A Study of Japanese Consumers' Cognitive Hierarchies in Formal and Informal Gift-Giving Situations

Sherry L. Lotz, Soyeon Shim, Kenneth C. Gehrt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

In recent years, academicians have shown an increasing interest in Asian gift-giving behavior. Yet studies investigating Asians' cognitive hierarchical structures in the gift-giving context have been limited. Additionally, the literature suggests that Asian consumers' cognitive structures are particularly affected by situational contingencies. Thus, this study examines Japanese consumers' cognitive hierarchies, in a gift-giving context, in formal and informal situations utilizing a most-abstract to least-abstract cognitive hierarchical framework. Data were collected through a mail survey of Japanese consumers in the greater Tokyo area and six other major metropolitan cities. As hypothesized, structural-equation modeling results revealed that the Japanese consumer's cognitive hierarchical flow from most- to least-abstract cognitions remained intact regardless of the situation. In contrast, as expected, differing situations were found to influence intercognitive dimensional relationships. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)59-85
Number of pages27
JournalPsychology and Marketing
Volume20
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2003

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Applied Psychology
  • Marketing

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