Miloslava Chovancová

Background. Cultural values are important aspects of the self of consumers. As businesses have become more and more global, the cultural differences among consumers play an important role in the development of effective marketing and branding strategies. This is because the cross-cultural phenomenon occurs as a result of the diverse cultural components that exist among consumers and it is a significant factor that influences buying behaviour in consumer markets.

Research aims. The main objective of this study is to analyse the cultural orientation (cultural dimensions) of consumers in the Czech Republic and Ghana with reference to the different age groups and sex.

Methodology. The convenience sampling method was used to select respondents for the study. A total of 1253 respondents were selected from the Czech Republic and Ghana. There were 460 respondents from the Czech Republic and 793 respondents from Ghana. Data analysis was performed with inferential statistics.

Key findings. The study revealed that with regard to the first hypothesis there were no significant differences between three of the dependent variables and sex in the Czech Republic. The p-value for the analysis on power distance was 0.161, collectivism and individualism was 0.110, and long term orientation was 0.493. There were significant differences between sex and two of the dependent variables (masculinity and femininity and uncertainty avoidance). The p-value of the test of masculinity and femininity and sex was 0.000, whiles that of uncertainty avoidance and sex was 0.007. However, in Ghana, the results showed that there is no significant difference between sex and the cultural orientation of the respondents. The p-value recorded for all the five questions that access the cultural dimensions among consumers in Ghana were more than the significant level of 0.05. Concerning the second hypothesis, it was revealed that in the Czech Republic there was a statistical significance between the ages of the respondents and the cultural dimensions. The p-value of all the five cultural dimensions was less than the significant level of 0.05. In Ghana, there was no statistical significance between the ages of the respondents and the cultural dimensions of collectivism and individualism (p-value 0.230) and masculinity and femininity (p-value 0.728). However, there was statistical significance between the age of the respondents and 3 of the cultural dimensions, namely power distance (p-value 0.011), uncertainty avoidance (p-value 0.000), and long term orientation (p-value 0.000).

Conclusions. The study concludes that the cultural dimensions should be used as pre-predictors to determine how consumers differ or converge in their behaviour in different countries. This is how culture can serve the purpose in defining consumer behaviour and enable managers develop strategies for specific markets.