The timeliness of studying the behavior of consumers from different cultures in an increasingly fragmented world is demonstrated by the dynamic growth of the number of published cross-cultural studies and the rise of special issues of consumer behavior-related journals. Researchers challenging consumer behavior variations from a cross-cultural standpoint encounter substantial challenges, including issues that arise from the diversity of domains and interdisciplinary approaches, such as the variety of methods for the collection, processing, analysis and interpretation of data, and issues related to method biases and scale equivalence (Steenkamp et al. 1998).In order to mitigate these challenges for cross-cultural research and to define future research streams,
AbstractThis study presents a review of 85 peer-reviewed publications of cross-cultural variations in consumer behavior. The objectives of this study are to systemize conceptual and methodological approaches to research of cross-cultural variations in consumer behavior; to present an extended understanding of consumer behavior in related industries; to identify conceptual and methodological gaps and empirical issues in these studies; and by fulfilling the objective of this paper to develop an agenda guiding further research in a systematic manner. This literature review reveals the lack of a unified conceptual approach to defining cross-cultural variations and the absence of a unified terminology related to cross-cultural research. It also highlights methodological areas susceptible to common method bias, which hinders the establishment of equivalence in studies of cross-cultural variations in consumer behavior. This review accentuates the "cross-cultural variations" concept in consumer behavior research, covering both the differences and similarities that are the subject of cross-cultural studies. Furthermore, the current study outlines relevant contributions for theoretical and potentially managerial implications based on the study's insights.