Why attitudes toward advertising are not universal: cultural explanations

Abstract

n this study an attempt is made to analyze from a cross-cultural perspective the moderating function of the cultural values of a society on the influence that the beliefs in advertising have in attitudes toward advertising under a hypothesis testing approach, as most works of the existing literature have a descriptive or exploratory character. To do that, a sample of 441 individuals from four different European countries (Germany, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom) was chosen. The empirical results demonstrate that differences in cultural profiles, beliefs, and attitudes toward advertising do exist in terms of country of origin. Therefore, cultural values appear as factors that explain the reason why attitudes toward advertising are not universal attitudes.