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The moderating effect of culture on overall perceived value in the online purchasing process

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Abstract

This study analyzes differences in the formation of overall perceived value of a tourism service purchased online, taking tourists’ national culture as a moderating variable. The intention is to understand the influence of cultural dimensions on the antecedents and consequences of overall perceived value amongst consumers of different cultures. The sample is made up of 300 tourists (150 British and 150 Spanish) who have purchased a tourism service via the Internet. The two cultures to which the tourists belong differ in terms of the cultural dimensions of uncertainty-avoidance and individualism–collectivism. The findings reveal that in the formation of overall perceived value—which embraces both the online purchase phase and also consumption of the tourism service—moderating effects are generated principally by the cultural dimensions of uncertainty-avoidance and individualism/collectivism. The key practical implications of the study are to understand the variations on overall perceived value when making an online purchase, and to understand the role played by cultural dimensions in interactions with web-based businesses.

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Acknowledgments

Study carried out thanks to financing received from research project “Internet, Comercialización Turística y Desarrollo en Andalucía” and from research project P06-SEJ 02170 by the Junta de Andalusia.

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  1. Marketing and Market Research Department, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Granada University, Campus Cartuja, s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain

    Carmen M. Sabiote, Dolores M. Frías & J. Alberto Castañeda

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  1. Carmen M. Sabiote
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  2. Dolores M. Frías
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  3. J. Alberto Castañeda
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Correspondence to Carmen M. Sabiote.

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Sabiote, C.M., Frías, D.M. & Castañeda, J.A. The moderating effect of culture on overall perceived value in the online purchasing process. Serv Bus 7, 83–102 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-012-0146-x

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