The acculturation of middle income Hispanic households

Research on the consumer behavior of the Hispanic population has recently attracted the attention of marketing practitioners as well as researchers. This study's purpose was to develop a model and scales to examine the acculturation process of Hispanic consumers with income levels of $35,000 and above, and its effects on their consumer behavior. The proposed model defined acculturation as a bilinear and multidimensional change process, measuring consumers' selective change process in four dimensions: language preference, Hispanic identification, American identification, and familism. A national sample of 653 consumers was analyzed. The scales developed for testing the model showed good to high internal consistency and adequate concurrent validity. According to the results, consumers' contact with Hispanic and Anglo acculturation agents generates change or reinforces consumers' language preferences. Language preference fully mediates the effects of the agents on consumers' American identification and familism; however, the effects of the acculturation agents on Hispanic identification are only partially mediated by individuals' language preference change. It was proposed that the acculturation process would have an effect on consumers' brand loyalty, attitudes towards high quality and prestigious brands, purchase frequency, and savings allocation for their children. Given the lack of significant differences between Hispanic and Anglo consumers and among Hispanic generations, only savings allocation for children's future was studied intensively. According to these results, Hispanic consumers' savings for their children is affected by consumers' language preference through their ethnic identification and familism. No moderating effects were found for consumers' gender, age, and country of origin, suggesting that individual differences do not affect consumers' acculturation process. Additionally, the effects of familism were tested among ethnic groups. The results suggest not only that familism discriminates among Hispanic and Anglo consumers, but also is a significant predictor of consumers' brand loyalty, brand quality attitudes, and savings allocation. Three acculturation segments were obtained through cluster analysis: bicultural, high acculturation, and low acculturation groups, supporting the biculturalism proposition. ^

The Influence of Purchase Confidence on Information Source Selection: Implications for Hospitality Industry

Whether the product of choice is a restaurant, vacation resort or hotel, it is important for hospitality marketers to understand how consumers treat purchase decisions and the influence purchase confidence and situation play on that decision. This study investigated the role purchase confidence plays with knowledge in the selection of sources of information during purchase decisions. The results indicate sources of information are perceived differently by consumers and depending on the purchase situation, subjective knowledge is influenced by purchase confidence affecting the source of information considered when making a purchase decision. The results also indicated that those with high purchase confidence and subjective knowledge will rely on themselves as a source when making a purchase rather than a retail clerk or published material.

Using the Involvement Construct to Understand the Motivations of Customers of Casual Dining Restaurants in the USA

The purpose of this study was to investigate the motivations that push consumers to dine out and restaurant attributes that pull diners to a specific restaurant. Surveys were administered to a convenience sample of 559 respondents at a large university in the Southwest of the USA. Crosstabs, ANOVA, Correlations, Factor Analysis and Multiple Regression were employed to explore differences and relationships between variables. Findings identified a profile of diners at casual restaurants. Using the involvement construct, the push-pull motivational framework, and the hedonic and utilitarian motivational framework, results of this study indicate two primary reasons behind the decision to dine out at casual restaurants and six principal attributes that draw customers into these types of restaurants. In addition, diners were categorized into high/medium/low involvement categories and the linkages between involvement levels and motivations were explored. Both hedonic and utilitarian motivations were identified. Furthermore, motivational factors and restaurant attributes were found to predict diner loyalty. This paper provides the restaurant industry with insight and understanding as to what attracts diners into an establishment and what influences decisions behind dining out.

The acculturation of middle income Hispanic households

Research on the consumer behavior of the Hispanic population has recently attracted the attention of marketing practitioners as well as researchers. This study's purpose was to develop a model and scales to examine the acculturation process of Hispanic consumers with income levels of $35,000 and above, and its effects on their consumer behavior. The proposed model defined acculturation as a bilinear and multidimensional change process, measuring consumers' selective change process in four dimensions: language preference, Hispanic identification, American identification, and familism. A national sample of 653 consumers was analyzed. The scales developed for testing the model showed good to high internal consistency and adequate concurrent validity. According to the results, consumers' contact with Hispanic and Anglo acculturation agents generates change or reinforces consumers' language preferences. Language preference fully mediates the effects of the agents on consumers' American identification and familism; however, the effects of the acculturation agents on Hispanic identification are only partially mediated by individuals' language preference change. It was proposed that the acculturation process would have an effect on consumers' brand loyalty, attitudes towards high quality and prestigious brands, purchase frequency, and savings allocation for their children. Given the lack of significant differences between Hispanic and Anglo consumers and among Hispanic generations, only savings allocation for children's future was studied intensively. According to these results, Hispanic consumers' savings for their children is affected by consumers' language preference through their ethnic identification and familism. No moderating effects were found for consumers' gender, age, and country of origin, suggesting that individual differences do not affect consumers' acculturation process. Additionally, the effects of familism were tested among ethnic groups. The results suggest not only that familism discriminates among Hispanic and Anglo consumers, but also is a significant predictor of consumers' brand loyalty, brand quality attitudes, and savings allocation. Three acculturation segments were obtained through cluster analysis: bicultural, high acculturation, and low acculturation groups, supporting the biculturalism proposition.