UNIT 11 CULTURE AND SUBCULTURE

Transcription

1 UNIT 11 CULTURE AND SUBCULTURE Culture and Subculture After going through this unit, you should be able to: Define culture and subculture Describe the characteristics of culture Distinguish between components of culture Explain how culture and subculture influence our behaviour. Structure 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Culture: Meaning and Significance 11.3 The Characteristics of Culture 11.4 Cultural Values 11.5 Cultural Values and Change 11.6 The Need for Cross-cultural Understanding of Consumer Behaviour 11.7 Subcultures and their Influence 11.8 Summary 11.9 Self-Assessment Questions Suggested Readings 11.1 INTRODUCTION One of the most pervasive influences on our lives and indeed our consumption behaviour is that of culture. Culture has a profound effect on family life, living patterns, social interactions and is indeed an input in shaping personalities, attitudes and perceptions, variables that you have studied earlier in this course. We shall in this unit try to understand what is culture and how does it influence buyer ' s behaviour. We will also briefly discuss the various subsects of culture-the subcultures within a given society CULTURE-MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE Culture is the broadest component that has an effect on consumer behaviour. It provides the background for other factors that you have studied, namely the family, social class and reference groups, that have an influence on buying behaviour. Reference groups and families play a critical role in transmitting cultural and subcultural values. Since they regulate people's lives on a day-to-day basis, they become the agents for transmitting the standards of behaviour and the values of the culture in which they exist. Our clothing, diet, methods of food preparation and service, all these are manifestations of our culture. It is difficult for us, or for people in any culture to see just what our culture is like, because we are too involved with the specifics, to realise its impact on our daily lives. In fact the impact of culture on our decision-making is so natural and automatic that its influence is usually taken for granted. It is only when we are exposed to people with different cultural values and customs that we recognise that our own culture is unique. At a general level, Culture is defined as: "a complex set of values, ideas, beliefs, attitudes and other meaningful symbols, created by human beings to shape human behaviour and the artefacts of that behaviour as they are transmitted from one generation to another." The significance of culture in understanding consumer behaviour is that, although consumers may be biologically similar in their instincts, their views of the world differ according to their cultural orientations. Culture provides the standards or rules regarding when to eat, where to eat, what is appropriate to eat for breakfast, what to serve guests for a dinner party, a picnic, or a wedding. For instance we can think of French culture, Canadian culture, American culture, Indian culture. People in these cultural groupings are more 39

2 Group Influences on Consumer Behaviour 40 similar in their outlook and behaviour than those in other groupings. They are also similar in their lifestyles, personalities, attitudes, values and belief systems, as described in the definition of culture. This similarity would apply to their purchase behaviour as well, much of which is culturally determined. Culture results from interactions between people. The function of culture is to establish modes of conduct, standards of performance, and ways of dealing with people in interpersonal relations. This reduces uncertainities with people and increases predictability. Over a period of time, behaviour values, and artefacts become institutionalised. Since there are many ways in which people can organise their social relationships, it is not surprising that a wide variety of cultural patterns have emerged. Thus, while many aspects of all culture are the same, there are also difference between cultures. We see this in our own country in India, which is so large and diverse that it is difficult to consider it as a single culture. Within a given culture, sub-cultures therefore arise due to geographic, religious, nationality and ethnic differences. ' In every society, the prevailing culture has a purpose. It provides a framework of traditions, values, beliefs, practices and behaviours that facilitate interaction and become institutionalised. It therefore results in commonly accepted standards of conduct. Parents and social institutions such as schools and other organisations transmit culture from one generation to the next generation. Because culture is such a broad and pervasive concept, it is divided into two distinct components: 1) The internal mental culture 2) The external material culture The internal mental culture can be further divided into two parts, the cognitive component and the normative component. The Internal Mental Culture The cognitive component of culture consists of its ideas and knowledge, such as ideas about gods, ideas about supernatural phenomena, and concepts of an afterlife. The normative component of culture consists of its values, rules of conduct and norms which regulate behaviour, and which are shared by most members of a culture. Consider, for instance, what happens to our consumer information processing system as cultural influences build up over our lives. They reflect our beliefs and opinions and this guides our information processing. Social norms are actually beliefs and opinions that are held by, people in exactly the same way. Internalising the prevailing cultural values over time is called enculturation, and this is especially important in the case of children learning to function in their own society. Culture is therefore one of the most basic influences on our cognitions and behaviour. The External Material Culture The external or material culture refers to the things that we can see, touch and use in our day-to-day living. This is the most obvious of cultural components. The material culture allows us to express ourselves aesthetically, as for instance, in art, music, theatre, clothing and housing and to protect ourselves from the elements. It concerns how we enjoy our moments of leisure by means of books, movies, sports among other things. An important dimension of the material culture is the influence of technology and how it has brought about cultural changes as for example, through television, telephone links and the airlines. The material culture is important to marketing because symbolism plays an important role in marketing to any culture. Clothing, for instance, represents a highly visible form of expressive symbolism in any cultural system. Virtually all product packaging and advertising also uses some form of expressive symbolism to get a message across to persuade consumers to buy THECHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE To understand that brushing your teeth with toothpaste is a cultural phenomenon, requires some knowledge and awareness of the characteristics of culture. The following characteristics can be cited to describe its nature.

3 1. Culture is invented This means that culture is invented and is not a set of instinctive responses. It is a way of thinking, feeling and acting that results from years of accumulated experience and is handed down from one generation to another. Each generation adds to the cultural heritage of the past. The response patterns are transmitted through values, attitudes, beliefs, customs and symbols. Cultural norms consequently result from defining and prescribing acceptable behaviour. 2. Culture is a set of learned responses Cultural learning takes two forms. One is patterned instruction. The other is imitative learning. While imitative learning is informal, patterned instruction may occur at either a formal or informal level. Patterned Instruction: This is the formal learning of values through family members, of what is right or wrong, and technical learning, which occurs through the educational environment. Imitative learning: This is informal learning, and involves imitating the behaviour of friends, family, television. Many advertisements influence the consumer and enhance informal learning by providing the audience with a model to imitate. Repetition of advertisements further reinforces beliefs and values by teaching consumers what to desire. 3. Culture is shared Culture is frequently viewed as a group phenomenon. It thus links together the members of a society. Various social institutions within a society, namely the family, educational institutions, and religious organisations make the sharing of culture possible. Another important social institution is the mass media, and consumers receive important cultural information from advertising. 4. Culture is gratifying and persistent Culture in a society offers direction and guidance to the members, to satisfy physiological and personal needs. 5. Culture is dynamic and adapts In spite of resistance to change in societies, cultures are gradually and continuously changing. Marry factors are likely to produce cultural change such as new technologies," resource shortages, such as those of energy and water, and customs borrowed from other culture. This means that marketers must constantly monitor cultural change to find new opportunities. 6. Culture is an organised and integrated whole This means that the elements of a culture are consistent aid woven together to form a whole. 7. Cultures are similar yet different In terms of elements that they exhibit, cultures are strikingly similar, You would find elements like social institutions of family, marriage, rituals, schools, government, housing, religious rituals, social functions, personal adornments, calenders, language, music and dance forms and law in every society whose culture you may be interested in studying. Societies, however, differ greatly in how each of these elements are practiced in the society, which in turn results in important consumer behaviour differences among consumers of different societies. 8. Culture is prescriptive Culture determines desirable norms or patterns of behaviour so that in a given cultural context people have a common appreciation of what is right and wrong, indeed what is proper or improper. Culture also suggests items appropriate for consumption in the pursuance of norms, moves, values and beliefs that prevail in a given society. Activity 1 Look at your own culture in terms of the elements that have been referred to above. In terms of any five elements that you choose, compare your culture with that of any other society that you are familiar with or have read about. Culture and Subculture 41

4 Group Influences on Consumer Behaviour 11.4 CULTURAL VALUES 42 Cultural Values Cultural values are important to the organised and integrated nature of culture. A cultural value can be defined as a widely held belief that endures over time. Values therefore produce inclinations to respond in standard ways. They serve as standards or criteria for behaviour. Values deal with modes of conduct and, therefore, transcend specific situations. We therefore have in a culture, two types of values: 1) Instrumental value (or modes of conduct) 2) Terminal values (or states of existence) These values together influence consumer behaviour in several ways such as methods of shopping, tastes and preferences. It is necessary, therefore, to understand a society's basic value structure before marketing to it. Different social classes may respond to cultural values in different ways. Consider the cultural value of achievement, for example. While all individuals may share the same ' cultural values, their methods of responding to them may differ greatly, depending on the sub-culture and social class. each culture has what is termed the core values. These are the dominant or basic cultural values. It is not necessary that the core values be exclusive to a particular culture. Several values are borrowed as people emigrate to societies. While somewhat obvious to you, the important fact is that these values are pervasive and accepted as givens. For example, core values that have been cited may be any of the following. 1) Progress, achievement and success: These values lead to progress for society 2) Activity: Being and keeping active is widely accepted as a healthy and necessary part of life. 3) Humanitarianism 4) Individualism 5) Efficiency, Practicality Commonly held cultural values shape consumption choices to a large extent. Marketers therefore try to appeal to consumer values through advertising. These values influence both, product and brand choices. It has been found that terminal values such as comfort, security, pleasure, are influential in the choice of product class. Instrumental values such as broadmindedness become important in the brand choice decision. Though limited amount of research has been done on how to measure values, Milton Rokeach has created a Rokeach Value scale consisting of two sets of values, eighteen terminal values and eighteen instrumental values. Ranking or agreement scales are used to find out the importance of these values to the individual respondents. Table 11.1 presents the values listed in the Rokeach Value Survey.

5 Culture and Subculture Activity 2 Select five core Indian cultural values, and provide a consumer behaviour example for each CULTURAL VALUES AND CHANGE The core values discussed above do not represent a static concept but are dynamic in nature. Depending upon the rate of change a society is going through cultural change may evolve slowly, in an evolutionary manner which is adapted more easily and is least disruptive. A culture may also change rapidly owing to fast paced changes in a society, changes which come rapidly produce stress for the social system and may even be disruptive of some basic values. As world trade globalises, information and communication technology bring the people of the world in closer interaction with each 9ther, cultures of nearly all open or opening societies are likely to face the winds of change. John Nasibilt in his book Megatrends 2000 has predicted the ten most important trends that will mark the 1990'x. These are: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) A renaissance in arts literature and spirituality. The end of the welfare state and the decline of socialism. Emergence of English as the worldwide language. Emergence of the age of biology and genetic engineering. Shift from dominance of Atlantic culture to the Pacific culture. Decline of cities and growth of electronic heartland. Worldwide free trade. No limits to growth. Era of globalisation. Human resources as the cutting edge or competitiveness. 43

6 Group Influences on Consumer Behaviour As the world around us changes, reverberation are naturally likely to be felt in the Indian society. Already sign of changes in the cultural values of respect for authority, religious and family ties, responsible consumption etc. are becoming apparent in the Indian society. The need for the marketer is to clearly understand and track the changing value orientations of Indian consumers and respond in designing products and services to be offered for consumption. Activity 3 Some of the megatrends noted above have already become apparent. How are they likely to change some of the Indian cultural values. Give your own opinion. Talk to some of your peers and report upon their opinion THE-NEED FOR CROSS CULTURAL UNDER- STANDING OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR As world trade globalises, corporations tend to look upon the whole world as their market. Major Corporations of the world today, Coca Cola, IBM, Gillette receive more than half of their earnings from their overseas operations. A parallel emergence of common culture of management has however not taken place. Research surveys of management personnel serving across countries reveal that managers views tend to relate more to their country's cultural context and less to the geographical location of their company. The International marketer however would need to understand the different value orientation in the various cultures that he operates in or is planning to operate in. A useful conceptualisation of a frame of reference has been developed by Florence R Kluckholm, which may enable the international marketer to evaluate cross cultural variation on a range for five important value orientation. These value orientations are given in the Table

7 Important among the steps to be undertaken while trying to understand cultural orientation of international markets are suggested below. a) Research into underlying values and the rate at which these are altering-try to understand the direction of the change specially with references to the target market. b) Evaluate how the intended product concept relates to the cultural values, in terms of any possible or perceived conflicts with the values. In the cultural context in which the product is to be introduced, how important are the needs for which the product is created? Are there alternative satisfiers available? c) Analyse the existing individual and family decision patterns and characteristic criteria used for decision making, as well as the information sources for decision making. d) Decide on appropriate Marketing Communication- Looking at the language, symbols, beliefs and the role models that exist in a given cultural context, the marketer must decide upon messages and formats which effectively communicate. What media would be the most appropriate would again vary depending upon the preferred. information sources and media habits of people in different cultures. e) Take appropriate pricing and channel decision-what are the valuation norms ofa given society? Do people value an imported product label higher than a domestic one or is it vice versa? Are people aware and sensitive of price differentials? Are existing channels adequate and appropriate? How willing are people in a given cultural context to try new distribution alternatives? These are some of the issues which would enable the markets to evolve suitable pricing and distribution strategies in a cross cultural marketing situation. Activity 4 Try to look at some of the new products introduced by multinationals in India (for e.g. Kellog breakfast cereals, microwave oven etc.) and evaluate how do they, in terms of product concepts and communication messages relate to the Indian cultural contexts SUBCULTURES AND THEIR INFLUENCE You have after going through the above section, a very clear idea of how pervasive and lasting is the influence of culture on a person's consumer behaviour. Not all segments of a given society, however, display the same behaviour pattern. This is partly due to `ethnicity' - the basic origins from which these segments emanate or different religious beliefs or even climatic and geographical considerations. It is therefore possible for a marketer to identify more homogeneous subgroups within the heterogeneous national culture. These subgroups are referred to as subcultures. The members of a specific subculture display customs, values and beliefs which are distinct enough to set them apart from the other segments in the same culture. However, in addition to the above different beliefs values and customs, they conform to the dominant values and behavioural patterns of the larger society to which they belong. To take an example, if we refer to the Indian society as the larger "Culture" segment, the various religious subgroups like Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, represent the religious subcultures. They may possess different religious beliefs and customs, but are also similar in the sense that they all display common value system as Indians. In a multi racial society like America, there is an American way of life which typifies the American Culture, the various social groups like blacks, hirpanics and Asians display values and customs which are typical of them as subsegments. Each of these then represent a subculture. Subcultures therefore can be defined as a distinct cultural group that exists within a layer, complex society as an identifiable segment in terms of its beliefs customs and values. A culture is thus made up of the distinctive values beliefs and customs followed by Culture and Subculture 45

8 Group Influences on Consumer Behaviour 46 the members of its various subcultures as well as the core cultural values and beliefs of subcultures as well as the core cultural values and beliefs shared by most of its population regardless of specific subcultural identification. Activity 5 Look around yourself and try to identify the type of subcultural group that you see in the Indian society. In what ways do they tend to differ from the other subsegments. Types of subcultures Marketers have tended to look at subcultures as specific segments in terms of the differential mores of these subgroups result in consumption patterns and behavioural patterns specific to them. You have only to refer to the different customs followed by the various communities in India to understand how the marketer would like the consumption patterns at different religious festivals and performance of customary rites of these communities to identify distinct marketing opportunities. The different food habits of the geographical subcultures, for example, North and South India, represent possibilities for segmenting and targetting consumers for the food market. Looking around us we can see that for multicultural societies, it is possible to identify several types of subcultures. We would briefly refer to the major types of subcultures here. Racial or nationality subcultures: Multiracial societies like America are today comprised of citizens who come from different nationalities or belong to different races. While they are subscribe to the wider concept of the core American values, each one of them display interesting differences for the marketer to be able to identify them as important, subculture segments. The broader American culture therefore can be seen as consisting of the Afro- American subculture, the asian subculture the hispmic subculture to name some. These subcultures tend to vary in their values, aspiration and beliefs which get reflected in their consumption priorities, spend save patterns, purchase behaviour, use of credit, social mores and customs etc. Marketers have found it useful to look at each of these subcultures as distinct market segments and tailor marketing plans to effectively reach them. Religious subcultures: Most societies of the world today consist of people subscribing to different religions, which may differ in their beliefs, values and customs. We have referred to the Indian society earlier which is a good example of a multi-religion society. The religious subgroups may follow different custom, have important rites of passage (like birth, marriage and death) performed in different ways and have different festivals. These in turn suggest items appropriate for consumption for the above activities which may not be common to all the members of the wider society. In addition, religion subcultures may suggest important "taboos " in consumption terms, certain foods are prohibited among the different groups, consumption of liquor or non-vegetarian foods may be specifically prohibited by some religious norms. Geographical and regional subcultures: Large countries, partly on account of geographical and climatic condition display geographical and regional differences which are distinct enough to enable marketer to envisage a country as consisting of different geographical or regional subcultures. One has only to look at our own country to clearly identify and appreciate the Gujarati, Tamil, Punjabi, Kasluniri, Bengali subculture identities with the Indian culture. Of special significance to the marketer are the various food preferences of these geographical regional subculture and the languages spoken in different regions. India today had 1 7 languages identified as official regional languages. These create unique challenges in terms of creating and delivering marketing communication. Geographical subcultures also result in different consumption patterns in clothing, housing patterns and food habits on account of climatic conditions. While cottons may

9 be the most preferred fabric in North West India, silk predominates in South, Wollens have a very low priority in coastal regions as they are not required at all. Age subcultures: You have already read about the stages in family life cycle and understand how consumption priorities change as the age pattern of the family changes. Marketers have, on a more generic basis have been able to use age as a basis of identifying different subcultural identities as the youth market and the elderly market. The youth market (14-24) is important to marketers not only because it is a growing and lucrative segment but also because consumption preference found at this age are likely to continue for a long time. The youth market is distinctive enough in terms of its spending patterns, demographics, psycholography, profiles etc. In a very interesting in depth study of teens, Young and Rubicon ad agency found the following: Teens want to learn things but do not want to be told want independence yet want to be taken care of want to be treated as adult but don't want too much responsibility want to be active yet spend hours relaxing want to try new things but only acceptable ones want to be individuals, but also members of the group can be very critical but are very sensitive to criticism. The youth market differs significantly from the elderly market in term of its norms, purchase preferences, information sources used, media habits and preferences and to an extent values and beliefs, to constitute a subcultural segment for the marketers. For a very large variety of consumables, apparels, accessory and entertainment, education and training, fast food and hospitality industry, the youth market constitutes a substantial and lucrative market segment. The Elderly Market: In terms of age subcultures, the `Elderly' constitute the 50 plus Market segment. They have traditionally received low priority attention from the marketers but it is fast being realised that in terms of purchasing power and discretionary incomes, this segment is one of the most attractive segments. In subculture segment term, this segment has been found to display value orientation which are more stable, have identified shopping patterns and store preferences, and are a very attractive market for home improvement, investment, insurance, health services and home equipment enabling convenience in living. Though they tend to view advertising as a less reliable source of information, their media habits are more stable to enable the marketers to carve out communication positioning better. Gender subcultures: It has been increasingly felt that as men and women vary in terms of dominant traits they posses, information search and processing norms they follow, gender may be indeed used as a subculture segmentation variable. While the traditional role identification of men as breadearners and women as homemakers are getting blurred, products can still be seen as being strongly associated or as exclusively developed for one sex or the other. Assignment also in terms of predominant decision making roles, tend to relate to gender subcultures. In behavioural terms, it hasbeen found that consumers lend to assign a gender to products, in term of the perceived meaning of the product it may either be seen as a feminine or a masculine product. These are perceptions that need to be borne in mind by advertisers in addition to the gender of the target market. One gender subcultural segment that has been distinctively identified and used is, the.segment of the working woman. Working women as a subcultural segment and consumption patterns: Whatever be their career orientation, working women have been found to spend less times shopping and tend to be weekend shoppers. This higher discretionary income enables them to try out new brand alternatives and be a very attractive market for time saving, convenience oriented goods or improved home services. Media usage is more diverse among working women and the messages that have been found to be most effective are those that relate to both career and family rather than those targeting only family or only career. As proportion of working women continue to rise across the world, greater research is bound to be directed towards specific value orientation and role identification of this important segment. Culture and Subculture 47

10 Group Influences on Consumer Behaviour 11.8 SUMMARY The study of culture enables us to understand and appreciate all aspects of a given society-language customs beliefs value systems and customs and religion in a given society. The unit studied by you defines culture as the sum total of the beliefs, values and customs learned by the members, of a society that set them apart from other societies. The unit also explains the characteristics of culture and the way it affects our behaviour as consumers. In an internationalising world economy several cross cultural transactions and adaptation have to be made by the international marketers. The unit addresses some of the value orientation across which different societies can be seen and analysed. Subcultures and their understanding enables the marketers to segment this markets so as to tailor their offerings to the needs, motivations value orientations and attitudes of members of specific groups. Subcultures exist as identifiable distinct groups within a given culture. The unit describes the various types of subcultures that can be identified in a society SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS 1. Define Culture and Subculture. Compare the Indian culture values with the American culture or that of any other culture that you have read about or are familiar with. 2. How are cultural values relevant to a marketing practioner? 3. How does subcultural analysis help a marketing In the segmentation exercise? 4. Discuss the importance of subcultural segmentation for food products, clothing and accessories SUGGESTED READINGS Schiffinan, Leon G. and Kanuk, Leslie Lazar, 1987, Consumer Behaviour, Preiltice Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs. Engel, James F., Blackwell, Roger D. and Kollatt, 1986, Consumer Behaviour, CBS College Publishing, New York. Loudon, D.L. and Della Bitta, Al, 1984, Consumer Behaviour, Concepts and Applications, McGraw Hill. 48