1. Marketing and Advertising Department
Identification of the Values Link: Influence of cultural values on individual consumer attachments towards organic milk in Turkey and the UK
Gaye Bebek, PhD
Coventry University
Marketing and Advertising Department
1st July, 2014

2. Outline Values and the Green Consumer Research Question
Conceptual Framework
Scope of Research
Methodological Approach
Results
Implications
Contribution & Limitations

3. The Green Boom to Green Bubble
Rise of Consumer Social Responsibility C(n)SR
Failing at the check out and the infamous “gap”. Two different streams to address the “gap”:
Consumers as individuals, which regards the gap is the result of specific issues (i.e. Auger and Devinney et al. 2007, Devinney, et al. 2010)
Consumers as members of socially connected groups (i.e. Carrington and Neville, 2011, Belz and Peattie, 2009)
Cross-cultural difference in green consumer behaviour
No significant effort in literature to analyse the influence of latter on the first
In order to identify this a common ground is necessary, this common ground is the concept of values

4. Do we consume with “values”?
Green products are marketed on their ethical and environmental values
Consumers attach values to products in their own way
Cultural values influence consumers’ behaviour
“How does cultural values influence consumers’ value attachment to green products?”
To answer that a conjoint framework of MEC and SVS comparable on a cross-cultural basis is proposed.

5. Conceptual Framework
How do cultural values influence
consumers value attachment to green products?
What different values do consumers attach to green products?
How do cultural values
influence consumer behaviour?

6. Scope of the Research
A cross-cultural application with samples from Turkey and the UK because:
Different economic profiles influence affordability and willingness to pay
Maturity stage of the organic market will influence consumer awareness and availability of the product
different cultural characteristics
Organic products and organic milk because:
Gaining popularity
Perceived to be of high quality, and healthier
Possess environmentally friendly claims with no chemicals
Basic consumer product used for common purposes
Organic dairy products are more associated with animal rights

7. Methodological Approach
Simultaneous data collection across cultures
Embedding the MEC into SVS collecting data on culturally representative samples across stratas
Constructing the A-C-V and B-C-V links in each culture
Building the 10 value scales from 21 single value items suggested by Schwartz (1994)
Analysing cultural level value differences by comparing variance and means across buying and non-buying behaviour.
Building dichotomous variables from the prominent attributes and barriers and checking the relationship with the scales at the cultural level.

8. Total 249, buyers= 167, non-buyers=82
Findings Turkey - I
Total 249, buyers= 167, non-buyers=82
Product/individual level findings:
Most frequently attached attributes:
“healthy” (25%)
“additive-free” (17%)
“natural” (16.4%)
“trustworthy” (14.3%)
Most frequently attached barriers:
“expensive” (19 %)
“not enough information” (17%)
Cultural level findings:
Buyers score higher than non-buyers for:
Stimulation (diff-mean= 0.243, F=3.54*, t= 1.6*)
Tradition (diff-mean= 0.425, F=2.94*, t= 2.86**)

9. Findings Turkey - II
Traditional people buy organic milk because it is trustworthy (.154**)
Possibly because they trust the people form rural areas and reminiscence of a simpler life (consistent with other studies i.e. Hughner et al. 2007).
Benevolent people by organic milk because it is healthy (.134**).
This could be related to their feeling of responsibility towards their families and other closer circle of people.

10. Total 248, buyers= 61, non-buyers=187
Findings UK - I
Total 248, buyers= 61, non-buyers=187
Product/individual level findings:
Most frequently attached attributes:
“natural” (17.8%)
“healthy” (16.2%)
“pro-environmental” (16.2%)
“high-quality” (14.7%)
Most frequently attached barriers:
“expensive” (26.8 %)
“not different enough” (15.2 %)
Cultural level findings:
Buyers score higher than non-buyers for Power (diff-mean= 0.688, F=6.23**, t= 4.146***).
Non-buyers score higher than buyers for Benevolence (diff-mean= 0.306, F=6.28**, t= 2.68***).

11. Findings UK - II
UK:
Correlations between Cultural Level Values and Attributes/Barriers
These value domains define people who seek excitement, change and have success-seeking motivations.
People who favour Universalism buy organic milk because it is pro-environmental (.161**).
Pro-environmental behaviour of people in the UK is rooted in the cultural characteristics, and does influence to buy organic milk (consistent with studies i.e. Squires et al., 2001; Makatouni, 2002; Soler et al., 2002).
“Expensive” attachment does not have any cultural links therefore it could be a
situational barrier.
Healthy
Natural
High quality
Pro-environmental
Achievement
 0.209**
0.202** 
 0.274** -
Hedonism
 0.167**
0.211**
0.155**
Stimulation
 0.246**  -
0.231**
 0.208**
Power
0.192**
0.267**

12. Implications For the Turkish market:
Trustworthiness of the product should be used in combination with the traditional values of the consumers.
Healthy attribute of the product should be combined with taking care of the loved ones.
For the UK market:
Consumers seem to be looking for change and variety in their lives so the attributes such as healthy, natural and high quality could be promoted in combination with that message.
Pro-environmental is a cultural level segment and worth exploring in the UK.
Expensive is only a situational barrier so price promotions might be successful.

13. Contributions and Limitations
Answering which motivational domains are attached to the relative characteristics of organic products
Answering whether there are any cultural tendencies to attach specific values as a result of the unique characteristics of the culture
Limitations:
Organic not green:
Even though for the case of milk and dairy, environmentalism is a much stronger association, organic products do not profile the whole ethical stance of green products by itself
Health issues associated to organic products may overshadow the green attributes
Controlling for other contextual and situational factors that could influence the link.
Controlling the social desirability bias in respondents.

14. Questions?