the influence of culture on consumer

7/26/2019 The Influence of Culture on Consumer

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JOURNAL

OF

CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY

12 2) ,

163-176

Copyright

002

Lawrence Erlbaum Ass ocia tes Inc.

The Influence of Culture on Consum er

Impulsive Buying Behavior

Jacqueline J Kacen

Department of Business Administration

University of Illinois at Urb ana Cham paign

Julie Anne Le e

Department of Marketing

Impulse buying generates over

4

billion in annual sales volume

in

the United States. With the

growth of e-commerce and television shopping channels, consumers have easy access

to im

pulse purchasing opportunities,

but

little is known about this sudden, compelling, hedonically

complex purchasing behavior in non-Western cultures. Yet cultural factors moderate many as-

pects of consumer's impulsive buying behavior, including self-identity,normative influences,

the suppression of emotion, and

the

postponement

of

instant gratification. From a multi-country

survey of consumers

in

Australia, United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, our

analyses show that both regional level factors (individualism-collectivism) and individual cul-

tural difference factors (independent -interdependent self-concept) systematically influence

impulsive purchasing behavior.

Impulsive consumer buying behavior is a widely recognized

phenomenon in the United States. It accounts for up to 80% of

all purchases in certain product categories (Abrahams, 1997;

Smith, 1996), and it has been suggested that purchases of new

products result more from impulse purchasing than from

prior planning (Sfiligoj, 1996).A 1997 study found that an es-

timated 4.2 billion annual store volume was generated by

impulse sales of items such as candy and magazines

(Mogelonsky, 1998). Paco Underhill, author of Why We Buy:

The Science of Shopping (I 999), affirms that many purchases

are being made on the premises of stores themselves as cus-

tomers give in to their impulses. Furthermore, technologies

such as television shopping channels and the Internet expand

consumers' impulse purchasing opportunities, increasing

both the accessibility to products and services and the ease

with which impulse purchases can be made.

Impulsive buying behavior is a sudden, compelling,

hedonically complex purchasing behavior in which the rapid-

ity of the impulse purchase decision process precludes

thoughtful, deliberate consideration of all information and

choice alternatives (Bayley Nancoaow, 1998; Rook 1987;

Thompson, Locander, Pollio, 1990;Weinberg Gottwald,

1982). This description is largely based on interviews and

surveys of Westerners.

The growth of e-commerce and the increasing con-

sumer-orientation of many societies around the world offer

expanding occasions for impulse purchasing, but little is

known about impulsive buying behavior

i n

non-Western so-

cieties. Most of the research on impulse buying focuses on

consumers in the United States. A few studies have looked at

consumers in Great Britain (Bayley Nancaaow, 1998;

Dittmar, Beattie, Friese, 1995; McConatha, Lightner,

Deaner, 1994), and South Africa (Abratt Goodey, 1990)

and have found that United States consumers tend to be more

impulsive than comparable British and South African sam-

ples. However, none of these studies examined explicitly the

effect of cultural factors on impulse buying behavior.

A recent special issue of the Journal of Consumer Psy

chology dealt with cultural issues demonstrating the growing

interest

n

cultural differences in consumer behavior and

Requests for reprints should

be

sent to Jacqueline

J

Kacen University

of

the understanding he

Illino is at Urbana- Champaign 12 6 S. Sixth Street Cha mpaign IL 61820.

text of consumer behavior in an increasing globalized mar-

Email: [email protected]

ketplace (Maheswaran Shavitt, 2000). We believe that


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64 K CEN ND LEE

cultural factors significantly influence consum ers' im pulsive

buying behavior. Specifically, the theory of individualism

and collectivism holds im portant insigh ts about consum er be-

havior that can help us to gain a better, more comp lete under-

standing of the im pulsive buying phenomenon. Consistent

with this interest in cultural differences, this article examines

the effect of region al level (individu alist-collectivist) and in-

dividual difference level (independent-interdependent

self-concept) cultural factors on consumers' impulsive buy-

ing behavior. Utilizing a multi-country sample of over a thou-

sand consum ers from both Western and Eastern cultures, we

investigate how culture systematically moderates impulse

buying behavior. This is especially important as shopping is a

major leisure activity in m any East Asian countries (Won g

Ahuvia, 1998), including Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.

IMPULSE UYING

Impulse

buying

is defined as an unplanned purchase that is

characterized by (1) relatively rapid decision-making , and

(2) a subjective bias in favo r of immediate possession (Rook

Gardne r, 1993, p. 3; see also Rook , 1987; Rook Hoch,

1985). It is described as m ore arou sing, less deliberate, and

more irresistible buying behavior compared to planned pur-

chasing behavior. Highly impulsive buyers are likely to be

unreflective in their thinking, to be emotionally attracted to

the object, and to desire immediate gratification (Hoch

Loewenstein, 1991; Thompson et al., 1990). These consum-

ers often pay little attention to potential negative conse-

quences that may result from their actions (Hoch

Loewenstein, 199 Rook, 1987; see also O'Guinn Faber,

1989).

Previous research conducted in the United States and

Great Britain (individualist cultures) has shown that many

factors influence impulsive buying behavio r: the consum er's

mood or emotional state (Donovan, Rossiter, Marcoolyn,

Nesdale, 1994; Rook , 1987; Rook Gardn er, 1993: Wein-

berg Gottw ald, 1982), trait buying impulsiv eness (Puri,

1996; Rook Fisher, 1995; Weun, Jones, Beatty, 1998),

normative evaluation of the appropriateness of engaging

i n

impulse buying (Rook Fisher, 1995),self-identity (Dittmar

et al., 1995), and demo graphic factors, such as age (e.g.,

Bellenger, Robertson, Hirschman, 1978; Wood, 1998).

Several studies demonstrate the effect of consumers'

moods and affective states on impulsive buying behavior.

Rook and Gardner (1993) found that consumers' positive

moo ds were more conduciv e to impulsive buying than nega-

tive moods, although impulse buying occurred under both

types of moods. Beatty and Ferrell (1998) also found that a

consumer's positive mood was associated with the urge to

buy impulsively, while the impulse buyers in Weinberg and

Gottw ald's (1982) study were more emotion alized than

nonbu yers. Donovan et al. (1994) discovered a positive asso-

ciation between consumers' feelings of pleasure in the shop-

ping environment and impulse buying behavior. In each of

these studies, pleasurable feelings led to increased unplanned

spending.

Cognitive, clinical, social, developmental, and consumer

psycholo gists have studied the general trait of impulsiveness

and impulse control (Eysenck Eysenck , 1978; Eysenck ,

Pearson, Easting, Allsopp , 1985; Helm ers, Young, Pihl,

1995; Hilgard, 1962; Logue Chavarro, 1992; Logue, King,

Cavarro, Volpe, 1990; Misch el, 1961; Puri, 1996;

Rawlings, Boldero, Wiseman, 1995; Rook Fisher, 1995;

Weun et al., 1998 ). Trait impu lsiveness is characterized by

unreflective actions (Eysenck et a]., 1985) and is significan tly

correlated with thrill-seeking (Weun et al., 1998), and the

psycholo gical need to maintain a relatively high level of stim-

ulation (Gerbing , Ahadi, Patton, 1987). Rook and Fisher

(1995) recently developed a nin e-item measure of trait buy-

ing imp ulsiveness that was significantly correlated with im-

pulse buying behavior. In addition, they found that

consumers' normative evaluation of the appropriateness of

engaging in im pulse buying in a particular situation moder-

ates an individual's trait impulsiveness. Specifically, when

consum ers believe that impu lse purchasing is socially accept-

able, they act on their impulsive tendencies, but when it is so-

cially unacceptable these tendencies may be thwarted.

The literature on compulsive shopping (Elliot, 1994),

self-gifts (Mick, DeMoss, Faber, 1992 ), and impu lse pur-

chases (D ittmar et al., 1995 ) highligh ts the role of perceived

social image and the expression of self-identity in the pur-

chase decision. Dittmar et al. (1995) hypothesized that im-

pulse purchases were more likely to be items that symbolize

the preferred or ideal self and as such should

e

affected by

social categories such as gender. They argued that women

value their possessions for emotional and relationship-ori-

ented reasons, whereas men value their possessions for func-

tional and instrumental reasons. The results of the study

supported their hypo thesis: Men repo rted more personal (in-

dependent) identity reasons for their purchases whereas

women reported more social (relational) identity reasons.

An individual's impulsive behavior tendencies have also

been related to demographic characteristics such as a con-

sumer's age. Based on a national sample of adults in the

United States, Wood (1998) found an inverse relationship be-

tween age and im pulse buying overall. However, the relation-

ship is non-monotonic

etween the ages of 18 and 39

impulse buying increases slightly and thereafter declines.

This is consistent with Bellenger et al. (1978 ) who found that

shopp ers under 35 were more prone to imp ulse buying com -

pared to those over 35 years old. Research on trait impulsive-

ness indicates that younger individuals score higher on

measures of impulsivity compared to older people (Eysenck

et al., 1985; Helmers et al., 19 95; Raw lings et al., 1995 ) and

demo nstrate less self-control than adults (Logue Chav arro,

1992). Because impulsiveness is linked to emotion al arousal,

this finding concern ing the relationship between age and im-

pulsiveness is consistent with studies of emotions and emo-


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CULTURE ND IMPULSIVE BUYING BEH VIOR

65

tional control. Research shows that older individuals

demonstrate greater regulation of emotional expression than

do younger adults

(Lawton, Kleban, Rajogopal, Dean,

1992; McConatha et al., 1994; Siegel, 1985). These findings

suggest that as consumers age, they learn to control their im-

pulsive buying tendencies.

Interestingly, the factors that have been linked to impulse

purchasing are also likely to be influenced by culture. The

theory of individualism and collectivism offers several in-

sights into many of the variables that have been linked to im-

pulsive buying behavior, including self-identity, normative

influences, the suppression of emotion, and postponement of

instant gratification (see Triandis, 1995 for a review). In the

next section, we discuss this theory and demonstrate that it is

well suited to the study of impulse buying.

INDIVIDU LISM ND COLLECTIVISM

Triandis (1995) defined collectivism as a social pattern that

consists of individuals who see themselves as an integral part

of one or more collectives or in-groups, such as family and

co-workers. People who are more collectivist are often moti-

vated by norms and duties imposed by the in-group, give pri-

ority to the goals of the in-group, and try to emphasize their

connectedness with the in-group. He defines individualism as

a social pattern that consists of individuals who see them-

selves as autonomous and independent. People who are more

individualist are motivated by their own preferences, needs,

and rights, give priority to their personal goals, and empha-

size a rational analysis of their relationships with others

(Triandis, 1994). These social patterns are expected to influ-

ence impulsive purchasing behavior through their affect on a

person's self-identity, responsiveness to normative influ-

ences, and the need (or lack of need) to suppress internal be-

liefs in order to act appropriately.

The tendency to focus on group preferences and group har-

mony in collectivist cultures leads to an ability to repress in-

ternal (personal) attributes in certain settings. Accordingly,

people in collectivist cultures often shift their behavior de-

pending on the context or what is right for the situation.

Among collectivists a person is generally seen as more ma-

ture when

s h e puts personal feelings aside and acts in a so-

cially appropriate manner rather than in a way consistent with

personal attitudes and beliefs (Triandis, 1995). Conse-

quently, it has been found that attitude-intention (Bagozzi,

Wonge, Abe, Bergami, 2000; Lee, 2000) and attitude-be-

havior relationships (Kashima, Siegal, Tanaka, Kashima,

1992) are weaker in collectivist than individualist cultures.

This pattern is likely to carry over to the impulse trait-behav-

ior relationship.

Collectivist cultures also emphasize the control and mod-

eration of one's emotions more so than individualistic cul-

tures (Potter, 1988; Russell Yik, 1996; Tsai Levenson,

1997). For instance, the maintenance of harmony within the

group is dependent on members' ability to manage their

emotions. In short, culture is likely to impact an individual's

emotional experiences by determining the appropriate ex-

pression of one's feelings (McConatha, 1993). Culture influ-

ences both feeling rules, how an individual interprets the

environment, and display rules, which emotions are ex-

pressed and how they are expressed (Ekman, 1972). For in-

stance, people from Asian (collectivist) cultures have been

found to control negative emotions and only display positive

emotions o acquaintances (Gudykunst, 1993). Given that im-

pulsiveness is related to sensation-seeking and emotional

arousal (Rook, 1987; Weinberg Gottwald, 1982), it is

likely that people in collectivist cultures learn to control their

impulsive tendencies more than people from individualist

cultures. In fact, children in collectivist cultures are social-

ized to control their impulses at an early age (Ho, 1994).

In individualist cultures, people often ignore the potential

negative consequences of their impulsive buying behavior

(see Rook, 1987), preferring to focus on the positive conse-

quences of their actions and on their own feelings and goals.

This may not be true for people from collectivist cultures,

who are more likely to focus on the potential negative conse-

quences of their behavior and the effect of their actions on

in-group members (Triandis, 1995). The greater likelihood

that people in collectivist cultures will consider the negative

consequences of their actions makes the suppression of the

impulse trait-behavior relationship more probable.

These differences between individualists and collectivists

are best explained by examining the tenants on which

thecul-

tural patterns of individualism and collectivism are based. As

Kim, Triandis, Kagiycibasi,Choi, and Yoon

(

1994)explained

Western individualist societies are based on the tenant ofliber-

alism. In these societies individualsareencouraged to beratio-

nal and are given individual rights to define their own goals

and choose freely. Conversely, East Asian collectivist societ-

ies are based on Confucianism, which promotes common

goals and social harmony over individual interests. Within

each society these differences are reinforced at the cultural

level through social institutions such as schools, workplaces,

and families, so that even very ambitious (i.e., more individu-

alist) people who grow up in China are likely to be better at

controlling their impulses and emotions than very family-fo-

cused (i.e., more collectivist) people from the United States. In

collectivist societies individuals are encouraged to suppress

their own hedonic desires in favor of group interests and goals.

From this we conclude the following:

HI a: The relationship between trait buying impulsiveness

and impulsive buying behavior will be stronger

among people from individualist cultures compared

to people from collectivist cultures.

Several researchers have emphasized the importance of

examining the influence of culture at the individual level as

well as at the national level (e.g., Kim et al., 1994; Schwartz,


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66 K CEN ND LEE

1994; Singelis Brown, 1995; Triandis, 1994, 1995). Ac-

cording to Triandis (1 994), All of us carry both individualist

and collectivist tendencies; the difference is that in some cul-

tures the probability that individualist selves, attitudes,

norms, values, and behaviors will be sampled or used is

higher than in others (p. 42). Consequently,people from col-

lectivist cultures should be more likely to rely on a more inter-

dependent self-concept and people from individualist

cultures should be more likely to rely on a more independent

self-concept in any given situation. Singelis (1995) defined

an

interdependent self concept

as one emphasizing (a) ex-

ternal, public features such as statuses, roles, and relation-

ships, (b) belonging and fitting in, (c) occupying one's proper

place and engaging in appropriate action, and (d) being indi-

rect in communication and 'reading others' minds, ' and an

independent self-concept as one emphasizing (a) internal

abilities, thoughts, and feelings; (b) being unique and ex-

pressing the self; (c) realizing internal attributes and promot-

ing one's own goals; and (d) being direct in communication

(p. 581).

We expect that measuring self-concept at the individual

level across cultures should produce parallel although not

identical results to the cultural (i.e., regional) level analysis.

Although a person's self-concept reveals the parts of culture

that have been internalized by that individual, it does not fully

explain differences that may be due to the influence of social

institutions, which emphasize the suppression of hedonic de-

sires in favor of group interests and goals. Thus, at the indi-

vidual level across societies, we expect to find a similar

pattern of trait-behavior relationships, although the differen-

tial effect of culture should be somewhat weaker than at the

regional-national level.

Hl b: The relationship between trait buying impulsiveness

and impulsive buying behavior will be stronger for in-

dividuals classified as having a more independent (in-

dividualist) self-concept as compared to those classi-

fied as having a more interdependent (collectivist)

self-concept.

In addition, because control and moderation of one's emo-

tions is emphasized more strongly in collectivist cultures,

consumers from these cultures are more likely to suppress the

emotional component of their impulse buying experience

than those from individualist cultures.

H2: The emotional factors of pleasure and arousal that

characterize impulsive buying behavior will be more

positively related to impulsive buying behavior

among individualists than among collectivists.

However, pleasure and arousal may be universal compo-

nents of spontaneous buying behavior, and ones shared by

people in both individualist and collectivist cultures. If so,

then feelings of pleasure and arousal will be positively related

to impulse buying behavior among both individualists and

collectivists. Given the lack of research into impulse buying

in non-Western societies, one of the objectives of our re-

search is to determine in what ways impulsive buying behav-

ior differs across cultural contexts.

Finally, the moderating influence of age is expected to af-

fect the impulsive buying behavior of people from collectivist

cultures earlier than those from individualist cultures. Given

that adults in individualist cultures have demonstrated a slight

increase in impulsive buying into their late 30's (Wood,

1998), we do not anticipate a decline in impulsive buying be-

havior for college-aged individualists. Conversely, because

people in collectivist cultures learn at an earlier age to control

their emotions and behavior, we expect age to negatively im-

pact impulse buying once collectivists reach college age.

H3: Age will negatively impact impulse buying to a

greater extent for collectivists compared to individu-

alists,

n

their early adult years.

METHO

Overview

Two studies were conducted to measure the influence of cul-

ture on consumers' impulsive buying behavior. The prelimi-

nary study concentrates on a parsimonious explanation of im-

pulsive buying behavior: The basic hypothesis is that

consumers with a personality trait of impulsiveness will make

more frequent impulsive purchases, but that this relationship

will be more moderate in collectivist cultures. The main study

examines this effect but also controls for the effect of affec-

tive states and age variables on impulsive buying behavior to

better understand this complex buying behavior within differ-

ent cultural contexts.

In these studies, surveys were administered to students and

non-students in highly individualist and highly collectivist

countries purposefully selected from their positioning on

Hofstede's (1991) ranking of individualism to include the

United States (individualism score

=

9 1) and Australia (90) as

highly individualisticcountries and Singapore (20), Malaysia

26),and Hong Kong (25) as highly collectivist countries. In

each study, cultural differences were compared at two levels

of analysis: cultural region (Western Individualist vs. Eastern

Collectivist) and individual level (independent vs. interde-

pendent self-concept). Using both levels helps to address

some of the more common criticisms associated with

cross-cultural research. Although using cultural region as an

indicator of individualism and collectivism offers the advan-

tage of capturing the more complex nature of the construct, it

also includes the disadvantage of adding between-country

variance to the often problematic within-country variance

found in cross-cultural research. On the other hand, using

people's self-concept as an indicator of their level of

individ-


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CULTURE AND IMPULSIVE BUYING BEHAVIOR

67

ualism and collectivism measures the within-country vari-

ances, recognizing that each person intern alizes national and

institutional influen ces to a greater or lesser extent, but it fails

to pick up the m ore complex nature of the co nstruct. Using an

individu al level measure of culture in addition to a regional or

national level measure adds confidence that the results are

due to the construct of culture regardless of its measurem ent

(see Maheswaran Shavitt, 2000; Schwartz, 1994; Singelis

Brown, 1995; Triandis, 1994, 1995).

PRELIMIN RY STUDY

Participants and M easures

A survey was administered to 706 students and non-students

in fou r countries, two ind ividualistic countries (Australia and

United S tates) and two collectivist countries (Singap ore and

Malay sia). As part of a larger study, participants were asked

to complete a questionnaire concerning a recent impulsive

purchase, defined in this questionnaire as, one in which you

experience a sudden unexpected urge to buy something that

you cannot resist. Im pulse purchases occur while a person is

in the store and involve rapid decision making. The survey

included questions on impulsive purchasing behavior, re-

spondents' independent and interdependent self-concept

(Singelis, 1994 ), trait buying impulsiv eness (Rook Fisher,

1995), and dem ographic item s including the country in which

responden t currently lives, and wh ether this country is the one

she or he has lived in most of his or h er life.

A sing le measure of impulsive buying behavior was used

for this preliminary stud y. The item, How often do you buy

things on im puls e?'wa s measured on a 4-point scale from

1

(almost every day) to 4 (almost never). Th e summary statis-

tics for this item are reported in Table 1.

Respon dents were classified into cultural groupin gs based

both on their cultural region and their individual self-concept

score as follows. At the cultural region level, respondents

were classified into two gro ups based on their country of resi-

dence: individualist (Australia and United States) or collec-

tivist (Malaysia and S ingapore). Those respond ents who had

not lived in their country for most of their life were excluded

from the sam ple at this level of analysis. The resulting sam -

ples comprised 2 45 respon dents from the individualist region

(n

=

131 from Australia and n

=

1

14 from the United States)

and 344 respondents from the collectivist region (n = 160

from Malaysia and n = 184 from Singapore). The cultural

classification procedure developed by Triandis (1995) was

used to group participants at the individual level of culture.

Respo ndents indicated their level of agreement with 12 inde-

penden ce and 12 interdependence self-concept statements

found in Singelis (1994) on 9-point strongly dis-

agree-strongly agree scales. These two self-concept scales

have been used frequently in cross-cultural research with

consistent results and in this study each scale received a satis-

factory level of reliability in each samp le, using N unnally's

(I 978) criteria of .70. The 12 interdepend ent items and 12

independ ent tems were each averaged, and respond ents were

trichotomized with a score of 1 ,2 ,or 3 on each . The independ-

ent score was reversed and added to the interdepend ent score

to produce a measure of indepen dence-interdep endence on a

scale of 2 to 6. Those respondents who scored a 2 o r

3

were

classified as independent (n

=

217), those who sco red a 5 or 6

were classified as interdependent (n = 207) and those who

scored were classified as neither and removed from the

analysis at the individu al self-concept level.

The personality trait of buying im pulsiveness was initially

measured using Rook and Fishe r's (1 995 ) nine trait-buy -

ing-imp ulsiveness-scale items, measured on 5-po int strongly

disagree-strong ly agree scales. This scale achieved satisfac-

tory levels of reliability (ranging from .79 to .92) in each of

the country samples (Nu nnally, 1 978). How ever, it is possi-

ble that the nine item s measure slightly different co nstructs in

different cultures and if so, the impulse model may fit poorly

(see Marsh Byrne, 199 3). All nine of the trait impulsiv e-

ness items were factor analy zed across cultural regions and

reduced to a sub-scale of four items1 that w ere most consis-

tent across different cultures (for details see Appen dix A).

Of course, we predict that people with higher trait buying

impulsivity will make mo re frequent impulse purchases, but

we also hypothesize that for consum ers in individu alist cul-

tures the trait-behavior relationship will be stronger than for

consum ers in co llectivist cultures. To test this, a comparison

of correlations and their variation across cultural groupings

was conducted.

Results

As seen in the top portio n of Table 2, the correlation between

trait and behavioral imp ulsiveness equals 0.64 for individual-

ist cultures and 0.40 for co llectivists. Similarly, the correla-

tion between trait and behavio ral impulsiveness equals 0.59

for independ ent and 0.46 for interdep endent self-concepts of

culture. All of these correlations are significan tly positive at

the .001 level as expected.

As hypoth esized, the buying im pulsiveness trait was more

strongly associated with impulse buying behavio r for the in-

dividualist than for the collectivist groups. Fisher's z-trans-

formations revealed that the correlations differed

significantly in the expected direction at both the cultural re-

gion (z

=

3.87, p

the influence of culture on consumer

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