Global consumer culture and national identity as drivers of materialism: an international study of convergence and divergence

PurposeThis paper studies the sociocultural drivers of materialism cross-culturally. Research in this area is scarce, even though rapid social transformations worldwide, fueled by globalization, make it imperative to identify the conditions under which commonalities and differences in materialistic tendencies are most likely to evidence among consumers as they seek to assert, restore, or enhance their self-concept and status in the context of global consumption trends.Design/methodology/approachThe psychographic determinants of materialism were rigorously validated across a diverse set of eight countries, by investigating which facets of acculturation to global consumer culture and national ethnic identity, along with consumer ethnocentrism, encourage or repel materialism. Using multigroup SEM and other analyses, the authors confirmed construct dimensionality and ascertained the stability of the relationships.FindingsThe most consistent positive drivers of materialism were self-identification with global consumer culture and exposure to American-based global mass media. The results demonstrated the compatibility of national identity and traditions with materialistic tendencies. Materialism was positively related to or independent of consumer ethnocentrism.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings offer consequential insights for both research and practice, although the cross-sectional character of survey research and certain sampling characteristics limit their generalizability.Practical implicationsThe results pinpoint segments that spill over national boundaries, and those that remain geographically constrained, thus providing guidance for marketing and communication strategies to practitioners.Social implicationsThe authors shed light on two widely held yet insufficiently researched assumptions: that the homogenizing effect of global consumer culture may be fomenting materialism worldwide, and that nationalistic, parochially oriented consumers may be more capable of resisting materialistic values.Originality/valueThe study design addresses several shortcomings of prior research, and its findings advance the understanding of materialism and its antecedents by identifying the conditions driving materialistic tendencies.

She Asked for It: Hardcore Porn, Sexism, and Rape Myth Acceptance

The present study examined pornography viewing, rape myth acceptance, and sexist attitudes. Data came from 392 male and 903 female participants. Multigroup SEM indicated neither pornography viewing, nor hardcore pornography viewing, were related to rape myth acceptance when controlling for sexist attitudes among men. Wald tests indicated hostile sexism to be a significantly stronger predictor of all rape myths examined compared to pornography viewing or hardcore pornography viewing in men and women. Latent variable interaction analyses suggested hardcore pornography viewing as a significant exacerbating factor for the relationship between hostile sexism and “she asked for it” rape myths across genders.

Changing Energy Supplier on the Market with a Strong Position of Incumbent Suppliers—Polish Example

The purpose of the study is to identify factors affecting the intention to change an energy supplier. This is in a country, Poland, where competition in the energy market has been intensifying over several years, but incumbent suppliers still have an extremely strong position on the market, and the tendency to change an energy supplier is relatively low. The survey was conducted in 2020 on a sample of 1216 adults. The research results were used for a multigroup SEM (Structural Equation Modelling) analysis using AMOS 26. The main findings indicated a strong impact on a general image of a company, as well as the lack of importance of a green image of the current energy supplier. In the general research approach, there are no visible differences in the impact of the perceived price transparency on the intention to switch the supplier. However, taking into consideration two groups (a low energy bill vs. a high energy bill), some interesting differences are visible. In the markets with low consumers' intention to switch, the strong position of incumbent suppliers is due to their exceptionally strong image in these markets. Spending time on maintenance is the biggest disadvantage for new energy suppliers who, when entering the market, have to look for differentiators.

Beyond ‘Migrant Background’: How to Select Relevant, Social Justice Oriented, and Feasible Social Categories in Educational Research

Across continental Europe, educational research samples are often divided by ‘migrant background,’ a binary variable criticized for masking participant heterogeneity and reinforcing exclusionary norms of belonging. This study endorses more meaningful, representative, and precise research by offering four guiding questions for selecting relevant, social justice oriented, and feasible social categories. Using a preregistered empirical example, we compare selected social categories (‘migrant background,’ family heritage, religion, citizenship, cultural identification, generation status) in their potential to reveal participant heterogeneity and differences in means and relations between variables (discrimination experiences, perceived societal Islamophobia, national identity) and academic motivation among 1335 adolescents in Germany (48% female, Mage = 14.69). Regression analyses and multigroup SEM revealed differential experiences with and implications of discrimination for academic motivation. Results highlight the need for a deliberate, transparent use of social categories to make discrimination visible and centre participants’ subjective experiences.

Hard knock coaching: A cross-cultural study of the effects of abusive leader behaviors on athlete satisfaction and commitment through interactional justice

The objective of this study was to examine the direct and indirect relationships between abusive coaching behaviors and athletes’ satisfaction and affective organizational commitment through interactional justice and to explore the differences in the relationships between Hong Kong and Korea. A total of 521 student-athletes (Hong Kong: 232; Korea: 289) in intercollegiate athletics participated in the survey. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated partial mediations of interactional justice between abusive and supportive coaching styles and satisfaction and commitment. Although the multigroup SEM results revealed no differences in terms of the directions and levels of significance of the relationships among the variables between two countries, there was a significant difference in the size of the effect of abusive leadership on the outcomes between the two groups.

Readiness Factor Identification on Kabupaten Karawang SMEs towards Industry 4.0 Era

This study aims to explore the readiness of SMEs Karawang in terms of Technology, Organization, Environment (TOE) Framework and technological readiness (TRI) for benefits of industry 4.0 (BOI) in the dimension of industry 4.0 (DOI), viewed from different business scale groups; micro-businesses (group 1) and small-medium businesses (group 2), with a random sampling of 300 SMEs samples using the multigroup-SEM method. The results showed that the feasibility of the research model was quite good from the results of the structural test of the multigroup-SEM. In the micro business (group 1), managerial (TOE) and technology (TRI) MSME readiness factors influence the use of technology pillars in the industry dimension (DOI). In contrast, in small and medium business groups (group 2), the managerial (TOE) and technology (TRI) readiness of MSMEs influence the use of (DOI) and the benefits of the industrial era 4.0 (BOI).

Sex-Based Differences in the Quality of Life of Elderly Koreans With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

In this study, we constructed a structural equation model (SEM) for predicting the quality of life (QOL) in elderly Koreans with chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) and examined the differences between sexes. Data were earlier collected in a prior study of 307 participants (101 men and 206 women) with CMP, aged 65 years and above, who used geriatric welfare centers located in two cities. The effects of pain, functional limitation, perceived health status, pain coping, and social support on the QOL were estimated with a multigroup SEM. For both men and women, the results show sequential causality from pain to functional limitation, perceived health status, and QOL. However, the relationships among pain, pain coping, functional limitation, and QOL differ between men and women. The multigroup SEM provides a better understanding of the sex differences in the QOL of elderly with CMP. The results suggest that in order to improve QOL among the elderly with CMP, a customized strategy should be applied that takes into account differences between the sexes.

How Cognitive Genetic Factors Influence Fertility Outcomes: A Mediational SEM Analysis

Utilizing a newly released cognitive Polygenic Score (PGS) from Wave IV of Add Health (n = 1,886), structural equation models (SEMs) examining the relationship between PGS and fertility (which is approximately 50% complete in the present sample), employing measures of verbal IQ and educational attainment as potential mediators, were estimated. The results of indirect pathway models revealed that verbal IQ mediates the positive relationship between PGS and educational attainment, and educational attainment in turn mediates the negative relationship between verbal IQ and a latent fertility measure. The direct path from PGS to fertility was non-significant. The model was robust to controlling for age, sex, and race; furthermore, the results of a multigroup SEM revealed no significant differences in the estimated path coeficients across sex. These results indicate that those predisposed towards higher verbal IQ by virtue of higher PGS values are also predisposed towards trading fertility against time spent in education, which contributes to those with higher PGS values producing fewer offspring at this stage in their life course.