We Are Not All the Same: The Influence of Personal Cultural Orientations on Vulnerable Consumers’ Financial Well-Being

Abstract

Addressing vulnerability worldwide is the goal of many organizations (e.g., nongovernmental organizations, nonprofit service providers, policy makers) and scholars, yet vulnerable consumers sometimes reject help that could ameliorate their vulnerability, especially when offered services that conflict with their personal cultural orientations. This article utilizes secondary data collected in the United States and primary data collected in the United States and China to explore how two personal cultural orientations—idiocentrism (i.e., individualism at the individual level) and allocentrism (i.e., collectivism at the individual level)—influence one's perceived financial vulnerability and behavior. The results demonstrate that idiocentrism (vs. allocentrism) decreases (vs. increases) perceived financial vulnerability through other personal cultural orientations (i.e., long-term orientation, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity). Finally, perceived financial vulnerability leads to consumers engaging in financial behaviors that negatively affect financial well-being. The results contribute to the literature by deepening understanding of the formulation mechanism and consequences of perceived financial vulnerability from the perspective of personal cultural orientations. In addition, the results indicate that personal cultural orientations can be changed by idiocentrism/allocentrism and thus can be treated as endogenous variables in international marketing research.