Culture and Buying Behavior

This essay examines the influence of culture on consumer buying behavior. It cites Hofstede's work on cultural dimensions and a study by Pornpitakpan and Han (2013) on the effect of culture and service quality on impulse buying. The essay highlights how cultural values, whether collectivistic or individualistic, shape consumer preferences and purchasing decisions. A personal anecdote about choosing a diving holiday destination based on personal cultural values further illustrates the point. The essay concludes that cultural background significantly impacts consumer choices, influencing preferences for product quality, competitive advantage, and overall purchasing behavior.

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How culture can be related to buying behavior
As Hofstede has mentioned in his paper, the presence of culture is there in every part of the
society now. It is penetrated into the minds of people in such a way that they feel thinks and acts
as per their cultural norms that they have learned (Hofstede, 1991). So, when the people go out
for buying something, they take their decision as per their culture. For example, if a lady goes
out for buying a dress in the international market, she will select the dress as per her country's
culture. This is not done intentionally, but her likes, dislikes, and choices are as per they culture
that she is living in.
(Pornpitakpan & Han, 2013) have investigated ‘The effect of culture and salespersons’ retail
service quality on impulse buying.' They have found that customers from collectivistic cultures
would rather go with high service quality, while competitive advantage over other brands is what
attracts customers from individualistic cultures. This shows that the buyers from the collectivist
cultures have a taste for quality products, and they do not consider price as an important factor.
But, if the people from individualistic culture go out for buying, they prefer unique and
competitively advanced products. So, they pick the products as per their cultural backgrounds.
I like to travel a lot. I have been to many adventurous places in the past. My ideal diving holiday
is to Durban, South Africa. I have chosen this because I come from a masculine society where I
have been taught to be tough, assertive and ambitious. So, I like to take up challenging things,
and I like to compete with others. Thus my culture has a major impact on my diving decision.

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References:
Hofstede, G.,(1991) Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill.
Pornpitakpan, C., & Han, J., (2013) 'The effect of culture and salespersons’ retail service quality
on impulse buying', Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 21, pp. 85-93.