Culture And Social Class

Culture & Consumer Behaviour

Dr. Rohit Vishal Kumar

Reader, Department of Marketing

Xavier Institute of Social Service

P.O. Box No: 7, Purulia Raod

Ranchi – 834001 Jharkhand, India

© Rohit Vishal Kumar 2008

What is Culture? Culture is the complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, art,

law, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits as acquired by the human beings as members of the society

Features of Culture Comprehensive concept Acquired in nature Acts as a boundary

What do you like as a pizza topping? USA : pepperoni Japan : Squid England : Tuna and Corn Australia : Eggs India : Pickles


Values and Norms Norms:

Are the rules (or boundaries) that specify or prohibit certain behaviours in specific situation

They are derived from cultural values or widely held beliefs that affirm what is desirable

Violation of norms results in sanction or punishments Values and Norms are “obeyed without thinking” Values and Norms change with time Variation in Cultural Values

Other Oriented Values Environment Oriented Values Self-Oriented Values

Companies need to adopt their marketing strategy with cultural norms

McDonald in India has adopted its market offering: No Pork or Beef. Indian Thali also being served. In north India

– non-veg have tandoori flavor. In south India – non-veg have chettinad flavor


Other Oriented Values Reflects society’s view of appropriate relationships between individual

and groups within a society Consists of:

Individual / Collective Focus on individual or collective action

Youth / Age Focus on children or mature persons

Extended / Nuclear Family Focus on Extended or Nuclear Family

Masculine / Feminine Society gives more weightage to females or males

Competitive / Cooperative Do people compete or cooperate for success

Diversity / Uniformity Is diversity accepted or is conformity more valued?


Environment Oriented Values Prescribes a society’s relationship to its economic, technical and

physical environment Consists of:

Cleanliness Emphasis placed on cleanliness

Performance / Status Emphasis on performance or status

Tradition / Change Emphasis on Change or traditional aspects

Risk Taking / Risk Averse Willingness to take risk or risk averse

Problem Solving / Fatalistic Emphasis on problem solving or “chalta hai” attitude

Nature Extent of emphasis on nature


Self-Oriented Values Reflects the objectives and approaches that the individual member of

the society finds desirable Consists of:

Active / Passive Physical activity valued more than passive lifestyle

Sexual Gratification / Abstinence Is sex (and sexuality) accepted or not

Material / Non-Material Importance attached to material wealth Instrumental materialism : acquisition to enable one to do something Terminal Materialism : acquisition for the sake of owning the item.

Hard Work / Leisure Is hard work admired or leisure is emphasized

Postponed Gratification / Immediate Gratification Outlook towards savings or spending

Religious / Secular Is religion important or not


Culture and Verbal Communication Differences in Language leads to barriers in communication Examples from some Companies

Griptight Ltd. changed the name of baby soothers to pacifiers for the USA markets

Whirlpool is virtually unpronounceable in Spanish. So they are hunting for a new name for Spanish speaking countries

Differences in US and British English Cookie / Biscuit Elevator / Lift Gas / Petrol Apartment / Flat

Name of Ford Pinto changed to Corcel in Brazil

Pinto means “Small Male Sexual Organ” in Brazilian SpanishCorcel means “Horse”


Culture &Non-Verbal Communication Non verbal communications are the arbitrary meanings a culture

assigns to actions, events and things Components

Time Space Symbols Friendship Agreements Things Etiquette


Time On a cultural level

Monochronic Time Perspective: Time is viewed as linear and fixed in nature. It is considered similar to a

commodity. Time takes precedence over everything else Mainly in USA, Canada, Western Europe, Australia

Polychronic Time Perspective: Time is viewed as a never ending dynamic entity. People and relationships

take precedence over time Mainly in India, China, Latin America and Ancient Surviving Civilisations

On a personal level Generally time required for a project is directly proportional to the

importance of the project Promptness is important in monochromic culture


Space In most societies, space around a person is seen as a personal

space The larger the personal space the better off the person In traditional societies personal space is smaller Example:

Bigger Offices for high executives in USA Latin American have substantially shorter space


Symbols Cultures assign different meaning to symbols Colors, Animals, Shapes, Numbers and music have different

connotation across cultures: Examples:

A leading US Golf Ball manufacturer failed to sell its products in Japanese market because it was packaged in sets of four

Japanese see 4 as a symbol of death Pepsi –Cola lost out on market share in Latin America when it changed

the color of its vending machine from deep blue to light blue Light blue is associated with death in Latin America

7 is considered to be lucky in India, Czech Republic, Nicaragua and USA 7 is considered unlucky in Ghana, Kenya, Singapore


Friendship, Agreements & Things Friendship refers to a close personal relationship and Trust

Business agreements usually a governed by friendship Specially in China, India, Latin America

Agreements refer to pact undertaken to discharge obligations High Context Culture: where emphasis is more on word of mouth

Example: Japan, China, India Low Context culture: Where emphasis is more on documentation

Example: USA, Britain

Things refer to use of products and services in a society Possession of material goods is seen as good in some countries Gifts are determined by the concept of things


Etiquette Etiquette refers to socially accepted way of behaving in a situation Modern etiquette codifies social interactions with others:

Greeting relatives, friends and acquaintances Refraining from insults and prying curiosity Offering hospitality to guests Wearing clothing suited to the occasion Contributing to conversations Offering assistance etc.

Examples of Faux-Pas in Indian Context Not offering refreshment to an guest Asking for a drink and not offering alcohol Shaking hands with members of opposite sex Accepting “prasad” with left hand Using first name with elders and respected persons of the society


Language How We Differ!Indian Meaning Correct Meaning

Eggitarian -

Cousin-brother male first cousin

Dicky boot of a car

Godown warehouse

Mugging to be robbed on the street

Pass-out To Faint / become unconscious

Rubber condom / eraser

Gone for a toss -


Culture & Marketing Strategy Considerations for approaching a foreign market

Is the geographical area homogenous or heterogeneous? What needs does the product fulfill? Can enough people needing the product afford it? What patterns / values are relevant in purchase of the product? What are the distribution, political, legal aspects for the product? How can we communicate the product? What are the ethical implications of marketing the product?

Sub Culture


What is subculture? A sub-culture is a segment of a larger culture whose members share

distinguishing values and patterns of behaviour

An individual is a part of more than one sub-culture

Types of sub-culture Ethnic sub-culture Religious sub-culture Regional sub-culture


Ethnic Subculture Ethnic sub-cultures can be broadly defined as those whose members

unique shared behaviour are based on a common racial, language or nationality background

Ethnic immigrants impact on ethnic sub-culture Reinforce unique behaviours Reinforce attitudes derived from the groups culture


Ethnic Sub-cultures in USA African Americans

Constitute 13% of American population Concentrated in Southern USA Represent a market of $ 575 billion Tend to be younger than average American Lower levels of household income Market Segment Research identified 4 major consumer groups

Contended (37%) Upwardly Mobile (24%) Living for the moment (21%) Living for the day (18%)

Marketing to African American Products altered to meet African needs Communication altered to meet their needs Authentic Retailing targeted to African Americans by J.C. Penny


Ethnic Sub-cultures in USA Hispanic

Extensive use of Spanish Language in communication Constitutes of even smaller sub-culture

Mexican American (66%) Puerto Ricans (9%) Cubans (4%) Latin Americans (14%)

Limited or low levels of acculturation More than 60% have strong Hispanic Identification Extensively influenced by Roman Catholicism Extremely Family Oriented, traditional views Masculine in Orientation Emphasis on Sports – boxing, baseball, soccer Extremely brand loyal Cooking as an activity, done by wife, is central to the household

Eating out / Ordering in the food is not acceptable


Ethnic Sub-cultures in USA Asian Americans

Fastest growing sub-culture Have highest average household income of any ethnic group Most diverse of all subcultures

Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines Largely influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism Conservative and adherence to strict manners Education is important Clustered in limited geographic areas

50% live in California, New York and Hawaii High penetration of computers and internet


Ethnic Sub-cultures in USA Asian Indians

Mostly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh Extremely well educated and emphasis on children education Fluent in English Financially conservative Shop for “value for money” Husband dominated family decisions Involved with the home country

Arab Americans From variety of countries Common Language and Heritage Better educated Have High Incomes


Religious Subculture Christian sub-culture

Roman Catholic Sub-culture Protestant Sub-culture

Muslim sub-culture Jewish sub-culture Buddhist sub-culture Hindu sub-culture

Social Class


Social Class Social Class is used to denote “societal rank” – one’s position relative

to another on one or more dimensions valued by the society Is a result of Characteristics possessed by an Individual Importance of the characteristics possessed by the society

A social class system: can be defined as hierarchical divisions of a society in to relatively distinct

and homogenous groups with respect to attitudes, values and lifestyles Social Stratification:

refers to the perceived hierarchies in which consumer rate others as higher or lower in social status

Ascribed Status: status due to being born in wealth Achieved Status: status due to work or study

Status Crystallization Refers to the consistency of individuals and families on relevant status

dimensions E.g. A child of a highly educated parent is assumed to have a high education

level – else she is supposed to have failed her social class


Basis of Social Class What determines social class:

Occupation is the most common determinant Older countries may not put much stress on income based classes

In Britain – Heritage determines your social status In India – Religion determines the social status (Caste)

Social Class Based on Income (USA) Upper Class

Upper Upper Class – Old Rich Families Lower Upper Class – Neo Rich, Conspicuous Consumption Upper Middle Class – Wealthy but not excessively

Middle Class Middle Class – White Collared Workers, Salaried Working Class – Blue Collared Workers, Salaried, Seek Advancement

Lower Class Upper Lower Class – Low but steady incomes, unskilled laborers Lower Lower Class – Low income, low education


Indian Classification Based on “Highest Education” and “Occupation” level of the CWE Primarily used for urban marketing, communications etc Household Classification (1999 Data)

SEC Class %age Press % TV %

A 10.00 86.00 95.00

B 18.00 71.00 91.00

C 21.00 57.00 86.00

D 22.00 36.00 75.00

E 29.00 18.00 60.00 Sec A is divided in to – A1 and A2

A1 further subdivided into A1+ and A1 Sec B is divided in to – B1 and B2 Sec E is divided in to – E1 and E2

SEC A1+: Those households who are in SEC A1 and have a combined monthly household income of Rs. 10,000/- or more per month


India: Asset Ownership Households having or owning specified assets Source: Census of India 2001

Heads % Population % Rural % Urban

Total Households 100.00 88.46 11.54

Avail Banking Service 59.53 57.49 75.15

Radio / Transistor 47.99 46.76 57.37

Television 53.34 50.37 76.07

Telephone 16.49 13.89 36.42

Bicycle 9.10 9.05 9.50

Scooter/M-Cycle/Moped 7.42 6.15 17.62

Car/Jeep/Van 2.60 1.80 14.05

No Assets 28.61 30.59 14.05

Total Households : 12,40,633


Social Class & Marketing Upper Class:

Super Premium Price / Prestige Themes / Status Middle Class:

Premium Price / Achievement Oriented Themes / Sharing Lower Class

Popular Price / Sports Themes / Identification

Thank You

Culture And Social Class

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