The manifestation of culture in product purchase: A cross-cultural comparison

How is culture manifested in the consumer behaviour of ethnic minorities? This article addresses this question using three ethnic groups: Indians living in Britain (people who are descended from or are migrants from India), British Whites and Asian Indians. The cross-cultural study assesses the extent to which Indians living in Britain draw upon Asian Indian and British White cultural values in the purchase of a brown good (any non-kitchenbased electrical product, such as a television). The sample used in the quantitative study includes respondents from each of these three groups. Adopting this design enables a clear view of how British White and Asian Indian culture values influence the consumer behaviour of Indians living in Britain. The article finds the consumer decision-making process of Indians living in Britain to have similarities with, and be influenced by, the cultural values of both Asian Indians and British Whites. The results suggest that cultural adaptation has occurred, the implications of which are explored.