Impact of Fear Appeals in a Cross-Cultural Context

SUMMARY

The purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of culture on fear, using the protection motivation model as a basic theoretical framework. A 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted in the United States and in France. Participants were first shown a high threat or low threat advertisement. They were then asked to complete a questionnaire designed to measure fear, maladaptive coping, and purchase intention. A two-way multivariate analysis of covariance was used to test the hypotheses.

Results indicated that compared to a low level of threat, a high level induces greater fear and leads to a higher likelihood of purchasing the advertised product. However, no significant differences on fear were found between French and U.S. subjects. Exploratory findings suggest that adaptive, instead of maladaptive, coping could play a mediating role between fear and purchase intention. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed, and suggestions regarding the design of future fear appeals studies are provided.

KEYWORDS:

• Fear appeals
• advertising
• consumer behavior
• France
• cross-cultural management
• uncertainty avoidance