This document discusses how culture influences consumer behavior in China and the United States. It first defines culture and explains how core cultural values shape consumer behaviors. It then analyzes seven key differences in the core values between Chinese and American culture, and how each impacts related consumer characteristics. These include collectivism vs individualism, family relationships, and time consciousness. The document concludes by providing marketing insights based on these cultural comparisons, such as using relationship marketing with Chinese consumers and developing more time-saving products for American consumers.

1. 5 - 1
How Culture Influences Consumer
Behavior (Chapter five )
Zhiyan (Maggie) Wu
School of Management,
Shanghai University of International
Business and Economics

2. 5 - 2
Today’s Contents
1. What is culture
2. How the Chinese and American cultures
influence their consumer behaviors
3. Marketing insights from these comparisons

3. 5 - 3
1. Culture
 Culture is the most basic cause of a person’s
wants and behavior
 culture reflects people’s core values , which
create opportunities for new products.

4. Consumer
behavior
Core value’s
differences
Chinese consumer
behaviors’ characteristics
American consumer
behaviors’ characteristics
1. Collectivism and
individualism
face and conformity
consumption
Equal and personality
consumption
2. . Family members’
relationship
Children’s small power in
making decision
Children ‘s big power in
making decision
3. Time-consciousness Weak: sensitive to price
more than time
Strong : love time-saving
products
2. Differences of Chinese and American
consumer behaviors due to core value
factors
(Kanuk et.al, 2008)

5. Consumer
behavior
Core value’s
differences
Chinese consumer
behavior ‘s
characteristics
American consumer
behavior ‘s
characteristics
4. Pessimism and
optimism
Conservative
consumption: love savings
and thrift
Excessive
consumption: dare to
consumption , love novelty
5. awareness of
environmental protection
Weak Strong: love environment
–friendly products
6. Cooperation and
competition
“Guanxi “ & “Renqing “
consumption
Objective comparison,
rational consumption
7. Materialism & Non
materialism
pay attention to practical
features , love
happiness due to
contentment
Seek and possess
more material
products
资料来源： Leslie Kanuk, Leon Schiffman and Harvard Hansen, Consumer Behavior,
p.424-428. Financial Time Prentice Hall, 2008

6. 2.1Core value impacts on consumer
behaviors : Collectivism & individualism
Chinese:
Collectivism
•Face consumption
•Conformity consumption
American:
Individualism
•Equal consumption
•Personality consumption

7. 2.11 Collectivism & individualism
The Chinese ‘face’
consumption
The American equal
consumption

8. 2.11 Collectivism
Why the Chinese loves ‘face’ consumption?
1.The ‘face’ concept is the idea of gaining respect, or the
concern for public reputation.
2.Chinese ‘face’ consumption is an inner sense of worth
which is experienced by their ego (Wong and Ahuvia 2012).

9. 2.11 Individualism
Why the American loves
equal consumption?
•In individualist cultures, the
American people value the
equality as the most important
value.

10. • 2.1.2 Collectivism & individualism
Chinese conformity
consumption
American personality
consumption

11. • 2.1.2 Collectivism: Chinese conformity
consumption
Why the Chinese loves conformity consumption?
1.Conformity refers to the behavior that people consume goods is strongly
directed by their group-memberships (Kotler, 2005).
2.The collectivists encourage the Chinese to place their loyalty to their family
and kin(Bond,2007).
3.Thus, the Chinese consumers often conform to the majority opinion of the
groups they communicate with thereby possessing products because of the
membership connotations (Kanuk, 2008)

12. • 2. 1.2 Individualism: American personality
consumption
• Why the American loves personality
consumption?
• Personality refers to individual differences in
characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and
behaving.
• In individualist cultures, the American people value
personal freedom, and tend to be self-focused.

13. 2.2Core value impacts on consumer
behaviors : family member’s relationship
Chinese:
Confucianism
•Children’s small power
for their decision making
in consumption
American:
Individualism
•Children’s big power
in their decision
making in
consumption

14. 2.2 Confucianism & individualism : family
member’s relationship
• Chinese children American children

15. • 2.2 Confucianism: Chinese Children’s small
power in their decision making
Why the Chinese Children have small power for their
decision making in consumption?
•In Confucianism, filial piety portrays the relationship between
Chinese parent and child.
•The confucianists encourage young people should respect the
old because they have embodied life experience.
•Thus, the Chinese Children have small power for their decision
making in consumption

16. • 2.2 Individualism : American young consumers’
big power for their decision making
Why the American Children have big power for their
decision making in consumption?
•In individualist cultures, the American people respect
equality and autonomy.
•Thus, the American Children have big power for their
decision making in consumption(Kanuk, 2008)

17. 2.3. core value impacts on consumer
behaviors : time consciousness
• Chinese weak time consciousness: e.g.
loving drying wet clothes in the sun
• American strong time consciousness
:e.g. loving time-saving products, such as
dryer machine

18. • 2.3 examples of time consciousness for
the Chinese and American

19. • 2.3 thrift value impacts
Why the Chinese has weak time consciousness ?
•Because of thrift value impact, the Chinese has weak
time consciousness(Kanuk, 2008)
•Examples include they loving wash dishes by hand
and drying clothes in the sun, etc.

20. • 2.3 efficiency value impacts
Why the American has strong time consciousness ?
(e.g they love to use time-saving products)
•Because of efficiency value impact, the American has
strong time consciousness(Kanuk, 2008)
•Examples include they loving using dishwasher and
drying machine, and loving buy iced vegetables.

21. 3.1Marketing insights from this comparison :
Collectivism & individualism
• Chinese Collectivism: Group-oriented
consumption (face and conformity consumption )
• American Individualism: equal and personality
consumption
• Marketing insights: marketers may use
group(relationship) marketing and leader- opinion
marketing to Chinese consumers while to American
consumers with more novelty and creative products.

22. 3.2 marketing insights from this comparison:
family member relationship
• Chinese Confucianism: Children’s small
power in their consumption decision making
• American Individualism: Children’s big power
in their consumption decision making
• Marketing insights: children products
marketers pay more attention to parents ( Mum)
in Chinese market while to American children with
novelty products

23. 3.3. marketing insights from these
comparisons
• Chinese weak time consciousness: e.g.
loving drying wet clothes in the sun
• American strong time consciousness
:e.g. loving time-saving products, such as dryer
machine
• Marketing insights: marketers pay more
attention to products price to Chinese
consumers while developing more time-saving
products to American consumers