understanding consumer
orangepink
BUSMGT752Week8.pptx1
Plenary 8 Learning Outcomes
LO1: Understand the concept of culture and its components
LO2: Understand where cultural variation comes from and how this influences marketing strategy
LO3: Understand how cultural values are different and shift over time
LO4: Understand why marketers need to be culturally sensitive
LO5: Understand the influence of culture on consumers and their behaviour
LO6: Understand what anti-consumption is and similar (but distinct) concepts
LO7: Consider anti-consumption and what it means for marketers and business
LO8: Understand the consumer trends in the anti-consumption perspective
Qualitative
Quantitative
1
2
Readings
Required:
Chatzidakis, A., & Lee, M. S. W. (2013). Anti-Consumption as the Study of Reasons against. Journal of Macromarketing, 33(3), 190–203. https://doi.org/10.1177/0276146712462892
Kozinets, R. V., Handelman, J. M., & Lee, M. S. W. (2010). Don’t read this; or, who cares what the hell anti-consumption is, anyways? Consumption Markets and Culture, 13(3), 225–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253861003786918
Sun, T., Horn, M., & Merritt, D. (2004). Values and lifestyles of individualists and collectivists: A study on Chinese, Japanese, British and US consumers. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 21(5), 318–331. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760410549140
Optional:
Fernandez, K. V., & Lastovicka, J. L. (2011). Making Magic: Fetishes in Contemporary Consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(2), 278–299. https://doi.org/10.1086/659079
Makri, K., Schlegelmilch, B. B., Mai, R., & Dinhof, K. (2020). What we know about anticonsumption: An attempt to nail jelly to the wall. Psychology and Marketing, 37(2), 177–215. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21319
Qualitative
Quantitative
2
3
What is culture?
Qualitative
Quantitative
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Bj8OCmxb4&ab_channel=DMGeorgina
3
4
Cultural variation influences strategy
Qualitative
Quantitative
Variation exists within each of these variables depending on cultural context.
(Quester et al., 2014)
4
5
Culture
A complex, comprehensive, and fundamental concept that includes the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by members of a particular society.
Culture provides people with a sense of historical continuity, belonging, and social identity.
The ‘actualisation’ or ‘reification’ of culture is what we can see.
Below the surface are the things we can’t see; mostly implicit.
Therefore, culture is the totality of our shared language, knowledge, material objects, and behaviour, that constitutes how we view the world and how we understand ourselves within this world.
Qualitative
Quantitative
5
6
Nature vs Nurture
Qualitative
Quantitative
6
7
Culture is learned and therefore, shifts
Culture is shared by members of a society and produces specific behaviour and meanings that are understood deeply by other members of that society.
However, culture is not innate nor static. We are socialised from birth, which is how we ‘know’ our culture. Culture also shifts over time so that different values, symbols, and rituals start to become the ‘norm’.
Qualitative
Quantitative
7
8
Cultural variation is produced by differences in values
A widely held belief that affirms what is desirable.
Cultural values influence etiquette, tastes, and actual behaviour. Note: values are not attitudes (attitudes are specific evaluations)
Qualitative
Quantitative
8
9
Myths
Qualitative
Quantitative
9
10
Rituals
Multiple, symbolic behavioural practices that occur in a fixed sequence and is repeated periodically, and involves consumption constellations (i.e., related products). It is like a ‘performance’.
What is the ritual for a new birth in your culture?
Qualitative
Quantitative
10
11
Symbols
An object, word, or action that represents cultural ideas, concepts, or values.
Language itself is a symbol.
The meaning assigned to a symbol is arbitrary and depends on the culture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch? app=desktop&v=RKK7wGAYP6k
Qualitative
Quantitative
11
12
Remember reference groups?
A reference group is the group whose perspective we consider. Now our reference could be very large or very small including few of our family members or few close friends. Reference groups influence people a lot in their buying decisions. They set the levels of lifestyle, purchasing patterns, etc.
Qualitative
Quantitative
12
13
Culture is a giant reference group
The influence of culture on an individual is invisible and implicit. Cultural norms are very pervasive and consensual that we follow and know the rules without having to think about them. We just ‘know’.
Culture provides loose boundaries for individual behaviour and influences how families and organisations behave, as well as what is projected on mass media.
Cultural values are widely held beliefs within a culture that affirms what is desirable within that culture.
We only notice culture and its rules when cultural values rapidly change within a short period of time.
Quantitative
13
14
Culture is a
giant reference group
Quantitative
(Quester et al., 2014)
14
15
How culture affects marketing strategy
Quantitative
Language
Translation issues of campaigns
Translation issues of brand names
Verbal expression differences
Customs
Adaptation of product and ads
E.g., flavours, spokespeople
Religion
Affects appropriateness of products and ads
E.g., alcohol and meat
15
16
Culture and cross-cultural marketing
Marketers need to understand both the existing cultural values as well as the emerging values of the societies they serve.
Cultural sensitivity (i.e., having a high CQ or ‘cultural quotient’) is an important business skill as it means you are able to quickly grasp the key aspects of a different culture and adapt well to those new environments.
With business occurring globally now, cultural sensitivity is a critical skill.
Quantitative
16
17
Some factors to consider when targeting a specific ethnic/foreign culture
Quantitative
How can we communicate about this product?
Language?
Non-verbal communication?
Appeals?
What values are relevant to the purchase and use of this product?
Who is the decision-maker? Contradicting values with product?
What needs can this product meet in this culture?
Current product meeting the same needs? How important is the need to this culture?
Is the market homogeneous or heterogeneous in terms of culture?
Distinct subcultures? Narrow boundaries or norms?
17
18
Summary
Despite being globally connected technologically, culture and cultural boundaries are still relevant and strongly unique.
Cultural variation in language, demographics, values, and non-verbal communications influences consumer behaviour uniquely for members of a specific culture, which in turn drive marketing strategy targeting towards a specific culture.
Culture as a concept is all-encompassing, difficult to define, and difficult to actualise. It is the totality of our shared language, knowledge, material objects, and behaviour, that constitutes how we view the world and how we understand ourselves within this world. Culture is like a giant reference group that is pervasive and implicit (i.e., we are not aware of it). It provides loose boundaries of norms.
Culture is composed of values, myths, rituals, and symbols. It is learned, and therefore, it can shift over time.
Values are widely held affirmations of what is desirable, which influence etiquette, tastes, and behaviour. Broadly, cultural values fall under three categories: (1) other-oriented, (2) environment-oriented, and (3) self-oriented.
Quantitative
18
19
Summary
Different cultures differ on values, which produces unique distinctions and mindsets. One of the main ways of ‘measuring’ culture is using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.
Myths are symbolic narratives that express cultural ideals and values. There are common myths that apply to all cultures, as well as specific cultural myths. Both types of myths influence how we understand the world and its mechanics.
Rituals are multiple, symbolic behavioural practices that occur in a fixed sequence and is repeated periodically, involving a consumption constellation of related products. Rituals tend to be culturally-specific and they provide specific ‘scripts’ of behaviour.
Symbols are objects, words, or actions that represent cultural ideals, concepts, or values. A symbol holds a specific meaning, that is specific to a culture. In turn, meanings associated with symbols are arbitrary. Language, as a symbol, is the biggest, most influential symbol of a culture.
Cultural sensitivity is a key business skill for marketers in order to craft effective cross-cultural marketing strategies.
Quantitative
19
20
Anti-consumption
Anti-consumption is a worthy field of investigation because it pertains to a particular set of reasons against consumption, which are more than and different from their conceptual opposites—reasons for consumption— and which can be applied at differing levels of aggregation.
Instead, anti-consumption is only concerned with those reasons against consumption that are expressive and consciously articulated (through either internal or external dialogue), that may be used as accounts, explanations or narratives of why people ‘‘go against’’ (Kozinets, Handelman, and Lee 2010) and express ‘‘resistance to, distaste of, or even resentment or rejection’’ (Zavestoski 2002, 121) of specific brands (e.g., anti-Starbucks; Thompson and Arsel 2004), behavioral and product categories (e.g., antialcohol; Piacentini andBanister 2009); and/or consumer culture altogether (e.g., through voluntary simplicity; see Leonard-Barton 1981; Shaw and Newholm 2002).
Quantitative
20
21
Anti-consumption
Broadly, it is the phenomenon of consumers moving away from or moderating their consumption (Makri et al., 2020).
E.g., voluntary reduction of meat product consumption, not buying a car, reduction of utility use (electricity, water, heat), reducing single-use plastic products, avoiding highly-processed foods or foods high in calories, boycotting products/brands … the list goes on.
So, what is this phenomenon?
A consumer behaviour A consumer attitude A consumer lifestyle A set of consumer motivations A set of consumer practices
Quantitative
21
22
Anti-consumption can be conflated with…
Current, most-accepted definition is by Lee et al., (2011), who define anti- consumption as intentionally and meaningfully excluding or cutting goods from one’s consumption routine or reusing once-acquired goods with the goal of avoiding consumption.
As a field of study, Chatzidakis & Lee (2012) define the area as ‘the study of reasons against’ (cf. reasons for).
Quantitative
Ethical consumption
Environmental consumption
Anti- consumption
Consumer resistance
22
23
Why do we need to know about this?
Discuss:
What do you think about anti-consumption?
How does knowing about anti-consumption help you, as a budding marketer?
How do you think you can use anti-consumption knowledge in your career?
How does anti-consumption, as a concept, link to everything we’ve learnt so far in 752?
23
24
Magic
24
25
Anthropormophism
Anthropomorphise – guitars have “heads” “necks”, “bodies” and “waists”, also “curves”
Animate – guitars “sing”, “weep”
Personify – guitars given names and (usually feminine) identities e.g. Rosie, Goldie..
Examples from Fernandez, Karen V., & Lastovicka, John L. (2011), “Making Magic: Fetishes in Contemporary Consumption,” Journal of Consumer Research, 38(2), 278-299.
25
26
Magic: Fernandez & Lastovicka (2011)
26
27
Final Presentation
27
28
Final Presentation –
Group Time Slots
28
