ENVIRONMENTAL

DETERMINANTS OF
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
 MEANING OF FAMILY:
“Family is defined as two or more
persons related by blood, marriage or
adoption who reside together.”
 TYPES OF FAMILY:
• MARRIED COUPLE: A HUSBAND AND WIFE.

• NUCLEAR FAMILY: A HUSBAND WITH WIFE AND ONE OR MORE CHILDREN.

• EXTENDED FAMILY: A HUSBAND, WIFE, CHILDREN AND ATLEAST ONE GRANDPARENT.

• SINGLE PARENT FAMILY: ONE PARENT AND AT LEAST ONE CHILD.

 BENEFITS OF FAMILY:

 FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT.

 SOCIALISATION
 Factors affecting Reference Group Influence:
• Attitude towards the group:
The individual purchasing behaviour is more likely to be
influenced by the group when he or she views the group as
a credible source of information, values the views and
reactions of group members and accepts the rewards and
sanctions met out by the group as an approval for
appropriate behaviour or inappropriate behaviour.
• Nature of the Group:
The reference group’s influence is likely to affect an
individual’s behaviour if the members are cohesive(united
and working together effectively), interact frequently and
the membership of the group is viewed as exclusive and
distinctive.
• Nature of the Product:
 The influence the reference group has on the individual’s
behaviour will also depend upon the nature of the
product.
Group influence will work more with visible personal care
products such as clothing and cosmetics and furniture as
well as exclusive products that connote status such as
cars, motorbikes etc.
 Nature of Reference Group:
• Norms – These are unwritten codes or standards of conduct that are assigned to an
individual within a group.

• Roles – These are functions that an individual assumes or that the group assigns to
an individual to attain group objectives. E.g. The influencer, the gatekeeper,
decision maker, purchaser, consumer.

• Status – It is the position of authority that is designated within a group. High status
implies greater power and influence.

• Values-Values are those shared beliefs about what are desirable and undesirable
behaviour among group members. Values are defined largely by cultures and sub
cultures it may also vary according to family values and peer groups. Ex: one family
may give more value to social status while another on education and self
enhancement.
SOCIALISATION
Process by which an individual
learns about the group norms
and role expectation is called
Socialisation.
 POWER:

POWER
Refers to the extent to which
the group can exert influence
on the individual is closely
related to the group’s power.

Expert Power Referent Power Reward Power

 Reference
Group Influence
On Consumers

Credibility,
Information and attractiveness and Conspicuous of the
Experience power of the product
reference groups
 CULTURAL INFLUENCE:
• Culture has a very great influence over how people buy and consume products and
services.

• It influences individuals to use certain products and avoid certain products.

• It affects the products people buy, as well as structure of their consumption,

individual decision making, and communication in the society.
 What are Cultural Factors?
• 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.

• Example - In India, people still value joint family system and family ties. Children in
India are conditioned to stay with their parents till they get married as compared to
foreign countries where children are more independent and leave their parents once
they start earning a living for themselves.

• 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.
• Let us understand the influence of cultural factors on buying decision of individuals
with the help of various examples.

• Females staying in West Bengal or Assam would prefer buying sarees as compared to
Westerns. Similarly a male consumer would prefer a Dhoti Kurta during auspicious
ceremonies in Eastern India as this is what their culture is. Girls in South India wear
skirts and blouses as compared to girls in north India who are more into Salwar
Kameez.

• Our culture says that we need to wear traditional attire on marriages and this is what
we have been following since years.

• People in North India prefer breads over rice which is a favorite with people in South
India and East India.
 Culture influence on consumption pattern:
• Customers buy the products to consume it. The basic reason for any purchase is the
consumption, the rate of consumption and pattern of consumption is based on the
needs of the consumers.

• Ex: If an individual buys a wet grinder to his family he/she sees hoe it performs, is it
serving the purpose, what is the power consumed while grinding etc.

• Other examples include pizzas and soft drinks where Indians are slowly getting used
to pizza culture, the young generation and kids are attracted towards the pizzas
than the middle age or old age groups.
 Individual decision making is influenced:
• The person’s decision making is influenced over by the culture. In our society the
decision making is done by the family head.
• But even today we find that other members of the family participate in the decision
making but decision is taken by the head of the family.
• A family head might consider all the suggestions given by the family members and
take the right decision.
• Ex: Individual purchasing a house considers the suggestions of the family members
like which locality, how many bedrooms, how the facing should be etc.
 SUBCULTURE INFLUENCES:
• Sub culture can be defined as the sets of learned beliefs, values, attitudes, habits
and forms of behaviour that are shared by the sub sets of a society and transmitted
from generation to generation within each sub set.
• The cultural profile of a society will comprise of two distinct elements:
 The central or core cultural beliefs, values and customs shared by most of the people
at large, irrespective of their sub cultural membership.
 The specific beliefs, values and customs adhered to by the members of the specific
sub culture.
Sub-Cultural Category Examples

Geographic Region North, South, East, West

Religion/ Caste Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Sikhs etc.

Age Babies, Teenagers, Young, Middle age , Senior Citizens

Gender Male, Female

Occupation Business, Engineer, Doctor, Teacher etc.

Social Class Rich, Middle, Lower

 Cross Cultural Influences:
Cross culture means the interaction of people from different backgrounds in the
business world.

Cross culture is a vital issue in the international business as the success of

international trade depends upon the smooth interaction of employees from
different cultures and regions.

Crossculture can be experienced by an employee who is transferred to a location in

another country. The employee must learn the language and culture of those around
him.
 CROSS CULTURE ENVIRONMENT:
Globalization the expansion of international
trade, technological advances and the
increase in the number of companies dealing
on the international trade have brought about
a dramatic change in the frequency, context
and means by which people from different
cultural backgrounds interact.
 Key areas where cross cultural consultants deal
with:
 Cross Cultural HR:
 HRcovers a wide range of business critical areas that need cross cultural
analysis.
 Consultants may offer advice on a number of areas including recruitment,
relocation, International assignments, Staff retention and training
programmes.
 Cross Cultural team building:
 In
order to have a well functioning business unit within the company
communication is critical. Cross cultural consultants will provide tools and
methods to promote staff integration, reduce cross cultural conflicts and
build team spirit.
Cross Cultural Synergy:
 International mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures requires people from
different cultural backgrounds to harmonize in order to succeed.
 Cross cultural consultants counsel on group mechanics, communication styles,
norms, values and integration processes.
Cross Cultural Awareness Training:
 Working with colleagues, customers and clients from different cultural backgrounds
with different religions, values and etiquettes can occasionally lead to problems.
 The aim of this training is to equip the trainee with the adequate knowledge to deal
comfortably with people from different cultures avoiding misunderstandings and
mistakes.
Cross Cultural Training for Expatriate Relocation:
Staffs who travel overseas need to understand the cultural basics of the host
country or region.
Knowledge of the Country’s history, culture, laws, traditions and business practices
all help to minimize the impact of culture shock and hence smooth their transition
overseas.

Cross Cultural Language Training:

 Language training is an area where little investment is made by the companies but
where the business advantages are great.
Linguistic knowledge goes a long way in bridging a cultural gaps and smoothing lines
of communication.
Cross cultural training provide language training to business staff moulding their
learning to the business environment in which they work.
 Social Class:
• Social class refers to the ranking of people in the society into a hierarchy of higher,
middle and lower classes based on power and prestige.
• Social stratification or social class is defined as the division of members of a society
into distinct status classes so that members of each class have relatively the same
status and members of all other classes have either more or less status.
• Social stratification depends upon the ideals and values of each society.
Social Class and Status Symbols:
• Occupation is a widely accepted measure of social class. Marketers target the
market keeping the specific occupational concern in the mind
• Education and income are considered to be status symbols. The level of a person’s
formal education is generally accepted to be of a particular social class standing.
• It is usually accepted that the more educated a person is the more likely is that he
/she will be drawing a bigger salary and hence is ranked at a higher social level.
Social Mobility:
• This refers to the movement of an individual or household over a period of time
when he/she climbs up the social ladder moving up from lower to middle to upper
class with economic development and increase in family income and purchasing
power.
THE AFFLUENT CLASS LUXURY
BRAND PREFERENCES
INDIAN MIDDLE CLASS AND
CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOUR
 IMPACT OF INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY

INFLUENCE OF
MIDDLE CONSUMPTION SOCIAL CLASS ON
CONSUMER
TASTES OF CLOTHES
COMMUNITY FASHION AND SHOPPING
BEHAVIOUR

CHOICE OF
RECREATIONAL
ACTIVITIES