Young Europeans abroad in Scotland: an exploration of how their attitudes to consumer credit reflect dimensions of culture

Nineteen young Europeans from across the Continent took part in in-depth interviews where a wide range of consumer-related issues were explored. These issues ranged from specific consumer behaviours and consumer value gained to consumer protection and other aspects of policy. Respondents were postgraduates studying at Scottish universities or young professionals currently working in Scotland. The interviews were structured around a number of key themes that were developed both from the literature and from an in-depth pilot study. One of these themes was designed to explore the respondents' attitudes towards saving and borrowing, in particular, consumer credit; and this forms the focus for the current paper. The theme had been developed initially with reference to Hofstede's cultural dimension of 'uncertainty avoidance'. However, it also successfully illuminated some of the other cultural dimensions in Hofstede's typology. As anticipated, respondents tended to benchmark consumer culture in their home country against that of the host country (Scotland). What was surprising was the consensus with which they considered the Scottish/British consumers to be the 'odd ones out'. This observed convergence appears to indicate that historical cultural differences between continental and Anglo-Saxon cultures survive and may be stronger and more sustained than any differences between the post-World War II socialist and market democracies.