The effects of cultural orientation on perceptions of power threat

Because culture shapes what power means to us, cultural orientation should influence what we perceive as a power threat. Thus, the same interactions between consumers and service providers in the marketplace may implicate power differently for different consumers. Across six studies, consumers’ cultural orientations influenced interpretation of and responses to the negative behavior of service personnel. These interpretations and reactions also depended on whether the service person held a high service rank (e.g., hotel vice-president) versus a low rank (e.g., hotel receptionist). Consistently, consumers whose believe that power was meant for enhancing personal status (i.e., the Vertical Individualists) interpreted rude service by a receptionist (versus vice-president) as a greater threat to their own sense of power, responded with a greater sense of indignation, and were more likely to seek high status products to compensate for this power loss. The responses of consumers with other cultural orientations revealed distinct power associations that did not reflect personal power threat. Together, these findings reinforce the key influence of culture on consumer responses in situations that implicate power.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Business Administration

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Wong, Jimmy S.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Shavitt, Sharon
• Chiu, Chi-Yue
• Viswanathan, Madhubalan
• Wyer, Robert S., Jr.

• culture
• power
• cultural orientation
• services marketing

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2011 Jimmy S. Wong

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/24070

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/24070