The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research

Volume 23, Issue 1, 2013

Culture, small retail stores, and Indian consumer preferences: A moderating role of demographics
PreviewView full textDownload full text Full access DOI: 10.1080/09593969.2012.734256 Arpita Kharea* pages 87-109

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Abstract
Growth in the Indian retail industry in the last decade has attracted interest from both academicians and retail practitioners. Earlier research has discussed the impact of organized retailing on the future of small retail stores. It is understood that economic factors like rising income, consumption levels, economic growth, and large middle class segment have contributed toward the growth of organized retail in India. This study examines Indian consumers preference to shop from small retail stores with respect to cultural- and store-related factors. Demographic factors education, age, and gender moderate cultural factors of long-term orientation and collectivism and consequently consumers preference to shop from small retail stores.

Keywords

small retail stores, culture, long-term orientation, collectivism, demographics, India

Abstract
Jump to section
Growth in the Indian retail industry in the last decade has attracted interest from both academicians and retail practitioners. Earlier research has discussed the impact of organized retailing on the future of small retail stores. It is understood that economic factors like rising income, consumption levels, economic growth, and large middle class segment have contributed toward the growth of organized retail in India. This study examines Indian consumers preference to shop from small retail stores with respect to cultural- and store-related factors. Demographic factors education, age, and gender moderate cultural factors of long-term orientation and collectivism and consequently consumers preference to shop from small retail stores.

Introduction
Economic globalization has brought tremendous changes in values, lifestyles, and culture. Improved telecommunication networks, trade liberalization, and increased travel have opened new vistas of opportunities for consumers across different countries. Internet has become a transmitter of global values and lifestyles. Proponents of globalization talk of standardized offerings for consumers across the globe (Levitt 1983; van Raaij 1997). Hofstede (1980) posits that countries are categorized as individualistic and collectivist. The collectivist cultures represent a high degree of belongingness and cohesiveness within social groups. The individualist cultures are less risk-averse and get along well with members from diverse groups (Hofstede 1980). Culture is defined as collective programming of mind which distinguishes members of one group of people from another (Hofstede 2001). Cultural values influence consumers product/brand preferences, shopping behavior, and consumption. In spite of globalization, cultural differences still exist across countries and adaptation of products and promotions have to be done according to cultural variances (De Mooij 1998; Laroche, Kalamas, and Cleveland 2005). Cultural values serve as guide to behavior and enable members of society to adapt to social norms (Smith and Schwartz 1997). McCracken (1986, 72) states: Each culture establishes its own special vision of the world, thus rendering the understandings and rules appropriate to one cultural context preposterously inappropriate in another. Cultural categories help to understand reality and distinguish the world of phenomena. In the world of globalization and changing cultural values, this research explores if cultural factors influence Indian consumers preference to shop at small retail stores. The research examines the role of cultural factors and store-related factors in predicting Indian consumers store preference. Cultural dimensions identified by Hofstede (1980) were used for understanding Indian consumers preference for small retail stores. Understanding shopping behavior can help companies in planning their distribution, sales, and promotion strategies. The research further examines impact of demographics as a moderator variable on cultural- and store-related factors. The Indian retail landscape is divided into organized and unorganized retail. Indian retailing has grown exponentially in the last decade and attracted investments from global retail giants. It is estimated to be worth $175200 billion by 2016 (Sathish and Raju 2010). Rising income levels, large middle class consumer segment, and high disposable incomes of Indian consumers are responsible for its growth (Srivastava 2008; Sathish and Raju 2010). Unorganized retail comprises small retail stores called kirana shops. These account for more than 70% of grocery sales (Jones, Lasserre, and Gehlen 2005) and play a strategic role in Indian retail business (Ramkrishnan 2010). There are about 12 million small stores spread across 5000 towns and 600,000 villages across India (Halepete, Iyer, and Park 2008; Venkatesh 2008). They maintain low prices, offer products and services according to the local clientele, and are conveniently located in residential areas (Halepete, Iyer, and Park 2008; Srivastava 2008; Sathish and Raju 2010). The small retail stores are run by family members and offer customized assortment to their consumers. India has the highest retail density in the world with one retail store per hundred

people (Kalhan and Franz 2009). The small retailers constitute about 95% of retail sales (Goswami and Mishra 2009). Given the sales statistics of the small retail stores, their contribution to the retail sector cannot be underestimated. Earlier research has examined the survival prospects of these stores in the changing retail environment. It has been mentioned that culture governs consumers preferences to shop at specific outlets (Hoare and Butcher 2008). The research questions for the study are: RQ1: Do cultural factors like long-term orientation, masculinity, collectivism, risk averseness, and power distance influence Indian consumers preference to shop at small retail stores? RQ2: Would demographic factors like education, income, age, marital status, and gender moderate cultural factors and consequently Indian consumers preference to shop at small retail stores?

Small retailers in India

There is limited research to understand culture's influence on Indian consumers retail patronage behavior. Research suggests that Indian consumers store patronage behavior is not dependent on multi-dimensional service attributes (Sinha and Banerjee 2004). The retail environment and store features were not considered relevant motivators for consumers. Small retail outlets were perceived attractive by consumers; however, in order to compete with organized retailers, they would have to improve their service and product attributes (Goswami 2008; Ramkrishnan 2010). Srivastava (2008) found that credit and home services offered by small retailers were important functional attributes for Indian consumers. These attributes helped small retailers in fighting organized retail formats. The current research intends to fill the gap related to culture's influence on Indian consumers attitude toward small retailers. It explores if store attributes of service, assortment, consumers relationship with retailers, socialization, and credit facilities affect Indian consumers purchase intentions and whether cultural variables play any role in store patronage behavior.

Literature review
Consumers shopping behavior is influenced by a number of factors such as store attributes, demographics, and psychographics. Research posits that consumers decision to shop at a particular store is influenced by attributes such as convenience, facilities, store assortments, services, and store image (Mehrabian and Russell 1974; Baker, Levy and Grewal 1992; Kim and Kang 1995; McGee and Festervand 1998; Moschis, Curasi, and Bellenger 2004). These factors have been examined with reference to small retail stores and consumer patronage behavior. Consumers reasons to shop at small retail outlets have been much researched (Klemz and Boshoff 2001; Lee, Johnson and Gahring 2008; Lu and Seock 2008). Factors such as empathy, relationship with consumers (Mittal and Lassar 1996), ability to change quickly to according consumer needs (Klemz and Boshoff 2001), and personalized interaction (Lu and Seock 2008) have been identified as major reasons for consumers small retail store patronage. Research suggests that cultural factors affect consumers purchase decisions, quality perceptions, and store patronage (Lee 1990; Hoare and Butcher 2008; Ozedmir and Hewett 2010; Seock and Lin 2011). Culture influences consumer shopping behavior and consumers from different culture are affected by different store attributes (Winsted 1997; Zhang and Neelankavil 1997; Matilla 1999; Furrer, Liu, and Sudharshan 2000). In a similar vein, the current research attempts to examine the influence of cultural factors in determining Indian consumers preference to shop at small retail stores. Adapting Hofstede's (1980) cultural dimensions of power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation, Furrer, Liu, and Sudharshan (2000) had developed a scale to measure collectivist and individualistic orientation. The current research adapted the scale developed by Furrer, Liu, and Sudharshan (2000) to measure cultural values. The role of these four cultural variables was studied with respect to Indian consumers preference to shop at small retail outlets. The different variables such as consumers attitude toward small retail stores, role of culture on consumer behavior, and influence of cultural factors on store choice identified for the research are examined below.

Consumers preference to shop from small retailers

This section discusses the various attributes that influence consumers preference for small retailers. These reasons are classified under product variety (Amirani and Gates 1993; Finn and Louviere 1996; Erdem, Oumlil and Tuncalp 1999; Brennan and Lundsten 2000; Seiders, Simonides, and Tigert 2000; Solgaard and Hansen 2003), low price (Arnold, Oum, and Tigert 1983; Kim and Kang 1995), service and facilities (Home 2002; Singh and Powell 2002; Moschis, Curasi, and Bellenger 2004; Lee, Johnson, and Gahring 2008). Some research on small retailers suggests that unavailability of products at local retail stores affects consumers outshopping behavior (Miller and Kean 1997; Lee, Johnson, and Gahring 2008). Consumer satisfaction with local small retailers is influenced by service and assortment. This increased consumers tendency to shop from local retailers. In some countries, where there is a large segment of consumers who are daily wagers, credit facilities offered by small retailers are important in predicting consumers store loyalty behavior. DAndrea, Lopez-Aleman, and Stengel (2006) in their research on small retailers in Latin America found poor consumers place convenience, friendship, and availability of credit as important attributes for store patronage. This helps them in acquiring products without having to make payment immediately. Ward (1987) posits that small retailers contribute to the local community by providing financial assistance to the disadvantaged consumers. They play a vital social role by extending support to poor and elderly consumers (Sim 1999; Miller and Besser 2000; Smith and Sparks 2000; DAndrea, Lopez-Aleman, and Stengel 2006). In other research, Kirkup et al. (2004) found that elderly and low-income single mothers gave importance to easy accessibility and convenience attributes of small retail stores. Local small retailers serve as community hubs and provide forums for community interaction (Kirby 1982; Paddison and Cadlerwood 2007). Landry, Arnold, and Stark (2005) examined small retailer's community embeddedness as an extension of their involvement with community. Their relationship with local community provides them insight about consumers needs and product requirements. They can strengthen this relationship by associating with local events and strengthen their belonging to the community. Social interaction and personalized service is highly valued in retailing. Hu and Jasper (2006) examined the relationship of social cues and consumers susceptibility to interpersonal influence on local store image. Social and physical environment affect consumers store loyalty behavior (Lin and Liang 2011). Consumers have favorable attitudes about service quality and merchandize when social cues were present. Store-related factors have been studied with respect to small retail patronage behavior. Presence of personalized service creates favorable perception about the store. Home (2002) in his study on small retailers found that consumers give importance to friendly personnel, locational convenience, likelihood of meeting acquaintances at local store, and quick easy purchase. Locational convenience and accessibility make local stores attractive. Research suggests that small retailers relationship with local consumers plays a pivotal role in enhancing consumer loyalty, service perception, and consequently minimizing consumer defection (Auh et al. 2008; Lee, Johnson, and Gahring 2008). Retailers knowledge about their regular consumers enables them to serve them efficiently and improves their ability to handle consumer complaints (Lee, Johnson, and Gahring 2008; Adeji, Griffith, and Noble 2009). Their interaction and relationship with consumers could help in generating consumer satisfaction. Lu and Seock (2008) identified personal interaction as the most important factor in generating positive word-of-mouth and small retail store patronage. In small communities, wordof-mouth was effective in generating increased footfalls in the store. Klemz and Boshoff (2001) found that small retailers were empathetic to their consumers and it generated store loyalty. Building strong relationships with local community can help small retailers to combat competition posed by big organized retailers (Miller and Besser 2000; Jackson and Stoel 2011). Availability of products at small retail stores can improve consumer satisfaction. Assortment, price bargains, transactional convenience, and shopping experience influence consumers choice of small retail stores (Messinger and Narasimhan 1997; Miranda, Konya and Havrila 2005; Carpenter and Moore 2006; Lee, Johnson, and Gahring 2008). Lee, Johnson, and Gahring (2008) found that there was a discrepancy in product assortment and availability offered by small

retailers and consumers expectation. The local retailers could not offer similar variety of products as offered by big retailers (Miller and Kean 1997; Miller, Schofield-Tomschin, and Kim 1998). Miller and Kean (1997) posit that intangible benefits of shopping at small retail stores outweighed the unavailability of products or poor service. However, Lee, Johnson, and Gahring (2008) report that product unavailability at small retail stores was a major reason of dissatisfaction and outshopping. Another attribute influencing consumers relationship with local retailers was their ability to adjust supply according to local demands (Smith and Sparks 2000; Landry, Arnold, and Stark 2005). Small retailers interact with their consumers more as compared to big stores/supermarkets, and therefore it is easy for them to stock products according to the local demand. Kirkup et al. (2004) state that consumers preference for small retail stores was governed by consumers circumstances (such as owning a care, small kids, disabled mother), situational factors, mobility, perceived choice of stores, and individual characteristics. Some consumers felt that big stores did not offer fresh groceries or good parking facilities. Single mothers or elderly consumers who wanted to purchase small packs felt that big stores did not cater to their needs. Clow and Cole (2005) suggest small retailers need to follow differentiation strategies in order to compete with big retailers. The big retailers have an advantage of offering large discounts to consumers and it was not feasible for small retailers to offer similar price discounts. Similarly, Megicks (2007) found that business level strategy had a significant impact on small retailers performance. The ability to respond to consumer requirements is the strength of small retailers (Griffith, Noble, and Chen 2006). This literature review on small retailers suggests that attributes such as service, product availability, credit facilities, convenience, and personal relationship with small retailers would be important in influencing consumers decision to shop from small retail outlets.

Culture and consumer behavior

The second important variable considered for the study was culture. Research postulates that cultural values influence consumer behavior in multiple forms (Tse et al. 1988; Wallendorf and Arnould 1988). McCracken (1986) states that a product symbolizes intangible meaning for consumer groups. The meaning differs across cultures. Hofstede's (1994) cultural dimensions are used to measure differences among diverse cultural groups. The dimensions like power distance, masculinity, individualism, long-term orientation, and uncertainty avoidance have been extensively used in research (Donthu and Yoo 1998; Furrer, Liu, and Sudharshan 2000; Watson et al. 2002; Patterson and Smith 2003; Laroche, Kalamas, and Cleveland 2005; Sigala 2006; Hoare and Butcher 2008; Blodgett, Bakir, and Rose 2008). For the current research, five cultural variables of power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation were studied with respect to Indian consumers shopping behavior. Consumers shopping behavior is influenced by the cultural values and social norms (Hoare and Butcher 2008). Researchers hold contradictory views on the influence of culture on consumers behavior. Research on eastern countries shows that there is a direct relationship of culture on consumers product choices, quality perceptions, and attitudes (Leung et al. 2005; Hoare and Butcher 2008). Kumar, Guruvayurappan, and Banerjee (2007) found that cultural nuances of a country are embedded strongly in consumers minds which require balancing of western values with country specific cultural values. Culture has multiple layers and cognitions, attitudes, and behavior of groups are affected by it. In this section, cultural factors considered for the study are discussed. Hofstede's cultural dimensions differentiate between countries on the basis of specific attributes. The cultural variable of power distance emphasizes society's acceptance of hierarchies and differences in position among individuals. Individuals are comfortable obeying superiors and respect people on higher positions. There is acceptance of unequal power distribution. The cultural dimension of individualism implies that people in individualist cultures are more focused toward their own welfare, whereas in collectivist cultures, there is commitment toward group. People are influenced by group norms and group conformity and approval is important for them. The identity of the individual is dependent on group identity (Shweder and LeVine 1984; Markus and

Kitayama 1991). The cultural variable of uncertainty avoidance suggests the degree to which individuals are disturbed by ambiguity and uncertainty. In countries with high uncertainty avoidance, people place lot of importance on financial security and written laws. The last variable, masculinity, relates to how readily the society accepts masculine values such as success, money, status, and accomplishments. Feminism, in contrast to masculinity, refers to kindness and quality of life (Blodgett, Bakir, and Rose 2008). De Mooij and Hofstede (2002) state: Longterm orientation is the extent to which a society exhibits a pragmatic, future-oriented perspective rather than a conventional historic or short-term perspective. In cultures exhibiting long-term orientation, individuals value perseverance, peace of mind, and thrift. East Asian cultures were more prone to exhibit these traits. Globalization has brought about significant changes in consumers lifestyle, values, and attitudes. Eastern or oriental cultures which were predominantly collectivist have been influenced by western culture and values. Matsumoto, Kudoh and Takeuchi (1996) suggest that the culture is dynamic and fluid. They found that Japanese trait of collectivism has undergone a change due to economic development. Changes in family's economic condition and availability of resources make collectivistic values less important. Similar findings were reported by Wu (2006) in Taiwan. Economic development, education, and prosperity would have an impact on cultural values. Nguyen, Heeler and Taran (2007) found that price perceptions differ across high and low context cultures. Consumers in high context cultures are less likely to be influenced by illusions of cheapness and low pricing. They perceive it as attempts by companies to fool them and get offended by the odd pricing tactics. In a similar vein, understanding the role of the four above mentioned culture variables on Indian consumers small retail store preference was considered an interesting area for research. Different cultures exhibit different attitudes and priorities toward service and product attributes. Liu and McClure (2001) found that consumers complaint behavior and intentions vary across cultures. Dissatisfied consumers in collectivist cultures are less likely to voice their dissatisfaction than consumers in individualist cultures. In individualist culture, consumers who voiced their dissatisfaction are more likely to remain with the company, whereas in collectivist cultures, consumers who voiced their dissatisfaction are likely to discontinue patronizing the company. Personal collectivist orientation toward brand loyalty and equity differs across collectivist and individualist cultures (Yoo 2009). Consumers from collectivist culture like South Korea were more brand loyal than consumers from individualist culture. Lam (2007) found that consumers from individualist cultures were more brand loyal than those from collectivist cultures and were likely to follow group norms. The purchase of insurance products, luxury items, used and new cars, television viewing, consumption of food, frozen food items, cold drinks, and electronic products have shown a high relationship with culture (De Mooij and Hofstede 2002). Ackerman and Tellis (2001) posit that Chinese and American cultures have distinct shopping behavior. The two cultures exhibit different price sensitivity attitudes. Mattila and Patterson (2004) studied the impact of service recovery on Eastern and Western cultures. The consumers culture affects their attributions toward service failure and consequently satisfaction toward service recovery efforts. Singh et al. (2006) suggest that cultural factors influence consumers preferences, attitudes, and beliefs about websites. Their research on consumers from Germany, India, and China indicates that consumers preferred websites adapted according to their local culture or standardized websites.

Influence of culture on retail store patronage

The expansion of technology, economic development, and increased purchasing power are believed to transform the consumers purchasing behavior. De Mooij and Hofstede (2002, 62) state: The assumption that economic systems homogenization will lead to homogenization of consumer behavior is only supported by anecdotal evidence. The standardized marketing strategies may not guarantee success in different cultures. Several studies on impact of culture on retailing strategies suggest that differences exist. International retailers overlook the cultural dimensions while planning their expansion strategies in other countries. The purchasing behavior and preference for retail outlets would be governed

by cultural attributes (Murphy 1999; Keegan and Green 2003). Ozedmir and Hewett (2010) state that in collectivist cultures personal relationship and socialization were important in determining service quality. The attributes such as warmth, trust, and sincerity were important determinants of service quality. In low-social interaction cultures, personal relationship with retailers is not important in influencing the consumers purchase and patronage intentions and service quality perceptions. Collectivism does not play a role as a moderator on the relationship quality behavioral intentions and service qualitybehavioral intentions in a low social interaction culture. Seock and Lin (2011) examined the influence of culture on loyalty tendencies toward apparel retail stores in Taiwan and USA. The country of residence was an important predictor of loyalty behavior and American respondents showed high degree of loyalty tendencies as compared to Taiwanese respondents. Individuals with high collectivism scores tend to be more loyal to brands and stores. The desire to be accepted by the group and society motivates individuals to have a similar behavioral pattern as approved by the groups. Kim and Jin (2001) applied the retail service quality scale (RSQS) to study the perception of store service quality between two different cultures. American and South Korean consumers represent two different cultures and retail environments and their attitude toward retail service would be affected by cultural factors. The personal attention factor was the most important factor in quality assessment for the American sample, whereas for the Korean consumers, the same factor was split under empathy and, responsiveness. Tangible was an important dimension for service quality for Koreans. For American consumers, physical attributes loaded on the convenience dimension. It appears that intangible elements were more important for American consumers. Kim and Chen-Yu (2005) examined the similarities and differences among South Korean and American consumers with respect to their behavior related to discount store patronage. Product-related attributes were associated with high level of performance by South Korean consumers. When product attributes were not according to consumers expectations, they evaluated the retail stores unfavorably. Significant differences were found between two cultures with respect to store attributes, store evaluation, and store satisfaction. Culture influences consumers perceptions toward crowding in retail setting (Machleit, Eroglu, and Mantel 2000; Pons, Laroche, and Mourali 2006; Pons and Laroche 2007; Whiting and Nakos 2008). Comparison between Canadian and Mexican consumers perception toward crowding showed that it had greater impact on Canadian shoppers (Pons and Laroche 2007). Similarly, consumers from collectivist cultures were more comfortable in crowded retail environment than consumers from individualist culture (Pons, Laroche, and Mourali 2006). Whiting and Nakos (2008) studied the impact of cultural tolerance toward crowding and situational context in retailing. Culture has been an important moderator to perceptions of crowded retail setting and consumer satisfaction. They suggest that in cultures where retail crowding is acceptable; a noncrowded retail environment may not be successful. It may be desirable and successful in a country where consumers have a high need for personal space. Therefore, a non-crowded environment may be perceived as impersonal and influence consumers satisfaction and shopping experience. Lee and Kacen (2008) found that culture influences consumers decisions of planned and impulsive shopping situations. Individuals from collectivist cultures were likely to be more satisfied with their impulsive buying decision if another person is present at the time of purchase. Consumers from different cultures are differently influenced by the presence of another person during impulsive and planned shopping situations. Wang et al. (2010) studied Chinese consumers international outshopping motives with respect to Hofstede's cultural dimensions. Their findings suggest that Chinese consumers choice of foreign products, perceived reliability of foreign retail service, and perceived enjoyment of shopping abroad have positive influence on their propensity of shopping abroad. For Chinese consumers, the international outshopping trip is a materialistic experience where they can spend money on exotic locations abroad. Understanding the emotional needs of Chinese consumers can enable foreign retailers in attracting them to shop in Western countries (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Influence of demographics, cultural variables and small retail store dimensions on Indian consumers preference to shop from small retail outlets.

Research methodology
Instrument design
The survey instrument contained measures for gender, age, educational qualification, and marital status. Cultural dimensions were measured using Furrer, Liu, and Sudharshan's (2000) version of the Hofstede's cultural dimensions. The total items in the scale were 20. There were four items each for cultural dimensions of power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation. The second part of the questionnaire contained items describing the small retail stores. The items were modified and adapted for Indian conditions from previous research (Home 2002; Sinha and Banerjee 2004; DAndrea, Lopez-Aleman, and Stengel 2006; Carpenter and Moore 2006; Auh et al. 2008; Lee, Johnson, and Gahring 2008; Adeji, Griffith, and Noble 2009). The total items on small retail stores were 34. All responses were taken on a five point Likert scale, with 1 for strongly agree and 5 for strongly disagree.

Sample
A self administered questionnaire was administered through a small retail outlet intercept survey technique as the intercept method has the potential to provide complete in-depth response. Data were collected in five cities of India: Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mysore, and Ludhiana. These cities were selected so that different regions of India could be represented. The selected cities had a mix of retail formats ranging from small retail stores, malls, supermarkets, and discount stores. The metropolitan cities like Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai were studied in order to explore if any differences existed among consumers with respect to retail mix and brand choices. The total sample size was 500. The mall intercept technique has been used in other studies for collecting data (Griffin, Babin and Modianos 2000; Keng et al. 2007; Wang et al. 2010). The respondents experience more anonymity in the mall intercept technique than in personal interviews, therefore a similar small store intercept technique was used. Small stores near residential areas were randomly selected in each city. The sample contained 60% males and 40% female respondents (for details on the demographic description see Table 1). Ninety-five percent of respondents stated that they frequently shopped from small retail outlets and only 2.8% stated that they rarely shopped from small retail stores. This reflects the popularity of small retail stores

in India. 97.2% respondents shopped at small retail stores due to convenience and easy accessibility.

Table 1. Demographic description of respondents.

Findings
Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed on 34 items related to small retail store attributes to examine the dimensionality of the scale and to construct a measurement model. Table 2 represents the results of Factor Analysis with Equamax rotation and the reliability scores for the scale on data collected. The results revealed seven factors which covered 66.982% of variability. Eight items were excluded as they had factor loadings less than .6 and failed to meet Nunnally's (1978) recommended level of internal consistency for scale development. The KMO Bartlett test for scale reliability was .685.

Table 2. Small retail store characteristics.

The first factor was named discount facilities as the items were related to consumers preference to shop from small retail stores because of discounts, rebates, and special offers. It contained four items. The second factor was labeled service as the items covered issues such as placing orders on telephone, employees helping the consumers, home delivery, assistance provided during shopping, and good bargains. There were six items under this factor. The third factor was labeled assortment and covered items relevant to product quality, ability to handle product-related complaints, arranging products for consumers, and product variety; it had five items. The fourth factor was named relationship as it covered items related to retailers knowledge about consumers family and knowing them personally, it had two items. The fifth factor was labeled friendliness and contained items related to personal attention, friendly and helpful, and correct information about products. It contained three items. The sixth factor was named credit facilities and contained four items. The items comprised issues such as payment at convenience, credit, and refund. The seventh factor was named behavior and the two items related with retailers behavior with old consumers. The Cronbach alpha value for these last three factors was less than .6; therefore, they were excluded from further analysis. Only four factors namely discount facilities, service, assortment, and relationship were retained for further analysis (see Table 2). Exploratory Factor Analysis was run on the 20 items of Furrer, Liu and Sudharshan's (2000) culture scale to examine the dimensionality of the scale on Indian respondents. Table 3 represents the results of Factor Analysis with Equamax rotation and reliability scores for the scale on the data collected. The results revealed five factors which covered 62.112% of variability. Three items were excluded as they had factor loadings less than .6 and failed to meet Nunnally's (1978) recommended level of internal consistency for scale development. The KMO Bartlett test for scale reliability was .720. The Cronbach alpha value for three factors was less than .6; therefore, they were excluded from further analysis. Only four factors, power distance, individualism, risk averseness, and long-term orientation, were retained (see Table 3).

Cultural dimensions Inequalities among people are both expected and desired Less powerful people should be .873 dependent on the more powerful Inequalities among people should .666 be minimized There must be, and there are to .631 some extent, interdependencies between less and more powerful people Cronbach Alpha() = .723 Everyone grows up to look after .570 himself/herself and his/her immediate family only People are identified .747 independently of the groups they belong to Other members in exchange for .800 loyalty should protect an extended family member People are identified by their .645 position in the social networks to which they belong Fear of ambiguous situations and .529 of unfamiliar risks is normal Cronbach Alpha() = .759 The dominant values in society .602 are caring for others and preservation Uncertainty is a normal feature of .616 life and each day is accepted as it comes Willingness to subordinate .523 oneself for a purpose is normal People should be perseverant .695 toward long-term results Cronbach Alpha() = .605 Money and material things are .605 important Men are supposed to be assertive, .738 ambitious, and tough Cronbach Alpha() = .559 Traditions should be respected .823 Social obligations should be .836 respected regardless of cost Cronbach Alpha() = .781 Note: Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Equamax with Kaiser Normalization

Table 3. Cultural dimensions. Power Risk Long-term distance Collectivism Masculinity averseness orientation .723

The factors were labeled according to Furrer, Liu and Sudharshan's (2000) factors. The items fell under similar groupings as the original scale. The few differences were related to factors of uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and long-term orientation factors. Two items from the

original Furrer et al.'s scale under masculinity were grouped with one item of uncertainty avoidance factor and two items from long-term orientation. The factor labeled Masculinity was removed from further analysis as it had alpha score less than .6. There were differences observed among consumers across cities. It was found that consumers from metropolitan cities had similar preference for malls as those of non-metropolitan cities. The availability of different retail formats like malls, supermarkets and, specialty stores did not influence consumers attitude toward small retail stores. To understand the influence of demographic factors as moderator variables on four cultural dimensions and four small store factors in predicting Indian consumers preference to shop from small retail stores, step wise regression analysis was run (see Table 4). Table 4. Step-wise regression. Adjusted Model Variable R2 R2 Significance 1. First regression (Dependent variable: .109 .107 Prefer to shop from small retail stores) Long-term orientation .330** .000** F = 59.838 2. Second regression (Dependent variable: .149 .146 Prefer to shop from small retail stores) Long-term orientation .320** .000** Education .202** .000** F = 42.943 3 Third regression (Dependent variable: .169 .164 Prefer to shop from small retail stores) Long-term orientation .330** .000** Education .182** .000** Age .144** .001** F = 33.222 4 Fourth regression (Dependent variable: Prefer to shop from small retail stores) Long-term orientation .335** .181 .174 .000** Education .195** .000** Age .142** .001** Collectivism .108** .009** F = 26.907 5 Fifth regression (Dependent variable: Prefer to shop from small retail stores) Long-term orientation .317** .188 .180 .000** Education .207** .000** Age .136** .001** Collectivism .114** .006** Gender .091* .031* F = 22.620 Note: n = 500. *Significant at .05 level. **Significant at 0.01 level.

Table 4. Step-wise regression.

The regression analyses reveal that three demographic variables, namely education, age, and gender moderate four cultural factors and store-related factors. The two important cultural factors which emerged as predictors were long-term orientation and collectivism. The store

attributes did not play a significant role in predicting Indian consumers preference to shop from small retail stores. For the first model, long-term orientation emerged as the predictor variable for prefer to shop from small retail stores (R 2 = .109, p < 0.01). The first model suggests R 2 value of 10.9%. It implies that the variance can be predicted due to long-term orientation. The value for long-term orientation is negative; this indicates that people who value traditions less are less likely to shop at small retail stores. In the second model, long-term orientation and education emerge as predictors (R 2 = .149, p < 0.01), and both these variables account for 14.9% of the variance. Education as a demographic variable moderates culture's influence on preference to shop from small stores. In the second model, there is an increase in percentage of predictor variables. The model suggests that the more educated people are, the more they would prefer to shop from small stores. In the third model, age was introduced. Long-term orientation, education, and age emerge as predictors to preference to shop from small retail stores and account for 16.9% of the variance in the dependent variable (R 2 = .169, p < 0.01). Two demographic variables, namely age and education, moderate the influence of culture on dependent variable (prefer to shop from small retail stores). The value for age is negative, which implies that as age increases, people's preference to shop from small retail stores would decrease. In the fourth model, the second cultural factor of collectivism was introduced. All four factors account for 18.1% of the variance. In the fifth model, gender is introduced. Long-term orientation, education, age, collectivism, and gender are predictors to self congruence (R 2 = .188; p < 0.01). The standardized values in the model for long-term orientation and education factors are higher than other factors, and they have more impact in the model. The F values are significant in all the models which show that the combination of factors in the model together influence the dependent variable. The results indicate that demographic variables moderate the two cultural variables. Three demographic variables of education, age, and gender emerge as moderators. There is a significant change in the F value in all the models, which suggest that the predictor variables are significant in the model. Results suggest that long-term orientation was the major predictor of consumers preference to shop from small retail stores. People who value traditions and customs are more likely to shop at small retail outlets. As the small retail stores were located near the residential areas, they catered to the short-term needs of the consumers. The results may be interpreted in the light that since small retail stores offered convenient shopping hours, credit facilities, and services, the consumers did not have to plan the shopping trip. It could be organized on the spur of the moment based on the household requirements. Collectivism was the second cultural variable that affected consumers preference to shop from small retail stores. In collectivist cultures, group identity is considered important. People are recognized because of their group affiliations and social status. Small retailers may be considered an integral part of local community and therefore, consumers feel strong affiliation with them. The findings support previous research on small retailers and suggest that they make important contributions by looking into the interest of the local residents (Ward 1987; Miller and Besser 2000; Klemz and Boshoff 2001; Jackson and Stoel 2011). Their relationship with local consumers generates loyalty, enhances service, and minimizes consumer defection (Auh et al. 2008; Lee, Johnson, and Gahring 2008; Adeji, Griffith, and Noble 2009). Collectivist cultural values would foster community feeling and social bonding. Consumers personally know local retailers and share an emotional bonding with them. In collectivist culture, personal relationship and socialization would be important in generating consumer loyalty and store preference (Murphy 1999; Keegan and Green 2003; Ozedmir and Hewett 2010). The findings support earlier research. Demographic variables such as age, education, and gender moderate the cultural variables. Educated individuals preferred to purchase from local retailers. Education has a direct relationship with career and lifestyle. Therefore, it may be understood in the light that educated people are pressed for time and prefer small retail outlets for shopping. Age plays an important role in determining consumers preference for shopping at small retail stores. The value of age was negative. The findings suggest that as age increases, consumers preference to shop from local stores may decline. This may be attributed to the hectic lifestyle of younger generation

wherein they have to balance careers with family. Shopping from malls and supermarkets is time consuming and exacting with kids and career. Some earlier studies had mentioned that people who outshop have older kids and look for entertainment (Herrmann and Beik 1968). Older consumers have more leisure time and therefore may prefer to shop from supermarkets and spend time in examining products. Gender was also a moderator variable. Women do most of the household grocery shopping and may prefer local retail stores for convenience, accessibility, and personal relationships with retailers.

Discussion
It is apparent from the above findings that cultural factors like long-term orientation and collectivism are important in determining store preferences. Other cultural factors such as power distance and masculinity did not influence consumers preferences. The consumers shopping behavior with respect to choice of retail formats, attitudes toward local retailers, and product availability is governed by cultural factors. Organized retail stores with their variety of assortments have not made any significant impact on consumers preferences. Familiarity with local retailers and stores affects consumers choices and attitude toward store factors. Convenient location and easy accessibility of local stores matches consumers needs. This is clear from 97% of respondents stating that they preferred to frequently shop at small retail stores. It is further reported from the findings that there were no significant differences among consumers in their preference to shop at local stores across different cities in India. The implications are immense for small retailers and firms using them for distributing their products. Products, service, and facilities were reported not to play any role in consumers small store preference. The small retail store attributes were not important in influencing consumers preferences. This is an interesting finding, as previous research has argued that assortment, service, and facilities are major factors in predicting consumers small store preference. Indian consumers choice of stores and patronage behavior was affected by cultural variables rather than store attributes. It is also important to note that consumers in bigger cities (with different types of retail options like malls, super markets, discount stores, and specialty stores) had similar attitudes toward small retail stores as other smaller cities. Sample contained mix of respondents from both metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities. There were no differences found across consumer groups with respect to cities. Earlier studies have discussed the role of collectivism in influencing consumers store choice and loyalty (Seock and Lin 2011). Current research reports similar findings. Cultural values such as collectivism and long-term orientation affect consumers attitude toward small stores. This may be understood in the light that in collectivist societies, group conformity and relationship are important. People are recognized by their group affiliations and family. As small retailers are a part of social fabric, consumers consider them a part of their social groups. Being located in residential areas, small stores are convenient places to shop. Consumers familiarity with local retailer reduces their fear of being cheated in their purchases. Retailers have knowledge about local consumers preferences and stock products accordingly. This knowledge about consumers is a distinct advantage for them. They can use this information for managing product assortment and handling consumer requests efficiently. The anonymity consumers experience in supermarkets or malls is not applicable in case of local retail stores. This strategic advantage can be used by small retailers in managing their consumers better. Results suggest that younger consumer groups shop more from local stores than older consumer groups. These findings can help local stores in stocking products to meet the needs of younger consumer groups. Women are one of the important consumer segments. The retail stores can customize services and assortment to cater to this consumer group. Targeting these consumer groups can help in strengthening relationship with them. Many local retailers sell products in small packages. The product mix can be customized to fulfill local needs. Cultural values influence consumer store patronage and can be used to manage consumer needs. Consumers perceive small retailers as an integral part of their group. This is a major strength for local retailers.

Small retailers should improve their assortment, service, and facilities. This would enable them to strengthen their position against organized retailers. Retailers knowledge about local consumers can help companies in stocking products according to local tastes. It can help them in planning the package sizes and stocking specific brands. Re-packaging and pricing decisions can be based on local market analysis. Companies can use this information for distribution, promotion, and product launch strategies. Local retail stores can be a major source of revenue and profits for companies. The findings can be useful to foreign retailers planning to open stores in India. They should understand the relevance of cultural factors while targeting Indian consumers. Building relationships with the consumers can go a long way in determining the success of marketing and promotional strategies. The collectivism and long-term orientation factors can be used for designing consumer relationship programs and strategies.

Conclusion and future research directions

There had been no research on the influence of culture on Indian consumers preference to shop at small retail stores. Cultural values were important predictors to Indian consumers small store patronage behavior. Earlier studies have discussed importance of small store attributes such as service, assortment, facilities, and ambiance. The current research posits that consumers preference to shop at local small stores is dependent on collectivism and long-term orientation. The store-related factors were not significant. Other cultural factors such as feminity and power distance do not influence consumers preferences toward small retail stores. The findings can be useful to retailers, researchers, and practitioners in planning retail sector investments and marketing strategies. The retail indutsry is growing exponentially; information about consumer buying behavior and store preference can help in understanding the strategic role of small retail stores in Indian culture. The research findings suggest that there was no difference among consumers across metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities. The availability of retail store options like malls, supermarkets, and discount stores did not influence their preference to shop from small stores. Organized retailing is growing; however, consumers prefer small stores for their regular shopping. Future research can be undertaken to understand the factors influencing consumers outshopping behavior. Influence of factors like transportation modes, income levels, and social class can be studied to understand their role in consumers store patronage behavior. Many parts of the country still face infrastructural problems and in those areas, local retailers have a clear advantage over organized retailers. The accessibility and reach factors pose a challenge for big retailers as they cannot operate with limited assortment or customize their packaging according to economic constraints of the consumers. Small retailers sell products on credit, as they know their consumers personally. However, this is not possible for big retailers with extensive dependence on complex supply chain management tools and technology. Current trends suggest further growth of organized retailing and big retail giants like Wal-Mart, Tesco, and Carrefour are looking for alliances with Indian companies for establishing stores in the country. The retail industry must also understand the importance of building tie-ups with small retail stores. Big retailers can harness the advantage of small retail stores in expanding in Indian market. They can leverage on the convenience and accessibility factors associated with small stores in gaining access in Indian markets. However, cultural factors should not be ignored. The consumers store patronage behavior can be understood in the light of cultural conditioning. The small retail stores can enable companies in entering secluded pockets and interiors of the country. Expansion in rural markets would be easy through local small retailers. Local retailers can help in marketing products as consumers feel a sense of affiliation with them. Fast Moving Consumer Goods companies can use small retailers in understanding local consumer preferences and lifestyles. The small retailers are familiar with local consumers preferences and can contribute in promotion and sales. This information can help in developing customer relationship management programs region-wise. Cultural buying patterns and nuances can be used for targeting consumers through small retailers. Limitations associated with the current research include factors like size of household and size and type of retail stores on consumers preference for small retail stores. This may help in

understanding the nature of Indian consumers shopping preference. Further research can be undertaken to understand impact of service quality and socialization on culture and small store preferences. Socialization and employee interaction may provide interesting insights about consumers patronage and small store loyalty behavior.

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