Indebtedness in cultural context: The role of culture in the felt obligation to reciprocate

Hitokoto, Hidefumi

doi:10.1111/ajsp.12122

Cited by 18 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…For instance, if consumers from East Asia are primed with low power distance, would price discounts change their responses to assertive versus nonassertive messages? Several studies have indicated that East Asians will generally feel more indebted than North Americans after receiving help in everyday situations (Hitokoto, 2016; Hitokoto et al , 2008), so we investigated desires to reciprocate as a mediator. Nevertheless, Study 3 indicated no significant differences in reciprocity desires between Americans and South Koreans.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Message assertiveness and price discount in prosocial advertising: differences between Americans and Koreans

Bang

Choi

Yoon

et al. 2021

EJM

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Purpose Prosocial advertisers widely use assertive messages to encourage prosocial attitudes and behaviors, but ironically, assertive messages may cause reactance. By applying cultural theories and the reciprocity principle, this study aims to observe whether consumers’ responses to assertive messages hold across culturally different audiences (Americans vs South Koreans) and different consumption situations (price discount vs no discount). Design/methodology/approach American and Korean participants take part in three experimental studies examining the interactions of nationality, price discounts and assertive messaging for influencing consumer responses, first to a prosocial ad encouraging recycling (Study 1), the second for a campaign requesting donations for disadvantaged children (Study 2) and the third to prosocial messages encouraging water conservation (Study 3). Findings The three experiments strongly support the moderating role of price discounts and cultural backgrounds in the persuasiveness of assertive prosocial messages. American consumers generally dislike assertive messages, but feel reciprocal obligations if marketers include price discounts, whereas South Korean consumers accept both assertive and nonassertive messages without resistance, and discounts have no effects on persuasion. Research limitations/implications The findings make two key contributions to the literature and to prosocial advertising practices. First, although many corporations have adopted philanthropic strategies, few researchers have examined how specific consumption contexts determine the effectiveness of prosocial persuasion. The findings show how price discounts and message framing potentially alter the effectiveness of prosocial messages across Eastern and Western cultures. Second, assertive language evokes reactance, but the findings suggest that reactive responses to prosocial advertising are culture-specific. Practical implications International nonprofit organizations and brands using philanthropic strategies might use the guidelines of this study for tailoring strategic, practical prosocial messages that will appeal to consumers from diverse cultural backgrounds. In particular, pro-environmental and charity campaigns targeting North American or Western European populations may consider bundling discounts into promotions to evoke reciprocity. Originality/value Findings provide novel implications for social marketers regarding on how to couple message assertiveness and price discounts to maximize the success of prosocial messages in different cultures.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Message assertiveness and price discount in prosocial advertising: differences between Americans and Koreans

Bang

Choi

Yoon

et al. 2021

EJM

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“…Rice labor exchanges may have made rice communities more interdependent, with relationships more focused on reciprocation. For example, recent studies have found that Chinese and Japanese participants are more likely than Americans to feel indebted to others after accepting a favor (Hitokoto, 2016;Oishi & Komiya, 2016) and less likely to ask for emotional support (Taylor, Welch, Kim, & Sherman, 2007). 4 This might also explain our anecdotal observation that people in China and Japan are more hesitant to ask for favorsthey're concerned about accumulating "debt.…”

Section: Cooperative Labor Exchangesmentioning

confidence: 91%

How Rice Farming Shaped Culture in Southern China

Talhelm¹,

Oishi²

2018

Oxford Scholarship Online

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We present a detailed theory linking southern China’s history of rice farming to its modern-day culture. It explains how rice was farmed traditionally, what makes it different from other major staple crops, and why these differences could shape culture. Next, the chapter reviews empirical evidence that people who have grown up in the rice areas of China have different relationship styles and thought styles from people in the wheat areas. It also discusses why the rice theory is not ecological determinism—rice does not automatically lead to collectivism. Finally, it asks whether modernization is signaling the death of rice culture or whether cultures rooted in historical subsistence style can persist even after less than 2% of the population actually farms for a living.

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“…For example, studies have found that people in China and Japan people feel more indebted to others after receiving a favor (Hitokoto, 2016; Oishi and Komiya, 2016). This emphasis on repaying favors could mean that people in collectivistic cultures are more likely to feel stronger feelings of indebtedness to collaborators and repay them with authorship, even if those contributions were for previous projects or other unsuccessful projects.…”

Section: Unmerited Authorship Credit and Relationship Stylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Culture and Unmerited Authorship Credit: Who Wants It and Why?

Ren

et al. 2016

Front. Psychol.

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Unmerited authorship is a practice common to many countries around the world, but are there systematic cultural differences in the practice? We tested whether scientists from collectivistic countries are more likely to add unmerited coauthors than scientists from individualistic countries. We analyzed archival data from top scientific journals (Study 1) and found that national collectivism predicted the number of authors, which might suggest more unmerited authors. Next, we found that collectivistic scientists were more likely to add unmerited coauthors than individualistic scientists, both between cultures (Studies 2–3) and within cultures (Study 4). Finally, we found that priming people with collectivistic self-construal primes made them more likely to endorse questionable authorship attitudes (Study 5). These findings show that culture collectivism is related to unmerited authorship.

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Indebtedness in cultural context: The role of culture in the felt obligation to reciprocate

Cited by 18 publications

References 23 publications

Message assertiveness and price discount in prosocial advertising: differences between Americans and Koreans

Message assertiveness and price discount in prosocial advertising: differences between Americans and Koreans

How Rice Farming Shaped Culture in Southern China

Culture and Unmerited Authorship Credit: Who Wants It and Why?

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