Search results

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the difficulties raised by the question of cultural differences in consumption behaviour studies, and proposes the best‐worst method as a tool for comparing data from a cross‐national survey.

Data were collected from samples of wine consumers from Australia (n = 283), the UK (n = 304) and France (n = 147), using the BW procedure, where respondents have to assess what are the most and the least important attributes when choosing a wine at a restaurant.

Results show differences between the countries, with a clear contrast between the French, on the one hand, and the Australians and British, on the other. They confirm empirically the idea that the country may be a valid “culti unit” in cross‐cultural research.

The authors suggest that the method works well in the context of this research, but does not avoid some of the uncontrollable biases of declarative data, nor the question of the relevance of some choice items in cultural contexts that can be very diverse (such as the role of a waiter in a restaurant).

The paper shows that the method can be used quite easily in a large number of studies where it is important to hierarchize choice cues and compare different segments of a population.

This fairly large scale study contributes to the marketing literature dealing with country of origin as a segmentation criteria, and exploring the concept and measurement of “cultural difference”. Finally, it fosters a scarce literature dealing with consumer behaviour in “on premise” situations.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of consumers' health beliefs, health involvement, and risk perception on fish consumption behaviour in five European countries.

Cross‐sectional data were collected through a pan‐European consumer survey (n=4,786) with samples representative for age and region in Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Spain and Poland. First, the cross‐cultural validity and cross‐cultural differences in health beliefs, health involvement and risk perception in relation to fish have been tested. Next, structural equation modelling (LISREL) was used in order to simultaneously estimate the strength and direction of relationships between health beliefs, health involvement and risk perception in relation to fish consumption.

Health involvement links up indirectly with subjective health and with total fish consumption, in both cases through increased interest in healthy eating. Interest in healthy eating positively and directly influences fish consumption. Increased risk perception from fish consumption negatively influences consumers' subjective health, as well as consumers' total fish consumption. Finally, subjective health positively relates to satisfaction with life.

This study focused on fish as a product category, and included only a limited number of attitudinal constructs.

This paper provides a unique model relating health beliefs, health involvement and risk perception to fish consumption, which has been tested and validated using a large pan‐European consumer sample.

Cross-cultural studies on differences in eating and consumer behavior have several limitations due to differences between countries, for example, in national health policies. Switzerland combines cultural diversity between the language regions, but with a common national health policy. Therefore, Switzerland provides an ideal framework to investigate cross-cultural eating and consumer behavior. The aim of this study was to combine food consumption, purchase data and sales data to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of cultural dietary differences.

Six national Swiss studies on food consumption, one study of food sales from the largest supermarket chain in Switzerland and one national study of food purchasing were included. The estimated marginal mean of each food category in each language region was calculated using linear regression and respective linear random effect models.

In the French- and Italian-speaking regions more fish was sold, bought and consumed than in the German-speaking region of Switzerland. In contrast, in the German-speaking region, more milk and dairy products were sold, bought and consumed. Language regions explained sales, purchase and consumption of foods, but the findings were only consistent for fish and milk and dairy products.

If possible limitations of cross-culture studies between countries are eliminated, cultural eating and consumer differences are still visible, even in a small country like Switzerland. For the first time, the complexity of studying food consumption, purchasing and sales is shown in one study. This indicates the importance of further studies which consider these three perspectives to better understand cultural differences in eating and consumption behavior.

This paper aims to explore the interplay between consumption and depression through a cross-cultural study conducted in Brazil and Germany.

Data collection was conducted through an online survey. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to assess depression levels from a sample of 1,627 respondents (759 Germans and 868 Brazilians). Descriptive statistics, multiple linear regression and Mann–Whitney U tests were applied.

Cultural characteristics are relevant in the consumption-depression interplay. The authors identified marketplace resources and stressors consisting of products categories that influence the depression level of the depressed consumer. Additionally, individuals with some level of depression presented different consumption habits than those without. A table summarizing the findings is presented at the end of the paper.

Work limitations refer to the consumption categories analyzed and the large share of students in the sample.

Marketplace measures have an active role in mitigating or increasing depression levels. Thus, consumption can also be used as a transformative tool to benefit the lives of depressive individuals. Some suggestions are presented.

This study contributes to the discussion that consumption impacts the daily lives of people with depression and provides recommendations on how to adapt consumption habits to help depressive individuals optimize their quality of life and well-being.

This paper contributes empirically and theoretically to the discussion of mental health and consumption and introduces innovative consumption categories (from daily life) that are incipient in previous literature.

This study aims to investigate the influences of two facets of Vietnamese consumers' cultural identities (i.e. global and national) on their intent to consume Korean lifestyle products and services via attitudes toward Korea. The difference between generations (Generation Z vs. X) is examined.

Data are collected through an online survey firm. The participants are Vietnamese consumers residing in Vietnam, varying in age from teens to those in their 50s (n = 500). The collected data are analyzed by SPSS 21.0 for the descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, and reliability analysis. AMOS 21.0 is employed for confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis.

This study reveals that global identity affects Vietnamese consumers' attitudes toward Korea and their intent to consume Korean lifestyle products and services. Results show that only global identity affects attitudes and behavioral intention toward Korea among generation Xers, while national identity has no effect. For Generation Z (Gen Z), both global and national identities have a positive effect on attitudes toward Korea, which also increases the intent to consume Korean lifestyle products and services.

Measuring individuals' global and national identities will allow brands and retailers to better understand international consumers of various generations and develop global marketing strategies.

This study bridges gaps in the literature on globalized consumption in a non-Western context by identifying how consumers in emerging markets become involved in cross-cultural consumption.

This paper investigates the influence of ethnologically based cultural factors on the motives and occasions for wine consumption both in Australia and overseas. As the international market for wine expands, global marketers have begun searching for new ways to define trans‐national segments. In particular, the success of Australian wines in the UK has provided a strong base for expansion into the competitive European market One key decision must involve what degree of differentiation the marketing program for each country will contain. Because many marketing theorists see ethnic or cultural background as one of the major underlying determinants of consumer behaviour this decision becomes quite critical. Others argue that consumption of wine is not culturally dependent but based on either a common set of motivations or is determined solely by the occasion in which wine will be consumed. To study this hypothesis a questionnaire was administered to approximately 500 respondents from a variety of Australian and European backgrounds. A single cross‐sectional design was employed. Respondents were primarily selected using a random sampling procedure with quotas boosted for some cultural groups by a convenience sampling process. The four chosen for analysis were Italian, Greek, German and Australian. It was found using an occasion‐based segmentation approach that there were significant differences between wine consumers of different cultural backgrounds. It is concluded that cultural factors do impact on the consumption process of wine and should be considered in any proposals for trans‐national segmentation strategies. However it is also shown that there are some motivational factors that are not culturally dependent. These factors are prime reasons for general wine consumption behaviour and could be used if an undifferentiated global! approach to wine segmentation is the most efficient for the marketer.

The purpose of this paper is to validate the CSI scale and segment young adults from a developed and a developing country on the basis of their consumption styles as consumers.

The research was conducted in France and Turkey. To determine the consumption styles, the CSI scale was used. The data were collected from college students aged 18‐24 by a self‐administered questionnaire. To define the segments, cluster analysis was used. The segments are profiled by young adults' demographic characteristics, attitudes towards shopping influence, and reliance on media.

In both of the countries, four segments were distinguished and defined as “fashion‐brand conscious consumers”, indifferent consumers”, “recreation seekers” and “quality seekers”.

The study was executed in just one city (Istanbul) in Turkey and one city (Toulouse) in France. The study focused on a single product class, apparel products, since young adults act more as decision makers for that product class.

The expectations and attitudes of the identified segments should be taken into consideration while developing marketing programs by firms.

This study examines a cross‐cultural validation of CSI scale for new country settings and segments young adults. Moreover, this study put forwards a cross‐cultural comparison of young adults' consumption segments.

Existing studies suggest the importance of research related to values and goals and their impacts on consumer involvement. However, cross-cultural examination of values and goals in the context of sport is scarce. To broaden our understanding of the cultural impact of values and goals on sport involvement, the purpose of this paper is to compare perspectives between Easterners (Chinese) and Westerners (Americans).

This exploratory research utilized both online and written surveys to collect two convenience samples from 281 American and 636 Chinese participants. Analysis included descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression analyses.

Results indicated both populations perceived values and goals differently; Chinese responded less favorably to values and goals than American counterparts. Values and goals predicted cognitive and behavioral sport involvement with variance in each population. Results generally supported a large cultural variation between the cultures. Lastly, similarities and differences in the perceived importance of values and goals and their subsequent impacts on cognitive and behavioral sport involvement suggest a need for a unique managerial approach when American businesses enter new cultural boundaries like China.

This research is significant because studies exploring values and goals and their influences on sport consumption at the cross-cultural level are still limited in sport literature. Furthermore, an empirical examination of the impact of values and goals on sport consumers across cultures will help increase generalizability of the findings to sport literature.

This paper presents a cross‐cultural study of organic food consumption. Relationships between health and diet concern, environmental concern, confidence in the conventional food industry, demographic characteristics, and intensity of organic food consumption of consumers from Denmark (mature organic industry) and New Zealand (novice organic food industry) are investigated. The authors evaluate the adequacy of deficit value and market development conceptual frameworks to predict priority of these concerns related to the level of organic market development.

Cross‐cultural research in marketing has been dominated by survey‐based quantitative approaches; however, the assumption of prior validity required for the adoption of the survey approach to values in cross‐cultural research has yet to be established. This paper aims to review the literature and outlines the problems of the survey‐based approach to cross‐cultural values research. These criticisms relate both to the choice of the method and its execution. The paper outlines the multiplicative effects of these problems, that threaten the validity of the survey methodology in this context, and suggests a methodological alternative.

This paper reviews and synthesises the relevant literature on conceptual and methodological issues pertinent to the survey approach to values research in a cross‐cultural context.

A review of the literature suggests numerous methodological problems that threaten the validity and reliability of the survey approach to cross‐cultural values research. This review exposes a methodological gap that can be filled by a qualitative approach to the study of values in cross‐cultural research. In particular, the paper advocates means‐end methodology as offering significant strengths and addressing several of the weaknesses of the survey‐based approach to cross‐cultural values research.

The paper synthesises the literature on methodological issues in cross‐cultural values research, bringing together disparate criticisms which reveal the range of unresolved problems with the empirical, survey‐based approach to cross‐cultural values research; the paper also offers a suggestion for an alternative methodological approach. The means‐end approach is increasingly being used in various research areas; this paper highlights its appropriateness in a cross‐cultural context, as an alternative to predefined and culturally determined measures that limit our understanding of cross‐cultural values. Means‐end addresses many of the specific weaknesses of the survey method identified in the literature review. This discussion of methodological issues has implications for the field of cross‐cultural research more generally and suggests a critical re‐assessment of cross‐cultural methods is needed.