Cultural Influences on Consumer Behavior in Germany Report

This report delves into the analysis of consumer behavior within the German market, examining the profound impact of cultural values on consumer choices. It begins with a PESTLE analysis to assess the external environment, followed by an exploration of cultural values using the cultural onion model to understand rituals, heroes, symbols, and values. The report then compares cultural dimensions between the UK and Germany using Hofstede's model, highlighting similarities and differences. Finally, it evaluates the need for marketers to adapt their communication strategies when entering the German market, considering models of consumer behavior like the perceptual process and consumer motivation. The report underscores the importance of understanding cultural nuances for effective marketing in Germany.

Culture across
consumers behaviour

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
PESTLE Analysis of Germany...................................................................................................3
Importance of Cultural values in cross cultural consumer behaviour in Germany...................5
Similarities and Differences in cultural dimensions of UK and Germany.................................6
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................8
Adaptation of Communication Strategies by marketers while entering in the markets of
Germany......................................................................................................................................8
Models and theories of Consumer Behaviour ............................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFRENCES.................................................................................................................................12
Books and Journal.....................................................................................................................12

·INTRODUCTION
Culture refer to the concept, social behaviour as well as customs of people which differs
in people to people according to the society (Baldin, 2020). Consumer behaviour refers to the
behaviour of consumers of a particular market. It is very essential for marketer to consider
culture of society they are surviving in as the behaviour of consumer depends upon the culture.
The taste, needs , wants and preferences all are affected by the culture of the consumers they are
belonging. It is very essential for every organisation to understand the culture of the society in
order to understand behaviour of consumers in that locality. Germany being a different country
in Europe have a different culture which in turn has affects the behaviour of consumers of an
economy. Germany has 4th largest economy in the world and is great as well as advanced
producers of several products such as chemicals, machinery, shipbuilding, steel and many more.
The country has advanced technology in order to produce these products and have a good market
capacity. This report contains analysis of consumer behaviour in accordance with their culture
values. It contains a brief PESTLE analysis of Germany which helps to understand the market of
Germany. The cultural values can be briefly understand with the help of Culture onion of
Germany. There are several differences and similarities in dimensions of different countries.
This report depicts the similarity and difference in cultural dimensions of UK and Germany with
the help of HOFSTEDE model. It also contains need of adapting communication policies by
marketers in order to enter into market of Germany.
·TASK 1
·PESTLE Analysis of Germany.
PESTLE analysis id used asses the external environment of a country in order to sustain
tin the market. The factors which are considered in PESTEL analysis also define the culture in
that society in order to understand the behaviour of consumers in that area (Cho, Joo and
Woosnam, 2020). The marketers of Germany also use PESTLE analysis in order to understand
the external environment of Germany which is given in brief below:
Political Factors
There are 16 states in which the administrative powers are shared in three levels that are
executive, judiciary and legislature. The country has strong federal republic government and has
stable democratic setup. This federal republic system in Germany signifies the centralised rule

all over the country. It affects the buying behaviour of consumers in terms of inflation in the
market. These political factors include the major decision making of the government which
controls the inflation rate in the market which defines the buying behaviour of consumers
(Gallarza, Maubisson and Rivière, 2021).
Economical Factors
The fiscal as well as monetary policies of government supports economic structure of Germany.
Biggest strength of economic structure of Germany is improvement in employment scenario in
the country which shows more and more employee engagement in the market. It is observed that
the country is developed in terms of employment which depicts good investment environment in
the country. Although, the increase in Volatilities in international commodity prices affects the
market which result in increment of inflation rate in Germany. The inflation rate is the major
factor which affects the buying behaviour of a consumer in an organisation.
Social Factors
There are several factors in economy which affects the buying behaviour of consumers.
Germany has high human development index, increase in life expectancy rate and decrease in
infant mortality rate which shows good buying capacity of consumers in an economy. Good
buying capacity of consumers in Germany is a great opportunities for businesses to sustain in the
market. These are the social factors. But ageing population and social inequality in the market is
the major challenge which is faced by government of Germany these days.
Technological Factors
There are so many research and development institutions in Germany which are engaged in
proper research and advancement of technology in the country. The country has sophisticated
technological infrastructure and developed manufacturing industries in the economy which
depicts technological advancement in the economy. The Germany is good in technology which
increase employment and buying power of consumers in the economy (Chappe, 2020).
Legal factors
The Judicial system of Germany is independent and is responsible for maintaining law and order
in the country. Nevertheless, with the global economies becoming more competitive, there are
speculations that number of government grants being offered by the German government to
business houses will be decreased, which can increase profits of businesses.
Environmental factors

In comparison with other industrialized countries, Germany successfully manage the
environmental concern with a strong record for the same. The country has signed several
international treaties with an objective of environmental sustenance which depicts a good
concern regarding environment in the country.
All these factors explained above affects the buying behaviour of consumers in the country. It
affects the market in various manner which affect the capacity of consumer to spend in the
industry (Gauthier, 2020).
l壱Importance of Cultural values in cross cultural consumer behaviour in Germany.
Cross-cultural consumer behaviour is a process of evaluating the efforts in order to identify the
similarity and difference between consumers of different countries. It is every essential to
consider cultural value of various nations in order to understand the consumer behaviour. This is
because it is noted that two countries have different people having different languages with
different religion and culture. Their taste and preferences are also different from each other. The
difference in cultural values of Germany are given below with the help of Cultural onion:
Rituals : Rituals refers to those activities which are carried out collectively by people. It differs
according to the culture of an organisation. It can be anything like way to care of personal
hygiene or way to great someone which is followed collectively. Such as ritual in Germany is to
use fireworks on the eve of new year which increase the demand of fireworks in Germany
among the people. In the given example it is ascertained that ritual of fireworks affect the buying
behaviour of the consumers.
Heroes: A hero can be a person in real or imaginary character which is valued in a particular
culture. These heroes have great impact on the lives of individuals. Every country has their
different heroes according to the culture of that country which helps to define various values to
them. The persons which are considered as Heroes in the country are Karl Marx, Johannes
Gutenberg and many more. The people are influenced with these people and their needs and
preferences are also affected by these people.
Symbols :- Different country has different symbols which signifies the people and culture of
that country. There are several symbols in a country which are used in order to represent various
things. Like famous symbol of MERCEDES-BENTS, VOLKSWAGEN and many more
symbols define the buying capabilities and power of various consumers (akučionyt?-Skodien?
and Liobikien?, 2021).

Illustration 1: Cultural Onion Values
Values :- The values of people in various culture plays a very important role in an consumer
behaviour. Values such as Punctuality, quality, religion protestant in a country like Germany
affects the behaviour of consumers in an economy.
l壱Similarities and Differences in cultural dimensions of UK and Germany.
Cultural dimensions refers to a process of evaluation of Cultural values with the help of six
cultural values that are identity, power, gender, uncertainty and time. All these factors define the
similarities and differences between various cultures in the world. The similarities and
differences in terms of cultural dimensions can be explained with the help of HOFSTEDE
Model which are given below:
Individualism : This dimension of Cultural dimensions defines the degree of interdependence a
society maintains among its members. In case of Germany 67% people believe in individualism
while others in collectivism. In UK 89% believes in individualism. The society of Germany is
truly individualist and so in UK.
Power Distance : Power distance defines the distribution of power in an economy. According to
this dimension, it depicts the acceptance and expectations of less powerful members of
institutions and organisations either the power is distributed equally or unequally. Germany is a
country which has lower power distance (Mainolfi, 2020).

Uncertainty Avoidance : It can be defined as the degree to which the members of a society feel
vulnerable by ambiguous situations and have created beliefs and establishment that try to avoid
these and is reflected in the score on Uncertainty Avoidance.
Masculinity: It can be defined from the primal issue which is what motivates people, wanting to
be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine).
Indulgence : This cultural dimension can be defined as the degree to which group of individuals
try to control their desires and impulses according to the way their parents raised them. It is very
essential in consumer behaviour as it defines their taste and preferences in the society. Cultures
which have low score in this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism.
Long Term Orientation : It refers to the ways every society has to maintain some links with its
own past while dealing with the challenges of the present and future. According to the scores
given to Germany in the given figure it is a pragmatic country which is different from UK.
Illustration 2: Comparison of cultural dimensions of UK and Germany with the help of
HOFSTEDE's cultural dimensions theory

·TASK 2
·Adaptation of Communication Strategies by marketers while entering in the markets of
Germany.
In order to enter into the market of Germany there are several strategies which can be
used by marketers in order communicate with the consumers of Germany (Parr and Rodrigues,
2020). In order to reach to the consumers of Germany, it is ascertained that the marketer can use
online sources. In this modern world online sources are very efficient in order to reach to the
number of consumers in market of Germany. As the country has a great technological
advancement and consumers are so much dependent on technology, digital world is the best
option to reach to the maximum consumers of Germany. Although company can also go through
several other sources of communication like advertisement on television and many other but it
cannot be reached to the maximum customers. In order to reach with each and every individual
in Germany it is suggested to use Instagram, Facebook, SEO and many more which will assist
the marketer to reach with maximum consumers. It is not enough to provide mere knowledge of
the product. Marketing is a continuous process which needs to continued by the marketer in
order to capture good market share in Germany. It will help the consumer to memorize the
information they gain from several sources. In order to effectively communicate with consumers
it is very required the communication must contain the easy and understandable language. It
must be language of German people that they can easily understand the message of marketer.
The message needs to be so simple and attractive that it is memorised by the customer in two or
three repetition it will help marketer to get good response from the market. In order to enter into
the market of Germany, they can also use hoarding in public places or crowdy places which will
help them to get more and more views of the customer who are not that much active digitally.
l壱Models and theories of Consumer Behaviour
In order to have a deep knowledge of consumer behaviour in an organisation the internal factor
which is used is the perceptual process. This process helps an marketer to provide the knowledge
and information about the product and services offered by them. In this process it is assessed that
there are several process in order to take knowledge of different brands and offers which are
available in the market (Ponsignon and Derbaix, 2020). This process is explained in detail
below:

Exposure: In order to provide knowledge to the consumer at very first the consumers are
exposed to brands in several manners. This can be from several methods of promotion such as
advertising and more. The best way of exposure is to make the consumer see the brand and its
communication with the customers (Quoquab, Jaini and Mohammad, 2020).
Attention: Attention is a situation which occurs when consumer give their time to the brand or
its communication. It can be anything like seeing poster of the advertisement like a glance or
watching a 3 minutes video in the form of commercial.
Interpretation: If the commercial or communication about the brand is taking attention of the
consumers then they will like to process a message to some extent. The consumer generally
attracts from the main benefit of the product such as easy to use, good customer service, flexible
banking services and many more to include in it. In order to have a strong attitude towards the
product it is essential that the customer have a prior experience with the product either through
personal use or through word-of-mouth publicity. Otherwise they have weak opinion about the
product and services of the brand.
Memory and Knowledge: This Stage conclude that the consumer has some knowledge and
information of brand and its products. It is necessary to memorise in the mind of consumers so
that it can be recalled when they need that product. Consumers in the market has go through
several marketing advertisement and lots of information and it is really impossible for them to
remember it for longer period of time. In order to memorise the consumer it is essential to repeat
it again and again which helps to memorise the product to the consumers. This technique is very
useful as it proves to be essential in academic courses also. The consumer will memorize the
product initially with the help of repetition process and later they will remember it with the help
of brand consumption or usage.
All the techniques of perceptual process helps an marketer to market the product and
services in effective manner. This is the basic process which have been used by several
businesses. In order to enter into the market of Germany, the marketer can also use this process
in order to provide knowledge and information about the brand and its communication to the
consumers (Tarka and Babaev, 2020).

·CONCLUSION
From all the above discussion in the report it is ascertained that Germany is a country
which has 16 states and has a centralised government. In order to assess the market of Germany
a PESTLE Analysis has been conducted in order to understand the external environment of
Germany in order to assess the market of Germany. It has been observed that Germany has a
stable political market which affects the buying behaviour of consumers in Germany. Germany
has a strong federal republic system which helps them to take centralised decision in effective
manner. The economic structure of Germany is also very strong as it has improvement in the
employee engagement in the country. It has been assessed that the country has good
opportunities for the new organisations in the market of Germany as consumers have good
purchasing power and good consumer behaviour in the country.
Cultural onion helps to understand the importance of cultural values in Germany in
which it is given that the rituals, values, symbols and heroes plays a vital role. It is very essential
for the economy of Germany to assess the market in terms of cultural values. The HOFSTEDE's
model of cultural dimensions helps to assess the difference between cultural values of two
countries that are Germany and UK. It is analyses that there are several similarities but also has
various difference in the cultures of both the countries. It is evaluated that there are various
communication strategies which are used by Marketers in order to enter into the market of
Germany. There are several models and theories which help them to assess the behaviour of
consumers of the market. It is very essential for the company to assess the behaviour of the
consumers in the market in order to sustain their by providing a good customer satisfaction. The
perceptual process has been used by marketer in order to assess the behaviour of consumers in
the market.
·
·
·

·

·REFRENCES
·Books and Journal
Baldin, A., 2020. Consumer behaviour in the performing arts. In Teaching Cultural Economics.
Edward Elgar Publishing.
Chappe, L., 2020. Demographics, cultural dimensions and cognac consumption in France: a
consumer behavior analysis based on the marketing mix (Doctoral dissertation).
Cho, H., Joo, D. and Woosnam, K.M., 2020. Cross-cultural validation of the Nostalgia Scale for
Sport Tourism (NSST): A multilevel approach. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism
Research, 44(4), pp.624-643.
Gallarza, M.G., Maubisson, L. and Rivière, A., 2021. Replicating consumer value scales: A
comparative study of EVS and PERVAL at a cultural heritage site. Journal of Business
Research, 126, pp.614-623.
Gauthier, F., 2020. Authenticity, Consumer Culture and Charismatic Authority1. Studies in
Religion/Sciences Religieuses, p.0008429820920885.
Jakučionyt?-Skodien?, M. and Liobikien?, G., 2021. Climate change concern, personal
responsibility and actions related to climate change mitigation in EU countries: Cross-
cultural analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 281, p.125189.
Mainolfi, G., 2020. Exploring materialistic bandwagon behaviour in online fashion
consumption: A survey of Chinese luxury consumers. Journal of Business
Research, 120, pp.286-293.
Parr, W.V. and Rodrigues, H., 2020. Cross-Cultural Studies in Wine Appreciation. Handbook of
Eating and Drinking: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, pp.1467-1490.
Ponsignon, F. and Derbaix, M., 2020. The impact of interactive technologies on the social
experience: An empirical study in a cultural tourism context. Tourism Management
Perspectives, 35, p.100723.
Quoquab, F., Jaini, A. and Mohammad, J., 2020. Does it matter who exhibits more green
purchase behavior of cosmetic products in Asian culture? A multi-group analysis
approach. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(14),
p.5258.
Tarka, P. and Babaev, J., 2020. Clinical Screener (CS): Instrument refinement and comparison
of compulsive buying prevalence among Polish young consumers of Eastern Europe to
Western culture. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, pp.1-23.