The impact of culture on consumer decision making style in the purchase of cell phone products: A cross cultural study in India and Sri Lanka

This empirical article investigates the relationship between national culture and consumer decision-making styles in the purchase of cell phones, a product category that appears to be required by consumers independent of their nationalities. To make the research measurable, we used Hofstedes four cultural dimensions (power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity) and Sproles and Kendalls Consumer Style Inventory framework (quality conscious, brand conscious, innovative, recreation, price conscious, impulsive, confused and brand loyal), and tested nine hypotheses through ANOVA in a sample of 100 buyers of the product in Sri Lanka and 100 in South India. Factor Analysis via Principal Component Analysis was conducted to examine the suitability of the eight-factor model in observations from each country. The two nationalities and the eight decision-making styles were treated as independent and dependent variables, respectively. Findings showed mixed evidence for the application of Hofstede's cultural dimensions to decision-making styles. Managerial implications and suggestions for future research are presented to help understand the relationship between national culture and consumer decision-making styles.