The Impact of Culture on Mobile Purchasing: A Comparison Between Malays and Non-Malays Consumers

The aim of this research is to determine and evaluate whether differences in national culture impact on the buyer behaviour of Malay and Non-Malay consumers when purchasing a mobile phone. The research was conducted in order to identify and compare key cultural attributes that influence mobile phone purchasing between Malay and Non-Malay consumers. An empirical study was based on the model of Hofstede’s dimension of Individualism /Collectivism and Power Distance as well as Schwartz’s values dimension of Power, Achievement, Hedonism and Self-Direction. The data was collected from 140 questionnaires using postgraduate students of Universiti Utara Malaysia, who’s taken the outcampus programme at Kuala Lumpur. The findings indicated that there is a significant difference between Malay and Non-Malay consumers in terms of mobile phone purchasing behaviour as Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Schwartz’s cultural values are concerned. The findings also recommend that managers in mobile phone organizations should be concerned with the cultural dynamics of consumers as part of their going re-segmentation, communication and promotion strategies within their overall marketing strategies. Additionally, the cultural factors will assist managers to guide the specifications required for the development of online customer decision support systems.