Consumer Behaviour - Lecture 10

6 Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture

Power Distance:  extent to which people in a society handle inequality and difference in the power of distribution.

• High Power Distance: People are more accepting of hierarchy; authority is rarely questioned.

• Low Power Distance: Equality is emphasized; people are encouraged to question authority.

Individualism vs Collectivism: how strongly individuals are integrated into groups

• Individualism: People focus on personal goals, autonomy, and independence.

• Collectivism: People prioritize group goals, harmony, and loyalty.

Uncertainty Avoidance: society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.

• High Uncertainty Avoidance: Society tries to avoid uncertainty with strict rules, structure and stability.

• Low Uncertainty Avoidance: More comfortable with ambiguity, change, and flexible rules.

Masculinity vs Femininity: whether society values competition and achievement or care and quality of life.

• High Masculinity: value achievement, competition and success.

• High Femininity: value cooperation, well being and work life balance.

Long-Term vs Short-Term Orientation: whether society focuses on future rewards or immediate results.

• Long-Term Orientation: Focus on future rewards like persistence, saving, and adaptability.

• Short-Term Orientation: Focus on immediate results, tradition, and social norms.

Indulgence vs. Restraint: extent to which society follow their desires or control through social norms.

• Indulgent Cultures: Allow people to freely enjoy life, express themselves, and seek happiness.

• Restrained Cultures: control through social norms, emphasizing self discipline and controlled enjoyment.

Culture Definition

• Culture is a society’s personality

• Culture is the accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms, and traditions

• Culture is the “lens” through which people view products

3 dimensions that make up a cultural system

1. Ecology: the way a society adapts to its habitat, including where people live and what is around them. The technology a culture uses to obtain and distribute resources shapes its ecology.

2. Social structure: how society is organized and how people maintain an orderly social life. This includes the domestic and political groups that dominate the culture.

3. Ideology: refers to a society's worldview, including what people believe and value. Members of a culture tend to share ideas about principles of order and fairness.

Products Are Vessels of Cultural Definition

concept that explains why products are not just functional tools but also carry symbolic meanings tied to identity and values

Ex. sneakerheads for them is status symbol, investment but for others its normal

Subculture Definition 

a group that shares certain beliefs, values, and customs while also being part of a larger society

Ex. skateboarders, gamers