Abstract

The objective of this paper is to examine the influence of social culture on consumer values, needs and behavior which focus on the comparison of East Asian and Eastern European culture. Surveys are conducted with consumers in China and Korea (accounts for 88% of the region’s population and 82% of the region’s area) for East Asia and Russia and Uzbekistan accounts for 48% of the region’s population and 77% of the region’s area) for Eastern Europe. First, we compare the consumer values and consumer needs in these two culture-regions, followed by comparing the different influence of social culture on the hierarchical relationships among consumer values, needs and behaviors by using the structural equation model with multi-group analysis. Our results indicate the important role of social culture in shaping consumer behavior and remind international managers to practice different marketing strategies to satisfy consumer needs in those different culture-regions.

Key words: Cross-culture, consumer values, consumer needs, social-affiliation value, self-direct value, East Asia, Eastern Europe, China, Russia, Uzbekistan.