The Influence of National Culture on Consumer Buying Behaviour: An Exploratory Study of Nigerian and British Consumers

Despite the considerable body of literature investigating the influence of National Culture (NC) dimensions on consumer behaviour, there is a lack of studies comparing the influence of NC in Africa with Western European countries. This study is intended to fill the vacuum in knowledge by exploring how NC affects consumer buyer behavior in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. The primary data were collected through in depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with three groups of individuals: British students, Nigerian students in the United Kingdom, and Nigerian-based students. This approach and new frontier to analyze culture and consumer behaviour could help understand residual cultural threads of people (that are ingrained in their being) irrespective of exposure to other cultures. The findings of this study show that Nigerian and British consumers differ remarkably in cultural orientations such as symbols, values and psychological standpoints. This ultimately affects the choices made at every stage of the decision building process, and proves beneficial for international retail marketing

Training program for community health workers in remote areas in Senegal. First experience.

Abstract BACKGROUND: In some countries, community health workers (CHWs) act as a bridge between the health care delivery system and the community, and ensure primary health care. It is essential to improve health worker education and training; however, in remote areas such as rural Senegal villages, these CHWs are often unable to leave their home community for training and education. We set out to perform a training program in a village in Senegal and to evaluate its effectiveness in that village. METHODS: We prepared a training program to be based on face-to-face lessons and practical exercises; a nurse from the university of Parma carried out the training of the CHW in loco for a period of four weeks. After six months, the nurse with an anthropologist returned to the village to verify the results of the training program. RESULTS: The CHW had retained most of what she had been taught, but her opinion about the training program was not altogether positive, given that the absence of a working health centre in the village and an insufficient period of practical experience in a hospital. The village community did not understand the role of the CHW and was not informed that there was a training program to help increase her technical know-how. CONCLUSIONS: This experience confirmed the important role of the CHW in rural areas in a poor region in Senegal, in the absence of other professional healthcare figures readily accessible to the population. Nonetheless, in order to properly carry out the role of CHWs, an adequate theoretical and practical training is necessary