Consumer Behavior

Environmental influences

Environmental influences
on
consumer behavior
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

Environmental influences
• physical environment: collection of nonhuman
elements that comprise the field in which consumer
behavior occurs (spatial and nonspatial elements);
• social environment: all human activities and
interactions;
– culture
– subculture
– social class
– reference groups
– family
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

Dimensions of cultural variation

(Hofstede 1980)
• power distance: degree to which human inequality (in terms of
prestige, wealth, power, etc.) is considered normal by the
population of a country;
• uncertainty avoidance: degree to which people in a country prefer
structured over unstructured situations (rigidity vs. flexibility);
• individualism/collectivism: degree to which people in a country
prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of a group;
• masculinity/femininity: degree to which values such as
assertiveness, performance, success and competition prevail over
values such as quality of life, warm interpersonal relationships,
service, care for the weak, and solidarity;
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

• use of status symbols

• showing people alone or as part of a group
• long copy and testimonials by experts
• respect for old age
• nonconforming lifestyles
• men or women in nontraditional roles
• importance of being well-groomed
• nuclear vs. extended family
• “It’s so good, you want to keep it for yourself” vs. “It’s so
good, you want to share it with others”
• “Be the best” or “Big is beautiful” vs. “Brilliant in its
simpleness”
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

Globalization vs. adaptation

• globalization: argument that companies should
ignore superficial cultural differences, learn to
operate as if the world were one large market,
and pursue this market with standardized
marketing mixes (Levitt 1983);
• adaptation: argument that companies should
emphasize local cultural differences, segment
markets on the basis of these differences, and
adapt their marketing mixes to the local culture;
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

In-class exercise:
Cross-cultural marketing blunders
Describe an incident in which a marketing
strategy failed because of the marketer’s
ignorance of cross-cultural differences in
consumer behavior. If possible, relate an
example that you’re personally familiar
with.
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

Subculture
culture of a segment of society that differs in
significant ways from the culture as a whole;
• ethnic groups
• geographic areas
• age groups
• religious affiliations
• socio-economic groups
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

Social class
• a hierarchy of social status in a society
leading to interactions of people as equals,
superiors, or inferiors;
• influenced most heavily by educational
credentials, occupation prestige level,
income, and area of residence;
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

Reference groups
A group of people that serves as a standard of
reference in guiding an individual’s thoughts,
feelings, and actions.
Types of reference group influence:
– informational:
(acceptance of information from others);
– normative (utilitarian):
(conformity with expectations of others);
– comparative (value-expressive):
(identification with values of others);
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

• To satisfy the expectations of fellow work associates, the

individual’s decision to purchase a particular brand is influenced by
their preferences.
• The individual seeks information from those who work with the
product as a profession.
• The individual sometimes feels that it would be nice to be like the
type of person which advertisements show using a particular brand.
• The brand which the individual selects is influenced by observing a
seal of approval of an independent testing agency (such as Good
Housekeeping).
• The individual feels that the purchase of a particular brand helps
him show others what he is, or would like to be (such as an athlete,
successful businessman, good mother, etc.).
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

Reference group influence on product and brand

choice (Bearden and Etzel 1982)
public
product
choice weak reference strong reference
brand group influence group influence
choice
strong PuNe PuLu
reference (e.g., wristwatch, (e.g., golf club,
group automobile, snow skis,
influence man’s suit) sailboat)
necessity luxury
weak PrNe PrLu
reference (e.g., mattress, (e.g., TV game,
group floor lamp, trash compactor,
influence refrigerator) icemaker)
private
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

Families
• families vs. households:
– a family is two or more persons residing together who
are related by blood, adoption, or marriage;
– a household is one or more persons sharing the same
housing unit;
• many decision are made by families or
households, not individuals;
• consumer behavior varies over the family
life cycle (based on age, marital status, and
number and ages of children);
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

Parental Roles in Family Decision Making

3

wife dominant
2.5

2 autonomic syncratic

1.5
husband dominant

Percentage of families engaging in joint decision making

1
0% 50% 100%
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

Parental Influence by Product Category

3

cleaning
wife products
dominant food
wife's clothing

2.5
cosmetics

children's toys
appliances
husband's clothing

2 vacation
housing

alcoholic beverages

television
car
1.5
other insurance
life insurance
husband
dominant

Percentage of families engaging in joint decision making

1
0% 50% 100%
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

Parental Influence by Stage of Decision

3

wife 1 problem recognition

dominant
2 search for information
3 final decision
2.5

1
2 appliances

husband's 3
2 clothing

car

1.5

husband life insurance

dominant

Percentage of families engaging in joint decision making

1
0% 50% 100%
 Consumer Behavior
Environmental influences

The family life cycle

• young single 8.2 %
• young married without children 2.9 %
• other young
– married with children 17.1 %
– divorced with kids 1.9 %
– divorced with no kids 0.1 %
• middle-aged (35-65)
– married with children 33.0 %
– married with no dependent children 5.5 %
– married with no children 4.7 %
– divorced with no kids 0.3 %
– divorced with kids 1.9 %
• older (65+)
– married, spouse present 5.2 %
– unmarried, no spouse present 2.0 %
• all others 17.2 %