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1 – 10 of over 41000This study seeks to examine whether or not the effect of personal cultural orientation on brand‐related consumer behaviors functions invariably at the individual level in two…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to examine whether or not the effect of personal cultural orientation on brand‐related consumer behaviors functions invariably at the individual level in two culturally opposite countries (South Korea and the USA).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from college students from South Korea and the USA. A total of 415 eligible questionnaires were collected: 212 South Korea and 203 USA. Data analysis was conducted using Multivariate analysis of variance.
Findings
It was found that personal collectivistic orientation had a significant effect on both brand loyalty and equity among both Americans and Koreans. Brand loyalty was higher among people of high collectivism than those of low collectivism across brands in both the US and South Korean samples. Likewise, brand equity was also higher among people of high collectivism than those of low collectivism across brands in both countries. These findings indicated that regardless of their national culture, collectivist consumers would show higher brand loyalty and equity than individualist consumers.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation was that only one product category was examined in only two countries. Future research will need the validate the findings by including more product categories across more countries. In addition, other types of personal cultural orientation need to be investigated.
Originality/value
One major contribution of the study is that it examines the personal cultural orientation, not stereotyping consumers by their country or subculture membership. The other contribution is that the effect of personal collectivistic orientation holds regardless of country‐level culture.
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Jackie L.M. Tam, Piyush Sharma and Namwoon Kim
This paper aims to examine the role that personal cultural orientations play in customer attributions in intercultural service encounters.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the role that personal cultural orientations play in customer attributions in intercultural service encounters.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual model was developed depicting the relationships between service delivery outcome, personal cultural orientations and customer attributions. Data were collected from 640 Chinese and Western customers using scenario-based experiments in a restaurant context to assess the hypothesized relationships in the model.
Findings
The findings show that compared to service delivery success, customers tend to hold service employee and firm responsible for service delivery failure rather than themselves and cultural differences. Moreover, personal cultural orientations partially moderated the influence of the service delivery outcome on customer attributions.
Research limitations/implications
Future research could adopt different methodologies such as critical incident techniques and surveys to replicate the study.
Practical implications
Service firms are recommended to design programs to influence customer attributions such as “customer education programs” and “customer appreciation programs” to achieve high customer satisfaction.
Originality/value
This study examines the differences in customer attributions between successful vs unsuccessful service delivery. It also sheds light on the potential moderating role of personal cultural orientations on the relationship between service delivery outcome and customer attributions.
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Sujit Kumar Ray and Sangeeta Sahney
This study aims to obtain an understanding of the impact of personal cultural orientation on potential consumers’ intention toward the purchase of high-involvement green products…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to obtain an understanding of the impact of personal cultural orientation on potential consumers’ intention toward the purchase of high-involvement green products, specifically, electric two-wheelers in India, which is one of the largest emerging markets of the world.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administered questionnaire comprising a total of 30 items was administered over a sample of 582 respondents. The structural equation modeling using partial least square was used to analyze the relative impact of different cultural dimensions on consumers’ green purchase intention. Geert Hofstede’s typology of culture was used to represent personal cultural orientation and four of the five dimensions, namely, collectivism, long-term orientation (LTO), masculinity and uncertainty avoidance were studied.
Findings
Findings of the study revealed that collectivism, LTO and masculinity appear to be significant cultural dimensions that influence Indian consumers’ intention to purchase electric two-wheelers. Collectivism is the most influential dimension, followed by LTO and masculinity.
Research limitations/implications
This study helps in expanding literature in the area of green purchase by providing insight on how consumers’ individual cultural orientation influences their purchase of eco-friendly products such as electric two-wheelers.
Practical implications
The findings of the study offer insights, which can be useful for marketers in developing various promotional strategies, as consumers’ cultural values have significant implications for decisions with respect to the advertisement content.
Originality/value
This study illustrates the relative impact of different dimensions of national culture (measured at consumers’ personal level) on consumers’ green purchase intention. Such a study appears to be important in extending current knowledge on green purchase behavior in one of the largest emerging markets such as India.
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Bramhani Rao and Sambashiva Rao Kunja
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of individualism-collectivism (IC) in determining psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) at individual level, thus attempting to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of individualism-collectivism (IC) in determining psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) at individual level, thus attempting to establish that cultural orientation of each individual may differentially predict the fulfillment of his/her psychological contract.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural equation modeling was conducted on the cross-sectional data collected from 465 IT professionals working at different multi-national software companies.
Findings
Model fit between the dimensions of IC and PCF was found to be good, indicating a significantly positive relationship between within-culture cultural orientation of an individual and his/her perception of PCF. The analyses revealed that collectivist beliefs, values and norms have a significant relationship with the perception of delivery, fairness and trust toward PCF. The relationship between collectivist values and fairness of the deal was found to be insignificant.
Research limitations/implications
A major theoretical implication of the study is its contribution to evidence that people with collectivist orientation have a relatively positive perception toward the fulfillment of a psychological contract between them and the employer. It also clarifies why employees working in the same work environment tend to develop unique psychological contracts owing to their tendency to orient toward a particular cultural state of mind in the form of beliefs, values and norms guiding their day-to-day work-life.
Originality/value
The study is a valuable addition to the current literature in two ways. First, it contributes to the area of personality by examining the individual cultural orientation as an individual difference predictor of PCF. This helps in understanding the role of differences in emotions, cognition and behavior among individuals in predicting the fulfillment of hidden expectations of employees. In the domain of psychological contract, it contributes to evidence that explains why employees in same job conditions and employment relationships experience breach or fulfillment owing to their difference in cultural orientation.
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Archana Kumar, Ann Fairhurst and Youn-Kyung Kim
The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of personal cultural orientation variables as antecedents of ethnocentric tendencies of Indian consumers. The impact of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of personal cultural orientation variables as antecedents of ethnocentric tendencies of Indian consumers. The impact of ethnocentric tendencies on attitudes toward both foreign and domestic products and services is also investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected by means of a pen-and-paper survey from 800 Indian consumers using a geographical cluster sampling method. A structural equation modeling approach was employed to analyze the data.
Findings
The findings suggest that Indian consumers with high ethnocentric tendencies prefer domestic product/service while those with low ethnocentric tendencies prefer foreign product/service. Ethnocentrism is influenced by personal cultural orientations of Indian consumers (i.e. collectivism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance).
Practical implications
The results reveal that both domestic and foreign marketers need to pay attention to personal cultural orientation in order to understand their customer's ethnocentricity. This could lead to development of better strategies as ethnocentrism has a direct impact on attitudes toward their products/services.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the limited literature on the ethnocentric tendencies of Indian consumers.
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Piyush Sharma, Zhan Wu and Yong Su
The purpose of this paper is to address a long-standing gap in current research on intercultural service encounters, by exploring the direct and indirect roles of four personal…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address a long-standing gap in current research on intercultural service encounters, by exploring the direct and indirect roles of four personal cultural orientations (PCOs) [independence, interdependence (INT), risk aversion (RSK) and ambiguity intolerance (AMB)].
Design/methodology/approach
A 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design with customers in two countries (Australia and China) using scenarios to manipulate service outcome (failure or success) and photos of foreigners as customer or employee to prime perceived cultural distance (PCD).
Findings
Customers with higher (vs lower) independence perceive greater interaction comfort, service quality and satisfaction (SAT) and are affected to a lesser extent by PCD and service outcome, but those with higher (vs lower) RSK or AMB perceive lower interaction comfort, service quality and SAT and are affected more strongly by PCD and service outcome.
Research limitations/implications
The authors used an “experimental” design with “imaginary” service scenarios to collect data in “two” countries using “four” PCOs for greater control in this paper, but all of these choices may restrict the generalizability of the findings.
Practical implications
Service managers need to look beyond visible cultural differences, such as ethnicity, nationality and language, and focus more on the invisible cultural differences in customs, values and norms, as reflected by the four PCOs in this paper.
Originality/value
The authors extend prior research on intercultural service encounters by exploring the moderating effects of PCOs on the influence of service outcome and PCD on interaction comfort, service quality and SAT.
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The paper aims to explore the impact of personal cultural orientation (individualism and collectivism) on knowledge sharing intention (KSI), and to test the moderating effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to explore the impact of personal cultural orientation (individualism and collectivism) on knowledge sharing intention (KSI), and to test the moderating effect of tacit knowledge (AK) on the main causal relationships. It proposes modeling the knowledge-sharing process and outlining why and how AK is important throughout the process.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper opted for an empirical study using the approach of survey, by sending 400 questionnaires to the employees selected under the branches of the First Automobile Workshop (FAW) in Changchun, who are the major force in direct contact with dissemination of knowledge in the enterprises. A regression analysis was used.
Findings
Individualism and collectivism orientations both have significantly positive impacts on KSI; the employees who are more collectivism-orientated are more willing to share knowledge than those who are more individualism-orientated; the higher degree is the AK, the weaker is the relationship between individualism and KSI and the stronger is the relationship between collectivism and KSI.
Practical implications
The practical implication of our findings is that when designing human resource development (HRD) strategies to enhance employees’ KSI, the factors of cultural values and the knowledge attribute need to be taken into consideration.
Originality/value
The paper shows that the personal cultural orientations of individualism and collectivism have positive impacts on the KSI. AK makes different effects on the two relationships by weakening the relationship between individualism and KSI and by strengthening the relationship between collectivism and KSI.
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Alexandre Anatolievich Bachkirov and Faridahwati Mohd. Shamsudin
The purpose of this paper is to investigate monetary reward allocation decision-making in an Arab-Islamic business environment.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate monetary reward allocation decision-making in an Arab-Islamic business environment.
Design/methodology/approach
In this mixed-method (quantitative/qualitative) study, data were obtained from a sample of 342 practicing managers of different genders and educational levels working in different industries at different organizational levels in Oman.
Findings
The more individualistic personal orientation, the more likely the decision makers are to allocate the biggest reward to the best performer and to believe that the equity principle is best for distributing rewards. In the context of a society transitioning from collectivistic to individualistic cultural values, the level of education is associated with preference for the equity principle in reward allocations.
Research limitations/implications
The reported findings advance the theoretical understanding of how an emic perspective can explain reward allocation decision-making in Arab-Islamic environment.
Practical implications
Practical implications of this study lie in the guidance that global managers can draw regarding which allocation principle to use in which cultural context: the principle of equity – not equality, need or seniority – is embraced by organizations in the Arabian Gulf.
Originality/value
The study examines reward allocation decision-making behavior in the under-researched context of the Arabian Gulf and adds to the body of knowledge based on data obtained from practicing managers rather than college students.
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This study aims to pay attention to the role of social contexts, including perceived relationship conflict and coworker support in creating an individualistic or collectivistic…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to pay attention to the role of social contexts, including perceived relationship conflict and coworker support in creating an individualistic or collectivistic disposition, and how organization members differently behave to share knowledge depending on their personal dispositions.
Design/methodology/approach
The research model was set and PLS-SEM was used to validate the proposed eight hypotheses. A total of 462 survey data were collected from workers in Korea to test the model.
Findings
The findings revealed that both perceived relationship conflict and coworker support positively influence knowledge sharing intention by facilitating formation of individualism and collectivism orientation. In other words, individualism and collectivism are motivated by different factors, which applies equally to knowledge sharing.
Originality/value
This study makes an initial step to explain the relationship between knowledge sharing behavior and individualism–collectivism orientation by using social contexts as a potential antecedent. Especially, along with perceived co-worker support, perceived relationship conflict was also found to have a positive impact on knowledge sharing intention through individualism orientation, which is a significant contribution to the field of knowledge management.
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Norhayati Zakaria, Wan-Nurisma Ayu Wan-Ismail and Asmat-Nizam Abdul-Talib
The purpose of this research is to understand the importance of value orientation on conspicuous consumption in the youth market segment in Southeast Asia. In particular, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to understand the importance of value orientation on conspicuous consumption in the youth market segment in Southeast Asia. In particular, the focus is to understand three different types of value orientation (specifically cultural values, material values and religious values) and its effects on conspicuous consumption behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
An integrative theoretical model is proposed based on Hofstede's cultural dimension, the materialism value scale and religious commitments to predict the relationship for the value orientations of Generation Y's (Gen Y's) conspicuous consumption behaviour. The data was collected from undergraduate students enrolled in general education courses in three universities in Malaysia. Using cross-sectional data, 262 sets of valid questionnaires were used to perform the statistical analysis for the measurement and structural model using partial least squares equation modelling (PLS-SEM) path modelling.
Findings
We position our study by raising the pertinent question of “Seriously, Conspicuous Consumption?” to establish a clear understanding of whether Malaysian Gen Y individuals are conspicuous consumers and, if they are, which of the three values matter the most. In order to answer the question of whether Malaysian Gen Y engages in conspicuous consumption, we arrive at an understanding that, given multi-value orientations, conspicuous behaviour can be motivated and impacted by one value orientation and constrained by others. Hence, value orientation offers an insightful explanation of one specific type of consumer behaviour in the context of Asia as an emerging global market. Thus, our study provides two key theoretically significant findings. In general, our findings provide insights into how the multi-value orientations (i.e. cultural, material and religious orientations) contribute to several bodies of literature—namely, conspicuous consumption, international marketing and transcultural marketing. The results revealed that collectivism and materialism were positively and significantly related to conspicuous consumption. Uncertainty avoidance, although significant, had a negative relationship with conspicuous consumption. The other values (masculinity, power distance and religious values) were not significantly related to conspicuous consumption.
Research limitations/implications
Purchasing luxury goods is becoming an emergent phenomenon in Asia, particularly among young consumers. This paper provides marketing managers, particularly brand owners, with practical and realisable examples of how to plan and execute their marketing plans. A more profound understanding of this relationship may also serve to aid marketing managers in devising more focused marketing strategies and thus allocate marketing resources more efficiently. Hence, marketers could develop an effective communication strategy so that the target consumers will be aware of their goods because the purchase of luxury goods is likely to be motivated by social, cultural and personal factors.
Originality/value
This article examines the impact of value orientations on conspicuous consumption behaviour in Malaysian Gen Y consumers. The model proposed in this study is useful in predicting conspicuous consumption among Gen Y. By identifying the factors influencing this emergent type of consumer behaviour, global retailers will be informed about this particular market segmentation in terms of its preferences and desires. The article discusses the research findings and concludes with managerial implications and limitations.
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