may
not be bought by unmarried working women. The shopping patterns of these two groups
will also vary. Since characteristics, attitudes and needs vary between these two groups
they may be considered as two different market segments.

 Occupational Subculture: People display different patterns of purchase behaviours

according to their occupational involvement. For example, a defense officer will show
different purchase behaviour than someone belonging to the civilians’ society. Doctors may
look nutritional aspect before purchasing food products. Marketers should recognize the
differences in attitudes and behaviours among people of different occupations and
formulate marketing strategies accordingly to be successful in each specific subculture.

 Social Classes Subculture: Social class may also be used as a determinant of sub cultural
differences. There could be subculture of the well-offs, subculture of the middle class and
subculture of the poverty. People belonging to the subculture of the rich will display
altogether different buying behavior than those of middle class and poor. Rich will be very
selective in their purchases; people of the middle class will have substantial control over
their consumption decisions; poor on the other hand will be very careful and cautious in
taking their purchase decisions. The subculture of poverty consists of people living below
the poverty line. Because of their low incomes, they will avoid buying pre-packed, instant,
 frozen food items as they are likely to be costlier than the fresh staple ones. As they have
limited educational opportunities, they develop different attitudes, outlooks, and
motivation resulting in different buying behaviors on the part of them. Most of their
incomes are spent on basic necessities such as food, and housing. Only a small amount of
their incomes are spent on clothing, transportation, recreation, and luxury. They basically
look at low-cost items, favor shops where they get credit, and are attracted by different
inducements offered by the marketers.

 Religious Subculture: An individual’s religious affiliation influences to a great extent in his

consumption pattern. Religious beliefs and rituals may dictate the use of certain items and
may discourage the consumption of others. For example, during Hindu festival in Nepal
(Dashain and Tihar), people make purchase of new clothes, decorative items, colorful lights,
religious goods etc. It is expected that members of a particular religious subculture will
display similar behavioral patterns in their purchases and consumption. But, differences
may be found among the members of a particular religious subculture in terms of their
consumption and life style.

Culture and Marketing Implications

 A study of culture, sub-culture and cross culture holds great relevance for a marketer. A
study of culture is inclusive of language, customs and traditions, norms and laws, religion,
art and music, etc. It also includes the interests of people, their lifestyles and orientations,
and their attitudes towards general and specific issues. An understanding of culture helps
the marketer in designing a strategy that would address and appeal to people of a particular
culture. It would help him to design his 4Ps in an efficient and effective manner. The
relevance of a study of culture and cross culture is discussed as follows:

 The culture of a society has a bearing on buying patterns and consumption behavior. The
kinds of products and services and/or brands that consumers’ buy and use, are all based on
their cultures and sub-cultures. Through a study of culture, the marketer would get to know
about the viability of target segment(s), and also about how quickly the product/service
offering would be diffused and adopted by people.

 Marketers must also be conscious of newly developed and embraced values, customs and
traditions, so as to be able to take advantage of the situation.

 Subcultures are relevant units of analysis for market research. A sub-cultural analysis helps
a marketer identify distinct segments that are “natural”, sizable and easy to cater to

 Every component of culture should be carefully studied and a marketing program designed
accordingly; Product names or brands should not have double meanings; they should not be
insensitive in any manner; they should be distinct, easy to remember, recall and pronounce.

 The analysis of the culture, sub-culture and cross-culture helps profile consumers into
segments that a marketer could take advantage off through formulation of an appropriate
marketing strategy. The marketer could choose from two options, viz., either decide on a
standardized global strategy or go in for a localized customized strategy.
  MNC’s who desire to enter foreign markets should carefully study and understand the
cultures of such countries; they need to go through an elaborate process of acculturation so
that they can understand the inhabitants of such cultures and their needs.

Cross-Cultural understanding of Consumer Behaviour

Cross-cultural marketing involves advertising to people in specific cultures as well as appealing

to personal interests across cultures. It is the strategic process of marketing among consumers
whose culture is different from that of the marketer's own culture. Typically, cross-cultural
marketing takes advantage of the ethnic groups' different cultural norms to communicate to and
persuade that audience.

A consumer’s level of exposure towards foreign goods or lifestyles may influence his buying
decisions and preferences. Consumers tend to have an attitude when it comes to a particular
product being made in a particular country. This attitude might be positive, negative, and neutral.
Cross-cultural consumer analysis is defined as the effort to determine to what extent the consumers
of two or more nations are similar or different. A major objective of cross-cultural consumer
analysis is to determine how consumers in two or more societies are similar and how they are
different. Such an understanding of the similarities and differences that exist between nations is
critical to the multinational marketer, who must devise appropriate strategies to reach consumers
in specific foreign markets. The greater the similarity between nations, the more feasible it is to use
relatively similar strategies in each nation. If they differ in many aspects, then a highly
individualized marketing strategy is indicated. The success of marketing and servicing in foreign
countries is likely to be influenced by beliefs, values, and customs. For example, advertising will be
far different for American culture and Arabian culture.