Abstract:

The paper is divided in three parts. A short introduction explains the uses of sociocultural variables and typologies in Western Europe. Since Eastern European markets are developing towards the level of complexity of their Western counterparts, it is argued that they could benefit from the same approach, which the authors have tried in a quantitative survey in Mazowsze. The second part describes the research design and results. Six sociocultural types were identified and described: two of them are open to novelty and hedonistic, two are rather backwards and introverted, one is a "transitional" type, and one is the "average Mazowian". Factor analysis showed that the two most discriminating factors are mainly related to different styles of consumption: types were mapped on the factor map and on a further additive scales map, which proved to be consistent with the factor analysis. The third part compares the findings with Western European data. Mazowian society shows very specific characters; most of its types don't have a Western counterpart. It has a higher proportion of socioculturally backwards types, a weaker sociocultural centre and more centrifugal tendencies than Western European societies, but it is also more dynamic and its sociocultural typology is rapidly evolving.