（外国语言学及应用语言学专业论文）文化对于中国中产阶级品牌建设的影响.pdf

摘要 随着中国经济的不断发展以及在各种政策的鼓励下中国的中产阶级已经开始 慢慢成为一个新的阶层出现在历史舞台上并且最终将成为社会的主流中产阶级拥 有强大的经济实力和全新的消费观念他们的出现代表着一个新的消费纪元的到来 在产品同质化日趋严重的中国市场如何吸引中产阶级的眼球最终将其转变成自己 的忠诚顾客已经成为国内商家和国外企业所关心的问题而他们也越来越意识到 只有卓越的品牌才能使自己在激烈的竞争中处于不败之地 中产阶级的出现适逢西方价值观在全球范围内的渗透作为一个全新的阶级他 们不但继承了中国传统文化在一定程度上他们也受到西方文化的影响而文化对于 品牌建设有着举足轻重的作用中产阶级独具的文化特征使得他们对于品牌的理解有 着自己独到的见解本文的研究重点即是文化对于中国中产阶级品牌建设的影响 本文集中讨论了对中产阶级品牌建设所涉及的 7 个文化层面个人主义程度不 确定性规避程度权力差距程度情感含蓄程度扩散及确定程度对于时间的态度 对于自然与和谐的态度作者首先通过对理论基础的回顾和自己的观察对中国中产阶 级品牌建设的文化影响进行初步分析提出自己的设想并据此设计问卷通过调研 来收集一手资料检验作者的分析并且最终得出较为完善的分析结论 最后本文再次强调了对中国中产阶级进行品牌建设时文化的重要作用并为有 志于为中国中产阶级提供卓越品牌的国内外企业提供有意义的建议 主题词文化品牌中国中产阶级 abstract with the development of chinas economy and the encouragement of various policies, chinas middle class is emerging as a new social stratum, and will eventually become the backbone of society. chinas middle class possesses strong economic influence, brings brand- new consumption concepts, and ushers a new consumption era. therefore, how to attract middle class members, and retain them as loyal customers has become the primary concern to enterprises from home and abroad. especially when the market is full of homogeneous products, more and more enterprises are aware that only superior brands can help them become invincible in this intense business war. chinas middle class has been undergoing worldwide penetration of western values. as a new class, it not only inherits chinas traditional culture, but also is affected by western cultures. culture exerts a great influence on brand building, and middle class in china has distinctive cultural attributes along with sophisticated understanding of brands. therefore, this thesis intends to focus on cultural influence on brand building for chinas middle class. this thesis covers seven cultural dimensions in brand building for middle class: degree of individualism, degree of uncertainty avoidance, degree of power distance, affective vs. neutral, diffuse vs. specific, attitude toward time, attitude toward nature and harmony. based on literature review and my observation, primary analysis of brand building is conducted, assumptions are put forward, and a questionnaire is designed and distributed. then first-hand information is collected to verify my primary analysis and assumptions, and more perfect results will come out. finally, the thesis reiterates the importance of cultural influence on brand building for chinas middle class, and comes to the conclusions and constructive recommendations for domestic and overseas enterprises, which dedicate themselves to delivering superior brands to middle class in china. key words: culture, brand, chinas middle class acknowledgements firstly, i would like to express my sincere thanks to all the teachers at the school of international studies of uibe whose lectures and guidance have made my graduate study a precious experience. special thanks should go to professor wang guanfu, who has been giving me a lot of academic help and valuable suggestions in the process of thesis writing. i also feel grateful to professor jiang chun, and professor yu lijun, who offered me the courses on marketing. in these courses, i was inspired with great interest in writing this thesis. also, sincere appreciation goes to all my classmates who have given me support of various kinds during the course of the composition. last but not least, i would like to express my deepest gratitude to my parents who have been always supporting me all through the years of my study. without their love and understanding, this thesis would be impossible. chen jianfeng april 2005 1 chapter 1 introduction 1.1 the subject and purpose of the study since the entry into the wto, china has become a dynamic powerhouse in the international business. in its tremendous market, the middle class represents the most opulent segmentation, which no companies from home and abroad can afford to ignore in their global strategies. in january 2002, the chinese academy of social sciences (cass) released the result of a three-year study on economic stratification, providing a most authoritative look at social class in china so far. it was estimated that the middle class in chinamanagers, professionals, skilled technicians, service workers and etc constituted considerably less than 5% of the national population. in other words, fewer than 65 million people.1 by chinese standards, members of the middle class are still a tiny minority. and yet their rapid expansion in number over the past 20 years, the extent to which they influence chinese culture and society make them far more important than such statistics might suggest. already, they are restructuring china. chinas social stratum structure is gradually changing. the middle stratum will keep expanding and finally become the most important part and the most stable force in chinas modern social structure. to make inroads into this opulent segmentation, domestic and foreign companies have been trying all they can to make their goods and services more appealing, and brand may be the ultimate competitive edge in this intense business war. chinas middle class needs premium brands. brand building is closely related to cultural dimensions. during the past 100 years, worldwide cultural fluctuation mainly underwent the strong western cultural penetration. western languages, western dresses, western values, and western political systems exert a great influence on other cultures.2 comparatively speaking, members of middle class are well educated and open- minded, so these exotic cultural factors are more acceptable to them, and chinese traditional culture, which to some extent is in conflict with the western cultures, is embedded in this newly emerging social stratum. whoever ignores these cultural differences will encounter troubles, while those who master the cultural diversities and keep building competitive brands will build to last. 1 jim frederick, “the next cultural revolution”, time vol 11, (2002): 37 2 梁世彬 1997国际营销中国对外经济贸易出版社 2 in this thesis, i will explore possible ways to build brands for chinas middle class in cultural dimensions. 1.2 the organization of the study the thesis contains 5 chapters. chapter 1 introduces the subject and purpose of the study, as well as the organization of the study. chapter 2 focuses on literature review of two sections: culture which includes the definition of culture, characteristics of culture, cultural dimensions, and chinese traditional culture; and brand which includes definition of brand, brand equity, benefits of brand equity, and cultural diversitys influence on brand building. all these set a solid theoretical foundation for a further study on brand building for chinas middle class. chapter 3 focuses on primary analysis and assumptions of brand building for chinas middle class in cultural dimensions, which includes the analysis of chinas middle class, and analysis of marketing mix and secondary brand associations. in chapter 4, based on the primary analysis and assumptions in chapter 3, a questionnaire is designed and distributed to the participants of middle class, such as civil servants, senior employees in companies from home and abroad, university professors, and etc. then data will be collected to verify the analysis and assumptions in chapter 3. in chapter 5, conclusions will be drawn and recommendations will be put forward for companies, which dedicate themselves to building superior brands for chinas middle class. 3 chapter 2 literature review 2.1 culture 2.1.1 definition of culture with the development of globalization, communication and intercourse among different nations become easier and more frequent. during this process, culture, as an invisible hand, is becoming more and more important. without proper understanding of various cultures, people would inevitably encounter great troubles in this diversified international environment. to better explore the subjects aroused in this thesis, lets trace back to the basis first: what is culture? in fact, kroeber and kluckhohn identified over 160 different definitions of culture. more currently kluckhohn and kelly referred to cultures as “all the historically created designs for living, explicit and implicit, rational, and irrational and nonrational, which exist at any given time as potential guides for the behavior of men”.3 according to the definition above, culture covers all aspects of human life, ranging from such trivial things, as food, dress, housing, to such great issues, as relationships among different nations. no one can escape the control of culture as long as he/she belongs to some certain community. different societies for a long period of time have formed their own cultures, which have been passed from generation to generation, and different norms, values, worldviews, perception, life style, and etc have been imposed on their members who co-exist on the same planet and interact with each other. culture is just like a wind. you can feel it, but can never touch it. whoever conducts cross-cultural activities must keep in mind the influence of culture and abide by the rules of culture. if human intercourse were a train, the culture would be the rails along which only the train could rumble forth, if human intercourse were a state coach, the culture would be the wheels and axis on which only the coach could roll forward. the lack of a proper cultural understanding would bring unpredictable disasters, and we can find many examples in the history of mankind. so the importance of culture can never be overestimated. 3 gary p. ferraro, the cultural dimension of international business (2nd edition) (new jersey: prentice hall, 1994), 17 4 2.1.2 characteristics of culture among the characteristics of culture, the following three will be discussed for the sake of my thesis. culture is learned. “from infancy on, members of a culture learn their patterns of behavior and ways of thinking until they have become internalized. the power and influence of these behavior and perceptions can be seen in the ways in which we acquire culture. our culture-learning proceeds through interaction, observation, and imitation.”4 a little boy in north america whose father tells him to learn to think for himself is learning culture. and a chinese pupil who is taught to salute to his teacher when it is his first day in primary school, is also learning culture. all these learning processes happen consciously or unconsciously. as long as he/she belongs to a certain society, he/she acquires these processes. culture is subject to change. culture is never static. as ideas and products evolve within a culture, they can produce change through the mechanisms of invention and diffusion. invention is usually defined as the discovery of new practices, tools, or concept. in china, the invention of paper and confucianism are two good examples of how products and ideas reshape a culture. “diffusion, or borrowing from another culture, is another way in which change occurs. the assimilation of what is borrowed accelerates as cultures come into direct contact with each other.”5 the opening-up policy since 1978 in china has given chinese more opportunities to experience foreign cultures. some modern business practices are introduced, such as american marketing tactics, and japanese teamwork. “although many aspects of culture are subject to change, the deep structure of a culture resists major alterations. that is changes in dress, food, transportation, housing, and the like are compatible with the existing values system. however, values associated with such things as ethics and morals, work and leisure, definitions of freedom, the importance of the past, 4 larry a. samovar and richard e. porter, intercultural communication (7th edition) (usa: international thomson publishing, 1994), 12 5 religious practices, the pace of life, and attitudes toward gender and age are so deeply embedded in a culture that they persist generation after generation”6 culture is ethnocentric. keesing notes that ethnocentrism is a universal tendency for any people to put its own culture and society in a central position of priority and worth. ethnocentrism, therefore, becomes the perceptual window through which a culture interprets and judges all other cultures. ethnocentrism leads to a subjective evaluation of how another culture conducts its daily business.7 and it can be negative if it comes to the perception that “our way is the right way”. you may test yourself, in retrospect, when watching foreign movies, how many times you puzzled and asked “why, its so funny that they do it like this ”. 2.1.3 cultural dimensions hofstede has identified four cultural dimensions that have significant impacts on behavior in all culture. these dimensions are individualism collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and masculinity femininity. i will focus on the first three dimensions and other four related ones for the purpose of this thesis. individualism vs. collectivism “individualism” was probably first used in the book of democracy in america by alexis de tocqueville. in his book, he pointed out that “individualism is a mature and calm feeling, which disposed each member of the community to sever himself from the mass of his fellows, and to draw apart with his family and his friends; so that, after he has thus formed a little circle of his own, he willingly learns society at large to itself.”8 in cultures that tend forward individualism, individual value is of paramount importance; any factors, such as authority, religion, state and society, which by any means intervene in individual freedom and development are opposed;9 “competition instead of cooperation is encouraged; personal goals take precedence over group goals; and every individual has the right to his or her private property, thoughts and opinions. these cultures stress individual 5 larry a. samovar and richard e. porter 12 6 larry a. samovar and richard e. porter 44 7 larry a. samovar and richard e. porter 12 8 alexis de tocqueville, democracy in america (usa: pengiun book usa inc., 1984), 193 9 陈奔, 美国文化中的个人主义,美国大观vol 110, (2002): 27 6 initiative and achievement and they value individual decision-making.”10 collectivism is characterized by a rigid social framework, which distinguishes between in-groups and out-groups. people count on their in-group (relatives, clans, organizations) to look after them, and in exchange for that they believe they owe absolute loyalty to the group. it emphasizes the views, needs and goals of the in-group rather oneself; social norms and duty defined by the in-group than out-group; beliefs shared with the in-group rather than beliefs that distinguish self from in-group; great readiness to cooperate with in-group members.11 uncertainty avoidance uncertainty avoidance can be defined as “the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. this feeling is, among other things, expressed through nervous stress and in need for predictability: a need for written or unwritten rules.”12 in societies of weak uncertainty avoidance, uncertainty is normal feature of life and each day is accepted as it comes; people are comfortable in ambiguous situations and with unfamiliar risks; precision and punctuality have to be learned. in societies of strong uncertainty avoidance, the uncertainty inherent in life is felt as a continuous threat which must be fought; people fear for ambiguous situations and unfamiliar risks; precision and punctuality come naturally. power distance power distance can be defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organization within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. in societies of small power distance, inequalities among people are minimized; there should be, and there is to some extent, interdependence between less and more powerful people; hierarchy in organizations means an inequality of roles, established for convenience; privileges and status symbols are frowned upon. in societies of large power distance, inequalities among people are both expected and desired; less powerful people should be dependent on the more powerful; hierarchy in organizations reflects the existential inequality 10 larry a. samovar and richard e. porter 66 11 larry a. samovar and richard e. porter 67 7 between higher-ups and lower-downs; privileges and status symbols for managers are both expected and popular. affective vs. neutral members of cultures which are affectively neutral do not telegraph their feelings but keep them carefully controlled and subdued. people are always pursuing the condition of calmness and not being affected by the outer environment. in contrast, in cultures high in affectivity people show their feelings plainly by laughing, smiling, grimacing, scowling, and gesturing; they attempt to find immediate outlets for their feelings.13 in neutral societies, people do not reveal what they are thinking or feeling; cool and self-possessed conduct is admired; physical contact, gesturing or strong facial expressions are often taboo; statements are often read out in monotone. in affective societies, people reveal thoughts and feelings verbally and nonverbally; heated, vital and animated expressions are admired; touching, gesturing and strong facial expressions are common; statements are declaimed fluently and dramatically. diffuse vs. specific in diffuse cultures, the most distinctive feature is that everything is connected to everything. for example, in some countries every life space and every level of personality tends to permeate all others. monsieur le directeur is a formidable authority wh