Abstract
Today word of mouth advertising as One of the common tools of marketing and advertising has become very important to marketers, so that studies show that word of mouth advertising can have a significant impact on the buying behavior of consumers and their satisfaction with products and services. On the other hand, spreading a positive attitude and not having a negative attitude about a new product or brand that is introduced to other cultures is of particular importance for the successful release of the product in a population. Therefore, considering the importance of the topic and the role of common cultural values ??in promoting advertising or word-of-mouth marketing, this study aims to investigate the relationship between cultural values ??and word-of-mouth evaluation, in this regard, cultural values ??according to four cultural values: Hofstede's individualism, power distance, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance and in-group and out-group word-of-mouth marketing were measured among 384 people from Pegah dairy products in Isfahan. The results of this analysis also showed a positive and direct relationship between cultural values ??and word-of-mouth evaluation. In examining the correlation between the dimensions of cultural values ??and in-group and out-group word-of-mouth marketing, except for the relationship between the cultural value of masculinity with in-group word-of-mouth marketing and out-group word-of-mouth marketing, other relationships were confirmed.
Keywords: word-of-mouth marketing, cultural value of individualism, masculinity, power distance, uncertainty avoidance
1-1) Introduction
in the world Now, the new market situation prompts us to think about the purpose of advertising. Nowadays, the consultants and practitioners who draw the advertising program have realized that the level of advertising has increased dramatically, while advertisers do not know what tools they need to achieve the most effective advertising: spending more budget in the media, attractive and unique design of the ad, or having a clear and specific goal in the advertisement? (Esfarjani, 2012).
Among the different methods of advertising and marketing, oral marketing or word of mouth has become very important to marketers to the point where some people believe that oral advertising is one of the most effective and efficient advertising methods in marketing. Because, quite simply, word of mouth is nothing more than talking about products. But the same type of advertisement can be viewed from the point of view of three terms "direction" and "capacity". and "volume" also be described. "direction" It means the entry of word of mouth advertising in the decision process, or the process of purchase results. "capacity" It can be positive or negative and finally "volume" It also depends on the number of people who received the message. Word of mouth is more likely to enter the decision making process when the product has technical features than when the product can be easily evaluated, and consumers look for recommendations and input sources to reduce their risk (Ghaffari Ashtiani et al., 2018).
Given the importance of this issue and the effective role of word of mouth in current marketing, it seems that this phenomenon should be managed effectively and take conscious measures to benefit from its benefits. In this chapter, the statement of the problem, necessity of the research, objectives, theoretical framework, questions and assumptions, definitions of variables and scope of the research have been discussed.
1-2) Statement of the problem
Marketing means searching to find the most suitable market and sectors where the organization can be more useful and effective and respond to the needs and demands of the people. In other words, marketing is a conscious effort to optimally allocate resources and create a kind of expertise in the market. So that in order to avoid wasting various resources and facilities and to find the most appropriate place in the existing market, they should use the appropriate tool to introduce their product. One of the tools that has attracted the most attention today is advertising or word-of-mouth marketing. Because this advertising method has been the main source of influencing what people know, feel and do for years.Cox [1] (1967) mentioned word of mouth in a very simple way, which is nothing more than talking about products. The term word of mouth is used to describe word of mouth communication (whether positive or negative) among groups such as product providers, independent experts, family and friends, and actual and potential customers. Today, word of mouth advertising is very important to marketers to the point that Some people believe that word of mouth advertising is one of the most effective and efficient advertising methods. is in marketing because only 14% of people They see or hear ads and advertisements, and 90 percent of people strangely follow opinions. It is their family, friends and colleagues who know about the benefits of the product or service. slaves From word of mouth advertising as an effective factor in reducing the risk of consumers to They have also mentioned it when making purchasing decisions (Ghaffari Ashtiani, 2018). Studies show that word-of-mouth advertising can have a significant impact on consumers' buying behavior and their satisfaction with products and services. So that consumers tend to trust the information they get from personal sources more (Bush et al., 2005; 257). According to "Al Rise" and "Laura Rise" What others say about your brand is far more powerful than what you say about it (Al Raiz and Laura Raiz, 2011; 36). Therefore, companies are increasingly trying to take advantage of the power and influence of word of mouth advertising (Stokes and Lomax, 2002; 350). . Considering the importance of this issue and the effective role of word-of-mouth advertising in current marketing, it seems that this phenomenon should be effectively managed and its benefits should be taken by adopting conscious measures. Because organizations will not be able to take appropriate action without knowing how the consumer behaves and understanding it correctly, to meet the needs and wants of the consumer. On the other hand, consumer behavior originates from certain beliefs and attitudes that are rooted in his cultural values. Culture is a general and complex concept that includes knowledge, belief, art, ethics, law, customs and other capabilities that the habits of people in a society can provide (Taylor, 1891). Hofstede [2] (1980) also points out that culture is an important continuous (collected) planning of the mind that differentiates a member of a human group from another member. He divides cultural values ??into the following four dimensions:
Cultural value of power distance: It refers to the degree and extent to which people in a society agree that power is unequally distributed in institutions and organizations.
Cultural value of individualism: It shows the preference of a social framework with a loose connection in society, in which it is assumed that people only think about their interests and the first-class members of their families. On the other hand, collectivism expresses the preference for a social framework with a strong bond in a society in which people expect their clans, clans, and other internal groups to support their interests because of their loyalty and without question and without any expectations
Cultural value of uncertainty avoidance: it is the degree and extent that people of a society feel uncomfortable with the uncertainty and ambiguity of the future. This feeling leads them to the beliefs that bring certain conditions and certainty and the institutions that stabilize loyalty and conformity.
The cultural value of masculinity versus feminism: Masculine traits express the preference for victory, heroism, decisiveness and their major positions in society. The opposite of those feminine qualities (here in the sense of mutual respect and equality between men and women) To reflect the preference of moderate relationships, attention is paid to the weaknesses and quality of life in society (Norush and Sepasi, 2014).
In this definition, he suggests that customers acquire culture from a continuous group or from their society. Therefore, cultural values ??are actually collective intellectual programming that distinguishes members of a group or a group of people from another. Therefore Identifying and using active and dynamic methods in the field of word of mouth advertising depends on the knowledge of cultural values ??in the society under investigation