cross-cultural analysis on european consumer behaviours how different are french, italian and...

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How different are French, Italian and Spanish consumers when purchasing electronic products?

Taekil (Travis) Kim BUS6A1

Statement of Originality and Authenticity

I, Taekil (Travis) Kim, pledge that the research is carried out by me and the dissertation

paper is my own work. Any theories, ideas, quotes from the work of others are duly

acknowledged under the Harvard Referencing system (Saunders et al., 2003; Bahar,

2014).”

Date: 30.04.2015

Taekil (Travis) Kim



Acknowledgements

Before anything, I’d like to thank my mother for surviving a cancer. She bravely and

firmly encouraged me to return to the U.K. to continue my studies for my future. After

spending so many years abroad away from her, I realise that there cannot be a future for

me without her.

I sincerely appreciate my dissertation supervisor, Dr. Antony Dilleen, for his steadfast

review on my work and useful feedback.

Dr. Angelo Gioè – grazie mile per la tua participazione alla entrevista per la mia tesis.

Anche, ti ringrazzio per il tuo aiuto con la traduzione de domande di questionario in

Italiano.

Thank you, Zabi for your help with structuring my dissertation and your helpful

comments.

Special thanks to all the respondents (mainly French, Spanish, Italians and English) who

have participated in my survey.



Dedication

Although the main theme of the research concerns characteristics of European

consumers (namely French, Italians and Spanish), the research is dedicated to anyone

who feels passion for European cultures and people.

Simultaneously, the researcher hopes that the research provides useful information for

companies from outside the European Union intending to learn about European

markets.



List of Abbreviations

FTA Free Trade Agreement

TPP Trans Pacific Partnership

EPI Export Promoted Industrialisation

UAI Uncertainty Avoidance Index

VAT Value-added Tax

EU The European Union



Abstract

Trade liberalisation movement from the political sphere is bringing about more

opportunities for businesses to go abroad as they reduce legal and technical trade

barriers. In this context, cultural barriers are becoming relatively more compelling

because they are paramount to understand local consumer behaviours; therefore, the

research seeks to answer following questions:

1. How do cultures impact consumer behaviours?

2. Can such linkage be used as predictive indicator of foreign consumer

behaviours?

3. Do consumers from different cultures have unique or specific characteristics in

their behaviours as consumers?

The author chose to compare France, Italy and Spain to test the existing theories on

cross-cultural consumer behaviour analysis. Limiting the research to these countries was

to provide in-depth consumer profiles as well as for the matter of practicality. In fact,

findings of this research suggest that predicting foreign consumer behaviours based on

cultural analysis may not be adequate. In any case, other findings revealed that the

consumers from the three countries exhibited similarities when it comes to

incorporating opinions of their friends and families when deciding to buy consumer

electronics; however, they were very different in terms of their attitudes towards

celebrity / expert endorsement promotion, information searching behaviours, and

consumer innovativeness.

Finally, the researcher identified distinguishable characteristics of consumer behaviours

in each country. French consumers were rational evaluators and valued “durability”

when buying consumer electronics. Italian consumers were fond of brands in general

and the biggest online researchers in the field of product information. Spanish

consumers had the highest level of ownership of latest consumer electronics. At the

same time, they valued practicality than prestige or image.



Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION 14

Research Problem 15

Scope of the Research 16

Background to the Selection of this Topic 16

Statement of Aim and Objectives 16

2. LITERATURE REVIEW 18

Chapter Introduction 18

Definition of Culture 18

Culture’s Impact on Consumer Behaviours 18

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Model 19

Cultural Dimensions and Related Consumer Behaviours 20

Hierarchical Cultures and Celebrity / Expert Endorsement 22

Opinion Leadership 23

Individualism vs. Collectivism 24

Incorporation of Opinions from Reference Groups 25

Information Sharing 26

Achievement and Material Success vs. Modesty and Quality of Life 27

Status and Brand Consciousness 28

Resistance towards Uncertainty 29

The Level of Risk Perceived 30

Information Searching Behaviour 30

Consumer Innovativeness 31

Contrasting Views on Influence of Culture on Consumer Behaviours 31



Cultures Becoming Similar to Each Other 31

Convergence of Consumer Tastes and Behaviours 32

Chapter Conclusion: Limitations and Their Impact on Designing Methodology 32

3. METHODOLOGY 34


Overview of the Research Paradigms 35

Research Philosophy 35

The Researcher’s Choice: Pragmatism 35

The Research Approach 36

Researcher's Choice: Hybrid Approach 36

Research Design 37

Researcher's Choice: descripto-explanatory 37

Research Strategy 37

The Researcher’s Choice: Multiple Case Study 38

Research Choices: Mixed-methods 39

Data Collection Methods (Implementation and justification) 40

Secondary Data 41

Primary data 41

Interview 45

Research Limitations 46

Research Ethics 47

4. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 48


Case 1. Power Distance Vs Celebrity and Expert Endorsement 49



Restatement of Hypothesis 49

The Survey Question 1 49

The results from the researcher’s survey (appendix 11) 50

Validity of the Theories 50

The Interview Results 51

Case 2. Masculine Culture Vs Brand-Consciousness 52

Hypothesis 52


The Results of the Researcher’s Survey (appendix 12) 52

Validity of the Theories 53

The Results of Online Survey by GMI/Mintel 54

The Importance of Brand in Purchase Decisions 55


Analysis 56

The Interview Results 56

Uncertainty Avoidant Tendency Vs Consumer Innovativeness 57

The Survey Question by the Researcher 57

Analysis (appendix 14) 57

Validity of Hypothesis 58

Findings from the Interview with Differing Outcomes 58

Actual Level of Ownership of the Latest Consumer Electronics in Each Country (appendix

5) 59

The Interpretation of Inconsistent Results 62



Validity of Hypothesis 62

Information Searching Behaviors and Uncertainty-Avoidant Tendencies 63

Hypothesis 63

The Survey Question 63

Self-assessed Level of Information Search Behaviour 63

Average Number of Product Attributes that Consumers Assess Critically (Appendix 15.2)

65

Findings from the Interview 66

Analysis and Interpretation 66

Validity of Theories 67

Individualism vs. Collectivism & Reference Group Opinions 68

Hypothesis 68

Survey Question 68

Survey Results 68

Validity of Theory 69

The survey outcomes suggest that the hypothesis did not fully hold true. Therefore,

Childers and Rao (1992), Webster and Faircoth III (1994), and Kau and Jung’s theory

(2004), on which the hypothesis above was based, may need revision. 69

Interpretation of the Results 69

Chapter Summary 70

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 71

Revision of Research Aims and Objectives 71

The Research Objectives 71

Steps to Achieve the Aims and Objectives 72



Research Questions and Answers 72

Profile of Consumer Behaviours by Country 77

French Consumers 77

Italian Consumers 78

Spanish Consumers 79

Implications of the Research to International Marketers 80

Research Limitations 81

Research Recommendations 82

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY 83

7. APPENDICES 90

Appendix 1. Definitions Each Research Philosophy 90

Appendix 2. Definitions of Each Research Philosophy and Respective Limitations 92

Appendix 3. Definition of Each Type of Research 93

Appendix 4. Survey on Online Activities Performed in the Past Three Months (in

France, Italy and Spain) 94

Appendix 5. Household Ownership of Electronic products in France, Italy and Spain

98

Appendix 6. Online survey forms 102

English Version 102

Spanish Version 105

French Version 107

Italian Version 110

Appendix 7. Profile of Dr. Angelo Gioè 112

Appendix 8. Types of interviews 113

Appendix 9. Original (Spanish) and Translated (English) Transcript of the Interview



with Dr. Gioè 114

The Interview Transcript Translated into English 119

Appendix 10. The Interview Consent Form 124

Appendix 11. The results for the survey question No.1 125




Appendix 15.1 The results for the survey question no.5 129

Appendix 15.2 Average number of product attributes that consumers from France,

Italy and Spain critically consider before making a purchase decision (modified from

the results for question no. 3) 130

Appendix 16. The results for the survey question no.6 131



Table of Figures

FIGURE 1 CULTURAL DIMENSIONS COVERED IN THIS RESEARCH AND RELATED CONSUMER BEHAVIOURS . 20

FIGURE 2 COMPARISONS OF CULTURAL DIMENSIONS BETWEEN FRANCE, ITALY AND SPAIN ........................ 21

FIGURE 3 HIERARCHICAL CULTURES IN EUROPE MEASURED BY POWER DISTANCE INDEX ......................... 22

FIGURE 5 INDIVIDUALIST CULTURES AND COLLECTIVIST CULTURES IN EUROPE ......................................... 24

FIGURE 6 MASCULINITY INDEX IN EUROPE ................................................................................................. 27

FIGURE 7 UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE INDEX IN EUROPE ............................................................................. 29

FIGURE 8 TYPES OF RESEARCH CHOICES .................................................................................................... 39

Table of Tables

TABLE 1 COMPARISON OF POWER DISTANCE INDEX BETWEEN FRANCE, ITALY AND SPAIN 23

TABLE 3 COMPARISON OF INDIVIDUALISM INDEX BETWEEN FRANCE, ITALY AND SPAIN 25

TABLE 4 COMPARISON OF MASCULINITY INDEX BETWEEN FRANCE, ITALY AND SPAIN 28

TABLE 5 COMPARISON OF UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE BETWEEN FRANCE, ITALY AND SPAIN 30

TABLE 6 SUMMARY OF HYPOTHESES 33



Introduction

In many countries in the world, including the United States of America and the member

states of the EU, political measures concerning free trade like bilateral free trade

agreements (FTA) or the regional FTA—e.g. the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)—have

attracted great attention recently.

This is because such institutions will reduce legal and technical trade barriers. For that,

many speculate that such trends will have favourable effects on international trade

(Coopes, 2014; Schipani, 2014; Martin, 2012). For example, the number of companies

participating in international trade will rise and more of their products will be consumed

by foreign consumers. Indeed, trade liberalisation movement from the political sphere

has already been bringing about greater opportunities for private sector businesses to go

abroad.

On the other hand, industry participants seem to concern more about cultural and

linguistic barriers now (Schipani & Mander, 2014; Ramirez, 2012). These barriers are

becoming relatively more compelling. This is especially so, when entering and

establishing in a foreign market (Branch, 2006; Durmaz et al., 2011).

Indeed, cultural factors require delicate analysis because they affect consumer

behaviours. For example, some aspects of a culture like collectivism or the degree of

resistance towards uncertainty are hard to perceive. Nonetheless, understanding such

cultural aspects, and furthermore, predicting how they can influence the beliefs and

behaviours of the local consumers are critical (Smith & Albaum, 2010).

This is why many authors argue that the success of marketing activities in a foreign

market lays on cultural understanding (Manzoor, et al., 2014; Solomon, et al., 2006).

Often causes of differing “consumption patterns” and “buyer behaviours” are found in

cultural differences (Brunot, n.d.; Solomon, et al., 2006; Blythe, 2005).



Research Problem

In this context, the research problem begins with the fact that firms pursuing

international expansion1 face the issue of precisely recognising local cultures and the

resulting buying patterns and consumer behaviours in the respective markets.

One way of appreciating the local cultures and predicting local consumer behaviours is

clustering method as suggested by Smith (2014), Wellford and Prescott (1996 as cited in

Hollensen, 2007:256). Clustering gather countries into groups based on common

characteristics like cultural factors. In the initial stage of foreign market development,

clustering can be effectively used as a part of the market screening process,2 and in the

later stage, it can assist cross-national market segmentation.

However, clustering does not provide precise analyses of each culture. Fine-tuning

marketing activities like advertising or developing new products requires more precise

understanding of the unique cultures of the country. Thus, more flexible and

customisable approach to analyse foreign cultures is needed to predict foreign consumer

behaviours.

For that, the research intends to answer the following questions.

4. Is there a reliable framework to analyse a culture?

5. What are the types of consumer behaviours affected by these dimensions? Can

the linkages used to reliably predict foreign consumer behaviours?

6. Do consumers from different cultures have unique or specific characteristics in

terms of consumer behaviours?

7. What implications does the analysis on cultures and consumer behaviours have

on international marketers?

1 E.g. by setting up a sales subsidiary in a foreign market to export

2 For example, the former groups Spain and Italy together as the “Latin cluster” whereas the later groups

southern Italy and Greece together.



Scope of the Research

The focus of the research will be reduced at three levels. Firstly, the nationalities of

consumers will be limited to those from three selected European countries; France, Italy

and Spain. Secondly, the category of products dealt in this research will be limited to

electronic products. Finally, as the readers will realise as they progress in this research,

only a certain dimensions from the Hofstede’s cultural dimension model were selected

and investigation.

Background to the Selection of this Topic

The biggest motives for the researcher to choose this area as the research topic were his

interest in internationalisation of companies through exportation and passion for

European cultures. Growing up in Korea–where the driver of the economic growth was

the export promoted industrialization (EPI) policy–the author had been exposed to

countless articles and documentaries on Korean firms gaining market success abroad

through their product adaptation strategies reflecting local consumer preferences and

cultures.

When selecting countries for the research, the author felt that there was lack of

information as to non-English speaking European cultures and consumer profiles–

particularly for France, Italy and Spain in Western Europe–in Korea.

Statement of Aim and Objectives

The aims of the research are to understand the cultural differences between three

European countries–i.e. France, Italy and Spain–and to illustrate specificities of their

consumer behaviours. The researcher hopes that the outcomes of the research can be

useful for companies from outside the European Union intending to enter the three

European Markets.



Furthermore, in carrying out the research, it is also aimed at verifying the validity of

theories that link consumer behaviours and respective cultural aspects. If they are valid,

it will prove that cultural differences can be used as indicators of differing consumer

behaviours. If proved invalid, it will suggest the need for further research as to why or

the need for alternative methods to predict foreign consumer behaviours.

These aims lead to following objectives to be achieved:

To define a culture and understand what it consists of.

To review the academic construct used for analysing cultures and the implications

for consumer behaviours

To corroborate the validity of reviewed theories and models relating to

cross-cultural consumer behaviour

To gain understanding of the difference in consumer behaviours with reference to

their cultural specificities

To present useful information for foreign firms for their market entry decision to

the aforementioned European markets



Literature Review

Chapter Introduction

This chapter provides literature review on the relationship between national cultures and

their impact on consumer behaviours. It starts off with a definition of a culture and links

it with consumer behaviours in general. Limitation on cultural influence on

consumption behaviour will be discussed at the end.

Definition of Culture

To begin with, it is necessary to know what a culture is. Some authors (Solomon et al.,

2006; Durmaz et al., 2011) define it as “the accumulation of shared meanings, rituals,

norms” and so forth “among the members of the society.” It implies that individuals are

part of a society and they are evidently influenced by the collective “meanings” and

“values” established by the society (Brassington & Pettitt, 2006).

Mühlbacher, Leighs and Dahringer (2006) provide another insightful definition of

culture, which is perhaps more relevant to consumer behaviour context; the culture

provides “the standards of beliefs, perception” and “evaluation” which affect

individuals’ “subjective perceptions of reality.”

Culture’s Impact on Consumer Behaviours

What the first definition implies is that a culture works as very common rules under

which individuals behave or on which they judge what is a normal behaviour to follow.

So, knowing these rules will help identifying certain common behaviours within a

society – in this case, consumer behaviours.



The second definition implies that cultures fundamentally affect how consumers

evaluate products logically as well as the way consumers view and feel about products

emotionally (Hollensen, 2007; Mühlbacher, et al., 2006; Solomon, et al., 2006; Szmigin

& Piacentini, 2014; and Usunier & Lee, 2005).

Combining the two points, it is suggested that differences between cultures leads to

different consumer behaviours. So, consumers from different cultures may show

distinguishable characteristics when it comes to choosing, buying, using and even

throwing away products or services (Solomon et al., 2010).

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Model

Geert Hofstede is an authoritative scholar in the field of cultural studies (Kau & Jung,

2004; Katsioloudes & Hadjidakis, 2007). He developed a framework on cultural

analysis, widely known as Hofstede’s cultural dimensions model. This model is the

most widely used tool for cross-cultural consumer research (Sondergaard, 1994;

Steenkamp, 2001 cited in Soares et al., 2007) and evaluated to be the most applicable

for such research (Lu et al., 1999 cited in Soars et al., 2007); however, it should be also

noted that his quantitative data were solely gathered from IBM employees around the

world (Lynn & Gelb, 1996). So it is questionable as to whether those values adequately

represent cultures at national level.

Nonetheless, as noted by Helsen et al. (1993) and Wind and Douglas (1972) (cited in

Lynn & Gelb, 1996), it would be practically impossible and too costly to quantify

cultural variables in international scale within the period of time given for the author.

Therefore, the author decided to rely on his data.



Cultural Dimensions and Related Consumer Behaviours

Figure 1 Cultural Dimensions Covered in this Research and Related Consumer

Behaviours

As outlined above, the four cultural dimensions examined by the researcher were

“power distance,” “individualism vs. collectivism,” “masculinity vs. femininity,” and

“uncertainty avoidance” (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). Power distance concerns how

hierarchical a society is (Kau & Jung, 2004). Individualism vs. collectivism concerns

how closely individuals feel towards each other in a given society (The Hofstede Centre,

2014; Kau & Jung, 2004). Masculinity vs. femininity is about which value between

achievement (masculine) or quality of life—like happiness—(feminine), a society is

oriented towards (De Mooij & Hofstede, 2011; Lam et al., 2009). Uncertainty

avoidance shows how reluctant people feel towards unknown outcomes or

consequences in the future (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). In any case, these

terminologies shall be further discussed below. Then, the countries shall be compared

on each cultural dimension; and relevant consumer behaviours affected by each cultural

variables.

Power Distance

Opinion Leadership

Celebrity / Expert

Endorsement

Individualism vs. Collectivism

Opinions from Reference

Group

Information Sharing

Masculinity vs. Femininity

Status Brand Consciousness

Uncertainty Avoidance

Risk Perception

Information Search

Consumer Innovativeness



Figure 2 Comparisons of Cultural Dimensions between France, Italy and Spain

Source: The Hofstede Centre (2014)

For the cultural comparison between the selected countries, the data from the figure

above will be based throughout the literature review and findings and analysis chapters.



Hierarchical Cultures and Celebrity / Expert Endorsement

Figure 3 Hierarchical Cultures in Europe Measured by Power Distance Index

Source: (Chartsbin, 2015)

By definition, this dimension of a culture, called power distance, measures the

inequality between those who hold influential qualities such as “power,” “wealth,” and

“prestige” (Kau & Jung, 2004) and those who do not. For the purpose of the research, it

is important to distinguish the influential qualities from coercive force because they can

be rather subtle and indirect. For example, famous fashion models like Kate Moss and

David Gandy may wear clothes with new designs that everyone would want to follow

voluntarily. Similarly, when an expert can influence actions of others—i.e. consumers in

this context—by sharing his / her expertise, this is called the “expert power” (BPP

Learning Media, 2009).

In fact, the effectiveness of such influence is not determined by those who exercise

them (BPP Learning Media, 2009); it is rather those who voluntarily accept and follow

such figures who decide to do so (De Mooij & Hofstede, 2011; Patwardhan, 2013). One

way of seeing how obedient people are in general in a given society is to see whether

their culture is hierarchical or egalitarian (Hofstede, 1991 cited in Joynt & Warner,



2002). In a hierarchical culture, the individuals can be expected to be more receptive to

those who are deemed as authoritative or influential.

Opinion Leadership

In fact, Kau and Jung (2004) incorporated this into consumer behavior context and

postulated that, in hierarchical cultures, consumers tend to follow more easily

“recommendations and opinions on products” from opinion leaders such as

“commercial authorities” “experts,” or “celebrities.” This form of promotion strategy

through famous figures is called celebrity endorsement (figure above). Similarly, when

someone known to be an expert is used, it is called the expert endorsement.

Table 1 Comparison of Power Distance Index between France, Italy and Spain

Country France Italy Spain

Power Distance Index 68 50 57

Modified from The Hofstede Centre (2014)

Among the three countries chosen for comparison in this research, French culture shows

the highest level of hierarchy (table above). So, it can be hypothesised that French

consumers will be relatively more receptive to opinions or reviews by experts and

celebrities. To the contrary, Italians will be the least readily persuaded by them.



Individualism vs. Collectivism

Figure 4 Individualist Cultures and Collectivist Cultures in Europe


Individualism and collectivism concern the linkage between individuals and the groups

or societies that they belong to (Hofstede, 1980 cited in Kau & Jung, 2004). In

individualistic societies such as the United Kingdom (89), Netherlands (80) and

Hungary (80) (Figure 4), the bonding between people is “relatively weak.” (Bergmüller,

2013).

On the other hand, in collectivistic cultures like Portugal (27) and Slovenia (27),

individuals are more interactive and depend more on each other (De Mooij & Hofstede,

2011). Kau and Jung (2004) argue that this cultural dimension affects following areas of

consumer behaviours: incorporation of opinions from reference groups and information

sharing.



Incorporation of Opinions from Reference Groups

By definition, a reference group is a group of people who affect purchase decisions or

buying behaviours of a consumer (Park and Lessing, 1977 cited in Kau & Jung, 2004;

Solomon et al., 2006). In other words, they can be anyone from friends or family

members or colleagues.

Childers and Rao (1992) and Webster and Faircoth III (1994) (cited in Kau and Jung,

2004) conclude that the more collectivist the society is, the more influential a reference

group becomes on “product choices and buying decisions.” So, in collectivist countries

like Portugal and Slovenia, consumers will incorporate opinions of their people around

into purchase decisions. In the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Hungary, consumers

will make purchase decisions relatively more independently.

Table 2 Comparison of Individualism Index between France, Italy and Spain


Individualism Index 71 76 51


Among the three countries for the research in this dissertation, Spain appears to be

much more collectivist than France and Italy. So, if the arguments of the

aforementioned scholars (Childers and Rao, 1992; Webster and Faircoth III, 1994 cited

in Kau and Jung, 2004) are still valid, Spanish consumers will apply the opinions of

their reference group on their purchase decisions more than French and Italians. Italian

consumers will be the most independent decision makers for purchases.



Information Sharing

It concerns the transmission of information as to “consumption domains” between

individuals (Hirschman 1983 cited in Kau & Jung 2004). For example, people often

share their experience of using certain brands or products (product or service review). In

collectivist cultures, people engage more in information sharing activities (Kau & Jung,

2004). This may be because the bond between people is stronger or people spend more

time together. Consequentially, sharing information like product reviews or

recommendations may be more readily engaged. People feel rather cared by those who

give them advice for better choices, than feeling they are told what to do because they

are not capable of adequate purchase decisions.

The degree of information sharing activities—e.g. the depth of review on certain

products, frequency of opinion sharing and consumer advises, the number of

individuals—can be expected to be positively correlated with how collectivist a society

is (Kau & Jung, 2004). This suggests Spanish consumers will share product information

and reviews than French and Italian counterparts.



Achievement and Material Success vs. Modesty and Quality of Life

Figure 5 Masculinity Index in Europe


In some cultures, people are more competitive and want to achieve “material success.”

This type of culture is termed as a masculine culture (De Mooij & Hofstede, 2011; Lam

et al., 2009). According to Hofstede’s masculinity index, central European countries like

Slovakia (100), Hungary (88), and Austria (79) seem to reflect such cultures (Figure 5).

Other cultures may exhibit quite the opposite qualities such as “caring for others,”

“modesty” and “quality of life” (De Mooij & Hofstede, 2011; Lam et al., 2009). Nordic

cultures–Sweden (5), Norway (8), Denmark (16)–are particularly characterised by these

qualities.

As to the wordings, while these terms are coined according to characteristics and roles

of each gender that have been traditionally perceived, in fact they rather refer to

“motives driving people within culture” (Szmigin & Piacentini, 2014).



Status and Brand Consciousness

In achievement-oriented cultures, consumers are more brand conscious and inclined to

own luxury products to show their success (De Mooij & Hofstede, 2011) as opposed to

feminine cultures where individuals tend to “shun” conspicuous consumption or

displaying “status symbols” (Lai, et al., 2010).

Synovate’s research (2008) (as cited in De Mooij, 2010) provides convincing

corroboration; “the percentage of business people” who owned watches over €750 as

their main watches and “the percentage” of individuals who purchased jewelry costing

over €1,500 within the past year correlated with the masculinity index.

Table 3 Comparison of Masculinity Index between France, Italy and Spain


Masculinity Index 43 70 42


Among the three European countries to be investigated in this research, Italian culture

shows the highest orientation towards “achievement,” and “material success.” Lower

values in this index by France and Spain mean that they prefer modesty while still

pursuing for quality of life. If De Mooij and Hofstede’s postulation is valid, consumer

electronics with premium brands will be appreciated the most by the Italian consumers.

Spanish will be the least interested in the brands themselves—although, French and

Spanish are expected to have little difference as the Hofstede’s index suggests.



Resistance towards Uncertainty

Figure 6 Uncertainty Avoidance Index in Europe

(Source: Targetmap, 2013)

Uncertainty avoidance refers to how reluctant individuals feel about unknown or vague

outcomes (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). This dimension of a culture is reflected on

uncertainty avoidance index (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). Putting this into consumer

behaviour contexts, an example of the aforementioned outcomes may be unsatisfactory

user experience. Consumers may feel that they paid too much for a computer because it

is slower than expected (underperformance) or they should have bought another brand

because their post-purchase service is more extensive.3

3 This type of uneasy reflection after purchase is called “post purchase cognitive dissonance” (Saleem, et

al., 2012; Solomon, et al., 2006; Blythe, 2005)



The Level of Risk Perceived

Kau and Jung (2004) conclude that consumers’ preference to avoid uncertainty has a

causal effect on how much risk they perceive. That is, consumers who want to be

certain about post-purchase outcomes, they will find it risker to make purchase

decisions. In contrast, for those who do not care so much about the consequences, it will

feel less risky to purchase products.

The average level of predisposition to avoid uncertainty differs across cultures—so do

the amount and the types of purchase risks that consumers feel (Solomon, et al., 2006).

This difference influences two kinds of consumer behaviours among others (Kau &

Jung, 2004) as explained below.

Information Searching Behaviour

One way for consumers to lower uncertainty and risks—a.k.a. “risk-reducing

behaviour”—is searching for information about products (Garner and Thompson, 1986

cited in Kau and Jung, 2004. p.14; Solomon et al., 2006). Usunier and Lee (2005) argue

that the amount of information that consumers search in general differ across cultures.

Table 4 Comparison of Uncertainty Avoidance between France, Italy and Spain


UAI 86 75 86


Referring to the table above, France and Spain seem to be equally high in intolerance

towards uncertainty and ambiguity. While Italy’s score is relatively lower than the other

two, it can still be considered as high. So, the hypothesis is that French and Spanish

consumers will research more before they purchase electronic products. On the other

hand, Italian consumers may purchase them relatively more spontaneously.



Consumer Innovativeness

Another area of consumer behaviour affected by this cultural dimension is consumer

innovativeness (Lynn & Gelb, 1996; Steenkamp et al., 1999; Yaveroglu & Donthu,

2002; van Everdingen & Waarts, 2003; Yeniyurt & Townsend, 2003 cited in Soars,

2006; Patwardhan, 2013). It refers to consumers’ inclination to try new products or

brands (Hirschma, 1981 cited in Kau & Jung, 2004. p. 13). Evidently trying something

new engages “making changes, taking risks and accepting” uncertain outcomes (Lynn &

Gelb, 1996). For that, consumers from highly uncertainty avoidant cultures—like

France and Spain—are more prudent when making a purchase decision on unfamiliar

products (Kumar & Alkailani, 2011).

Contrastingly, consumers from cultures that are relatively more tolerant to uncertain

outcomes—Italy, in this case—will more readily try new and unfamiliar products and

brands (Lynn & Gelb, 1996; Steenkamp et al., 1999 cited in Usunier & Lee, 2005, p.

93; Patwardhan, 2013); thus, combining the two discussions, it can be hypothesised that

Italian consumers are relatively more innovative than Spanish and French consumers.

Contrasting Views on Influence of Culture on Consumer Behaviours

Cultures Becoming Similar to Each Other

Growing mobility between borders followed by increasing degree of interaction with

foreign cultures leads to “acculturation.” This refers to the “cultural learning” process,

where people adapt to each other’s cultures (Solomon, et al., 2006). This indicates that

cultures change dynamically and that different cultures may slowly converge. This may

undermine the accuracy of predicting consumer behaviours based on analysis of

national cultures—because national cultures are becoming similar to each other anyway.



Convergence of Consumer Tastes and Behaviours

Another phenomenon in line with this concept is the convergence of consumers’ tastes

across nations. Even before the 80’s, consumers in very remote cities such as New York,

Frankfurt and Tokyo started to build similar tastes for certain products (Levitt, 1983

cited in Katsioloudes & Hadjidakis, 2007). Thereafter, many authors (Jain 1987;

Czincota & Ronkainen 1993; Assael 1998; Bullmore 2000 cited in De Mooij, 2003:183;

Durmaz et al., 2011) have agreed on this viewpoint that more global convergence would

take place in “consumer needs” and “lifestyles” as well as the consumers’ tastes across

the world. This means is, if consumer behaviours in different countries become similar

to each other—while their cultures are not affected from each other—once again,

predicting consumer behaviours based on cultural factors can be inaccurate.

Chapter Conclusion: Limitations and Their Impact on Designing

Methodology

So far, it was explained that a culture affects consumer behaviours. Various dimensions

of a culture have been explained and how each of them affects different types of

consumer behaviours was also discussed. At the same time, there were also contrasting

views that suggested limitations to such correlations. Then, does it mean that it is

precise to base culture as a predictive indicator of foreign consumer behaviours?

Furthermore, the literatures discussed above did not answer “how” precise it is, to meet

the purpose of this research.4

Lastly, the researcher has found that most of the theories were developed or published in

the late 90’s and near the beginning of 2000. Considering the dynamic nature of a

culture—as discussed above—this raises the need to update the validity of the

aforementioned theories. In conclusion, these limitations largely affected the design of

methodology for the research, which will be discussed in the next chapter.

4 The second aim of the research was to verify the validity of the theories regarding cultural influence on

consumer behaviours.



Table 5 Summary of Hypotheses

H1.

French consumers will more readily embrace celebrity endorsement and opinion

leadership by electronics experts or professionals. Italians will view them least

positively.

H2.

Italians will be the most premium brand conscious consumers while French and

Spanish will be comparably less conscious of brands when making purchase

decisions.

H3. French and Spanish consumers will seek for more product information than the

Italians before reaching their purchase decisions.

H4. Italian consumers will exhibit the highest consumer innovativeness i.e. they will

be inclined to try new and unfamiliar products.

H5

Spanish consumers will tend to incorporate opinions of their friends and families

when making purchase decisions. Italians will be the least affected by the

opinions of their reference groups when purchasing consumer electronics.



Methodology


This chapter will illustrate research methods undertaken by the researcher to achieve the

research aims by answering the research questions. The following diagram below

provides an overview of this chapter.

Research Choice

Research Design

Approach

Dissertation Chapter Affected

Philosophy

Research Framework

Research

Paradigm

Pragmatism

Methodology

Inductive Deductive

Descripto-explanatory

Mixed-method

Research

The Researcher’s Choices



Overview of the Research Paradigms

The very first step for the researcher before developing the methodology was to review

the “set of practices” for researching and generation of theories. They were outlined in a

framework called, the research paradigms (Bassey, 1991 cited in Bahar 2013;

University of Southampton, n.d.). The framework contains three main themes (criteria)5

within which the researcher determined his viewpoints. As Bassey (1991, cited in Bahar,

2013) suggested, these variables helped deciding which research philosophy

corresponded to the researcher.

Research Philosophy6

The main four types of research philosophies are positivism, interpretivism,

pragmatism and realism (see Appendix 1 for definition of each philosophy).

The Researcher’s Choice: Pragmatism

Pragmatism was the most relevant philosophy. Its advantage is that the researcher can

take both stances of positivism and interpretivism capitalising on the strengths of each;

the former allows deducing precise and quantifiable explanation of analysis and the

latter allows describing social phenomena or subjective opinions (Saunders et al. 2008).

This way, the researcher can meet the two research aims; firstly, proving the validity of

5 The three main themes are ontology (what to see as reality), epistemology (“how to know something”),

and methodology (“how to go about finding out”) (Guba, 1990 as cited in University of Southampton,

n.d.).

6The research philosophy incorporates the researcher’s “assumptions” as to how the researcher views the

world (Saunders et al., 2008). Consequently, it indirectly oversees and guides the “research actions” to

be taken (Bassey, 1991 cited in Bahar 2013). The choice of research philosophy also had technical

implication to design of the research. This is demonstrated later in the research choice section.



existing theories—which concerned causal relationship between culture and consumer

behaviours—and secondly, illustrating consumer behaviours and cultures.

Another advantage of pragmatism is that it allows the researcher to mix different

research approaches (Denscombe, 2008)—discussed later. However, with this option,

the research will also have to be mindful of possible complication of the research

structure, incoherent findings, or losing focus in the research.

The Research Approach

There are two approaches to research: deductive and inductive (Saunders, et al., 2009;

Research-Methodology.net, 2015) - appendix 2 for definitions and limitations of each

research approach.

Researcher's Choice: Hybrid Approach

In line with the aforementioned research philosophy and also after reflecting on the

purpose of this research—e.g. the research aims and the kinds of knowledge (research

conclusion) being pursued—the researcher decided to take hybrid approach (mixed

method approach).

This way, the deductive approach was used to corroborate the validity of

existing theories on the causal relationship between culture and consumer

behaviours. Note that, among the steps involved in this approach (appendix 2),

drawing hypotheses and explaining which variables to be taken from secondary

sources (the Hofstede’s indices on the three European countries) have been

already discussed in the literature review; therefore, this chapter will focus on

what are some further variables needed for the research; how they will be

collected; and how the hypotheses will be tested.



The inductive approach was used to illustrate the differences in consumer

behaviours between France, Italy and Spain. In practice, interpreting subjective

data was indeed confusing and time-consuming as warned by the limitation of

this approach (appendix 2). Extracting coherent and meaningful interpretation of

the data within the allowed timeframe was challenging.

Research Design

After reflecting on the researcher’s philosophies and approaches to the research, the

types of research can be determined. Saunders et al. (2009) suggest that there are four

types of research according to their purposes: exploratory, descriptive, explanatory,

descripto-explanatory (see appendix 3 for definitions).

Researcher's Choice: descripto-explanatory

For the purpose of this research, it can be classified as “descripto-explanatory

research” because it aims at explaining the causal relationship between culture and

consumer behaviours as well as describing particularities of consumer behaviours with

reference to differing cultures between France, Italy and Spain.

Research Strategy

Upon clarifying the purpose and type of the research, research strategies can be

established. As to the types of strategies, Saunders, et al. (2009:141-150) provides a list

as follows: experiment, survey, case study, action research, grounded theory,

ethnography, and archival research.



The Researcher’s Choice: Multiple Case Study

Case study strategy was chosen after considering its suitability for the research and

feasibility to carry it out—as advised by Saunders et al. (2009).

Suitability

A case study is defined as “the empirical investigation of a particular contemporary

phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence” (Robson,

2002:178 cited in Saunders, 2009:146). The first part of the definition coincides with

the main objectives of this research—understanding and illustrating consumer

behaviours and encompassing cultural settings (phenomena within real life contexts).

Then, the second part (multiple sources of evidence) creates advantage over the survey

strategy because it allows exploring broader context beyond the “variables for which

data can be collected” on a survey (Saunders, 2009). This means, once certain consumer

behaviours are described (what and how), the reasons why they occur–e.g. due to

cultural factors or economic reasons—can be further explored using other evidence

(Saunders, 2009).

Feasibility

On the other hand, in terms of proving the correlation between cultural factors and

consumer behaviours, the experimental strategy may provide more accurate results;

however, consumer behaviours (the “phenomenon being studied”) can be affected by

other numerous factors in addition to the cultural factors (“surrounding contexts”)

(Saunders, 2009). That is, “the boundary” between them cannot be separated as clearly,

nor is it possible to keep the settings (the cultural factors) “highly controlled” (Saunders,

2009) as would be required by the experiment strategy; therefore, the only feasible

strategy is the case study strategy.



Research Choices: Mixed-methods

Figure 7 Types of Research Choices

(Source: Saunders, et al., 2009: 152)

As discussed, this research has a descripto-explanatory purpose and will be carried out

based on case study strategy (multiple source of evidence). This raises need for both

qualitative and quantitative data; to describe consumer behaviours (phenomena) and

cultures (contexts), qualitative data will be needed. On the other hand, to probe and

explain causal relationship (or correlation) between the two sets of variables,

quantitative data will allow more objective analysis.

Consequently, the research should employ the mixed-method design, where “both

quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques and analysis procedures” are used

(Saunders, et al., 2009: 152).



Advantages of mixed-method design

Additionally, the researcher hopes that this design brings about following advantages as

suggested by Saunders, et al. (2009:154):

1. “Triangulation” – e.g. certain arguments gathered from interview can be

corroborated numerically by independent quantitative data improving

confidence of the data and research conclusion.

2. “Complementarity” - both relative comparison and description can be done by

combining results from quantitative and qualitative data.

3. Aiding the interpretation – e.g. after comparing which country is more

favourable for celebrity endorsement promotion strategy using quantitative data,

qualitative data can bed used to help interpreting why this happens.

Limitation of mixed-method design

Data collected from different methods (i.e. quantitative and qualitative) may lack

coherence between them; thus, when interpreting the data, the likelihood of

complication may multiply (Bryman, 2006 cited in Saunders, et al., 2009: 154).

Data Collection Methods (Implementation and justification)

As mentioned earlier, some of the research objectives could not be fulfilled through the

literature reviews due to lack of relevant and country-specific literatures. For that, the

researcher’s chosen data collection methods were tailored to collect variables

specifically necessary to achieve those objectives. The chosen methods shall be

discussed below.



Secondary Data7

As explained by Smith & Albaum (2010) and Saunders, et al. (2009), secondary data

are convenient to collect but they may not be the most suitable data.8 Secondary data

for this research were collected from following sources:

Consumer behaviours, marketing and cross-cultural studies textbooks

Press articles from online newspapers or webpages

Electronic databases (e.g. Euromonitor, Marketline Advantage, Mintel, Emerald)

Following two surveys were found to be particularly relevant to this research.

1. “Online activities performed in the past three months” in France, Italy and

Spain by GMI/Mintel (2014): collected from 2,000 internet users in each country

(See appendix 4). It contained relevant data for attitude towards brands, information

searching and sharing activities.

2. “Household Ownership of Electronic Products” by GMI/Mintel (2014): collected

from 10,000 from five Western European countries (See appendix 5). The

percentage of ownership of latest consumer electronics in France, Italy and Spain

will allow relative comparison of consumer innovativeness in these countries. Big

sample population in this survey means enhanced accuracy on research conclusion.

Primary data

Online Survey (See appendix 6 for actual survey forms)

For further data necessary to prove the hypotheses, the researcher created and

7 Secondary data refer to both qualitative and quantitative data that have been already collected by other

researchers or “agencies” for other purposes (Smith & Albaum, 2010; Saunders, et al., 2009).

8 Because they are collected for other purposes



distributed a customised survey.

Operational details

The survey questions were initially created in English, and were sequentially translated

into Spanish, French and Italian upon approval by the researcher’s supervisor. Then,

survey forms were created Good Forms.

Distribution

Online distribution was advantageous when gathering data from widely dispersed

respondents. For that, the forms were published through Facebook and Tweeter in the

following dates

Start End

The English version 12:42 23 January 2015

22 February 2015

(Data collection ended)

The Spanish version 14:23 23 January 2015

The French version 15:02 23 January 2015

The Italian version 18:54 27 January 2015

To some respondents, they were distributed through E-mail as well, but the response

rate was not recorded.



Others, 9

Canada, 2

Russia, 2

Switzerland, 2

Argentina, 3

Germany, 3

Sweden, 3

N/A, 3

The United Kingdom, 5 Italy, 9

France, 13

Spain, 19

Physical Distribution

During the same period—on an ad hoc basis—the

researcher went around at Regent’s University London

with his iPad to collect data from his friends and

colleagues. To maintain the independence of the results

while carefully observing the respondent’s facial and

verbal expressions, the researcher stood face-to-face

(as illustrated on the left). Although physical

distribution was time consuming, it proved to be

effective in gathering response because no one rejected.

(Source: Dunworth, 2013)

Profiles of the Respondents

The surveys were kept accessible for

anyone. As a result, 73 people from

more 19 countries participated in

the survey. Some respondents

forgot to state their

nationalities and were

classified as Not Applicable

(N/A). In any case, the three

major nationalities were

Spanish (20), French (13) and

Italians (9)—because they were

more actively approached to

participate.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http://www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk/ashtray-blog/2013/04/electronic-cigarette-lung-survey.html&ei=xBMwVeGqO-ee7gakuYCQDg&bvm=bv.91071109,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNEJiJInVyG3VwtLRTqJAjO57auURw&ust=1429300527372745



Types of the Data

For descriptive analysis, initial survey questions were designed to collect qualitative

data like the respondents’ nationalities—in fact, these were used to categorise data into

groups by country of origin.

Then, as can be seen above, other questions were deliberately designed in a

self-assessment format with numerical answers so as to collect “quantified” data.9

Indeed, as Saunders, et al. (2009: 362) said, these data were useful for two purposes:

1. Describing “the variability in different phenomena” (i.e. relative comparison of

consumer behaviours between countries)

2. Explaining the causal “relationships between variables” (i.e. culture vs.

consumer behaviours)

Limitations

However, as Saunders et al. (2009) warned, the survey method was not adecuate for

gathering data relating to open-ended questions–e.g. “how different are Italian

consumers from French and Spanish when it comes to pre-purchase research

behaviours.” This is because the answers are gathered from prescribed questions and

answers (Saunders, et al., 2009).

9 The “quantified” data mean quantitative data which are inherently of qualitative nature.



Interview10

To complement such limitation of the survey method, the author additionally carried out

an interview with Dr. Gioè, the director of Italian cultural institute in Korea, over Skype

on the 7th

of March, 2015. Qqualitative data at macro-level were sought through this

interview to triangulate and aid the interpretation of the data collected from surveys.

Suitability of the Interviewee

Dr. Gioè was considered as perfect for this research because of his excellent

understanding of cultural concepts and extensive experience in foreign countries (See

appendix 7 for his profile). In particual, it was very valuable that he could appreciate

differences in consumer behaviours between France, Italy (native) and Spain as he has

lived in all of these countries during many years. For that, his explanation was

fundamental to answer the third research question.11

The researcher decided to carry out a structured interview (the types of interviews and

their characteristics are discussed in appendix 8) because it is suitable for both

descriptive and explanatory research (Saunders et al., 2009 cited in Oyelere, 2015).

Consequentially, the researcher gained the relevant information from the interview as he

sought—firstly, Dr. Gioè’s experiences, opinions and his descriptive information on

consumer behaviours providing rich contexts as to “what;” and secondly, the answers to

all of the questions related to the hypotheses, providing explanation to “why” and

“how.”

The interview was in Spanish and the translated transcription along with the original

version can be found in appendix 9.

10

An interview is a research technique conducted through two-way communication between an

interviewer (researcher) and an interviewee (respondent) (Saunders, et al., 2009).

11 The third research question was “Do consumers from different cultures have unique or specific

characteristics in terms of consumer behaviours?”



Data Analysis

Once the data were collected from the researcher’s survey, they were grouped by

country (illustrated on the left above) Then, using Excel, the researcher calculated the

average values—i.e. mean, media and mode—of the variables (right).

Research Limitations

Firstly of all, the sample size may be too small to reflect the consumer behaviours of the

whole country. The biggest sample population that the author achieved was 19

respondents (Spain). Evidently, it is difficult to say that this sample represents nearly 50

million Spanish consumers.

Secondly, as Kilsgård et al. also (2008:7) pointed out in their dissertation, subcultures

and regional cultures may be percievably different from the national cultures. However,

for practical reasons, the author could not incorporate differences between subcultures

or regional cultures—e.g. Catalonia and Madrid or Milan o Napoli—within the selected

countries; therefore, cultural differences were discussed only at national level and it is

quite possible that consumer behaviours are very particular within certain regions in

each country.



France Italy Spain

Number of respondents 13 9 19

Number of respondents who have lived abroad 12 8 13

Average number of years abroad 2.6 4.3 2

Lastly, as tabulated above, the majority of the respondents have experience of living

abroad. Given that the average number of years abroad was at least over 2 years (Spain),

the respondents must have been affected by foreign cultures through acculturation

process—i.e. cultural learning (Solomon, et al., 2006) as discussed in the literature

review. For that, assuming that their responses reflect their national consumer

behaviours may not be perfectly adequate.

Research Ethics12

As suggested by Jankowicz (2005),13

the first step taken by the researcher for ethical

research practices was to obtain and to inform himself of the code of conduct from the

Market Research Society (2010). It provided ethical parameters relevant for this

research. Furthermore, the author produced a consent form adapted from Saunders et al.

(2009) (appendix 10) and got it electronically acknowledged by Dr. Gioè. He agreed on

every clause except recording of the interview. Consequently, the researcher destroyed

the audio record upon completing the transcription.

12

defined as the “appropriateness” of the researcher’s “behaviour in relation to the rights of those who

become the subject of or are affected” by his / her work (Saunders, et al., 2009). Respondents or

participants should not suffer due to the researcher’s inethical behaviour, interpretation or modification.

13 He suggested that researchers obtain suitable ethical guidelines to inform themselves of the ethical

rules and apply them to the researchers’ projects to prevent unethical behaviours.



Findings and Analysis


This chapter shall present the findings and analysis on the data collected from both

primary and secondary sources. The researcher’s survey data are tabulated under each

question (see appendix 11 – 16).

Source: Yin (2003) cited in Oyelere, 2015)

The format of presentation will follow “the embedded multiple-case study” design as

illustrated above. Each hypothesis will outline the context (theme) within which two or

three units of analysis are carried out. Each case will outline the researcher’s

corresponding survey question; summarise the data collected from different sources;

and analyse them.



Case 1 Power Distance Vs Celebrity and Expert Endorsement

Restatement of Hypothesis

In the literature review chapter, it was hypothesised that French consumers would have

the most favourable attitude on the consumer electronics recommended by or advertised

with experts and celebrities. This was because their cultures were relatively more

hierarchical.14

On the other hand, Italian consumers were not expected to be as

receptive to public opinion leaders.


To prove this, the first question in the author’s survey was, “how much would you

prefer personal electronic products recommended by celebrities or well-known experts

in their field?” (0 = does not affect my purchase decision, 10= very much). The result

was as follows in the graph.

14

This hypothesis was based on Kau and Jung’s (2004) argument that consumers from hierarchical

cultures are more readily persuaded by celebrity or expert endorsement.



The results from the researcher’s survey (appendix 11)

Both mean (shown in the graph above) and median average revealed that celebrity and

expert endorsement was most positively viewed by the Italian consumers. Spanish

consumers had higher mean value than the French. Nonetheless, this does not

necessarily mean that Italian consumers are particular more into the products promoted

by celebrities or experts. In fact, even the Italians’ scores were very low in absolute

terms. This means that in all three countries, consumers’ purchase decisions are little

influenced by this type of promotion.

Validity of the Theories

Ranking

(Highest to

lowest)

Purchase Decisions Readily Persuaded by Celebrities

and Experts Validity of

Theory Hypothesised Self-assessed

1 France Italy No

2 Spain Spain Yes

3 Italy France No

In any case, as tabulated above, the survey outcome contrasted with the hypothesis

based on Kau and Jung’s (2004) postulation. So, it can be said that consumer attitudes

towards celebrity endorsement do not correlate with how hierarchical the culture is.

1.2

3.1

1.9

6.8

5.0 5.7

France Italy Spain

Celebrity / Expert Endorsement vs. Hofstede's Power

Distance Index (PDI)

Celebrity / Expert Endorsement Hofstede's PDI



The Interview Results

Qualitative data collected through the

interview with Dr. Gioè (2015) provided

supplementary explanation (see appendix 9).

Dr. Gioè pointed out that it is not as

prominent for electronic products as in Asia

(illustrated on the left). This may be because

European consumers are ignorant towards it.

This point coincides with the researcher’s

observation gained when distributing the

survey. So, firms that sell electronic products

may be reluctant to employ celebrity

endorsement because they are inefffective.

In any case, further decription by Dr. Gioè on consumer characteristics in each country

helped explaining the discrepancy in the scores between the countries. He said that

French consumers have higher tendency to evaluate products rationally and

meticulously before purchasing. In regards to which source of information that French

consumers trust, Dr. Gioè explained that they prefer “direct” and credible ones—e.g.

close friends or family members. This explains why French consumers scored low in

this question; They are not pursuaded by mere image of celebrities or promotion

oriented by companies to increase their sales.

Italian consumers like “well-designed” and fashionable items. This suggest that they are

more sensible towards image. Therefore, famous celebrities endorsing certain images on

electronic products or experts advising for new treneds can be more effective in Italy.

In Spain, the type of promotion with actual (or pretending) users of the products is more

prominent. This suggests Spanish consumers are pursuaded more when other ordinary

citizens like themselves endorse the products rather than celebrities.

Promotion of air conditioning products by LG

using famous actress and actor in Korea

(source: Extralast.com, 2010)

http://extralast.com/pics4/lg-whisen-mystery-product-1.jpg



Case 2 Masculine Culture Vs Brand-Consciousness

Hypothesis

Based De Mooij and Hofstede’s arguent (2011), it was hypothesised that Italian

consumers would have higher preference for consumer electronics with premium brands.

For French and Spanish consumers, the brands being premium would not matter as

much.


The corresponding question was “when you decide to buy a personal electronic device

(PED), how important is it that its brand is well-known or prestigious?” (0 = does not

matter at all, 10 = very much)

The Results of the Researcher’s Survey (appendix 12)

France Italy Spain

Hofstede's Masculinity 4.3 7.0 4.2

Brand / Prestige Orientation 5.5 5.6 4.8

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

Hofstede's Masculinity

& Brand / Prestige



The results show the highest score for Italians followed by French. This means, Italian

consumers have higher preference for electronic products by premium brands (e.g.

Apple) than French. The Spanish consumers found it less important that they buy

products from premium brands. When triangulated with the data collected from the

interview,15

this outcome coincided suggesting its accuracy and reliability.

Validity of the Theories

Ranking

(Highest to

lowest)

Preference for Consumer Electronic by Premium

Brands

Validity of

Theory

Hypothesised Self-assessed

1 Italy Italy Yes

2 France France Yes

3 Spain Spain Yes

While the order (ranking) correlated with the hypothesis accepting De Mooij and

Hofstede’s (2011) postulation, the researcher also identified the limitation to this

interpretation; the difference in numerical values is too little (negligible) especially

between the French and Italians. So, it is inadequate to definitely argue which group of

consumers like to buy products with premium brands more than others. Instead, given

the scores were around 5 (the intermediate), it should be interpreted that the brand being

prestigious or famous influenced the purchase decision only to an intermediate extent.

15

Dr. Gioè implied that Italian and French consumers are more interested in (famous and well-known)

brands in general than Spanish consumers.



The Results of Online Survey by GMI/Mintel

(Source: compiled and modified from GMI/Mintel, 2014)

The secondary data16

(figure above) suggest that Italian consumers are interested in

branded products or brands themselves in general17

regardless of whether they are

prestigious or not. They had the highest percentage of internet users who have engaged

in brand-related online activities—i.e. “liking,” “following,” and “visiting” brand

websites.

French had the least percentage of participants. Even so, their lowest percentage being

54% means more than one in every two people visited a brand’s website. The researcher

considered that this was not so low either.

Interestingly, in all three countries, very high majority of respondents liked expressing

their interests in brands by “liking” or “following” them on a social media website.

16

As mentioned in the methodology chapter, this survey by GMI/Mintel (2014) asked “2,000 internet

users aged over 16” in each western European country as to what kind of online activities they have done

over the past three months.

17 The questions of this survey were not confined to electronic products. So, the level of activities with

brands should be interpreted as the level of interests in brands in general.

54

77

69

82

66

79

Visited a brand's own website

Liked or followed a brand on a social media

website

Online Activities in the Past Three Months in relation to Brands

(%)

Spain Italy France



The Importance of Brand in Purchase Decisions


The respondents were asked to “select all of the features that they would critically

consider when purchasing a personal electronic product.” The result is presented in the

table below. Each item was listed in order by popularity and the proportion of

respondents is represented by the percentage.18

<Most Commonly Considered Product Attributes Before Purchase Decisions>

France Italy Spain

1 Utility / functionality 92% 1 Utility / functionality 89% 1 Utility / functionality 89%

2 Quality 92% 2 Quality 89% 2 Price 84%

3

Design / style / colors,

Brand, Price

77%

3 Price 67% 3 Quality 79%

4

Design / style / colors, Post-purchase

installation (applications / software),

and Durability

44%

4 Design / style / colors 74%

5 Durability 63%

4 Durability 69% 6

Post-purchase installation

(applications / software)

37%

5 After-sales service 46% 5 After-sales service 33%

7

Brand, Financing options

(e.g. credit terms)

26% 6

Post-purchase installation

(applications / software)

31% 6 Brand 22%

7

Financing options (e.g.

credit terms), Delivery

options

15%

7 Delivery options 11%

8

Country of origin (Made

in...), Others

21%

(Source: Modified from Appendix 13)

18

The source data compiled are available in the appendix 13



Analysis

Some features of products such as “utility, functionality,” “quality” and “price” were

critically considered by most of the consumers regardless of their nationality; however,

the number of responses greatly differed when it comes to consideration of brands. 77%

of the French consumers critically considered the brand, ranking it as their 3rd

most

commonly considered attribute. Contrastingly, only a small number of Spanish (22%,

7th

) and Italians (22%, 6th

) considered it before making their purchase decisions.

Also, contrary to the discussion in the previous case, only less than half of Italian

consumers said that they critically consider design and style of the products. In fact,

higher proportion in French and Spanish consumer groups indicated consideration for

these attributes. This inconsistency could not be explained by the researcher; thus,

presenting an area for future research.

The Interview Results

Dr. Gioè suggested that the connotation of brand can differ between countries.

According to him, French consumers want products that last—i.e. durable. So, for them,

a brand signals product quality and assists estimating durability of products.

Contrastingly, Italian consumers like trying new products. So, they change their

products more frequently. This explains why “price” was more commonly considered

than “durability.” In this context, brand is more of a personality that distinguishes the

products from others. While it provides signs of quality as well, it is not something to be

evaluated critically.

Finally, Dr. Gioè shared his observation that Spanish consumers tend to go for familiar

brands. This reduces the need for critically evaluating between brands.



Uncertainty Avoidant Tendency Vs Consumer Innovativeness

The Survey Question by the Researcher

The participants were asked, “How much do you agree that you are an innovative

consumer? (How often do you buy new electronic products?) (0 = I am a late follower,

10 = I am an early adopter).

Analysis (appendix 14)

The result revealed that Italian consumers assessed themselves as relatively more

innovative than their French and Spanish counterparts (partially as hypothesised). That

being said, the mean value by the Italian respondents was nearly 5. This intermediate

level suggests, while they are not the quickest consumers to adopt cutting-edge

consumer electronics, they still buy them at early stage. So, based on this survey data,

Italian consumers can be labelled as “early majority” on average.

8.6

7.5

8.6

3.2

4.9

2.9

France Italy Spain

Consumer innovativeness Vs. Hofstede's Uncertainty

Avoidance Index (UAI)

Hofstede's UAI



On the other hand, while France and Spain had the same level of UAI,19

Spanish

consumers gave themselves slightly lower scores in this question. Nonetheless, their

mean value is nearly 3. So, it is still closer to 5 than 0 (late follower). This implies that

even if they purchase less frequently and are relatively slower in adopting advanced

consumer electronics, they are a notch quicker than “late followers.” In this context,

both French and Spanish consumers may be labelled as “late majority.”

Validity of Hypothesis

Ranking

(Highest to

lowest)

Hypothesised Consumer

Innovativeness

Self-assessed Consumer

Innovativeness

Validity of

Theory

1 Italy 1 Italy Yes

2

France, Spain

2 France Partially

3 Spain

The table above shows that Italian consumers were the most innovative as hypothesised

and when self-assessed. As mentioned previously, French and Spanish consumers had

only small difference in self-assessed consumer innovativeness; therefore, the theory

suggested by various authors (Kumar & Alkailani, 2011; Lynn & Gelb, 1996;

Steenkamp et al., 1999 cited in Usunier & Lee, 2005, p. 93; Patwardhan, 2013) proves

to be partially true.

Findings from the Interview with Differing Outcomes

Dr. Gioè explained that both Italians and Spanish have the “tendency in common to

pursue variety of products and to try something new,” which is somewhat different from

the findings above. He believes that “the Italians are equally interested in new products

and when something comes out in the market, they always talk about it.”

19

It was discussed in the literature review section that uncertainty avoidance means consumers’

resistance towards uncertain outcomes.



Actual Level of Ownership of the Latest Consumer Electronics in Each Country

(appendix 5)

(Source: modified from GMI/Mintel, 2014)

The survey outcome by GMI/Mintel (2014) was partially in line with Dr. Gioè’s opinion.

It revealed that Spanish people lead the ownership of technologically-advanced

products. For example, 3DTV, Internet-enabled TV, and to a certain extent,

High-Definition TV (HDTV) use advanced technology. Spanish consumers had the

highest ownership of 3DTV and HDTV (graph above). Surprisingly, Italian consumers

scored the least ownership of advanced televisions in all three categories.

73

26

11

71

22

11

77

25

13

High-definition TV

Internet-enabled TV

3DTV

Household ownership of televisions in Spain, Italy, and France

(%)

Spain Italy France



(Source: modified from GMI/Mintel, 2014)

The types of mobile phones that consumers currently own could also be used as a sign

of consumer innovativeness; consumers who use smatphones–which have relatively

more advanced features–can be said to be more innovative.

Again, referring to the graph above, Spanish consumers had the highest ownership of

smartphones. Since they had the lowest owerneship of basic mobile phones, it means

that Spanish consumers have been the quickest in transitioning from the conventional

ones to smartphones. On the other hand, Italy occupied the second place in smartphone

ownership while having the the highest basic mobile phone ownership. This means that

in many households, both types of phones are being used. For example, grandparents

may continue to use basic phones while the younger family membres use smartphones.

Alternatively, some members of the family may have retained the old ones even after

buying smartphones.

68

32

78

42

86

22

Smartphone

Basic mobile

Household ownership of mobile phones in Spain, Italy, and

France (%)

Spain Italy France



(Source: modified from GMI/Mintel, 2014.)

The graph above reveals that Spain has the highest rate of ownership of electronic

products in 9 product categories. Especially when it comes to newly introduced

products such as e-readers and tablet computers, Spanish ownership is visibly greater

than other countries. France had the least ownership of these products except Blu-ray

player and desktop computer. These technologies have been introduced since a while

ago. So, this may imply that French consumers prefer to wait until the electronic

products become common and familiar in the market.

78

69

65

38

48

40

8

26

83

72

62

72

51

43

17

16

83

74

72

72

57

51

33

13

Laptop/netbook computer

DVD player

Desktop computer

Digital or video camera (excluding mobile phones)

Static games console (eg Nintendo Wii, PS3, Xbox

360)

Tablet computer (eg Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy

Tab)

E-reader (eg Kindle, Kobo, Nook)

Blu-ray player (excluding PlayStation 3, PlayStation

4, Xbox One)

Household ownership of other electronic products in Spain, Italy,

and France (%)

Spain Italy France



The Interpretation of Inconsistent Results

As to the inconsistent results, the researcher proposes two possible causes. Firstly, since

the survey question was of subjective nature, there might have been difference in

interpretation. So, the Italian consumers may have been more generous when giving

scores to themselves than the Spanish did to themselves. Alternatively, external factors

may have been involved preventing these latest consumer electronics from coming into

wide use–e.g. “structure of the industry” (Gioè, 2015) or the rate of VAT. If this is the

case, further research in this area could be helpful explaining the inconsistency.

Validity of Hypothesis

The results of the researcher’s survey proved that the hypothesis was largely valid;20

however, the findings from other sources (the secondary survey and the interview)

showed inconsistency. Consequently, it is questionable to conclude the theory to be

valid. Further research is recommended in this area.

20

There was a negative correlation between self-assessed consumer innovativeness and Hofstede’s

uncertainty avoidance index (UAI) as suggested by theory by Kumar and Alkailani (2011), Lynn & Gelb

(1996), Steenkamp et al. (1999) and Patwardhan (2013).

Ranking

(Highest to

lowest)

Hypothesised

Consumer

Innovativeness

Self-assessed

consumer

innovativeness

Actual level of

ownership of latest

consumer electronics

1 Italy Italy Spain

2 France, Spain

France Italy

3 Spain France



Information Searching Behaviors and Uncertainty-Avoidant Tendencies

Hypothesis

French and Spanish consumers—from uncertainty-avoidant cultures—would evaluate

more product information than Italians before purchasing consumer electronics. If they

do not have the information, they will engage more in information searching activities

to gain enough understanding of the products.

The Survey Question

“How much information concerning the personal electronic products would you

consider before making the purchase decision?” (0 = none, 10 = very much)

Self-assessed Level of Information Search Behaviour

To the contrary to the hypothesis, French consumers said that they considered the least

information whereas Italians assessed the most. This order was also observed in

GMI/Mintel’s survey (2014)—which inquired into online information searching

behaviours.

8.6

7.5

8.6

4.4

7.6

5.9 6.1

4.4

5.3

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

9.0

10.0

France Italy Spain

Uncertainty Avoidance and Information Searching

Behaviours

Hofstede's Uncertainty

Avoidance

Self-assessed Quantity of

Product Information

ConsideredAverage Number of Critical

Product Attributes



(Source: modified from GMI/Mintel, 2014. Input data can be found in the appendix 4)

The graph above shows that relatively more Italians engaged in online research

activities—related to consumption or purchase—than French and Spanish counterparts.

The only activity surpassed by another national was “finding, buying, and using the

local voucher deals”—by the Spanish consumers. Having said that, it should also be

noted that almost as many Spanish internet users engaged in online research activities as

the Italians. So it can be said that Italian and Spanish consumers are both active

researchers on the web.

“Visiting a brand’s own website” is included in this part again because the author

assumed that it was very likely that the purpose of “visiting” was to engage in some

information search from their websites.

55

44

54

56

39

65

65

69

69

47

43

62

66

69

49

Visited price comparison websites

Read product / service reviews

Visited a brand’s own website

Found things to/places to visit locally

Found, bought, or used local voucher deals

The Percentage of Internet Users Who Engaged in Information

Searching Activities over the past 3 Months (%)

Spain Italy France



Average Number of Product Attributes that Consumers Assess Critically

(Appendix 15.2)

Question 3 Please select all of the features that you would critically consider when

purchasing a personal electronic product

Average number of product attributes that consumers from France, Italy and Spain critically consider

before making a purchase decision (modified from the results for question no. 3)


Mean Average 6.076923077 4.444444 5.315789

While the previous finding seemingly suggest the hypothesis was invalid, upon

calculating average number of product attributes considered in each country, the

researcher unexpectedly came across a contrasting outcome. 21 French consumers

considered approximately 6 attributes on average while the Italians chose slightly more

than 4 (as tabulated above). The Spanish average (5) was between the French and the

Italian average; thus, the new order can be tabulated as below.

Ranking

(Highest to

lowest)

Hypothesised Quantity of

Information Considered /

Searched

Average Number of Product

Attributes Considered

Validity of

Theory

1 France, Spain 1 France

Partially Yes 2

Italy

2 Spain

3 Italy

While these findings seem to partially correlate with the hypothesis, one may also argue

that the numerical difference is too little—because it is not convincing to conclude that

consumer behaviours reflect their cultural differences just because they evaluate one

more product attribute on average than consumers from other countries.

21

In fact, the data used were collected from the researcher’s survey question number 3. This question

was once discussed in the “achievement oriented culture vs. preference for prestigious brand” case.



Findings from the Interview

In any case, Dr. Gioè’s opinion agreed that French consumers generally evaluate more

product information than other two European counterparts. Additionally he estimated

that there are more price comparison websites in France. This may explains why higher

percentage of French internet users visited these websites than the Spanish.

Analysis and Interpretation

To understand why the findings presented inconsistent conclusions, the reseacher

reviewed the survey questions. He found that they suggested different contexts as

tabulated below.

1st

question How much product information in general is considered before purchase

2nd

question

What kind of research activities are done on the web relating to shopping

or consumption

3rd

question

How many product attributes are considered critically when purchasing

the products

In fact, analysing these contextual differences, the researcher could deduce another

conclusion—i.e. consumers from each country have different style of evaluating

products to make their purchase decisions. For example, French consumers focus more

on the product attributes, which serve as evaluation criteria for their buying decisions.

This means, French consumers gauge the likely outcome of the purchase or suitability

of their chosen product by matching their needs and relevant product attributes - e.g.

portability, durability, price, etc. For that, they are not so interested in looking for

general information associated with products (e.g. what other consumers say about the

products on the web).



On the other hand, Italian consumers like to research—more specifically reading

product / service reviews. This would help them to envisage the outcomes after

purchase. Since the overall experience of other consumers using the products becomes

the basis for buying decisions, they can check less on products themselves. The level of

pre-purchase online research and product attribute evaluation by Spanish consumers

was in between the Italian and French consumers.

Validity of Theories

Coinciding with Usunier and Lee’s statement (2005), the findings demonstrated that the

level of information search activity differed by country. However, as with Garner and

Thompson (1986 cited in Kau and Jung, 2004. p.14) and Solomon et al. (2006), the

findings presented contrasting conclusions; therefore, the argument that consumers from

high uncertainty-avoidant cultures search for or consider more product information

could not be fully validated. This suggest further research to be carried out in the future.



Individualism vs. Collectivism & Reference Group Opinions

Hypothesis

It was discussed in the literature review that consumers from collectivist cultures reflect

opinions of their reference groups22

more than those from individualist cultures. For

that, it was hypothesised that Spanish consumers would incorporate opinions of their

friends or family or colleagues the most when making purchase decisions. Italian

consumers would be the most independent decision makers for purchases.

Survey Question

“When you decide to buy a personal electronic product (PED), how much would you

have considered the opinions of people around you?” (0 = none, 10 = very much).

Survey Results

22

The reference groups are friends, family, colleagues, or even celebrities that one aspires to resemble or

thinks he/she already resembles.

7.1 7.6

5.1 5.6 5.3 5.4

France Italy Spain

Hofstede's Individualism / Collectivism vs. Reflection on

Reference Group Opinions

Hofstede's Individualism vs. Collectivism



The results show that Italy still had the lowest dependence of opinions of their reference

groups, while French consumers seek more for opinions from their reference groups

than the Spanish.

Validity of Theory

Ranking

(Highest to

lowest)

Hypothesised Level of

Reflection on Reference Group

Opinions

Self-assessed Level of

Reflection on Reference Group

Opinions

Validity of

Theory

1 Spain 1 France No

2 France 2 Spain No

3 Italy 3 Italy Yes

The survey outcomes suggest that the hypothesis did not fully hold true. Therefore,

Childers and Rao (1992), Webster and Faircoth III (1994), and Kau and Jung’s theory

(2004), on which the hypothesis above was based, may need revision.

Interpretation of the Results

France Italy Spain

Written product / service reviews 32% 45% 42%

In the previous case, it was mentioned that French consumers engage relatively less in

online information searching activities—especially when it comes to product reviews.

One reason for this may be that there is less information available on the web in France.

Mintel’s survey (2014) result (table above) shows that France had the least number of

participants who have written product or service reviews over the last three months.

Lack of information on the web may have lead the French consumers to turn to their

friends and family for reference.



Findings from the Interview

To this view, the interview with Dr. Gioè suggested another possible reason. His

experience reflected that French consumers prefer “more direct” information from their

families or friends. They tend to be cautious with information online or from

unverifiable sources—as explained previously with celebrity endorsement. So, it can be

concluded that French consumers prefer internal source of information than the external.

On the other hand, Italian and Spanish consumers seem to depend slightly less on

opinions from their friends and families and take on online information relatively more.

Chapter Summary

So far, findings from primary (the researcher’s survey and the interview) and secondary

data (GMI/Mintel’s survey) have been discussed. Theories discussed in the literature

review were compared to the researcher’s findings to prove their validity. Further

analysis and interpretation of data provided description on consumer behaviours of each

nationality. In the following chapter, these conclusions shall be summarised and

corresponding recommendations shall be suggested for future research.



CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter shall review the research questions and provide answers to them by

summarising key findings from the research. Limitations to the research outcomes will

be discussed and corresponding recommendations for future research will be suggested

in the end.

Revision of Research Aims and Objectives

Research Aims

1 2

To illustrate specificities of consumer

behaviours in France, Italy and Spain

To verify the validity of theories that link

consumer behaviours and respective cultural

aspects

The Research Objectives

Research objectives Corresponding

Chapter

I. To define a culture and understand what it consists of.

II. Identify implications for consumer behaviours. Literature Review

III. To corroborate the validity of reviewed theories and models

relating to cross-cultural consumer behaviour.

IV. To present differences in consumer behaviours with reference

to their cultural specificities.

Findings and

Analysis



Steps to Achieve the Aims and Objectives

In order to achieve the research objectives, thus achieving the aims as well, following

steps have been taken:

Steps Taken to Achieve the Objectives

Objective

1

Relevant literatures were reviewed to define a culture and its dimensions. In this,

Hofstede’s cultural dimension model was used as framework.

Objective

2

Implications of each cultural dimension on consumer behaviours discussed in

existing academic literatures were reviewed.

Objective

3

1. Identifying cultural differences between selected countries (France, Italy and

Spain). For this, indices from Hofstede’s cultural dimensions were used.

2. Establishing expected patterns of outcomes (i.e. hypotheses) in consumer

behaviours in each country based on the cultural differences.

3. Data were collected through survey (both primary and secondary) whose

questions were designed to quantify the results for objective comparison.

4. When the results of the latter comparison agreed with the hypotheses, the

corresponding theories were proved to be valid.

Objective

4

The author carried out an interview to provide contexts (i.e. qualitative explanation

as to differences in consumer behaviours) as well as to corroborate the findings

from surveys.

Research Questions and Answers

Research Question 1. Is there a reliable framework to analyse a culture? What are

the types of consumer behaviours affected by cultural variables?

It was found that Hofstede’s cultural dimension model was the most widely used

framework (Sondergaard, 1994; Steenkamp, 2001 cited in Soares et al., 2007) when

analysing cross-cultural consumer behaviours. This model distinguishes principally four

dimensions of a culture, which are power distance, masculinity / femininity, uncertainty

avoidance and individualism / collectivism (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). Indeed, great



amount of academic and field research has been developed on this model. Many

researchers and scholars have identified and affirmed the linkage between each

dimension and certain areas of consumer behaviours (as discussed in the literature

review and will be discussed once again below).

Research Question 2. Are these existing theories on cultural impact on consumer

behaviours valid?

Summary of Hypotheses and their Validity

The hypotheses

Analysis on the following sources

Author’s survey Survey by

Mintel Interview

Case

Study 1

Hierarchical Culture & Celebrity

or Expert Endorsement Completely no N/A N/A

Case

Study 2

Orientation for Achievement &

Preference for Premium Brands

Yes, but with

low confidence Not Completely Yes

Case

Study 3

Reluctance towards Uncertain

Outcomes & Consumer

Innovativeness

Partially yes No Partially

yes

Case

Study 4

Reluctance towards Uncertain

Outcomes & Research and

Evaluation of Product Information

No

Some

correlation but

still no

Partially

no

Case

Study 5

Collectivist Culture & Reflection

on Reference Group Opinions Not completely N/A No

Relevant theories have been tested in the findings chapter through deductive approach

as summarised in the table above. On the left side, case studies and corresponding

hypotheses tested in this research are listed out. On the right side, it is summarised

whether the analysis on the data—collected from differing sources— proved the validity

of the hypotheses. Further detailed explanations are available below.



Explanation

Case Study 1. Hierarchical Culture & Celebrity or Expert Endorsement

France presented the most hierarchical culture, for which French consumers were

hypothesised to be the most positively affected by celebrity or expert endorsement

promotion. Italian culture was the opposite. However, the author’s survey revealed that

Italian consumers had the most favourable view on the aforementioned promotion

strategy; therefore, Kau and Jung (2004)’s postulation was proved to be invalid in this

research.

Case Study 2. Achievement vs. Quality of Life & Preference for Premium Brands

Italian culture was the most achievement and competition oriented while the Spanish

was the least. So, Italian consumers were predicted to be the most brand and prestige

conscious consumers while the Spanish to be the least. One of the questions in the

Author’s survey and the interview resulted in correlation with the hypothesis— which

was developed on Mooij & Hofstede (2011) and Synovate (2008 as cited in De Mooij,

2010). However, another question in the author’s survey and Mintel’s survey produced

somewhat inconsistent outcomes questioning the validity of the former outcomes.

Case Study 3. Intolerance to Uncertain Consequences vs. Consumer

Innovativeness

As hypothesised, Italians assessed themselves to be the most innovative consumers.

Spanish and French rated themselves to be less innovative; therefore, the author’s

survey results sustained that the theory by Kumar & Alkailani (2011), Lynn & Gelb

(1996), Steenkamp et al. (1999), and Patwardhan (2013) was valid; howver, Mitel’s

survey result revealed that Spanish households have the highest level of ownership of

latest consumer electronics. To this result, Dr. Gioè added that both Spanish and Italian

consumers are the most adventurous and frequent purchasers of electronic products.



Case Study 4. Reluctance towards Uncertain Outcomes & Consumer

Innovativeness

The hypothesis was French and Spanish consumers’ high uncertainty avoidant

tendencies would lead to higher level of information searching activities. However, in

the author’s survey, Italian consumers assessed themselves to be biggest researchers.

French consumers indicated the lowest level of information search. Interestingly,

Spanish consumers were nearly active in online research as the Italians.

As a result, the researcher believes that the argument by Garner and Thompson (1986

cited in Kau and Jung, 2004. p.14) and Solomon et al. (2006) need further validation. In

any case, Usunier and Lee (2005)’s argument— that the amount of information searched

by consumers differs across cultures—was held to be true.

Case Study 5. Collectivist Culture & Reflection on Reference Group Opinions

Spanish culture was the most collectivist while the Italian was the most individualist.

Consequently, it was hypothesised that Spanish consumers would incorporate on their

purchase decisions the opinions of their reference groups relatively more. Italian

consumers were expected to be the most independent decision makers. Indeed, the

author’s survey results indicated that Italians were the most independent purchasers;

however, it was also revealed that French consumers depended on opinions of people

that are close to them. For that, Childers and Rao (1992), Webster and Faircoth III

(1994), and Kau and Jung (2004)’s postulation was not fully validated by in this

research.



Research Question 3. Can characteristics of consumer behaviours from different

countries be described?

The figure above highlights that two areas of consumer behaviours are similar between

the three countries; reference-group-opinion-reflecting, and preference for premium

brands. The biggest differences lied on celebrity / expert endorsement, information

searching and product evaluation, and consumer innovativeness.

It is notable that the profiles—i.e. the contours—of Spanish and French consumers are

closer to each other. This suggests that, in general, French and Spanish have more

similar aspects as consumers than with Italians. Consumer profile of each country shall

be presented below.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Celebrity / Expert

Endorsement

Preference for Premium

Brands

Consumer InnovativenessInformation Searching and

Product Evaluation

Reflecting on Reference

Group Opinions

Self-Assessed Consumer Behaviours by French, Italian and Spanish

Consumers

France Italy Spain



Profile of Consumer Behaviours by Country

French Consumers

<Keywords that describe French consumers>

French consumers are the least persuaded by celebrity / expert endorsement. Instead,

their purchase decisions are based relatively more on self-evaluation of product

attributes and opinions from their close friends, families or colleagues.

While they are not brand or prestige seekers, most of them assess brands of electronic

products critically before they purchase them. Since many prefer to buy electronic

products that can last long, a brand may be a signal of quality and durability for them.

Indeed, consumer electronics equipped with latest technology were the least widely

used in France. Nonetheless, they represent the second most innovative consumer group

according to their self-assessment.

Rational Purchase decision Prudent

Reference Group

Trusted sources of information

Brand Signal for durability and reliability



Italian Consumers

<Keywords that describe Italian consumers>

Italian consumers had relatively more favourable attitudes towards consumer electronics

promoted by public figures like celebrities or experts. They were also very interested in

brands in general, albeit, brand itself was not a critical element for the majority to take

purchase decisions.

As their self-assement indicates that they are the most frequent purchasers of electronic

products, Italian consumers like to stay trendy and fashionable.

Finally, Italians were the most active researchers on the web. Their way of finding out

about consequences after the purchase was based more on other consumers’ product /

service reviews and brand-related information from the web

Design & Trend

Drive for purchase Variety seekers

Brand & Celebrity

Signal for fashion and image

Active searching and sharing product reviews online



Spanish Consumers

<Keywords that describe Spanish consumers>

For Spanish, the brand of the electronic products having prestigious image was not so

important. Practical factors like price, durability, post-purchase, installation were more

critical to purchase decision than the brand itself. At the same time, Spanish households

had the highst ownership of consumer electronics with latest technology.

Spanish consumers had balanced level of online research and product attributes

evaluation—between Italians and French; however, they were the most independent

from opinions of their reference groups when making purchase decisions

Practicallity Consumer orientation Innovative

Consumers

Active researchers

Independent Decision makers



Implications of the Research to International Marketers

Areas of Consumer

Behaviours Implications

Attitudes towards

Celebrity / Expert

Endorsement

Promotion strategy using celebrities or experts is not recommendable in

all three countries - especially France. It may be relatively more effective

in Italy because the consumers have favourable attitudes towards them.

Preference for

Premium Brands

In all three countries, being a premium brand is moderately important. In

France, the branding strategy should be catered to convey reliability and

durability of the electronic products. In Italy, branding strategy should

intend to convey unique personalities that differentiate them from other

consumer electronics brands.

Consumer

Innovativeness

By looking at actual diffusion of cutting-edge consumer electronics,

Spanish market shows the highest. But this may suggest that the

electronic markets in Spain are competitive and soon to be saturated. So,

considering which market to launch electronic products first, Italian

market may be the most recommendable. This is because Italian

consumers like to try new products and tend to change more frequently.

At the same time the Italian market appears to have room for growth.

Information

Searching and

Product Evaluation

Italian consumers research a lot on the web. So, consumer electronics

firms should pay special attention on providing enough information

online as to their products and brands.

Reflecting on

Reference Group

Opinions

French consumers reflect on the opinions and recommendations from

their reference group the most. Thus, promotion strategies in France

should ensure reaching not only the target consumers but also their

friends, families and colleagues as well.



Research Limitations

Sample size

The biggest size of the sample collected was around 2000 internet users (through the

secondary data). The number of survey respondents for the primary data was about

20 at the maximum. The author considers that it is not sufficient to generalise

consumer behaviours of tens of millions of people or to definitively prove the

linkage between culture and consumer behaviours.

Respondents acculturated with foreign cultures

Also, many of the respondents have lived abroad for many years. This lowers the

confidence of interpretations because their behaviours as consumers may have been

influenced by foreign cultures.

Subjective interpretation of survey questions

The survey questions were in the form of “how much do you agree?” or “how much

are you…?” The reason for formulating questions like these was to quantify the

results to compare and find out differences between consumers from the three

countries. However, this evidently creates limitation on interpreting the results

because of its subjective nature. Also, since the survey was translated in three

different languages, there might have been subtle differences in connotations and

interpretation of vocabulary that affected the respondent’s evaluation.

Temporal factors external to cultures

As discussed, circumstances like economic crisis can affect the moods and

behaviours of consumers. The author thinks that such factors are difficult to separate

from the research while they can greatly affect the accuracy of the research

outcomes.



Research Recommendations

For the future research, bigger sample size may help adding precision on the

research outcomes.

Furthermore, more careful selection of respondents – e.g. those who have only

lived in their countries for their whole lives with similar purchasing power – may

enable more accurate interpretation.

The research may be designed in a way to distinguish between regional cultures

and how consumer behaviours differ between regions within a country.

Lastly, the author recommends that the survey questions be proof-read by native

translators and that they liaison between themselves to ensure each wording has

equal meaning and connotation.



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Appendices

Appendix 1 Definitions Each Research Philosophy

Positivism (a.k.a. scientific philosophy) is characterised by its scientific

approach on knowledge creation and is based on “verifiability principle” i.e.

only something that is “conclusively” proven as either “true or false is

“cognitively meaningful” (Hunt, 1991:33). It also “emphasises causal

explanation” (Ryan and Bristor, 1987:193 as cited in Hunt, 1991).

With this philosophy, hypotheses are developed from extant theories and the

theory is tested. As a result, the theory and hypotheses may be “expanded,

reinforced, confirmed, qualified or rejected” (Hallebone and Priest, 2009: 45;

Saunders et al. 2008). The philosophy often involves observation of “social

reality” and deduction of “law-like generalisations” (Remenyi et al., 1998:32 as

cited in Saunders et al., 2008). Accordingly, the research strategies will be

crafted to collect the data to test those (Saunders et al. 2008).

Interpretivism (a.k.a. phenomenology) is a philosophy which takes a very

different approach to positivism allowing a more flexibility. As the word suggest,

it puts emphasis on interpreting what is happening and making the

interrelationship of phenomena intelligible from it rather than having to prove

pre-established theory.

For that, this philosophy is more likely to be adopted by researchers who want to

develop “knowledge of nuanced and idiosyncratic social and/or organisational

phenomena.” It is also more suitable way of thinking when intending to

understand “complex” and “unique” situations and is regarded “highly

appropriate in the case of business and management research” especially in areas

such as “organisational behaviour, marketing and human resource management”

(Saunders et al. 2008).



Pragmatism is the alternative for those who may wish to take both stances. It

recognises the limitation of sticking to one type of philosophy and allows

researchers to establish “mixed methods approach” on understanding objects

(Denscombe, 2008).

This means researchers following this philosophy can develop knowledge

capitalising on the strengths of both positivist and interpretivist philosophies i.e.

the ability to deduce precise and quantifiable explanation of analysis and

description of social phenomena or subjective opinions (Saunders et al. 2008).

Realism takes a more realistic approach by separating what happens around and

human’s cognitive conceptualisation while ironically supports the scientific

approach of developing knowledge like positivism.

The realists’ view is that objects, phenomena, “entities” exist independently

from and regardless of “human thoughts and beliefs or knowledge of their

existence.” Therefore, the way things are viewed should not be confined to

certain angles set by theory or concepts that humans have developed. The truth

lies on whatever can be shown by “senses” as reality rather than by “human

mind” (Phillips, 1987: 205 as cited in Maxwell, 2012; Saunders et al. 2008).

The importance of this philosophy is that it acknowledges the limit of what

humans can perceive, theorise or develop as concepts or ideas; there is more that

exists and happens than human knowledge. For that, in the researcher’s opinion,

it encourages more realistic way of seeing phenomena.



Appendix 2. Definitions of Each Research Philosophy and Respective

Limitations

Deductive approach is used when the researcher aims to verify the validity of a

pre-established theory or to explain causal relationships between variables. The

researcher takes the following steps to systematically test the theory: drawing

hypotheses; “indicating exactly how the concepts and variables are to be measured”

quantitatively; testing the hypotheses; examining the results; and “modifying the theory”

if applicable (Saunders et al., 2009: 123). When examining the results, “objective

observation,” based on “measurement” and “analysis of data” is embraced.

Inductive approach: the procedures that research follows through the inductive

approach are almost the opposite from the deductive approach. The researcher collects

data and come up with a new theory after analysing the data (Saunders, et al., 2009).

Unlike, the deductive approach - where the collected data are used as proof to validate a

theory - inductive approach allows the researchers to use the data to describe “the

context” itself, in which “events are taking place.” For that, this approach has its

philosophical base in interpretivism.

Limitations of deductive and inductive approaches

As implied, the deductive approach tends to stress the “rigid” and scientific methodology and

focuses on proving the validity of pre-established theories. This means, if there is no readily

available “wealth of literature” on the topic to be researched, this approach poses a limit on

what can be researched (Saunders, et al., 2009).

On the other hand, the inductive approach can be rather subjective and therefore can take longer

time to collect data and analyse them until the “useful data patterns” emerge to be used for

theory formulation. Therefore, it can be a quite risky approach to take if there is a deadline for

the results of the research (Saunders, et al., 2009).



Appendix 3. Definition of Each Type of Research

Exploratory research involves exploring through certain phenomena which the

researchers do not know very well. Also, there may be some enquiries that the

researchers need to answer, but cannot quite define the underlying problems. In such

cases, the researchers can carry out “a search of the literature” or interview “experts

in the subject” or conduct “focus group interview” to gain “new insights” on the

matters (Saunders et al., 2009:140). While the focus of the research would have to

be tapered eventually, it is advantageous that the direction of research may be

changed along the way as “new data” and “insights” emerge allowing “flexibility”

and “adaptability” to the researchers (Saunders, et al., 2009).

Descriptive research aims at depicting “an accurate profile of persons, events or

situations” (Robson, 2002:59 as cited in Saunders et al., 2009:140). Contrarily to the

exploratory research, it is important that the researcher grasps the domain of the

phenomena within which data will be collected (Saunders, et al., 2009). The

challenge is to further develop conclusions from the data being merely described –

this can be facilitated if the researcher possesses strong ability to evaluate data or

synthesise ideas (Saunders, et al., 2009).

Explanatory research attempts to establish and explain interaction or causal

relationships between variables (Saunders, et al., 2009). Qualitative data as well as

quantitative or “statistical tests” can be employed to prove the relationship

(Saunders, et al., 2009).

Descripto-explanatory research becomes relevant when the researcher uses both

description and explanation – while the former being the “precursor” to the latter

(Saunders, et al., 2009).



Appendix 4. Survey on Online Activities Performed in the Past Three

Months (in France, Italy and Spain)

(Source: modified from figure 82, 84 and 85 (GMI/Mintel, 2014) in the following

pages)

France Italy Spain

Visited price comparison websites 55 65 43

Read product / service reviews 44 65 62

Visited a brand’s own website 54 69 66

Written product / service reviews 32 45 42

Shopped online 85 84 77

Liked or Followed a brand on a social media website 77 82 79

Found things to/places to visit locally 56 69 69

Found, bought, or used local voucher deals 39 47 49

Sold things online 44 42 26



Figure 82: Online activities performed in the past three months in France, February

2014 (Base: 2,000 internet users aged 16+)

(Source: GMI/Mintel, 2014)



Figure 84: Online activities performed in the past three months in Italy, February 2014

(Base: 2,000 internet users aged 16+)




Figure 85: Online activities performed in the past three months in Spain, February 2014

(Base: 2,000 internet users aged 16+)




Appendix 5. Household Ownership of Electronic products in France, Italy

and Spain

Digital Trends Autumn – UK – September 2014: Ownership of consumer technology

products

Figure 73: Household ownership of computers and e-readers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK,

June/August 2014

Base: 10,000 internet users aged 16+

France Italy Spain UK Germany

Laptop 76 81 82 82 79

Desktop 60 60 69 56 65

Tablet 40 44 53 52 36

E-reader 8 17 32 31 19


Source: Source: GMI/Mintel

http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/image/id=714946&seq=72



Figure 74: Personal ownership of mobile phones in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, June/August

2014



Smartphone 68 78 86 73 72

Basic mobile 32 42 22 31 37



http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/image/id=714946&seq=72



Figure 71: Household ownership of televisions in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, June/August 2014



High-definition TV 73 71 77 77 73

Internet-enabled TV 26 22 25 25 28

3D TV 11 11 13 11 16



http://academic.mintel.com/display/714946/?highlight



Digital Trends Spring - UK - March 2014 - Appendix – European Comparisons

Figure 222: Technology products in household, February 2014

France Italy Spain

Television 94 94 97

Laptop/netbook computer 78 83 83

DVD player 69 72 74

Desktop computer 65 62 72

Digital or video camera (excluding mobile phones) 38 72 72

Static games console (e.g. Nintendo Wii, PS3, Xbox 360) 48 51 57

Satellite navigation/GPS device (excluding mobile phones) 48 42 38

Tablet computer (e.g. Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab) 40 43 51

Surround sound/home cinema system 27 28 30

e-reader (e.g. Kindle, Kobo, Nook) 8 17 33

Blu-ray player (excluding PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One) 26 16 13

Source: GMI/Mintel (2014)



Appendix 6 Online survey forms

English Version



Spanish Version



French Version



Italian Version



Appendix 7 Profile of Dr. Angelo Gioè

His curiosity and passion for different cultures and languages

since he was a child led him to travel and discover the world.

Having spent all his adult life in foreign countries across the world (Spain, France, Slovakia,

Israel, Egypt, Australia, and Korea) he has developed a great wealth of knowledge and

understanding of cultural differences.

Currently he is serving his term in South Korea as the director of the Italian Cultural Institute in

South Korea.

Additionally, his important role as a promoter and advocator of improvement of human rights,

freedom of speech, multiculturalism in the world is gaining great attention in South Korean

media.

Accomplishments

Master in Philology ( main subjects : Greek and Latin,

Art) at La Sapienza University Rome

Specialisation in Paleography at the Vatican School

Master as curator for contemporary art and architecture

at La Sapienza University Rome

PhD in Philology (ancient Greek) at Paris-Sorbonne

University



Appendix 8 Types of interviews

(Source: Saunders et al., 2009 cited in Oyelere, 2015).

Structured interviews are used to gain “facts,” insights, and “descriptive information”

(Smith & Albaum, 2010) in quantitative research in which the respondents are required

to fill in a “structured questionnaire” either “face-to-face or over the telephone” (Nick &

Ian, 2008).

In qualitative research, Unstructured (A.K.A. in-depth) interviews23

are conducted to

gain “rich” and “in-depth answers which tap deeply into the respondents own

experiences, feelings, and opinions.” The advantage is that the questions can be

spontaneously made or improvised as the interview goes allowing the researchers to

collect further qualitative data from “interesting angles” as needed (Saunders, et al.,

2009; Nick & Ian, 2008).

23

which can be either unstructured or semi-structured (Nick & Ian, 2008)



Appendix 9 Original (Spanish) and Translated (English) Transcript of the

Interview with Dr. Gioè

Kim - Hola, Doctor. Gioè. ¿Cómo está usted?

Gioè – Hola, Travis. Estoy muy bien.

Kim – Muy bien.

Gioè – ¿Qué tal tú? ¿Cómo va tu investigación?

Kim – Pues, todo va bien, aquí. Ya he escrito mi findings basado en el resultado de mi

encuesta y de los datos secundarios.

Gioè – Me alegro

Kim – En verdad, es bastante interesante la información que he conseguido hasta

ahora.

Gioè – ¿Sí? Por qué?

Kim – Sí, pero, me gustaría preguntarle primero sobre los aspectos de comportamientos

de consumidores.

Gioè – Claro. Como quieras. Estoy aquí’ para ayudarte, si puedo

Kim – Porque si no, puede influir a las respuestas mi resultado, ¿no? Y luego enseñarle

lo que he encontrado para conciliar las diferencias del resultado.

Gioè – Bueno, entiendo lo que me dices.

Kim – Bien. Entonces, empezamos con la marca. O sea, los comportamientos

relacionados con la marca. Con su experiencia de haber vivido en los tres países,

Francia, Italia e España, ¿ha notado tendencia de los consumidores en cada país sobre

marcas? Por ejemplo, si les interesan o les importan tener productos con buenas

marcas.

Gioè – Creo que a los italianos les gustan mucho hablar de marcas en general. Los

franceses también hablan mucho de marcas, pero en un sentido que a ellos las marcas

son señales de calidad.: un producto tiene que durar el tiempo programado hasta a

amortizar el precio pagado. Si bien, a un cierto grado, las marcas son señales de

calidad para los italianos también, pero no tanto como a los franceses. A los italianos

gusta mucho poder cambiar y ser trendy

Kim – ¿A los consumidores italianos, les gustan tener productos de marcas bien

conocidas o prestigiosas?



Gioè – Eso, sí, que es verdad. Pero marcas para nosotros son como señal de diseño o de

la personalidad del productor. En Italia, la gente quiere vestirse bien, y comprar cosas

de buen diseño. Por eso, les gusta comprar productos de marcas como Gucci o Prada.

Todos que conozco en Italia han comprado iPhone por tener buen diseño. Al final existe

una cierta homologación de base porque’ todos tienen un Gucci o un Prada o un LV. La

diferencia se nota solo a niveles altos, donde hay verdadera capacidad de adquisición.

Kim – ¿Y los españoles?

Gioè – Creo que en España, hay cierta tendencia por las marcas de calidad pero sin

promoverse como algo de lujo. Esto es lo que se llama, marcas de “toda la vida,” algo

con buena calidad y bien conocido, que la gente está familiarizado pero no

necesariamente de lujo. Hay una marca de champú o de shower gel que todas las

familias que conozco tienen en sus baños. Pero no se vende esta marca como algo de

lujo. Solo buena calidad y buen precio.

Kim – Entonces, la diferencia entre los consumidores europeos de los países elegidos en

términos de las perspectivas a marcas, los consumidores franceses la utiliza como la

herramienta de juzgar la calidad; mientras los italianos las ven como diseño y moda.

Los españoles tienen concepto más práctico con la definición de la marca.

Gioè – Sí. Pero también, cada persona tiene sus gustos y sus condiciones. Así que

generalizar que todos son así o no es difícil. La diferencia es la característica o

tendencia saliente o aunque sea sutil, algo que hace diferente entre ellos en lo

concierne a los comportamientos de consumidores.

Kim – Claro, tiene razón. El resultado de mi encuesta también muestra correlación con

su respuesta. Los consumidores italianos eran a los que más les gustaban las marcas.

Aunque, igualmente a los franceses, tener un producto electrónico de una buena marca

y de prestigio era importante.

Gioè – Sí.

Kim – También otra pregunta se vinculaba con cuales son los elementos que los

consumidores críticamente consideran antes de comprar los productos electrónicos. En

esta pregunta, muchos italianos han elegido otros atributos que la marca como

prioridades. Al contrario, los franceses han elegido más atributos y uno de ellos era la

marca. ¿Cómo se podría explicar esto?

Gioè – Por lo que he observado en Francia, me parece que los franceses, en general



evalúan mucho más información de los productos antes de comprarlos. Ellos quieren

algo que dura. Entonces, creo que con la marca, se considera la calidad y se estima la

durabilidad en Francia.

Al contrario, los consumidores italianos tienden a cambiar productos mucho más

frecuentemente. Les gusta buscar algo nuevo. Así que, aunque tenga un producto ya,

compran nuevos porque los quieren probar y quieren estar al día con últimas modas.

Kim – Algo interesante aquí es que los consumidores de los tres países han elegido

la “utilidad o funcionalidad” como el atributo más importante y también muchos

coincidieron que “la calidad” era muy importante. La diferencia era que más franceses

eligieron la marca como un atributo que ellos críticamente consideran. Para los

consumidores italianos y los españoles, precio era más prioridad que la marca.

Gioè – También tienes que decidir cómo definir una marca, ¿no? Porque, como te he

explicado con el ejemplo de los productos de baño en España, puede ser algo de vida

cotidiana. Me sorprende un poco que el precio les importa menos a los consumidores

franceses que la marca. Todos mis amigos franceses se ponen más prudentes con el

precio. ¿Cuantos años tienen los encuestados? Hay también que decir que España e

Italia están viviendo un periodo de profunda crisis económica, y en este caso las

costumbres de los consumidores pueden cambiar.

Kim – La mayoría era jóvenes, con años de 20 a 30, más o menos.

Gioè – Ah, pues eso. Puede ser por la edad. A lo mejor, a los jóvenes, no les importa

tanto el precio como a los de mi edad.

Pero normalmente, los que piensan menos en precios (de los productos electrónicos)

son los italianos y españoles. Ahora bien, con la crisis que tienen, puede haber afectado

a sus criterios, también. Pero (esta tendencia) no es algo tradicional o fundamental.

Kim – Vale. Igual, como ha dicho usted, la definición de marca puede resultar diferente

a cada encuestado y además la cuantificación es difícil de depender porque es muy

subjetivo. Por cierto, Otra cuestión se trataba del comportamiento de buscar

información. Los italianos y españoles mostraron que ellos buscan más sobre la

información de los productos, reviews de productos y han visitado más a los sitios de

web de comparación de precios etc. que los franceses.

Gioè – De nuevo, me sorprende que los franceses no busquen tanta información. Diría

que los franceses tienen más precaución con la información del web. Debería de haber



más sitios web de comparación de precios en Francia.

Kim – De hecho, una de las preguntas se trataba las opiniones los grupos de

referencias y su impacto en la decisión de compras de productos electrónicos. Los

consumidores franceses han dependido relativamente más en las opiniones de sus

amigos, colegas y familias.

Gioè – Estoy de acuerdo con el resultado. Eso podría explicar también porque’ los

franceses utilizan menos las noticias online, prefieren la experiencia de conocidos

familiares o amigos porque’ más directa. La información internet podría ser

“orientada”

Kim – Vale, hasta ahora hemos hablado de las tendencias sobre las marcas, los

atributos críticamente considerados, la búsqueda información, grupos de referencias,

celebrity endorsement, no?

Gioè – No. Celebrity endorsement, no hemos hablado.

Kim – Ah, vale. Bueno, pues celebrity endorsement se refiere a promoción de productos

con celebridades famosas. En los países asiáticos, se encuentra frecuentemente

celebrity endorsement como estrategia de promoción, como habrá visto durante su

residencia en Corea. ¿Entre los tres países europeos, cual utilizaría este tipo de

promoción más?

Gioè – En Europa, no es tan prominente celebrity endorsement como en Asia. Creo que

en Italia, se vería más este tipo de promoción con actores o modelos famosos, sobre

todo con los productos de lujo para mostrar elegancia. Mucho más en revista y menos

en la televisión Pero, a partir de eso, pienso que no hay tanta diferencia entre estos

países. En España, hay más promoción por los ciudadanos que han utilizado los

productos en realidad. Como, les preguntan sobre su experiencia de utilizar los

productos en una forma de entrevista o algo así. La gente confía más este tipo de

promoción.

Kim – Vale, entonces más o menos similar entre Francia, Italy y España en términos de

celebrity endorsement.

Gioè – Creo que sí.

Kim – Para finalizar, nos queda solo una pregunta más. Los consumidores con

tendencia relativamente alta de comprar productos de última tecnología se llaman

consumidores innovadores. Por ejemplo, los que quieren comprar teléfonos móviles de



última generación con cámara de 15 mega pixeles con 4G y tal, son innovadores, ¿no?

Entre Francia, Italia y España, ¿cuál podríamos decir que tiene más consumidores

innovadores?

Gioè – Es difícil decir con la coyuntura económica. Como te he dicho anteriormente,

los italianos y los españoles tienen en común está tendencia de perseguir variedad de

productos, probar algo nuevo. Pero muchos están desanimados a comprar algo nuevo

solo por tener ganas por la crisis. Entonces,

Kim – El resultado de una encuesta que he obtenido por una fuente autoritativa ha

revelado que las familias españoles poseen más productos de nueva tecnología que las

de Francia o Italia. Como smartphones, HD televisiones, televisiones de 3D, y tal.

Entonces, ¿no podríamos decir que los españoles tienen más inclinación por productos

innovadores?

Gioè – Es difícil decirlo solo por una encuesta de 100 personas o algo así.

Kim – Esta encuesta, se ha distribuido a 2000 personas en cada país en Europa.

Gioè – Bueno, igual, no sé si es suficiente para reflejar toda la población en cada país.

Kim – Tiene razón.

Gioè – Creo que los italianos son igualmente interesados en los productos nuevos, y

cuando sale algo en el mercado, siempre hablan de ellos.

Kim – Vale, entonces, culturalmente, decimos que todos están más o menos interesados

en productos avanzados tecnológicamente y tal ¿no?

Gioè – Sí.

Kim – Bueno, entonces puede ser por otros factores, como la situación económica o

también la estructura de la industria con empresas de importación o producción para

los productos tecnológicos que posiblemente hayan afectado la difusión de los

productos.

Gioè – Sí, puede ser.

Kim – Bueno, pues nada.

Gioè – Bueno.

Kim – Muchas gracias por su participación.

Gioè – Mi placer. Que haya sido útil.

Kim – Por supuesto, me ayuda muchísimo a explicar mi findings.

Gioè – Muy bien. Si necesitas más ayuda, háblame, ¿eh? Cuando quieras.



Kim – Ayy ¡muchas gracias!

Gioè – De nada. Pues nada, mucha suerte en tu investigación.

Kim – Gracias. Que todo vaya bien con usted.

Gioè – Igualmente, ciao.

Kim – Adiós.

The Interview Transcript Translated into English

Kim – Hello, Doctor. Gioè. How are you?

Gioè – Hi, Travis (the researcher’s English name). I’m well.

Kim – Very good.

Gioè – How about you? How is your research going?

Kim – Well, everything is going well here. I already wrote my findings based on the

result of my questionnaire and the secondary data.

Gioè – I’m glad (to hear that).

Kim – Actually, the information that I gained until now is very interesting.

Gioè – Oh yeah? How (is it)?

Kim – Yes but, I would like to ask you first as to the aspect of consumer behaviours.

Gioè – Of course. As you wish. I am here to help you, if I can.

Kim – Because if not, my result can influence your answers, can’t it? And then, I will tell

you what I found to reconcile the differences of the results.

Gioè – Fine. I understand what you mean.

Kim – Good, so, let’s start with the (matters of) branding. I mean the (consumer)

behaviours related to branding. With your experience of having lived in these three

countries, France, Italy and Spain, have you noticed (any) tendency of consumers in

each country with brands? For example, if they are interested or if having products with

good brands matters to them.

Gioè – I think that Italians like to talk about brands in general. The French also like to

talk about brands a lot, but (it differs) in a sense that for them the brand is a signal of

quality; a product has to last during the estimated time until they depreciate the paid

value. While, to a certain degree, the brands are sings of quality for Italians as well, but



not as much as to the French. Italians indeed like to be able to change and stay trendy.

Kim – Italian consumers like to have products with well-known or prestigious brands?

Gioè – Yes, that is true. But brands, for us are the sign of design or personality of the

producer. In Italy, people want to dress up well and buy well-designed things. For that,

they like to buy products from brands like Gucci or Prada. Everyone I know in Italy

have iPhone because it has a good design. At the end, there is a certain base agreement

(approval) as everyone has one of Gucci or Prada or Louis Vuitton. The difference is

only noticeable at high levels where there is true purchase capacity.

Kim – And the Spanish?

Gioè – I think in Spain, there is a certain tendency for the brands of quality that are not

necessarily promoted as something luxurious. This is called “toda la vida” (all life)

brands, something of good quality and well known, that people are familiar with but not

necessary of luxury. There is shampoo or shower gel brand that every family that I know

has in their bathrooms. But they are not sold as something luxurious. Only (as) good

quality and good price.

Kim – Then, the difference between the European consumers from the selected countries

in terms of perspectives to brands, the French consumers use it as a tool to judge

quality; while the Italians see them as design and trend. The Spanish have a more of

practical concept with the definition of the brand.

Gioè – Yes, but also, each person has his/her tastes and conditions. So, generalizing

that everyone is like this or not is difficult. The difference is the salient characteristics

or tendency or even if they are subtle, something that makes it different between them in

terms of consumer behaviors.

Kim – You are right. The result of my questionnaire also showed a correlation with your

answers. The Italian consumers were the one who like brands the most. Although, it was

equally important for French consumers to have electronic products with good and

prestigious brands.

Gioè – Yeah.

Kim – Also, another question was linked to which elements (features or attributes) were

critically considered by the consumers before buying electronic products. In this

question, many Italians have chosen attributes other than the brand, as priorities. To the

contrast, the French have chosen more attributes and one of them was brand. How can



this be explained?

Gioè – From what I observed in France, it appears that French in general evaluate

more information regarding products before they buy them. They want something that

last. So, in France, with the brand, they consider the quality and they estimate the

durability. To the contrary, the Italian consumers tend to change product much more

frequently. They like to find something new. So, even if they have a product already, they

buy new ones because they want to try and they want to stay trendy.

Kim – Something interesting here is that the consumers of the three countries have

chosen the utility or functionality as the most important attribute and also a lot of them

coincided that the quality is very important. The difference was that more French

(people) have chosen the Brand as an attribute that they critically consider. For the

Italian and Spanish consumers, price was more of a priority than the brand.

Gioè – Also, you have to decide the definition of a Brand, don’t you? Because as I

explained to you with the example of bathing products in Spain, a Brand can be

something of daily life. It is a bit surprising to me that the Price is less important to the

French consumers than the Brand. All my French Friends are more prudent with price.

How old are the respondents (of your survey)? It should be mentioned as well that in

Spain and Italy, they are living in a period of profound economic crisis, and in this case,

the customs (habits) of the consumers can change.

Kim – the majority were young, from 20 to 30, more or less.

Gioè – Ah, well that’s it. It can be because of the age. Maybe the young people are less

sensitive to prices than those of my age. But, normally, those that think less about prices

(of electronic products) are the Italians and Spanish. Now, with the crisis that they have,

it may have affected their criteria as well. But, (this tendency) is not something

traditionally or fundamental (customary).

Kim – Okay. Likewise, as you said, the definition of the Brand may result differently to

each respondent and it is difficult to reply on its quantification because it is quite

subjective.

By the way, another matter was about the information searching behaviour. The Italians

and Spanish showed they search the most for the product information, product reviews

and have visited the price comparison websites and so forth then the French.

Gioè – Again, it is surprising that the French do not seek as much for information. I



would say that the French are the most cautious with the online information. There must

be more price comparison websites in France.

Kim – Indeed, one of the questions was about the opinions of the reference groups and

their impact on the purchase decisions of electronic products. The French have

depended relatively more on the opinions of their friends, colleagues, and families.

Gioè – I agree with the result. This would explain as well why the French people use

less online information. They prefer the experience of the known families or friends

because it is more direct. The information from the internet can be “oriented” (guided).

Kim – Okay, until now we have talked about the tendencies towards brands, the

critically considered (product) attributes, the information searching, reference groups,

and celebrity endorsement, yeah?

Gioè – No. We haven’t talked about celebrity endorsement.

Kim – Ah, okay. Well, celebrity endorsement refers to promotion of products with

famous celebrities. In Asian countries, celebrity endorsement is often found as

promotion strategy as you must have seen ones during your stay in Korea. Among the

three European countries, which would use this type of promotion the most?

Gioè – In Europe, celebrity endorsement is not as prominent as in Asia. I think that in

Italy, this type of promotion with actors or famous models, especially with luxury

products to how elegance. A lot more in magazines and less in television. But, apart

from that, I think there is not so much difference between these countries.

In Spain, there is more promotion by the citizens who have actually used the products.

Like they ask about the experience of using the products in a form of interview or

something like that. People trust more this kind of promotion.

Kim – Okay, then more or less similar between France, Italy and Spain in terms of

celebrity endorsement.

Gioè – I think so.

Kim – To finalize, there is only one more question left. The consumers with relatively

high tendency to buy products of the newest technology are called innovative consumers.

For example, those that want to buy mobile phones of the newest generation with 15

mega pixel camera, with 4G, and such are innovative, right? Between France, Italy and

Spain, which can we say that has the most innovative consumers?

Gioè – It is hard to say with the (current) economic situation. As I said before, the



Italians and the Spanish have this tendency in common to pursue variety of products and trying

something new. But many are discouraged by the crisis to buy something new just because they

feel like it. So…

Kim – The result of a questionnaire from an authoritative source has revealed that the Spanish

families possess most products with new technology than France and Italy. Like smartphones,

HD TVs and 3D TVs. So then, can we not say that Spanish people have the most inclination for

innovative products?

Gioè – It is difficult to say it just because of a survey on 100 people or something like that.

Kim – This survey was distributed to 2000 people in each European country.

Gioè – Well, even so, I do not know if it is sufficient to reflect the whole population in each

country.

Kim – You are right.

Gioè – I think that the Italians are equally interested in new products and when something

comes out in the market, they always talk about it.

Kim – Ok, then, let’s say that culturally, all of them are more or less interested in

technologically advanced products and such, yeah?

Gioè – Yes.

Kim – Well, it could be due to other factors like the economic situation or also the structure of

the industry with importing or producing companies for the technology products that possible

have affect the diffusion of the products.

Gioè – Yes, it can be.

Kim – Well, that’s it, then.

Gioè – Good.

Kim – Thank you very much for your participation.

Gioè – My pleasure. Hope it was useful.

Kim – Of course, it helped me to explain my findings.

Gioè – Very good. If you need more help, let me know, eh? Whenever you want.

Kim – Ayy Thank you very much!

Gioè – You’re welcome. Well, alright, good luck on your research.

Kim – Thank you. I hope everything goes well with you.

Gioè – Likewise to you. Bye.

Kim – Bye.



Appendix 10 the Interview Consent Form



Appendix 11 the results for the survey question No.1

Question 1 How much would you prefer personal electronic products

recommended by celebrities or well-known experts in their field?

Corresponding

Hypothesis

In countries with higher power distance index (PDI), consumers

will have higher predisposition to respond positively to celebrity

endorsement and opinion leadership with electronics experts or

professionals.

Quantitative data type Ranked data / ordinal data

Countries France Italy Spain

Mean 1.230769 3.111111 1.9

Median 0 2 0

Mode 0 0 0

Standard Deviation 1.69085 3.140241 2.403944

Minimum 0 0 0

Maximum 5 8 6

Confidence Level

(95.0%) 1.021771 2.413803 1.12508




Question 2 When you decide to buy a personal electronic device (PED), how

important is it that its brand is well-known or prestigious?

Corresponding

Hypothesis

Consumers from masculine cultures will be more brand conscious

than consumers from feminine cultures.



Mean 5.461538 5.555556 4.75

Median 6 6 6

Mode 2 8 7


Minimum 2 2 0

Maximum 10 8 8

Confidence Level

(95.0%)

1.610482 1.847648 1.322656




Question 3 Please select all of the features that you would critically consider

when purchasing a personal electronic product

Corresponding

Hypothesis

Consumers from masculine cultures will be more brand conscious than

consumers from feminine cultures.

France Italy Spain

Result Total % Result Total % Result Total %

Utility / functionality 12 13 0.92 8 9 0.89 17 19 0.89

Design / style / colors 10 13 0.77 4 9 0.44 14 19 0.74

Quality 12 13 0.92 8 9 0.89 15 19 0.79

Brand 10 13 0.77

2 9 0.22

5 19 0.26

Financing options

(e.g. credit terms)

2 13 0.15

0 9 0.00

5 19 0.26

Delivery options 2 13 0.15

1 9 0.11

1 19 0.05

Post-purchase

installation

(applications /

software)

4 13 0.31

4 9 0.44

7 19 0.37

After-sales service 6 13 0.46

3 9 0.33

1 19 0.05

Country of origin

(Made in...)

2 13 0.15 0 9 0.00 4 19 0.21

Durability 9 13 0.69

4 9 0.44

12 19 0.63

Price 10 13 0.77 6 9 0.67 16 19 0.84




Question 4

How much do you agree that you are an innovative consumer?

(I.e. how often do you buy new electronic products?

Corresponding Hypothesis Consumers from high-uncertainty-avoidant cultures will have

lower consumer innovativeness i.e. will be less inclined to try

new and unfamiliar products.



Mean 3.230769 4.888889 2.9

Median 3 6 2

Mode 3 2 2


Minimum 0 2 0

Maximum 8 8 8

Confidence Level (95.0%) 1.285548 1.976406 1.260396



Appendix 15.1 the results for the survey question no.5

Question 5 How much information concerning the personal electronic product

would you consider before making the purchase decision?

Corresponding

Hypothesis

Consumers from high-uncertainty-avoidant cultures will search for

more information as to the products before reaching the purchase

decisions.



Mean 4.384615 7.555556 5.9

Median 4 9 6

Mode 3 9 8


Minimum 0 2 2

Maximum 8 10 10

Confidence Level

(95.0%) 1.449853 2.211545 1.12508



Appendix 15.2 Average number of product attributes that consumers from

France, Italy and Spain critically consider before making a purchase

decision (modified from the results for question no. 3)

Question 3 Please select all of the features that you would critically consider

when purchasing a personal electronic product

France Italy Spain

Mean 6.076923077 4.444444 5.315789

Standard Error 0.348284044 0.647884 0.390326

Median 6 5 5

Mode 5 6 4


Sample Variance 1.576923077 3.777778 2.894737

Kurtosis -0.959796658 -0.73461 -0.03572

Skewness 0.130662187 -0.94306 0.126561

Range 4 5 7

Minimum 4 1 2

Maximum 8 6 9

Sum 79 40 101

Count 13 9 19

Confidence Level (95.0%) 0.758845743 1.494022 0.820045



Appendix 16. The results for the survey question no.6

Question 6

When you decide to buy a personal electronic product (PED), how

much would you have considered the opinions of people around

you?

Corresponding

Hypothesis

Consumers from collectivists cultures will tend to incorporate their

reference groups’ opinions when making purchase decisions.



Mean 5.615385 5.333333 5.35

Median 6 5 5.5

Mode 8 7 7


Minimum 1 3 0

Maximum 10 8 9

Confidence Level

(95.0%) 1.664799 1.385736 1.281935

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