Name:Hanul Jain

Roll NO: 19-MBA-14

Purchase Intention For Luxury Brands: A Cross Cultural Comparison

Abstract
This state's about the effects of individual characteristics (i.e., consumers' need for
uniqueness and self-monitoring) and brand-associated variables (i.e., social-function attitudes
toward luxury brands and affective attitude) on U.S. and Chinese consumers' purchase
intention for luxury brands. This also tells us about the Social-function attitudes toward
luxury brands positively influence consumers' purchase intention through affective attitude.
Attitude plays an important mediating role between social function attitudes toward luxury
brands and purchase intentions.
Introduction
Luxury brands represent substantial consumer product sales worldwide; global sales of highend apparel, accessories, watches and jewellery, and other products . Major markets for
luxury brands are no longer limited to developed countries in the West, but have expanded to
new rich markets in the East. However, the factors driving luxury brand purchase
behaviour among consumers in individualistic versus collectivist cultures differ considerably.
Because a clear understanding of the factors that influence consumers to purchase luxury
brands is necessary to inform marketing strategies for global luxury brands, and
understanding how consumers' underlying motivations to purchase luxury brands differ by
culture what accounts for those differences is important. It tells about the relationship
between attitude and cultural identity both within and across cultures, aiming at a richer
understanding of purchase intention formation for luxury brands by examining how need for
uniqueness, self monitoring, social-function attitudes, and affective attitude impact purchase
intentions for luxury brands among consumers in Eastern and Western cultures. The U.S. and
China, two major luxury brand markets, are good examples of individualistic and collectivist
cultures, respectively, and thus, may differ considerably with respect to motivation to
purchase luxury brands.
Conceptual Background
Luxury brands provide consumers with a sense of indulgence and are expensive for the
individual. Although luxury brands possess characteristics of premium quality, a heritage of
craftsmanship, recognizable style, premium price, uniqueness, and global reputation,
consumers buy luxury brands primarily for symbolic reasons to reflect their individual or
social goals. However, perceptions of luxury brands are not consistent across market
segments, because luxury is a subjective concept that depends on each consumer's perception
of indulgent value. Consumption of luxury brands is largely determined by social function
attitudes (i.e. self-expression attitude and self-presentation attitude) as consumers express
their individuality (e.g., need for uniqueness) and exhibit their social standing (e.g., self
monitoring) through luxury brands. Consumers in both Western and Eastern cultures seek to

purchase luxury brands to portray their individuality and/or social standing . Luxury brands'
distinctive image, along with their scarcity value, can meet consumers' need for uniqueness,
thereby arousing a self-expression attitude. Furthermore, the ability of luxury brands to
symbolize social classifications and group affiliations can strengthen social image, arousing a
self-presentation attitude . Regardless of whether consumption of luxury brands differs by
culture, underlying motivations to purchase the same luxury brand may differ by culture.
Those in collective societies are more closely bound together sharing common values and
norms such as emotional predispositions, common interests, and mutually agreed upon social
practices. Therefore, people in collective societies may perceive self in a depersonalized way
through which individual personalities are blurred. Thus, collectivist consumers are likely to
engage in more self-monitoring and display a stronger self-presentation attitude to portray
their individuality and/or their social standing. By contrast, people in individualist societies
emphasize I consciousness, emotional independence, and individual initiative which may
strengthen their need for uniqueness and bolster their self expression attitude. These largely
cultural differences (between the U.S. and China) suggest motivations to purchase luxury
brands will differ for consumers in these two cultures. For example, collectivism may result
in greater self-monitoring among Chinese consumers that will intensify their self-presentation
attitude and thus their desire for luxury brands to enhance their self presentation. By contrast,
individualism may strengthen U.S. consumers' need for uniqueness and bolster their selfexpression attitude prompting these consumers to desire luxury brands to emphasize their
individuality. Both self-expression and self-presentation attitudes can lead to affect one's
feelings or emotions a powerful predictor of behaviour. In addition to the social-function of
self-expression and self presentation attitudes, consumers choose luxury brands as a result of
their affective attitude because luxury brands provide hedonic rewards and sensory
fulfilment . Thus social function attitudes (self-expression and self-presentation attitude) may
impact purchase intentions either directly or indirectly through affective attitude. A selfexpression attitude toward luxury brands is defined as an orientation to respond toward
luxury brands so as to display individual identity and underlying values and communicate
central beliefs. A self-presentation attitude toward luxury brands is defined as a predisposition
to use luxury brands to convey social image Consumers may purchase a luxury brand because
it reflects their central values and beliefs (self-expression) or because it reflects the social
image they wish to convey (self-presentation) or both. However, those central values and
beliefs (self-expression and self-presentation) probably differ for consumers in Eastern versus
Western cultures as reflected in the growing interest in understanding the influence of culture
on how people think, feel and behave. The influence of individualism and collectivism has
received much attention as a fundamental dimension of cultural variation influencing
consumer behaviour; many published studies in cross-cultural research cite individualism and
collectivism as at least a partial explanation for observed differences across cultures.
Although not without criticisms, the individualism versus collectivism framework for
examining cross cultural consumer behaviour (typically attributed to Hofstede although the
concept predates that work) is supported by considerable research over the past 30 years. An
understanding of individualism and collectivism is critical to better understand consumers'
characteristics, attitudes and behaviour in a changing society. The power of attitude is
reflected in both cognitive (what we think and believe) and affective (what we feel and
experience) responses. Both self-expression and self-presentation attitudes reflect consumers'
cognitive responses toward luxury brands, given that consumers attempt to communicate both
their central beliefs and social status through luxury brands. Consumers' affective attitude
also plays an important role in their cognitiveaffective purchase intention formation this
recognition is based on the understanding that consumers are both rational and emotional.
Consumers' affective attitude toward luxury brands is derived from the feelings generated by

the luxury brands. Prior cognitiveaffective models suggest that affect also impacts
consumers' purchase intentions and that affect has a stronger association with purchase
intention toward fashion products than cognition. For example, affective attitude, but not
cognition, positively influences purchase intentions for an apparel brand among both
Mexican and Indian consumers. Affect may explain why consumers are willing to pay a
premium price for luxury brands even though they can achieve equal functional benefits
through less expensive non-luxury brands. The theory of reasoned action is based on the
assumption that individuals are rational and make systematic use of the information available
to them ;that is, the individual's attitude affects a person's behavioural intention. Given that
attitude has a direct impact on intention toward a behaviour both self expression attitude and
self-presentation attitude toward luxury brands predict purchase intentions for luxury brands.
This study examines (a) whether need for uniqueness is antecedent to consumers' selfexpression attitude toward luxury brands, (b) whether self-monitoring is antecedent to selfpresentation attitude toward luxury brands, (c) and whether self-expression attitude and selfpresentation attitude impact affective attitude and purchase intention for luxury brands
either directly or indirectly through their impact on affective attitude.

Conclusion
Drawing on the functional theory of attitude and the cognitiveaffective model as the
framework, this study examines the impact of individual characteristics (i.e. NFU and selfmonitoring) on consumers' social-function attitudes toward luxury brands, which in turn
influence affective attitude and purchase intention for luxury brands The findings support the
functional theory of attitude showing that attitudes serve important social-functions as they
impact both affect and behaviour. Further, the findings show that emotions are linked to
central attitudes, and play an important role in purchase intention formation. This study
expands previous research by examining the formation of purchase intentions for luxury
brands and comparing purchase intention formation across cultures. The finding that Chinese
students have higher similarity avoidance NFU than do U.S. students corroborates previous
conclusions that individuals in a collective society could adopt and display individualistic
elements without changing its collectivist culture. The Chinese students' need for similarity
avoidance (i.e. to distinguish their social group membership in a transitioning society) may
also have important theoretical implications. Speculation on whether or not Hofstede's
dimensions will hold up over time across people and situations involving multiple cultures
may be gaining strength, given that globalization has made the world more flat than ever
before Cultural studies focusing on China in the past decade have cast additional doubt on the
veracity of Hofstede's cultural difference theory, further reinforcing concerns and suggesting
the need for further examination of the appropriateness of cultural difference theory in a
transitioning global economy.
This study examines the impact of social-function attitudes toward luxury brands on
consumers' affective attitude and purchase intentions and shows that emotions are linked to
central attitudes, suggesting that consumers tend to respond favourably to brands that are
perceived to be consistent with their values and goals. The marginally positive relationship
between social-function attitudes and purchase intention suggest that both U.S. and Chinese
consumers have a greater intent to purchase their favourite luxury brands when the luxury
brands are consistent with their intrinsic beliefs and social image. Extending the findings of
other researchers that people consume luxury brands for social-function reasons, these
findings show that social-function attitudes toward luxury brands play an important role

impacting purchase intention for luxury brands both directly and indirectly through their
impact on affect. Furthermore, affect has a dominant and powerful influence on consumers'
purchase intention as it plays a mediating role between social-function attitudes and purchase
intentions, thereby supporting the cognitiveaffective model given that both
social-function attitudes (cognition) and affective attitude (affect) impact purchase intention
for luxury brands. These findings provide valuable strategic implications for luxury brand
retailers who do business in both U.S. and Chinese markets. Luxury brand manufacturers
may need to emphasize the characteristics of exceptional quality and dependability because
consumers of
luxury brands care about the consistency between the brand image and their internal beliefs.
Because consumers worldwide use luxury brands to display status, their purchase intention
toward luxury brands is aroused when they feel compelled to own a luxury brand to convey
their esteem or wealth. Luxury retailers' marketing strategies may either attempt to convince
consumers of the brand's upscale social image or use their distinctive image and product
scarcity to appeal to those who have high social-function attitudes. Affect is the most
important consideration in global marketing strategies and must penetrate every marketing
channel because affect attached to luxury brands creates resonance between consumers and
brands. Consumers with strong affect toward a luxury brand say they love the brand and the
tendency for them to purchase the brand is high. Affective-appealing messages can be
delivered in a variety of ways. Luxury retailers can convey feelings of pleasure and deliver a
fun experience by offering a well-organized assortment of high-quality products and upscale
ambience or through exceptional store service that generates an enjoyable, fun experience
with the brand, thereby generating positive affect.
Self-monitoring is an important individual characteristic that impacts social-function attitudes
across cultures, consistent with the functional theory of attitudes concept that individual
personality arouses attitude. This finding has important strategic implications for marketers of
luxury brands; for example, luxury brand retailers can emphasize the role of the brand in
facilitating self-presentation by conveying a unique image and/or social group membership.
These findings also provide practical implications for marketing luxury brands in China.
Emphasizing exclusivity of the brand may be an effective marketing strategy for luxury
brands in the Chinese market, as it focuses on using luxury brands to avoid similarity to
others in general. Advertising campaigns can imply the luxury brand's elite usage group to
help Chinese consumers convey membership in a specific social group and the exclusion of
other groups.
Recommendations and Limitations
This study originally hypothesized two dimensions of social function attitudes toward luxury
brands self expression attitude and self-presentation attitude, based on the functional
theory of attitude and on previous findings from studies of brand choice. However, the
finding that unlike U.S. students, Chinese students did not discriminate between selfexpression attitude and self-presentation attitude toward luxury brands suggest that Chinese
students may actually blur self image and social image together. Given that Chinese
consumers regard themselves in the context of their relations with others, they are less likely
than U.S. students to distinguish self image and social image. Because the merged socialfunction attitudes cannot detect whether consumers
purchase luxury brands due to social image or self-identity, further exploration may more
fully illuminate the nature of their motivations to buy luxury brands.
The measurement issue that this study identifies calls into question the appropriateness of
using scales developed and validated in Western cultures to measure the same construct in

other cultures, and reinforces the importance of testing construct measures across cultures.
Additional investigations using measures that have been cross-culturally examined for
reliability and validity will be useful to further examine these issues. Furthermore,
examination of the purchase intention process among other demographics in each culture may
provide a better understanding of the roll of NFU and self monitoring on social-function
attitudes and affect and ultimately on purchase intentions for luxury brands. The use of a
student sample limits the generalizability of the findings, because students represent only a
subset of luxury brand consumers and are not representative of all consumers in a culture
rather than actual purchase behaviour. Future research may utilize a sample that is more
representative of the entire consumer population to provide a better understanding of the roll
of NFU and self monitoring on social-function attitudes and affect and ultimately on actual
purchase intentions for luxury brands.
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