Ethnic background and its effect on consumer behaviour. A study to establish the validity of utilizing ethnic background as one of the social influences of consumer purchasing behaviour.

Abstract

For the last several years a great deal of research has been carried out under the general heading of Consumer Behaviour. Researchers are studying consumer purchasing behaviour in all of its many facets and a great deal of additional highly useful information has become available to marketing scholars and practitioners. Generally these researchers have utilized as a basis for their research one of the current models of consumer behaviour as proposed by the recognized scholars in the field. These models although different contain many similarities. They all are multi-dimensional, containing many elements which interact to Influence the consumer's decision making process. (A more thorough discussion of the various models occurs later. ) Most of the recent research projects have been concentrated on one of the elements, in a logical way, in order to extend the amount of knowledge available concerning the element and how It interacts with the remaining aspects of the model. Inasmuch as the majority of this research is being carried on by researchers in the United States (U. S. ) utilizing the marketing/economic/sociocultural environment of the U. S., it is the writer's contention that not all of these research findings are automatically applicable or useful on a world-wide basis. Indeed, if one is concerned with a different country, for example the United Kingdom (U. K. ) or Canada, in which there exists a differing marketing, economic or sociocultural environment, then one must view the U. S. oriented research results not with scepticism but at least with some apprehension and with a questioning attitude. It is this attitude which led the writer to question the lack of concern and therefore research pertaining to certain aspects of the element "social influences". One of the multi-dimensional aspects mentioned above which, although not uniformly labelled in the various models of consumer behaviour, does appear to be common to these models, is "social influences". The major elements which the writer has identified within this "social influences" dimension are social class, family and culture. Although different researchers have utilized variations in the definitions, and therefore the sub-elements which are included in each of these three elements, it is a truism that a transposed cultural background (or ethnic background) i. e. immigration, is either not considered, or at best briefly noted and thereafter ignored or overlooked. - This lack of references to immigration and the apparent little amount of thought given to the various ethnic backgrounds represented by immigrants disturbed the researcher so for the purposes of this study it was decided to concentrate on ethnic background in order to clearly establish the validity of considering ethnic background as a major social influence of consumer purchasing behaviour, or to validate the position taken by other U. S. oriented researchers, I. e. that ethnic background is not a major influence on consumer purchasing behaviour and can be overlooked. Thus this study is primarily concerned with only two aspects of the models of consumer behaviour: family purchasing and culture. The study is not concerned with the culture in place in the environment but instead with transposed cultures via immigration.