a study of japanese consumers' cognitive hierarchies in formal and informal gift-giving...

59

MAR WILEJ RIGHT BATCH

Base of text

Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 20(1): 59–85 (January 2003)Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com)� 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/mar.10059

Top of text

Top of CT

Base of DF

A Study of JapaneseConsumers’ CognitiveHierarchies in Formal andInformal Gift-GivingSituationsSherry L. Lotz and Soyeon ShimThe University of Arizona

Kenneth C. GehrtSan Jose State University

ABSTRACT

In recent years, academicians have shown an increasing interest inAsian gift-giving behavior. Yet studies investigating Asians’cognitive hierarchical structures in the gift-giving context have beenlimited. Additionally, the literature suggests that Asian consumers’cognitive structures are particularly affected by situationalcontingencies. Thus, this study examines Japanese consumers’cognitive hierarchies, in a gift-giving context, in formal and informalsituations utilizing a most-abstract to least-abstract cognitivehierarchical framework. Data were collected through a mail surveyof Japanese consumers in the greater Tokyo area and six othermajor metropolitan cities. As hypothesized, structural-equationmodeling results revealed that the Japanese consumer’s cognitivehierarchical flow from most- to least-abstract cognitions remainedintact regardless of the situation. In contrast, as expected, differingsituations were found to influence intercognitive dimensionalrelationships. Implications of these findings are discussed. � 2003Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

60 LOTZ, SHIM, AND GEHRT

MAR WILEJ LEFT BATCH

shortstandard

Top of textBase of text

Base of RF

Japanese gift exchanges, because of their extreme complexity and per-vasiveness in Japanese society, offer one of the most interesting exam-ples of non-Western gift giving. It is reported that in a typical Japanesehousehold, gifts intrinsic to social and business etiquette are exchangedonce a week on average (Japan Travel Bureau, 1991). Gift giving inJapan is a highly ritualized, year-round tradition viewed as an impor-tant aspect of one’s duty to others in one’s social group.

There are two types of Japanese gift-giving situations: formal andinformal (Beatty, Kahle, Utsey, & Keown, 1993). The most formalizedgift giving occurs during two gift-giving seasons, ochugen and o-seibo,which take place during July and December, respectively. Gift-givingbehaviors in these seasons tend to be habitual, obligatory practices of anonpersonal nature. In contrast, Japanese also frequently exchangegifts on informal bases, for example, exchanges during casual visits toresidences. Compared to the formal gift-giving seasons, these types ofgift-giving occasions may occur at any time during the year with rela-tively less rigidity and obligation associated with the event (Larke,1994). In some cases, particular types of products are associated onlywith formal gift-giving events (Gehrt & Shim, 1998). The same is trueof some product categories deemed appropriate only for informal giftgiving. Even though Japanese consumers may evaluate and perceivethis product differently in formal and informal contexts, fresh fruit isone type of gift that is exchanged in both formal and informal situations(Gehrt & Shim, 1998).

In the last decade, academicians have begun to show increasing in-terest in Asian, including Japanese, gift-giving behavior (e.g., Beatty,Kahle, & Homer, 1991; Beatty et al., 1993; Park, 1998). The results ofone study suggest that personal values of both U.S. and Asian consum-ers affect gift-giving behaviors (Beatty et al., 1991). Yet, to date, noknown studies have been conducted to explore hierarchical cognitiveprocesses related to Asian consumers’, and in particular Japanese con-sumers’, gift-giving behaviors and the extent to which situational influ-ences (e.g., informal and formal occasions) might affect the hierarchicalmodel.

A potentially viable framework with which to study and enhance theunderstanding of Japanese consumers’ gift-giving decision making isthemost- to least-abstract cognitive hierarchy (Kahle, 1980). Kahle pro-posed that personal values have an impact on consumer behaviorthrough a hierarchy ranging from more abstract cognitions, such as val-ues, to less-abstract, more domain-specific cognitions, such as behavior.Two approaches have been taken to identify the nature of cognitive hi-erarchies of Western consumers. First, some researchers have foundthat consumers’ attitudes mediate their personal values and behavior(Homer & Kahle, 1988; Shim & Eastlick, 1998). Second, research hasemphasized the direct linkage between a consumer’s personal valuesand the importance he or she attaches to particular product attributes

GIFT GIVING IN JAPAN 61


shortstandard


Base of RF

(e.g., Madrigal & Kahle, 1994; Muller, 1991; Pitts & Woodside, 1983,1986). Similarly, research utilizing the means–end theory has beenused to detect the relationship between personal values and productattributes by linking product attributes (means) to the consequences orbenefits that product attributes imply and, ultimately to their personalvalues or motives (ends) (e.g., Gutman, 1982; Reynolds & Gutman,1988).

In addition to the issues of cognitive types contained in a hierarchyand the specific relationships among these cognitions, another interest-ing proposition is that relationships between dimensional componentsof cognitions may vary by purchasing situation (e.g., Homer & Kahle,1988; Pitts, Wong, & Whalen, 1991). The rationale for this influence isthat, although specific motivations (or personal-value dimensions) formaking a product purchase may not change by situation, specific con-ditions may cause a revision in the relative perceived importance at-tached to these motivations. These types of changes, in turn, may affectthe nature of associations among cognitive dimensions in the hierarchy.As an illustration, the salience of particular dimensional aspects of per-sonal values, or motives, may differ when the purchase of an automobileis for ones’ self as compared to that of a teen-aged child. Although theneed for self-esteem may be especially important in the former purchasecondition, safety needs may be heightened in the latter situation. Thesalient differences attached to the personal-value dimensions may pre-cipitate an emphasis on one type of attributes, such as automobile style,in the case of purchasing for oneself, as compared to another set of at-tributes, such as types of brake systems, in the purchase for a teen-agedchild.

Researchers suggest that cognitive structures of persons from high-context cultures (e.g., Eastern consumers) may be more sensitive to sit-uational effects as compared to their low-context counterparts (Hall,1977; Lee & Green, 1988). Situational effects could be pronounced be-cause these cultures typically exhibit complex interpersonal relation-ships in which the meaning of the communication is based, to a largedegree, on contextual cues (Hall, 1977).

STUDY OBJECTIVES

The overall purpose of this study is to increase the understanding ofJapanese consumers’ cognitive processes as well as situational influ-ences on the dimensional relationships among cognitions. In this study,personal values, importance choice criteria, attitudes, and behavioralintentions represent cognitions, and dimensions relate to the underlyingconstructs or factors that account for each of these cognitions (e.g., in-ternal and external dimensions of the personal-value cognition).

Given this study’s overall purpose, the first objective is to determine



shortstandard


Base of RF

the applicability of the most- to least-abstract cognitive framework inthe context of a formal Japanese gift-giving setting (i.e., ochugen ando-seibo). Specifically, a personal values:choice criteria importance:attitude:behavioral intentions cognitive hierarchy will be utilized.Def-initions pertaining to situation-specific cognitions within the context ofthis model include: (a) choice criteria importance—the salience attachedto fresh fruit attributes when the fruit is being given as a gift, (b) atti-tude—the global beliefs/feelings toward giving fresh fruit as a gift, and(c) behavioral intentions—expected purchase of fresh fruit to give as agift in the next 12 months.

The advantages of the proposed model as compared to the personalvalues:attitude:behavioral intentions prototype is inherent in theextra information that is provided. The present model allows the inves-tigator to understand how clusters of attributes are perceived by theconsumer and to ascertain how the importance of these product-attri-bute clusters is linked to other consumer cognitions. Likewise, thismodel adds the global attitudinal and behavioral-intentions componentsas compared to models that have traditionally examined only personalvalues and product-attribute evaluations. Thus, the personal values:choice criteria importance:attitude:behavioral-intentions frameworkmay enable the researcher to envision a more complete picture of con-sumers’ cognitions as compared to some of the other potential models.

The study’s second objective is to ascertain whether differing gift-giving situations affect the Japanese consumer’s cognitive-to-cognitivehierarchical flow (i.e., personal values:choice criteria importance:attitude:behavioral intentions). This will be accomplished through acomparative analysis of Japanese consumers’ intercognitive hierarchiesunder two differing situations, that is, formal (ochugen and o-seibo) ver-sus informal gift-giving situations (informal visit to a residence).

The third objective is to examine dimensional relationships amongJapanese consumers’ cognitions, which are proposed to vary by formalversus informal gift-giving situations. This objective is somewhat ex-ploratory in that there are no known studies to date that have investi-gated the nature of relationships among the dimensions of Japaneseconsumers’ cognitions under differential contexts. Last, the implicationsof the study’s findings on Japanese consumers’ gift-giving decision mak-ing is examined.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, BACKGROUND, ANDHYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT

Personal Values, Attitudes, and Behavior

In a review of personal-value definitions, Schwartz and Bilsky (1987)state that personal values have five commonalities. According to these



shortstandard


Base of RF

authors, personal values (a) are concepts or beliefs, (b) encompass de-sirable end states or behavior, (c) are enduring, (d) affect attitudes andbehaviors, and (e) have a hierarchical structure with respect to theirrelative importance (p. 551). Illustrations of personal values include theneed for security, self-esteem, or relationships with others.

Whereas personal values are more global in nature, attitudes tend tobe more domain specific (Rokeach, 1968). Attitudes are the overall eval-uations (Engel, Blackwell, & Miniard, 1995) and learned predispositionsto respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with re-spect to a given object, person, issue, or behavior (Fishbein & Ajzen,1975). Attitudes have also proven to be predictors of behavior (e.g., En-gel et al., 1995; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975).

The Cognitive Hierarchy

Kahle (1980, 1983) argues that personal values, proposed to be the mostabstract cognition, affect consumer behavior through less mediating,more domain-specific factors. Homer and Kahle (1988) examined thepersonal values–attitude–behavior hierarchy and verified this causalrelationship in a very specific context, that is, natural food shopping.Internally oriented persons were found to have more favorable attitudestoward natural foods than did externally oriented individuals, and at-titudes were predictive of behaviors. More recently, Shim and Eastlick(1998) employed a personal values–attitude–behavioral model in aninvestigation of the role that personal values play in Hispanic Americanand Anglo consumers’ patronage of regional shopping malls. The re-searchers confirmed a causal flow among personal values, attitude, andbehavior, that is, they found that consumers’ attitudes toward the shop-ping attributes of a regional mall mediated their personal values andmall shopping behavior for both Hispanic Americans and Anglos.

The hierarchical cognition model has also been tested through an ex-amination of the relationships between personal values and importanceratings of product attributes. One study examined the linkages amongvalues and product class/brand choice criteria importance, preferences,and purchase intentions (Pitts & Woodside, 1983). Results indicatedthat consumer value structures are significantly correlated (causal re-lationships were not investigated) with importance of choice criteria forboth product classes and brands. Conversely, no relationships werefound between value structures and product class and brand prefer-ences or intentions. The researchers, in support of the theory that moreabstract cognitions influences less abstract cognitions, proposed thatweak results were found between values and preferences/intentions be-cause “the preference and intention variables may be too far removedcognitively from values . . . ” (Pitts & Woodside, 1983, p. 37). Furthersupport for the impact of personal values on choice criteria has beenshown through empirical investigations, including evidence of value



shortstandard


Base of RF

systems’ influence on the importance tourists attached to different ac-tivities (Madrigal & Kahle, 1994; Pitts & Woodside, 1986) and ratingsof destination attributes (Muller, 1991).

Past research suggests that choice criteria importance (e.g., I considera whitening agent to be an extremely important attribute of toothpaste)is a more abstract, less object-bound construct as compared to attitude(e.g., I think purchasing toothpaste is good), but more tied to an objectthan personal values (e.g., self-esteem) (Homer & Kahle, 1988; Madrigal& Kahle, 1994; Muller, 1991; Pitts & Woodside, 1983, 1986). Therefore,it is proposed that a personal values–choice criteria importance–atti-tude–purchase intention hierarchical structure, manifesting a most-to-least abstract cognitive causal flow, will be a feasible tool for studyingJapanese consumers’ cognitive processes in a formal gift-giving context.As formal gift-giving practices, compared to informal occasions, aremore controlled through social norms and, in general, allow for less in-dividual flexibility (Larke, 1994), Japanese consumers will most likelypossess more strongly held cognitions that are more easily accessibleand consistent across the hierarchy in the formal condition (Eagly &Chaiken, 1993). Thus, the examination begins with the formal gift-giv-ing condition:

H1: In the formal gift-giving condition, Japanese consumers’ cogni-tions will exhibit a most- to least-abstract hierarchy such that:

H1(a): Japanese consumers’ personal values will affect theirratings of choice-criteria importance.

H1(b): Japanese consumers’ choice-criteria importance ratingswill affect their attitudes toward giving fresh fruit as agift.

H1(c): Japanese consumers’ attitudes toward giving fresh fruitas a gift will affect their intentions to purchase fresh fruitfor a gift in the next 12 months.

Situational Influences and the Cognitive Hierarchy

Belk (1974) defines situational influences as aspects independent of thecharacteristics of the consumer and/or product that, nevertheless, havea considerable, consistent impact on the consumer’s behavior. Numer-ous studies have examined situational contingency in the behavior ofU.S. consumers (e.g., Gehrt & Pinto, 1993; Srivastava, Leone, &Shocker, 1981; Stoltman, Gentry, Anglin, & Burns, 1990), includingthat of gift giving versus personal usage (Gehrt, Ingram, & Howe, 1991;Mattson, 1982).

Situational influences are thought to consist of physical, social, tem-poral, and task-definition dimensions of the purchase process (Belk,1975). Situational contingencies in the context of gift giving might fall



shortstandard


Base of RF

into any of the four dimensions (Belk, 1974, 1975). For instance, tem-poral dimensions of gift giving could be demonstrated by whether or notample time is available to shop. The social dimension could be exhibitedby whether the gift recipient is a friend or a business associate. The typeof gift-giving occasion, either an annual event (holiday or birthday) ora one-time event (graduation from college or wedding), could relate totask definition. The physical dimension could be illustrated by a giftgiver presenting a gift to the recipient in a crowded versus sparsely filledroom.

Despite extensive examinations that exhibit the validity of situa-tional effects, differing contexts may not affect the most-to-least cogni-tive hierarchical structure flow (i.e., personal values:choice criteriaimportance:attitude:behavioral intentions). Insofar as personal val-ues are thought to be enduring beliefs that guide consumer behaviorregardless of changing situational factors (Rokeach, 1973; Schwartz &Bilsky, 1987, 1990), they may act as cognitive anchors for the overallhierarchical structure in which cognitions affect one another in a se-quential manner, that is, most abstract to least abstract, independentof situational contingencies. Because all relationships stem either di-rectly or indirectly from the personal-values anchor, it is surmised thatthe general flow of relationships, such as the relationship between per-sonal values and choice-criteria importance, should not be influenced bydiffering situational contexts. Moreover, this premise may extend to cog-nitive structures of non-Western cultures, as values have been found toact similarly as guides in behavior of diverse cultures (e.g., Hofstede,1980; Hofstede & Bond, 1984; Schwartz & Bilsky, 1987).

Therefore, Hypothesis 2 is put forth:

H2: Japanese consumers’ cognitions will exhibit the same most- toleast-abstract cognitive hierarchy in both the formal and informalgift-giving conditions such that personal values will affect choice-criteria importance, choice-criteria importance will affect atti-tudes toward giving fresh fruit as a gift, and attitudes towardgiving fresh fruit as a gift will affect intentions to purchase freshfruit as a gift in the next 12 months.

Situational Influences and Cognitive DimensionalRelationships

Although the cognitive hierarchical flow is proposed to be impervious tosituational influence, the salience of identical personal-value dimen-sions may not remain static under differing influences, causing rela-tional changes among identical cognitive dimensions in the hierarchy.More specifically, because the personal-values structure of individualscontains multiple values or dimensions, such as, internally versus ex-ternally oriented values, ordered by their relative importance (Schwartz



shortstandard


Base of RF

& Bilsky, 1987, 1990), different dimensional aspects of identical valuestructures may become more important than others under particularconditions. This impact could directly or indirectly affect other dimen-sional relationships in a hierarchy (Belk, 1975; Pitts et al., 1991). Evi-dence that dimensional relationships of cognitive structures may differwas revealed in one study (Pitts et al., 1991); subjects presented withan ethical dilemma displayed more complex cognitive structures in con-ditions wherein consequences of decisions were perceived to be person-ally relevant than those that were perceived to be irrelevant to the sub-ject with the overall cognition-to-cognition causal flow of the hierarchyremaining constant in both situations.

An illustration of this point might be a consumer who has a two-dimensional personal value structure (external and internal values) aswell as a two-dimensional choice criteria importance structure (impor-tance of brand image and price/value). If the consumer were choosing agift to give to a close friend, his or her desired end state, or personalvalue, might be externally oriented, that is, to socially bond with thefriend. In order to express this desire for closeness, the gift giver maydeem brand-image attributes (external values:brand-image attributeimportance) as more important than price/value attributes. In this case,brand-image attributes may be more closely linked to the consumer’soverall attitude toward purchasing a particular type of gift (brand imageattribute importance:attitude toward purchasing a particular type ofgift) than that of price/value. However, if the gift were to be purchasedfor oneself, internal values may prevail. Thus, in this case, attributesthat highlight the product’s price/value (internal values:price/valueattribute importance) might be deemed to be more important. In con-trast, price/value attributes may be more strongly associated with theconsumer’s general attitude toward purchasing a specific gift (price/value attribute importance:attitude toward purchasing a particulartype of gift) relative to brand image attributes.

Emphasizing the importance of the situation’s role in cognitive di-mensional structures (as opposed to the cognition-to-cognition flow),some theoreticians have also proposed that persons from Eastern cul-tures may be more sensitive to situational effects than those from West-ern backgrounds (Lee & Green, 1988). The premise is that Eastern per-sons are socialized in a high-context environment as compared toAmericans’ low-context orientation (Hall, 1977). In low-context cultures,meanings of communications are largely derived from the actual wordsspoken. Conversely, in high-context cultures, the meaning of commu-nications is primarily extracted from the specific setting in which thecommunication occurs. Thus, in a high-context culture, such as Japan,the specific motivation (i.e., dimensions of personal values) may vary bysituation, and these motivations are likely to be communicated throughcontextual cues such as product attributes. This, in turn, could leadconsumers to place greater importance on some product attributes (i.e.,



shortstandard


Base of RF

dimensions of choice criteria importance) in one instance as comparedto another in forming attitudes toward the product.

As the exact nature of intercognitive dimensional relationships hasreceived little attention in the literature, an exploratory investigationinto these associations might be insightful. Although the personal val-ues:choice criteria importance:attitude:behavioral intentions hi-erarchy is expected to remain unchanged, it is suggested that the spe-cific relationships between the dimensions of these cognitions will differby situation. Therefore, Hypothesis 3 is given:

H3: Dimensional relationships among cognitions such that relation-ships between identical dimensions of personal values and choicecriteria importance and choice criteria importance and attitudestoward giving fresh fruit as a gift will vary in the formal andinformal gift-giving conditions.

METHODOLOGY

Data Collection and Sample

The data-collection method was devised to be compatible with the Jap-anese culture and to make it possible to collect a sample from a broadgeographic area. Cultural norms include delivering and picking up sur-veys on a door-to-door basis; however, this would not have been econom-ically feasible for a broad geographic area. Instead, a two-way postcardexplaining the nature of the study and the offer of a nominal incentiveof a telephone card picturing a university logo for survey completionwas sent to 1000 households to prescreen respondents. Females weretargeted because women are the primary shoppers in the Japanesehousehold (Larke, 1994). Subjects were asked to indicate whether theywould be willing to complete the survey by returning the postcard. Thesample of postcard recipients was selected through a stratified, randomsampling process. Postcards were sent to Tokyo Metro, Osaka Metro,Sapporo, Sendai, Nagoya, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka.

Of the prescreening postcard mailed, approximately 700 were re-turned, indicating wide interest in participating in the study. Subse-quently, surveys were sent to these households. Six hundred seventy-two respondents completed and returned the questionnaire. Themajority of respondents were married (84.4%) and female (96.6%). Therespondents’ ages ranged from 22 to 75 years old, with an average ageof 47. Thirty-four percent had attained a high school education, withapproximately 63% of subjects possessing post-high-school training,that is, trade school (11.4%), 2-year college (21.8%), 4-year college(27.7%), and graduate school (2.2%). The largest proportion of respon-dents resided in the Tokyo Metro area (38.3%), followed by the Osaka(12.4%) and Sendai (12.2%) areas.



shortstandard


Base of RF

Questionnaire Development

The questionnaire was developed in three phases. In the first phase, afocus group of Japanese housewives was conducted in Tokyo. The focusgroup was related to gift-giving practices, beliefs, and attitudes towardtypical gift products (including fruits) during gift-giving seasons andinformal occasions. To better understand Japanese personal values, theresults of a comprehensive literature search were combined with in-depth interviews of Japanese academicians employed at a major south-western university. The second phase was comprised of translating theEnglish questionnaire into the Japanese language with another trainedindividual backtranslating the questionnaire into English. Two pretestsof the questionnaire were administered in the third phase. The firstpretest was conducted with Japanese students enrolled at a majorsouthwestern university. They completed surveys in both the Englishand Japanese languages and evaluated the instruments’ comparabilityand clarity. After modifications were made, a second pretest was imple-mented with Japanese consumers in the Tokyo area.

Questionnaire and Study Design

The study manipulated one factor pertaining to a task situation, thatis, type of gift-giving occasion with two treatments: formal (ochugen ando-seibo) and informal (visit to residence) gift-giving occasions. In theformer, respondents were asked to imagine that they were going to givefresh fruit as a gift for ochugen or o-seibo. Based upon this scenario,respondents completed measurement items about perceived importanceof fresh fruit attributes as well as attitudes and purchase intentionstoward giving fresh fruit as a gift. This process was duplicated for theinformal gift-giving scenario. Next, respondents were given demo-graphic questions to complete. Upon advice from an expert on Japaneseculture, the questionnaire concluded with the personal-value scaleitems.

Measures

All measures, with the exception of personal values, were employedwithin the context of the specific situation under investigation, that is,formal versus informal.

Personal Values. The LOV instrument (Kahle, 1983) is composed ofnine values encompassing internal (e.g., self-fulfillment, self-respect)and external (e.g., sense of belonging, warm relationships with others)dimensions. The personal-values scale was adapted by informationgleaned through the focus groups with Japanese housewives and liter-ature searches (e.g., Beatty et al., 1991, 1993; Green & Alden, 1988;



shortstandard


Base of RF

Gudykunst & Antonio, 1993; Hofstede, 1980; Larke, 1994; Sai, 1995).The following six items were added to reflect Japanese-specific values:(a) harmony with others, (b) self-discipline, (c) achieving identitythrough affiliation with peers, (d) living up to position or status in life,(e) fulfill duties in honorable manner, and (f) family relationships. Inthis study, 7-point Likert-scale items with endpoints of 1 � “very un-important” and 7 � “very important” were used by Japanese respon-dents to rate the importance of a total of 15 values. A factor analysiswas used to assess underlying personal-values dimensions. Dimensionswith eigenvalues of 1.0 or greater and statements with loadings of .50or greater on only one dimension were retained, resulting in a three-dimensional solution, that is, social harmony (harmony with others,family relationships, and warm relationships with others), sense of self(excitement, self-fulfillment, self-respect, and sense of accomplishment),and social integrity (self-discipline, achieving identity through affilia-tion with peers, and being well-respected). Loadings on dimensionsranged from 0.54 to 0.87, with 60.2% proportion of variance extracted.Alpha coefficients were also acceptable at 0.70–0.88.

Choice-Criteria Importance. Subjects were asked to use a 7-pointLikert scale (1 � “very unimportant,” 7 � “very important”) to rate theimportance of 13 fresh fruit attributes, including price, brand image,novelty, country where grown, store where purchased, packaging, ap-pearance of fruit, taste, nutritional value, region of Japan where grown,value, special delivery, and freshness. The attributes selected for studywere based on the focus group of Japanese housewives and the litera-ture searches (e.g., Brabant & Scott, 1992; Blustein, 1995; Heim, 1994;Hoerr, 1993; Reithmuller, 1994; Soliman, 1994; Steininger, 1997; U.S.Agriculture Trade Office Tokyo, 1995). These sources indicated thatJapanese consumers evaluate fresh fruit much differently than U.S.consumers (e.g., packaging, country where grown). Therefore, scaleitems were incorporated to reflect these unique aspects of Japaneseevaluative criteria.

Statistics suggested that the latent variable of choice criteria impor-tance had three dimensions. One dimension, aesthetic/brand image, re-flected extrinsic aspects of aesthetics and brand image, that is, brand,packaging, and appearance of the fresh fruit itself. The second dimen-sion, intrinsic qualities, encompassed the taste and freshness attributes.Another extrinsic dimension, value through origin, differed from theaesthetics/brand dimension through its association with the Japanesestereotypical notion of nutritional value, including the country wheregrown or the region in Japan where the fresh fruit was grown, freshfruit’s nutritional value, and special delivery attributes. From a West-ern perspective, these attributes may seem to be somewhat unrelated.However, this result is consistent with the outcome of the focus group



shortstandard


Base of RF

of Japanese housewives. That is, the focus-group respondents indicatedthat the country from which fresh fruit originates is an extremely im-portant indicator of its perceived nutritional value. If grown in Japan,the region where grown is also used to assess fresh fruit’s nutritionalappeal. Additionally, nutritional benefits are assessed by the deliveryprocess. Those fruits delivered to a guest via special delivery would beperceived as especially healthful and nutritious. Therefore, it appearsthat the answers to questions of “Where is fresh fruit grown (countryand/or region)?” and “How is fresh fruit delivered?” are used as indexesof a fresh fruit’s nutritional value in the mind of the Japanese consumer.The proportion of variance extracted by this dimension was 59.3%, withloadings of 0.62–0.91. Alpha coefficients ranged from 0.72 to 0.83.

Attitudes. Japanese consumers were asked to rate their general beliefs/feelings about giving fresh fruit as a gift. These attitudes were measuredwith two multiitem 7-point scales including the following endpoints:“unacceptable”/“acceptable” (e.g., 1 � “unacceptable,” 7 � “acceptable”)and “bad”/“good” (Homer & Kahle, 1988). An alpha coefficient of 0.89suggested that the measurements were reliable.

Behavioral Intentions. Two separate scales were used to assess Jap-anese subjects’ intentions to purchase fruit for a gift in the next 12months. First, Japanese subjects were asked to indicate on a 7-pointLikert scale whether or not they intended to purchase fresh fruit for agift in the next 12 months (1 � “definitely will not buy” and 7 � “defi-nitely will buy”). Second, subjects estimated the probability that theywould purchase fresh fruit for a gift in the next 12 months, in 10%increments, on a 0%–100% scale. The alpha coefficient was 0.95.

Data Analysis

A two-stage analysis was implemented using LISREL-8 structural-equation modeling, with an initial assessment of measures prior to thesubsequent testing of H1–H3. The judgment of measurement qualitywas conducted through a confirmatory factor analysis with the use ofstandardized loadings on dimensions for evaluation. In addition, as-sessment of potential multicollinearity relative to the within-cognitivedimensions was conducted.

H1 tested a structural model with the formal gift-giving data that didnot reflect specific relationships among dimensions of one construct andthose of another. Instead, reflecting the nature of H1, the initially testedtheoretical structural model encompassed a framework wherein all di-mensions of personal values were predicted to be related to all dimen-sions of choice-criteria importance, all dimensions of choice-criteria im-portance to be associated with attitude, and attitude with purchaseintention. This was necessary due to the exploratory nature of dimen-



shortstandard


Base of RF

sional relationships among cognitions in that specific dimensional as-sociations of Japanese consumers’ personal values, choice-criteria im-portance, and attitudes had not been previously explored.

In order to test H2 and H3, the informal gift-giving situational datawere initially modeled with the identical structure that comprised thefinal structural model for the formal gift-giving situational treatmentthrough the testing of H1. The logic was that if this identical modelwere found to be the best fit for the informal gift-giving data, it couldbe ascertained that situational contingencies had no impact on the cog-nitive hierarchy and dimensional relationships. However, if a bettermodel could be found for the informal data, differences in models wouldsuggest that situation had affected cognitive model relationships. Spe-cifically, the overall personal values:choice criteria importance:attitude:purchase intention pattern was inspected to examine the ac-ceptance or rejection of H2.

To test the validity of H3, the interrelationships between the dimen-sions of personal values, choice-criteria importance, and attitude wereexamined and compared to those found in the final formal gift-givingmodel. This type of comparative analysis was necessary because thisstudy’s data were collected in a within-subject fashion, precluding theuse of formal invariant analysis conducted through LISREL-8 that isdevised for comparisons of between-subjects designs (Joreskog & Sor-bom, 1993).

RESULTS

Hypothesis 1: The Cognitive Hierarchy

Measurement Model Results. An evaluation of the quality of mea-surements for the formal gift-giving condition, as assessed through con-firmatory factor analysis, is presented in Tables 1 and 2 for exogenousand endogenous variables, respectively. All loadings on dimensionsequaled or exceeded .50, except for one measurement, country wheregrown, a choice-criteria importance attribute. However, this attributemeasurement was retained because of face validity and its associatedsignificant t value (p � .001). T values were all significant (p � .001),ranging from 6.14 to 27.20. Variances and reliabilities of latent varia-bles were calculated with the standardized loading and measurementerror for each indicator (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1995). Theproportions of variances extracted ranged from 0.39 to 0.91. All scaleswere reliable, as indicated by coefficient alphas of 0.71 to 0.95.

Assessment of Multicollinearity. Potential problems with multicol-linearity among related cognitive dimensions (i.e., among personalvalue dimensions: social harmony, sense of self, and social integrity; and



shortstandard


Base of RF

Table 1. Measurement Model Results of Exogenous Constructs for FormalGift-Giving Situational Treatment.

Construct/Indicator

Standard-ized

FactorLoading

StandardError

tValue

ConstructReliabilitya

Proportionof

VarianceExtractedb

Personal-values dimension 1:Social harmony (�1)

0.88 0.70

Harmony with others(x1)

0.80c – –

Family relationships (x2) 0.82 0.045 23.02*Warm relationships

with others (x3)0.89 0.045 24.60*

Personal-values dimension 2:Sense of self (�2)

0.79 0.49

Self-fulfillment (x4) 0.77c – –Excitement (x5) 0.50 0.051 12.59*Self-respect (x6) 0.66 0.058 14.52*Sense of accomplish-

ment (x7)0.82 0.060 17.49*

Personal-values dimension 3:Social integrity (�3)

0.73 0.48

Achieving identitythrough affiliationwith peers (x8)

0.63c – –

Self-discipline (x9) 0.73 0.087 13.31*Being well respected

(x10)0.71 0.086 13.07*

a(� std. loadings)2/[(� std. loadings)2 � �� j].b� std. loadings2/(� std. loadings2 � �� j).cThe first � path for each construct was set to 1; therefore, no SEs or t values are provided.*p � .001.

among choice-criteria importance dimensions: aesthetic/brand image,intrinsic qualities, and value through origin) were assessed with the useof tolerance and variance inflation factor (VIF) measures. Both indica-tors were well within their recommended thresholds (i.e., 0.54–0.89 fortolerance and 1.1–1.9 for VIF). Therefore, multicollinearity was notdeemed to be a problem.

Causal-Equation-Model Results. Statistical testing of the initiallyproposed structural model yielded the following indicators: chi-squarestatistic (�2) � 530.48 (p � .00) with 214 degrees of freedom (df), good-ness-of-fit index (GFI) � 0.93, adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) �0.91, comparative-fit index (CFI) � 0.95, root-mean-square error of ap-proximation (RMSEA) � 0.048, and chi-square to degrees of freedomratio (�2/df) � 2.48. Modification indices and insignificant relationshipssuggested that the model could be improved. After modifications were



shortstandard


Base of RF

Table 2. Measurement Model Results of Endogenous Constructs for FormalGift-Giving Situational Treatment.

Construct/Indicator

Standard-ized

FactorLoading

StandardError

tValue

ConstructReliabilitya

Proportionof

VarianceExtractedb

Choice-criteria importancedimension 1: aesthetic/brand image (�1)

0.74 0.48

Packaging (y1) 0.76c – –Brand (y2) 0.66 0.068 12.83*Appearance of fresh

fruit itself (y3)0.66 0.067 12.83*

Choice-criteria importancedimension 2: intrinsicqualities

0.84 0.72

Taste 0.78c – –Freshness 0.91 0.093 12.66*

Choice-criteria importancedimension 3: valuethrough origin (�2)

0.71 0.39

Region of Japan wheregrown (y4)

0.51c – –

Nutritional value (y5) 0.73 0.23 6.15*Country where grown

(y6)0.42 0.069 11.81*

Special delivery (y7) 0.77 0.24 6.14*

Attitude (�3) 0.88 0.79Unacceptable/acceptable

(y8)0.90c – –

Bad/good (y9) 0.88 0.056 17.37*

Behavioral intention (�4) 0.95 0.91Will not buy/will buy

(y10)0.97c – –

Purchase probability(0%/100%) (y11)

0.94 0.036 27.20*

Note. The constructs were tested for sufficient discriminant validity.a(� std. loadings)2/[(� std. loadings)2 � �� j].b� std. loadings2/(� std. loadings2 � �� j).cThe first � path for each construct was set to 1; therefore, no SEs or t values are provided.*p � .001.

executed, a statistical analysis of the final model (see Figure 1) indicatedan improved fit with a decreased �2 of 512.06 (p � .00) with 205 df.Utilizing a chi-square test, the final model exhibited a significantly bet-ter fit compared to the initial model. Descriptive statistics and correla-tions of the cognitive dimensions are shown in Table 3.

It may be noted that the adjusted model’s chi-square statistic wasstill significant; however, research indicates that this statistic has a



shortstandard


Base of RF

Figure 1. Formal gift-giving model: final structural model of personal values:choicecriteria importance:attitude:behavioral intentions hierarchy

Table 3. Model Descriptive Statistics and Correlations for Dimensions ofCognitions in Formal Gift-Giving Situational Treatment.

Dimensions of Cognitions Mean SD

Correlations

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. Social harmony 6.47 0.86 –2. Sense of self 5.37 0.97 0.52 –3. Social integrity 5.53 0.98 0.66 0.71 —4. Aesthetic/brand image 5.44 1.18 0.24 0.13 0.16 –5. Value through origin 4.96 1.18 0.23 0.25 0.35 0.06 –6. Attitude 4.81 1.59 �0.01 0.01 0.01 �0.10 0.08 –7. Behavioral intentions 28.02 14.54 0.00 0.00 0.01 �0.05 0.17 0.48 –

tendency to show a significant probability level in sample sizes greaterthan 200. Therefore, it has been suggested that other indicators shouldbe assessed for model fit (Schumacker & Lomax, 1996). As the GFI �0.94, AGFI � 0.92, CFI � 0.95, RMSEA � 0.046, and �2df � 2.50 wereall well within the acceptable range for relatively large sample sizes(Bentler & Bonett, 1980; Marsh, Balla, & McDonald, 1988), such as thesample represented by this study, the model was deemed to representa good fit.



shortstandard


Base of RF

Test of Hypothesis 1. As predicted by H1, the personal values : choicecriteria importance:attitude:behavioral intentions hierarchicalmodel exhibited appropriate linkages characterized by most- to least-abstract relationships among Japanese respondents’ cognitions. Specif-ically, as hypothesized by H1(a) personal values were found to be re-lated, albeit not by all dimensions, to importance ratings of fresh fruitattributes. For instance, the social harmony aspects of personal valueswere directly related to the importance of aesthetic/brand image qual-ities (�11 � 0.24, p � .001). Social integrity was positively associatedwith the value through origin dimension of choice criteria importance(�23 � 0.35, p� .001). H1(b), hypothesizing relationships between choicecriteria importance and attitude, was also confirmed. Aesthetic/brandimage (�31 � �0.11, p � .05) and value through origin (�32 � 0.09, p �.05) negatively and positively affected attitude, respectively. Resultsalso indicated a positive association between attitude toward purchas-ing fresh fruit as a gift and intentions to purchase fresh fruit as a giftin the next 12 months (�43 � 0.47, p � .001). Therefore, H1(c) was alsosupported by the statistical analyses.

An inspection of the correlations among the personal-value dimen-sions, that is, social harmony, sense of self, social integrity, and attitudeand behavioral intentions, respectively, in Table 3 reinforces the evi-dence from the structural-equations model that a hierarchical relation-ship exists among cognitions. In fact, correlations between personal-value dimensions and attitude as well as those between personal-valuedimensions and behavioral intentions are extremely low, ranging from�0.01–0.01. This evidence lends support that the subjects’ personal val-ues were not directly linked to their attitudes or behavioral intentions.

Hypotheses 2 and 3: Situational Influences on CognitiveHierarchy and Dimensional Relationships

Measurement-Model Results. An inspection of the measurementmodel statistics for the informal gift-giving situation showed that reli-abilities and variances extracted were quite similar to those reportedfor the formal gift-giving model. Reliability coefficients ranged from 0.74to 0.95, and percentages of variance extracted were 44% to 91%.

Assessment of Multicollinearity. Multicollinearity among choice-cri-teria importance dimensions (i.e., aesthetic/brand image, intrinsic qual-ities, and value through origin) was assessed for the informal gift-givingdata with the use of tolerance and VIF measures. Again, these indica-tors revealed that multicollinearity was not problematic (i.e., 0.74 to0.86 for tolerance and 1.17 to 1.35 for VIF).

Causal-Equation-Model Results. As previously discussed, the infor-mal gift-giving data were initially fitted with the model best suited to



shortstandard


Base of RF

Figure 2. Informal gift-giving model: final structural model of personal val-ues:choice criteria importance:attitude:behavioral intentions hierarchy

the formal gift-giving situation (the result of H1 testing); this modelexhibited a �2 � 448.27 with 200 df. It was clear that this model couldbe improved for the informal gift-giving data set because some of therelationships were nonsignificant and other paths were indicated. Afterthe necessary changes were made, the final informal gift-giving situa-tion model revealed the following: �2 � 298.82 (p � .00) with 119 df,GFI � 0.95, AGFI � 0.93, CFI � 0.97, �2/df � 2.51 (see Figure 2) whichare well within the parameters for an acceptable fit (Bentler & Bonett,1980; Marsh et al., 1988).

Test of Hypothesis 2.H2 hypothesized that the overall structure of thecognitive hierarchy, predicted to exhibit a most- to least-abstract cog-nitive causal flow, would not be influenced by differing situational con-texts. Similar to the findings in the formal condition, an examination ofthe final model for the informal gift-giving condition demonstrated amost- to least-abstract cognitive causal flow. That is, personal valueswere significantly related to choice-criteria importance ratings (�12 �0.36, p � .001), choice-criteria importance ratings were associated withattitude (�21 � 0.13, p � .01), and attitude had an impact on purchaseintentions (�32 � 0.46, p� .001). As was evident in the formal gift-givingcondition, correlations among personal-value dimensions and attitude



shortstandard


Base of RF

and behavioral intentions, respectively, ranged from 0.00 to 0.01, lend-ing support for a hierarchical structure wherein these cognitions are notdirectly related to one another. Thus, H2 was supported by the statis-tical analysis results that show a most- to least-abstract causal flow inboth the formal and informal situational contingencies.

Test of Hypothesis 3. Findings from H1 and H2 confirm H3’s predic-tion that situation affects specific structural relationships among di-mensions of one cognition to those of other cognitions. In particular, theformal and informal gift-giving situational models displayed differentintercognitive dimensional relationships with respect to personal valuesand choice-criteria importance as well as choice-criteria importance andattitude. Regarding the relationships among personal values andchoice-criteria importance, the sense-of-self dimension of personal val-ues was significantly related to the intrinsic-qualities dimension of at-tribute importance (�12 � 0.36, p � .001) in the informal condition.These associations were not exhibited in the formal gift-giving situa-tional model. Additionally, no relationship was indicated between socialintegrity and value through origin, nor between social harmony andaesthetic/brand image, in the informal gift-giving situation, as wasfound in the formal gift-giving context. With respect to choice-criteriaimportance and attitude, the intrinsic-qualities dimension was signifi-cantly and directly associated with attitude (�21 � 0.13, p � .01) in theinformal situation, even though the effects found in the formal gift-giv-ing condition were between the aesthetic/brand image and valuethrough origin and attitude. Therefore, H3 was accepted.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Japanese Consumers’ Hierarchical Cognitive Processes in theFormal Gift-Giving Setting

The first purpose of this study was to determine whether the most- toleast-abstract cognitive hierarchical framework may have promise as atool to study Japanese consumers’ cognitive processes related to formalgift giving. Evidence, including results from structural-equation mod-eling as well as extremely low correlations among personal values andattitude and behavioral intentions, respectively, provide support forKahle’s (1980) notion that consumers’ cognitions impact one another,ranging from those with less association to the domain (e.g., personalvalues) to those more specific to the domain (e.g., behavior). Therefore,the most- to least-abstract cognitive hierarchical framework may be auseful aid in investigations such as the one employed in this study.However, future studies that compare the most- to least-abstract cog-nitive hierarchy to other relevant models, such as the Fishbein attitu-



shortstandard


Base of RF

dinal–behavioral model (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980), would be advanta-geous in painting a more complete picture of its overall relativecontribution.

One caveat that should be noted is that, in the formal gift-giving sit-uation, the relationships between choice-criteria importance dimen-sions and attitude were somewhat weak, barely reaching significanceat the p � .05 level. The reason for this finding may lie in the mannerby which attitude was measured. More specifically, the attitude scaleitems did not relate to particular attributes and were global in nature—possibly, they were too global to form the necessary most- to least-abstract hierarchy with more concrete, extrinsic types of product-choicecriteria such as aesthetic/brand image and value through origin. Analternative explication is that by using fresh fruit as a general category,subjects may have been compelled to reconcile, consciously or uncon-sciously, their attribute importance ratings to a particular type of freshfruit, for example, citrus, apples, grapes. The result may have been aconfounding of subjects’ responses. In order to avoid subjects’ need tocompromise in this manner, future studies should focus on specific cat-egories or types of fruit. A last explanation for these findings is centeredin the argument that the connectedness of decision maps is positivelyassociated with the degree of self-relevance of the situation (Kelly,1955). Because normative, or more formal situations, tend to have moresocial constraints and expectations, they have been shown to activateless self-relevant goals (Allport, 1943; Houston & Walker, 1996). Thus,this formal condition may have repressed self-defining goals that arethought to enhance integration between cognitions. However, this per-spective is counter to the premise that formal gift-giving practices mayproduce more strongly held cognitions, which, in turn, tend to producegreater consistency across cognitive hierarchies (Eagly & Chaiken,1993). Future research is warranted in this area.

Situational Influences on the Cognitive Hierarchy andDimensional Relationships in the Context of JapaneseGift Giving

The second objective of this study was to determine the nature of situ-ational influence on the general hierarchical structure’s causal flow ofmost-abstract to least-abstract cognitions. As with all research of thisnature, caution must be used in generalizing the situational findingsfrom this study to other contexts. That is, this investigation utilized onlytwo specific conditions. However, future investigations of this nature,utilizing situational contexts that extend beyond that of this examina-tion, may prove fruitful in shedding light on the extent of generaliza-tions that may be made related to this knowledge base. Given theseparameters, the implications of the present study’s findings are dis-cussed.



shortstandard


Base of RF

As previously mentioned, this study’s second objective was to deter-mine the essence of situational influence on the general cognitive causalflow. As predicted, the structure remained intact regardless of the sit-uational context. These findings lend credence to the proposition thatpersonal values may act as cognitive anchors. They also suggest that,regardless of the situation, Japanese consumers’ cognitive processeswillflow from most- to least-abstract relative to the gift-giving purchase ob-jective in question. This information may be useful to marketers of freshfruit to Japan in that, regardless of gift-giving purchasing context, be-havioral intentions may indirectly stem from personal values throughthe importance that consumers place on certain types of fresh fruit at-tributes and attitudes toward purchasing fresh fruit as a gift.

In contrast to the overall causal flow, the third objective pertained towhether situational contingencies affect intercognitive dimensional re-lationships of personal values, choice-criteria importance, and attitude.In fact, the Japanese consumers that were included in this study didexhibit different between-cognitive dimensional relationships in the for-mal and informal gift giving situations that were posed to them. Thus,the Lee and Green (1988) assertion that Eastern cultures may be sen-sitive to situational influences appears to be confirmed by this study’sresults. Yet, until further examinations are conducted, it is not knownwhether Eastern cultures are more sensitive than other cultures to thetype of situational influences that were highlighted in the present anal-ysis.

In examining specific dimensional relationship differences related topersonal values and choice-criteria importance under formal and infor-mal gift-giving settings, one glaring difference in the two contexts wasthe linkage between the sense-of-self dimension of personal values andthe importance of intrinsic qualities. A relationship was established inthe informal condition but absent in the formal condition. It may besurmised that the consumer’s self is expressed to a greater extentthrough informal gift-giving occasions because these events may bemore personal and freely chosen. Thus, self-oriented personal values,such as excitement, self-fulfillment, self-respect, and sense of accom-plishment, may be exhibited in these informal types of exchanges. Incontrast, the rigidness and obligatory aspects of the formal gift-givingoccasions may preclude persons from expressing themselves throughthis practice. Also, it may be that the proper gift in a formal situationis relatively prescribed. With more latitude in the informal situation,sense of self may be called into play.

Evidence suggests that the internally driven individuals in this studywere especially concerned about intrinsic qualities such as freshnessand taste in the informal setting. One rationale for this result may bethat, perhaps, the intended purchase was expected to be shared by therespondent and his or her family and friends at the time of visit.Whereas, in the formal context, individuals who focused on self-related



shortstandard


Base of RF

values were not particularly concerned with the intrinsic aspects offresh fruit because expectations were that the fresh fruit would not beconsumed in the presence of others.

One disparity between the informal and formal gift-giving conditionswas an association between social integrity values and importanceplaced on value through origin attributes, which was only found in theformal context. Although it did not surface in the focus-group discussionwith the Japanese housewives, the analysis infers that social-integrityvalues, such as being well respected by others and achieving one’s iden-tity through others, may be facilitated through giving gifts on formaloccasions. In addition, these individuals may find their values fulfilledthrough giving gifts from certain countries and by particular deliverysystems wherein fresh fruit is perceived to be more nutritious. Furtherwork needs to be done to shed light on these issues.

In the informal gift-giving condition, intrinsic attributes, that is, tasteand freshness of the fresh fruit, were found to have a direct effect onthe consumer’s attitude toward purchasing fresh fruit as a gift. How-ever, in the case of formal gift giving, the two extrinsic dimensions,aesthetic/brand image and value through origin, were related to atti-tude. One explanation may be that, again, in the informal condition,Japanese friends partake in the fresh fruit gift together at the gift re-cipient’s residence. Thus, the extrinsic dimensions may not be as im-portant in this situation as those qualities that may be experienced byboth the gift recipient and giver as a group. However, extrinsic qualities,such as country of origin and aesthetic/brand image, may be highlightedin formal gift-giving occasions that may be of a less personal naturewhen the gift is eaten apart from the gift giver. A theoretical explana-tion may be provided as well through the means–end paradigm (Gut-man, 1982; Olson & Reynolds, 1983). This approach suggests that lessabstract attributes (e.g., extrinsic attributes) are readily ascertainedand evaluated by a consumer through objective observations of a non-personal character. However, more abstract attributes (e.g., intrinsicattributes) are more difficult to assess, lending themselves to a con-sumer’s subjective, personal interpretation. Thus, a tie exists betweenless and more self-relevant situations and a consumer’s focus on objec-tive and abstract attributes, respectively (Houston & Walker, 1996).

Last, as an aside, it is a surprising fact that aesthetic/brand imagewas found to have a negative association with attitude toward freshfruit gift purchases in the formal occasion. However, this negative re-lationship may be explained by the social environment surrounding for-mal gift-giving occasions. Because fresh fruit is primarily an experiencegood, one never knows whether or not the fruit actually tastes good untilit is eaten. Aesthetically pleasing fresh fruit with a quality brand imagecould actually be tasteless and/or lack freshness. Japanese consumers’fears may lie in their being thought of as inconsiderate and careless byrecipients. This could take place when gift givers are thought to select



shortstandard


Base of RF

fresh fruit that is not fresh and/or tasteful because it was purchasedbased solely on its appearance and/or brand image. A combination ofcharacteristics may need to be present, as opposed to mere brand and/or aesthetics, for the risk-aversive Japanese consumer to formulate apositive attitude toward purchasing fresh fruit for gift giving in this verysensitive context.1

IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND FUTURE STUDIES

There are both theoretical and practical implications stemming fromthis study’s findings. The implication for academicians interested in gift-giving behaviors is that, even though the personal values:choice cri-teria importance:attitude:behavioral intentions relationships re-main constant, dimensional relationships may differ from onegift-giving context to another. Therefore, gift-giving researchers shouldbe careful to determine dimensional aspects of all variables under ex-amination as opposed to the common practice of limiting the verificationof dimensions to the personal-values variable. Another interesting find-ing is that some cognitive hierarchies may be more cohesively linkedthan others based on the situational context. Therefore, in some cases,additional precautions should be used to create a more integratedmodel, for example, added variables, covariates, and adjustments inmeasurements.

The importance of the research findings to marketing practitionersvying for the Japanese consumer may be substantial. In general, thecommon practice of consumer segmentation strategy may not be amplefor marketing gift products to Japanese consumers across all situations.Unique, tailored promotional strategies based on different situationswithin each consumer segment may be necessary. These situationsshould highlight differing personal values and related product attrib-utes that contribute to positive attitudes toward purchasing the productas a gift. In particular, marketers of fresh fruit to Japan may utilizethis type of strategy. Also, they may develop enhancement strategiesfor segments that place importance on specific fresh fruit attributes(e.g., aesthetic/brand image) that lead to negative attitudes toward giv-ing fresh fruit for gifts in formal gift-giving situations.

As is true of most research, the present study has limitations, andthis study’s findings should be generalized only within their boundariesof investigation. Females were the primary subject group explored inthe present study. Similar studies that primarily focus on males shouldbe considered. The behavioral intentions explored in the present studywere limited to gift giving. Research that examines other types of pur-

1The authors would like to extend their gratitude to Reviewer No. 1 for providing this insightfulexplanation for the negative relationship between aesthetic/brand image and attitude.



shortstandard


Base of RF

chases, such as everyday purchases for one’s self and family, is war-ranted. Additionally, studies to investigate the actual behavior of Jap-anese consumers with regard to gift giving would be enlightening.Because this study focused on only one product type, that is, fresh fruit,exploration into consumers’ cognitive hierarchical processes related toother types of products (e.g., hedonic versus utilitarian) is needed. Thetwo situational contexts studied were manipulated in a within-subjectmanner wherein demand effects might occur. Extensions of this exam-ination could utilize a between-subjects design. Given that the presentstudy’s exploratory work in the area of intercognitive dimensional re-lationships has shed some light on this subject, future investigationsrelated to these types of associations might be beneficial. Last, thisstudy’s particular cognitive model structure has not been tested in coun-tries other than Japan. Therefore, it would be interesting to determinewhether the present study’s results can be generalized to other cultures.

REFERENCES

Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting socialbehavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Allport, G. W. (1943). The ego in contemporary psychology. Psychological Re-view, 50, 451–478.

Beatty, S. E., Kahle, L. R., & Homer, P. M. (1991). Personal values and gift-giving behaviors: A study across cultures. Journal of Business Research, 22,149–157.

Beatty, S. E., Kahle, L. R., Utsey, M., & Keown, C. (1993). Gift-giving behaviorsin the United States and Japan: A personal values perspective. Journal ofInternational Consumer Marketing, 6, 49–66.

Belk, R. W. (1974). An exploratory assessment of situational effects in buyerbehavior. Journal of Marketing, 11, 156–163.

Belk, R. W. (1975). Situational variables and consumer behavior. Journal ofConsumer Research, 2, 157–164.

Bentler, P. M., & Bonett, D. G. (1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit inthe analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 88, 588–606.

Blustein, P. (1995). How do you like them apples, Japan? Milwaukee Journal,10.

Brabant, L. E., & Scott, R. E. (1992). Unwrapping the Japanese gift pack mar-ket. AgExporter, 7–10.

Eagly, A. H., & Chaiken, S. (1993). The psychology of attitudes. Orlando, FL:Harcourt Brace.

Engel, J. F., Blackwell, R. D., & Miniard, P. W. (1995). Consumer behavior.Fort Worth, TX: Dryden Press.

Fishbein, M. A., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: Anintroduction to theory and research. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Gehrt, K. C., Ingram, T. N., & Howe, V. (1991). Nonstore versus store retailing:A situationally based market structure assessment. Journal of Direct Mar-keting, 5, 44–53.



shortstandard


Base of RF

Gehrt, K. C., & Pinto, M. B. (1993). Assessing the viability of situationallydriven segmentation opportunities in the health care market. Hospital &Health Services Administration, 38, 243–265.

Gehrt, K. C., & Shim, S. (1998). The role of fruit in the Japanese gift market:Situationally defined markets. Agribusiness, 14, 389–402.

Green, R. T., & Alden, D. L. (1988). Functional equivalence in cross cultureconsumer behavior: Gift-giving in Japan and the United States. Psychology& Marketing, 5, 155–168.

Gudykunst, W. B., & Antonio, P. S. (1993). Approaches to the study of com-munication in Japan and the United States. In W. B. Gudykunst (Ed.), Com-munication in Japan and the United States. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Gutman, J. (1982). A means-end chain model based on consumer categorizationprocesses. Journal of Marketing, 46, 60–72.

Hair, J. F., Jr., Anderson, R. E., Tatham, R. L., & Black, W. C. (1995). Multi-variate data analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Hall, E. T. (1977). Beyond culture. New York: Doubleday.Heim, M. (1994). Overview of Japanese fruit consumption trends with empha-

sis on apple demand. In A. D. O’Rourke (Ed.), Understanding the Japanesefood and agrimarket. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press.

Hoerr, S. M. (1993). Can nutrition information increase sales of healthful ven-dor snacks? Journal of School Health, 69, 386–391.

Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Hofstede, G., & Bond, M. H. (1984). Hofstede’s culture dimensions: An inde-

pendent validation using Rokeach’s value survey. Journal of Cross-CulturalPsychology, 15, 417–433.

Homer, P. M., & Kahle, L. R. (1988). A structural equation test of the value-attitude-behavior hierarchy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,54, 638–646.

Houston, M. B., & Walker, B. A. (1996). Self-relevance and purchase goals:Mapping a consumer decision. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,24, 232–245.

Japan Travel Bureau (1991). Japan in your pocket! Tokyo.Joreskog, K., & Sorbom, D. (1993). LISREL 8. Chicago, IL: Scientific Software

International.Kahle, L. R. (1980). Stimulus condition self-selection by males in the interac-

tion of focus of control and skill-chance situations. Journal of Personality andSocial Psychology, 38, 50–56.

Kahle, L. R. (1983). Social values and social change: Adaptation to life in Amer-ica. New York: Praeger.

Kelly, G. A. (1955). A theory of personality. New York: Norton.Larke, R. (1994). Japanese retailing. London: Routledge.Lee, C., & Green, R. T. (1988). Cross-cultural examination of the Fishbein be-

havioral intention model (Working Paper No. 87/88-5-7). Austin: Universityof Texas, College of Business, Department of Marketing.

Madrigal, R., & Kahle, L. R. (1994). Predicting vacation activity preferences onthe basis of value-system segmentation. Journal of Travel Research, 32, 22–28.

Marsh, H. W., Balla, J., & McDonald, R. P. (1988). Goodness-of-fit indexes inconfirmatory factor analysis: The effects of sample size. Psychological Bul-letin, 103, 391–410.



shortstandard


Base of RF

Mattson, B. E. (1982). Situational influences on store choice. Journal of Re-tailing, 58, 46–58.

Muller, T. E. (1991). Using personal values to define segments in an interna-tional tourism market. International Marketing Review, 8, 57–70.

Olson, J. C., & Reynolds, T. (1983). Understanding consumers’ cognitive struc-tures: Implications for advertising strategy. In L. Percy & A. Woodside (Eds.),Advertising and consumer psychology. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

Park, S. (1998). A comparison of Korean and American gift-giving behaviors.Psychology & Marketing, 15, 577–593.

Pitts, R. E., Wong, J. K., & Whalen, D. J. (1991). Consumers’ evaluative struc-tures in two ethical situations: A means-end approach. Journal of BusinessResearch, 22, 119–130.

Pitts, R. E., & Woodside, A. G. (1983). Personal value influences on consumerproduct class and brand preferences. Journal of Social Psychology, 119, 37–53.

Pitts, R. E., & Woodside, A. G. (1986). Personal values and travel decisions.Journal of Travel Research, 25, 20–25.

Reithmuller, P. (1994). Where do Japanese consumers buy their food? Agri-business, 10, 131–143.

Rokeach, M. (1968). Belief, attitude, and values. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Rokeach, M. (1973). The nature of human values. New York: The Free Press.Reynolds, T. J., & Gutman, J. (1988). Laddering theory, method, analysis, and

interpretation. Journal of Advertising Research, 11–31.Sai, Y. (1995). The eight core values of the Japanese businessman: Toward an

understanding of the Japanese businessman. New York: International Busi-ness Press.

Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (1996). A beginner’s guide to structuralequation modeling. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Schwartz, S. H., & Bilsky, W. (1987). Toward a universal psychological struc-ture of human values. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 550–562.

Schwartz, S. H., & Bilsky, W. (1990). Toward a theory of the universal contentand structure of values: Extensions and cross-cultural replications. Journalof Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 878–891.

Shim, S., & Eastlick, M. A. (1998). The hierarchical influences of personal val-ues on mall shopping attitude and behavior. Journal of Retailing, 74, 139–160.

Soliman, A. A. (1994). Consumption patterns in Japan and the newly industrialcountries. In S. Hassan & R. Blackwell (Eds.), Global marketing practicesand cases. New York: Dryden Press.

Srivastava, R. K., Leone, R. F., & Shocker, A. D. (1981). Market structure anal-ysis: Hierarchical clustering of products based on substitute-in-use. Journalof Marketing, 45, 38–48.

Steininger, J. (1997). Gift-giving decisions cause stress. Pacific Business News,35(38), 25.

Stoltman, J. J., Gentry, J. W., Anglin, K. A., & Burns, A. C. (1990). Situationalinfluences on the consumer decision sequence. Journal of Business Research,21, 195–207.



shortstandard


Base of RF

U.S. Agriculture Trade Office, Tokyo. (1995). The market for fresh fruits andvegetables in Japan. Tokyo, Japan: Japan Market Resource Network.

The authors would like to extend their gratitude to the U.S. Department ofAgriculture (USDA) through the National Research Initiative CompetitiveGrants Program (NRICGP) for its generous support of this research. This isone of several aspects of a study funded by the NRICGP to enhance U.S. fruitexporters’ understanding of, and ultimately increase their fruit exports to, theJapanese market.

Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to: Sherry L. Lotz, Re-tailing and Consumer Sciences, The University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210033,Tucson, AZ 85721 ([email protected]).

a study of japanese consumers' cognitive hierarchies in formal and informal gift-giving...

Documents