| The general objective of this dissertation is to investigate how culture impacts upon customer value. Specifically, by examining consumers' cognitive means-end structures, propositions are developed in terms of how culture influences the perception and importance of the content and structure of the customer value hierarchy. The propositions are tested utilizing data from in-depth laddering interviews with a matched sample of 30 French consumers and 30 American consumers on the subject of wine consumption in a restaurant usage situation.; The data are analyzed in two simultaneous stages: (1) a quantitative independent coding analysis of implication matrices and centrality statistics, and (2) a qualitative coding analysis of the meaning, valence, and linkages of customer value hierarchy dimensions. The findings indicate that culture does influence the content and structure of the customer value hierarchy. The data appear to provide empirical evidence that cultural value dimensions can be utilized to theoretically predict similarities and differences in customer value. Interestingly, the perception and importance of consumption consequences appear to be more sensitive to cultural differences than do the perception and importance of product and service attributes and evoked end-states. Moreover, cultural values alone are not the only influence upon consumer perceptions. In addition to personal characteristics and use situation, other cultural factors are shown to be influential, most notably social norms.; This research extends existing customer value theory and means-end theory by demonstrating that culture is intertwined throughout all of the levels of meanings that consumers construct for products and services rather than just at the end-state level, and by testing a priori propositions regarding the influence of culture. This research indicates that future conceptualizations of value should consider the inclusion of culture, in addition to person, product, and situation. Additional refinements may include the categorization of specific attribute, consequence, and end-state subtypes, the inclusion of valence into value dimension linkages, and application to the study of perception (i.e., meaning) and preference (i.e., importance). Finally, by identifying both cultural similarities and differences, this research provides partial support for the strategic concept of intermarket segmentation based upon customer value segments. |
