A comparison of the influence of personal and cultural values on the consumption of luxury goods across Arab regions

Abstract

Consumption patterns across different cultures are influenced by several factors, including personal and cultural ones. Collectivist cultures play a major role in the consumption decision-making process that an individual goes through, as culture typically affects consumers' taste orientation, specifically toward luxury goods. The main motivation behind this study is to investigate the influence of two major collectivist cultural values-namely, face saving and group orientation-on the perception and consumption of luxury goods across two Arab market regions (i.e., the Levant versus the Gulf). A survey was completed by 400 consumers sampled from different universities in the capitals of Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, and Oman. The results indicate that not all luxury-related factors influence face saving in the Levant and Gulf regions. In addition, no such factors influence group orientation in either region. Beliefs such as the assumption that group orientation plays a significant role in consumers' decision making and that hedonism is not appreciated in Arab cultures are challenged, which indicate slow changes in the Arab cultures. These findings are useful to marketers who aim to promote luxury products in the Arab world as they provide a greater understanding of consumers' perceptions of such products.