Status consumption in cross-national context: socio-psychological, brand and situational antecedents

Purpose – Limited attention has been paid to the issue of status consumption in cross-national context. The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of status consumption among British and Indian consumers, using the industry context of alcoholic beverages, focusing on three antecedents namely, the socio-psychological, brand and situational antecedents. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employed a cross-sectional, survey-based methodology. The British sample included 271 respondents residing in the Southeast of the UK. The Indian sample included 273 respondents residing in the North and Northwest regions of India. Findings – The findings reveal that socio-psychological, brand and situational antecedents significantly influence status consumption. Practical implications – The findings support the notion that some key status consumption characteristics may be common among all cultures and countries however, their degree of influence may differ dramatically. Furthermore, others key variables may be single culture or country specific and therefore must be adjusted for national or regional variations. The results will help managers dealing with status consumption to better understand and manage their marketing strategy in a cross-national context. Originality/value – The paper is first of its kind to investigate the impact of socio-psychological, brand and situational antecedents in a cross-national context for status consumption products. The findings of the paper are likely to enhance our grasp of the status consumption process in a individualistic and mature developed market (the UK) in comparison to collectivist and rapidly growing emerging market (India) by shedding light on the issues affecting status consumption and how that relates to country-specific marketing strategies.