Elección de marca del "comprador inteligente" en un contexto multicultural

Résumé

Smart shoppers invest a considerable effort in seeking promotion-related information to achieve price savings. For them, obtaining a discount is a source of ego-related positive emotions. The scarce studies that have previously analyzed the smart shopper’s purchase process are only partial and they mainly focus on local markets. The key purpose of this doctoral dissertation is to contribute to the knowledge of the smart-shopping process and its effect on brand attitude, in a cross-cultural context. In this thesis three distinct conceptual models focused on various aspects of smart shopping are formulated and tested. A common data set originated with primary information is used in the three studies. The models are tested using a sample of 1.272 shoppers from six Western countries (Spain, France, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom and United States of America). Statistical analyses are conducted using univariate and bivariate techniques (descriptive measures, correlations, variance analysis and nonparametric tests) as well as multivariante techniques (multiple regression, logit models, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling techniques). Results reveal that smart shopper self-perception, among other factors, has a positive and significant effect on the attitude towards store-brands (SB). Moreover, no previous research proves that SB preference is a mediating variable between SB attitude and SB purchase intention. This thesis pioneers in developing and testing a robust, reliable and valid cross-cultural measurement of smart shopping. Salient among the findings of the investigation is that smart- shopper self-concept should be modelled as a second-order construct that reflects on two dimensions: smart-shopping behavior and smart-shopping feeling. Results also show that consumers from the six Western countries that take part in the study share some behavioral and affective characteristics that reflect their smart-shopper self-concept. However, our findings indicate that the strength of several of these relationships differ by country. This investigation also explores the influence of consumer’s value structure on the smart shopping construct. The findings show that the shopper’s value structure, as defined by Schwartz (1992), has a significant impact on smart shopper self-perception, which in turn, significantly influences SB and national brand (NB) attitude. Across the six Western countries, smart shopping has a greater effect on the positive attitude towards promoted NBs than on the positive attitude towards SBs. The practical contribution of this dissertation should improve managers’ knowledge about smart shoppers and may help them adapt their segmentation and brand strategies according to the nation they are operating in. Key words: brand attitude, store brand, national brands, smart shopper, culture, cross-cultural, measurement scale, values, multi-group, structural equations.