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The impact of culture on pet owners’ decision-making styles

Dr Corinne Lamour Global Pets Forum Asia November 3rd 2015

+Agenda

n Context

n Research objective

n Methodology

n Results

n Managerial implications

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+Survey Context

1.  Culture does impact individuals’ behaviors (Hofstede & Minkov 2010) > divergence

2.  Globalization and NIT lead to convergence in consumer behaviors (de Mooij 2003)

3.  Product category impacts consumption characteristics (Bauer et al. 2006)

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+Survey context

n What about the pet food market???

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Convergence Divergence

+Survey context

n Limited knowledge on pet owners’ shopping behavior across national cultures

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+Survey objective

Ø Know if cultural profile impacts pet owners’ behaviors when shopping pet food

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+Survey methodology

n Quantitative survey

n 308 French pet owners + 221 Chinese pet owners

n Consumer Style Inventory tool (Sproles &

Kendall 1986)

n Statistical analysis (SPSS IBM)

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In which ways do you buy pet food?

+Questionnaire on 9 consumption characteristics

Perfectionist Brand conscious

Novelty conscious

Hedonist Price conscious Impulsive

Confused Loyal Prescription conscious

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+Survey results: per dimension per country

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1

2

3

4

5

Sco

res

(1=

no

t a

ll; 5

=st

ron

gly

)

Fundamental consumption characteristics

Pet food buyers' decision-making styles (sig. <.001)

France

China

+Survey results: impact of culture

n There is a significant difference in consumers’ decision-making styles across nations (Λ=,494 ; F(10,

518)=53,157 ; p<,001 ; η2=,506)

n 51% of variation in consumption characteristics is explained by culture profile

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I am different!

+Survey results: impact of culture

n Asian pet owners are significantly (p<.001) n more conscious about novelty and fashion product n more conscious about shopping enjoyment n more impulsive when buying n more confused by information n less loyal towards brands & shops

n Asian and European pet owners are equally quality conscious, brand conscious, sensitive to advice, not sensitive to price

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+Survey results: clusters in France

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1  

1,5  

2  

2,5  

3  

3,5  

4  

4,5  

5  

C1  "switcher  consumers"  35%  

C2  "perfec9onist  consumers"  31%  

C3  "independent  consumers"  34%  

Perf;  F=105,612  

Brand;  F=18,395  

Hed;  F=22,672  

Price;  F=84,316  

Conf;  F=46,907  

Loyal;  F=41,371  

Pres;  F=193,583  

Imp;  F=92,718  

Nov;  F=87,497  

Scores    

+Survey results: clusters in France

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Switcher consumers

35%

Perfectionist consumers

31%

Independent consumers

34%

European pet food buyers typology (sig. <.001)

+Survey results: clusters in China

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Switcher consumers

41%

Perfectionist consumers

26%

Ambivalent consumers

33%

Asian pet food buyers typology (sig. <.001)

+Survey results: clusters in China

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1  

1,5  

2  

2,5  

3  

3,5  

4  

4,5  

5  

C1  "switcher  consumers"  41%  

C2  "perfec9onist  consumers"  26%  

C3  "ambivalent  consumers"  33%  

Perf;  F=70,698  

Brand;  F=11,185  

Hed;  F=31,217  

Price;  F=21,140  

Conf;  F=90,140  

Loyal;  F=63,620  

Pres;  F=26,838  

Imp;  F=49,748  

Nov;  F=32,957  

Scores    

+Managerial implications

n Pet food companies should consider cultural profiles when dealing globally

n Nevertheless some consumption characteristics do converge

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+Managerial implications

n All focus on quality, brand awareness and advice whatever the cost!

n CSI measuring tool is easy to use

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+Conclusion

n Pet food organizations now better know the differences between Asia & Europe

n 1st cross-cultural study on pet food market

n More to come on consumption characteristics assessment across nations

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+Questions & Answers

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