Money Attitudes and Compulsive Buying

Abstract

Mexico is quickly emerging as a major economic force (Roberts and Martinez 1997). Expansion of the Mexican market is part of a larger movement. Cultures around the world are converging in ways unprecedented in world history. TEe result is the emergence of a worldwide consumer culture. The common language of the consumer culture is money. Money attitudes permeate all areas of a person's life. Using Ya-mauchi and Templer's (1982) Money Attitude Scale (MAS), the present study investigated the role money attitudes play in compulsive buying-a negative by-product of the consumer culture. This study was the first to investigate how money attitudes affect Mexican consumer behavior. The MAS scale retained much of its original structure when administered in Mexico. This suggests that the money attitudes which shape our values and drive our behavior are similar on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Money used as a tool to influence and impress others is a consistent theme across the two cultures. Attitudes regarding saving money and money anxiety were also found to significantly impact compulsive buying in Mexican consumers. Implications for marketing, public policy, and research are discussed.

Key Words:

• Compulsory buying
• consumer culture
• Mexico
• Money Attitude Scale (MAS)