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Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism: An Eight-Country Study of Antecedents and Outcomes
ABSTRACT
Keywords: cross-cultural consumer behavior, cosmopolitanism, consumer ethnocentrism, materialism, globalization Although there is a consensus that industries are globalizing, the notion that consumer attitudes and behaviors worldwide are likewise homogenizing remains disputed. Despite widespread discourse on this topic, there is a dearth of empirical investigations. This international research examines similarities and differences with respect to the nature of three consumer attitudinal dispositions: cosmopolitanism, consumer ethnocentrism, and materialism. The authors crossculturally compare demographic antecedents with these dispositions, as well as behavioral outcomes. They test the validation of the construct measures and associated hypotheses using survey data drawn from consumers in eight countries and structural equation modeling techniques, including multigroup analysis. Empirical findings broadly support the cross-cultural applicability of the constructs, though the links to the various demographic antecedents vary considerably from sample to sample. The role of each construct on behavior also varies substantially across the range of product categories considered and across and between national groups. Although globalization continues unabated across industries and organizations, it does not necessarily follow that consumers worldwide likewise are globalizing. Indeed, among theorists, there is widespread disagreement on this topic. On the one hand, capitalism, global transport, communications, marketing and advertising, and transnational cosmopolitanism are interacting to dissolve the boundaries across national cultures and economies (Ger 1999) and, in the eyes of many (e.g., Alden, Steenkamp, and Batra 1999; Firat 1995; Hannerz 1990; Ter Hofstede, Steenkamp, and Wedel 1999), accelerating the emergence of a homogeneous global consumption culture. On the other hand, the idea that societies around the world are inexorably converging has drawn skepticism (e.g., De Mooij 2004), under the counterargument that local cultures remain influential on consumer behavior (or, indeed, that globalization leads to increasing entrenchment of local cultures, motivating people to resist global forces). Still others argue that consumer behavior is increasingly the product of a transmutation of global and local cultural influences (Craig and Douglas 2006; Ger 1999; Howes 1996). The inconsistency of opinions is exacerbated by the paucity of hard empirical evidence either supporting or refuting the notion of global consumers: Further investigation of the different impacts of globalization among different cultures on buyers attitudes and behaviors should be brought into the research agenda (Suh and Kwon 2002, p. 663). As markets become more interdependent and as consumer research efforts become more international, the need for constructs and theories developed primarily in the United States to be applicable to other countries and cul-
Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos
Journal of International Marketing 2009, American Marketing Association Vol. 17, No. 1, 2009, pp. 116146 ISSN 1069-031X (print) 1547-7215 (electronic)
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tures becomes ever more pressing. The current research was motivated by the need for greater insight into how and which consumer attitudes and behaviors are similar and different across countries. Todays competitive environment requires managers to target their products successfully at segments that cross national frontiers. The international marketer can only do so with a consumer-oriented strategy that considers the attitudes and values of the targeted consumers (Ter Hofstede, Steenkamp, and Wedel 1999). Successful marketing largely depends on achieving a match between product attributes and customer attitudes and values; therefore, a strong case can be made for directing attention at consumer, rather than country, characteristics (Keillor, DAmico, and Horton 2001). To this end, psychographic segmentation is a powerful method of classifying consumers across countries (De Mooij 2004), supplementing the more common economic and demographic segmentation approaches. In this international research, we focus on similarities and differences regarding three dispositional constructs linked to globalizationmaterialism (MAT), cosmopolitanism (COS), and consumer ethnocentrism (CET)as well as the potential antecedents and outcomes of these constructs. We seek a greater understanding of when and where the dispositions of MAT and COS are likely to favor consumer receptivity to global and foreign brands/products and identify where and when CET will be inauspiciously associated with the same. We contend that research on these constructs will shed light on alternative global consumer trajectories. Our first objective is to assess the structure and reliability of these constructs and to test hypotheses regarding their interrelationships, across different countries. To enhance external validity, our investigation draws on data from consumers in eight countries on four continents that differ substantially in terms of ethnic composition, relative affluence, and level of economic development; moreover, these countries vary widely on Hofstedes (1991) dimensions of national culture. Our second objective is to scrutinize the nomological validity of these three constructs, focusing on how they function in different countries with respect to a broader framework of demographic antecedents and behavioral outcomes. To this end, we first test hypotheses regarding the predictive roles of four demographic variables (sex, age, income, and education) that are commonly employed for segmenting international markets. Then, we examine how these constructs apply to consumer behaviors across a broad variety of product categories, including foods/beverages, apparel, appliances, consumer electronics and communication devices, and luxury products. To date, little attention has been directed toward examining how these dispositional responses to globalization combine to affect consumer behavior differentially across different product categories and how these relationships could vary cross-culturally. The most important dilemma facing the international marketing manager is the degree to which marketing programs should be standardized globally versus tailored to local conditions. Global market segmentation is still in its infancy (Bolton and Myers 2003). Conventionally, marketers have derived international segments by clustering countries along market-level indicators (e.g., level of economic development, Hofstedes indexes) rather than using the
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES

Segmenting International Markets
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characteristics of the individual consumers who constitute any given market (Choi and Rajan 1997). Using countries as the unit of analysis is problematic. First, most countries are multicultural. Second, within-country variation among consumers is often greater than between-country variation (Roth 1995; Ter Hofstede, Steenkamp, and Wedel 1999), such as the extent to which individual consumers identify with and practice local cultural norms (Cleveland and Laroche 2007). Along these lines, some theorists argue that globalization is increasing commonalities among consumers across countries while reducing similarities within countries (e.g., Craig and Douglas 2006; Hannerz 1990). Research on measurable indicators that point to the similarity of consumer behaviors around the world would help managers plan superior international marketing activities. The literature suggests three key dispositional constructs that managers should consider for global segmentation purposes: two associated with the homogeneity hypotheses (MAT and COS) and one linked to the heterogeneity hypothesis (CET). Particularly in the West, the term consumer increasingly has served as the basis for defining the human experience (Firat 1995). This consumption-based orientation has largely been viewed as a trait of economic affluence and Western postindustrial life; although it has existed in isolated pockets since ancient times, only recently has it become available and embraced by entire populations (Ger and Belk 1990, p. 186). Nations find themselves increasingly pressured to open up, by the forces of media, technology, and travel which have fueled consumerism throughout the world (Appadurai 1990, p. 305). The international dissemination of concrete manifestations of culture, including consumer products, is believed to be much less encumbered than purely ideological aspects of culture (Howes 1999). Long a topic of interest to researchers and social commentators, MAT has been defined as the importance ascribed to the ownership and acquisition of material goods in achieving major life goals or desired states (Richins 2004, p. 210). Material values are conceptualized as spanning three domains: (1) the centrality of possessions in a persons life, (2) the belief that the acquisition of possessions yields happiness and satisfaction with life, and (3) the use of possessions to infer the success of oneself and others. Major religions have long attempted to curb materialistic desires, rendering material passion a vice or an unacceptable moral transgression. Today, consumers around the world mimic consumer desire as an affirmation of belonging in a globalizing consumer culture (Belk, Ger, and Askegaard 2003, p. 347). Thus, the study of MAT is relevant to understanding consumer responses to globalization (Alden, Steenkamp, and Batra 2006), and indeed, several theorists have linked global culture to MAT. Barber (1996) coined the term McWorld to describe the emergent materialist global culture; others have referred to this phenomenon as the Coca-colonization of the world (Hannerz 1992, p. 217) and the cultural imperialism hypothesis (Wilk 1998, p. 316). The common thesis in these works is that the combination of Western-controlled mass media and advertising and the natural desire for humans to improve their lives materially compels consumers worldwide to emulate those in
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the developed West. Ger and Belk (1996a) find support for their premise that higher levels of MAT are associated with periods and places undergoing rapid social and cultural change. On the basis of a study of 12 countries, they conclude that MAT is neither unique to Western cultures nor related to affluence. In research comparing consumers in the United States, Denmark, and Turkey, Belk, Ger, and Askegaard (2003) uncover further evidence that substantiates a globally spreading materialistic consumer culture. Individual consumers construct meanings for material goods, and these meanings tend to be specific but dynamic. Whereas some objects assume relatively static meanings (e.g., heirlooms, which symbolize continuity), others (e.g., branded products) assume different meanings to both the same and different people, over time and place (Kleine and Baker 2004). Therefore, materialistic values not only vary across individual consumers but also are differentially manifested across consumption contexts. This is relevant to the current research because it implies that for one person, materialistic tendencies will drive certain consumption behaviors but not others. The rise of nation-states has produced national cultures; it is not implausible that the current integration is producing a global culture, leading to the emergence of groups of people who are more globally than locally oriented. Unlike those before the modern epoch, cultures today need not be territorially bounded (Appadurai 1990; Craig and Douglas 2006; Hannerz 1990). Transnational cultures consist of structures of meaning carried by social networks that are not based in any single territory (Hannerz 1992). Transnationals are those intellectuals who are at home in the cultures of other peoples as well as their own (Konrad 1984, p. 208). The cosmopolitan label describes people who frequently travel, are routinely involved with other people in various places elsewhere, and provide doorways into other territorial cultures (Hannerz 1992). More than cultural brokers, cosmopolitans also serve as gatekeepers: They decide on what gets in, and what will be kept out, ignored, explicitly rejected (Hannerz 1992, p. 258). Because most of these transnational cultures have their roots in the West, they are principally extensions or transformations of American and European cultures, though they may be penetrable to various degrees by local meaning (Hannerz 1992). The nature of COS has been the subject of much debate: Some researchers implicate predisposition at birth as the main determinant, others envision it as a personality trait, and still others classify it as a learnable skill (see Cannon and Yaprak 2002; Thompson and Tambyah 1999). Although the term has been used loosely to describe almost any person who moves about in the world, more appropriately COS refers to a specific set of beliefs, attitudes, and qualities held by certain people. A cosmopolitan has a conscious openness to the world and to cultural differences (Skrbis, Kendall, and Woodward 2004, p. 117) and a willingness to engage with the Other, an intellectual and aesthetic stance of openness toward divergent cultural experiences (Hannerz 1992, p. 252), coupled with personal competence toward the alien culture. Tourists are more akin to spectators than participants in a host cul-
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ture. For cosmopolitans, it is the other way around; they want to be able to sneak backstage rather than being confined to the frontstage areas (Hannerz 1990, pp. 24142) and to actively consume cultural differences (Thompson and Tambyah 1999). Belonging to an elite class is no longer a prerequisite for COS. Given the culture-shaping power of the media and its ability to convey images and information about other peoples, it is possible to be cosmopolitan without ever leaving ones own country of origin (Douglas and Craig 2006; Hannerz 1990). Perhaps COS is conceptualized best as situational and a matter of degree rather than as an absolute trait: Cosmopolitans can be dilettantes as well as connoisseurs, and are often both, at different times (Hannerz 1992, p. 253). Skrbis, Kendall, and Woodward (2004) posit that links between cosmopolitan traits and various consumption behaviors are circumstantial. However, the application of COS in the literature has been chiefly theoretical, with scant empirical research on the antecedents or outcomes of COS. Because cosmopolitans perceive themselves as less provincial and more international (Hannerz 1990), presumably they would be more responsive to global consumer culture positioning strategies (Alden, Steenkamp, and Batra 1999) and, thus, more likely to adopt products from other cultures and places. In line with this, Belk (2000, p. 13) states that the rise of global consumption ideals, potentially makes the elite among Third World consumers into cosmopolitans who are more concerned with how they compare to the worlds privileged consumers than they are to compare themselves locally. Global culture has been connected with increasing MAT (e.g., Cleveland and Laroche 2007; Ger and Belk 1996b; Johansson 2004), and Thompson and Tambyah (1999) propose that COS is a style of consumption, creating and maintaining status distinctions between high- and low-cultural-capital consumers. However, in sociology, COS has been portrayed as a postmaterial value and a postnational outlook. Under the postmaterialism theory (Inglehart 1990), people who consistently have experienced high affluence (as opposed to those who have endured scarcity) are less concerned about material needs; having broader horizons, they place priority on abstract concerns, such as self-actualization, humanism, and environmentalism. From this perspective, materialists could be less cosmopolitan than postmaterialists. Therefore, because we believe that COS does not necessarily entail MAT (or vice versa), we hypothesize an independent relationship: H1: The relationship between MAT and COS is not significant. Evidence corroborates the worldwide spread of dispositions such as MAT, but globalization has also wrought resistance behaviors. As Ger (1999, p. 65) states, The differentiating impact of globalization strengthens or reactivates national, ethnic, and communal identities. The (re)emergence of strong ethnic and religious movements and/or geographic nationalism may represent attempts to regain a sense of stability and identity (Ger and Belk 1996b, p. 284). For international marketers, the germane question is how these reactions are manifested in the marketplace. De Mooij (2004) contends that many consumption behaviors are based on longtime habits and that globalization does not harmonize peoples values or national
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feelings. Undoubtedly, many consumers continue to hold a strong desire to uphold traditional local culture, defying influences construed as global. Ethnocentrism represents the universal proclivity for people to view their own group as the center of the universe, to interpret other social units from the perspective of their own group, and to reject persons who are culturally dissimilar while blindly accepting those who are culturally like themselves (Shimp and Sharma 1987, p. 280). Ones own ethnic or national symbols are objects of attachment and pride, whereas those of others may be held with contempt. Some researchers contend that a societys relative openness to foreign cultures is amenable to supporting the acceptance of foreign goods and services, whereas aspects such as patriotism, conservatism, and ethnocentrism impede the acceptance of such products (Kaynak and Kara 2002; Shimp and Sharma 1987). To the ethnocentric consumer, foreign or global brands represent not only an economic threat but also a cultural menace. Championing their countrys culture and products, highly ethnocentric consumers will make even economic sacrifices by choosing local brands. In return, they enjoy the psychological gain derived from avoiding contact with the out-group (Baughn and Yaprak 1996). This bias toward locally produced products is known as CET (Shimp and Sharma 1987) and represents another dispositional response to globalization. Suh and Kwon (2002) find partial support for their model in which consumers global openness and purchasing behavior were mediated by their ethnocentric tendencies. Researching Turkish consumers, Kaynak and Kara (2002) find that consumers scoring high on CET were less willing to buy foreign products and that the degree of CET varied considerably across consumers (e.g., religious versus nonreligious, urban versus rural) and regions of the country. They also show that CET is correlated to various lifestyle dimensions and that it differentially affects foreign/local product dispositions, depending on the nature of the product category and the products country of origin. As with MAT and COS, this suggests that beyond constituting an absolute trait, CET tendencies may be differentially manifested. The nature of COS contradicts that of CET, and therefore we conjecture a negative relationship. Indeed, Sharma, Shimp, and Shin (1995) find a negative relationship between a related construct (cultural openness) and CET. The link between CET and MAT is less clear-cut. On the one hand, because the global forces of marketing and media indeed convey consumption values and behaviors, it could be construed that highly ethnocentric consumers would eschew such global influences and therefore be less concerned about material possessions. On the other hand, CET does not need to be contradictory with MAT: Ethnocentric consumers may still place a high value on the pursuit of material objects (because material and status enrichment are latent and universal) but seek out local objects to satiate such desires. Taken together, we posit that the link between CET and MAT is independent. Formally stated, we hypothesize the following: H2: COS and CET are negatively related. H3: The relationship between MAT and CET is not significant.
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Demographic Antecedents of MAT, COS, and CET
MAT. Educated and/or wealthier consumers are likely to be less susceptible to local conformity pressures, while holding a greater desire and economic ability to purchase foreign, status-enhancing products. Yet Richins and Dawson (1992) do not find any relationship between educational attainment and MAT. Although higher levels of income are naturally associated with the ability to purchase status-enhancing items, most research (e.g., Ger and Belk 1996a; Richins and Dawson 1992) has established no relationship between MAT and affluence. One explanation is that income is confounded by age, given the general finding that older people tend to be less materialistic than their younger counterparts despite higher earning power in general. This explanation may also partially account for the absence of any strong empirical link between education and MAT. Both Richins and Dawson (1992) and Belk (1985) report negative relationships between MAT and age. Thus, we conjecture the following: H4: MAT is negatively related to age. COS. In line with our previous review, we conceptualize COS as not only innate but also learnable. In general, compared with their older counterparts, younger people are less set in their ways and, therefore, less suspicious of different perspectives (De Mooij 2004). Furthermore, having grown up in the global era and being avid consumers of media that enable global connectivity (e.g., the Internet), younger people are presumably more world-minded than their older counterparts. Wealthier people are likely to be more positive about (and able to avail themselves of) the many consumption choices afforded by globalization. Furthermore, in general, the affluent are more educated than their less wealthy counterparts. With greater exposure to outside cultures and perspectives, educated people are less prone to submit to local cultural pressures, which makes them more global as consumers (Keillor, DAmico, and Horton 2001). The environment under which advanced education takes place (universities) also exposes people to different cultures and perspectives. Robertson and Zill (1997) report a strong positive relationship between COS and education; they also find that women score higher on COS than men. Men have a greater predisposition to be self-focused and are guided by agentic goals (e.g., self-assertion, mastery), whereas women are predisposed toward harmonizing relations between themselves and disparate parties (Meyers-Levy 1988). Therefore, womens communal predisposition should be manifested in a greater openness to different cultural perspectives. We postulate the following demographic relationships to COS: H5: (a) COS is negatively related to age, (b) COS is positively related to income, (c) COS is positively related to the level of educational attainment, and (d) women have higher mean COS scores than men. CET. As with COS, in general, younger people, particularly those with more education, are less committed to definite ways of life and are more open to broader perspectives and things (e.g., foreign products) than older (often less-educated) people (De Mooij 2004), who tend to be suspicious of new perspectives and, therefore, less
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likely to modify established attitudes and behaviors. Keillor, DAmico, and Horton (2001), Shimp and Sharma (1987), and Watson and Wright (2000) all report strong positive links between age and CET. Watson and Wright also report a negative relationship between wealth and CET. As consumers become wealthier, rising disposable income fuels demand for imported products (Kaynak and Kara 2002). We hypothesize the following demographic relationships to CET: H6: CET is (a) positively related to age, (b) negatively related to income, and (c) negatively related to the level of educational attainment. Identities and belongingness are asserted through lifestyles, which in turn are manifested through the consumption of consumer goods (McCracken 1986). People around the world are increasingly aware of and interested in learning about different cultures (i.e., COS), and materialistic values are spreading globally. In other respects, consumer cultures remain heterogeneous: Historical and current local conditions, interacting with global forces, shape the specific consumption patterns and meanings in each locality (Ger 1999, p. 65). This interaction or fusion of global and local values has been alternatively referred to as hybridization (Ger 1999), creolization (Howes 1999), and transculturation (Hannerz 1992). Research in sociology presents cultural processes less as fixed responses and more as emergent and adaptive due to specific conditions. For example, a person can be cosmopolitan in one domain but local in another (Yoon, Cannon, and Yaprak 1996). Here, we conjecture that the influence of MAT, COS, and CET on behavior varies across different product-category behavioral contexts. MAT. De Mooij (2004, p. 163) states that branded luxury products like Vuitton purses fulfill the need to conform. Teenage girls want Vuitton because everyone has it. Beyond signifying cultural membership, attire functions as a status symbol, conveying style and social class. Consistent with hedonic consumption theories, Dubois and Duquesque (1993) conclude that people purchase luxury goods for what they symbolize (i.e., for status and recognition purposes), partly as a consequence of powerful media promoting immediate self-indulgence and gratification. Materialists place a high value on their possessions, particularly those that can be used as markers to gauge personal success. For these reasons, we posit that MAT will positively predict behaviors associated with the hedonistic, expressive, and status-enhancing products considered in this research. Formally stated, we hypothesize the following: H7: MAT positively predicts (a) the purchasing frequency of luxury products, (b) the frequency of wearing specific apparel items, (c) the importance of owning consumer electronics, (d) the frequency of behaviors associated with modern media, (e) the importance of owning appliances, and (f) the importance of automobile ownership. COS. Dubois and Duquesque (1993) find a strong association between positive attitudes toward culture change and luxury con-
Behavioral Outcomes
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sumption. Flexibility toward cultural change implies a degree of openness to different cultural perspectives, meaning that COS can be a driver of luxury purchases. Alden, Steenkamp, and Batra (1999) argue that, over time, certain brands are likely to lose their association with their country of origin and instead become associated with something broader: the global consumption set. Their international study reveals that the frequency of global consumer positioning strategies (i.e., those appealing to globally shared, consumption-related symbols that signal membership in global consumer segments [p. 79]) was the highest for high-tech consumer durables, followed by (in descending order) low-tech consumer durables, personal durables, household nondurables, food nondurables, and consumer services. It is appropriate that consumer electronics are at the top of the list: These products are used similarly across the world and satisfy universal consumer needs (e.g., the desire for superior communication technology). Because COS symbolizes modern lifestyles or an association with the global elite (Friedman 1990), likewise we expect that it has a positive role in the following product areas: H8: COS positively predicts (a) the importance of owning consumer electronics, (b) the frequency of behaviors associated with modern media, (c) the purchasing frequency of luxury products, and (d) behaviors associated with globally popular apparel. CET. Culture-bound products require greater marketing-mix adaptations than culture-free products. Reviewing the literature, De Mooij (2004) concludes that cross-cultural differences in product ownership and usage could largely be attributed to the link between product category and cultural values. In general, the older the product category, the stronger is the influence of traditional culture. Consumer ethnocentrism should be most prominent for product categories that are highly culture bound. Foods and fashions commonly serve as instruments of traditional cultural expression; therefore, we expect CET to be positively predictive of behaviors related to traditional food and clothing items. In contrast, because food consumption and attire provide opportunities for people to take on different identities, we expect that people with low levels of CET will be more likely to consume and wear globally popular foods and fashions, respectively. As we noted for COS, high-tech consumer products, particularly those that enable global connectivity (e.g., mobile phones, computers), embody modern lifestyles and are marketed similarly worldwide. Therefore, we expect that people with low levels of CET will embrace modern consumer electronics more readily than their high-CET-level counterparts. Behaviors associated with these devices should also be more frequent among people with low levels of CET. Formally, we hypothesize the following: H9: (a) CET positively predicts behaviors associated with traditional foods and fashion, (b) CET negatively predicts behaviors associated with globally popular foods and apparel, (c) CET negatively predicts the importance of owning consumer electronics, and (d) CET negatively predicts the frequency of behaviors associated with modern media.
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Despite the risk of overlooking culturally specific aspects, an etic research design uses common metrics and therefore is appropriate for comparative cross-cultural research (Luna and Gupta 2001). We measured all construct items using seven-point Likert scales (1 = strongly disagree, and 7 = strongly agree; see Appendix A). We used a shorter version (nine items) of Richins and Dawsons (1992) material value scale, validated by Richins (2004), to tap MAT. Following previous research (Batra et al. 2000; Klein 2002), we employed a shorter (four items) version of the extensively validated CETSCALE (Kaynak and Kara 2002; Shimp and Sharma 1987). Reliable and generalizable measures for COS are rare. Thus, we developed a novel scale for COS, employing Churchills (1979) procedure for psychometric scale development. Following a comprehensive review of the relevant social sciences literature on COS (e.g., Belk 2000; Hannerz 1990, 1992; Skrbis, Kendall, and Woodward 2004; Thompson and Tambyah 1999) and drawing from existing measures for related concepts, such as global openness and world-mindedness (Baughn and Yaprak 1996; Rawwas, Rajendran, and Wuehrer 1996; Suh and Kwon 2002), we generated a pool of 23 scaled items to tap COS. As part of an ongoing research project, we created an additional 15 items using qualitative methods, specifically through the analyses of the verbal protocol generated from (1) a series of one-on-one depth interviews (involving four informants, three of whom were female) and (2) two focus group sessions (to enable group dynamics), each with four informants (one group with three females and the other with one female). Interviewers followed a loose set of questions and statements that were designed to initiate and probe discussion on the topics of globalization and cultural openness, thus using an emergent design. Because we drew from a convenience sample of consumers, informants varied considerably in terms of ethnicity, age, education, occupation, and traveling experiences. The final step in item generation consisted of administering 25 expert opinion surveys to marketing faculty. These surveys defined COS, included several tentative items, and directed respondents to suggest additional possible measures (of which 21 unique suggestions were retained). We compiled a total of 59 scaled measures and carefully pared them down to 30 after eliminating redundant, ambiguous, or otherwise problematic (because of vocabulary and so on) items. A survey including the remaining items was administered to a sample of 162 (147 usable) undergraduate and graduate respondents. We retained 13 items, from which a reliable scale for COS emerged ( = .92). Then, we included these items in a second survey administered to a new, larger sample (n = 400, 392 usable) of students. Analysis conducted on this second data set yielded a reliable scale for COS on a reduced set of measures ( = .91, 8 items). A total of 48 consumption-related statements tapped a broad array of consumer behaviors. We constructed these measures to include specific behaviors associated with food/beverage consumption, apparel, consumer electronics and communication devices, appliances, and luxury products. As with the constructs, we scaled the response format for the dependent measures from 1 to 7. The question wording and phrasing of endpoint anchors varied across the
METHODOLOGY
Survey Description
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behaviors, after we considered the relative probability and/or frequency of purchasing and consuming the items corresponding to the particular product category (Appendix A). We used product categories in this study to reduce the potential confounding effects associated with judgments arising from actual brands, given differences in the connotations and availability of particular brands across the eight countries. Furthermore, previous research has shown that consumers often distort their brand evaluations by relying heavily on general product-category attribute beliefs (Elliot and Roach 1993). The use of abstract product categories curtails the possibility of functional and/or conceptual nonequivalence across the different countries (Alden, Steenkamp, and Batra 2006). The final part of the survey covered demographic variables. A cover letter included instructions for completing the questionnaire. Survey data for this study (n = 2015 usable of 2800 distributed) was collected from respondents in eight countries (one urban area per country): Canada (n = 241), Mexico (n = 231), Chile (n = 192), Sweden (n = 329), Greece (n = 317), Hungary (n = 332), India (n = 236), and South Korea (n = 137). Because of the difficulty of obtaining representative sampling in some of these countries, we employed a snowballing sampling approach. Within each country, participants in selected undergraduate and graduate university courses were directed to fill out one questionnaire themselves and to administer a predetermined quota (three to five) of surveys to designated respondents (one to two each of adult family members, coworkers, and neighbors). A detailed protocol form provided the students with instructions for survey administration. Eligible respondents had to be native-born nationals, 18 years of age or older, and fluent in English. To achieve these ends, each questionnaire included several screening questions. Although this approach had the effect of centering the research on certain socioeconomic strata, we considered the resulting sample reasonably diffuse (Appendix B). The sampling method was also focused on respondent types who would be more likely to be interested in the subject matter, including opinion leaders whose views and behaviors influence the broader population. Overall, 52% of the respondents were female, and 66% of the sample was composed of either full- or part-time students. The majority of respondents were members of the workforce taking managerial courses, with 63% actively employed (part-time 33%, full-time 30%). Approximately two-thirds of the sample were between 20 and 29 years of age. Regarding educational attainment, 30% and 18% reported undergraduate and graduate levels, respectively, and 29% and 23% reported college/diploma and high school (or lower) levels, respectively. We conducted exploratory factor analysis on the construct measures (principal component extraction with varimax rotation). Two items each for MAT and COS were unstable across the different sample groups, and thus we removed them. A three-factor structure accounted for 57% of the cumulative variance and retained 17 of the original 21 items. These items exhibited high factor loadings (Appendix A), and the factors had high reliability coefficients (MAT: seven items, = .83; COS: six items, = .86; CET: four items,
The Sample
ANALYSIS
AND
RESULTS
Preliminary Results
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= .84). We also calculated reliability coefficients for each country sample (Appendix B), and all except one were higher than .70. Examination of the adjusted construct means (with sex, age, household income, and education entered into the multivariate analysis of covariance as covariates) revealed that with the exception of South Korea, in general, COS scores were high and consistent across the countries (Appendix B). This is partially attributable to the relatively youthful, educated, and affluent composition of the samples. Intercountry MAT scores were likewise consistent (with the lowest levels expressed by Chileans and Swedes), though considerably lower than those for COS. Of the three constructs, intercountry variation was greatest for CET (Mexicans highest, Canadians and Swedes lowest). To test the structural cross-cultural equivalence, we subjected the retained items to the multigroup confirmatory factor analytic procedure (Steenkamp and Baumgartner 1998), using the maximum likelihood fitting process in AMOS 16. We examined configural equivalence, which entailed testing baseline measurement models, for the aggregate sample and then did the same for each country data set. To evaluate model goodness of fit, we examined the comparative fit index (CFI, recommended .90), the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA, recommended .08), and the adjusted chisquare test (2/degrees of freedom, with values ranging between 1 and 5 indicative of reasonable fit). The baseline measurement model for the entire data set (depicted on the left-hand side of Figure 1) yielded a good fit to the data (CFI = .961, RMSEA = .045, 2/d.f. = 5.15). Correlations between the latent factors were modest, with COSMAT not significant (r = .005, p = .856), COSCET negatively correlated (r = .145, p < .001), and MATCET positively correlated (r = .078, p = .003). Respectively, these findings lend support to H1 and H2 but not to H3. With the exception of Korea, according to Hu and Bentlers (1999) cutoff criteria, the models for each country sample demonstrated reasonably good fit (Table 1). All factor loadings were significant at p < .01 across all country models. The next step involved assessing metric invariance, which we tested with a hierarchy of models with increasing constraints on the number of invariant parameters, following Byrnes (2001) procedure. As we list in Table 2, fit statistics for Model 1a (constraining all measurement weights [factor loadings] to equality across the groups, CFI = .931, RMSEA = .020, 2/d.f. = 1.82, 2 = 185.8, d.f. = 98, p < .01) and Model 1b (constraining both measurement weights and structural covariances, CFI = .919, RMSEA = .020, 2/d.f. = 1.92, 2 = 185.6, d.f. = 42, p < .01) were reasonable but significantly inferior to those of the unconstrained model (CFI = .938, RMSEA = .020, 2/d.f. = 1.81), indicating that some parameters were noninvariant across the eight groups. For the unconstrained model (Model 1), the factor loadings across the eight groups were all significant (p < .01), and of a total of 136 standardized loadings (17 parameters eight groups), only 10 were lower than the .50 threshold (Korea: COS1, 5, 6, MAT1, 6; Hungary: MAT6; India: COS6, MAT6, 7; Chile: MAT6). For the measurement weights constrained model (Model 1a), factor loadings for all groups were all highly significant (p < .001); only 7 were lower than .50 (Mexico: MAT6; Korea: COS3, 5, 6, MAT1, 6; India: MAT6). Note that for the latter
Structural Equation Modeling Measurement and Demographic Findings
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Figure 1. Latent Constructs Measurement Model and Structural Model Linking Demographics to Cultural Constructs
err err err err err err err err err err err err err err err err err
MAT1
.69*
MAT2 MAT3 MAT4 MAT5 MAT6 MAT7 COS1 COS2 COS3 COS4 COS5 COS6 CET1 CET2 CET3
.67*
Res1
.65* .65* .64* .64* .57*
MAT
n.s. .22* n.s. n.s.
MAT
SEX
.00
.02 .80*
.12*
.77* .73* .70* .65* .59*
.05*
AGE
n.s. n.s.
Res2
COS
.08*
.05*
.11*
COS
n.s. .15*
.41*
INCOME
.10*
n.s. .14*
.15*
.82* .76* .76* .68*
EDU CET
.07*
Res3
.10*
CET
CET4
Model fit statistics: 2/d.f. = 5.148 CFI = .961 RMSEA = .045
*Statistically significant. Notes: Left-hand side: Minimum was achieved (model overidentified, distinct sample moments = 153, number of distinct parameters to be estimated = 37, d.f. = 116, N = 2015). Standardized coefficients are shown. Right-hand side: Minimum was achieved (model overidentified, distinct sample moments = 231, number of distinct parameters to be estimated = 56, d.f. = 175, N = 2015). n.s. = not significant. Standardized coefficients are shown.
model, standardized (but not unstandardized) parameter estimates vary slightly across groups because the variances of the variables are not constrained. In practice, full measurement invariance regularly does not hold (Steenkamp and Baumgartner 1998) and is considered a condition to be striven for, not one expected to be fully realized (Horn 1991, p. 125). This is particularly the case as the number of groups under consideration increases. The conventional method for identifying the noninvariance of specific parameters proceeds in a pairwise manner; however, in a study involving eight cultural groups, 28 pairwise combinations would be necessary, making it highly
128
Country
.102 .140** .049 .319* .012 .113 .017 .029 .105 .266* .020 .018 2/d.f. = 1.808 CFI = .948 RMSEA = .058
Sex
Age
Income
Education
Model Fit (1)
Model Fit (2)

2/d.f. = 1.737 CFI = .932 RMSEA = .055
Canada (n = 241)
MAT
COS
CET
Mexico (n = 231) .142 .063 .061*** .146*** .173** .109 .006 .091 .223* .056 .065 .012 2/d.f. = 1.618 CFI = .924 RMSEA = .052 2/d.f. = 1.653 CFI = .893 RMSEA = .053
MAT
COS
CET
Greece (n = 317) .102*** .189* .186* .149* .003 .017 .021 .175* .265* .126** .035 .108*** 2/d.f. = 2.242 CFI = .935 RMSEA = .063 2/d.f. = 2.234 CFI = .909 RMSEA = .062
MAT
COS
CET
Korea (n = 137) .084 .148 .001 .255* .038 .303* .112 .012 .127 .004 .091 .153 2/d.f. = 1.536 CFI = .856 RMSEA = .063 2/d.f. = 1.475 CFI = .819 RMSEA = .059
MAT
COS
CET
Table 1. Constructs and Demographics Relationships Across Country Samplesa
129
130
Table 1. Continued
Sex
.066 .120** .044 .189* .097 .081 .141*** .006 .141*** .062 .025 .070
Country
Age
Income
Education
Model Fit (1)

2/d.f. = 2.193 CFI = .929 RMSEA = .060
Model Fit (2)

2/d.f. = 2.063 CFI = .914 RMSEA = .057
Hungary (n = 332)
MAT
COS
CET
India (n = 236) .117 .083 .055 .169** .043 .117 .036 .002 .017 .125 .102 .101 2/d.f. = 1.490 CFI = .939 RMSEA = .046 2/d.f. = 1.540 CFI = .910 RMSEA = .048
MAT
COS
CET
Chile (n = 192) .175** .042 .117 .180** .077 .123 .020 .214** .052 .024 .055 .047 2/d.f. = 1.550 CFI = .935 RMSEA = .054 2/d.f. = 1.577 CFI = .905 RMSEA = .055
MAT
COS
CET
Sweden (n = 329) .147* .194* .049 .204* .126** .350* .082 .004 .033 .088 .252* .201* 2/d.f. = 2.013 CFI = .959 RMSEA = .056 2/d.f. = 1.946 CFI = .945 RMSEA = .054
MAT
COS
CET
All (n = 2015)b .045*** .121* .026 .223* .038 .137* .010 .004 .065* .004 .151* .100* 2/d.f. = 5.148 CFI = .961 RMSEA = .045 2/d.f. = 5.466 CFI = .940 RMSEA = .047
MAT
COS
CET
Correlationsc CETCOS
.212* .081 .099 .204*** .178* .218* .010 .291* .030 .032 .115 .084 .363* .017 .106 .098
COSMAT
CETMAT
.119 .093 .136** .150 .010 .083 .310* .074
Canada
Mexico
Greece
Korea
Hungary
India
Chile
Sweden
*p < .01. **p < .05. ***p < .10. aDemographics constructs: Standardized path coefficients listed are from the multiple group model, with measurement weights constrained across groups (Model 2a). bFor the aggregated sample (N = 2015), statistics and path coefficients are from the unconstrained model (Model 2). c Correlations are from the measurement weights constrained model (Model 2a). Notes: Model fit (1) = baseline measurement models, and model fit (2) = baseline demographics and constructs structural models.
Table 1. Continued
131
unlikely that all pairwise group parameter comparisons would be completely invariant. Here, the assumption of partial metric invariance seems to be reasonably supported (Byrne, Shavelson, and Muthn 1989). The correlations among the constructs varied considerably across the samples even after we constrained the factor loadings to equality (Table 1). In five groups, the CETCOS correlation (H2) was significant and negative (Canada, Korea, Hungary, India, and Sweden). In addition, COS and MAT were largely uncorrelated (H1), except among Korean respondents, for whom we obtained a strong positive link. In most instances, CET and MAT were not significantly correlated (H3), though we found a positive link for the Greek and Chilean samples. The baseline structural model (aggregated data set) linking the demographic variables (sex was dummy coded as 0 = female, 1 = male) to the constructs yielded a good fit (CFI = .940, 2/d.f. = 5.47, RMSEA = .047), as depicted on the right-hand side of Figure 1. We also evaluated country-specific models (Table 1). In certain instances, fit statistics deteriorated below the acceptable cutoff criteria, but for the most part, we judged the fit of each of the tested models to be satisfactory. Model 2a, which constrained factor loadings to equality while freely estimating the factor covariances and demographic construct structural weights, fit the data reasonably well (CFI = .910, RMSEA = .020, 2/d.f. = 1.79, 2 = 189.5, d.f. = 98, p < .01) and was a significant improvement over more fully constrained models in which the structural weights and structural covariances were also constrained to be equal across groups (Models 2b and 2c; Table 2). The findings discussed next are those corresponding to Model 2a (measurement weights constrained). Overall, age was the strongest predictor of the three cultural constructs (14 significant instances across the eight data sets), followed by sex and education (with 9 and 7 significant instances, respectively). Income was the weakest predictor; it was negatively related to CET in only the Greek sample. For the aggregated data set (Figure 1), the significant findings were as follows: In line with H4 and H6a, younger people were more materialistic than older people (significantly corroborated in four groups: Canada, Greece, Chile, and Sweden), but older people scored higher on CET than younger people (upheld in all eight groups). Lending marginal support to H6b, income was negatively related to CET (upheld only in the Mexican sample). Income was predictive of neither MAT nor COS (refuting H5b), and this was true for all groups. More educated respondents tended to be more cosmopolitan (substantiated in the Mexican, Greek, Hungarian, and Swedish samples) and less consumer ethnocentric (confirmed in the Greek and Swedish samples) than their less educated counterparts, in support of H5c and H6c. Although support for H5a was lacking in the aggregated sample, the predicted negative relationship between age and COS was substantiated in three groups (Korea, Hungary, and Sweden). In line with H5d, women scored higher on COS than men, also evidenced in four samples (Canada, Greece, Hungary, and Sweden). Overall, men tended to be more materialistic than women, and though this result was upheld for the Swedish sample, the reverse was the case for the Greek and Chilean samples.
132
Model
1676.431* 1862.238* 2047.869* 2490.052* 2679.529* 2832.683* 3164.922* 4015.040* 4207.035* 4392.419* 4826.055* 5018.984* 5204.797* 4457.669* 4646.302* 4833.607* 2908 1.662 2866 1.621 2768 1.610 3132 1.662 3090 1.624 .913 .906 .919 .914 .907 2992 1.613 .917 2684 1.637 .914 2462 1.592 .921 2544 1.578 .926 1652 1.916 .885 .021 .017 .017 .018 .017 .018 .018 .017 .018 .018 1582 1.791 .905 .020 1498 1.789 .910 .020 1400 1.779 .917 .020 1068 1.917 .919 .021 1026 1.815 .931 .020 185.805* 185.632* 189.477* 153.155* 332.238* 191.995* 185.384* 192.929* 185.813* 188.632* 187.305* 928 1.806 .938 .020
2 d.f. CFI RMSEA
2/d.f.
d.f.
98 42 98 84 70 98 42 98 42 98 42
1. Unconstrained measurement
1a. Measurement weights constrained
1b. Structural covariances constrained
2. Unconstrained demographic-latent
2b. Structural weights constrained
2c. Structural covariances constrained
3. Unconstrained food consumption
4. Unconstrained ownership importance
5. Unconstrained consumer behaviors
*p < .01. Notes: Italics indicate models selected for further interpretation (i.e., constraining all measurement weights to equality across the groups).
Table 2. Results of the Multigroup Structural Equation Model Analyses
133
Structural Equation Modeling Consumer Behavior Findings
Because of the quantity of dependent variables under consideration (and the ensuing number of estimated structural equation modeling parameters, which increases exponentially), we elected to partition our analyses of the 48 behaviors, grouped according to (1) food consumption (14 variables), (2) importance of product ownership (consumer electronics, appliances, and durables: 18 variables), and (3) other nonfood consumer behaviors (apparel, luxury products, and technology behaviors: 16 variables). These baseline models included covariance parameters between the dependent variables to account for error correlation. For illustration, the first model is depicted in Figure 2. All three baseline models fit the data well: Model 1 (CFI = .958, 2/d.f. = 3.59, RMSEA = .036), Model 2 (CFI = .949, 2/d.f. = 3.74, RMSEA = .037), and Model 3 (CFI = .949, 2/d.f. = 3.92, RMSEA = .038). Of the 48 behaviors (Table 3), MAT was a significant predictor in 39 instances (37 positive path coefficients), COS influenced behavior in 34 instances (2 negative), and CET was antecedent of 34 behaviors (13 negative). The standardized path coefficients listed in Table 3 reveal several patterns. First, most behavioral outcomes were influenced by mul-
MAT2
MAT4
MAT1
MAT6
MAT7
MAT3
MAT5
COS3
COS5
COS6
COS2
CET1
CET3
CET2
.70*
.66*.65*
.65* .64* .53* .57*
.80* NS .12*
.77* .73*
.70* .65* .59*
.82* .76* .20*
.76* .68*
MAT
COS
CET
MAT COS CET
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
.15*
.14*
.07*
n.s.
.16*
n.s.
n.s.
.12*
.16*
.19*
.09*
n.s. .29*
.09* .21*
.08* .29*
n.s. .25*
n.s.
.13* .22*
.11* n.s.
n.s. n.s. n.s.
n.s.
.19* .07*
.12* n.s.
n.s. n.s.
.07* n.s.
CET4
.07* n.s. n.s.
C0S1
C0S4
Figure 2. Baseline Structural Model Example: Food Consumption
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err hamburger
trad. beverage
champagne
trad. snack
*Statistically significant. Notes: Minimum was achieved (model overidentified, distinct sample moments = 496, number of distinct parameters to be estimated = 178, d.f. = 318, N = 2015). Standardized coefficients are shown. Error correlations between dependent variables are included in model, but not shown. n.s. = not significant.
134
trad. meal err
trad. food
soft drink
trad. rest.
chocolate
coffee
pizza
wine
beer
tea
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
err
tiple constructs (i.e., 25 associated with two constructs, 17 with all three, and only 6 associated with one). Second, the role of each construct varied considerably across the different contexts. Regarding the positive relationships, CET was strongly linked to all five traditional food behaviors (sustaining H9a), as well as to three other foods (beer, pizza, and boxed chocolates). Consumer ethnocentrism positively predicted the importance of owning certain consumer electronics (VCR, CD player, and videogame console), appliances (hair dryer and food processor), and both transportation products (bicycle and automobile). It was also positively associated with two apparel categories (business attire and traditional fashion) and the purchasing frequency of four luxuries (fur/leather coats, fragrances, jewelry, and antique furniture). As expected, MAT had a strong positive influence on the purchasing frequencies of all seven luxury products (cosmetics, fragrances, jewelry, fur/leather coats, antique furniture, boxed chocolates, and expensive wine/champagne). It was also positively associated with the four apparel categories (jeans, athletic shoes, business attire, and traditional fashions), ownership importance for all eight consumer electronic products (personal portable stereo, VCR, CD player, videogame console, DVD player, television set, digital camera, and computer), and all seven electronic media/communication behaviors (DVD purchasing, television watching, mobile phone and computer usage, Internet surfing and e-mailing, and automated teller machine [ATM] usage). MAT also positively predicted the importance of owning five appliances (clothes dryer, dishwasher, hair dryer, microwave oven, and food processor) and automobiles. In general, these findings support H7af. We also found that though not hypothesized, MAT positively affected the consumption of traditional snack items and restaurants, soft drinks, pizza, and hamburgers. Sustaining H8ab, COS positively predicted the importance of owning six of the eight consumer electronics (personal portable stereo,
Item
1 Traditional meals 2 Traditional beverages 3 Traditional food items 4 Traditional snack items 5 Traditional restaurants 6 Tea 7 Coffee 8 Soft drinks 9 Beer 10 Wine (table) 11 Champagne/expensive wine 12 Pizza 13 Hamburgers 14 Boxed chocolates
MAT
.036 .032 .018 .148* .142* .070* .012 .158* .027 .002 .112* .163* .190* .086*
COS
.008 .092* .079* .023 .025 .127* .106* .017 .045*** .192* .122* .033 .073* .066*
CET
.286* .207* .293* .252* .220* .015 .008 .020 .065* .039 .011 .044*** .021 .045***
Table 3. MAT, COS, CET, and Consumer Behavior (Baseline Models)
135
Table 3. Continued
Item
15 Personal portable stereo 16 VCR 17 Washing machine 18 Clothes dryer 19 Dishwasher 20 Hair dryer 21 Vacuum 22 CD player 23 Bicycle 24 Videogame console 25 DVD player 26 Refrigerator 27 Microwave oven 28 Television set 29 Digital camera 30 Personal or laptop computer 31 Food processor 32 Automobile 33 Blue jeans 34 Athletic shoes 35 Business attire 36 Traditional fashion 37 Fur/leather coats 38 Fragrances 39 Cosmetics 40 Jewelry 41 Antique furniture 42 Purchase DVDs 43 Watch television 44 Use mobile phone 45 Use personal computer/laptop 46 Surf Internet 47 Send e-mail 48 Use automated teller machine
*p **p
MAT
.279* .136* .006 .184* .125* .132* .018 .156* .116* .214* .209* .013 .127* .204* .225* .132* .170* .195* .141* .134* .082* .056** .180* .226* .257* .190* .091* .165* .120* .179* .096* .109* .051** .159*
COS
.075* .035 .128* .010 .007 .050** .068* .106* .087* .071* .080* .149* .077* .046*** .074* .108* .035 .014 .046*** .077* .110* .013 .025 .060** .078* .041*** .014 .045*** .021 .057** .061* .099* .164* .061*
CET
.030 .059** .063* .093* .011 .101* .065* .041*** .060** .052** .067* .077* .053** .031 .027 .103* .123* .081* .071* .032 .067* .117* .129* .086* .022 .046*** .139* .028 .010 .092* .184* .210 .181* .060**
< .01. < .05. ***p < .10. Notes: N = 2015. Standardized path coefficients, from structural equations modeling.
CD and DVD players, television set, digital camera, and computer) and six of the seven electronic media/communication activities (mobile phone, ATM, computer usage, Web surfing and e-mail, and DVD purchasing). In addition, COS was positively antecedent for the importance of owning five appliances (washing machine, hair dryer, vacuum, refrigerator, and microwave oven) as well as a bicy-
136
cle. In support of H8cd, COS positively influenced the purchasing frequencies of five of the seven luxuries (fragrances, cosmetics, jewelry, expensive wine/champagne, and boxed chocolates), as well as three of the four apparel categories (jeans, athletic shoes, and business attire). Although not hypothesized, COS also positively predicted six food consumption frequencies (beer, wine, coffee, tea, and traditional foods and beverages). Of the 17 significant, negative relationships, CET accounted for 13, indicating that products associated with these behaviors would be poor candidates for foreign brand penetration into areas in which strong sentiments of CET are held. Providing limited support for H9cd, respondents with strong CET sentiments tended to eschew certain electronic media products and behaviors (mobile phone usage, ownership and use of computers, the Internet, e-mail, ATMs, and DVD players). We obtained narrow support for H9b, in which consumers with high CET levels abstained from blue jeans. High CET levels were associated with reduced importance ascribed to owning five of the eight appliances (washing machine, clothes dryer, vacuum, refrigerator, and microwave oven). Of the remaining negative relationships, cosmopolitans avoided hamburgers and videogame console ownership, whereas materialists shunned bicycles and tea. The next step involved applying multigroup analyses to the three baseline models, comparing the fit of the unconstrained models (Models 3, 4, and 5) with increasingly restrictive models (Table 2). Although the fit statistics of Models 3a, 4a, and 5a (constraining measurement weights to equality across the eight groups) were significantly inferior to the unrestricted models, the deterioration was relatively marginal when compared with the more fully restrictive models (3b, 4b, and 5b, in which structural weights were also constrained to equality). Given our objective of making cross-cultural comparisons, balanced against the presence of partial measurement invariance and adequacy of model fit statistics, we drew the results discussed in the following section from the models in which the measurement weights were constrained to equality. Space limitations preclude a detailed review of all revealed intercountry similarities and differences, so our focus here is on the most robust consistencies and discrepancies.1 Among the most consistent relationships were the positive links between CET and various traditional foods and fashions. In the majority of sample groups, COS positively predicted the consumption of three beverages (tea, table wine, and expensive wine/champagne), whereas MAT was positively associated with three global foods (soft drinks, pizza, and hamburgers). Commonly across at least half of the groups, COS positively predicted the use of modern communication devices, including computers (and the importance of computer ownership), the Internet, e-mail, and mobile phone usage, whereas CET was negatively linked to such behaviors. The most universal finding was the positive links of MAT to the importance of owning various hedonistic and/or status-enhancing products (portable stereo, CD and DVD players, DVDs, videogame console, television set [and television watching], digital camera, and automobile), the purchasing frequencies of four luxury products (fur/leather coats, fragrances, cosmetics, and jewelry), the impor-
137
tance of owning four appliances (clothes dryer, hair dryer, microwave oven, and food processor), and ATM use. Considerable dissimilarities were revealed with respect to the antecedent role (or lack thereof) of the constructs on various behaviors, particularly for COS and CET. For example, the importance ascribed to automobile ownership was a positive function of COS among Hungarians and Mexicans, whereas for Canadians and Koreans, a negative relationship was revealed. In many instances, a relationship was revealed in one or two groups, but not in others (e.g., COS and pizza in Mexico, MAT and business attire in Korea and Sweden), indicating that the behavioral outcomes of these psychographic drivers were not only category specific but also often country specific. In conclusion, the highest degree of uniformity (within and between product categories) across the groups was evidenced for MAT, and the discrepancy was greatest for COS. Several key contributions and implications can be drawn from this research, from theoretical and practical perspectives. It is vitally important to investigate the robustness of constructs and models developed in Western contexts to varied international settings, so as to broaden consumer behavior theory across cultures. Here, we validated measures for three dispositional constructs that are useful for identifying cross-national segmentstwo reflecting global consumer trajectories (MAT and COS) and one representing the entrenchment of national consumer differences (CET)across samples drawn from a diverse collection of countries. We assessed the nomological validity of these constructs further by examining the broader network of demographic antecedents and behavioral outcomes, across the eight groups. Regarding the behavioral outcomes, our results demonstrated that under certain conditions, CET and MAT are compatible as behavioral predictors. Four distinct patterns can be discerned according to the directional influence of these two constructs: (1) traditional consumption (e.g., traditional foodstuffs), in which CET is positively antecedent and MAT is negatively (or nonsignificantly) predictive of behavior; (2) necessity consumption (e.g., tea, refrigerator), in which both MAT and CET are negatively (or nonsignificantly) prognostic of behavior; (3) hedonistic local consumption (e.g., traditional snacks and restaurants), in which both MAT and CET positively predict consumption; and (4) hedonistic global consumption (e.g., blue jeans, Internet surfing), which describes behaviors that are positively a function of MAT and negatively (or nonsignificantly) a function of CET. The third pattern implies that ethnocentric consumers do not necessarily eschew the pursuit of material objects; however, they seek out local alternatives to satisfy their materialistic cravings. Beyond their bias for locally produced products, country-of-origin stereotypes tend to be more entrenched among ethnocentric consumers (Kaynak and Kara 2002), though perceived cultural similarity affects ethnocentric consumers evaluations of foreign products (Watson and Wright 2000). With their ability to traverse, consume, appreciate, and empathize with cultural symbols and practices that originate outside their home country (Skrbis, Kendall, and Woodward 2004, p. 129), cos-
GENERAL DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
138
mopolitans gravitate toward exotic foods, art, music, and fashion (Thompson and Tambyah 1999). To the cosmopolitan, this omnivorous consumption is perceived as a symbol of social status and of ones moral worthiness (Skrbis, Kendall, and Woodward 2004, p. 131). Successful global branding often entails promoting cosmopolitan, modern, and sophisticated images (Friedman 1990). We recommend this positioning strategy for products that satisfy communication needs (e.g., computers, mobile phones), for which we obtained positive and negative behavioral links to COS and CET, respectively. In terms of the aggregate data set, we found that MAT and COS jointly and positively predicted behavior in 22 of the 48 product categories; there were only four instances in which behavior was positively a function of one and negatively a function of the other. Possessing foreign brands enhances the owners status in many developing countries (Ger and Belk 1996a, b). However, our finding of the statistical independence between COS and MAT (except in the Korea sample) implies that openness toward other (and global) cultural perspectives does not engender greater susceptibility to materialistic values. More likely, mediascapes (Appadurai 1990) and other global cultural flows trigger a latent, universal human desire for status and material enrichment. In defining the target market and designing the marketing strategy (in particular, communication appeals), the key for international marketers is to recognize (1) the circumstances that increase the salience of traditional cultural affiliation and attendant CET dispositions (e.g., foods, other culturally laden products), (2) the contexts favoring the emergence of COS dispositions (e.g., products appealing to human universals, products that connote membership in transnational communities), and (3) when and where consumption is driven by MAT (e.g., socially visible products). With advances in communications technology and the correspondingly rapid diffusion of ideas, images, and products, some researchers have argued that the formulation of cultural entities is no longer dependent on geographic proximity (Craig and Douglas 2006). Subsequently, the search for common consumer groups across boundaries will become more important than delineating groups along national distinctions (Alden, Steenkamp, and Batra 1999; Bolton and Myers 2003; Roth 1995). Although commonalities were evidenced across the country samples regarding the roles of the psychographic constructs on behavior, many discrepancies were also substantiated. These findings imply that globalization has made uneven inroads on consumer attitudes and behaviors, lending credence to Alden, Steenkamp, and Batras (2006) conclusion that globalization and cultural homogenization are neither interchangeable nor inevitable. In some respects, geography still matters. Therefore, further research should investigate how MAT, COS, and CET are related to cultural characteristics. With roots in occidental culture, the acquisition of cosmopolitan traits may be abetted or thwarted by the local environment (e.g., universities where students are apt to be exposed to transnational individuals and ideals) and the mainstream society (e.g., individualist Canadian versus collectivist Korean). Within- and between-country variation was greatest for CET. Across markets, uneven proportions of consumers are biased toward local alternatives. Whether globalization is accelerating the growth of the proportion of highly CET consumers relative to the
139
proportion of consumers holding cosmopolitan dispositions is left to additional research. Further research on similar topics should draw from a broader crosssection of the population and consider a wider array of product- and service-dominated categories. The findings presented herein should be interpreted with vigilance, particularly when generalizing them to the broader country populations. The relatively youthful, affluent, educated, and English-fluent sample doubtlessly inflated and understated mean COS and CET levels, relative to the mainstream populations. However, the samples were carefully selected to attend to the difficulties of representative sampling, while departing from a pure convenience sampling approach. By collaborating with mature students (who also were members of their nations workforce), we acquired data from a broader section of the population. The sampling protocol adhered to in each country generated groups that were roughly similar in terms of demographics, with respect to the distributions of age, income, and education. Our intention was not to generalize the findings to specific countries but rather to confirm the structure of these psychographic constructs internationally, assess the consistency of key demographic antecedents across different groups, and illustrate which constructs are drivers of what behaviors in which locales. By offering insights into when and why consumers might desire global products to local alternatives, our study extends the scant extant research on transnational consumer segments. 1. A table summarizing the significant findings for each country data set is available from the authors on request.
Factor Construct Items
(MAT1) I like a lot of luxury in my life. (MAT2) Buying things gives me lots of pleasure. (MAT3) My life would be better if I owned certain things I dont have. (MAT4) I admire people who own expensive homes, cares, and clothes. (MAT5) Id be happier if I could afford more things. (MAT6) It sometimes bothers me quite a bit that I cant afford to buy all the things that I like. (MAT7) I like to own things that impress people. (COS1) I enjoy exchanging ideas with people from other cultures or countries. (COS2) I am interested in learning more about people who live in other countries. (COS3) I enjoy being with people from other countries to learn about their views and approaches. (COS4) I like to observe people of other countries, to see what I can learn from them. (COS5) I like to learn about other ways of life. (COS6) I find people from other cultures stimulating.
NOTE
Appendix A. Construct Measures (Factor Loadings)a and Behavioral Measures
1 (MAT)
.745 .725 .709 .708 .707 .698 .640
2 (COS)
3 (CET)
.823 .805
.779 .764 .723 .664
140
Factor Construct Items

(CET1) [Countrymen] should not buy foreign products, because this hurts [home countrys] businesses and causes unemployment. (CET2) It is not right to purchase foreign products, because it puts [countrymen] out of jobs. (CET3) A real [country person] should always buy [home country]-made products. (CET4) We should purchase products manufactured in [home country] instead of letting other countries get rich off of us.
1 (MAT)
2 (COS)
3 (CET)
Appendix A. Continued
.846 .828 .809
.789
Measures for Consumer
Behaviorsb
On a scale from 1 (never) to 7 (daily), how often do you consume the following food and drink items? Pizza, tea, beer, traditional country (e.g., Swedish) food items, hamburgers, coffee, wine, soft drinks, traditional country (e.g., Greek) beverage items On a scale of 1 (never) to 7 (daily), how often do you wear the following items? Blue (denim) jeans, athletic/running shoes, business suits/attire On a scale from 1 (not at all essential) to 7 (very essential), for you, how essential (important) are the following items? Personal stereo player (e.g., walkman, iPod), VCR (videocassette recorder), washing machine, clothes dryer, dishwasher machine, electric hair dryer, vacuum cleaner, CD (compact disc) player, bicycle, videogame console (e.g., Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo), DVD (digital video disc) player, refrigerator, microwave oven, television set, digital camera, personal (and/or laptop) computer, electric food processor, automobile On a scale from 1 (never) to 7 (daily), how often do you Watch television, use a cell phone (mobile phone), use a personal (and/or laptop) computer, use (surf) the Internet (World Wide Web), send e-mail (electronic mail), use an automatic banking machine (ATM), eat traditional country (e.g., Korean) meals, eat traditional country (e.g., Mexican) snacks On a scale from 1 (never) to 7 (several times per week), how often do you Visit traditional country (e.g., Hungarian) restaurants, wear traditional country (e.g., Indian) fashions On a scale from 1 (never) to 7 (at least once per month), how often do you purchase these items? Boxed chocolates, expensive cosmetics, movie or music DVDs (digital video discs), fragrances (e.g., perfumes/colognes) On a scale from 1 (never) to 7 (several times per year), how often do you purchase these items? Jewelry, antique furniture, fur/leather coats, expensive wine/champagne
aPrincipal
component analysis; Varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization. Rotation converged in four iterations, and loadings are for the entire sample (N = 2015). Cumulative percentage of variance explained = 57.22. KaiserMeyerOlkin measure of sampling adequacy = .868. Bartletts test of sphericity: significant (2153 = 12936.36, p = .00). bStatements were adapted when necessary, with respect to the sampled country (e.g., traditional Swedish food items, traditional Korean food items).
141
142
Appendix B. Descriptive Statisticsa, Mean Scoresb, and Reliability Coefficientsc
Canada
241 120 (50) 121 (50) 109 (47) 147 (46) 92 (67) 136 (41) 122 (53) 170 (54) 45 (33) 196 (59) 231 317 137 332 236 96 (41) 140 (59)
Characteristic
Mexico
Greece
Korea
Hungary
India
Chile
192 116 (60) 76 (40)
Sweden
329 183 (56) 146 (44)
Total
2015 1048 (52) 967 (48)
Sample Size (n)
Female (%)
Male (%)
Age 167 (70) 29 (12) 15 (6) 30 (12) 24 (10) 30 (10) 11 (8) 29 (13) 73 (23) 4 (3) 48 (21) 98 (31) 5 (4) 48 (15) 51 (15) 55 (17) 130 (56) 116 (37) 117 (85) 177 (53)
(years)d 169 (72) 38 (16) 12 (5) 17 (7) 116 (60) 25 (13) 29 (15) 22 (12) 121 (37) 82 (25) 61 (19) 65 (20) 1113 (55) 374 (19) 274 (14) 254 (13)
024
2529
3039
40+
Household 33 (14) 86 (36) 122 (51) 110 (48) 45 (14) 83 (36) 189 (60) 38 (17) 83 (26) 43 (31) 43 (31) 51 (37)
Incomee 113 (34) 175 (53) 44 (13) 96 (41) 68 (29) 72 (31) 81 (42) 75 (39) 36 (19) 81 (25) 90 (27) 158 (48) 568 (28) 809 (40) 638 (32)
<$30,000
$30,000$79,999
>$80,000
Educationf 1 (0) 32 (13) 140 (58) 45 (19) 23 (10) 42 (18) 78 (34) 70 (30) 34 (15) 7 (3) 2 (1) 39 (12) 94 (30) 100 (32) 82 (26) 5 (4) 34 (25) 54 (39) 41 (30) 3 (2) 9 (3) 143 (43) 62 (19) 48 (15) 70 (21) 3 (1) 28 (12) 36 (15) 101 (43) 68 (29) 7 (4) 33 (17) 42 (22) 79 (41) 31 (16) 14 (4) 68 (21) 77 (23) 100 (30) 70 (21) 48 (2) 411 (20) 575 (29) 592 (29) 389 (19)
High school (inc.)
High school
College/technical/diploma
Undergraduate degree
Graduate degree
Characteristic
.863 4.66 1.16 .909 5.69 1.05 .750 2.95 1.12 1.20 1.37 1.18 1.34 4.41 3.96 3.86 3.70 .766 .856 .798 .837 .80 .98 .75 .95 .85 .810 3.67 1.41 5.73 5.59 4.91 5.68 5.59 .780 .874 .648 .864 .760 1.36 1.14 .81 1.06 1.02 4.26 4.64 4.57 4.40 4.84 4.03 1.13 .819 5.91 .81 .791 3.54 1.27 .787 .838 .710 .794 .743 .815
Canada
Mexico
Greece
Korea
Hungary
India
Chile
Sweden
.883 4.16 1.33 .907 5.52 1.05 .848 2.64 1.23
Total
.830 4.44 1.15 .855 5.58 .96 .839 3.59 1.38
MAT
SD
COS
SD
CET
SD
aColumn
percentages may not add up exactly to 100% because of rounding. bCronbachs alphas (all, N = 2015); CET, four items; MAT, seven; COS, six. cAdjusted mean scores, with the following entered into the model as covariates: sex = .48, age = 3.09, household income = 5.11, and educational attainment = 3.43. dAge categories aggregated from original nine intervals. eCanadian currency equivalent; income categories aggregated from original nine intervals. fHighest completed level (not in progress), converted to Canadian educational level equivalent.
Appendix B. Continued
143
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THE AUTHORS
Mark Cleveland is Assistant Professor of Marketing, Aubrey Dan Program in Management and Organizational Studies, University of Western Ontario (e-mail: mclevela@uwo.ca). Michel Laroche is Royal Bank Distinguished Professor of Marketing, John Molson School of Business, Concordia University (e-mail: laroche@jmsb.concordia.ca). Nicolas Papadopoulos is Professor of Marketing and International Business, Eric Sprott School of Business, Carleton University (e-mail: npapadop@carleton.ca).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of SSHRC Canada. They extend thanks to the three anonymous JIM reviewers for their constructive comments in the review process. They also thank the following people for their assistance in the data collection for this project: Leslie Szamosi, City College (affiliated institution of the University of Sheffield), Thessaloniki, Greece; Bigyan Verma, Kohinoor Business School, Mumbai, India; Annika Hallberg, Gteborg University, Gteborg, Sweden; Jzsef Bercs, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary; Roberto Solano, Universidad de las Amricas Puebla, Mexico; Kye-Chung Song, Information and Communications University, Daejeon, South Korea; and Jos Rojas Mndez (formerly of Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile) and Statia Elliott, both at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.
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Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism: An Eight-Country Study of Antecedents and Outcomes

Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES

Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism

Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos

Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism

Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos

Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism

Demographic Antecedents of MAT, COS, and CET

Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos

Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism

Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos

Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism

Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos

Structural Equation Modeling Measurement and Demographic Findings

Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism

.77* .73* .70* .65* .59*

Model fit statistics: 2/d.f. = 5.148 CFI = .961 RMSEA = .045

Model fit statistics: 2/d.f. = 5.466 CFI = .961 RMSEA = .047

Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos

Model Fit (1)

Model Fit (2)

Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism

Table 1. Constructs and Demographics Relationships Across Country Samplesa

Model Fit (1)

Model Fit (2)

Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos

Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism

Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos

2 d.f. CFI RMSEA

1a. Measurement weights constrained

1b. Structural covariances constrained

2a. Measurement weights constrained

2b. Structural weights constrained

2c. Structural covariances constrained

3. Unconstrained food consumption

3a. Measurement weights constrained

3b. Structural weights constrained

4. Unconstrained ownership importance

4a. Measurement weights constrained

4b. Structural weights constrained

5. Unconstrained consumer behaviors

5a. Measurement weights constrained

5b. Structural weights constrained

Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism

Table 2. Results of the Multigroup Structural Equation Model Analyses

Structural Equation Modeling Consumer Behavior Findings

.65* .64* .53* .57*

.70* .65* .59*

.82* .76* .20*

MAT COS CET

n.s. n.s. n.s.

Figure 2. Baseline Structural Model Example: Food Consumption

Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos

trad. meal err

Model fit statistics: 2/d.f. = 3.588 CFI = .958 RMSEA = .036

Table 3. MAT, COS, CET, and Consumer Behavior (Baseline Models)

Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism

Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos

Cosmopolitanism, Consumer Ethnocentrism, and Materialism

GENERAL DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Mark Cleveland, Michel Laroche, and Nicolas Papadopoulos