Consumer decision making styles in developed and developing markets: A cross-country comparison

Abstract

There is limited empirical research investigating consumer decision-making styles in more than one country. This study contributes to the cross-cultural research in the area of consumer decision-making by comparing decision-making styles of consumers in two countries, India and Germany, which represent different socio-economic and cultural environment. It also investigates the applicability of Consumer Style Inventory (CSI) developed by Sproles and Kendall (1986) in the present Indian context and assesses the change in decision-making styles of Indian consumers over the last two decades of economic development. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaire from 558 Indian students and 185 German students. The results highlight that even though India's economy is undergoing fast structural transformation and getting more and more similar to developed economies, there are still differences in how consumers approach market places. In spite of the significant retail developments in India, the CSI still seems more appropriate for more developed countries like Germany than for countries like India. Additionally, some changes were observed in decision-making styles of young Indian consumers over the last two decades. Implications for managers and research are discussed.