ABSTRACT Materialism is presumed to be a core characteristic of global consumer culture. Consumpt... more ABSTRACT Materialism is presumed to be a core characteristic of global consumer culture. Consumption-related values like materialism are pertinent for understanding the establishment, maintenance, and expression of ethnicity and cultural affiliation. The attitudes, values and behaviors of each consumer are the product of distinctive personality traits and experiences, shaped by social and cultural factors. Worldwide, advertisers employ numerous themes connected with materialism. These messages reinforce notions of status, class and the desirability of upward social mobility. Much scholarly work has focused on materialism; yet, cross-cultural studies are relatively scarce, inhibiting theory generalization. How does globalization propagate materialistic dispositions? Is the nature of materialism uniform across ethnic groups? Do parochially-oriented consumers resist materialistic tendencies? To what extent are ethnic values and traditions eroding or revitalizing, under which materialistic consumption contexts? This chapter focuses on how ethnicity—and associated values/norms—combines with acculturation to advance materialism, across different cultures and consumption contexts.
Ethnic minority research in marketing has overlooked the nature of acculturation occurring beyond... more Ethnic minority research in marketing has overlooked the nature of acculturation occurring beyond the majorityminority dichotomy. Within pluralistic social environments, minorities acculturate to the predominant group, but also to the global consumer culture (GCC) and coexisting ethnic minority populations. This study investigates Chinese-Canadians' acculturation to mainstream Canadian culture (i.e., Canadian identity/pride), to GCC, and to the South-Asian culture, considering the roles played by Chinese identity and cosmopolitanism. Supporting cultural integration, survey results revealed direct positive effects of Chinese identity on identification to GCC, and South-Asian acculturation, whereas the effect on Canadian identity/pride was indirect, mediated by cosmopolitanism. These sociocultural constructs in turn differentially drive consumption of foodstuffs from mainstream, Chinese, and South-Asian cultures.
Developments in marketing science: proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2015
Alongside the changes characterizing the economic and political environments, globalization is al... more Alongside the changes characterizing the economic and political environments, globalization is also affecting the social and cultural landscapes of peoples worldwide. For international marketers, a critical yet under researched topic concerns the effects of globalization on culture and ensuing consumer behavior. Multinational corporations are challenged to efficiently institute a marketing orientation across different cultures, and this might entail the identification of within-country segments (vertical segmentation), and possibly, the detection of between-country segments (horizontal segmentation) that can be served with a similar marketing strategy. To effectively do so, it is crucial to first discern which consumption behaviors are most likely candidates for convergence worldwide, which are possibly diverging, and which entail novel behaviors resulting from the transmutation of global and local cultural forces. For a marketing strategy to successfully appeal to target consumers, product attributes need to be harmonized with consumer attitudes and values, the latter of which are largely shaped by culture.
Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Jul 25, 2015
ABSTRACT Acculturation research has mostly focused on the experiences of ethnic minorities, but n... more ABSTRACT Acculturation research has mostly focused on the experiences of ethnic minorities, but nowadays global forces are shaping mainstream societies. How does exposure to global consumer culture (GCC) combine with a social identity drawing from nationality to impact consumer behavior? Using multidimensional measures for national ethnic identity and acculturation to GCC (AGCC), we investigate cultural relationships with an array of consumer attitudes and behaviors, focusing on Japan: an economically advanced country but with a non-Western and ethnically homogeneous people. AGCC positively (negatively) associated with materialism (consumer ethnocentrism); whereas Japanese ethnic identity positively associated with materialism. The behavioral impact of the cultural constructs was complex, varying substantially across 71 behaviors grouped into several product categories, whereby four broad acculturation patterns are discernible. Based on relative degrees of Japanese ethnic identity and AGCC, four consumer segments were revealed.
Journal of Product & Brand Management, Nov 13, 2018
PurposeThis study focuses on an inventory and typology of consumer dispositions towards “place” a... more PurposeThis study focuses on an inventory and typology of consumer dispositions towards “place” and relates it to the underlying theories, inputs and outcomes of place images and attitudes, aiming to unclutter a crowded research landscape by providing a holistic perspective of product/brand place associations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on extant literature to identify, analyze and discuss the consumer dispositions, theories and other elements related to place.FindingsIn total, 32 dispositions, 10 inputs to image formation, 28 permutations that complicate the understanding of place images, and 18 outcomes are discussed, providing a comprehensive perspective of the images of, and behaviours towards, various types of places from neighbourhoods to countries and beyond.Research limitations/implicationsOf the large number of constructs and combinations among them that are discussed, some have been studied fairly extensively, but most comprise “the road(s) less travelled”. The paper identifies relevant research gaps and numerous opportunities for new research.Practical implicationsManagers are aware and act upon some of the inventoried dispositions but can benefit by considering the complete array of constructs and concepts that are discussed.Social implicationsIndividuals’ dispositions towards various places help to shape their self and social identities and are important in their daily life and consumption behaviour.Originality/valueThe study brings together for the first time a complete inventory of place-related dispositions alongside a wide range of related theories and concepts, thus advancing our knowledge of the nature and role of the country and other place-related images of products and brands.
PurposeThis paper studies the sociocultural drivers of materialism cross-culturally. Research in ... more PurposeThis paper studies the sociocultural drivers of materialism cross-culturally. Research in this area is scarce, even though rapid social transformations worldwide, fueled by globalization, make it imperative to identify the conditions under which commonalities and differences in materialistic tendencies are most likely to evidence among consumers as they seek to assert, restore, or enhance their self-concept and status in the context of global consumption trends.Design/methodology/approachThe psychographic determinants of materialism were rigorously validated across a diverse set of eight countries, by investigating which facets of acculturation to global consumer culture and national ethnic identity, along with consumer ethnocentrism, encourage or repel materialism. Using multigroup SEM and other analyses, the authors confirmed construct dimensionality and ascertained the stability of the relationships.FindingsThe most consistent positive drivers of materialism were self-identification with global consumer culture and exposure to American-based global mass media. The results demonstrated the compatibility of national identity and traditions with materialistic tendencies. Materialism was positively related to or independent of consumer ethnocentrism.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings offer consequential insights for both research and practice, although the cross-sectional character of survey research and certain sampling characteristics limit their generalizability.Practical implicationsThe results pinpoint segments that spill over national boundaries, and those that remain geographically constrained, thus providing guidance for marketing and communication strategies to practitioners.Social implicationsThe authors shed light on two widely held yet insufficiently researched assumptions: that the homogenizing effect of global consumer culture may be fomenting materialism worldwide, and that nationalistic, parochially oriented consumers may be more capable of resisting materialistic values.Originality/valueThe study design addresses several shortcomings of prior research, and its findings advance the understanding of materialism and its antecedents by identifying the conditions driving materialistic tendencies.
PurposeTo examine the impact of culture on customer service expectations, specifically, how indiv... more PurposeTo examine the impact of culture on customer service expectations, specifically, how individualists and collectivists use internal and external sources of information to formulate their service expectations.Design/methodology/approachThe context was the airline industry and the subject pool consisted of experienced consumers. A survey was employed to measure individualism/collectivism, various internal/external information sources, and the functional and technical dimensions of “should” and “will” service expectations. Hypothesized relationships were tested using a structural equations modeling approach.FindingsBoth individualists and collectivists relied more on external information sources in formulating their service expectations, gave variable weight to the functional and technical components, and used more realistic “will” expectations to judge service offerings. Internal (external) information sources were relatively more important in forming expectations for collectivists (individualists) than for individualists (collectivists), and “will” (“should”) expectations were more diagnostic for collectivists (individualists) than for individualists (collectivists).Research limitations/implicationsGeneralizability of the findings is limited due to the specific industry under study (airlines), the sample (two geographically‐proximate sub‐cultures), and the scope of the cultural variables considered (individualism/collectivism).Practical implicationsWhether managers should leverage the functional and/or technical components of services depends in part on the cultural orientation of their customers. Managers should also recognize that customers’ usage of various information sources in forming service expectations is also, in part, culturally determined.Originality/valueIn this era of globalization, researchers and managers alike need to consider the subtle influences of culture on marketing theories and the formulation of service expectations respectively.
Developments in marketing science: proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2016
Within most developed economies, population growth comes primarily through immigration from emerg... more Within most developed economies, population growth comes primarily through immigration from emerging economies, rather than through natural increase. The market potential of consumers emigrating from emerging markets is obviously enormous. What is less obvious is whether well-known (primarily Western) brands will continue to reap the lion’s share of their respective product-markets, given the relative ease of technology transfer, the increasingly sophisticated marketing know-how of emerging market competitors, and the proclivity for many immigrant consumers to champion their home-grown brands over host-country or foreign alternatives, a phenomenon that may be on the rise as groups reassert their identities in the face of rampant globalization. Whereas ethnic minorities have attracted much research attention, studies on how they may disseminate global brands is scarce. Immigrant consumers may fulfill a vital role as brand ambassadors, by encouraging a two-way interchange of information about brands from their home and host countries. This dynamic interchange has not yet been studied before. Brands play an important role in human life where they help consumers to express themselves or manifest their identity and place within social networks. Matters of identity may be especially salient for those consumers that migrate across international borders, as they are liable to be more conscious of their ethnic and cultural differences. This research focuses on migrant Chinese living in two countries (Canada and France), and in particular how their cultural dispositions—in terms of how Chinese ethnic identity, cosmopolitanism, and host acculturation—drive brand advocacy behaviors of Chinese home- and Canadian/French host-country brands. Global brands are defined as those brands within a given product category that are recognized as global, but also clearly associated with being from a particular nation (e.g., Apple, L’Oreal, Lenovo). We propose a research model regarding the direct and indirect roles played by cultural dispositions in promoting and adopting home and host-country brands, respectively. We first validate the presupposition that ethnic identity directly drives the advocacy of global brands that originate from the home-country. Scrutinizing the connection between cosmopolitanism and brand advocacy towards host-country brands, we demonstrate that this linkage is mediated by the degree of acculturation to the host culture. These relationships are contrasted for the two host countries, which differ in terms of their immigration policies on the one hand and on the relative density of fellow ethnic-group members on the other. We also considered that the duration of immigrants’ stay in the host country may shape the aforementioned relationships. Hypotheses were tested with data drawn from short-term Chinese sojourners living in France/Canada, as well as from Chinese that are more permanently settled. The results reveal asymmetries in the functioning of the antecedents of brand advocacy behavior between short-term sojourners and long-term immigrants. Lastly, we explored category differences for Chinese and Canadian/French global brands from eight product categories.
Developments in marketing science: proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, Dec 2, 2015
Globalization profoundly affects societies and individual consumers. Materialism is presumed to b... more Globalization profoundly affects societies and individual consumers. Materialism is presumed to be a core characteristic of global consumer culture. Consumption-related values like materialism are pertinent for understanding the establishment, maintenance, and expression of cultural identity in the era of globalization. Worldwide, advertisers employ numerous themes associated with materialism: luxury, success, accumulation, happiness, glamour, and exclusivity, which serve to reinforce status, social class and the desirability of upward social mobility. Whereas much scholarly work has attended to materialism, cross-cultural studies examining its drivers are relatively scarce, inhibiting theory generalization to international contexts.
ABSTRACT Materialism is presumed to be a core characteristic of global consumer culture. Consumpt... more ABSTRACT Materialism is presumed to be a core characteristic of global consumer culture. Consumption-related values like materialism are pertinent for understanding the establishment, maintenance, and expression of ethnicity and cultural affiliation. The attitudes, values and behaviors of each consumer are the product of distinctive personality traits and experiences, shaped by social and cultural factors. Worldwide, advertisers employ numerous themes connected with materialism. These messages reinforce notions of status, class and the desirability of upward social mobility. Much scholarly work has focused on materialism; yet, cross-cultural studies are relatively scarce, inhibiting theory generalization. How does globalization propagate materialistic dispositions? Is the nature of materialism uniform across ethnic groups? Do parochially-oriented consumers resist materialistic tendencies? To what extent are ethnic values and traditions eroding or revitalizing, under which materialistic consumption contexts? This chapter focuses on how ethnicity—and associated values/norms—combines with acculturation to advance materialism, across different cultures and consumption contexts.
Ethnic minority research in marketing has overlooked the nature of acculturation occurring beyond... more Ethnic minority research in marketing has overlooked the nature of acculturation occurring beyond the majorityminority dichotomy. Within pluralistic social environments, minorities acculturate to the predominant group, but also to the global consumer culture (GCC) and coexisting ethnic minority populations. This study investigates Chinese-Canadians' acculturation to mainstream Canadian culture (i.e., Canadian identity/pride), to GCC, and to the South-Asian culture, considering the roles played by Chinese identity and cosmopolitanism. Supporting cultural integration, survey results revealed direct positive effects of Chinese identity on identification to GCC, and South-Asian acculturation, whereas the effect on Canadian identity/pride was indirect, mediated by cosmopolitanism. These sociocultural constructs in turn differentially drive consumption of foodstuffs from mainstream, Chinese, and South-Asian cultures.
Developments in marketing science: proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2015
Alongside the changes characterizing the economic and political environments, globalization is al... more Alongside the changes characterizing the economic and political environments, globalization is also affecting the social and cultural landscapes of peoples worldwide. For international marketers, a critical yet under researched topic concerns the effects of globalization on culture and ensuing consumer behavior. Multinational corporations are challenged to efficiently institute a marketing orientation across different cultures, and this might entail the identification of within-country segments (vertical segmentation), and possibly, the detection of between-country segments (horizontal segmentation) that can be served with a similar marketing strategy. To effectively do so, it is crucial to first discern which consumption behaviors are most likely candidates for convergence worldwide, which are possibly diverging, and which entail novel behaviors resulting from the transmutation of global and local cultural forces. For a marketing strategy to successfully appeal to target consumers, product attributes need to be harmonized with consumer attitudes and values, the latter of which are largely shaped by culture.
Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Jul 25, 2015
ABSTRACT Acculturation research has mostly focused on the experiences of ethnic minorities, but n... more ABSTRACT Acculturation research has mostly focused on the experiences of ethnic minorities, but nowadays global forces are shaping mainstream societies. How does exposure to global consumer culture (GCC) combine with a social identity drawing from nationality to impact consumer behavior? Using multidimensional measures for national ethnic identity and acculturation to GCC (AGCC), we investigate cultural relationships with an array of consumer attitudes and behaviors, focusing on Japan: an economically advanced country but with a non-Western and ethnically homogeneous people. AGCC positively (negatively) associated with materialism (consumer ethnocentrism); whereas Japanese ethnic identity positively associated with materialism. The behavioral impact of the cultural constructs was complex, varying substantially across 71 behaviors grouped into several product categories, whereby four broad acculturation patterns are discernible. Based on relative degrees of Japanese ethnic identity and AGCC, four consumer segments were revealed.
Journal of Product & Brand Management, Nov 13, 2018
PurposeThis study focuses on an inventory and typology of consumer dispositions towards “place” a... more PurposeThis study focuses on an inventory and typology of consumer dispositions towards “place” and relates it to the underlying theories, inputs and outcomes of place images and attitudes, aiming to unclutter a crowded research landscape by providing a holistic perspective of product/brand place associations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on extant literature to identify, analyze and discuss the consumer dispositions, theories and other elements related to place.FindingsIn total, 32 dispositions, 10 inputs to image formation, 28 permutations that complicate the understanding of place images, and 18 outcomes are discussed, providing a comprehensive perspective of the images of, and behaviours towards, various types of places from neighbourhoods to countries and beyond.Research limitations/implicationsOf the large number of constructs and combinations among them that are discussed, some have been studied fairly extensively, but most comprise “the road(s) less travelled”. The paper identifies relevant research gaps and numerous opportunities for new research.Practical implicationsManagers are aware and act upon some of the inventoried dispositions but can benefit by considering the complete array of constructs and concepts that are discussed.Social implicationsIndividuals’ dispositions towards various places help to shape their self and social identities and are important in their daily life and consumption behaviour.Originality/valueThe study brings together for the first time a complete inventory of place-related dispositions alongside a wide range of related theories and concepts, thus advancing our knowledge of the nature and role of the country and other place-related images of products and brands.
PurposeThis paper studies the sociocultural drivers of materialism cross-culturally. Research in ... more PurposeThis paper studies the sociocultural drivers of materialism cross-culturally. Research in this area is scarce, even though rapid social transformations worldwide, fueled by globalization, make it imperative to identify the conditions under which commonalities and differences in materialistic tendencies are most likely to evidence among consumers as they seek to assert, restore, or enhance their self-concept and status in the context of global consumption trends.Design/methodology/approachThe psychographic determinants of materialism were rigorously validated across a diverse set of eight countries, by investigating which facets of acculturation to global consumer culture and national ethnic identity, along with consumer ethnocentrism, encourage or repel materialism. Using multigroup SEM and other analyses, the authors confirmed construct dimensionality and ascertained the stability of the relationships.FindingsThe most consistent positive drivers of materialism were self-identification with global consumer culture and exposure to American-based global mass media. The results demonstrated the compatibility of national identity and traditions with materialistic tendencies. Materialism was positively related to or independent of consumer ethnocentrism.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings offer consequential insights for both research and practice, although the cross-sectional character of survey research and certain sampling characteristics limit their generalizability.Practical implicationsThe results pinpoint segments that spill over national boundaries, and those that remain geographically constrained, thus providing guidance for marketing and communication strategies to practitioners.Social implicationsThe authors shed light on two widely held yet insufficiently researched assumptions: that the homogenizing effect of global consumer culture may be fomenting materialism worldwide, and that nationalistic, parochially oriented consumers may be more capable of resisting materialistic values.Originality/valueThe study design addresses several shortcomings of prior research, and its findings advance the understanding of materialism and its antecedents by identifying the conditions driving materialistic tendencies.
PurposeTo examine the impact of culture on customer service expectations, specifically, how indiv... more PurposeTo examine the impact of culture on customer service expectations, specifically, how individualists and collectivists use internal and external sources of information to formulate their service expectations.Design/methodology/approachThe context was the airline industry and the subject pool consisted of experienced consumers. A survey was employed to measure individualism/collectivism, various internal/external information sources, and the functional and technical dimensions of “should” and “will” service expectations. Hypothesized relationships were tested using a structural equations modeling approach.FindingsBoth individualists and collectivists relied more on external information sources in formulating their service expectations, gave variable weight to the functional and technical components, and used more realistic “will” expectations to judge service offerings. Internal (external) information sources were relatively more important in forming expectations for collectivists (individualists) than for individualists (collectivists), and “will” (“should”) expectations were more diagnostic for collectivists (individualists) than for individualists (collectivists).Research limitations/implicationsGeneralizability of the findings is limited due to the specific industry under study (airlines), the sample (two geographically‐proximate sub‐cultures), and the scope of the cultural variables considered (individualism/collectivism).Practical implicationsWhether managers should leverage the functional and/or technical components of services depends in part on the cultural orientation of their customers. Managers should also recognize that customers’ usage of various information sources in forming service expectations is also, in part, culturally determined.Originality/valueIn this era of globalization, researchers and managers alike need to consider the subtle influences of culture on marketing theories and the formulation of service expectations respectively.
Developments in marketing science: proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2016
Within most developed economies, population growth comes primarily through immigration from emerg... more Within most developed economies, population growth comes primarily through immigration from emerging economies, rather than through natural increase. The market potential of consumers emigrating from emerging markets is obviously enormous. What is less obvious is whether well-known (primarily Western) brands will continue to reap the lion’s share of their respective product-markets, given the relative ease of technology transfer, the increasingly sophisticated marketing know-how of emerging market competitors, and the proclivity for many immigrant consumers to champion their home-grown brands over host-country or foreign alternatives, a phenomenon that may be on the rise as groups reassert their identities in the face of rampant globalization. Whereas ethnic minorities have attracted much research attention, studies on how they may disseminate global brands is scarce. Immigrant consumers may fulfill a vital role as brand ambassadors, by encouraging a two-way interchange of information about brands from their home and host countries. This dynamic interchange has not yet been studied before. Brands play an important role in human life where they help consumers to express themselves or manifest their identity and place within social networks. Matters of identity may be especially salient for those consumers that migrate across international borders, as they are liable to be more conscious of their ethnic and cultural differences. This research focuses on migrant Chinese living in two countries (Canada and France), and in particular how their cultural dispositions—in terms of how Chinese ethnic identity, cosmopolitanism, and host acculturation—drive brand advocacy behaviors of Chinese home- and Canadian/French host-country brands. Global brands are defined as those brands within a given product category that are recognized as global, but also clearly associated with being from a particular nation (e.g., Apple, L’Oreal, Lenovo). We propose a research model regarding the direct and indirect roles played by cultural dispositions in promoting and adopting home and host-country brands, respectively. We first validate the presupposition that ethnic identity directly drives the advocacy of global brands that originate from the home-country. Scrutinizing the connection between cosmopolitanism and brand advocacy towards host-country brands, we demonstrate that this linkage is mediated by the degree of acculturation to the host culture. These relationships are contrasted for the two host countries, which differ in terms of their immigration policies on the one hand and on the relative density of fellow ethnic-group members on the other. We also considered that the duration of immigrants’ stay in the host country may shape the aforementioned relationships. Hypotheses were tested with data drawn from short-term Chinese sojourners living in France/Canada, as well as from Chinese that are more permanently settled. The results reveal asymmetries in the functioning of the antecedents of brand advocacy behavior between short-term sojourners and long-term immigrants. Lastly, we explored category differences for Chinese and Canadian/French global brands from eight product categories.
Developments in marketing science: proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, Dec 2, 2015
Globalization profoundly affects societies and individual consumers. Materialism is presumed to b... more Globalization profoundly affects societies and individual consumers. Materialism is presumed to be a core characteristic of global consumer culture. Consumption-related values like materialism are pertinent for understanding the establishment, maintenance, and expression of cultural identity in the era of globalization. Worldwide, advertisers employ numerous themes associated with materialism: luxury, success, accumulation, happiness, glamour, and exclusivity, which serve to reinforce status, social class and the desirability of upward social mobility. Whereas much scholarly work has attended to materialism, cross-cultural studies examining its drivers are relatively scarce, inhibiting theory generalization to international contexts.
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Papers by Mark Cleveland