Cross-Cultural Variations in Consumer Behavior
Culture is about what people value and is manifested in behaviors or norms. Culture is the total of learned customs, values, and beliefs that direct, among other things, the consumption patterns of members of a given society. Cultures differ in demographics, values, communication, and other aspects, and the differences create variations in consumption behaviors (Tsai et al., 2017). People’s habits, principles, and beliefs influence purchasing decisions.
Core Values Influencing Behaviors
Environment-Oriented Values
The environment-oriented values prescribe a society’s relationship to the technical, economic, and physical environment. A society’s orientation towards the physical environment influences its consumption behaviors in different ways. If it highly values the natural and historical, it would avoid anything that would be seen to destroy or mutilate these features.
Other-Oriented Values
The values reflect a society’s perception of the relationship between individuals and groups. The relationships have a significant push on consumption behavior and marketing efforts. In a culture where people value collective activities, they will always consult and seek guidance before making purchasing decisions (Davidson et al. 2018). Promotional appeals that promote individualism will not be successful in a society that values other-oriented values. The perceived status influences the consumption behaviors they create in the community.
Self-Oriented Values
Self-oriented values attach more importance to individual goals and gratification. Individuals in such a society make decisions about personal bias. Self-gratification comes before group gratification. The values influence consumer behavior in different ways. For example, the use of credit is a matter of immediate or postponed gratification. Self-oriented values would highly favor immediate gratification, and thus, marketing efforts promoting the use of credit would be highly successful (Galina et al., 2018).
Examining the cultural fundamentals is a critical step towards success in a new market. Brands must understand cultural implications on marketing efforts and consumption behaviors to increase business success.
References
Davidson, A., Habibi, M. R., & Laroche, M. (2018). Materialism and the sharing economy: A cross-cultural study of American and Indian consumers. Journal of Business Research, 82, 364-372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.07.045.
Galina, T., Urkmez, T., & Ralf, W. (2018). Cross-cultural variations in consumer behavior: a literature review of international studies. Southeast European Journal of Economics and Business, 13(2), 49-71. https://doi.org/10.2478/jeb-2018-0012.
Tsai, W. H. S., & Men, L. R. (2017). Consumer engagement with brands on social network sites: A cross-cultural comparison of China and the USA. Journal of Marketing Communications, 23(1), 2-21. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/13527266.2014.942678.