Financing and Marketing Management

Unit 14 - Marketing Environment-Consumer Behaviour

14.4. Cultural factors
Cultural factors exert the broadest and deepest influence on consumer behaviour. We will look at the role played by the buyer’s culture, subculture and social class.
Culture
Culture is the most fundamental determinant of a person’s want and behaviour. Whereas lower creatures are governed by instinct, human behaviour is largely learned. The growing child acquires a set of values, perceptions, preferences and behaviors through a process of socializing involving the family and other key institutions. A child growing up in America is exposed to the following values: achievement and success, activity, efficiency and practicality, progress, material comfort, individualism, freedom, external comfort, humanitarianism and youthfulness.
Margaret’s interest in computers reflects her upbringing in a advanced technological society. Computers presuppose a whole set of consumer learnings and values. Linda knows what computers are; she knows how to read instructions on how to operate a computer; she knows that the society values computer expertise.
Subculture
Each culture consists of smaller subcultures that provide more specific identification and socialization for its members. Four types of subcultures can be distinguished. Nationality groups such as Irish, Polish, Italians and Puerto Ricans are found within large communities and exhibit distinct ethnic tastes and proclivities. Religious groups such as the Catholics, Mormons, Presbyterians and Jews represent subcultures with specific cultural preferences and taboos. Racial groups such as blacks and Orientals have distinct cultural styles and attitudes. Geographical areas such as the Deep South, California and New England are distinct subcultures with characteristic lifestyles.
Margaret’s interest in various goods will be influenced by her nationality, religion, race and geographical background. These factors will influence her food preferences, clothing choices, recreation and career aspirations. Her subculture identifications may influence her interest in a personal computer. She may come from a subculture that places a high value on being an “educated person” and this helps explain her interest in computers.
Social Class
Virtually all human societies exhibit social stratification. Stratification sometimes takes the form of a caste system where the members of different castes are reared for certain roles and cannot change their caste membership. More frequently, stratification takes the form of social classes. Social classes are relatively homogenous and enduring divisions in a society, which are hierarchically ordered and whose members share similar values, interests and behaviour. Social scientists have identified the seven social classes as below

• Upper uppers
• Lower uppers
• Upper middles
• Middle class
• Working class
• Upper lowers
• Lower lowers

Margaret comes from a middle class background. Her family places a lot of value on education and becoming a professional, such as a manager, lawyer, accountant or physician. As a result, Linda has acquired good verbal and mathematical skills and is not daunted by computers, as someone from a less educated background might be.