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26 QRCA VIEWS WINTER 2 014 www.qrca.org "SNAKES AND LADDERS" C O N T I N U E D sonal lives, and household decisions, which are incongruent with the devel- oped markets' model of freedom in decision making and individuality. Enculturation results in the forma- tion of a system of shared knowledge called "Collective Intelligence," which overpowers individual agency. This helps homemakers depend on the safe and simple foundation of collective knowledge in the face of the dangers of an unstable, unclear, external environ- ment that constitutes excess informa- tion and might result in "foolish" decisions. By following these social rules, the Indian housewife can live up to the notion of an "ideal" housewife, charac- terised by prudence. This notion was molded by the models of womanly conduct inherited from Hindu mythol- ogy, the most relevant model being the "Sita" or typical caregiver archetype. Sita, the wife of Hindu god Rama, rep- resents sacrifice, duty, and devotedness. Consequently, it's necessary that brands abide by all the rules so as to give her justifiable reasons to upgrade. There are three important influences that are congruent with societal norms: 1. Given the high context culture, word of mouth is the most significant trigger across categories because it gives certainty to decisions. What is said by one consumer to another is more powerful than the product's attri- butes and the ad. For example, the ad might say "germ-killing" with reference to a floor cleaner, while the housewife is more convinced by her friend who talks about the cleaner's shine and fragrance. 2. The second is lifestyle upgrada- tion. Moving up the social ladder financially justifies upgradations that are conducive to maintaining that improved status. In this sense, buying a bigger house can lead to a desire to upgrade across home care categories. 3. The third is brand equity based on perceived popularity, since the already existing defaults justify crossing the bud- get to make her look intelligent. Implications for researchers Since the rules and norms constructed within culture affect the meanings assigned to products, it's necessary for researchers to decipher these implicit rules by doing the following: 1. Paired interviews with the influ- encer and the user to understand both negative and positive persuasive mes- sage content. 2. Focus group discussion with a group of friends where storytelling emulates real life situations. One sce- nario might follow this script: "This is housewife X (present a doll) who uses a non-specialized product. One day she decides to use brand A. What exactly happened? What did her friends say?" We would like to point out that despite the presence of rigid boundar- ies, the ideal housewife no longer only follows the Sita archetype. There have been some transitions in this archetype due to greater exposure and awareness, including active involvement in the children's futures, helping the husband with bank/office work, voicing one's opinion, etc. However, these are still rooted in the foundation of collectiv- ism and patriarchy. Final Thoughts While "emerging" India presents a lucrative opportunity for global brands, and, therefore, researchers, it's a requisite to understand "Indian modern" as a process of continuity with change, rather than a linear movement towards greater individuality. Developing societies like India bring in their own socio-cultural influences that drive modernization, and the expe- rience in the developed markets is not definitive of the process. Thus, upgrada- tion in India is not about "trend-setting" but rather about "following" since, unlike developed markets, we still define ourselves in relation to the societal framework. Understanding the contradictory Indian housewife is about understand- ing these social nuances. Purchase decisions are intertwined in a complex network of tradeoffs affected by social associations, and deciphering these schemas is the key to richer insights that will be conducive to innovation, communication, and positioning strategies. 1 - Kahneman D. "Maps of Bounded Rationality: Psychology for Behavioral Economics." The American Economic Review. Vol. 93; No. 5. Dec 2003.

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