MKT-IB Department | Frank G. Zarb School of Business | Hofstra University

MKT 257

Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior

Dr. Boonghee Yoo, Associate Professor of Marketing

DESCRIPTION:

An examination and analysis of the theories and concepts that explain the behavior of international consumers or of consumers living in a multicultural environment. Considering consumers as members of a particular culture or subculture, this course explores the impact of culture on consumer behaviors, consumer decision-making processes, and consumer evaluations of a variety of marketing stimuli.

PREREQUISITE:

Prerequisites: MKT 207.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To understand the multidimensionality of culture and its influence,

2. To explore the impact of cultural value systems on consumer attitudes and behaviors,

3. To interpret cultural roles in consumer decision-making processes and behaviors,

4. To investigate consumers as members of particular cultures or subcultures.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Readings packet (e-reserved).

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

· Jean-Claude Usunier (2000), Marketing Across Cultures, 3rd Edition. Prentice Hall.

· Marieke K. de Mooij (1998), Global Marketing & Advertising: Understanding Cultural Paradoxes. Sage.

· Geert Hofstede (2001), Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, And Organizations Across Nations, Second Edition. Sage.

· Jan Callebaut et al. (2000), Cross-Cultural Window on Consumer Behavior. Coronet Books, ISBN: 90-5350-960-7

· A. Coskun Samli (1995), International Consumer Behavior: Its Impact on Marketing Strategy Development. Quorum Books 0-89930-883-X

DISCUSSION TOPICS

· What Is Culture? Its Definition, Dimensions, And Process

· A General Discussion: Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior

· Global Marketing Versus Cross-Cultural Marketing

· Culture’s Influences On Consumer Information Search

· Culture’s Influences On Consumer Information Processing

· Culture’s Influences On Foreign Product Adoptions

· Culture’s Influences On Price Appraisal

· Culture’s Influences On Quality Perceptions

· Culture’s Influences On Customer Satisfaction

· Culture’s Influences On Perceptions Of Marketing Ethics

· Culture’s Influences On E-Marketing Effectiveness

· Culture’s Influences On Marketing Effectiveness

· Culture’s Influences On Joint Decision Making Process

· Culture’s Influences On Advertising Evaluations

COMPETITIVE TEAM PROJECTS (Example):

GROUP PROJECT 1: North America (Excluding USA), Europe, and Africa (20%): The group projects will be done on a team basis. A group should consist of one to five members. You will select your own group members. There will be a peer evaluation for each team member’s contribution at the end of each project.

Consumers of Country X

Task (What to do):

1. Select a country among the continents listed above. Each group must select a different country. So, let me know your selection as soon as possible before other teams do. If possible, select a country whose data you can get without great difficulties from the public sources.

2. DATA COLLECTION:

a. To write a report of high quality, rely heavily on academic journal articles where the country’s consumers or buyers are empirically investigated. Preferable articles are to compare the country’s consumers with another country’s and to provide satisfactory explanations on the behaviors of the consumers.

b. You might find useful the following full-text research databases available in the online Hofstra library: Business Source Premier, Business and Company Resource Center, CountryWatch, Emerald Management Fulltext, ScienceDirect, Academic Search Premier, and PsycARTICLES.

3. Write the following sections in the report in this order:

a. History and Economics of Country X:

i. Origin: When was the country founded? Who founded it?

ii. History Timeline: Draw a timeline chart showing the country’s historic events and kingdoms.

iii. Economics: Report major economic statistics such as population, personal income, purchasing power, cost of living, major import and export products, and penetration rates of some high-tech products (e.g., cell phones, broadband Internets, cars, cable televisions).

iv. Major Issues: Summarize the country’s major issues that news media are reporting.

b. Country X’s Consumer Behaviors: Report consumer behaviors that are unique to the country’s consumers, mainly based on “journal” articles rather than Internet, newspaper, or magazine articles..

c. Marketing Implications of their Consumer Behaviors: Suggest marketing strategies that would succeed in the country.

d. Country X’s Culture: Mainly based on “journal” articles, report unique cultural characteristics (e.g., national values, culture, religions) of the country influencing their consumer behaviors.

e. Marketing Implications of their Culture: Suggest marketing strategies that would succeed in the country.

f. References: List the journal articles analyzed and all other sources used, following the APA style. To avoid plagiarism, don’t forget to mention them in the text of the report wherever you cite from them.

4. Write the report in single spaces, using the MS Word.

5. Make an about 15-minute PowerPoint presentation to the class.

6. Submit both the report and PowerPoint files into the Turnitin of the Blackboard.

GROUP PROJECT 2: Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia and New Zealand (20%):

Consumers of Country Y

What to do: Do the same thing as in Group Project 1 for a country of your selection.