The dual impact of traditional and national cultural values on expatriate ethnic groups' attitudes and willingness to buy

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the dual influence of traditional Chinese and national Singaporean cultural values on the attitude towards skin beauty and the purchase intention relating to skin care cosmetics among Chinese Singaporean women. It aims is to investigate how ethnic and national cultures might interact to influence the attitude towards skin beauty and hence the willingness to buy skin care products.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 370 Chinese Singaporean women was conducted to test the proposed links. The study adopts an empirical approach using structural equation modelling.FindingsBoth traditional Chinese and national Singaporean cultural values impact the attitude of Chinese Singaporean women towards skin beauty and their willingness to buy skin care cosmetics. The components of the traditional Chinese values (Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism) and national Singaporean values were found to have differing impact on the attitude towards skin beauty and the purchase intention of skin care cosmetics among Singaporean women. Confucianism was found to have a very strong impact on skin fairness and whitening, national Singaporeans' values were found to have a strong impact on skin anti‐ageing, and Buddhist values were found to have moderate impact on attitude towards skin smoothness and skin fairness and on the willingness to buy skin smoothening and skin whitening cosmetics.Research limitations/implicationsEven though the sample can be considered large, given the number of variables in the model, it would be wise to rely on a larger sample. In addition, the research was about specific cosmetics products, namely those related to skin care. It is judicious to extend the analysis to other categories and types of products. For expatriate ethnic groups, it is recommended that marketers think about the interaction between their traditional values and the values of the host country, as these have dual effects on their attitudes and hence on their buying intention. The interaction between these values is not static across products. It varies in size and combination across types of attitudes and products.Practical implicationsTraditional ethnic and national cultural values have differing impact in terms of significance and size on the attitude towards face beauty. Hence, marketing actions such as positioning and advertising should be customized accordingly, to target at these values in an attempt to influence attitude, and hence purchase behavior. Attitude plays a mediating role between cultural values and purchase intention. Influencing consumers' willingness to buy involves influencing their attitudes.Originality/valueFew works have surveyed the dual influence of national and ethnic values on a specific ethnic subgroup in Asia. To the authors' knowledge, there no previous research has been conducted for Singapore. This paper demonstrates that it is important for the marketer to take into account Singaporeans' national and ethnic values while marketing to them.

Emotional appeal in recruitment advertising and applicant attraction: Unpacking national cultural differences

“…The languages, religions, and festivals of the three major groups—Chinese, Malay, and Indian—have received formal equal treatment (Huat, ). Although 74 percent of Singaporeans are of Chinese ethnicity, they are bilingual and acculturated to the British legacy of Western traditions and at the same time preserving their Chinese traditions (Koubaa et al, ).…”

“…The languages, religions, and festivals of the three major groups-Chinese, Malay, and Indian-have received formal equal treatment (Huat, 2003). Although 74 percent of Singaporeans are of Chinese ethnicity, they are bilingual and acculturated to the British legacy of Western traditions and at the same time preserving their Chinese traditions (Koubaa et al, 2011). Considering the differences between countries that exhibit one dominant culture and those characterized by biculturalism, we conducted two experimental studies.…”

“…The rationale for Study 2 was in line with the literature on biculturals (Hong et al, 2000), which suggests that in countries where multiple cultures coexist, individuals tend to become bicultural citizens because the social environment helps them develop more than one cultural knowledge system (e.g., collectivism in their own heritage culture and individualism in the receiving culture). Unlike people in dominant cultural countries, who also may acquire some knowledge about the foreign culture through intercultural contacts (Nguyen & Benet-Martínez, 2013), biculturals in Singapore endorse and internalize both the native and foreign cultures (Chen, Benet-Martínez, & Harris Bond, 2008;Koubaa et al, 2011). Evidence shows that compared with monoculturals, biculturals are more prone to cognitively switch between the two cultures, and their behaviors are influenced by the cultural values that are most salient and accessible to them (Hong et al, 2000;Schwartz & Unger, 2010;Zhang, 2009).…”

“…On the other hand, some countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, have seen the emergence of biculturalism, where multiple cultures coexist and individuals tend to intermix and identify with both their heritage culture and the receiving culture (Koubaa, Ulvoas, & Chew, ; Schwartz & Unger, ). Biculturalism emerges in these societies not only because cultural diversity is recognized but also because the government takes an active approach to integrate different cultural groups and facilitate mutual learning and respect (Koubaa et al, ). As opposed to countries that exhibit a dominant culture through assimilation, bicultural countries commonly use integration as a strategy to deal with intercultural relations and encourage maintenance of both the heritage culture and the receiving culture (Nguyen & Benet‐Martínez, ).…”

Cultural congruency and shocking buzz campaigns: contrasting the opinions of professionals and consumers

“…Durgee et al (1996) argue that a better understanding of consumers comes by knowing their values. On a personal level, values inspire all types of consumer behaviour (Connor and Becker, 2003;Cai and Shannon, 2012), and in particular motivations and choice (Durvasula et al, 2011), purchasing decisions (Koubaa et al, 2011) and media selection (Odin et al, 1996). Since communication messages convey values, it is often reminded that these messages should be in harmony with the prevailing beliefs of the target and operate as a "mirror that only reflects and exposes existing cultural values and behaviours" (Pollay, 1986, p. 910).…”