Transcript Global Consumer Culture

Global Consumer Culture
Culture in a globalized context
Fiber Optic Cable
Myths & Rituals
Global Consumer Culture
Culture is. . .
The accumulation of shared
meanings, rituals, norms, and
other traditions among the
members of an organization or
society
Culture
Homogenous
group of
people
Values
Ideas
Attitudes
Types of Culture
Objective Culture
Subjective Culture
Can be easily seen and thus more
easily interpreted or understood
Not so easily understood on
immediate observation
•Cars we drive
•Clothes we wear
•Food we eat
•The roles we play
•The beliefs we hold
•The values we possess
Iceberg Concept of Culture
Diffusion of Innovations
Diffusion of Innovations
Innovators (2.5%)
Early Adopters (13.5%)
Early Majority (34%)
Late Majority (34%)
Laggards (16%)
Diffusion of Innovations
Innovators - venturesome, educated, multiple info
sources, greater propensity to take risk
Early Adopters - social leaders, popular, educated
Early Majority - deliberate, many informal social
contacts
Late Majority - skeptical, traditional, lower socioeconomic status
Laggards - neighbors and friends are main info
sources, fear of debt
Diffusion of Innovations
Diffusion of Innovations
Consumption
People buy products not
do, but for
what they mean
for what they
Cultural differences
Cultural differences influence
the way we, as humans, see
the world, interact in the
marketplace, and relate to one
another.
Functional Areas of a
Cultural System
Aspects of Culture
Ecology
Social System
Ideology
World View
Ethos
Cultural Variability
Hofstede's Typology
Dimensions of Variability
Power Distance
Uncertainty Avoidance
Individualism/
Collectivism
Masculinity/Femininity
Cultural Variability
Power Distance
Level of social inequality and
how willing members of a
society are to accept authority
Individualism/Collectivism
The extent to which the
welfare of the individual
versus that of the group is
valued
Uncertainty Avoidance
Masculinity/Femininity
Degree to which people feel
threatened by ambiguous
situations and have beliefs and
institutions that help them
avoid uncertainty
One sex’s roles are
considered superior to the
other sex
Values and Norms
Values are very general ideas about
good and bad goals
Norms are rules dictating what is right or
wrong
Enacted Norms
explicitly decided upon rules
Crescive Norms
embedded in a culture and are discovered
through interactions with that culture
•Customs - norm handed down
•Mores - custom with strong moral overtone
•Conventions - norms regarding conduct of
daily life
Culture Then and Now
I Love Lucy
Will & Grace
Cultural Opposition
Subculture
Relatively cohesive cultural system
that varies in form and substance
from the dominant culture
Cultural Opposition
Counterculture
Culturally homogenous group that
develops values and norms that
differ from the larger society
because of their opposition to it
Manifestations of Culture
Myths & Rituals
Rituals
A set of symbolic behaviors
that occur in a fixed sequence
Many rituals are at the heart of
consumers’ relationship with their
favorite products
Ritual Artifacts
Many business owe their existence to
customers’ need for ritual artifacts
such as birthday cakes, diplomas,
ceremonial wine, cigars, greeting
cards, etc . . .
Categories of Consumer Rituals
Grooming rituals
binary oppositions: private/public and
work/leisure
Rites of passage
separation/liminality/aggregation
Gift-giving
purchase/presentation/reformulation
Culture and Consumption
Consumption choices cannot be
understood without cultural context
•“lens” through which people view products
•Sensitivity comes through understanding
underlying issues
Culture and Consumption
A consumer’s culture determines the
priorities the consumer attaches to
activities and products
•Will determine success or failure
•Product benefits must be consistent with
culture
Culture and Consumption
A successfully designed “new” product
will be a reflection of dominant cultural
ideals of that period
•TV dinners
•Cosmetics made with no animal testing
•ipods
Sacred and Profane Consumption
Sacred Consumption
•Involves objects and events that are “set apart”
from normal activities and are treated with some
degree of respect or awe
Profane Consumption
•Involves consumer objects and events that are
ordinary, everyday objects and events that do
not share the “specialness” of sacred ones
Sacred and Profane Consumption
Sacralization
•Ordinary events or products are accorded
special significance by culture
Desacralization
•Sacred events or products are stripped of
special status and/or reproduced in mass
quantities
Ritual Photo Essay
Myths & Rituals
Your Consumption Rituals?
This morning:
What products did you use?
Are some of these brands that you
regularly use?
Are some of these brands that you
feel loyal to?