Cultural influence on loyalty tendency and evaluation of retail store attributes: An analysis of Taiwanese and American consumers
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
ISSN: 0959-0552
Article publication date: 15 February 2011
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the cultural influences on young consumers' loyalty tendency and evaluations of the relative importance of apparel retail store attributes in Taiwan and the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured questionnaire was developed to collect the data. Factor analysis was employed to identify dimensions of apparel retail store image attributes. Pillai's Trace multivariate analysis of variance and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were used to examine the hypotheses.
Findings
Results of the study showed that American consumers have significantly greater collectivistic characteristics than Taiwanese. The paper also found that country of residence is a significant and stronger indicator in predicting loyalty tendency than individualism and collectivism dimensions. The results of the study showed that evaluation of the relative importance of retail store attributes was influenced by culture. Among the five apparel retail store attribute dimensions identified in the study, Taiwanese and US respondents' evaluation of the importance of “convenience”, “product” and “information communication” factors of retail store image attributes differed significantly.
Research limitations/implications
The paper may contribute to international retailers' understanding of the similarities and differences between Taiwanese and US markets and in determining the ideal components for these retailers to create an optimized apparel retail store image in two different countries' markets. The findings from the study could serve as an important benchmark for retailing strategy, helping retailers to effectively redesign their apparel stores to attract consumers in different markets and foster consumers' loyal to the company.
Originality/value
Despite the growing internationalization of fashion retailing, this particular sector has attracted little research attention, and no research has been done to investigate the cultural differences of consumers' evaluations of apparel retail store image attributes.
Keywords
Citation
Seock, Y. and Lin, C. (2011), "Cultural influence on loyalty tendency and evaluation of retail store attributes: An analysis of Taiwanese and American consumers", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 39 No. 2, pp. 94-113. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590551111109067
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited