Modelo de conducta del consumidor

The Kuwaiti population was originally, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a small group of simple, traditional Arab, conservative Muslim, fishermen, shipbuilders, pearl divers, and Bedouins. The community was closely knit and its activities and interactions limited. Earning enough to survive was the main goal of the community (Villiers, 2010). Few facilities were available to the population and no luxuries (only several products were sold in the markets that tradesmen brought from India and or Yemen); even their diet was limited to seafood, meat, rice, and bread getting some vegetables, fruits, dates, and nuts from neighboring Iraq and or Saudi Arabia. Even the population's drinking water had to be transported from Iraq due to the lack of water and the dry climate of the country. Kuwait's ancestors had to endure many hardships and suffered greatly from the harsh climate, the storms of the Gulf waters, and several major diseases and outbreaks (due to poor health care) (Villiers, 2010).

Less than 80 years ago, Kuwaitis lived in stone and mud houses, had no electricity, and running water. Interaction was limited to close family members, neighbors, and a close circle of friends and acquaintances. Nearly all of the population

lived within the walls of the Soor (wall of Kuwait – first built in 1760) (Al-Rushaid, 1926). The main interaction with the outside world was through sea travels. The largest percentage of men in the country worked in the sea industries. In the summer and spring Kuwaiti dhows would go out for three to four month voyages for pearl diving and fishing in the Arabian Gulf. In the autumn and winter they would go on trade trips to Oman, Bahrain, India, and several African islands. Only few men were left behind to deal with the markets, protect the Soor, and run matters of the State (Al-Rushaid, 1926).

Between the 1930s and the 1960s, Kuwait was transformed into a city at an unprecedented speed. The wealth that has struck the country changed its future and the lives of its population. The Soor was demolished in 1957 (Abu-Hakima, 1982). The breaking down of the walls allowed the population to expand to new areas with newly constructed roads, modern homes, and facilities. Moving out of the Soor not only changed the architecture of the county, it also moved the population to a new era. Oil revenues and economic modernization changed daily lives of the Kuwaitis. Education, health services, and a strong welfare system were implemented by the Kuwaiti

government. The economic changes and waves of urbanization and modernization that have come upon the country have changed the dynamics of the society dramatically. Society has been irreversibly changed, unlike any other society in the region and at a very fast pace, and more than any other period in history (Hammond, 2005). In this era

hundreds of foreigners and Arabs flocked to the newly wealthy State. The population experienced new interaction and communication with new individuals with new values, traditions, attire, education, languages, and faiths. This interaction with outsiders, combined with Kuwaitis traveling to Europe and the United States for education and

tourism, created an international environment and a new generation of citizens (El-Islam, Malasi, and Abu-Dagga, 1988). New modern attire, high-tech devices, and modern means of transportation spread throughout Kuwait.

The Kuwaiti population was and is still small. The main unit in the Kuwaiti society is the family. The typical family consists of a closely-knit circle of relatives and extended family members (Patai, 2007). Respect for older members, support for one another, and loyalty are all part of being a family member in Kuwait. Old traditions still saturate the society. Although traditions and values of the society have endured,

behaviors and practice of these traditions have changed. Expensive gifts (i.e., watches, jewelry, etc.) and gestures using technologies (such as the internet and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter) are used to show appreciation, support, gratitude, or respect.

According to the Urban Indicators published by UN Population Division, Kuwait is one of the top five urbanized countries in the world with 98.2% of the population living in urban areas (United Nations Population Division, 2011). The Kuwaiti society may be described today as a traditional-minded technology-enjoying one. The population has been able to integrate modernity into their traditional moral frames (Treteault, 2001). Kuwait's citizens enjoy some of the finest telecommunications services, modern television and radio stations, satellite links and fiber-optic cables in the entire Middle East. Kuwait also boasts one of the highest levels of internet use anywhere in the Muslim world (Casey, 2007, p. 8). On the other hand, Kuwait remains a traditional Arab and Muslim state governed by centuries of traditions and customs. The adoption of Western capitalist systems, educational systems, healthcare systems, and Western technologies

and products has not replaced the local native culture. Instead, a hybrid culture has emerged. Kuwaitis have been able to localize the international cultures and technologies that have entered their society (Nydell, 2006). Codes of behavior, loyalty, brotherhood, hospitality, piety, honor, generosity, public etiquette, family support, class affiliation, still tribe affiliation, and other Arab traditions, govern personal and public behavior of

citizens with each other.