The Interplay of Local and Global Cultural Influences on Japanese Consumer Behavior

Abstract

Globalization depicts an increasingly interconnected and interdependent worldspace. While globalization continues to alter the economic and political landscapes, global forces are increasingly impacting the social and cultural environments of the world. Given that culture is the single most profound influence on consumer behavior, a key question concerns how the cultural flows emanating from globalization impact local cultures, and how global and local cultural influences combine to influence consumer behaviors. With globalization, is it the case that cultures and consumer behaviors worldwide are becoming less distinctive? Or, in the wake of globalization, are consumers increasingly motivated to resist global forces, leading to the reactivation and retrenchment of cultural and behavior differences? With globalization, the interplay of local and global forces may in fact lead to hybridization, implying increasing homogeneity and heterogeneity of behaviors occurring simultaneously. Focusing on Japan—the world’s second largest economy, and socio-culturally, straddling the boundary of East and West— the primary question posed by this research is: how do local and global cultures influence what consumer behaviors? Our first objective was to assess the structure and reliability multidimensional measures for (Japanese) ethnic identity (JEID) and acculturation to global consumer culture (AGCC). Within a greater nomological network, we examined how JEID and AGCC were antecedent to two dispositional constructs associated with globalization: materialism and consumer ethnocentrism. Lastly we sought to identify different acculturation patterns corresponding to how JEID and AGCC apply to consumer behaviors spanning a broad variety of product categories, including foods and beverages, hygiene and fashion/apparel, appliances, consumer electronics, media and communication devices, as well as luxury products.