A Multinational Study On The Effect Of Perceived Face On Consumer Behavior Intention

As economic globalization is improving, people breaking geographical boundaries and driving to the world store becomes increasingly easy. Therefore, the cultural elements are also attracted wide attention worldwide. The concept of face exists in different cultures, having significant effect on consumer behavior. In the background, this study introduces a conception named consumer perceived face based on literature review, and tests the mechanism of its effect on behavior intention. By means of survey, we gather data from the consumers in China and US. And we analyze the data using multiple regression models. The results suggest that perceived face has significant positive effect on behavior intention in both Chinese and American consumers, and the coefficient in China is bigger than US. Moreover, precipitation within the two dimensions of perceived face, namely, "save face" and "protect face". But from the perspective of "save face", the effect of perceived face on behavior intention does not differ significantly in the two countries'samples; From the perspective of "protect face", the effect of perceived face on behavior intention in China is stronger than that in the US. Face consciousness moderates the relationship between perceived face and behavior intention in China, perceived face has more effect on behavior intention for the more face-concerned consumers. While in US, face consciousness is not a moderator to the relationship between perceived face and behavior intention. In China perceived face directly influences behavior intention, while in US perceived face influences behavior intention indirectly through the mediating effect of subjective norms.