Darren Paproski - final PhD submission.pdf - University of ...

One of the limitations of Maslow’s needs theory is that it is primarily a Western construct yet
the way in which motivation, as manifest through needs theories, influences consumers may
have an added cultural dimension. An adaptation was proposed by Schütte (1998) who
hypothesized an Asian hierarchy of needs based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Model (see
Figure 3.3). Schütte separated Asian needs into two broad categories: social (lowest affiliation,
then admiration, then status) and physical (lowest physiological, then safety). The status need
perhaps explains why 50% of Gucci’s revenue comes from Asia!
Under Schütte’s model, lower-order needs (safety and physiological) are common among
Western and Asian individuals. Affiliation needs also correspond to social needs but his theory
places more emphasis on affiliation per se than on affection. At the fourth stage the Asian
hierarchy begins to differ more markedly. To the Western individual, prestige and status is a
stage need and is an objective rather than a goal. Under the Asian hierarchy the need for
admiration is the motivator and partially relates to the concept of Confucian face. The ultimate
motivator to the Western individuals is self-actualization – ‘to be all that one can be’. This is
the built-in conception that we did not get “cheated” out of life and that we ‘lived life to the
fullest’ and is a psychological ideal of self-fulfillment. In contrast, the supreme goal to an Asian
individual is desire for status in society and the family.
Confucian face is a conception built in the notion that one can bring honor to one’s self, family,
clan, community, and descendents. Moreover, in Asian society nominal authority tends to be
real authority and having status generally confers power and the belief among others that
those with status have power and its accompaniments. In his qualitative research study on
Chinese consumers in selected cities, Jap (2010) found that Chinese guanxi (relationships)
influenced 18 of 20 respondents’ consumption behavior when making purchases. In particular,
he found that by consuming global luxury brands, it would help consumer’s maintain guanxi (or
relationship) better with their in-groups (Jap, 2010). Jap’s research thus confirms the quest for
social status needs in the Chinese market. Among the three key Chinese cities studied, Beijing,
Tianjin, and Shanghai, consumers from Shanghai ranked first in prestigiousness as a brand
characteristic ahead of design, service, and convenience (Jap, 2010).
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