Graduation Semester and Year
Summer 2024
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration
Department
Marketing
First Advisor
Ritesh Saini
Abstract
Cultural Tightness-Looseness reflects the variability in how different cultures mandate strict adherence to social norms and allow deviation from the social norms reflected in sanctions on norm violations. The three-essay dissertation aims to advance our understanding of the effect of cultural tightness (vs. looseness) and the resulting societal emphasis on norm adherence on consumer behavior. Specifically, the proposed research examines the effect of differences in societal norms regarding consumer frugality, system justification, and beliefs regarding the malleability of the world and individuals on consumer decision-making. In essay 1, I study the effect of societal norms regarding frugality in tight (vs. loose) cultures on individuals’ spending decisions. In particular, I propose that the stronger societal emphasis on prudent and resourceful use of resources in tight cultures manifests a frugal mindset, which, in turn, influences consumers’ consumption decisions, including a greater price sensitivity and food waste aversion. In essay 2, I examine how differences in belief about the malleability of the world and individuals in tight (vs. loose) cultures influence reliance on price-quality heuristics. Specifically, I propose that a rigid structure of social axioms in a tight culture fosters a fixed mindset, which in turn results in a greater tendency to make price-quality associations. Finally, based on tenets of system justification tendencies, the third essay explores cultural variability in preference for evidence type (statistical vs. anecdotal) across tight (vs. loose) cultures. Specifically, I propose that individuals from tight (vs. loose) cultures value statistical evidence over anecdotal evidence because of a greater system justification tendency.
Keywords
Cultural tightness, Frugality, Fixed mindset, System justification tendency, Evidence type, Price sensitivity, Price quality dependency
Disciplines
Marketing
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Minchael, Shashi, "Binding Norms: Three Essays on the Effect of Cultural Tightness on Consumer Behavior" (2024). Marketing Dissertations. 34.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/marketing_dissertations/34