This document summarizes cultural aspects of contemporary consumer behavior. It begins by defining culture in various ways from different scholars. It then discusses characteristics of culture, such as it being learned, shared, symbolic, adaptive, and integrated. It also discusses cultural dimensions models and compares countries on dimensions like power distance, indulgence, and individualism. It notes critics of cultural dimensions models. Finally, it discusses the relationship between culture and consumer behavior, how lifestyles relate to consumption, the role of global culture and consumer culture, and that transnational brands may appeal to different cultural themes in different countries.

1. Cultural Aspects of
the Contemporary
Consumer
Behavior
Dr. Dimitar Trendafilov
Dep. of Economics
New Bulgarian University – Sofia
dtrendafilov@nbu.bg
Economic Sociology in Comparative Perspective -
Switzerland and Eastern Europe, 2021
Image: http://www.yorku.ca/anderson/hreq1730/consumer%20culture_files/frame.htm

2. Culture?
• In 1952 Kroeber & Kluckhohn describe 158 different definitions of culture. Culture “is the
set of customs, traditions, and values of a society or community, such as an ethnic group or
nation. In this sense, multiculturalism is a concept that values the peaceful coexistence and
mutual respect between different cultures inhabiting the same planet. Sometimes "culture“
is also used to describe specific practices within a subgroup of a society, a subculture (e.g.
"bro” culture), or a counterculture.” – Wikipedia.
• “The ideas, values, and beliefs members of the society share to interpret the experience and
generate behavior and that are reflected by their behavior.” - William Haviland, Cultural
Anthropology.
• “Set of rules how to live” - Richly Crapo, Cultural Anthropology: How to Understand
ourselves and Others.
• Culture is “a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and
any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.”- Edward Tylor
(1871)

3. Characteristics:
 Culture is something we learn (by experience, by
imitation).
 Culture is something we share (between the
generations, as well as in one generation).
 It is symbolic (created on and shared by symbols).
 It is adaptive (it depends on the environment).
 It conquers Nature (it reshapes the environment
that surrounds it).
 It is a complex system of interconnected parts =
integrated (a change in one part of it could
generate various changes and unexpected results
in the other parts).
Source: M. Harris & O. Johnson, Cultural Anthropology, 6th ed., 2002.
Diagram: http://theculturewheel.org/index.html

4. Cultural dimensions
Social Anthropology: Business & Marketing implications
Culture is what we learn VS. What we are born with.
!For the first time Culture was seen as a particular
structure and we could measure that complex system
Diagram: https://www.bridgestogether.org/celebrating-our-culture-a-new-how-to-guide/ and Image: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/2017/10/20/the-impact-of-culture-on-ma/

5. Table: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220500429_Issues_Limitations_and_Opportunities_in_Cross-
Cultural_Research_on_Collaborative_Software_in_Information_Systems/figures?lo=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic

6. Country Comparison /1
Source: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/bulgaria,china,switzerland,the-usa/

7. Country Comparison /2
Power distance: Bulgaria scores high on this
dimension (score of 70) which means that
people accept a hierarchical order in which
everybody has a place and which needs no
further justification. Hierarchy in an organization
is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities,
centralization is popular, subordinates expect to
be told what to do and the ideal boss is a
benevolent autocrat.
Source: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/bulgaria,china,switzerland,the-usa/
Power distance: At 34, Switzerland sits in the
lower rankings of PDI – i.e. a society that believes
that inequalities amongst people should be
minimized. This means that the following
characterizes the German Swiss style: Being
independent, hierarchy for convenience only,
equal rights, superiors accessible, coaching
leader, management facilitates and empowers.
Power is decentralized and managers count on
the experience of their team members.
Employees expect to be consulted. Control is
disliked and attitude towards managers are
informal and on first name basis. Communication
is direct and participative.

8. Country Comparison /3
Indulgence: Bulgaria has a very low score of 16
in this dimension, making it a strongly
Restrained culture. Societies with a low score in
this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and
pessimism. Also, in contrast to Indulgent
societies, Restrained societies do not put much
emphasis on leisure time and control the
gratification of their desires. People with this
orientation have the perception that their
actions are Restrained by social norms and feel
that indulging themselves is somewhat wrong.
Source: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/bulgaria,china,switzerland,the-usa/
Indulgence: Switzerland scores high in this
dimension, its score of 66 indicates that the
culture is one of Indulgence. People in societies
classified by a high score in Indulgence generally
exhibit a willingness to realise their impulses and
desires with regard to enjoying life and having
fun. They possess a positive attitude and have a
tendency towards optimism. In addition, they
place a higher degree of importance on leisure
time, act as they please and spend money as
they wish.

9. Country Comparison /4
Individualism: Bulgaria, with a score of 30 is
considered a collectivistic society. This is manifest in a
close long-term commitment to the member ‘group’,
be that a family, extended family, or extended
relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is
paramount, and over-rides most other societal rules
and regulations. The society fosters strong
relationships where everyone takes responsibility for
fellow members of their group. In collectivist societies
offence leads to shame and loss of face,
employer/employee relationships are perceived in
moral terms (like a family link), hiring and promotion
decisions take account of the employee’s in-group,
management is the management of groups.
Source: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/bulgaria,china,switzerland,the-usa/
Individualism: Both German and French speaking
Switzerland score relatively high on this
dimension, giving Switzerland a score of 68, and
it is therefore considered an Individualist society.
This means there is a high preference for a
loosely-knit social framework in which
individuals are expected to take care of
themselves and their immediate families only. In
Individualist societies offence causes guilt and a
loss of self-esteem, the employer/employee
relationship is a contract based on mutual
advantage, hiring and promotion decisions are
supposed to be based on merit only,
management is the management of individuals.

10. Critics
• “First, the individualism–collectivism dimension, like many others that
purportedly distinguish cultures, is imprecise because it encompasses a broad
range of more specific concepts (…) Some of the facets ... include uniqueness
versus uniformity, self-reliance versus conformity, and economic
independence versus interdependence. Empirical analyses have also revealed
the multidimensional nature of individualism–collectivism.”
• “Second, the extent to which an individual embraces a particular value can
change. Researchers who propose the use of value constructs to predict
behaviors implicitly—and sometimes explicitly—assume that societies are
relatively static and independent of each other. For this assumption to be
valid, countries must have stable membership…, and interactions should not
be sufficiently frequent or extensive to prompt rethinking of accepted ideas
and principles. (…). In today’s global village, societies and the values that
underlie them are increasingly interconnected and potentially dynamic,
rather than coherent and stable...”
• “But in addition…, society-based shifts in values that occur over years or even
months, individuals can undergo changes in values from one moment to the
next. For example, people have been shown to shift the values they report
depending on the reference group they consider at the time their values are
elicited…”
Source: Briley, D. “Cultural Influence on Consumer Motivations: A Dynamic View”, In: Nakata, C. (ed.), 2009.
Beyond Hofstede. Culture Frameworks for Global Marketing and Management. Houndmills, UK & New York:
Palgrave-MacMillan, pp. 182-183.
Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubt

11. Culture and
Consumer behavior
• Consumption choices cannot be understood without considering the cultural context in which they are made:
culture is the ‘prism’ through which people view products and try to make sense of their own and other people’s
consumer behavior.
• The relationship between consumer behaviour and culture is a two-way street. On the one hand, products and
services that resonate with the priorities of a culture at any given time have a much better chance of being
accepted by consumers. On the other hand, the study of new products and innovations in product design
successfully produced by a culture at any point in time provides a window on the dominant cultural ideals of that
period.
Source: M. Solomon et al., Consumer Behavior. A European Perspective. 3rd ed., 2006, pp. 498 & 500.

12. Lifestyles and Consumption
Source: M. Solomon et al., Consumer Behavior. A European Perspective. 3rd ed., 2006, p. 582.

13. Global culture = Consumer culture
• “Since an important characteristic of transnational culture is the speed and
breadth with which it is transmitted, communications and information systems
play an important role, permitting a message to be distributed globally through
television series, news, magazines, comics, and films. The use of television to
spread transnational culture is especially effective with illiterates. Grey
Advertising International undertook a worldwide study of television to determine
its usefulness as an advertising channel and reported that:
• Television is undisputedly the key communications development of our era. It has
demonstrated its power to make the world a global village; to educate and
inform; to shape the values, attitudes, and lifestyles of generations growing up
with it. In countries where it operates as an unfettered commercial medium it has
proven for many products the most potent of all consumer marketing weapons as
well as a major influence in establishing corporate images and affecting public
opinion on behalf of business.”
Source: https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/advertising-and-global-culture,
Janus Noreen, 1983.

14. Transnational culture?
• “The same global brand may appeal to different cultural themes in different
countries. Advertising, and television advertising in particular, is directed at the
inner motivation of prospective buyers. TV commercials can be seen as modern
equivalents of the myths and fairy tales of previous generations, told and retold
because they harmonize with the software in people’s minds—and in spite of
Professor Levitt’s prediction, these minds have not been and will not be
globalized.”
Source: G. Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations, 2010, p. 411.

15. Thank You for Your Attention!
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