Course name: Consumer Behavior GMKT 406

Professor name: Mr. Jawaid Batla

Date: Friday, 3rd April 2020

Assignment: Importance of Culture on consumer purchase decisions

SHAHZAIB KHAN

BS 556402
Cultural factors comprise of set of values and ideologies of a particular community or group of

individuals. It is the culture of an individual which decides the way he/she behaves. In simpler

words, culture is nothing but values of an individual. What an individual learns from his parents

and relatives as a child becomes his culture. Cultural factors have a significant effect on an

individual’s buying decision. Every individual has different sets of habits, beliefs and principles

which he/she develops from his family status and background. What they see from their

childhood becomes their culture. Cultural factors vary by country but become increasingly

complex whenpeople immigrate to foreign countries that have different cultural dimensions.

Inthese situations, people are subjected to a wide variety of cultural referencegroups that

ultimately affect their purchase behavior. In addition, referencegroups may consist of familial

groups or external peer groups with each groupproviding specific and often conflicting

information that affects purchase andconsumption behavior. for a person living in East, it is

difficult to think and be like someone in West. So, however best we try, culture still affects us

and to go beyond its boundaries is difficult for people. The theory of cultural relativism states

that people from different cultures think, feel and act differently. The Indian culture has its own

beliefs and values, the French culture has its own and the American culture its own. So, an

Indian would be less akin with the American cultural symbols than an American and vice versa.

As per this theory every judgement of right and wrong is based upon societal and cultural norms.

It is why the emphasis is on cultural awareness in the 21st century. Cultural awareness provides

us with cultural perspective which helps to know why certain things may be right in certain

societies and wrong in others. Culture also affects consumers’ perspectives in this way because

after all the consumers belong to the society.

Cultural ethnocentrism refers to the belief regarding the superiority of one’s own culture over

that of the others. However, such an attitude would not work in the global environment or the

global markets. If a business works from this angle, it believes that the ideas which were

effective in its home country will also be effective abroad. Ethnocentrism can give rise to big

problems in case of global business. The obsession with one’s own culture makes people

overlook certain very important factors. Not just the environmental factors but the business

objectives too might change when working abroad in a different culture. Even if managers

recognize the differences they forget to value them and believe they would not need to make

extra efforts to make things work as well as in the home country. In this way, they may end up

hurting important values leading to losses. Managers must conduct a cost benefit analysis in such

a scenario to see if making a particular change to their strategy will give rise to the expected

benefits. Ethnocentrism also explains why some people feel more bound to purchase the products

that are related to their own culture or are produced locally.