Materialism, quality of life, and the well-being lifestyle of urban consumers: a cross-cultural study of Korea and China

Hwayeol Choi¹ and  Daechun An²*

¹Research Professor, Duksung Women’s University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

²College of Business Administration, Inha University, Incheon, Republic of Korea

*Corresponding Author’s E-Mail: dan@inha.ac.kr

Abstract 08 May 2013

Abstract

Consumer well-being highlights the lifestyles related to health and beauty, leisure, or pro-environmentalism. The concept of consumer well-being is related to both materialism and quality of life, which Hofstede (1980) regarded as opposite values. Using Hofstede’s index of masculinity (MAS)-feminity (FEM) culture, this study conducted a cross-cultural analysis with a dataset that consists of 1,500 Korean and 500 Chinese urban consumers. Hypotheses were tested using AMOS. The findings indicate that, in both China and Korea, quality of life (feminine value) leads to well-being lifestyles. Although materialism does not lead to well-being lifestyles, urban Chinese consumers are more materialistic than urban Korean consumers. The higher level of materialism in China confirms Hofstede’s finding (1980). In addition, urban Chinese consumers are also more likely to pursue well-being oriented lifestyles than Korean. This study highlights that, when promoting well-being products, marketing managers in China and Korea would find it advisable to emphasize quality of life-related traits.

Keywords: consumer well-being, lifestyle, cultural value, materialism, quality of life, China, Korea.