Does Culture Impact on Impulse Buying Behaviour? – A Study on Fast Moving Consumer Good Industry

Abstract

Culture has been an important factor concerning the purchasing behavior of people. This research aims to identify the impact of cultural factors on impulse buying. The present study applies the Hofstede’s cultural model dimensions to determine its impact on impulse buying in FMCG in the Sri Lankan context. Accordingly, the factors that were under investigation in this study were individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, long-term orientation and power distance. Primary data for the study were collected employing questionnaires responded to online by 267 Sri Lankan consumers, which were later analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation method. The results indicate that individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, long-term orientation and power distance influence consumers’ tendency to impulse buy. This study is one of the early studies which focuses on testing/validating all five elements of Hofstede’s model against impulse buying.