A Cross-Cultural Study of Materialism and Brand Engagement

Abstract

AbstractMaterialism is overestimating the importance of material goods to human happiness. Researchers have long studied materialism, both for its impact on general human well-being and on many consumer behaviors. The purpose of the present study is to examine cultural differences in materialism by comparing the responses of samples of consumers from the U.S. (n = 259) and Korea (n = 226), and using two operationalizations of the materialism construct. We present findings using the well-known Richins and Dawson (1992) Material Values Scale, as well as those from a newer scale, the Aspiration Index (Kasser, 2002), in order to provide additional insight into materialism. We also test for cultural differences in a new construct closely related to materialism: brand engagement in self-concept. The results show that the Korean sample scored higher than the U.S. sample on five of the six materialism dimensions, suggesting that materialism might have a stronger impact on the consumption behavior of these consumers than on their U.S. counterparts. In contrast, the U.S. consumers report higher levels of brand engagement in self-concept than the Koreans do, revealing subtle cultural differences of potential importance to marketing strategy.Keywords: materialism, brand engagement in self-concept, personality, motivation, crosscultural marketing, gender differencesIntroductionMaterialism is a concept of preeminent importance in the study of consumer behavior. It is difficult to think of another consumer characteristic linked to both a wide variety of typical marketplace behaviors, like consuming for status (Goldsmith, Flynn, & Clark, 2012a), and pathological behaviors, like hoarding (Cherrier & Ponnor, 2010). Materialism is special in that it is a broad personality characteristic directly linked to specific consumer behaviors. It is also different in that it is demonized and is regularly the subject of studies relating it to negative outcomes, such as overspending (Watson, 2003), consumer indebtedness (Ponchio & Aranha, 2008), and lack of life satisfaction (Wright & Larsen 1993). Recent research shows that income, up to a point, is actually positively related to life evaluation, contrary to traditional ideas that material goods are the root of all evil (Kahneman & Deaton, 2010). Materialism is an important, well-studied construct with broad implications for consumer behavior. To that end, research has produced a wide-ranging body of knowledge about both the antecedents and the consequences of materialistic tendencies.At the same time, some researchers examine levels of materialism and how these levels differ across cultures. Their goal is to reveal cultural influences on materialism. Although this information is potentially important to understanding both the etiology of materialism and crosscultural marketing strategy, these studies yield little enlightenment about how exactly this culturally-based phenomenon varies between ethnicities, countries, and cultures. Existing results are contradictory (Ger & Belk, 1996; Kamano, 1999; Kamineni, 2005; Webster & Beatty, 1997). Similarly, some studies report demographic correlates of materialism, but the findings are inconsistent and even contradictory. Such inconsistent findings shed little light on how materialistic tendencies might function differently between different groups, and the limited number of studies provides an insufficient number of data points to permit valid generalizations. Thus, we need further research in order to clarify not only the differences in levels of materialism but also the mechanisms by which materialism exerts its influence between groups.Moreover, researchers have used different and differentially reliable and valid measures of materialism, usually limiting themselves to one of the versions of the Material Values Scale, or MVS (Richins & Dawson, 1992). This mono-operation bias restricts the depth of insight, but the use of additional operationalizations of the construct can overcome this shortcoming. …

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