Differences in consumer decision-making styles among selected south-east European countries

Figures & data

Table 1. Main indicators for SEE countries in 2012.

Indicator	Croatia	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Macedonia
Area, square kilometres	56,594	51,129	25,713
Population total (in millions)	4.3	3.8	2.1
GDP per capita in USD	13,227	4,447	4,589
Unemployment, total (in % of total labour force)	13.4	27.6	31.4
FDI, net inflows in USD (in millions USD)	1,274.9	633.2	324.6
Imports of goods and services (in % of GDP)	43	67	79
Motor vehicles (per 1000 people)	380	214	155
Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people)	113	90	108
Market share of large retail stores (hypermarkets, supermarkets, discount stores), in %*	59	51	33
Market share of small grocery stores*	29	44	70

Notes: Religion includes in Croatia, Catholics 86%; in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Islam 45%, Orthodoxy 36%, and Catholicism 15%; in Macedonia Orthodoxy is represented with 64.8% and Islam with 33.3% of population.

Source: World Bank; http://data.worldbank.org/indicator (accessed September 18, 2013).

* GFK Croatia, 2012; GFK Skopje, 2013.

Table 2. Summary statistics on sampled consumers, N = 1206.

Sample characteristics	Values
Country
Bosnia and Herzegovina	49.8%
Croatia	33.5%
Macedonia	16.7%
Gender
Male	29.5%
Female	70.5%
Age (mean value, years)	21.3
Household income
Low	28.8%
Middle	30.9%
High	20.9%
DK/NA*	19.4%

* DK/NA – don’t know / no answer.

Source: Consumer survey conducted by authors.

Table 3. Exploratory factor analysis results.

	Factor 1: Perfectionist, high-quality conscious consumer	Factor 2: Brand conscious consumer	Factor 3: Novelty-fashion conscious consumer	Factor 4: Recreational, hedonistic consumer	Factor 5: Confused by overchoice consumer	Factor 6: Habitual, brand-loyal consumer
I1	0.673
I3	0.855
I4	0.610
I9						0.405
I11		0.782
I12		0.772
I15			0.656
I16			0.845
I17			0.771
I20				0.767
I21				0.843
I22				0.719
I23				0.653
I33					0.685
I34					0.683
I35					0.752
I36					0.731
I37						0.812
I38						0.634

Source: Authors’ calculation based on consumer survey.

Table 4. Consumer style characteristics, items, standardised loadings and CR.

Factors	Mean	SD	Standardised regression coefficients
Factor 1: Perfectionistic, high-quality conscious consumer, CR = 0.759
Getting very good quality is very important to me.	3.969	0.789	0.686***
In general, I usually try to buy the best overall quality.	3.836	0.886	0.820***
I make special effort to choose the very best quality products.	3.300	0.982	0.633***
Factor 2: Brand conscious consumer, CR = 0.707
The higher the price of a product, the better its quality.	2.735	1.128	0.727***
Nice department and specialty stores offer me the best products.	2.587	1.086	0.751***
Factor 3: Novelty-fashion conscious consumer, CR = 0.819
I usually have one or more outfits of the very newest style.	3.061	1.176	0.696***
I keep my wardrobe up-to-date with the changing fashions.	3.144	1.141	0.856***
Fashionable, attractive styling is very important to me.	3.255	1.062	0.770***
Factor 4: Recreational, hedonistic consumer, CR = 0.841
Shopping is not a pleasant activity to me.	3.778	1.255	0.729***
Going shopping is one of the enjoyable activities of my life.	3.675	1.217	0.901***
Shopping in stores wastes my time.	3.685	1.156	0.720***
I enjoy shopping just for the fun of it.	3.318	1.149	0.658***
Factor 5: Confused by overchoice consumer, CR = 0.758
There are so many brands to choose from that often I feel confused.	2.927	1.146	0.695***
Sometimes it’s hard to choose in which stores to shop.	3.007	1.127	0.864***
The more I learn about products, the harder it seems to choose the best.	3.133	1.087	0.568***
Factor 6: Habitual, brand-loyal consumer, CR = 0.781
I have favourite brands I buy over and over.	3.415	1.109	0.893***
Once I find a product or brand I like, I stick with it.	3.381	1.088	0.701***

Source: Authors’ calculation based on consumer survey.

*** significant at p<0.01.

Table 5. Convergent and discriminant validity.

Consumer style characteristics		Square root of AVEs in diagonal cells
	AVE	Perfectionist, high-quality conscious	Brand conscious	Novelty-fashion conscious	Recreational, hedonistic shopping conscious	Confused by overchoice	Habitual, brand-loyal
Perfectionist, high-quality conscious	0.515	0.717
Brand conscious	0.546	0.223	0.739
Novelty-fashion conscious	0.603	0.108	0.359	0.777
Recreational, hedonistic shopping conscious	0.574	0.095	0.179	0.487	0.757
Confused by overchoice	0.517	−0.044	0.067	0.056	−0.107	0.719
Habitual, brand-loyal	0.644	0.375	0.126	0.267	0.166	−0.103	0.803

Source: Authors’ calculation based on consumer survey.

Figure 1. Measurement model.

Source: Authors' own creation.

Table 6. ANOVA results.

Consumer style characteristics	Means	HR	BA	MK	F	Support for hypotheses
Perfectionistic, high quality conscious	3.70	3.76	3.61	3.84	4.583*	H1 (Yes), H1a (Yes), H1b (No)
Brand conscious	2.66	2.44	2.70	2.95	10.761**	H2 (Yes), H2a (Yes), H2b (Yes)
Novelty-fashion conscious	3.15	2.94	3.21	3.39	9.223**	H3 (Yes), H3a (No), H3b (No)
Recreational, hedonistic shopping conscious	3.61	3.40	3.61	4.03	15.203**	H4 (Yes), H4a (Yes), H4b (Yes)
Confused by overchoice	3.02	2.93	3.16	2.82	7.369**	H7 (Yes), H7a (Yes), H7b (No)
Habitual, brand-loyal	3.40	3.55	3.22	3.60	9.643**	H8 (Yes), H8a (Yes), H8b (No)

Notes: (1) H – hypothesis; (2) BA – Bosnia and Herzegovina; HR – Croatia, MK –Macedonia; (3).

Source: Authors’ calculation based on consumer survey.

* p < 0.05

** p < 0.01; (4) Hyphotheses 5, 5a, 5b related to price consciousness and Hypotheses 6, 6a and 6b related to impulsiveness were not tested.

Table

I1	Getting very good quality is very important to me.
I2	When it comes to purchasing products, I try to get the very best or perfect choice.
I3	In general, I usually try to buy the best overall quality.
I4	I make special effort to choose the very best quality products.
I5	I really don’t give my purchases much thought or care.
I6	My standards and expectations for products I buy are very high.
I7	I shop quickly, buying the first product or brand I find that seems good enough.
I8	A product doesn’t have to be perfect, or the best, to satisfy me.
I9	The well-known national brands are best for me.
I10	The more expensive brands are usually my choices.
I11	The higher the price of a product, the better its quality.
I12	Nice department and specialty stores offer me the best products.
I13	I prefer buying the best-selling brands.
I14	The most advertised brands are usually very good choices.
I15	I usually have one or more outfits of the very newest style.
I16	I keep my wardrobe up-to-date with the changing fashions.
I17	Fashionable, attractive styling is very important to me.
I18	To get variety, I shop in different stores and choose different brands.
I19	It’s fun to buy something new and exciting.
I20	Shopping is not a pleasant activity to me.
I21	Going shopping is one of the enjoyable activities of my life.
I22	Shopping in stores wastes my time.
I23	I enjoy shopping just for the fun of it.
I24	I make my shopping trips fast.
I25	I buy as much as possible at sale prices.
I26	The lower price products are usually my choice.
I27	I look carefully to find the best value for the money.
I28	I should plan my shopping more carefully than I do.
I29	I am impulsive when purchasing.
I30	Often I make careless purchases I later wish I had not.
I31	I take the time to shop carefully for best buys.
I32	I carefully watch how much I spend.
I33	There are so many brands to choose from that often I feel confused.
I34	Sometimes it’s hard to choose in which stores to shop.
I35	The more I learn about products, the harder it seems to choose the best.
I36	All the information I get on different products confuses me.
I37	I have favourite brands I buy over and over.
I38	Once I find a product or brand I like, I stick with it.
I39	I go to the same stores each time I shop.
I40	I change brands I buy regularly.

GFK Croatia. (2012). Retail market in Croatia ( Orange Newsletter No. 35). Zagreb: GFK Croatia. Retrieved from http://www.gfk.hr/imperia/md/content/gfkaustria2/pdf/nlo35.pdf

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