The effect of individualism on private brand perception: a cross‐cultural investigation

Abstract

PurposeThe present study has three aims: to find out whether individualism affects consumers' preference for private versus national brands; to assess the effect of individualism on the perceived importance of brand image dimensions (country‐of origin, packaging design and manufacturer reputation); and to assess the degree of cross‐cultural differences in individualism within a specific country, Israel.Design/methodology/approachA total of 400 private brand customers participated in the study. Participants were students from eight universities and colleges in Israel. Students were carefully chosen to represent diverse cultural groups, based on their mother tongue: 100 students were native speakers of Arabic, 100 native speakers of Russian, 100 native speakers of Amharic and 100 native speakers of Hebrew.FindingsIndividualism predicted the inclination to purchase store brands better than demographic variables such as age, sex and income. Culture affected the importance of country of origin, and moderated the effect of individualism on the importance of manufacturer identity..Originality/valueThe paper documents research that is unique in studying psycho‐behavioral aspects of private brand consumers from the perspective of cultural differences, a venture that has rarely been taken in the past.