Self-Expression Through Brand and Consumption Choices: Examining Cross-Cultural Differences

In this dissertation, I investigated how the brand and consumption choices across cultures vary in meaning. In particular, I examined how self-expression through choice varies between the Western and East Asian cultural contexts due to the difference in how the self is viewed. Specifically, Westerners express self-consistency because they view themselves as independent and consistent regardless of the context. In contrast, East Asians express through self-improvement efforts because they view themselves as interdependent and thus have an obligation to invest effort into becoming a model social being through self-improvement. The topic of self-expression is particularly relevant and intriguing in the East Asian cultural context, as the most common portrayal of East Asian individuals emphasizes the conformist, socially obligated nature of their being. Hence, in this current research, I explored the meaning of East Asian individuality and selfhood in the context of brand and consumption choices. In Experiments 1 through 3, the results provided converging evidence that Western individuals have a higher self-brand connection when compared to East Asian individuals, and therefore are more loyal to the brands that they favor. In contrast, East Asians are less loyal to brands because of their higher interest in non-brand attributes. In Experiments 4 and 5, I focused on the luxury brands category to further explore the cross-cultural difference in brand and consumption choices. The results confirmed that East Asians, when compared to Westerners, have a higher appreciation for distinctive but relatively intangible features involving craftsmanship and heritage. In Experiment 5, I explored the topic of East Asian self-expression more directly. The results confirmed my hypothesis that East Asians self-express through their consumption choices by selecting the more unique, less popular option over the standard, more popular option—but only when it is socially appropriate to do so. The findings from this research provide new insight into the cross-cultural differences in how people self-express through their brand and consumption choices as a result of their varying self-concepts. Furthermore, the findings also shed additional light on the concept of East Asian self-expression, and confirm that one does not have to subscribe to the principles of individualism to be an individual