Consumer responses to EastWest writing system differences

Purpose The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it aims to review EastWest writing system crossscript differences and summarize previous work examining the crossscript effect on consumer responses. Second, it aims to describe the implications for international marketing and crosscultural studies. Third, it seeks to propose specific questions for future research. Designmethodologyapproach First, the paper presents a critical literature review of studies investigating crossscript differences influencing consumer attitudes, memory, and information processing. Based on the provided integrative analysis, future directions are indicated for areas relying heavily on written communication, such as international marketing communications, internet marketing, international branding, and crosscultural consumer research. Findings Despite the pervasive nature and importance of written language, scant research has addressed differences between EastWest consumer responses attributable to native script processing. Originalityvalue The paper is among the first to point out the insufficiency of scholarly studies on written language effects on consumer responses. The findings raise international marketers' awareness of differences in EastWest written language processing in order to effectively target consumers.