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Document 1 of 1 Cross-cultural consumer values, needs and purchase behavior Author: Jai-Ok, Kim; Forsythe, Sandra; Gu, Qingliang; Moon, Sook Jae ProQuest document link Abstract: This study examined the relationship of consumer values, needs and purchase behavior in two Asianconsumer markets, China and South Korea. Between self-directed values and social affiliation values, self-directed values were the underlying determinant of needs to be satisfied by apparel products. Among the threetypes of needs identified to be satisfied through apparel (i.e. experiential, social and functional needs),experiential needs were the most important needs that influenced apparel purchases of female consumers inboth Asian markets. Consumers in both country markets exhibited brand loyal behavior in apparel purchases,fulfilling all three needs. However, actualization patterns of each need through brand loyal behavior differedbetween the two consumer samples. While for brand-loyal Chinese consumers experiential image was the mostimportant aspect of the branded apparel appeal to female consumers, social image with performance qualityassurance was a more important feature of the branded apparel appeal to consumers in Korea. Implications forbrand image management for international markets were discussed. Full text: Headnote Keywords Consumer behaviour, Clothing, China, South Korea Headnote Abstract This study examined the relationship of consumer values, needs and purchase behavior in two Asianconsumer markets, China and South Korea. Between self-directed values and social affiliation values, self-directed values were the underlying determinant of needs to be satisfied by apparel products. Among the threetypes of needs identified to be satisfied through apparel (ie. experiential, social and functional needs),experiential needs were the most important needs that influenced apparel purchases of female consumers inboth Asian markets. Consumers in both country markets exhibited brand loyal behavior in apparel purchases,fulfilling all three needs. However, actualization patterns of each need through brand loyal behavior differedbetween the two consumer samples. While for brand-loyal Chinese consumers experiential image was the mostimportant aspect of the branded apparel appeal to female consumers, social image with performance qualityassurance was a more important feature of the branded apparel appeal to consumers in Korea. Implications forbrand image management for international markets were discussed. Meeting changing customer needs by providing the right products/services has been an ongoing marketingchallenge for retailing in competitive global markets. Consumers may choose particular products/brands notonly because these products provide the functional or performance benefits expected, but also becauseproducts can be used to express consumers' personality, social status or affiliation (symbolic purposes) or tofulfill their internal psychological needs, such as the need for change or newness (emotional purposes).Consumer needs, to be fulfilled through consumption of particular products or brands, however, varyconsiderably with the socio-economic and cultural differences among consumer markets. According to Yau(1994), consumers' product choice and preference for a particular product or brand are generally affected byvery complex social influences. Thus, consumers' values, which reflect social influences and environment,should affect needs to be fulfilled through purchase and consumption decisions, and therefore consumptionbehavior. Consumers' preferences for certain products also change over time as their consumption situationand environment change (Yau, 1994). Personal values have been shown to be the underlying determinant of consumer attitudes and consumptionbehavior (Scott and Lamont, 1977; Homer and Kahle, 1988). According to social adaptation theory (Kahle,1983; Piner and Kahle, 1984), values are a type of social cognition that function to facilitate adaptation to one's

environment through continuous assimilation, accommodation, organization, and integration of environmentalinformation. Earlier research on values and behaviors by Williams (1979) demonstrated the role of consumervalues in subsequent behavior noting that "actual selections of behavior result from concrete motivations inspecific situations which are partly determined by prior beliefs and values of the actors"(Williams, 1979, p. 20).Homer and Kahle (1988) and Erdem et al. (1999) referenced several previous studies on values-behaviors tosupport the linkage of values, attitude and behavior, showing that individual value differences are related tosignificant differences in a variety of attitudinal and behavioral outcomes with respect to automobile purchase,mass media subscription, cigarette smoking, etc. More recently, several researchers (Allen, 2001; Erdem et aL, 1999; Homer and Kahle, 1988; Shim andEastlick, 1998) have attempted to establish a hierarchical causal influence of values on subsequent attitudesand behaviors pertaining to consumers' choices of product classes, brands, store outlets, and shopping malls.Shim and Eastlick's (1998) study found a direct and positive relationship between consumers'values andfavorable attitudes toward patronizing shopping malls. They also found that social affiliation values influencedfavorable shopping mall attitude more strongly than selfactualization values. Another study (Homer and Kahle,1988) supported the causal relationship between the values, nutrition attitude, and natural food shoppingbehavior. They found a positive relationship between internal values and nutrition attitude, and a negativerelationship between external values and attitude. A recent study conducted by Allen (2001) on the impact ofhuman values on product (brand) preference also suggested that values influence product preference directlyand indirectly, via prioritizing the importance of tangible attributes. These studies suggest that, as consumer values influence product attitudes and purchase behavior, they mayalso affect the prioritization of needs to be met through purchase of particular consumer products (Yau, 1994).Needs to be met through consumption of goods and services were considered as a part of attitudinal variablesmeasured as activities, interests, and opinions (Homer and Kahle, 1988), and needs can be an antecedent ofattitudes and purchase behavior establishing a hierarchical linkage of consumer values-needs-- behaviors. Values have been widely viewed as the outcomes of culture and ethnicity of a society (e.g. Phinney, 1992;Rokeach, 1973), and have underlying multi-dimensions. Thus, certain types of values may be regarded as moreimportant to consumers in one country market than to those in another country market because of differences inculture and socio-economic conditions. Thus, certain values affect more significantly consumers' attitudes andpurchase decisions in specific country markets. The importance of understanding consumer behavior in aparticular cultural setting (understanding social values) was addressed in Yau's (1994) book on consumerbehavior in China. However, little research has examined how consumer values in different country marketsinfluence the shaping of consumer needs to be met via particular products/brands and how these consumerneeds affect subsequent purchase behaviors. Thus, it is important for global marketers to identify prevalenttypes of consumer needs in targeted international consumer markets and to understand how these needs affectpurchase behaviors. Identifying types of needs in selected international consumer markets can aid indeveloping effective marketing strategies appealing to the specific needs of those markets. This void in theresearch of consumer needs in international markets prompted us to empirically study the relationship betweencross-national consumer values-needs-purchase behavior in two international consumer markets. Study design The purposes of this study were to: * examine the relationship between consumer values and the types of needs to be met through apparelproducts/brands in two Asian markets, China and South Korea; and * examine the relationships between the type of needs to be met through apparel/brands and apparel purchasebehaviors among consumers in these two markets. Consumers in China and South Korea were chosen because these countries represent rapidly growingconsumer markets in Asia with substantially different economic and retail market development and cultural

values. Many Western marketers may assume these two country markets to be similar international marketsowing to their geographic proximity. However, these two markets are vastly different in that consumers in thesecountries not only have different cultural backgrounds but also went through different paths to a free marketeconomy and retail market development resulting in different levels of consumer exposure to materialconsumption experiences and to global markets. For foreign investors, South Korean markets are now identifiedas a market with a wealthy consumer base along with Japan and Taiwan, whereas China is viewed as themarket with the giant population (Frank, 2001). Consumer needs and purchase behaviors in these two country markets were explored in order to study therelationships among consumer values-needs-- purchase behavior exhibited toward apparel products. Apparel iscommonly considered a high-involvement shopping item which consumers often buy for its symbolic meanings,image reinforcement or psychological satisfaction and is also a product category that is known to reflectconsumers' social life, aspirations, and fantasies and their affiliation (e.g. Solomon, 1986; Blumer, 1969; Levy,1959). According to Kaiser (1990), clothes can manifest the wearer's social status, self-image and otherpersonality characteristics resulting from complex social influences. Thus, it is believed that needs to be metthrough apparel products and apparel purchase behavior of consumers would provide appropriate indicators toreflect the social, economic and consumption experience factors that would affect consumers. By examining therelationships of values, needs, and purchase behavior in two markets, this cross-national consumer behaviorstudy may help to elucidate the impact of values on shaping consumer needs and purchase decisions. We hypothesized a conceptual framework addressing the relationship between consumer values, consumerneeds, and purchase behaviors. First, underlying dimensions of consumer values were identified andcategorized into self-directed values and social affiliation values. Consumer needs were identified intofunctional, social, and experiential needs as identified by Park et al. (1986). Next, we examined the relationshipsamong consumer values, needs to be met through apparel, and apparel purchase behavior of consumers in twocountries. Finally, findings are discussed in light of market differences as these may be reflected in the impactsof consumer values and needs on purchase behavior between the two country markets. The relationshipbetween the hypotheses and the findings is discussed for both consumer markets. We also explored theimplications of consumer needs for developing successful needs-based product image marketing strategies. Background Two Asian markets: China and South Korea Although frequently undifferentiated by Western managers, these two Asian markets differ considerably in termsof their cultural and socioeconomic environments. Generally, Asian individuals are relatively collectivistic in theirsocial values compared to people in Western countries (Hofstede, 1984). However, among Asian multinationalmarketers, it has been recognized that there are substantial cross-national differences in culture (e.g. value)and socioeconomics, and thus expected differences in consumer behavior among Asian markets. Specifically,South Korean socioeconomic conditions are far more advanced than China's markets, with the formerpossessing a higher per capita GNP than China. Korea ranks as the 12th largest in per capita GDP amongnations world-wide (Director, 1997). Moreover, South Korea's per capita GDP of US$8,871 for 1999 was muchgreater than China's per capita GDP of US$798 for the same year (United Nations Statistics Division, 2001). Asa result of improved income and standard of living, as well as earlier liberalization policies for traveling abroadand opening domestic markets for imports into Korea, a growing number of Koreans have the opportunity totravel abroad and experience consumption of foreign consumer products. Another indicator of market exposureamong Korean consumers is the large increase in imports of luxury foreign goods, such as apparel, into Korea.For example, Korea has imported overseas clothing at an average rate of 62 per cent increase annually for thepast four years (The Korea Textile Economic News, 1997). In short, Korean consumer markets represent amore wealthy consumer base market with higher disposable income than the Chinese consumer markets(Frank, 2001). Compared to China, Koreans' exposure to foreign cultures and brands through travel, as well as

the import of Western goods into Korea's markets, is much more extensive. Until recently, a wide variety of consumer goods was simply not available to the average Chinese citizen, andconsumption of goods and services was very limited. However, China has undergone considerable social andeconomic change in recent years. As a result, a strong consumer market is now developing in China (Chan,1995), and more Chinese consumers are in a position to purchase a wide variety of non-staple consumer goods(e.g. fashion apparel). Sales of consumer goods in modern retail outlets even reached 40 per cent of total salesvolume in China in 2000, resulting in falling prices of general consumer household goods (Chang, 2001). The products and brands people buy, and the benefits they desire from their purchases are all culturally based.One recent study found that Chinese consumers use high profile brand names to provide security because oftheir limited experience with a modem free market system (Eckhardt and Houston, 1998), rather than forsymbolic or status reasons, as prevalent in more developed economies. Pan and Schmitt (1995) found thatChinese consumers use brands as an indicator of product function to a greater extent than US consumers .Thus, culture and socio-economic conditions in China and Korea are expected to shape the types of needs tobe met through apparel products. Socioeconomic conditions and consumer needs The socioeconomic conditions of markets (e.g. income, mobility, media access) significantly affect consumerbehavior (Inkeles, 1983; Tse et aL, 1989). Per capita income and disposable income have been observed asgood indicators of the amount of resources consumers allocate to consumer goods (Johansson and Moinpour,1997). For example, when resources are limited, consumers may focus more heavily on price and performanceattributes in making product evaluations and purchase decisions. However, as more resources becomeavailable, consumers may desire more hedonic or emotional image attributes in products or brands. Oftenforeign brands or goods imported from advanced Western economies are desired for those reasons. Lack ofmobility and limited exposure to media typically limit people learning about the more symbolic aspects ofconsumption, resulting in greater reliance on performance and functional capabilities of consumer goods. Asmarkets become more modem and affluent with increased exposure to other material-oriented cultures,consumers may want the goods they see being consumed in other cultures. This trend suggests consumervalues shape motivations to purchase particular products or brands by prioritizing consumer needs, andinfluencing consumers' product evaluation and consumption decisions. Given Chinese consumers' relativelylimited economic resources and their restricted exposure to Western culture (relative to Korean consumers),they have had less opportunity to learn about symbolic aspects of consumption. Thus, it is anticipated that theneeds to be met through apparel products will differ among Chinese and Korean consumers. Consumer values and needs Personal values have been assumed to influence behavioral and consumption decisions through attitudes (e.g.Carman, 1977; Williams, 1979), thus creating desires, influencing needs to be satisfied, and driving consumersto select products that fulfill specific needs (c.f. Gutman, 1982). Personal values have been found to be theunderlying determinants of various aspects of consumer attitudes and behavior (Homer and Kahle, 1988).Hence, values may be regarded as one of the most influential factors that affect the type of needs consumerstry to satisfy through purchase and consumption behaviors (Tse et al., 1989). In other words, consumers' needsand desires are shaped by their values which are influenced by the society they belong to. Several marketers have attributed differences in consumers' behaviors to different social values held byconsumers in a particular country. To understand cross-cultural consumer behavior, various methods ofmeasuring social values have been proposed by researchers in the USA (e.g. Hofstede, 1984) However, Yau(1994) suggested that different measurement methods are more appropriate to the China market, since differentvalues, unidentified by research with US consumers, may play a significant role in consumers' attitudes andconsumption patterns in Chinese markets. These efforts demonstrate the importance of social values toconsumer product/service preferences and consumption behaviors.

Values help people adapt to their circumstances by directing both their effort and resources toward achievingdesirable goals (Kahle, 1983); thus, values have been identified as a powerful force in shaping consumerproduct choice and therefore in prioritizing needs to be fulfilled (cf. Tse et al., 1989; Homer and Kahle, 1988).There has been scant research devoted to the importance of personal values as an influence in prioritizingneeds to be met through apparel in different country markets. The list of values (LOV) developed by Kahle (1983) and his colleagues is a measure of values that has beenwidely used to study the influence of social values on consumption behavior. The LOV is based on Maslow's(1954) and Rokeach's (1973) theories and includes nine values: a sense of belonging, excitement, fun andenjoyment in life, warm relationships with others, self-fulfillment, being well-respected, sense ofaccomplishment, security, and self-respect. The LOV typology broadly distinguishes these values into twodimensions; external, i.e. social-affiliation or instrumental values vs internal, i.e. self-actualization or terminalvalues. These external and internal values indicate the importance of both interpersonal relationships (e.g.sense of belonging, warm relationship with others) and individual inward directed factors (e.g. self-fulfillment,sense of accomplishment and self-respect) in people's everyday life. Several researchers (Beatty et al., 1985;Kahle et al., 1986; Homer and Kahle, 1988; Shim and Eastlick, 1998) have shown that the LOV is an effectiveway to measure values resulting from lifestyle, consumption activities, and product preferences. The LOV is chosen for this study because of its convenience of administration with large consumer samples(e.g. Homer and Kahle, 1988; Shim and Eastlick, 1998) and its proven utility in cross-cultural applications inearlier studies (Beatty et al., 1991; Goldsmith et al., 1993). The current study examines which values are thestrong motivators of needs to be met by apparel in two different country markets. Understanding the relationshipbetween values and types of needs to be met by a particular product class or brand would help marketerssegment their target market and build an image consistent with the needs of the target market. Types of consumer needs Meeting consumers' needs is the fundamental goal of marketers. Consumer products are generally marketed toappeal to three basic types of consumers' needs: functional, social and experiential needs (Park et al., 1986;Keller, 1993). A product's functional attributes satisfy the consumer's need to prevent or solve problems. Theseneeds are considered fairly low-level motivators encouraging consumers to focus on intrinsic advantages of theproduct. For example, Allen's (2001) study found that consumers' brand preference for Toyota Corolla wasbased on their positive evaluation of the functional aspects of the brands (e.g. safety and reliability) to meet theirfunctional needs. Social images satisfy social needs such as social approval, affiliation, or personal expression(e.g. status, prestige) and outward directed self-esteem. Consumers higher in social needs may value a sociallyvisible product or brand that provides prestige and exclusivity (Solomon, 1983; Keller, 1993). For example,Western brands or imported goods may be used to convey social status in non-Western consumer markets(Muller, 1987). Experiential needs reflect consumers' needs for novelty, variety, and sensorygratification/pleasure (Park et al., 1986) and have been recognized as an important aspect in consumption,especially evoking new demand of consumer products. In segmenting apparel markets, shoppers have been identified as qualityconscious, social directed, appropriate,or economic (Shim and Drake, 1988). Jenkins and Dickey (1976) segmented female consumers into fourgroups: fashion advocates, quality seekers, frugal aesthetics, and concerned pragmatics. Other researchershave segmented clothing shoppers similarly (Aiken, 1963; Sproles, 1979). Consumer needs identified byprevious segmentation studies may be subsumed into the following three categories proposed by Park et al.(1986): (1) functional needs (e.g. quality seeker/concerned pragmatics); (2) social needs (social directed); and (3) experiential needs (fashion advocates). Several studies have shown a strong positive relationship between fashion leadership and experiential needs in

which fashion leaders look for change, variety, venturesomeness, and new experiences (Schrank, 1973;Summers and King, 1969; Workman and Johnson, 1993). Fashion leaders strive to fulfill experiential needs(Kaiser, 1990; McCracken, 1986; O'Shaughnessy, 1987), as fashion stimulates constant demand for newapparel products by satisfying individuals' need to experience change and variety (O'Shaughnessy, 1987).Hence, fashion leadership may be regarded as a surrogate for experiential needs, as they appear to representessentially the same construct. Previous studies on the relation between social values as measured by LOV and fashion leadership show thatpersons scoring high in fashion leadership ranked the values of fun/enjoyment and excitement as important tothem (Goldsmith et al., 1991). Studies of market segmentation (Workman and Johnson, 1993; Shim and Bickle,1994) have yielded similar findings, suggesting that values and type of needs to be met through clothing aresignificantly related. Roth (1995) supported the presence of a strong linkage between social values andconsumers' needs to be fulfilled in country markets that represented different socio-economic status andculture. These findings support the hypothesis that regional socio-economic and cultural environments affect thetypes of needs to be satisfied through apparel products. Consumer needs are also affected by the value system of the society (i.e. culture). Markets with lowindividualism (self-actualization or inward direction values) would value products to fulfill social or functionalneeds to reinforce group membership and affiliation or reduce the risk of not being accepted. On the other hand,consumers in markets with high individualism would value products that appeal to their experiential needs(Roth, 1995). Thus, it is anticipated that values considered to be important in each country market will be relatedto the consumer needs to be met through apparel products. Although considerable research has identified various market segments, researchers have often failed to relatethese segments to product or brand strategies designed to address specific consumer needs. Furthermore, pastsegmentation research has focused almost exclusively on US consumers; therefore, these segmentationstudies may have limited applicability to international markets. For instance, global apparel product marketersmay exert their promotion efforts without being informed regarding consumer needs to be met through apparelproducts in some international markets. Based on the review of the literature, the conceptual model guiding thisresearch is presented in Figure 1 and we propose the following hypotheses to examine the relationships ofconsumer values-needs-purchase behavior. H1a: Consumers' self-directed values significantly influence the type of needs to be met through apparel inChinese and Korean markets. H1b: Consumers' social affiliation values significantly influence the types of needs to be met through apparel inChinese and Korean markets. H2a: Experiential needs positively influence apparel purchase behavior: (a) the amount of purchase; (b) brandloyal behavior among consumers in China and Korea. H2b: Social needs positively influence apparel purchase behavior; (a) the amount of purchase; (b) brand loyalbehavior among consumers in China and Korea. H2c: Functional needs positively influence apparel purchase behavior: (a) the amount of purchase; (b) brandloyal behavior among consumers in China and Korea. Method Data collection

We employed a shopping center intercept procedure to collect consumer information on types of clothing needs,consumer values, and purchase behaviors. Samples consisted of 399 female shoppers in major shopping areasin Shanghai, China, and 418 female shoppers in Seoul, Korea. These cities represent the largest consumermarkets and major commercial centers for fashion trends in each country. Surveys were administered by localcollege graduate students at the shopping areas which cater to somewhat upscale shoppers in both countries.Female shoppers in these shopping areas were surveyed because these shoppers were potential consumersfor a wide range of branded clothing to fulfill a variety of needs. Respondent characteristics Table I presents the profile of each country's sample. Samples in both countries are similar in terms ofeducational background but differ in age and marital status. The China sample is somewhat younger andskewed toward to unmarried in marital status. Differences in the results, however, should not pose any problemin comparing the results, since the shoppers surveyed reflect typical shoppers who shop in those shoppingareas looking for wide range of better quality merchandise. Questionnaire development The questionnaire designed for this study was originally drafted in English and translated into Chinese andKorean respectively. It was then back-translated into English to maintain consistency with original meanings.The questionnaire consisted of scales to identify: * values; * needs to be met thh apparel products; * purchase behavior (ie. the amount of purchase; brand loyal behavior); and * other demographic information. Scales Consumer values. Section one included questions on consumer values. Kahle's (1983) nine value items of LOVwere used to measure consumer values. Value items included the following: sense of belonging, warmrelationships with others, self-fulfillment, being well-respected, fun/ enjoyment, security, self-respect, a sense ofaccomplishment, and excitement. The original study by Kahle (1983) found the LOV to be significantlycorrelated with various measures of wellbeing, adaptation to society and self, providing evidence for thenomological validity of this measure. Other researchers (Goldsmith et al., 1991; Kahle et al., 1986) also havefound this scale to be a valid measure of social values and provided evidence of LOV's association withconsumer behavior. Respondents were asked to indicate the importance of each value item on a seven-pointLikert-type scale (where 1 = not important at all; 7 = greatly important).

Instead of examining the impact of the individual LOV items, two main factors were identified by principalcomponent factor analysis using combined data of the Chinese and the Korean samples. The data werecombined in order to extract the common factor items as a primary factor that influenced subsequent consumerneeds and behaviors in two different markets. Factors were extracted using the criteria of an eigenvalue of oneor greater. Items with factor loading greater than 0.60 in one factor and less than 0.40 in other factors wereretained. Table 11 shows the scale items for each factor and the factor reliability coefficients. The two factorsidentified were labeled as the self-directed and social affiliation values. The first factor was named as self-directed values because the items are all related to self- or inward fulfillment value items. The other factor waslabeled as social affiliation values since these items related to outward social affiliation or relationships withothers. Consumer needs. Section two examined needs to be satisfied from clothing. Likert-type items adopted fromprevious studies (Goldsmith et al., 1991; Shim and Bickle, 1994) were included to identify clothing needs.Respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement with each statement on a seven-point Likert scale(where 1 = strongly disagree; 7 = strongly agree). Principal component factor analysis was performed using thedata of each country sample to identify consumer needs. An eigenvalue of one or greater was used as thecriterion for extracting the number of factors. Three factors, representing three types of consumer needs, wereextracted and labeled as experiential needs (fashion leadership), social needs (status/ prestige), and functionalneeds (function/comfort). Table III shows the scale items for each type of need and the reliability coefficients forthe Chinese sample and Korean sample separately. Correlation coefficients for social and functional needsseem somewhat low, but both items for both needs types were kept. because two items may reflect underlyingsocial and functional needs better than one item.

Purchase behavior. Section three requested demographic and purchase behavior information. In the consumerbehavior literature (Shim and Eastlick, 1998; Homer and Kahle, 1988), purchase/repatronage intentions(intentions to purchase products or to visit stores or shopping malls) and/or shopping frequency, frequency ofmall visits, and amount of purchase, have been widely used to measure brand/store loyalty or shopping mallpatronage. The impacts of consumer values, attitudes, or perceptions of attributes of the products/brands, retailstore or shopping malls on such behavioral outcomes were examined (Shim and Eastlick, 1998; Homer andKahle, 1988). The impact of consumers' needs to be satisfied through particular products on behavioraloutcomes may differ depending upon the type of behavioral outcomes. Thus, in this study two purchasebehavioral variables were employed. One purchase behavior variable operationalized for this study was thenumber of apparel items (ladies' blazer-type jackets) purchased during a given time period multiplied by theaverage amount spent for each item. Thus, it was defined as purchase amount and this total spending on aspecified apparel category was used to examine the impact of needs on quantitative purchase behavior.Another behavioral variable selected for the study was brand loyal behavior measured by two scale items (i.e.

when I buy clothing, I usually buy the same brand I bought last time; I usually buy the same brands of clothing).The correlation coefficient of these two items was 0.76, indicting a good reliability of the measure of brand loyalbehavior. Data analysis A simple regression was used to examine the relationship between the two behavioral variables (i.e. purchaseamount and brand loyal behavior). Using the factors identified for consumer values and types of needs forapparel products, multiple regression analyses were employed to examine the impact of consumer values oneach need and that of needs on purchase behavior. Multiple regression analysis was chosen because thereview of literature suggested that a hierarchical relationship exists among consumer values, and attitude(needs in this study) and behavior. Thus, each need (i.e. a dependent variable) was regressed using thecombination of the self-directed values and the social affiliation values (i.e. independent variables). Similarly, forthe relationships between the types of needs and purchase behavior, the purchase behavior variables (i.e.purchase amount and brand loyal behavior) were each regressed using the combination of the three types ofneeds. In employing the multiple regression analysis, multicollinearity among independent variables often posesproblems. In this study, however, it was deemed to be an appropriate method of data analysis, since allcorrelation coefficients between any two independent variables were below 0.4 (Asher, 1983; Emory andCooper, 1991). For the purpose of direct comparison of means of the groups, Duncan post hoc tests wereemployed. Results and discussion Consumer values The consumer values as measured by Kahle's individual LOV items in the two country markets are summarizedin Table IV. Consumer values were grouped into the two types, the self-directed and social affiliation values (asshown in Table V), to examine how these two values influence consumer needs in each country. Anexamination of the means of the individual values (Table IV) shows that both Chinese and Korean consumersaccepted all but one of the LOV items as important (means greater than 4 on a seven-point scale). Chineseconsumers do not appear to consider "excitement in life" as an important social value, whereas Koreanconsumers pursue excitement in life as being as important as other values. With the exception of excitement,LOV ratings by both consumer groups are generally consistent with the ratings found in previous studies onsocial values and fashion leadership (Goldsmith et al., 1991, 1993). However, Chinese participants in this studyrated excitement much lower than have US and UK consumers in previous studies. This finding is consistentwith Tse et al.'s (1989) finding of a lack of emphasis on hedonic appeals among PRC's advertisements. Koreanconsumers' higher rating of excitement in life seems consistent with their high ratings for experiential needs.That is, the greater the importance of excitement, the greater the experiential needs (i.e. fashionconsciousness) of the market in general. When the market is more developed and advanced, there is a greaterdesire for experiential needs to be satisfied. An examination of the self-directed and social affiliation values for the two country markets shows that bothcountry samples rate the self-directed values as more important than the social affiliation values and thatChinese consumers rated both values somewhat higher than did Korean consumers (Table V). The higherratings on self-directed values among consumers of both countries suggest that, although Asian consumers areconsidered to be highly concerned about social affiliation or relationship with others for social acceptance, theself-directed values such as self-respect or being well respected, security, and fun and enjoyment in life aremore valued than social-oriented values. Consumer needs The importance of three types of consumers' needs to be satisfied through apparel - functional, social, andexperiential - was examined for Chinese and Korean female shoppers (Table VI). Consumers in both samplesrated functional needs highest. These high ratings for functional needs imply that functional needs represent the

lowest level of needs in the hierarchy and must be fulfilled through clothing before any other needs should befulfilled. Chinese consumers ranked social needs second highest after functional, and rated experiential needsas least important with almost equal distance among the ratings of the three needs. In contrast, Koreanshoppers indicated that both social and experiential needs are similarly important to be satisfied with clothing,but experiential needs are statistically significantly higher than social needs, suggesting experiential needs aremore important to be fulfilled through clothing than social needs.

The relatively high level of social needs among Chinese consumers suggests that, among those femaleconsumers in China, clothing is regarded as a symbolic medium to demonstrate one's social status or expressone's social image. This finding may be considered to be typical of newly emerging consumer markets as wasindicated in Roth's (1995) study. For participants in China, the functional and social image needs to be metthrough clothing appear to be of greater importance than the experiential needs. Korean consumers rated experiential needs somewhat higher than social needs to be met through clothing.Since consumers in Korea have enjoyed wide exposure to Western culture through mass media and travelabroad and a long period of exposure to a variety of domestic and imported branded products much in contrastwith most consumers in China, these experiences may already have allowed the Korean consumers to meetlower-level consumer needs. Now Korean consumers look for clothing that can fulfill more of their desire forchange, newness or emotional expression (i.e. experiential needs) than for demonstration of their social statusor prestige. In addition, relatively low ratings of social needs by Korean female consumers - compared withfunctional and experiential needs - indicated that apparel may be less important as a major symbolic medium toexpress one's social status or success for female consumers in Korea. These results of the relative ranking ofthe three needs within each country's consumer market indirectly demonstrate the influence of cultural andeconomic market conditions on shaping consumer needs by prioritizing the importance of needs to be metthrough clothing. Impact of social values on needs Relationships between consumer values and each of three types of needs were examined using multipleregression analysis. Table VII (part A) shows the impact of both self-directed and social affiliation consumervalues on each of the three types of consumer needs. For both the Chinese and Korean samples, self-directedvalues were significantly related to either experiential needs or functional needs; whereas social affiliation

values were not related to any needs identified to be met through clothing. Thus, HIa was supported. Incontrast, Hlb was rejected. It appears that self-directed values do

influence the type of needs to be met through clothing in both country markets. For the Chinese sample, self-directed values only related to experiential needs. For the Korean sample, self-directed values were found to be related to female consumers' desire for experiential and functional needs to bemet through clothing. The linkage between self-directed values and both experiential and functional needsfound among Korean participants suggested that consumers who rated self-directed values very importantexpect apparel product to fulfill their functional/performance expectations, as well as their experiential needs(e.g. newness, fashion leadership, means for change). For the Chinese sample, their self-directed values wereexpressed by trying to fulfill their experiential needs to be met through apparel. In short, Korean femaleconsumers seem more demanding in terms of product quality and emotional satisfaction and to behave morelike experienced Western shoppers. This result supports the findings of the earlier studies by Homer and Kahle (1988). In their studies, self-actualization or internal consumer values were more closely related to favorable nutrient attitudes towardnatural food than were self-actualization values. In contrast, Shim and Eastlick (1998) found that social affiliationvalues were more strongly related to favorable attitudes toward shopping malls than were self-- actualization

values. This suggests that consumers consume different products or services to fulfill different values (e.g. self-actualization vs socialization values) in their daily life. For the two countries' samples of female consumers, theself-directed values (internal values) were found to lead consumers to desire the experiential needs (thenewness and change, being trendy and in fashion) to be satisfied through apparel. Overall, results confirmedthe hypothesis that clothing serves as a medium to realize female consumers' self-directed values (self-respect,being well respected, security, fun and enjoyment in life) by fulfilling their experiential needs. Impact of needs on purchase behaviors The impact of needs on purchase behavior is examined by multiple regression analysis using purchasebehavior variables as dependent variables and three types of needs as independent variables (Table VII, partB). The type of needs to be met through clothing significantly influenced the clothing purchase behavior of theconsumers in both country markets. Among both Chinese and Korean consumers, experiential needs had astrong positive impact on purchase amount (Table VII, part B). Thus, H2a was supported. That is, thoseconsumers higher in experiential needs tended to spend more money on purchasing apparel. This finding lendssupport to the concept that experiential needs exerted a positive influence on the Chinese and Korean femaleconsumers in these samples to purchase more apparel. Among Korean consumers, there was a somewhatweaker, but a significant, positive relationship between social needs and purchase amount; however, functionalneeds did not significantly influence purchase behavior of the Korean participants. By contrast, the Chinese participants' purchase behavior (purchase amount) was negatively influenced byfunctional needs. A significant but negative relationship between functional needs and purchase amountsuggests that the Chinese consumers who focused on functional/comfort aspects of clothing tended to spendless on clothing purchases. Overall, the experiential needs were the major positive determinant of the amount ofpurchase (i.e. number of jackets times price typically paid for jacket) among both Chinese and Korean femaleconsumers. Social needs appeared to play a role in determining purchase amount of apparel only amongKorean participants, but its impact was much weaker than the experiential needs. Thus, H2b was partiallysupported. H2c was rejected. Relationships between needs and brand loyal behavior were examined to study the impact of consumer needson their apparel brand loyal purchase behavior. All three types of needs in both China and Korea were satisfiedthrough their brand loyal behavior. In other words, consumers tended to buy the same brands because theirloyal apparel brand products fulfilled their expectations of experiential, social, and functional needs to be metthrough apparel products. Thus, H2a-c, which proposed that respective experiential, social and functional needspositively influence purchase behaviors (brand loyal behavior) among consumers in China and Korea, weresupported. Chinese female consumers buy the same apparel brands because they satisfy their experiential needs (b =0.278) as their primary needs first, and social needs (b = 0.184) next; and to a much lesser extent, they alsosatisfy consumers' functional needs (b 0.094). In contrast, for the Korean female participants, functional needs(b 0.225) and social needs (b = 0.216) were stronger determinants of their brand loyal behavior than wereexperiential needs (b = 0.147). This illustrates that consumers' social needs and functional needs were strongerdrivers for brand loyalty in apparel purchase than were experiential needs among Korean female shoppers. Inother words, Korean participants were brand loyal because the brands provided them with appropriate socialstatus or prestige images as well as with function/ performance quality; and at the same time fulfilled theirexperiential motivations. The somewhat lower regression coefficient for the relationship between experientialneeds and brand loyal behavior may be reasonable considering that the same brands may be difficult to satisfyboth the experiential needs that constantly seek for changes, newness or fashion leadership, and the need tomaintain a consistent image even with new product offerings. Korean consumers may become more loyal tocertain apparel brands because they consistently provide a desirable social statement with proven quality. The relationship between the two purchase behavioral variables (Table VII, part C) showed that there was

strong positive relationship between volume purchase behavior and brand loyal behavior among consumers ofboth countries. That is, consumers in both country markets who are brand loyal are those who tend to spendmore on apparel products. Conclusions and implications Using Kahle's LOV, two dimensions of consumer values: self-directed values and social affiliation values, wereidentified in this study. Grouping of the LOV items in these two dimensions of values are more similar to Shimand Eastlick's (1998) dimensions of self-actualization vs social affiliation than the categorization of internal vsexternal value dimensions by Homer and Kahle (1988). While social affiliation values were found to stronglyinfluence favorable attitudes toward shopping mall attributes in the previous study (Shim and Eastlick, 1998),our findings demonstrated that only self-- directed consumer values were significantly related to types of needsto be satisfied by apparel products for Chinese and Korean female consumers. The role of values indetermination of type of consumer needs to be satisfied by apparel products was supported by the strongpositive regression coefficients of self-directed values on experiential needs among Chinese and Koreanparticipants. Korean female consumers also try to realize their self-directed values by fulfilling their functionalneeds of apparel. The finding is that, although types of needs to be satisfied with apparel differ between the two country samples,these needs were influenced by the same self-directed values. While Chinese female consumers tried to realizetheir self-directed values through fulfilling their experiential needs, Korean female consumers realized their self-directed values through fulfilling both experiential and functional needs. The Chinese female consumers who rated high in experiential needs purchased more apparel, while those whowere high in functional needs spent less money on apparel. For Korean female consumers, those with higherexperiential and social needs tended to purchase more clothing. Experiential needs were a stronger, moreuniversally common motivator for apparel purchases than were social needs among the two country's femaleconsumers. Chinese consumers who were brand loyal were more likely to satisfy their experiential needs with fashionstatements or their social needs with prestige or social status statements. By contrast, Korean femaleconsumers' apparel brand loyal behavior seems to be attributed to the fact that their loyal brands fulfilled moreof their social needs and expectations of performance quality (i.e. functional needs) than their experientialneeds. The amount of apparel purchases and the brand loyal purchase behavior were closely related. For bothChinese and Korean consumers, those who were brand loyal spent more on purchasing apparel. Our findings indicate that Asian markets vary in terms of needs to be fulfilled through purchase of apparel.Although Asian countries are considered to be more collectivistic or relationship focused societies, therelationship or social affiliation values did not affect consumers' purchase motivations of apparel in this study.Rather, in both Asian market samples, self-directed values were fulfilled through the purchase of apparel. Thisresult suggests that self-directed values were expressed in apparel purchases by trying to satisfy particular typeof needs. It also suggests that different values might be achieved through consumption of different products orservices. Consumers' general purchase behavior (the amount of purchase) reflected utilization of different needs frombrand loyal behavior (usually buy the same brands of clothing). While brand loyal behavior reflects the behaviorof shoppers who wanted to fulfill all three types of needs, the general purchase behavior reflects howconsumers generally prioritize their needs to be satisfied in apparel purchase decisions. Overall, this empirical study supported the hierarchical relationships of value-needs-purchase behavior. Thus,consumer values and needs may be used to characterize international consumer markets to develop successfulmarketing strategies that appeal to the needs of consumers in each country. As our findings imply, apparelproduct images presented to each market should be tailored according to consumers' needs in each market.For example, in the case of Korean markets (Table VII, part B, purchase amount), female consumers generally

expected apparel to meet both experiential needs and functional needs, but purchase decisions were influencedmore by how apparel products met their experiential needs and social needs. For Chinese apparel markets, thesample depended more on how well the apparel products met their experiential needs, a major determiningfactor to apparel purchase decisions. That is, the experiential image should appeal to Chinese consumer up-markets for clothing purchase. These findings also imply that, in order to build brand loyalty, the apparel brands have to meet all three needs.For Korean consumers, social image and consistent performance quality are the strong points that customerssought from their apparel brands in addition to satisfaction of some experiential image. For Chinese consumers,both experiential and social images were much sought from their loyal brands and thus important features of thebrands in building brand loyalty. Limitations and future research While previous studies established relationships among values, attitudes and consumer purchase behavior, thisexploratory cross-cultural study on the relationships of values-needs-purchase behavior was designed toexpand our understanding of the impact of values on the needs to be met through specific products or serviceand the role of consumer needs in purchase behavior in international markets. Direct comparisons between thetwo market samples were avoided in this study, since we believe that it is hard to match the consumer samplesin terms of socio-economic background which may play a more important role in shaping consumer needs. Inaddition, because the sample in each country was selected in specific retail areas in two major metropolitancities, the results reflect female consumers' behavior of sub-markets of relatively affluent shoppers in bothcountry markets, thus limiting its generalization and application. Therefore, future study should be conductedacross consumers in different socio-economic backgrounds within the same country (or huge metropolitan citieslike Shanghai or Seoul) markets. Furthermore, even within a country's markets, consumers may be segmentedinto sub-markets representing different types of needs consistent with their social values. Therefore, it isnecessary to understand consumer needs and the underlying social values in each country's market to developeffective needs-based marketing strategies. This approach may provide more detailed information for marketersto develop specific needs-based marketing strategies. In addition, consumers' values in Asian markets seem to change more quickly today than before, because ofthe sweeping influence of globalization in every aspect of consumers' life in developing countries. Therefore,consumers' needs regarding particular products may also change accordingly. For example, TV was one of theluxury, conspicuous signature products to Chinese consumers before the 1980s, but it may no longer be aluxury. The importance of apparel, as expressive and signature products to convey consumers' success or tofulfill their psychological emotional desire, may also change over time. Thus, continuous updating of studies forunderstanding changing consumer needs in each market should be conducted. References Aiken, L.R. (1963), "The relationship of dress to selected measures of personality in undergraduate women",Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 59, pp. 119-28. Allen, M.W. (2001), "A practical method for uncovering the direct and indirect relationships between humanvalues and consumer purchases", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 102-20. Asher, H.B. (1983), Causal Modeling, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA, pp. 7-13. Beatty, S.E., Kahle, L.R.and Homer, P. (1991), "Personal values and gift-giving behaviors: a study across culture", Journal of BusinessResearch, Vol. 22, pp. 149-57. Beatty, S.E., Kahle, L.R., Homer, P. and Misra, S. (1985), "Alternative measurement approaches to consumervalues: the LOV and the Rokeach Value Survey", Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 2, pp. 181-200. Blumer, H. (1969), "Fashion: from class differentiation to collective selection", Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 10,Summer, pp. 275-91.

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between the two countries as a preamble to examining whether these identifiable differences result in differentconsumer values, needs and purchase behaviour. The impact of economic development on consumer behaviour Kim et al. suggest that differences between China and South Korea may derive from the very different economicconditions in the two countries. South Korea is, in per capita terms, a much richer country than China -- indeedthis country is among the 20 richest (on these terms) in the world. In contrast, China's per capita GDP stillplaces it among the world's poorer countries, something that can be masked by the vast population. We can compare how consumer behaviour varies according to per capita GDP with the way in which behaviourvaries across class and income boundaries. We know that, in general, lower income individuals focus more onprice considerations in their purchases than do higher income individuals. It is not an unreasonableextrapolation from this finding to suppose that a similar pattern will be seen when we compare countries ratherthan individuals. After all, a nation is merely (for the purpose of this argument) a collection of individuals. The resulting finding is that a comparatively rich country (as South Korea is in this instance) will witness morehedonistic consumer behaviour than a comparatively poor country. Consumers can afford to considersomething other than whether the particular purchase fulfils a given need. But Asian countries are different? Kim et al. note that both the countries they study are usually characterized (along with other East Asiancountries) as "collectivist" rather than "individualistic". Such a position suggests that consumer purchasingbehaviour will focus more on the satisfaction of group needs rather than individual requirements. Consumersmaking a purchase will be influenced by the group mores and driven to buy something that will make them fit in.The argument as to whether the "collectivism" of East Asia is the result of politics or culture is perhaps adiscussion for a different place (although my view is that it is mostly politics). But we should note somethingfrom Kim et al.'s findings: ... although Asian countries are considered to be more collectivistic or relationship-focused countries, therelationship or social affiliation values did not affect consumers' purchase motivations for apparel in this study. This is a very interesting finding - admittedly for one type of purchase - that challenges some of our fundamentalassumptions about purchase behaviour in East Asian countries. We are not selling "group conformity" as manythought but should consider that, at least for clothing purchases, the consumer's individual likes and dislikes arejust as important (if not more important) in determining the purchase. Image or function - which matters more? The decisions we make when we buy something are guided by a variety of influences - we want clothes tocover and protect our body but clothing also makes a statement about who we are and about the group we areassociated with. Nothing new in this observation - indeed, it is likely that for much of human history clothing hassaid something about us as an individual, has connected us to a tribe or group and has performed the basicfunction (more or less) of clothing. However, the balance in the consumer's mind between these different motivations is very important to themarketer. We need to understand what expectations the consumer has when they make a purchase. We needto recognise that different cultures have different priorities influencing individual purchasing decisions. Looking at Kim et al.'s findings we can see how this variation becomes real. Consumers have a basic level ofexpectation about a purchase (e.g. Korean female consumers ". . . expected apparel to meet both experientialneeds and functional needs") and needs that are most significant in the purchase decision (Korean femaleswere ". . . influenced more by how apparel products met their experiential needs and social needs"). As consumers we take some things as given (a given item of clothing will fulfil its function, for example) butrequire something more - status, image, group conformity - to actually make the purchase. Marketers need tofocus on the factors that influence the decision rather than on factors that the consumer takes for granted. International comparisons are always tricky but the value that derives from studies such as this one lies in the

reduction of prejudgement about how individuals in a given market will behave. Most studies show thatconsumers everywhere share a similar set of criteria when purchasing. It is the relative importance - to thoseconsumers - of the various criteria that produces what we might call "cultural" variation. And, as noted already,factors such as relative income levels can be as significant as perceptions about real cultural differences. (A precis of the article "Cross-cultural consumer values, needs and purchase behavior". Supplied by MarketingConsultants for Emerald.) Sidebar An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article Sidebar The research register for this journal is available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregisters The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0736-3761.htm AuthorAffiliation Jai-Ok Kim Auburn University, Auburn, USA AuthorAffiliation Sandra Forsythe Auburn University, Auburn, USA AuthorAffiliation Qingliang Gu Dong Hua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China AuthorAffiliation Sook Jae Moon Ehwa Woman's University, Seoul, South Korea Subject: Cross cultural studies; Consumer behavior; Clothing industry; Statistical analysis; Brand loyalty; Marketstrategy; Location: China, South Korea Classification: 9179: Asia & the Pacific; 7000: Marketing; 9130: Experimental/theoretical; 8620: Textile &apparel industries Publication title: The Journal of Consumer Marketing Volume: 19 Issue: 6 Pages: 481-502 Number of pages: 22 Publication year: 2002 Publication date: 2002 Year: 2002 Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing, Limited Place of publication: Santa Barbara Country of publication: United Kingdom

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Marketing And Purchasing ISSN: 07363761 Source type: Scholarly Journals Language of publication: English Document type: Feature ProQuest document ID: 220135511 Document URL: http://search.proquest.com/docview/220135511?accountid=149759 Copyright: Copyright MCB UP Limited (MCB) 2002 Last updated: 2014-05-25 Database: ProQuest Research Library

BibliographyCitation style: Harvard - British Standard

JAI-OK KIM, FORSYTHE, S., GU, Q. and SOOK, J.M., 2002. Cross-cultural consumer values, needs andpurchase behavior. The Journal of Consumer Marketing, 19(6), pp. 481-502.

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