This research investigates the influence of national culture on the trip planning and purchase-consumption behaviour of international leisure travellers. This study focuses on achieving a theory-driven, rigorous study that covers a large number of national cultures in empirically testing systematic relations between national values and overseas leisure travel behaviour. The study proposes a conceptual model linking four sets of generalized national value dimensions drawn from the Hofstede, Schwartz and Inglehart studies with trip planning and purchase-consumption behaviours, drawing on and extending the model of a tourism consumption system suggested by Woodside and King (2001). Both country- and individual-level control variables are incorporated in the model. Per capita GDP and statutory annual leave are country-level covariates; prior-destination experience, trip purpose, age and gender are individual-level covariates. In addition to these covariates, trip itinerary planning and total external search are included in models of consumption behaviours. Secondary data obtained from the quarterly Australian International Visitor Survey (from quarter one 2000) is used to test the proposed model. The final sample for the study comprises international leisure travellers from 22 Asian, European and North American countries. Trip planning and consumption behaviours are taken as the dependent variables in a series of weighted and multi-level (HLM) regression models where the independent variables include national values, per capita income and statutory leave (at the country-level) and four travel segments constructed from prior-destination experience and trip purpose, age and gender at the individual-level, as well as trip itinerary planning and total search. The study found that national values play a significant role in influencing both trip planning and purchase-consumption behaviour. National values were found to have a stronger impact on trip planning behaviours than on consumption behaviours at a destination. The four sets of national values differed in explanatory power as did, the three national culture models in an international tourism context, although there was substantial convergent validity across the three models of national culture. The impact of national values on overseas leisure travel behaviour was strongest among the holiday travellers and the youngest (15-24) female tourists, followed by older (45-55plus) tourists. The study contributes a theory-driven, rigorous investigation of national culture and overseas leisure travel behaviour by provision of comprehensive conceptual model and by empirically testing the hypotheses on a large number of countries. It enriches our understanding of the role of national culture on cross-cultural consumer behaviour. The study's findings may assist in developing more effective international destination marketing strategy (e.g., positioning, communication and products-services development) by showing the potential usefulness of national values. Finally, several avenues for future research are suggested including direct measurement of cultural values, further empirical testing based on larger samples, further advances in the conceptual model adding post-purchase behaviour and other confounding variables.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/187941 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Ahn, Inja, Marketing, Australian School of Business, UNSW |
| Publisher | Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Marketing |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Inja Ahn, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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