Impact of self-construal, individualism-collectivism, and subjective social status on attitude towards luxury a cross-cultural study

This thesis empirically investigates the impact of an individual’s independent and interdependent self-construal, individualism versus collectivism, and subjective social status on consumer attitude towards luxury. Past studies have recognised the important role culture plays in the luxury consumption behaviour across cultures, especially via attitude toward luxury. Cross-cultural differences based on macro-level cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism have been widely used among academics and practitioners in examining cultural influences on consumer behavioural outcomes. However, there is a lack of consensus on the generalisability of individualism and collectivism based on cultural factors within a given culture. Evidence of within-country variation and between-country similarities of cultural issues that affect luxury consumption tend to weaken the explanatory role of individualism and collectivism cultural dimension.

Some researchers posit that studies of cultural phenomena at the macro level may not adequately account for the variations within cultures. Instead, the self-construal (individual-level) cultural orientation may provide a better explanation by accounting for the psychological dimensions of the observed cross-cultural differences in behaviour. Other researchers have emphasized the importance of examining the influence of culture at both the individual level and macro-level culture on consumer behaviour. Despite the different views, research on cultural influences continue to be limited to individualism and collectivism framework. More specifically, when the research interest is on the impact of independent and interdependent self-construal on consumer behaviour, research studies often focus primarily on singular cultures or nationalities.

Therefore, the present thesis aims to contribute to knowledge by examining the influence of self-construal in a cross-cultural context, and, simultaneously, examine the mediating role of individualism, and collectivism on self-construal effects on consumer attitudes toward luxury. A quantitative research method was applied. Survey data were collected from a non-student sample collected from three country samples of the relevant nationality who identify as and have always lived in the United Kingdom, India, and Nigeria. After performing data cleaning procedures, 935 usable responses from the three countries were analysed using a multi-group structural equation model to examine the conceptual model and proposed hypotheses.

The findings suggest that the individual-level and macro-level cultural orientation significantly impacts consumer attitudes toward luxury. Interdependent self-construal had a positive influence on attitudes toward luxury across cultures. The results reveal an indirect effect of interdependent and independent self-construal on attitudes toward luxury in India, but not in the United Kingdom and Nigeria. These findings extend knowledge from previous research by providing a better understanding of potential cultural differences and consumer motives and attitudes toward luxury consumption from a cross-cultural perspective. Whereas past studies have largely focused on the influence of subjective social status on health and well-being with very little attention to its effect on consumption, the present study contributes to the literature by focusing on the effect of subjective social status on consumer behaviour. The findings indicate that interdependent self-construal effects on attitude towards luxury are moderated by subjective social status in Nigeria, but not in the United Kingdom and India. This thesis offers luxury marketers increased insight into how they can influence consumers’ luxury attitude formation process and decisions in a cross-cultural context focusing on the consumer segments they should target and match with their brand communications. The limitations of the study, as well as the suggestions for future research, are presented.