Review and Future Directions of Cross-Cultural Consumer Services Research ⁎ Jingyun Zhang A, , Sharon E

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Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 211–224

Review and future directions of cross-cultural consumer services research ⁎ Jingyun Zhang a, , Sharon E. Beatty b,1, Gianfranco Walsh c,2

a Department of Marketing, College of Business Administration, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA b Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, University of Alabama, P. O. Box 870225, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0225, USA c Institute for Management, University of Koblenz-Landau, Universitätsstrasse 1, 56070 Koblenz, Germany

Abstract

It is widely recognized that an increasing number of service firms are expanding into international markets. Many studies in the services marketing literature have focused on the identification and discussion of similarities and/or differences in consumer service experiences across nations and cultures. In this paper we review the relevant literature, address conceptual and methodological issues associated with extant cross- cultural consumer services research and suggest theories and approaches in regards to future research in the area. In addition, we introduce and discuss the concept of “cultural service personality” as a potential new theoretical perspective. © 2007 Published by Elsevier Inc.

Keywords: Cross-cultural; Services research; Service expectations; Evaluations of service; Reactions to service

Contents

1. Introduction ...... 211 2. Article selection method ...... 212 3. Consumer service experiences and culture ...... 213 3.1. The consumer service experience and our framework ...... 213 3.2. Culture and service expectations ...... 213 3.3. Culture and service evaluations ...... 218 3.4. Culture and reactions to service ...... 218 4. Conceptual issues: critique and future directions ...... 219 4.1. Going beyond Hofstede ...... 219 4.2. Cultural service personality ...... 220 5. Methodological issues: critique and future directions...... 221 5.1. Emic vs. etic oriented research ...... 221 5.2. Operationalization and measurement of culture ...... 221 5.3. Selection of country and context ...... 222 6. Limitations and conclusions ...... 222 References ...... 222

1. Introduction

⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 419 372 9529; fax: +1 419 372 8062. Services are increasingly important worldwide. In the U.S., the E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J. Zhang), [email protected] (S.E. Beatty), [email protected] (G. Walsh). service sector accounted for more than 79% of the GDP in 2006 1 Tel.: +1 205 348 6184; fax: +1 205 348 6695. (US Central Intelligence Agency, 2007) and 80% of its workforce 2 Tel.: +49 261 287 2852; fax: +49 261 287 2851. come from the service sector (Czinkota and Ronkainen, 2002). As

Table 1 future research directions. Third, we discuss overall conceptual Journals included in the review issues in the literature and introduce the concept of “cultural Name of journal Number of articles service personality”, developed from our review, as a potential located new theoretical perspective. Finally, we address overall method- Journal of Service Research (JSR) 8 ological issues and point to future research directions. Journal of Services Marketing (JSM) 6 International Journal of Service Industry Management 5 2. Article selection method (IJSIM) Journal of Business Research (JBR) 5 International Marketing Review (IMR) 4 Our goal was to locate academic cross-cultural services Journal of Retailing (JR) 4 research focusing on consumers and published in major Journal of Consumer Marketing (JCM) 2 journals. We used three criteria in choosing articles to include. Service Industries Journal 2 European Journal of Marketing (EJM) 1 Journal of Marketing 1 1. It should be empirical cross-cultural or cross-national Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice (JMTP) 1 comparative studies for two or more cultures/countries. International Journal of Research in Marketing (IJRM) 1 2. Studies need to involve consumer services, i.e., be related to Journal of Consumer Psychology (JCP) 0 the service experience. Journal of Consumer Research (JCR) 0 3. Studies need to have investigated the topic from a consumer Journal of International Business Studies (JIBS) 0 Journal of International Marketing (JIM) 0 behavior perspective, rather than a more general focus on Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 0 international services marketing, from a firm perspective Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS) 0 (cf. Knight, 1999). Marketing Science (MS) 0 Psychology & Marketing (P&M) 0 We focused our search in a set of leading and influential academic journals that we felt would cover the topics of interest here. We also conducted a search in major electronic databases the economic significance of the service industry grows, so does including ABI Inform and EBSCO using keywords such as the interest in services research, as demonstrated by the fast- “cross-cultural”, “cross-national” and “services”. A total of 40 growing body of services marketing literature in the past decade, relevant articles were located, covering 11 years of research especially in the consumer services area. In fact, Vargo and Lusch published from 1996 to 2006. Earlier Knight (1999) reviewed (2004) recently suggested that the marketing discipline is going international services marketing studies from a firm's perspec- through a paradigmatic change, shifting its focus from exchanges tive (1990–1998), focusing, for example, on issues like mode of of “goods” to service-centered exchanges. entry. Our review covers cross-cultural services from a different An increasing number of service providers are marketing perspective—from the perspective of the consumer and only services internationally and it is the fastest-growing area of overlaps with Knight by 3 years. A summary of the journals international trade (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2007). American firms reviewed and the number of relevant articles found per journal have experienced dramatic growth in service exports over the past are shown in Table 1. We note that our focus on journals leaves decade, generating a $65 billion balance of payments surplus in out a number of conference or book articles on this topic. services in 2003, helping to offset the country's $483 billion However, we focused on journal articles due to their wide deficit in goods (US Department of Commerce, 2005). This availability across countries. growth creates opportunities as well as challenges for businesses, especially when firms attempt to globally standardize their service delivery (Lovelock and Wirtz, 2004). One reason for such challenges is that consumers' perceptions of service are culturally bound (Zeithaml et al., 2002). de Ruyter et al. (1998, p. 189) argue that “[i]n order to market services effectively to international consumers, service providers must have a thorough knowledge of their target group(s)”. A solid understanding of the role of culture in the service delivery process is more crucial than ever for service firms operating globally. Despite growing research in consumer service experiences, relatively little research has examined the role of culture in regards to these experiences, with little attempt aimed at synthesizing it. As Maheswaran and Shavitt (2000) point out in regard to global consumer psychology research, systematic research in consumer services is in its infancy. In this article, we attempt to review cross- cultural services research that focuses on the consumer. First, we introduce our conceptual framework and its components. Second, we review existing studies using our framework and suggest Fig. 1. A framework of the role of culture in consumers' service experiences. J. Zhang et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 211–224 213

3. Consumer service experiences and culture p. 1) and are important in service experiences. In regard to service expectations (as well as evaluations of services), the most widely 3.1. The consumer service experience and our framework accepted framework is the SERVQUAL framework developed by Parasuraman and his colleagues (Parasuraman et al., 1988; Fig. 1 provides the conceptual framework we use here to Zeithaml et al., 1993). This framework conceptualizes the review and organize our presentation of the literature. This customer's assessment of service quality as the gap between framework represents our view of the effects of culture on what they expect and their evaluation of the performance of a important dimensions of consumers' service experiences—their particular service provider. The SERVQUAL framework also expectations, their subsequent evaluations of the service incorporates an instrument to measure service quality, which is experience, and finally their reactions to the service experience. proposed to include five dimensions—tangibility, reliability, Our view of consumers' service experiences is consistent with assurance, responsiveness, and empathy. The SERVQUAL three-stage models of service consumption used in the services instrument, originally developed in North America, has been marketing literature (cf. Lovelock and Wirtz, 2007) and with tested in various service contexts and is highly regarded. major service paradigms, such as the SERVQUAL framework In the second stage, individuals evaluate the service (Parasuraman et al., 1993; Zeithaml et al., 1993). performance, often against expectations (Patterson and John- Expectations are commonly defined as “[p]retrial beliefs about son, 1993). An individual will confirm or disconfirm aspects of a product that serve as standards or reference points against which the service performance based on expectations, which influ- product [or service] performance is judged” (Zeithaml et al., 1993, ences their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the service provider. Following a satisfying or dissatisfying service Table 2 experience, in the third stage, individuals will have varying Categorizations of national culture/cultural dimensions reactions to the service. When poor service is received, the Source Cultural dimensions Number of studies customer may take various actions, such as complaining and/or incorporating the switching. Further, they could have varying reactions to the dimension service provider's recovery efforts. On the other hand, a Kluckhohn and Human nature orientation; man– 0 satisfying service encounter or service recovery may lead to the Strodtbeck nature orientation; time orientation; formation of an ongoing relationship between the parties. a (1973) activity orientation; relational Our framework (in Fig. 1) shows culture as potentially orientation Hall (1976) b High context/low context 6 impacting on each stage of the service experience. National Hofstede (1980, Power distance; individualism/ 27 c culture has been defined as patterns of thinking, feeling, and 1984, 1991) a collectivism; masculinity, acting that are rooted in common values and societal Hofstede and Bond uncertainty avoidance; long-term conventions (Nakata and Sivakumar, 2001). Hofstede (1991, a (1988) orientation p. 5) defined culture as the “collective programming of the mind Riddle (1986) a Achievement orientation; time 1 orientation; activity orientation; which distinguishes the members of one group or category of relationship orientation people from those of another”. We identify some of the most Gudykunst and Direct vs. indirect; elaborative vs. 0 popular categorizations of national culture or cultural dimen- Ting-Toomey succinct; personal vs. contextual; sions in Table 2. Further, Table 2 indicates which paradigms are b (1988) instrumental vs. affective used by the studies reviewed here. The popularity of Hofstede's Schwartz (1992, Power; achievement; hedonism; 1 1994) a stimulation; self-direction; (1984, 1991) framework is notable here. universalism Each article in our review was categorized by the primary Benevolence; tradition; conformity; service experience dimension addressed. Then, Table 3 was security developed in which we chronologically present the articles and Keillor et al. National identity: national heritage, 0 a summary of a) how culture was treated, b) which countries and (1996) a cultural homogeneity, belief system, consumer ethnocentrism the service contexts were studied, and c) a summary of the Trompenaars and Universalism vs. particularism; 0 findings. Our goal in the sections to follow is to summarize the Hampden-Turner communitarianism vs. individualism; findings, highlighting what they tell us about the topic in regard (1997) a neutral vs. emotional; defuse vs. to universals and differences. specific cultures; achievement vs. ascription; human–time relationship; human–nature relationship 3.2. Culture and service expectations Triandis and Horizontal/vertical 4 c Gelfand (1998) a Many researchers have attempted to test the robustness of the Triandis (1995) a Individualism/collectivism SERVQUAL dimensions across cultures. Based on our review, it a Steenkamp (2001) Autonomy; egalitarianism; 0 appears that while the majority of reviewed studies attempted to mastery; uncertainty avoidance validate the SERVQUAL scale by assessing its psychometric a Cultural dimensions relate to abstracts of intangible elements of culture such properties and by examining the structure and relative importance as values and belief systems. b Cultural dimensions relate to the communication systems of a culture. of the resulting dimensions across cultures (Donthu and Yoo, c Four studies cited both Hofstede's and Triandis's (and other related work) 1998; Espinoza, 1999; Furrer et al., 2000; Sultan and Simpson, work related to individualism/collectivism. 2000; Witkowski and Wolfinbarger, 2002), others looked for or 214 J. Zhang et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 211–224

Table 3 Summary of cross-cultural services literature Source Treatment of culture Countries/service context Findings Service expectations Lee and Ulgado Used Hofstede's individualism/ U.S. vs. Korea/fast food Differences between U.S. and South Korean patrons (1997) JSM a collectivism as post-hoc explanation. in terms on expectations and perceptions of fast-food restaurant services. For U.S. customers, low food prices and assurance were more important; for Korean customers, reliability and empathy were more important. Donthu and Yoo Applied Hofstede's dimensions U.S., Canada, and India/banking Individuals rated lower on power distance, higher on (1998) JSR directly in hypotheses, measured at individualism and uncertainty avoidance, and those individual level. who are short-term oriented had higher overall service quality expectations. Low power distance→responsiveness and reliability ratings Individualism→empathy and assurance Espinoza Applied individualism/collectivism, Quebec (Canada) vs. Peru/ Similar dimensional structure of SERVQUAL in two (1999) IJSIM monochronic time, and polychronic supermarket cultures. Importance of the dimensions: time in hypotheses, pre-hoc Reliability: equality important in Quebec and Peru justification, not measured. Responsiveness: more important for Quebecois Tangibles: More important for Peruvians Furrer et al. Applied Hofstede's dimensions in U.S., Switzerland and, China, Individualism→high service quality expectations. (2000) JSR hypotheses, measured. Singapore, South Korea/banking In cultures with greater power distance: weaker respondents were more likely to tolerate failure from more powerful service providers. In cultures with high degree of masculinity, respondents expected a female service provider to be more feminine than professional. Sultan and Simpson No specific cultural dimensions used. U.S. vs. Europe/airline No difference in the order of importance of SERVQUAL (2000) JSM a dimensions by nationality. Expectations, perceptions and overall assessment of service quality varied by nationality. U.S. respondents had higher expectations of service quality than Europeans; Europeans found the service quality of U.S. airlines to be lower than their own international carriers. Witkowski and No specific cultural dimensions used. U.S. vs. Germany/banks, medical care, German respondents had lower service expectations, Wolfinbarger Focused on service environment and retailing, postal facilities, restaurants lower perceived service outcomes than did U.S. (2002) JBR a cultural norm differences. respondents. Raajpoot (2004) JSR Applied Hofstede's dimensions, Pakistan/banks, hospitals, retail, Developed new service quality scale, PAKSERV for +national culture dimensions and insurance industries Asian culture. six dimensions: tangibility, reliability, (Dorfman and Howell, 1988) and sincerity, formality, personalization, assurance. personal values (Schwartz, 1992). Laroche et al. Applied individualism/collectivism in English speaking vs. French speaking Both individualists and collectivists relied more on (2005) IMR hypotheses, measured. Canadians/airline external information sources in formulating service expectations. Internal (external) information sources were relatively more important in forming expectations for collectivists (individualists) than for individualists (collectivists), and “will” (“should”) expectations were more diagnostic for collectivists (individualists) than for individualists (collectivists). Malhotra et al. Used Hofstede's power distance, and U.S., India, the Philippines/banking Examined differences in perception of service quality (2005) IMR individualism/collectivism as pre-hoc dimensions between developed and developing justification, not measured. Focused on economies. Developed countries: better established economic and social-cultural factors. reliability, more emphasis on “breakthrough service”, emotional security, and credibility based on performance standards, communication geared to individuals, continuous improvement of service quality and higher levels of relationship marketing. Johns et al. No specific cultural dimensions used. Northern Cyprus vs. U.S./travel agents Promptness, empathy, efficiency and servicescape aesthetics (2005) SIJ were main determinants of customer satisfaction. Instead of the predicted SERVQUAL five-factor solution, factor analysis showed an underlying unidimensionality.

Evaluations of service Herbig and Genestre No specific cultural dimensions used. U.S. vs. Mexico/banks, grocery Mexican respondents rated perceived service quality (1996) JCM stores, specialty stores, and higher than U.S. respondents. Different importance of department stores service quality factors: U.S. respondents focused more on personalized service. Mexican respondents emphasized availability more and confidence in the support staff. J. Zhang et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 211–224 215

Table 3 (continued ) Source Treatment of culture Countries/service context Findings Evaluations of service Winsted (1997) JR; Occidental vs. oriental cultural heritage U.S. vs. Japan/restaurant, health care Friendliness, being personal, authenticity, and (1999) JMTP; and Hall's communication context, promptness were more common from the U.S. sample; (2000) IJSIM pre-hoc, not measured. caring for the customer was more consistent from the Japanese sample. Results were consistent in both restaurant and health care. Mattila (1999a) JSR Applied Hall's and Hofstede's Western vs. Asian consumers/hotel Individuals of different cultures focus on cues. Respondents Mattila (1999b) JSM power distance and individualism/ from Western cultures were more likely than Asian collectivism in hypotheses, pre-hoc counterparts to rely on tangible vs. intangible cues. and post-hoc, not measured. Stauss and Mang Used Hofstede's, Hall's, and Riddle's Japanese, U.S., Contrary to predictions, customers recalled more critical (1999) JSM to derive cultural distance, pre-hoc Germany/airline incidents with respect to 1) intra-cultural encounters than justification, not measured. inter-cultural encounters, 2) encounters between partners with small cultural distances vs. encounters between partners from distant cultures, and 3) the percentage of negative critical incidents was higher in intra-cultural encounters than in inter-cultural encounters. Brady and Robertson No specific cultural dimensions used. U.S. vs. Ecuador/fast food Effect of service quality on behavioral intentions such (2001) JBR b as repurchase intentions, loyalty, and word of mouth is mediated by satisfaction, consistently across cultures. Gilbert et al. No specific cultural dimensions used. Jamaica, Scotland, U.S., Revealed two empirically derived cross-cultural fast-food (2004) JSM Wales/fast food customer satisfaction dimensions: satisfaction with the personal service and satisfaction with the service setting. Keillor et al. Used Hofstede's dimensions as Australia, China, Drew on theory from Nordic School of Service (2004) JIM pre-hoc justification, not measured. Germany, India, Morocco, Marketing (NSSM), tested direct effects of technical Netherlands, Sweden, (physical good quality) and functional (service quality U.S./fast food and grocery and servicescape) elements of the service encounter on intentions. Differences found between fast-food and grocery customers in the eight countries. Relative effects of the service elements on intentions also differ. Laroche et al. Used Hall's communication context U.S., Canada, Japan/dentist's Japanese respondents were more conservative in their (2004) JIM and Hofstede's dimensions as office evaluations of superior service (lower ratings) but were pre-hoc justification, not measured. less critical (more forgiving) of inferior service (higher ratings) than North U.S. respondents. Ueltschy et al. No specific cultural dimensions used. U.S., English vs. French speaking Some measures of satisfaction and service quality are (2004) JBR Canadian/dentist's office nonequivalent across cultures (due to response bias introduced by translation, interpretation and meaning of particular items). In situations with high expectations and performance, English Canadians perceived lower service quality than U.S. and French–Canadians subjects. In situations where expectations and performance were lower, E–Cs perceived higher quality than U.S. and F–C respondents. Voss et al. Used Hofstede's uncertainty avoidance U.K. and U.S./ U.K. customers were more tolerant of poor service quality (2004) JSR dimension, pre-hoc and post-hoc, not financial service, than U.S. customers. The use of systematic procedures for measured. retail, restaurant, hotel capturing customer feedback and complaints had a direct and positive influence on satisfaction. Brady et al. Used Hofstede's dimensions as country Australia, Hong Kong, Identified four service evaluation models from the (2005) b (JR) selection criteria only, not measured. Morocco, Netherlands, U.S./fast literature involving the relationships amongst sacrifice, food and grocery service quality, service value, service satisfaction, and (Physicians–U.S. study) behavioral intentions. The “comprehensive” model fit best across countries and service settings. Cunningham et al. No specific cultural dimensions used. U.S., Korea, Taiwan/multiple Examined how US, Korean and Taiwanese consumers (2005) SIJ perceived and classified 13 services. Results showed consumers view services primarily based on whether they are personalized or standardized, and whether there is a physical component of the service. Convenience perceptions and evaluations of banking, public transit and university services differed across countries. Imrie (2005) IMR Used Confucianism as post-hoc Taiwan vs. U.S./multiple Generosity, reflecting the Confucian relational ethic, explanation, not measured. (unspecified) had a filtering role on individuals' evaluations of service experiences in the Taiwanese context, due to hierarchical nature of Taiwanese society, where service providers adhere to strict roles and appear content to do so. (continued on next page) 216 J. Zhang et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 211–224

Table 3 (continued) Source Treatment of culture Countries/service context Findings Evaluations of service Veloutsou et al. No specific cultural dimensions used. Greece, Jamaica, U.K., There were more similarities than differences in the (2005) EJM U.S./fast food measurement of satisfaction across cultural contexts suggesting that the development of measures to examine and compare consumer satisfaction across cultures and languages is feasible.

Reactions to service De Wulf et al. Used Hofstede's dimensions as U.S. the Netherlands, Belgium/ Different marketing relationship tactics such as direct (2001) JM justification for country selection, food and apparel retail mail, preferential treatment, interpersonal communication not measured. and tangible rewards have a differential impact on consumer perceptions of retailer's relationship investment, which in turn affect relationship quality and behavioral loyalty. Liu et al. (2001) JSR Applied Hofstede's dimensions in U.S., Switzerland, China, Singapore, With superior service, individuals from low hypotheses, measured. South Korea/banking individualism or high uncertainty avoidance cultures tended to plan to praise more than individuals from high individualism or low uncertainty avoidance cultures. With poor service, individuals from high individualism or low uncertainty avoidance cultures more often said they would switch, give negative word of mouth, or complain than individuals from low individualism or high uncertainty avoidance cultures. Liu and McClure Used individualism/collectivism, U.S. vs. Korea/retail When dissatisfied, customers in collectivist culture (2001) JCM in-group/out-group as pre-hoc and restaurant were less likely to engage in voice behavior, but justification, not measured. more likely to engage in private behavior (WOM or exit) than customers in an individualist culture. Those who voice dissatisfaction in individualistic cultures were less likely to exit while those who did not voice dissatisfaction in collectivistic cultures were less likely to exit. Patterson and Smith Used Hofstede's uncertainty avoidance, U.S. vs. Thailand/medical, While the same set of benefits motivated both U.S. (2001a) IJISM; individualism/collectivism, femininity/ hairdressers, auto mechanics, and Thai respondents' (2001b) JSM masculinity as pre-hoc justification, travel agents, and retail financial propensity to maintain relationships with a range of not measured. advisors service providers, special treatment benefits (reflecting social bonds) were more important for Thai respondents and confidence benefits were more important for U.S. respondents. Hui and Au Used Hofstede's long-term orientation China vs. Canada/hotel Compared the effects of three kinds of complaint- (2001) JBR as part of pre-hoc justification, not handling strategies (voice, compensation, and apology) measured. on respondents' justice perceptions and post-complaint behaviors. Voice had a stronger effect on Chinese than on Canadian respondents, while compensation had a stronger effect on Canadian respondents than on Chinese respondents. Patterson and Smith Used Hofstede's individualism/ Australia vs. Thailand/travel Examined 6 switching barriers: search costs; loss of (2003) JR collectivism as pre-hoc justification, agency, medical and hairdressers social bonds; setup costs; functional risk; attractiveness not measured. of alternatives; and loss of special treatment benefits. These costs explained substantial amounts of variance in propensity to stay and appeared universal across west–east cultures, while variations were found across industries. Warden et al. Used Hofstede's dimensions as pre-hoc Taiwan vs. outside Taiwan/airline Extended Stauss and Mang (1999) model. Found (2003) IJSIM justification, not measured. reduction in inter-cultural failure seriousness can be attributed not to the error itself, but to increased acceptance of the recovery strategy. Mattila and Patterson Used Hofstede's individualism/ U.S., Malaysia, Thailand/restaurant Compensation (discount and apology) was more effective (2004a) JSR; collectivism and uncertainty avoidance in restoring a sense of justice to U.S. respondents than (2004b) JR as pre-hoc justification, not measured. to East Asian (Thai and Malaysian) respondents. Poon et al. (2004) Used Hofstede's long-term vs. short- Canada vs. China/unspecified Compared to Chinese consumers, Canadian consumers EJM term orientation as pre-hoc justification, experienced less perceived control in dissatisfying not measured. service encounters, blamed themselves less, perceived the provider to have more control over a negative event, and believed the event to be less likely to reoccur. J. Zhang et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 211–224 217

Table 3 (continued ) Source Treatment of culture Countries/service context Findings Reactions to service Wong (2004) JBR Used Hofstede's dimensions as pre-hoc U.S., Australia, Singapore/restaurant Compensation improved respondents' assessments of justification, not measured. the service encounter in all three countries but only affected repurchase intentions and word of mouth in U.S. sample, not in Singaporean or Australian samples. An apology improved satisfaction for Singaporean and Australian samples but not for U.S. respondents. Patterson et al. Used Hofstede's individualism/ Australia vs. Thailand/hotel Customers with a higher collectivist value orientation (2006) collectivism, power distance, and perceived more interactional justice when there was an uncertainty avoidance to develop organization-initiated recovery. An apology from a hypotheses, measured at individual service provider with more status had a greater effect level. on perceptions of distributive justice for customers with a higher power distance value orientation. Customers with a higher uncertainty avoidance orientation perceived higher levels of procedural justice when given cognitive control over the recovery process. a Studied both expectations and evaluations. b Studied both evaluations and reactions. assessed additional aspects beyond the five SERVQUAL cultures (Quebec and Peru), responsiveness was the most dimensions (Lee and Ulgado, 1997; Malhotra et al., 2005). important for the Quebecois due to their monochromic time Laroche et al.'s (2005) study was unique in that it examined how orientation. Lee and Ulgado (1997) found that, in regard to fast- customers use information sources to form expectations, as well food service, low price and assurance were more important to as the nature of these expectations across cultures. individualistic U.S. consumers due to their focus on the notion of There are both consistent and inconsistent findings that can be “time is money”, while reliability and empathy were more drawn from these studies. One consistent finding is that compared important to collectivist Korean consumers who consider eating to U.S. consumers, consumers from other cultures/countries tend in a restaurant as more of a social experience. Donthu and Yoo to have lower overall service quality expectations.Some (1998), measuring cultural values at the individual level, found researchers attribute this to differences in national service that individuals high on power distance had lower expectations environments (Witkowski and Wolfinbarger, 2002) or socioeco- about the responsiveness and reliability of service quality and nomic factors (Malhotra et al., 2005). For example, Witkowski were more willing to tolerate poor service due to their tolerance and Wolfinbarger (2002) argue that the lower service expectations for inequities. On the other hand, individuals high on individu- found in their sample of German respondents (compared to U.S. alism expected more empathy and assurance from the service respondents) were due to the general unfriendly service provider and tended to focus more on meeting their own needs environment in Germany (which they call “service desert”)and and were thus, less tolerant of poor service. the tendency of Germans to compartmentalize their public and While the SERVQUAL remains the dominant framework private selves. Other researchers attribute it to cultural differences, applied in this area of cross-cultural research, some researchers most often using Hofstede's dimensions. The positive link have begun to challenge the SERVQUAL dimensions by both between individualism and higher levels of service expectations conceptualizing a framework for measuring service quality was often found (Donthu and Yoo, 1998; Furrer et al., 2000; internationally (e.g., Smith and Reynolds, 2001)andby Laroche et al., 2005). The argument is that individualists, due to empirically developing a culture-specific service quality their drive and self-responsibility ethic, will demand that others measure suitable in non-Western cultures (Raajpoot, 2004). also be efficient and will, therefore, be more demanding than This resulted in the addition of several dimensions—personal- individuals from more collectivist cultures (Furrer et al., 2000). ization, formality, and sincerity. Raajpoot's PAKSERV measure When comparing the dimensional structure of SERVQUAL used not only Hofstede's dimensions, but also the national measures across different cultural settings, many studies found cultural orientation (Dorfman and Howell, 1988)and structures that were consistent with the original U.S. conceptu- Schwartz's (1992) personal values. alization (Donthu and Yoo, 1998; Espinoza, 1999; Furrer et al., Further, the appropriateness of some unique elements within 2000). However, when it comes to the relative importance of these cultures is harder to explain. For example, Ashforth and dimensions, findings were less consistent. For example, Sultan Humphrey (1993) report that in many Muslim cultures, smiling and Simpson (2000) found no difference in the order of can be a sign of sexual interest and therefore women are importance of SERVQUAL dimensions for U.S. vs. European socialized not to smile at males. Similarly, Rafaeli and Robert airline passengers, with reliability being the most important and (1987) report in Israel, smiling at customers is viewed as a sign tangibles the least important. Witkowski and Wolfinbarger (2002) of inexperience, suggesting that an American-type service (that also found reliability to be the most important for both U.S. and is, service with a smile) may be inappropriate in some cultures. German samples. However, Espinoza (1999) reported that while In regards to future research in this area, more within culture, reliability was equally important in individualist and collectivist emically-oriented research (i.e., culturally bound) is needed to 218 J. Zhang et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 211–224 systematically develop more theory in the area. A few steps may Individuals' evaluations of services are often reflected in their be taken to achieve this. For example, researchers could start by satisfaction ratings of the service experiences. The dominant using qualitative research methods to develop a list of perspective is that satisfaction is a result of high service quality expectations focusing on a specific culture. From there, a (Cronin and Taylor, 1992). While Veloutsou et al. (2005) found means-end (or similar) approach to tie these expectations to similarities in the measurement of satisfaction across four cultural values and orientations could be used. This then could culturally diverse samples, Ueltschy et al. (2004) found that be expanded to other cultural contexts using a more etic some measures of satisfaction and service quality were not approach (not culture bound) to assess the impact of cultural equivalent across cultures due to response biases based on orientations along with other related factors such as national translation, interpretation and meaning of particular items across service environment on service expectations. cultures. Brady and Robertson (2001) and Brady et al. (2005) attempted to test the service quality-satisfaction relationship in a 3.3. Culture and service evaluations multi-country context and found that the relationship does generally hold across cultures, with some differences across As mentioned previously, the SERVQUAL framework is countries noted due to differing national and temporal settings. conceptualized based on the gap between consumers' expecta- In regards to future research in this area, the universality of tions and evaluations of the service performance. A number of causal relationships as examined by Brady and his colleagues studies reviewed in the previous section that used SERVQUAL appears to be a useful direction to pursue. If relationships and measures (Lee and Ulgado, 1997; Sultan and Simpson, 2000; relationship causality do not hold up across cultures our task of Witkowski and Wolfinbarger, 2002) also examined the evaluation understanding cross-cultural differences and similarities will be of services. Findings from these studies indicate that consumers much harder. Further, an overall framework to aid in examining in different cultures evaluate and perceive service quality this area more carefully would be useful. Perhaps this could begin differently. For example, across service categories, Mexican by fully listing potential behaviors and norms, then relating these respondents rated service quality higher than U.S. respondents to values and cultural dimensions, and suggesting differential (Herbig and Genestre, 1996) possibly due to their lower effects on satisfaction/dissatisfaction based on theory. Finally, expectations, while German respondents reported poorer service although there is some evidence that individuals evaluate physical performance than U.S. respondents (Witkowski and Wolfinbar- surroundings in service settings differently across cultures (e.g., ger, 2002) due to the poor service environment in Germany. Mattila, 1999a), servicescape research (e.g., Bitner, 1992) has yet A number of studies also found differences in customers' to be extended in a cross-cultural context. Thus, experimental evaluations of service under low and high service performance research aimed at how individuals in different cultures evaluate conditions. For example, Voss et al. (2004) found that due to the different elements of the servicescape would be quite useful. conservatism and the “stiff upper lip” model in the U.K., U.K. customers were more tolerant of poor service quality than U.S. 3.4. Culture and reactions to service customers. Laroche et al. (2004) found that Japanese respondents expressed lower ratings of quality perceptions under a A number of studies reviewed here examine how people superior service condition than North Americans. They argue across cultures react differently to service failures and service that this is because Asian cultures are traditional service cultures recovery actions taken by the service providers. Findings in this and in such high-context/collectivist and long-term oriented topic are fairly consistent. For example, many studies found that cultures, trust and commitment are considered necessary for any when receiving poor service, consumers from individualistic good customer–provider relationship. cultures such as the U.S. are more likely to complain than A number of studies also looked at the factors consumers use individuals from collectivist cultures such as China, Singapore in evaluating services. Many researchers used emic approaches and Korea (Liu et al., 2001; Liu and McClure, 2001). and went beyond the SERVQUAL framework (e.g., Imrie, Further, researchers have found that recovery strategies may 2005; Winsted, 1997, 1999, 2000). They consistently found that have different effects on consumers in different cultures. For individuals in different cultures focus on different factors when example, Mattila and Patterson (2004a,b) found that compen- evaluating services. Further, some of these factors are culture- sation (e.g., discount and apology) was more effective in specific and not included in the SERVQUAL dimensions. For restoring a sense of justice to American respondents who focus example, Japanese respondents emphasized “caring for the more on equity given their highly independent self view, than to customer” due to the unique oriental cultural heritage (Winsted, East Asian (Thai and Malaysian) respondents who focus more 1997), while Taiwanese respondents, who are heavily influ- on the interdependent self and equal treatment than equity. enced by the Confucianism in Chinese culture, stressed the Wong (2004) found that compensation improved their respon- importance of “generosity” (Imrie, 2005). Individuals in dents' assessments of the service encounter in the three different cultures also seem to rely on different cues when countries investigated (U.S., Australia, Singapore), but it only evaluating their service experience. Using Hall's communica- affected repurchase intentions and word of mouth for the U.S. tion context framework, Mattila (1999a) found that respondents sample. On the other hand, an apology improved satisfaction for from Western cultures (low context) were more likely than their the Singaporean and Australian samples but not for the U.S. Asian counterparts (high context) to rely on tangible rather sample. She argued that Australians and Singaporeans are than intangible cues from the environment. sensitive to the informational cues that are embedded in the J. Zhang et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 211–224 219 compensation offered but this information is only incorporated future directions with a focus on “going beyond” Hofstede. and interpreted within the service delivery contexts indepen- Finally, we present a potentially new theoretical perspective in the dently of the consumption experience. Hui and Au (2001) found area—the concept of “cultural service personality”. that voice (i.e., allowing customers a chance to express dissatisfaction) had a stronger effect on collectivist Chinese 4.1. Going beyond Hofstede respondents who value respect, status and face in their social behaviors, while compensation had a stronger effect on Although there are many useful categorizations of culture or Canadian respondents due to the fact that receiving physical cultural dimensions (see examples in Table 2), only a few, other and financial compensation is uncommon in China and Chinese than Hofstede, have been applied in cross-cultural services consumers may have much lower expectations because of its research. While Hofstede's extensive framework has been underdeveloped service industry. These findings suggest that applied and appears to be useful across a number of different Northern Americans may be more result-focused and pragmatic areas (cf. Sivakuma and Nakata, 2001), scholars in recent years in their reactions to service experiences. have raised concerns related to the over-reliance on this Individuals' reactions to poor service may be a reflection of framework. Some question the constraints of the population their attributions of the failure. Poon et al. (2004) found that when (IBM employees) and time frame (1968–1973) of much of the compared to Chinese consumers, Canadian consumers experi- data collected (Smith et al., 1996). Others argue that since enced a lower level of perceived control in dissatisfying service Hofstede's classification was originally related to work values encounters, blamed themselves less, perceived the provider to rather than consumer behavior and other micro-phenomena, it have more control over the negative event, and believed the event might be less relevant in more culture-specific studies on more to be less likely to reoccur due to the considerable difference in the micro-phenomena in consumer behavior (Yau et al., 1999). stage of economic development and the likelihood of service Thus, we believe it is important to go beyond Hofstede. We failures between Canada and China. address this on several fronts. First, we argue that it is important to As a reaction to service, consumers may choose to stay with consider alternative cultural value dimensions in cross-cultural the same service provider and develop a relationship. But why and research. Many of the dimensions in Table 2 have been how customers develop a relationship may differ across cultures. extensively used elsewhere. For example, the cultural work of Patterson and Smith (2001a,b, 2003) found that while the same set Schwartz, Triandis (and Gelfand), and Hall have each been cited of benefits motivated both U.S. and Thai respondents' propen- hundreds and some even thousands of times, according to Google sities to maintain relationships with a range of service providers, Scholar. Thus, it is surprising we do not see more of these works in the importance of the benefits differed for the respondents by the consumer services area. Moreover, some of the inconclusive or country. Special treatment benefits, reflecting social bonds, were conflicting findings we currently see in the literature may be partly more important for Thai respondents, who tend to rate high on due to the fact that Hofstede's dimensions may not capture some uncertainty avoidance and collectivism, while confidence benefits of the rich differences across cultures and ignore some of the other were more important for U.S. respondents, who tend to rate low important differences, such as the degree to which a culture is on uncertainty avoidance and high on individualism. Further, they horizontal or vertical (Triandis and Gelfand, 1998). For example, found that switching costs provided a strong explanation for in a recent issue of the Journal of Consumer Psychology, Shavitt propensity to stay with a service provider in both cultures, sug- et al. (2006) expand on Triandis and Gelfand's work, highlighting gesting their universality. However, none of the studies we its relevance to cross-cultural research in moving beyond reviewed examined the possible differences in customer–service individualism/collectivism. Other articles in this issue also provider relationship formation across cultures. highlight cultural concepts that go beyond individualism/ Obviously, there needs to be more cross-cultural research on collectivism in advancing cross-cultural research in consumer service failure and recovery, customer complaining behaviors, psychology (cf. Aaker, 2006; Oyserman, 2006). service relationships and antecedents to and nature of service Future research should attempt to adopt alternative cultural provider loyalty. There is a surprising lack of research on these dimensions, when relevant, to expand our understanding of important topics. Further, theories revolving around attribution, culture and its impact on service experiences. For example, when appraisal and equity may be useful in this work but have not examining customer complaint and word-of-mouth behaviors, been systematically applied. These topics should be fully Schwartz's (1992, 1994) value dimensions may be relevant and enumerated and explored in future cross-cultural studies. Next yet have not been applied to how individuals might react to we address various conceptual issues raised by our review. service experiences in different cultures. Further, since almost every service delivery process involves communication between 4. Conceptual issues: critique and future directions customers and employees, it could be fruitful to use frameworks that focus on communication differences between cultures. For Cultural research can help validate existing theoretical instance, by drawing on the communication dimensions of direct paradigms, enrich our current theorizing, and may even lead to vs. indirect, elaborative vs. succinct, personal vs. contextual, new theories (Bagozzi, 1994). Although the field of cross-cultural and instrumental vs. affective communication, identified by consumer services is relatively new, it has tremendous potential Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey (1988), researchers could examine for developing insights into the services marketing literature. In the extent and type of communication customers from different this section, we discuss some overall conceptual issues and some cultures expect and desire during service delivery. 220 J. Zhang et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 211–224

Secondly, in “going beyond” or moving forward, we argue that 4.2. Cultural service personality it is important to go beyond cultural value orientations or belief systems such as Hofstede's work. Recently, in an excellent article, From our review of the literature on cross-cultural consumer Craig and Douglas (2006) pointed out that culture is no longer a services, we observed a number of consistent findings which phenomenon defined by or isolated to a particular locale since the underlie the impact of culture on the various stages of consumers' world is becoming increasingly de-territorialized and penetrated service experiences. This led us to the conclusion that different by elements from other cultures, resulting in cultural contamina- cultures may exhibit various “cultural service personalities”, tion, cultural pluralism and hybridization. Indeed, researchers which we define as the overall characteristics, tendencies, or must carefully specify the role of culture and define the desires related to consumer service experiences within a specific appropriate unit of analysis. They also suggest that in order to culture. While different researchers in the past have focused on develop deeper understanding of culture and its various different elements of culture—some focused more on value and manifestations, it is time to move beyond national culture and belief systems (e.g., Hofstede's dimensions) while others on incorporate three important components of culture. These include communication systems (Hall's framework), the perspective we a) abstracts of intangible elements of culture such as values and propose incorporates all three components of culture as belief systems (represented by Hofstede or Schwartz's work), recommended by Craig and Douglas (2006). We believe that by b) the communication links which bind and perpetuate a cultural incorporating these different components of culture (value and system (which would be represented by Hall's (1976) work) and belief systems, communication systems, and material culture), we c) material aspects of culture, such as artifacts, symbols and rites can capture the richness of culture and its impact on consumer (represented by McCracken's (1986) framework on the cultural service experiences. It also expands upon our Fig. 1 in regards to meaning of consumer goods). This would also include economic the role of culture in consumer service experiences in a specific aspects of the culture. We have categorized these cultural cultural context (e.g., Western vs. Eastern perspective). components in Table 2, noting that the first two are represented We suggest that consistent cultural service personality patterns but not the material aspects. We believe that cross-cultural may be a product of the impact of various components of culture consumer services research could benefit greatly by more fully on consumer service experiences. This perspective not only incorporating the components of culture as suggested by these provides a brief summary of what we currently know about the scholars. Next, based on our understanding of culture, our review literature, it also has the potential to help us gain deeper of the cross-cultural consumer services literature and the understanding of the role of culture in consumer service broadened perspective of cultural components, we present a experiences in future research. In Table 4,weoutlinethis new conceptualization that addresses the role of culture on framework by presenting two consistent cultural service person- consumer service experiences. alities which emerged from our review—the Western/

Table 4 Cultural service personality—Western/individualistic vs. Eastern/collectivist J. Zhang et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 211–224 221

Individualistic vs. the Eastern/Collectivist. Note that the compo- Moreover, Berry's (1989) five-step systematic process is nents of culture we are using are the ones derived from our review. useful: 1) start with initial research on a question in one's own However, there is certainly a need to adopt alternative ones, such culture (emic A), 2) next attempt to use the same concept or as some of the other ones found in Table 2. instrument to study a behavior in another culture (imposed etic), Cultural service personality is reflected in the service 3) then move to a discovery strategy in another culture (emic B), experience dimensions (e.g., consumer service expectations, 4) then compare emic A and emic B, and 5) when there is no and their evaluations and reactions to the service received) and is communality, comparison is not possible, but with some influenced by the different components of culture. Take communality (derived etic) comparison is possible. Although consumer satisfaction as one of the characteristics of cultural the literature is moving in this direction, the imposed etic service personality for an example. A number of studies from our approach is still the dominant approach. However, when review consistently reported lower satisfaction ratings from studying service expectations and evaluations, frameworks Western respondents than their Eastern counterparts especially with an emic approach (e.g., studied first in the U.S.) such as under low performance situations. This difference can be SERVQUAL and servicescape research may be developed explained by a number of factors related to cultural components. further by following this direction. First, Western consumers are “more difficult to satisfy” due to Additionally, it is important in cross-cultural research to their higher expectations of service quality as a result of a) their “involve the locals”. Collaborative research across countries higher individualism (value and belief systems) which leads to should utilize local researchers in all steps of the process (Craig higher expectations and demands in terms of efficiency and and Douglas, 2002; Cavusgil and Das, 1997). Research teams individual attention, and b) to their generally higher economic should be drawn from the countries involved in the research to development levels (material culture) where service industries or reduce chances of incorrect interpretations and to increase service environments are more established in general and “emic” understanding. consumers are more accustomed to higher levels of service performance. Second, Western consumers evaluate service 5.2. Operationalization and measurement of culture differently than their Eastern counterparts. In terms of communication systems, Western consumers, characterized by The major issue here is how culture or cultural dimensions low communication context, are more likely to focus on are assessed. As seen in Table 3 and also from our review, we tangible/physical elements of the service. On the other hand, found trends which are similar to what Nakata and Pokay Eastern consumers, characterized by a high communication (2004) found in the global marketing literature. That is, the context, are more likely to focus on the intangible elements of majority of the studies explicated culture implicitly. That is they service or give a more holistic evaluation of their service loosely or briefly discuss what is meant by the culture construct experience thus often times resulting in higher satisfaction in the context of the study, while others present a culture ratings especially when the service performance level is lower. construct in more detail, but used it post-hoc to explain Thus, this theory offers a view of how culture and service unpredicted results or pre-hoc to provide only context and experiences combine to form a view of a country or cultural area. background. In contrast it is important to draw cultural concepts Next we turn to the methodological issues raised in this review. and develop hypotheses based on strong theory and logic. How culture is operationalized and whether cultural values 5. Methodological issues: critique and future directions are measured is another issue of concern. Most often it is treated as synonymous with country or nation, perhaps for expediency; In this section, we discuss three methodological issues that however, it is clear that cultures are not homogenous—but that, evolved from our review and suggest some future research in fact, “layers of culture exist” (Hofstede, 1991, p. 10), and such directions. Specifically we focus on a) the emic–etic debate, an operationalization often shortchanges the richness of the b) operationalization and measurement of culture, and c) the cultural concept. Observed effects may be due to many effects selection of country and context. other than culture, leading to erroneous conclusions (Nakata and Pokay, 2004). Although the nation-as-surrogate assumption has 5.1. Emic vs. etic oriented research been called into question (Nakata and Pokay, 2004), most researchers tend not to acknowledge the potential problem. How to study cross-cultural services is closely related to the It is important for researchers to measure values and cultural debate over emic vs. etic research approaches. While the emic orientations rather than assume differences based on where the approach is based on the premise that theorizing is culture- data are collected. Very few studies reviewed here actually specific and favors within-culture investigation, the etic measured the culture construct. While few studies used cultural approach advocates generalization and focuses on issues that constructs in forming hypotheses, even fewer measured the are universal and common to all cultures (Berry, 1989). We dimensions at the individual level, with a few exceptions believe that both approaches contribute to our understanding of (Donthu and Yoo, 1998; Furrer et al., 2000; Laroche et al., service related issues in the global context. They are simply two 2005; Patterson et al., 2006). In regards to measurement issues, points of view that can converge to enrich cultural research although there are many scales to choose from, there are also a (Maheswaran and Shavitt, 2000). The critical question is which number of issues to tackle. Taras (2006) identified and reviewed approach best addresses the issue at hand. 113 instruments that have been used to measure culture 222 J. Zhang et al. / Journal of Business Research 61 (2008) 211–224 quantitatively, while Triandis et al. (1995) empirically assessed Successful services marketing in the global market depends seven scales that measure allocentrism and idiocentrism on a solid understanding of the uniqueness of specific cultures (i.e., the individual-level constructs of collectivism and in which the firm competes. Future research efforts should focus individualism). Finally, Rowney and Taras (2006) identified a on discovering these insights through both emic and etic number of measurement issues to address, such as response research modes. Further, we recommend using the five-step styles, low reliabilities, wording comparability, as we move approach suggested by Berry, as well as Craig and Douglas's forward in this area. (2006) perspective, utilizing all three components of culture including value/belief systems, communication systems, and 5.3. Selection of country and context material culture. The future of cross-cultural research in services is bright and we encourage others to delve into these topics A final issue of concern here relates to country selection in further. 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