Influence of cultural dimensions on the attitudes and intentions of consumers towards foreign and domestic products

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the cultural dimensions on consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions towards domestic and foreign products. Model of national culture, defined by Hofstede, consists of four basic cultural dimensions, which include power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/ collectivism and masculinity/femininity. Accordingly, the main goal of this research is to analyze the impact of the mentioned dimensions on the attitudes and behavioral intentions of consumers, in terms of buying foreign and domestic products. The results of the empirical research indicate that the power distance, collectivism and feminine values have positive influence on the attitudes of the respondents about domestic products, and that the uncertainty avoidance and collectivism have negative influence on attitudes about foreign products. Furthermore, results indicate that consumer attitudes have positive influence on their behavioral intentions, in the case of both types of products. The results of the research represent a contribution to the existing scientific literature, given the fact that studies which have a focus on analysis of the relations between the mentioned variables are very rare. In addition, the results can be of great importance to the management of domestic and international companies, especially in terms of understanding the importance of the cultural dimensions for doing business in international markets, as well as the ways in which they affect the attitudes and intentions of consumers, in terms of buying domestic and foreign products.