Market Sustainability: A Globalization and Consumer Culture Perspective in the Chinese Retail Market

Abstract

Consumer behavior is becoming increasingly heterogeneous due to the changing culture patterns and effects of globalization. This phenomenon increases the importance of focusing on the social dimension of sustainability in a consumer market. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by emphasizing the consequences of individual cultural values and individual materialistic values in the Chinese consumer market. In this endeavor, Hofstede’s framework of individual culture with materialistic effect is applied to understand consumer behavior in a processed food market. Rigorous research activity was conducted at the point of sale in different supermarkets to record the responses of random consumers. The results of multi-variate covariance-based structure equation modeling show that individual materialistic values have emerged as a key determinant, which reflects the individual culture for consumer buying behavior in a state of globalization. Power distance, long-term orientation, and uncertainty avoidance were found to be important measures of individual culture. The findings of the study are useful in assisting the industry for product launching and marketing strategies to achieve future sustainability in the processed food market. In the pursuit of a sustainable processed food market, the focus should shift toward individual cultural values away from national and group cultures.

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