A new study from Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business finds that Americans who believe in equality are more-impulsive shoppers. And it has implications for how to market products differently in countries where shoppers are more likely to buy on impulse. The study, “Power-Distance Belief and Impulsive Buying,” was authored by Rice management professor Vikas Mittal and recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Marketing Research. Power-distance belief (PDB) is the degree of power disparity the people of a culture expect and accept. It is measured on a scale of zero to 100, and the higher the PDB, the more a person accepts disparity and expects power inequality. Americans have a low PDB score relative to people in countries like China and India. The study found that people who have a high PDB score tend to exhibit more self-control and are less impulsive when shopping. “In our studies, people with low PDB scores spent one-and-a-half times the amount spent by high-PDB individuals when buying daily items like snacks and drinks,” Mittal said.
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