Social Class Theories and Consumer Behaviour - Literature review Example

Social Theories and Consumer Behaviour Introduction The social science literature was determined to be persistently dominated by two kinds of images of consumers. The first image is centrally associated with economic theory where consumer has been portrayed as a rational, calculative and active actor. It has been implied there that consumers are well-aware of available scarce resources and are careful while allocating the same for purchasing goods and services so that the utility is maximised. The second image of consumer implies that they are consistently manipulated, exploited and are forced by the market forces to consume and purchase specific things. However, a third image of consumer has been developed in recent times predominantly as a result of the effect of postmodern philosophy on social thoughts. The new notion regarding consumers implies that they are neither rational nor are influenced heavily by market forces. Instead, they can be considered as self-conscious influencer of various symbolic meanings that is associated with products. These consumers are selective about products and they evaluate these products in terms of specific intensions such as maintenance of social status, life style, impression and/or identity. In this regard, Pierre Bourdieu introduced the concept of ‘habitus’ which gained significant importance over the time in sociological literature related to human action theories. Based on this notion of habitus, the paper discusses the concept and its implication. Alongside, certain examples have been provided to exhibit impact of specific habitus on consumer behaviour. Bourdieu and the concept of habitus Bourdieu’s research invariably focussed on social class and its various aspects and in his research, he explained that social life is a relatively complex issue and cannot be understood merely just as an aggregate of individual behaviours. Bourdieu created habitus as a bridging factor between control and domination with respect to social structure. However, the original definition of the habitus implies that it can be considered as an acquired system of procreative schemes that objectively adjusts to the specifics of a particular situation or condition in which it has been constituted. Bourdieu did not implement the complete definition in the research but retained specifics associated with field, body and habitus. He indicated that body is to be considered as a mnemonic apparatus upon which basics of culture and taxonomies of habitus have been imprinted and encoded in the form of a learning process that commences during the phase of early childhood. For arguments sake, it can be suggested that habitus influences one’s social world while external social structure helps in shaping habitus (Bourdieu, 1977; 1984; 2000). Impact of habitus on general action of individuals Swartz (2002) worked upon Bourdieu’s notion of habitus and made effort to un-complicate its complex nature. Habitus invariably comprises strongly internalized dispositions, competence, forms of know-how and schemas. The author supported Bourdieu’s view point regarding role of childhood socialisation in shaping habitus. In his words, children that have been brought up in family of athletes are expected to exhibit greater orientation towards sport compared to those who have been brought up in a family of artists. In a similar manner, children belonging to artistic family tend to develop comparatively greater appreciation for art and knowledge thereof. Among these children, family dispositions internalise in their social structure and influence their respective habitus. Bourdieu (2000) explained that the internalisation process by means of which habitus is developed is significantly similar to the processes that have been discussed by Gorge Mean and Blumer (cited in Swartz, 2002) regarding development of self-identity. Various dispositions associated with habitus are informally acquired by means of social interaction, imitation, role play, repetitive activities and game participation. Interestingly, the same dispositions can make its holder susceptible to generation of new form of action which reflects true socialisation experiences. For instances, children who has acquired artistic skills by means of learning will essentially appreciate artistic ideas and objects and will display possible scope of being an artist in future. Bourdieu (1984) highlighted different kinds of habitus, namely, class habitus, gender habitus, status group habitus, moral habitus and other professional habitus. The author explored role of habitus in developing class differences among range of lifestyles and aesthetic tastes. It was observed that certain habitus are also contrasting in nature. For instance, youngsters adopt habits such as smoking and drinking, often because of their peer group among whom they want to establish their identity. Presence of status group habitus can be strongly observed among elite class members of the society who exhibit similar taste in their consumerism, recreational activities and lifestyle. In this regard, a number of other theories have also been established where social class has been determined as a powerful influence in consumer behaviour. Implications of social comparison theory and status consumption Schiffman and Kanuk (2000) in their paper on social class and consumer behaviour prominently highlighted the social comparison theory and status consumption, each comprising various habitus in prominent and not so prominent forms. They argued that under the purview of social consumption theory, individuals have a propensity of comparing their personal possessions against those belonging to others for determination of their relative social standing. They broadly classified social classes as elite class, middle class and working class with further stratifications. A simple example in this regard can be related to purchase of perfumes. Perfumes and deodorants are becoming essential part of individual’s lifestyle. Currently, markets are flooding with perfumes and deodorants belonging to various price ranges. A large number of international brands such as Burberry and Chanel are not only selling expensive perfumes but are also occasionally launching limited editions of the same as. Most of the limited edition perfumes are affordable only to the elite class while deodorants are mainly produced and marketed to the mass. Similar trend can be observed for clothes, shoes, watches, bags and other accessories (DiVirgilio, 2013). Status consumption has been referred to the process by means of which consumers aim at enhancing their social standing with respect to others by means of conspicuous consumption and possessions (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000). Prestige can be associated significantly with status or conspicuous consumption. In this regard, bandwagon is an interesting aspect in marketing where individuals make consistent purchase for maintaining a specific lifestyle or for gaining attention of certain social group (s). Conspicuous buyers are essentially motivated by the importance or attention they gain in their social circle for purchasing specific products. Studies suggest that emergence of digital and social media have further accentuated the status consumerism, especially among the youth (Thoumrungroje, 2014). The author argued that impact of social media on purchasing behaviour validates the theory of social comparison as consumers are rapidly influenced by the status of their friends’ purchases, even if the same is as small as getting a tattoo done. Social class and consumer behaviour Fisher (1987) voiced that the process of consumer decision making is fairly complex and essential for determination of their purchasing behaviour. He established in his research that consumer purchasing behaviour is influenced by several factors; one of which is social class. According to Lawrence’s observation (cited in Durmaz and Taşdemir, 2014), multi brand markets presents strongest scope of monitoring individual purchasing pattern of each consumer. Rossiter and foxall (2008) pointed that there are certain direct factors that influence purchasing behaviour, such as, initiating stimuli, momentary motivation, habitus factors such as beliefs, values and attitude and external incentives. Durmaz and Taşdemir (2014) indicated that between 1950s and 1960, importance of social class in marketing literature protruded like never before. Earlier research by authors such as Warner and Fisher (cited in Durmaz and Taşdemir, 2014) revealed that consumer belonging to different social classes exhibited different shopping goals and behaviours. Engel, Blackwell and Miniard (1990) defined social class as a specific group of individuals who share similar behavioural trends with respect to their economic position in the marketplace. In this regard, Gherasim (2013) posited that social classes have certain specific characteristics such as similar preference towards housing, furnishing, clothing, media approach and leisure activities. Social class is stratified on the basis of factors such as occupation, education, income and wealth. Lastly, social classes are highly flexible in nature as individuals can move from one class to another based on their personal developments and achievements (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000; Rossiter, 2012). Drawing on Bourdieu’s gender habitus and social class, it was determined that individuals belonging to a specific social strata aims to either gain recognition of their peers or tries to establish their superiority among the peer members. For instance, women belonging to a specific social stratum initially make effort to establish their importance by purchasing similar products in an irrational manner; while latter they tend to purchase mildly differentiated products to establish their superiority. Such trend can be noticed among men as well; especially, for new products they submit to their peers’ opinion. Studies suggest that moral habitus plays an important role in purchasing decision among certain specific consumers. Mihić and Čulina (2006) observed that when individuals are presented with choice between social class and income status regarding purchasing behaviour, social class habitus influences people belonging to elite classes while income status habitus influences mainly individuals belonging to working class. They deduced that elite class tend to pay little heed towards income because they generally have comparatively high disposable income. Each social class is defined by specific pattern of thinking, behaving, speaking, values, attitude and belief. This largely calls for product differentiation by marketers as every social group or class has specific requirements. The influence of social class habitus has affected marketers at global level. Studies suggest in various country specific societies such as that of Brazil and India exhibit strong social distinction while others such as those in Canada and Denmark demonstrate relatively less extremity in this regard. It was gathered that in nations where social distinction is very high, social class habitus prominently determines individual’s choice of clothes, transport, travel destination, housing and leisure activities. As discussed previously, habitus influences and shapes social environment since childhood of an individual, it was argued by different authors that similar impact can be observed in consumerism as well (Engel, Blackwell and Miniard, 1990; Durmaz and Taşdemir, 2014). According to certain researchers, children and youth preliminary acquire their purchasing tastes from their parents. In this regard, Riesman, Glaser and Denny (cited in Durmaz and Taşdemir, 2014) argued that in affluent families, children tend to acquire specific skills such as purchasing pattern and process at a relatively early age. Class habitus influences brand presences as well among affluent classes where individuals feel satisfied after purchasing luxury brand products. Nonetheless, they do not pursue irrational decision making; instead, such consumers have greater knowledge about luxury brands and products compared to their lower class counterparts. Class habitus as well as gender habitus have significant influence on shopping style of consumers. People belonging to low status group prefer local stores in neighbourhood, direct interaction with shopkeepers and easy purchase credit. Contrastingly, individuals having fairly high disposable income have significant faith on their purchasing capabilities and are not afraid of experimenting with new stores and products. They are not satiated by generally available choices and they do not mind visiting range of stores for purchasing their exact requirements (Durmaz and Taşdemir, 2014). Conclusion Bourdieu’s research is mainly focussed on social distinction and its impact on individual’s behaviour. He defined habitus with respect to social class stratification and its influence. Social classes’ influence in marketing management and consumer behaviour dates back to 1950s and have evolved several folds in recent times. The paper assesses various social theories in order to discuss impact of habitus on purchasing behaviour of individuals. A variety of instances have been provided in this paper which reflect the way different habitus influences different class of consumers regarding their purchases. It was observed that although Bourdieu defined the concept of habitus, it has been direct as well as indirectly implemented in various social class theories with respect to marketing. Reference list Bourdieu, P., 1977. Outline of a Theory of Practice (Vol. 16). Cambridge: Cambridge university press. Bourdieu, P., 1984. Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Bourdieu, P., 2000. Pascalian meditations. Stanford , CA: Stanford University Press. 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