The moderating role of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in the customer-brand relationship in China and India

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of customer-brand relationships in the international marketplace, and empirically investigates and compares the customer-brand relationship development process between Indian and Chinese markets. In detail, four out of Hofstede’s original five national culture dimensions were adopted as moderators in the process of customer-brand relationship development between two markets. Design/methodology/approach – To test hypotheses, responses from 539 Indian and 400 Chinese mobile phone consumer samples were achieved, and the proposed model was estimated by using structural equations based on the partial least squares algorithm. Findings – The results demonstrate that utilitarian value and brand affect play a significant role in building brand loyalty for Chinese consumers, while hedonic value and perceived risk contribute more in building brand loyalty for Indian consumers. Research limitations/implications – This study indicated that the cultural difference affects both on brand trust formation and on the relationship between brand trust/affect and brand loyalty, implying that more customized brand management strategies should be adopted. Practical implications – Global brand values must be communicated for each culture appropriately. It is desirable that the identified match, utilitarian value-Chinese customers and hedonic value-Indian customers, be consistently presented to each cultural market in a more integrative manner. Originality/value – This study identified that the route from the development of value proposition to building up brand trust and brand affect is a critical step toward achieving brand loyalty in Indian and Chinese markets.