Differences in horizontally individualist and vertically collectivist consumers' environmental behaviour: a regulatory focus perspective

Building on horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism (HV I-C) typology and regulatory focus theory (RFT), this study aims to examine cross-cultural environmental behaviour differences between HI-Finnish and VC-Pakistani consumers. In regards to consumers' attitude towards environmentally friendly products, the results demonstrated predominantly HI-promotion-focused regulatory fit effect in Finland and VC-prevention-focused regulatory fit effect in Pakistan. Consequently, consumers' environmentally friendly products' attitude positively affect their purchase intentions. This study contributes to the sustainability literature by examining the overlooked appropriateness of RFT and HV I-C in cross-cultural environmental behaviour. Managers can use the insights of this study to market their environmentally friendly products more effectively across different cultures.© 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Kohti vihreämpää maailmaa : kulttuurierojen ymmärtäminen kestävän kulutuksen edistämisen väylänä

Consumers may enjoy the pleasure of preventing environmental degradation by purchasing environmentally friendly products. However, sustainable consumption is complex type of decision-making, and “greening” the consumption patterns of consumers is not straightforward. There are many motives that consumers may have for buying environmentally friendly products. In view of that, this dissertation examines individual vs collective culturally congruent motives for sustainable consumption. The first essay of this dissertation examines the role of horizontal and vertical individualism vs collectivism cultural values (H/V IND-COL) in the relationship between green branding and consumers’ green behavioral intentions (e.g. word-of-mouth intentions, the willingness to pay a premium, and purchase intentions). Consumers’ intentions to purchase green products differ with respect to their cultural backgrounds. The second essay explores how H/V IND-COL cultural values are reflected in consumers’ organic food choice motivations and product perceptions when viewed through the lens of life goals. Consumers’ cultural values and life goals both converge and diverge regarding their organic food-product choices. The third essay examines the role of regulatory focus as a personal motivational construct in determining consumers’ sustainable product-consumption experience in H/V IND-COL cultures. This third essay demonstrates that H/V IND-COL values influence consumers’ prevention-focused and promotion-focused environmental behavior. The fourth essay examines if environmental responsibility as a personal motivational construct mediates the effects of H/V IND-COL cultural values on consumers’ environmental attitudes and purchase intentions. Environmental responsibility not only influences consumers’ environmental behavior but also plays a mediating role between H/V IND-COL cultural values and environmental behavior. The findings of this dissertation contribute to existing research on cross-cultural sustainable consumption, specifically to the research examining individual vs collective cultural motives of sustainable consumption. The results indicate significant differences between consumers’ sustainable consumption choices in countries whose cultures could be broadly described as “individualistic” and “collectivistic.” The results of this dissertation have the potential to help companies tailor culturally congruent green marketing and advertising strategies.Ostaessaan ympäristöystävällisiä tuotteita kuluttajat voivat kokea mielihyvää voidessaan vaikuttaa ympäristön pilaantumisen torjumiseen. Kestävä kulutus on kuitenkin luonteeltaan monimutkaista päätöksentekoa ja kuluttajien kulutusmallien "vihertyminen" ei ole suoraviivaista. Kuluttajilla voi olla useita motiiveja ostaessaan ympäristöystävällisiä tuotteita. Tämä huomioiden esillä oleva väitöskirja tarkastelee individualistiseen vs. kollektiiviseen kulttuuriin pohjautuvia kestävän kulutuksen motiiveja. Väitöskirjan ensimmäinen essee kohdistuu horisontaalisen ja vertikaalisen individualistisen kulttuurin arvoihin vs. kollektiivisen kulttuurin arvoihin (lyhennettynä H/V IND-COL) tuotteiden vihreän brändäämisen ja kuluttajien vihreiden kulutusaikomusten suhteen (suusanallinen viestintä, ostaminen, lisähinnan maksaminen). Kuluttajien vihreiden tuotteiden ostoaikomukset eroavat kulttuuritaustan myötä. Toinen essee tarkastelee sitä, kuinka H/V IND-COL -kulttuurin arvot heijastuvat kuluttajien luomuruoan valintamotiiveihin ja tuotekokemuksiin tarkasteltuna elämää ohjaavien peruspäämäärien näkökulmasta. Kuluttajien kulttuuriperusteiset arvot ja elämän peruspäämäärät sekä yhdentyvät että eriytyvät luomuruokatuotteiden valinnoissa. Kolmannessa esseessä tutkitaan itsesäätelyn kohdentumisen (regulatory focus) roolia henkilökohtaisena motiivirakenteena, kun määritetään kuluttajien kestävää tuote-kulutuskokemusta H/V IND-COL -kulttuureissa. Kolmas essee osoittaa, että H/V IND-COL -arvot vaikuttavat kuluttajien välttämis- ja lähestymislähtöiseen ympäristöä koskevaan käyttäytymiseen. Neljäs essee tarkastelee, onko ympäristövastuun kokemisella henkilökohtaisena motiivirakenteena merkitystä siihen, kuinka H/V IND-COL -kulttuurin arvot vaikuttavat kuluttajien ympäristöasenteisiin ja ostoaikomuksiin. Koettu ympäristövastuu ei vain vaikuta kuluttajien ympäristöä koskevaan käyttäytymiseen, vaan toimii myös säätelevässä roolissa H/V IND-COL- ja ympäristöllisen käyttäytymisen välisessä suhteessa. Tämän väitöskirjan tulokset tuovat oman osuuteensa monikulttuurista kestävää kuluttamista koskevaan tutkimukseen, erityisesti koskien tutkimusta individualistisen vs. kollektiivisen kulttuuriin nojaavista kestävän kulutuksen motiiveista. Tulokset osoittavat merkittäviä eroja kestävissä kulutusvalinnoissa niissä maissa, joiden kulttuuria voidaan laajasti kuvata "individualistiseksi" ja "kollektiiviseksi". Tämän väitöskirjan tulokset voivat auttaa yrityksiä räätälöimään kulttuurin huomioivaa vihreää markkinointia ja mainontaa koskevia strategioita.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Demystifying Horizontal/Vertical Cultural Difference in Green Consumption : A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study

To understand green consumption in cross-cultural context, this study examines the influence of horizontal individualism (HI-Finnish) and vertical collectivism (VC-Pakistani) cultural values on consumers’ attitude toward green products and purchase intentions. Besides, the mediating role of environmental responsibility is examined for the relationship between these cultural values and consumers’ attitude toward green products. Partial Least Square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis are performed to measure the significance of the hypothesized model and to assess differences between these two countries. This study empirically validates that these cultural variations can determine green consumption by consumers in each country. The results show an insignificant influence of horizontal individualism and vertical collectivism cultural values on consumers’ attitude toward green products, but a positive influence on environmental responsibility. The impact of environmental responsibility on consumers’ attitude toward green products and of their attitude toward green products on purchase intention was also positive. Environmental responsibility plays the role of a full mediator between cultural values and consumers’ attitude toward green products. The findings of this study may help practitioners in the development of culturally appropriate green marketing and advertising strategies.© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

A Comparison of Motivational Patterns in Sustainable Food Consumption between Pakistan and Finland : Duties or Self-Reliance?

This research explores organic food consumption motivations in Pakistan and Finland. It links the findings to life goals typifying vertically collectivistic and horizontally individualistic cultures in order to produce a fuller understanding of cross-country variation in sustainable consumption. This study employs a means-end chain methodology, using a hard-laddering technique in Pakistan (n = 101) and Finland (n = 193) to collect the data. The key implications are that organic food choice motivations both converge and diverge between these countries and that culturally shaped life goals can be used to enrich their interpretation and advance theory building in further research.© 2020 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Measuring customer based beverage brand equity : investigating the relationship between perceived quality, brand awareness, brand image, and brand loyalty

This study examined the antecedents of brand equity such as, brand awareness, perceived quality and the mediating role of a brand Image on brand loyalty. Total number of (n = 150) questionnaires were distributed among the consumers living in four cities (Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, and Sargodha) of Pakistan. Out of the total questionnaires only (n = 130, 86.6%) completed questionnaires were received. Pearson correlation, linear regression and multiple regression tests were used to test the data and infer the results. Results show a positive relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Additionally, mediation has been found between brand awareness, perceived quality and brand loyalty due to brand image. It means that brand awareness and perceived quality develop the brand image which ultimately yields brand loyalty. Thus loyalty programs of beverage companies should focus on brand awareness and consumers’ perception of quality. Overall, these results show that the influence on brand loyalty varies across various variables of the study. The results contribute significantly to the brand equity topic.Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Which Pairs of Stocks should we Trade? Selection of Pairs for Statistical Arbitrage and Pairs Trading in Karachi Stock Exchange

Pairs Trading refers to a statistical arbitrage approach devised to take advantage from short term fluctuations simultaneously depicted by two stocks from long run equilibrium position. In this study a technique has been designed for the selection of pairs for pairs trading strategy. Engle-Granger 2-step Cointegration approach has been applied for identifying the trading pairs. The data employed in this study comprised of daily stock prices of Commercial Banks and Financial Services Sector. Restricted pairs have been formed out of highly liquid log share price series of 22 Commercial Banks and 19 Financial Services companies listed on Karachi Stock Exchange. Sample time period extended from November 2, 2009 to June 28, 2013 having total 911 observations for each share prices series incorporated in the study. Out of 231 pairs of commercial banks 25 were found cointegrated whereas 40 cointegrated pairs were identified among 156 pairs formed in Financial Services Sector. Furthermore a Cointegration relationship was estimated by regressing one stock price series on another, whereas the order of regression is accessed through Granger Causality Test. The mean reverting residual of Cointegration regression is modeled through the Vector Error Correction Model in order to assess the speed of adjustment coefficient for the statistical arbitrage opportunity. The findings of the study depict that the cointegrated stocks can be combined linearly in a long/short portfolio having stationary dynamics. Although for the given strategy profitability has not been assessed in this study yet the VECM results for residual series show significant deviations around the mean which identify the statistical arbitrage opportunity and ensure profitability of the pairs trading strategy. JEL classifications: C32, C53, G17 Keywords: Pairs Trading, Statistical Arbitrage, Engle-Granger 2-step Cointegration Approach, VECM

Consumers' Adoption of Apparel Fashion: The Role of Innovativeness, Involvement, and Social Values

Fashion adoption is concerned with how consumers accept a prevailing style during a particular time. Fashion is accepted by the consumers and influences their behavior in many ways. It is one of the strongest drivers to influence and motivate their intention to buy and adopt new products. Either through advertisement and promotion of brands or through endorsement of celebrities, companies motivate consumers of different socioeconomic backgrounds to follow the new fashion trends and buy their products. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that compel consumers to adopt apparel fashion in Pakistan. It has been investigated that, how and why different factors i.e., Fashion innovativeness, Consumer innovativeness, Fashion involvement, Opinion leadership, and Status, influence consumers’ intention to adopt new apparel fashion and how that intention influence their actual fashion adoption. Total 500 questionnaires were distributed among the respondents in different places (i.e., shopping plazas or malls, public places such as bus stops, playgrounds, and inside the educational institutions, in the cities of Islamabad and Lahore, Pakistan. Out of the total, only 332 (66.4%) questionnaires were retrieved. The regression test and the model fit results using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that, except fashion innovativeness, and consumer innovativeness, the fashion involvement, opinion leadership and status of consumers positively influence their intention to adopt new fashion. However, Intention to adopt has no significant effect on the consumers’ actual adoption of fashionable clothes. The positive and negative effects are discussed accordingly. In the light of the results and findings, the implications and future research recommendations are also debated at the end.© 2014 The Authors. Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Towards the establishment of renewable energy technologies' market : An assessment of public acceptance and use in Pakistan

Adoption of renewable energy technologies is a complex and intricate process affected by a multitude of factors. The objective of this study is to examine the factors influencing consumers' intention to use renewable energy technologies for household usage in Pakistan. In order to understand the adoption behaviour, we have extended the actual framework of the theory of planned behaviour by integrating three additional factors, i.e., environmental concern, cost, and awareness. The findings of this research are based on primary data collected from 244 households in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi through survey questionnaires. The proposed hypotheses were then tested and analysed using structural equation modelling. The results reveal that factors such as subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, and attitude positively influence consumers' intention to use renewable energy technologies in Pakistan, whereas cost has the opposite effect. Interestingly, awareness and environmental concern were found to be insignificant. The results of this study highlight the need to increase environmental awareness, frame innovative financing mechanisms, and address the benefits that renewable energy technology offers, all through an integrative and coherent effort.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Towards sustainable development : Coupling green marketing strategies and consumer perceptions in addressing greenwashing

To understand how consumers perceive greenwashing, this study examines the impact of green advertising receptivity (GAR), non-deception (ND), green brand image (GBI) and transparency (TR) on green brand trust (GBT) and subsequently the impact of GBT on consumers' purchasing intentions (PI). We also consider the mediation role of GBT between the relationship of the independent variables (GAR, ND, GBI and TR) and the dependent variable (PI). At the same time, we examine the moderating impact of ND on the GAR and GBT and of TR on the GBI and GBT relationship. Using the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework, we test a number of hypotheses. A survey-based questionnaire was utilized to gather the data from Vietnamese respondents (n = 262). We analysed the data using the partial least squares (PLS) method, which is a structural equation modelling (SEM) technique, with the assistance of the SmartPLS computer program 3.0. The data results show that GAR and GBI positively influence GBT, but the influence of ND and TR on GBT is insignificant. Again, the data show that GBT has a positive influence on PI, and as a mediator variable, it facilitates GAR, GBI and PI, but not the link between ND, TR and PI. A significant interaction effect of ND demonstrates that it strengthens the GAR-GBT relationship. However, the TR has no impact on the GBI–GBT relationship. The findings of this study provide insights into the theory and the essential managerial implications for successfully managing the implementation of green marketing strategies.© 2023 The Authors. Business Strategy and The Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed