Quantitative research shows that French and Chinese consumers' decision making are significantly different. Nevertheless, data show some similarities in terms of quality and brand consciousness.

1. ++
The impact of culture on
pet owners’ decision-
making styles
Dr Corinne Lamour
Global Pets Forum Asia
November 3rd 2015

2. +
Agenda
n Context
n Research objective
n Methodology
n Results
n Managerial implications
2

3. +
Survey Context
1. Culture does impact individuals’
behaviors (Hofstede & Minkov 2010) > divergence
2. Globalization and NIT lead to
convergence in consumer behaviors
(de Mooij 2003)
3. Product category impacts
consumption characteristics (Bauer et al. 2006)
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4. +
Survey context
n What about the pet food market???
4
Convergence
Divergence

5. +
Survey context
n Limited knowledge on pet owners’
shopping behavior across national
cultures
5

6. +
Survey objective
Ø Know if cultural profile impacts pet
owners’ behaviors when shopping pet
food
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7. +
Survey methodology
n Quantitative survey
n 308 French pet owners + 221
Chinese pet owners
n Consumer Style Inventory tool (Sproles &
Kendall 1986)
n Statistical analysis (SPSS IBM)
7
In which
ways do
you buy
pet food?

8. +Questionnaire on 9 consumption
characteristics
Perfectionist
Brand
conscious
Novelty
conscious
Hedonist
Price
conscious
Impulsive
Confused Loyal
Prescription
conscious
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9. +
Survey results: per dimension per
country
9
1
2
3
4
5
Scores
(1=notall;5=strongly)
Fundamental consumption characteristics
Pet food buyers' decision-making styles (sig. <.001)
France
China

10. +
Survey results: impact of culture
n There is a significant difference in consumers’
decision-making styles across nations (Λ=,494 ; F(10,
518)=53,157 ; p<,001 ; η2=,506)
n 51% of variation in consumption characteristics
is explained by culture profile
10
I am
different!

11. +
Survey results: impact of culture
n Asian pet owners are significantly (p<.001)
n more conscious about novelty and fashion product
n more conscious about shopping enjoyment
n more impulsive when buying
n more confused by information
n less loyal towards brands & shops
n Asian and European pet owners are equally
quality conscious, brand conscious, sensitive to
advice, not sensitive to price
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12. +
Survey results: clusters in France
12
1
1,5
2
2,5
3
3,5
4
4,5
5
C1
"switcher
consumers"
35%
C2
"perfec9onist
consumers"
31%
C3
"independent
consumers"
34%
Perf;
F=105,612
Brand;
F=18,395
Hed;
F=22,672
Price;
F=84,316
Conf;
F=46,907
Loyal;
F=41,371
Pres;
F=193,583
Imp;
F=92,718
Nov;
F=87,497
Scores

13. +
Survey results: clusters in France
13
Switcher
consumers
35%
Perfectionist
consumers
31%
Independent
consumers
34%
European pet food buyers typology (sig. <.001)

14. +
Survey results: clusters in China
14
Switcher
consumers
41%
Perfectionist
consumers
26%
Ambivalent
consumers
33%
Asian pet food buyers typology (sig. <.001)

15. +
Survey results: clusters in China
15
1
1,5
2
2,5
3
3,5
4
4,5
5
C1
"switcher
consumers"
41%
C2
"perfec9onist
consumers"
26%
C3
"ambivalent
consumers"
33%
Perf;
F=70,698
Brand;
F=11,185
Hed;
F=31,217
Price;
F=21,140
Conf;
F=90,140
Loyal;
F=63,620
Pres;
F=26,838
Imp;
F=49,748
Nov;
F=32,957
Scores

16. +
Managerial implications
n Pet food companies should consider
cultural profiles when dealing globally
n Nevertheless some consumption
characteristics do converge
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17. +
Managerial implications
n All focus on quality, brand awareness and
advice whatever the cost!
n CSI measuring tool is easy to use
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18. +
Conclusion
n Pet food organizations now better know
the differences between Asia & Europe
n 1st cross-cultural study on pet food market
n More to come on consumption
characteristics assessment across nations
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19. +
Questions & Answers
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