Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Nancy J. Rabolt
San Francisco State University
ABSTRACT
In expanding their market to the global level with clear and consistent
global brand images across nations, marketers are ever confronting
the issue of how to deal with different cultural values. Cultural value
is identified as an influential factor on brand image and is widely
accepted as one of the crucial concepts in understanding consumer
consumption value, which determines choices of consuming everyday
products and services. Most firms endeavoring to establish and maintain consistent global brand images, however, adopt a standardized
brand image strategy that usually does not consider individual
target markets characteristics, including the concepts of cultural
value and consumption value. This study developed a conceptual
framework which incorporated cultural value not only as a direct
antecedent of brand image, but also as an indirect antecedent of
brand image through consumption value, and empirically tested it
using the category of apparel. Following this framework, this study
hypothesized the differences in brand image, cultural value, and
consumption value between the U.S. and South Korea. Data were
gathered through surveying university students residing in the
San Francisco and Seoul metropolitan areas using a convenience
sampling method. A total of 329 completed questionnaires were used
in factor analysis, discriminant analysis, and structural equation
Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 26(8): 714735 (August 2009)
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com)
2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/mar.20296
714
715
(1984) cultural dimensions. Related to brand globalization, Hsieh (2002) proposed a measure of the degree of global brand image perception cohesiveness
across markets as an indicator of the degree of brand globalization and found
that national characteristics such as the level of economic development, cultural dimensions, and geographic distance affect brand image perception. Concerning global brand image, other research (Roth, 1992, 1995b) emphasized that
countries are culturally heterogeneous. As such, marketers constantly encounter
the issue of how to establish consistent brand image across the globe despite
cultural differences. Even though the global brand strategies adopted by transnational corporations have received a great deal of attention, empirical studies on
the establishment of global brand image are still limited. This study, therefore,
was intended to provide some insight on this issue and encourage marketers to
focus their efforts on understanding how to effectively develop and implement
strong and consistent brand images, which will enable them to successfully compete in the global market.
The aforementioned studies, however, have not addressed the concept of individual consumption value that is specific to a product, which belongs to a brand,
overlooking the interlinking between cultural values and consumption values.
Consumers from different cultures may use different product attributes to
express similar underlying consumption values (Tse, Wong, & Tan, 1988). In this
context, Taylor (2000) raised the need for more research identifying how culture influences consumer behavior and marketing, and Steenkamp (2001) noted
that culture has long been recognized as a major factor underlying systematic
differences in behavior. McGregor (2000) empirically showed that cultural value
and consumption value are related, but not exactly the same, through crosscultural comparative analysis using cultural value as a proxy for consumption
value. He noted that cultural value influences consumption value in that
cultural value is seen to act as a justification for individuals acquiring certain
goods and services. Huang and Tai (2003) also identified significant effects of
cultural value on consumption value. In recent years, the influence of culture
on consumption and marketing has received increasing attention (Soares,
Farhangmehr, & Shoham, 2007).
Recognizing the differences in cultural and consumption values across markets and their impact on brand images, each cultural value and consumption
value should be carefully considered in establishing global brand image strategies. In other words, standardized brand image strategies should be modified and
adapted according to cultural and consumption differences across nations. In
order to support this, this study proposed a conceptual framework which incorporated cultural value not only as a direct antecedent of brand image, but also
as an indirect antecedent through consumption value, and then empirically
tested it for both the U.S. and South Korea. Under this framework, it was hypothesized that brand image as well as its two antecedents, cultural value and consumption value, differ between the two countries. The results may reveal why
brand images are perceived differently across nations and may suggest ways to
incorporate differences in brand image strategies to establish a consistent global
brand image across nations.
As apparel brands are representative of globalized consumer product brands,
this study was conducted using an apparel product. Most global apparel companies, whose product lines change frequently, implement standardized image
strategies. This could be justified by Samiee and Roths (1992) finding that
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marketers are more likely to standardize their marketing programs when they
compete in industries where product changes are frequent. However, a globalized clothing brand being the subject, this study may show how vulnerable a standardized strategy is in building and sustaining the same brand image across
nations where cultural and consumption values differ.
Dobni and Zinkhan (1990) addressed factors that contribute to developing
brand image: product attributes, sponsoring organization, marketing mix, modes
through which people tend to perceive, personal values, experience, type of people associated with the use of brand, and context variables. Also, marketing
practitioners have emphasized that marketing mix, such as manufacturing,
assortment, and advertising, should take into account cultural differences
(Translating a Brand Image Abroad, 1998). However, ideas about how to reflect
these differences in actual strategies is vague due to the lack of empirical tests.
Therefore, it may be meaningful to examine whether these individual and cultural differences lead to different brand images across nations.
Brand Image
In marketing research, brand image is defined in a variety of ways. By tracing
various definitions and justifications, Dobni and Zinkhan (1990) defined brand
image as the concept of a brand held by the consumer and is largely a subjective
and perceptual phenomenon formed through consumer interpretation (p. 118).
Besides the diverse definitions, there is no consensus on the most accurate
and effective standardized measurement for brand image (Hsieh & Li, 2008;
Martinez & Chernatony, 2004; Martinez, Polo, & Chernatony, 2008). Pointing out
the need for the development of different scale items of brand image according
to product category, Low and Lamb (2000) proposed a protocol for developing
product categoryspecific measures of brand image which was empirically tested.
Measurements should be customized to accommodate the unique characteristics of specific brand categories (Bearden & Etzel, 1982; Park & Srinivasan,
1994). In consideration of this, the brand image scale used in this study was
developed following the protocol recommended by Low and Lamb. This protocol
begins with a pretest which asks a small number of respondents, who are relevant to a main study population, to provide any ideas, feelings, or attitudes that
they associate with a brand. Based on analyzing and tabulating the open-ended
responses, most frequently named terms are used to develop semantic differential
brand image items which are asked of the studys sample while showing a brand
advertisement.
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There are differences in brand image perceptions between the U.S. and
South Korea.
Cultural Value
Culture provides a sort of shared understanding among people in a society that
allows them to predict and coordinate social activities (Sternquist, 1998), and
cultural values refer to the core of the entire cultures mindset shared by a society (McGregor, 2000). Shared cultural values help to shape the contingencies to
which members of a society should adapt in the institutions in which they spend
their time (Schwartz, 1999). Therefore, it seems apparent that cultural values
in the U.S. and South Korea are quite different from each other because of their
different cultures.
In spite of the growing awareness of the importance of global brand image to
international marketers, there has been no research on whether cultural values
may influence brand image. Related to brand, there is only one study (Zinkhan &
Prenshaw, 1994) that identified the impact of differences in visions of good life,
which are culturally determined, among Asia, the U.S., and Europe on brand
name image rather than on brand image. Sternquist (1998) pointed out that
the element of culture is an important factor for retailers and that the retailer is
being confronted with culturally different surroundings, although the retailer
operates using a standard format throughout the globe.
As globalization is a pervasive phenomenon in the business arena, much
research has been conducted on cultural values across the globe, revealing
that marketing success depends on knowledge of cultural differences. Most of
this research used Hofstedes (1984) cultural dimensions as cultural values
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There are differences in cultural values between the U.S. and South Korea.
Consumption Value
As this study was specific to apparel and clothing, it used the variable clothing
consumption value, which refers to the values attached to the consumption of
clothing. In the clothing research arena, the term clothing value is widely
perceived to have the same meaning as clothing consumption value. This study
adopted the term clothing consumption value because it is more widely used in
the marketing arena than clothing value.
In identifying consumer behavior related to consumption values, many studies (Albaum et al., 2002; Chen, Shang, & Lin, 2008; Finch, Trombley, & Rabas,
1998; Long & Shiffman, 2000; Pope, 1998) have used Sheth, Newman, and Gross
(1991) theory of consumption values, composed of functional value, social value,
emotional value, epistemic value, and conditional value. The theory defined each
value as follows: Functional value is the utility that is perceived to possess on
criteria salient to its physical or functional purposes (p. 32); social value is
derived from its association with one or more distinctive social groups (p. 38);
emotional value is derived from feelings or affective states (p. 50); epistemic
value is derived from its capacity to provide novelty, arouse curiosity, and/or satisfy knowledge-seeking aspirations (p. 62); and conditional value is derived
from its capacity to provide temporary functional or social value in the context
of a specific and transient set of circumstances or contingencies (p. 69).
The theory of Sheth, Newman, and Gross (1991) provided standardized procedures and questionnaire formats to researchers by enabling them to adapt
them to their research topics, and it is appropriate in capturing value content
due to its flexibility. This study followed the theory in identifying consumption
value of clothing. The theory recommends using focus groups in developing consumption value scales; however, this study used an open-ended questionnaire
because of the difficulty of using the same level of qualified interviewers and the
location and time limitations across the U.S. and South Korea.
Tse, Wong, and Tan (1988) found differences of clothing consumption values
using product attribute importance as consumption value measures in their
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There are differences in consumption values between the U.S. and South
Korea.
METHOD
Developing Measurement of Variables
Measures for Brand Image. The brand Polo was chosen both because
there are abundant subjects around the globe who know the brand well enough
to rate its brand image, and Polo implements standardized advertising and merchandise strategies across the global market. The researchers of this study
examined Polos advertisements in American fashion magazines such as Vogue
and Allure and the Korean versions of those magazines and confirmed that
the company used the same advertisements in the U.S. and South Korea. The
researchers also confirmed that the advertisements did not contain any culturally relevant stimuli that could have been evaluated and processed differently
by individuals within the individualist culture and the collective culture as
found by Leach and Liu (1998).
Brand image measures were developed by a pretest, as suggested by Low
and Lamb (2000). Fifty-three female university students from the U.S. and 60
from South Korea were asked to write down brand image words representing
ideas, feelings, and attitudes that they associated with clothing. The open-ended
responses were categorized on the basis of common meanings and content and
examined by frequency, and the most frequently named responses in each category were selected to develop semantic differential items to measure brand
image. The content and frequency analyses led to 14 items for the U.S. and 19
for South Korea, with nine items common to both countries. The final set of 24
brand image items were selected: expensive/inexpensive, high status/low status,
good quality/poor quality, trendy/outdated, popular/unpopular, sexy/unappealing,
feel positive/feel negative, professional/unprofessional, luxurious/economic,
sophisticated/unsophisticated, fun/boring, youthful/old, fashion/basic, unique/
common, active/inactive, romantic/practical, cute/ugly, feminine/masculine,
elegant/inelegant, colorful/dull, casual/formal, comfortable/uncomfortable, global/
local, and soft/hard.
Advertising is essential to the process of informing consumers of inherent
product benefits and positioning the brand in their mind (Meenaghan, 1995).
Therefore, Low and Lamb (2000) showed an advertisement for a brand to their
subjects before asking them to rate the brand image. However, this study did
not provide an advertisement for the following two reasons. First, creating
images in consumers minds depends on specific advertising appeals such as
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(usually pertaining to curiosity and the desire for knowledge, novelty, and complexity)?; (4) What are the groups of people associated with the clothing you
purchase?; and (5) What are the circumstances or situations that would cause
you to purchase clothing?
For each value, the responses obtained from each country were separately categorized and examined by frequency. The most frequently named responses from
each country in each value were selected and combined as clothing consumption
values held by consumers in both countries. As a result, eight items of salient
responses, six in common for both countries and one each from the U.S. and South
Korean subjects, were determined for functional value. Regarding emotional
value, six items, four in common for both countries and two from the U.S. subjects,
were determined. There were nine items, four in common for both countries, four
from the U.S. subjects, and one from the South Korean subjects, for epistemic
value. For social value, nine items, four in common for both countries, two from
the U.S. subjects, and three from the South Korean subjects, were selected. For
conditional value, there were nine items, five in common for both countries, two
from the U.S. subjects, and two from the South Korean subjects.
In the questionnaire, subjects were asked to complete 41 consumption value
scales under each value category. For functional value, subjects were asked to
indicate their perception of each benefit or problem associated with purchasing
clothing. For emotional value, subjects were asked to indicate their feelings
associated with their decision to purchase clothing. Epistemic values were measured by asking subjects to indicate their level of agreement with reasons for
purchasing their clothing. The question on social value in this study was not
consistent with the case of buy or not to buy cited in the theory of consumption value by Sheth, Newman, and Gross (1991). Therefore, the question was modified to investigate the degree of influence of social groups associated with
purchasing clothing; the question recommended by the theory is intended to
measure the degree of consumers beliefs about certain social groups behaviors
as consumers. For measuring social value and conditional value, subjects were
asked to indicate how much they are associated with each referent when purchasing clothing and how much their behavior in purchasing clothing would be
changed by each condition, respectively. Seven-point Likert-type scales were
used, ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7) for functional,
emotional, and epistemic values and from extremely not at all (1) to extremely
very much (7) for social and conditional values.
Data Collection
Aiming to better support hypotheses of the difference of values and brand images
between the U.S. and South Korea, this study employed subjects who were homogeneous across the two countries. Since university students are more homogenous than other samples, the sample for this study was composed of female
university students in the San Francisco and Seoul metropolitan areas. As similar segments of consumers across borders are more likely to be found in urban
than in rural areas (Quelch, 1999), students in urban areas were selected. The
fact that the two cities are generally perceived as two of the most cosmopolitan
cities in the two countries was also considered in the selection process.
Conducting this study with university students may also provide useful information to the marketing arena recognizing the growing importance of young
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consumers in the global market. Solomon (2007) pointed out that global marketing efforts are likely to succeed when targeting consumers in different countries who share a common world view, not only because their frame of reference
is relatively more international or cosmopolitan, but also because they receive
much of their information about the world from sources that incorporate a worldwide perspective. He suggested that the youth segment is the first to tap because
their tastes are strongly influenced by the mass media, which deliver many of
the same images to the globe simultaneously. Currently, the proliferation of the
Internet has accelerated the pace towards homogeneity among the younger generation of the world.
Utilizing the convenience sampling method, the data were gathered by surveying female students during fashion-related classes at a university in San
Francisco and two universities in Seoul. The questionnaire for this study contained measurement scales of brand image, cultural values, and consumption
values; 158 questionnaires from the U.S. and 171 from South Korea were used
in exploratory factor analysis and discriminant analysis using the SPSS program.
The Amos 4.0 program was also used for structural equation modeling using
maximum likelihood estimation in order to provide confirmatory factor analysis, the fit of the scales, and the fit of the model proposed in this study. The fits
were evaluated by examining chi-square statistics, goodness-of-fit index (GFI),
normed fit index (NFI), and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI). This study also examined
comparative fit index (CFI) because CFI is robust to sample size while other
indexes are not (Bentler, 1990).
RESULTS
Factor Analysis and Variable Reliabilities
Exploratory Factor Analysis. To identify the underlying factors of brand
image and each of the five consumption values, an exploratory factor analysis using
principal component method with varimax rotation was performed. In conducting
the analysis, this study used combined data from the U.S. and South Korea to
extract the common factor items of the two countries and thus could show the
relative differences of brand images and values between the two countries. Comparing the brand images and values between the two countries based on the same
brand images and values enables this study to achieve its research purpose.
In conducting factor analysis, an eigenvalue of greater than one was used as
the criterion for extracting factors. A factor reduction process was carried out to
eliminate the scale items having small loadings (below 0.50) and sizable crossloadings on more than one factor.
Four factors of brand image were extracted after eliminating 11 items. Total
variance explained with the four factors was 62.05%. For consumption values,
two factors each for functional, emotional, and epistemic values and three factors each for social and conditional values were extracted after eliminating one
item of social value and two items of each of epistemic and conditional values.
Total variance explained with the two factors for functional, emotional, and
epistemic values was 53.36%, 67.85%, and 66.81%, respectively. Total variance
explained with the three factors for social and conditional values was 64.33% and
63.29%, respectively.
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Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Regarding brand image and consumption value scales, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to further
investigate whether the extracted factor properties of the scales fit to each of the
two countries. CFA was also conducted for the cultural value scale in order to
investigate whether the seven-dimension structure of cultural value, which was
used by Schwartz (1999), fit to each of the two countries. Using a first-order
CFA model, the tests were conducted for each group separately. Throughout this
process, items and factors which had factor loadings and regression weights
below 0.50 or not significant with their latent variables at p 0.05 in either data
set were eliminated to develop common factors or dimensions for both countries, and the modification indexes were examined to eliminate or add paths as
necessary.
For brand image, a two-factor model was best fitted and two items and one
item each of the two factors were eliminated in the process. The tests for the factorial validity for each country are shown in Table 1. Chi-square statistics were
significant and GFI, TLI, and CFI were also quite acceptable, indicating responses
to the brand image could be explained by the two factors. Therefore, the factors
could be considered to best represent the structure of brand image items for
each country. The Cronbachs coefficient alphas for the two factors of brand
image were 0.66 and 0.70 for the U.S. subjects and 0.58 and 0.77 for the South
Korean subjects (see Table 2), indicating that acceptable reliability was achieved
for both countries.
In order to confirm the cultural value dimensionality, seven-factor analysis
was performed for each group separately. For this variable, two items each of mastery, hierarchy, and egalitarian values and three items of conservatism value were
eliminated. The fit of the scale items confirmed the cultural value dimensionality as follows: For the U.S. subjects, 2 647.72, p 0.000, GFI 0.83,
TLI 0.95, CFI 0.96; for the South Korean subjects, 2 565.08, p 0.031,
GFI 0.85, TLI 0.98, CFI 0.98 (see Table 1). Although the 2 statistic
was significant and the values of GFI (0.83 and 0.85) for both subjects were
Table 1. Dimensionality Test for Brand Image, Cultural Value, and Consumption Value.
U.S. (N 158)
2
Brand Image
7.05 0.22
Cultural Value
647.72 0.00
Consumption Value
Functional value
5.84 0.6
Emotional value
2.30 7
Epistemic value
9.26 0.1
Social value
0.74 3
Conditional value
0.15 0.3
2
0.3
9
0.7
0
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GFI
TLI
Korea (N 171)
CFI
2
GFI
TLI
CFI
1.02
0.97
0.99
1.01
1.06
1.00
0.99
0.99
1.00
1.00
4.88
8.02
11.24
0.22
1.97
0.7
7
0.0
1
0.1
3
0.6
4
0.1
6
0.99
0.98
0.98
0.99
0.99
1.02
0.88
0.97
1.05
0.90
1.00
0.98
0.99
1.00
0.98
Table 2. Reliability for Brand Image, Cultural Value, and Consumption Value
Brand Image
1. Trendy
OutdatedTrendy/UnappealingSexy.
2. Refined
InelegantElegant/PracticalRomantic/NegativePositive.
Cultural Value
1. Mastery
2. Hierarchy
3. Harmony
4. Egalitarian
5. Conservatism
6. Affective autonomy
7. Intellectual autonomy
Consumption Value
Functional Value
1. Benefit
Clothes make me look better/Clothes protect my body/
I enjoy aesthetic of clothing/I enjoy expressing myself
with clothes.
2. Problem
It is difficult because clothes dont fit me well/
It is difficult to find comfortable clothes.
Emotional Value
Good/Confident/Satisfied/Excited
Epistemic Value
1. Hedonic Seeking
I often feel like buying anything including clothes/
I sometimes purchase clothing by impulse/
I want to change my mood by purchasing clothes.
2. Novelty Seeking
I like clothes that are new different/
I like to experiment with clothing.
I like the aesthetic expression through clothing.
Social Value
1. Fashion forward people influence
Celebrities/High society people.
2. Peer influence
Friends/People who have the same taste with me.
Conditional Value
1. Situational factor
Weather condition/Have time to shop.
2. Stimulation by others
Stimulation by shopping companions/Stimulation
by sales persons.
U.S.
(N 158)
a
Korea
(N 171)
a
0.70
0.77
0.66
0.58
0.87
0.70
0.80
0.90
0.90
0.87
0.83
0.84
0.78
0.87
0.89
0.89
0.79
0.84
0.76
0.79
0.56
0.54
0.85
0.87
0.77
0.79
0.85
0.74
0.80
0.66
0.64
0.53
0.52
0.50
0.50
0.58
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indicative of a very poor fit, TLI and CFI were quite acceptable. Therefore, it could
be concluded that the seven-dimension structure of cultural value is validated
for the data across the two countries, as in the study of Schwartz (1999). The
Cronbachs coefficient alphas for the factors of cultural value ranged from 0.70
to 0.90 for the U.S. subjects and from 0.78 to 0.89 for the South Korean subjects
(see Table 2), indicating that all item measures for each cultural value dimension showed high degrees of internal consistency in both countries.
For consumption value, a first-order CFA model was used for each value
dimension in order to investigate the factorial validity of each value dimension.
The two-factor analysis was for functional, emotional, and epistemic values
and the three-factor analysis was for social and conditional values. Throughout
the analyses, one factor each of emotional, social, and conditional values was eliminated; also, one item each of one factor in epistemic value and of two factors in
social value and two items of one factor in functional value were eliminated.
The tests for the factorial validity for each country are shown in Table 1. All
factors for both countries except for emotional value for the South Korean subjects did not reach 2 statistical significance, and other fit statistics were also
quite acceptable. For the South Korean subjects, two values showed minimal
acceptable values of TLI: emotional value 0.88 and conditional value 0.90.
The results indicate that all factor structures of each consumption value dimension were well fitted across the two countries. Consequently, it could be concluded that responses to the value dimensions of consumption value could be
explained by extracted factors. Therefore, the factors derived from exploratory
factor analysis, except for one factor each of social and conditional values, were
retained for further analysis. Despite the low internal consistency of one factor
of functional value both for the U.S. subjects (a 0.56) and the South Korean
subjects (a 0.54), of one factor of social value for the South Korean subjects
(a 0.53), and of two factors of conditional values for both for the U.S. subjects (a 0.52, 0.50) and the South Korean subjects (a 0.50, 0.58), all of which
were below 0.60 (see Table 2), this study retained these factors based on the
CFA for each country.
Regarding brand image and value dimensions of consumption value, the
results showed the generated factors from the combined data adequately fit to
the data of each country, and thus the factors could be used as common factor
items for both countries to show the relative differences of brand images and values. CFA confirmed the seven-dimension structure of cultural value was well fitted across the two countries, enabling this study to conduct further analysis.
Test of Model
Having sufficiently good fits of factorial structure and dimensionality of variables,
this study proceeded to test the differences of responses of factorial and dimensional structures of each variable between the two countries. However, there
was an additional need to test for the validity of a causal structure, which
the hypotheses of this study were based on, related to the three variables. The
extracted factors and established dimensions of variables in the model were
used as observed variables, but not as latent variables. This is not problematic
because the aforementioned CFA for each country confirmed their factorial and
dimensional validity. The observed variables for brand image and cultural value
were calculated with the means of factor and dimension items, respectively, and
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Mastery
Hierarchy
Harmony
Egalitarian
Cultural Value
0.21*
Conservatism
Trendy
Affective Autonomy
0.48***
Brand Image
(0.27**)
Refined
Intellectual Autonomy
0.29*
(0.17*)
Consumption Value
Functional
Emotional
Epistemic
Conditional
Social
Note: Path coefficients for the U.S. subjects are shown with those for the Korean subjects in parentheses. Dotted arrows indicate insignificant paths for the Korean subjects.
* p 0.05; **p 0.01; ***p 0.001.
2
GFI
TLI
CFI
76.22
87.39
0.123
0.078
0.93
0.94
0.98
0.97
0.98
0.98
those for consumption value were calculated with the means of factor scores,
which were calculated with the means of factor items.
The conceptual framework was tested on each data set using structural equation modeling. Figure 1 shows the measures of the latent constructs from the
conceptual framework and the path coefficients among latent constructs for each
country with their degree of significance. The goodness-of-fit measures for the proposed model for each data set is shown in Table 3. For both countries, 2 statistics were not significant, and the values of GFI, TLI, and CFI were also a quite
acceptable fit: For the U.S. subjects, 2 76.22, p 0.123, GFI 0.93, TLI 0.98,
CFI 0.98; for the South Korean subjects, 2 87.39, p 0.078, GFI 0.94,
TLI 0.97, CFI 0.98. The goodness-of-fit measures indicated that the model
represented a substantively reasonable fit to both countries.
Even though the purpose of this study was not to identify the effect of cultural
value and consumption value on brand image, this study provided the path coefficients in Figure 1 in order to provide additional evidence that the model was
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adequately proposed. For the U.S. subjects, all paths were significant. For the
South Korean subjects, all paths except the one between cultural value and
brand image were significant. Therefore, it could be concluded that, for the U.S.
subjects, cultural value influences brand image not only directly but also indirectly through consumption values, whereas for the South Korean subjects, cultural value has influence on brand image only indirectly through consumption
value.
The results showed why brand images are different between the two countries: It is because cultural values significantly influence brand image directly
and/or indirectly through consumption value. All the significant path coefficients confirmed the proposed relationship between the variables in the model
was acceptable, indicating that cultural value is a determinant of brand image
and consumption value intervenes in the process. As such, it can be concluded
that the differences in cultural and consumption values result in different brand
images between the two countries and that the model fit for each country is
acceptable for further analysis to test the hypotheses.
Hypothesis Test
In order to ascertain the differences in the extracted factors from brand image
and consumption value and dimensions of cultural value between the U.S. and
South Korea, data were analyzed by stepwise discriminant analysis, since this
reveals the factors and dimensions discriminating the two countries as well as
the differences between the two countries.
For brand image, the two factors of brand image were retained by the stepwise procedure. As shown in Table 4, the trendy factor of brand image was a
powerful discriminating variable, with standardized canonical discriminant
function coefficient of 0.95. Although the refined factor was a discriminating
variable, it showed little influence, with the coefficient of 0.12. The differences
in the factors of brand image for the two countries supported H1, indicating
that the U.S. subjects were more likely to perceive the brand to be trendy and
refined than the South Korean subjects. The findings suggest that Polos marketing efforts to build brand images in the South Korean market should be
focused on making South Korean consumers perceive the brand to be trendy
Table 4. Discriminant Analysis for Brand Images Between the U.S. and
Korea.
U.S.
Factor
Trendy
Refined
Eigenvalue
Canonical correlation
Wilks lambda
Chi-square
Korea
Coefficient
SD
SD
0.95
0.12
0.24
0.11
1.19
1.04
1.10
0.06
0.86
0.92
0.474
0.567
0.678
126.446***
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Table 5. Discriminant Analysis for Cultural Values Between the U.S. and
Korea.
U.S.
Factor
Coefficient
Egalitarian
Affective autonomy
Intellectual autonomy
Hierarchy
Harmony
0.79
0.55
0.25
0.12
0.08
Eigenvalue
Canonical correlation
Wilks lambda
Chi-square
0.791
0.665
0.558
186.785***
Korea
SD
SD
5.85
5.81
5.74
3.70
3.87
1.19
1.27
1.39
1.65
1.65
3.95
4.46
5.13
4.05
3.63
1.49
1.48
and refined as much as their American counterparts do, supporting the need for
localized marketing communication efforts to sustain a consistent global brand
image across nations.
Table 5 presents the results of the discriminant analysis for cultural values. Of the seven dimensions of cultural value, five were retained by the stepwise procedure. The egalitarian value dominated in discriminating the U.S.
subjects from the South Korean subjects, with the coefficients of 0.79, and the
affective autonomy, intellectual autonomy, harmony, and hierarchy values were
influential, in that order, with the coefficients of 0.55, 0.25, 0.12, and 0.08,
respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that cultural values were different
across the two countries, supporting H2. The results suggest that brand building should reflect different value systems across the two countries, knowing that
Americans are more likely to consider egalitarian, affective autonomy, intellectual autonomy, and harmony values more important than South Koreans,
while South Koreans are more likely to consider hierarchy value more important than Americans.
Table 6 presents the results of the discriminant analysis for consumption
values. Of the nine factors of consumption values, two were retained by the
stepwise procedure. With the coefficient of 0.96, the situational factor of conditional value is the most discriminating variable. The hedonic seeking factor
of epistemic value has little influence, with the coefficient of 0.08. The results
indicate that, when purchasing clothing, Americans are more likely to be influenced by the situational factor, while South Koreans are more likely to be
influenced by the hedonic seeking factor, supporting H3. The results showing
different purchasing motives for the Polo brand in the two countries suggest
that different consumption values should be reflected in efforts to build consistent brand images across nations. In other words, localized branding
content touching consumers at different levels of consumption values in each
country would be effective for building a consistent global brand image across
nations.
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Table 6. Discriminant Analysis for Consumption Values Between the U.S. and
Korea.
U.S.
Factor
Conditional value
(Situational factor)
Epistemic value
(Hedonic seeking)
Eigenvalue
Canonical correlation
Wilks lambda
Chi-square
Korea
Coefficient
SD
SD
0.96
5.03
1.22
3.95
1.19
0.08
4.91
1.41
5.01
1.23
0.218
0.423
0.821
63.863***
CONCLUSIONS
This study examined the effectiveness of standardized brand image strategies
and revealed the differences in brand images in two countries, which are products of differences in cultural and consumption values. The issue of how brand
images differ across nations has been reviewed by many studies; however, none
before this study has offered information about the influence of cultural and
consumption values on brand images. This would be the first empirical study to
approach brand images across nations by identifying the differences in underlying consumption values along with cultural values with scales developed to
measure the values and brand images held by consumers across nations.
The results of this study may serve as guidelines for apparel companies in
adapting standardized brand image strategies seeking to establish and sustain
consistent global brand images across nations. As indicated by the results of discriminant analysis, the subjects of this study in two countries held different
brand images, cultural values, and consumption values. Regarding brand images,
Americans were more likely to perceive the Polo brand to be trendy and refined
compared to South Koreans. Regarding cultural values, Americans were more
likely to value egalitarian, affective autonomy, intellectual autonomy, and harmony values compared to South Koreans, whereas South Koreans were more
likely to value hierarchy compared to Americans. Regarding consumption values,
American were more likely to be influenced by situational factors, such as weather
conditions and having time to shop, compared to South Koreans, whereas South
Koreans were more likely to emphasize the hedonic pleasure of their consumption of clothing compared to Americans. The findings offer some insights about
what differences in brand image could exist between different countries and may
help global retailers in implementing brand image manipulations in each individual country for the sake of establishing and maintaining consistent brand
images across nations. When communicating with consumers in different countries, marketing managers should also take into account the differences in cultural and consumption values in those countries. Moreover, the result of the
discriminant analysis showing powerful variables discriminating the two subject
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various countries. In other words, future studies should examine whether this
framework is applicable to other countries. It should be of interest not only to
marketers working cross-nationally, but also to researchers working on brand
image. Fifth, the researchers of this study experienced difficulty in a priori theorizing that constituted the hypotheses of this study because of limited prior
research findings. Empirical results of this study may suggest new directions for
a priori theorizing for future studies. Sixth, the subjects of this study were limited to university students living in metropolitan areas and to apparel. Therefore, future studies should examine whether the proposed model can be
generalizable to broader populations and businesses such as service and Internet industries other than consumer goods industries.
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