Abstract
Nowadays, consumer behavior is influenced not only by consumer personalities and motivations, but also by the relationships within families. Family is a social group and it can be considered the cornerstone of consumers so it has a crucial place in the perception of marketing. Marketeers closely interested in this issue to know the family which changed and renewed in course of time. It provides a tremendous advantage for a marketeer to know the family structure and its consumption characteristics (Durmaz and Zengin, 2011: 53). In this study, the effect of cultural factors on consumer buying behaviour is investigated. A survey was conducted on 1400 people from the different parts of Logos Ikeja. The information acquired from the results are analyzed and interpreted by the computer packet programs. Ikeja has six regions. From each region two provinces are selected by random sampling method. A face to face survey was conducted on 100 people from each province and in total 1200 people participated in the survey. The information obtained from the results are analyzed and interpreted by the computer packet programs
TABLE OF CONTENT
Title page
Approval page
Dedication
Acknowledgment
Abstract
Table of content
CHAPETR ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
1.2 Statement of problem
1.3 Objective of the study
1.4 Research Hypotheses
1.5 Significance of the study
1.6 Scope and limitation of the study
1.7 Definition of terms
1.8 Organization of the study
CHAPETR TWO
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
CHAPETR THREE
3.0 Research methodology
3.1 sources of data collection
3.3 Population of the study
3.4 Sampling and sampling distribution
3.5 Validation of research instrument
3.6 Method of data analysis
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Introductions
4.2 Data analysis
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary
5.3 Conclusion
5.4 Recommendation
Appendix
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background of the study
The customer is the sole reason organizations exists (Cochran, 2006: 1). In the modern world customer becomes much more important for the firms. The markets become bigger and bigger with the firms selling the same products and the competition among them becomes inevitable. For this reason the study of consumer behaviour takes a great place.
The marketers try to understand the needs of different consumers and having understood his different behaviours which require an in-depth study of their internal and external environment, they formulate their plans for marketing (Khan, 2007: 1). How do people buy and use goods and services? How do they react to prices, advertising and store interiors? What underlying mechanisms operate to produce these responses? If marketers have answers to such questions, they can make better managerial decisions. If regulators have answers, they can form better policy. It is the role of consumer behaviour research to provide these answers (East, Wright and Vanhuele, 2008: 4). In this study the impact of cultural factors on consumer buying behaviour is studied.
Consumer is a person who desires, needs and requires marketing components in their capacity as buyer1.Typically marketers are defined to have the ability to control the behaviors of customers, but actually they have neither power nor information for that.. Marketer may influence their buying behavior but not control (Durmaz, Çelik and Oruç, 2011: 109).
Consumer behaviour deals with many other issues. For instance (Pariest, Carter and Statt, 2013: 19):
- How do we get information about products?
- How do we assess alternative products?
- Why do different people choose or use different products?
- How do we decide on value for money?
- How much risk do we take with what products?
- Who influences our buying decisions and our use of the product?
- How are brand loyalties formed, and changed?
Consumer behaviour might be the following:
The mental, emotional and physical activities that people engage in when selecting, purchasing, using and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy needs and desires (Wilkie, 1994, Pariest, Carter and Statt, 2013: 19)
Markets are subject to many influences. It is possible to identify those influences but difficult to understand the specific nature and importance of these influences unless research efforts are made to understand them. Impulsive consumer buying behaviours is a widely recognized phenomenon in marketing and several factors has been associated in the literature with this behaviour among consumers. Interestingly, majority of these studies were carried out in western and developed economies, but there seems to be poor evidence of such studies in Africa or have not been properly documented. In Nigeria with diverse culture, there seems to be paucity of studies that examined the effect of culture on consumers’ impulsive buying behaviour.
Researchers and Practitioners have been interested in the field of buying behavior for the past sixty years (Clover,1950; Stern,1962; Rook, 1987; Peck & Childers, 2006; Chang, Eckman & Yan, 2011). Impulse buying behaviour is described as a ‘’sudden, compelling, hedonically complex purchasing behaviour in which the rapidity of the impulse purchase decision process precludes thoughtful, deliberate consideration of all information and choice alternatives’’. This above description is largely based on interviews and surveys of westerners or Europeans in the works of Bayley and Nan-corrow, 1996; Rock, 1987; Weinbery and Gottwald, 1982).
kacen and lee, (2002), demonstrated the growing interest in cultural differences in consumer behaviour and highlighted the importance of understanding the cultural context of consumer behaviour in an increasingly globalise market place. While studies in American and Western societies expand the frontiers of this understanding, little is known about the influence of culture on buying behaviour in societies like Nigeria.
In Nigeria today, we have not less than 250 ethnic groups and each group has a measure of cultural differences, which distinguish them from every other group. Their mode and method of behaviour varies from one ethnic group to the other and the mode of buying varies from one local market to the other. It is possible that different cultures of these many ethnic groups in Nigeria influence the buying decision of many consumers.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Previous researches conducted in the United States and Great Britain has shown that many factors influence impulsive buying behaviours; the consumers’ mood or emotional state. Donovan-Rossiter, Marcoolyn, and Nesdale, (1994) on trait buying impulsiveness, Puri, (1996), Rook and Fisher, (1995) worked on normative evaluation of the appropriateness of engaging in impulse buying, self identity and demographic factors such as age, sex (Wood, 1998). Interestingly, all these factors that have been linked to impulse purchasing are also likely to be influenced by culture. The intention of this work is to evaluate the moderating effects of culture on this buying behaviour in Nigeria.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main and focal point of this research work is on the survey of culture and its effects on the buying behavior of consumers in Nigeria. Others objectives are.
- To understand the cultural content of consumer behaviour in an increasingly globalise marketplace
- To learn the factors which determine consumers’ purchases in Nigeria
- To establish, if, consumers in Nigeria experience instantaneous, overpowering and persistent desire to buy certain products.
- To identify the moderating role of culture during these periods
1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study;
H0: understanding cultural content of consumer behavior does not matter in an increasingly globalize marketplace
H1: understanding cultural content of consumer behavior does matter in an increasingly globalize marketplace
H0: consumers in Nigeria do not experience instantaneous, overpowering and persistent desire to buy certain products
H2: consumers in Nigeria do experience instantaneous, overpowering and persistent desire to buy certain products
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of great importance to sale manager and sales personnel as this will help them in policy formulation that will help improve the sales volume of their product in a globalized market, the study will also be of importance to the marketing managers in product differentiation and introduction of new product in the market, as cultural understanding of the consumer will determine product attribute, finally the study will be of importance to the general public as the study will contribute to the pool of existing literature.
1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The scope of the study covers the effect of culture on consumer buying behavior, but in the cause of the study, there were some factors that limited the scope of the study;
Time constraint: The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
Inadequate Materials: Scarcity of material is also another hindrance. The researcher finds it difficult to long hands in several required material which could contribute immensely to the success of this research work.
Financial constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.7 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
Culture
Culture is the social behavior and norms found in human societies. Culture is considered a central concept in anthropology, encompassing the range of phenomena that are transmitted through social learning in human societies
Consumer
The consumer is the one who pays something to consume goods and services produced. As such, consumers play a vital role in the economic system of a nation. Without consumer demand, producers would lack one of the key motivations to produce: to sell to consumers. The consumer also forms part of the chain of distribution.
Buying behavior
Consumer Buying Behavior Defined. Consumer buying behavior is the sum total of a consumer's attitudes, preferences, intentions, and decisions regarding the consumer's behavior in the marketplace when purchasing a product or service
1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
This research work is presented in five (5) chapters in accordance with the standard presentation of research work.
Chapter one contains the introduction which include; background of the study, statement of the problem, aim and objectives of study, research questions, significance of study, scope of study and overview of the study. Chapter two deals with review of related literature. Chapter three dwelt on research methodology which include; brief description of the study area, research design, sources of data, population of the study, sample size and sampling technique, instrument of data collection, validity of instrument, reliability of instrument and method of data presentation and analysis. Chapter four consists of data presentation and analysis while chapter five is the summary of findings, recommendations and conclusion.
