Consumer Behaviour in South Korea - Essay Example

Consumer Behaviour in South Korea This editorial contrasts the theories of both the personality of the south Koreans and their attitudes which represents a person’s prestige, and discusses how these two theories differ when applied to the Australian and South Korean society and culture. The document also discusses how the two theories can be used to provide a marketing opportunity for Australian marketers who deals with mainly exports and imports from South Korea. The comparison of a collectivist South Korea culture and an unusual Australian culture is vital to the discussion of both ideas of though, and illustrates the main causes of the difference.

Attitude can be defined as the learned predisposition to behave in a consistently favorable or unfavorable behavior subject to a given object. However, in this case, the objects refer to the marketing concepts such as the products, the brands, they services, advertisements and the retailors. The attitudes found in the South Koreans were formed from the direct exposure and experience, the word of mouth, the exposure to the mass media advertisements through the internet or direct marketing. Most notably, South Korea’s attitude is relatively consistent with the behavior that it reflects and more so, it occurs within a situation.

Some of these situations may cause the consumers to behave in ways, which are seemingly inconsistent with their attitudes. However, the attitudes of the country are shaped by the personality of its citizens. Therefore, personality and attitudes goes hand in hand (Cathcart, 2005, p. 1; Schiffman et al, 2011, p.5). Over the years, the attitudes of the South Koreans have been shaped by their surroundings. The country had to deal with being an often-invaded small nation, which is surrounded by larger and more powerful nations.

This has made the country to be of a pleasant, unadorned spoken and a passionate people, who are gratified of having survived and conserved their identity over the stormy East Asian politics (Steinberg & Armonk 2005, p. 1). Nevertheless, the country of South Korea has been able to develop itself to become a prosperous nation that is technologically advanced whereby, its people enjoy one of the highest standards of living in Asia. However, their stand on world politics is still in question since they do not favor any side and seems to remain quite in issues of global concern.

One of the main issues that have enabled them to be biased against the communist nations is the influence that has resulted from the cold war between them and North Korea. However, the South Koreans are conscious of the amazing progress, which they have made and are justifiably proud. This feeling however has resulted to a feeling of bipolar temperament. Other than this, South Koreans are hilarious and elated in an uneven-hewn kind of way, and delighted (Cathcart, 2005, p. 1). The attitude of South Koreans is important for Australian business class when trying to marketing their products.

This is because some South Koreans only buy definite merchandises based on quality and consequently it is extremely significant to recognize when advertising merchandises in South Korea. Considering South Koreans and Australia have different attitudes, which are based on education and income, Australia is an auspicious contender for shipping to South Korea for any product as long as the product does not touch their personality and attitudes (Liu & McClure, 2001, p.1). Works Cited Cathcart, A 2005, Korean studies internet discussion list, viewed, 9 May 2012.

Liu, R, McClure, P 2001, Recognizing cross-cultural differences in consumer complaint behaviour and intentions: an empirical examination, Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 54 Schiffman, L et al 2011, Consumer Behavior, Pearson Australia, Sydney. Steinberg, D & Armonk, N 2005, Korean Attitudes toward the United States: Changing Dynamics, Sharpe, Inc., 2005. P.1-366