The influence of culture on consumer perceptions of deceptiveness
ISSN: 0736-3761
Article publication date: 21 June 2021
Issue publication date: 2 September 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to apply McCornack’s (1992) information manipulation theory to the context of fraud and investigates the effects of culture on perceived deceptiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 400 Chinese consumers and an equal-size sample of Canadian consumers were recruited to fill an online survey. The survey integrates four scenarios of insurance fraud and measures of perceived deceptiveness, cultural tightness and horizontal-vertical idiocentrism allocentrism, in addition to some control variables.
Findings
Results show that at the societal level of culture, perceived deceptiveness is higher in individualistic than in collectivistic cultures. When accounting for the level of situational constraint, cultural tightness was found to magnify the perceived deceptiveness. At the individual level of culture, vertical-allocentrism and vertical-idiocentrism were found to weigh against the perception of deceptiveness.
Originality/value
Understanding cultural differences in perceived deceptiveness is helpful to spot sources of consumers’ vulnerability to fraud tolerance among a culturally diverse public.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
“The first, second and third authors dedicate this paper to the memory of Prof Jean-Charles Chebat (1945–2019).”
The authors acknowledge the financial support of Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)-Insight Development grant to this research.
Citation
Zourrig, H., Zhang, M., El Hedhli, K. and Becheur, I. (2021), "The influence of culture on consumer perceptions of deceptiveness", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 38 No. 5, pp. 469-483. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-09-2020-4150
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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