Cultural Assimilation And Consumption Behaviors: A Methodological Investigation.(Statistical Data Included)

Approximately 500,000 international students attend US universities and the number has grown steadily over the past decade (Institute of International Education, 1996). Conservative estimates of $10,000 tuition rates translate into an annual influx of $5 billion for US colleges and universities. For businesses catering to students, this international student body is also monetarily significant. If just one-quarter of the total international student population purchases a television and a bed (two crucial elements of any college student's life), the economic impact reaches $44 million. Adding other durable goods, personal goods, food, and beverages could quickly bring the expenditures to over $1 billion.

Both business owners and university administrators at home and abroad recognize the opportunities readily available in this market segment. In an attempt to capture a growing portion of the student body in the US, three major banks agreed to structure loans of up to $50,000 specifically for Asian students attending targeted universities in the US (Arenson, 1997). The banks forecast impressive profits. Australian and British educational institutions also joined the race for attracting and retaining international students. Aggressive marketing techniques in these countries, such as monetary incentives and guaranteed government loans for qualifying students, have 'wooed' foreign students (especially Asians) away from American colleges (Desruisseaux, 1997).

Despite the presence of this large consumer group, little research has looked at their buying habits or purchase preferences. Two preliminary studies shed light on this group through the narrow examination of the travel (Hsu and Sung, 1997) and education sectors (Heiskell, 1998). While such research offers an excellent springboard for future endeavors, little progress has been made. I propose an exploratory investigation of consumer behavior theories and methodologies for studying this growing population. To accomplish this task I briefly outline the research trends in cross-cultural consumer research, discuss the process of cultural assimilation, summarize two theoretical bases from which the present study is based, and offer propositions to be tested using eclectic methodologies.

Cross-cultural Research

The interaction of culture and consumer behavior has been studied from numerous perspectives. Over the past decades, two paths for investigating the relationship have emerged: (1) the empiricist approach, which examines the validity of present consumer behavior theories and knowledge when applied to other cultures, (e.g., Desphande et al., 1986; Clark, 1990) and (2) the interpretive approach, which attempts to interpret motives and meanings of consumer actions in other cultures (e.g., McCracken, 1986; Mehta and Belk, 1991). Table 1 illustrates a sampling of this research spanning the last 20 years. While this research stream is impressive, contradictions exist in explanations of how and why consumption patterns change as people move from one culture to another. Some of these contradictions result from the theories used to interpret the changes. Individual difference theories based on psychological motivations for behavior (i.e., materialism) draw different conclusions than theories based on sociological moti vations (i.e., cultivation). Due to the multi-dimensionality of changes individuals go through in the move from one culture to another it seems logical to investigate the two divergent theoretical and methodological paths to garner a comprehensive picture of how and why consumption adjustments occur. The proposed research offers proposals and methodologies to bridge this gap. I propose an exploratory project that interweaves two theoretical foundations (the influence of mass media and materialism) and suggest methodologies that directly address acknowledged limitations of previous studies.

First, I expand Lee's (1989) findings on the relationships between mass media exposure and perceptions of consumption realities in an unfamiliar culture by including measures of pre-move, media-viewing habits and by predicting changes in purchase patterns among identified consumer groups at distinct stages in the acculturation process. Second, I hope to resolve contradictory findings that have resulted when Belk's (1984) materialism scale has been applied cross-culturally. By combining acculturation information and personal tendencies toward materialism I seek to provide a unique tool to project (1) how affluence estimates and personal consumption changes as international stay extends in time and as individuals pass through different stages of acculturation, and (2) how materialism scale ratings may change among consumers of the same nationality in an alien culture at different acculturation stages. Succinctly stated, the purpose of this article is to apply theories of cultivation and materialism to a unique , growing population in such a way that adds to our understanding of influences on the acculturation and consumption processes.

Culture and the Acculturation Process

Culture is rich in meaning and definitions. Ferraro's (1994) interpretation of culture is particularly applicable to this study because it encompasses all the dimensions addressed in the present examination of culture and consumption. Culture encompasses: (1) possessions or material objects, (2) ideas, values, and attitudes, and (3) normative or expected patterns of behavior, such as consumption (Ferraro, 1994). Sharing these processes with others constitutes a society, which teaches and maintains the connotative meaning of culture through rituals and symbols.

Levitt (1983) argues that the powerful forces of transportation and communication technologies drive the world in such a way that no truly isolated culture exists today. Given this increase in cultural interaction, what, if any, personal and social changes occur as people cross cultures? The present research addresses the translocation of peoples across national borders and the effect such transitions has on consumption behaviors. When people move from their home-culture to another hostculture for career advancement, educational or personal reasons, alterations of lifestyle frequently occur.

The cultural change process involves two distinct dimensions (Laroche et al., 1996). One dimension, acculturation, includes the learning of cultural standards of the host society. Acculturation may involve changes in behavior patterns such as language spoken, food eaten, and goods purchased (Wallendorf and Reilly, 1983). The second dimension, ethnic identification, is the maintenance of the native-culture's ethnic identity (Laroche et al., 1997). Marketers' interests in the cultural change process focus on consumption alterations that influence consumer purchases and related managerial decisions. Individuals adjusting to a host-country culture (operationalized in this article as American) go through perceptual, attitudinal, and/or behavioral changes. Acculturation describes changes in attitudes, values, or behaviors members of one cultural group manifest as they move toward the standard of another, host-country, group. Consumer acculturation reflects the component of the total acculturation process relating to consumption-relevant attitudes, values or behaviors (Lee, 1989).

Amount of exposure to and sources of learning about the new host-culture vary by individual and circumstance of a move to another country. Laroche et al.'s (1997) review of acculturation literature notes four commonly cited dimensions of the acculturation process: (1) host language fluency and usage, (2) host society interaction frequency and depth vis a vis home society interaction, (3) culturally linked habits and customs, and the most recently added dimension (Lee, 1989), (4) host media utilization and preference. Cultural adjustment may also be influenced by location of residence, cultural distance between home country and new country, level of income, and personality variables. Controls for such mediating variables in the study of acculturation are discussed by Wallendorf and Reilly (1983), Dawson and Bamossy (1991) and Mehta and Belk (1991).

Acculturation Measurement

Based on the four dimensions of acculturation noted above, measurement scales were developed, and tested to measure acculturation stages. Szapocznik et al. (1978) calculated acculturation using a twenty-four question survey that many researchers applied in subsequent research (O'Guinn and Faber, 1985; Mann et al., 1987; Kara and Kara, 1996; Khairullah et al., 1996). Szapocznik et aL (1978) acknowledge that scale modification is possible without loss of generalizability. While the scale was developed for first-generation, Hispanic immigrants, up to five items may be deleted or changed to reflect respondents' host and ethnic cultures. Other acculturation scales focus on the language dimension of acculturation (Mari and Gamba, 1996; Laroche et al., 1998), on certain ethnic groups (Cuellar et al., 1980; Suinn et al., 1987; Mendoza, 1989), or on sub-populations (Oetting and Beauvais, 1990-1991), and substance abusers (Lessenger, 1997).

As in the studies cited above, the present study suggests a Likert-type scale to elicit responses on each of the four dimensions of acculturation (language, interaction, customs, and media utilization). Pre-tests will be needed to ascertain reliability scores for scale items based on percentages versus those based on qualitative measures anchored by "not at all", and "almost always." For example, language items may include: "I speak English," "In my family, we speak English," "In social situations with my peers, we speak English," while interaction items may include "My friends, while in school, are of Anglo origin," "My friends outside of school are of Anglo origin," etc.