Introduction
Several types of collectivist theory examples can be highlighted. Three of the top examples are political, cultural, and economic. The essay will look at the three identified types of collectivism identifying how they work, and the advantages and disadvantages they possess.
Types of Collectivist Theory
Political
Collectivist theory examples can be drawn from the political field. Okazaki (2012) explains that the concept, in politics, squarely defines democracy, which has been identified as most favorable for consumers. Democracy encourages leaders-to-be to seek approval from a majority of the citizens. Democracy also allows for proper and collective decision making. Such decision making affects trade and the economy and should be done with the interest of the country or citizens at heart.
Through the described process, it can be argued that democracy brings together a collective voice of the people. Therefore, it allows an analysis of a group of people who make the crucial decision regarding the presidency, which in turn has an impact on decision making about the economy. To further the ideology, the fact that the economy is riddled with consumer behavior makes the concept that more communal. Important to note, the term communal does not refer to the whole country, but the majority of the company.
Cultural
Cultures are by default communal. Whether the culture is familial or targets consumer behavior regarding the purchase of products, such groups are tied together. Belk, Price, and Penaloza (2013) explain that cultures cannot be practiced by one person, thus, cannot be individual. When discussing collectivism in culture, several things come into play. The first is the language that is used and associated with a culture. Consumers, just like ethnic groups, have such languages that can easily identify them.
A second factor that has to be considered regarding culture and collectivism is shared history. Individuals who belong to the same group share the same knowledge and trends, albeit trends keep changing. Therefore, they are bound together by the fact that they are cut from the same cloth. Solomon, Russell-Bennett, and Previte (2012) explain that the passing down of knowledge and trends from one generation to another is also very collective. Consumer behavior is also very cultural. It is for the stated reason that companies can create products for different brackets of the population. For instance, popular culture is a term that has been used in consumer behavior to help firms adhere to the trends and expectations of the target population sample.
Economy
Important to mention, consumer behavior heavily affects economies. The consumers have the power to build the economy or to destroy it. For example, a country where citizens only by locally produced merchandise will focus more on selling local products in their domestic markets to get more revenue. However, by doing so, the company will be locking out potential foreign investors. Thus, the decision on whether the country’s economy should be all-inclusive or not has to be collected to benefit the whole group (country) and not just one individual.
Conclusion
In conclusion, collectivism theory can be applied in consumer behavior analysis as consumers are mainly grouped. There are three main components of collectivism theory that can be highlighted when discussing consumer behavior. The three factors are political, economic, and cultural. In politics, it is crucial to understand the consumer behavior can be affected by political policies put in play. Regarding economics, consumers group themselves based on the economy of the country. Lastly, consumers in one group share the same popular culture.
Reference List
Belk, WR, Price, L & Penaloza, L 2013, Consumer culture theory, Emerald Group Publishing, Bingley, UK.
Okazaki, S 2012, Handbook of research on international advertising, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.
Solomon, M, Russell-Bennett, R & Previte, J 2012, Consumer Behaviour, Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest, Australia.