A Cross—cultural/cross national Study of Influencing Factors and Socially Desirable Response Biases

TLDR

Questionnaires are widely used in cross‑cultural marketing research but often suffer from measurement reliability and validity issues, notably social desirability bias. This study examined how underlying factors that drive social desirability bias differ across cultural and national samples. The study found that the factors contributing to social desirability bias vary by country and culture, with implications for international research and business decisions.

Abstract

Questionnaires are a frequently employed method of data collection and construct measurement in cross-cultural/cross-national marketing research. While offering many advantages, the use of questionnaires in such research often encounters factors which have a negative impact on measurement reliability and validity. One of these common problem factors is a social desirability bias. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in underlying influencing factors which contribute to the social desirability bias reported by respondents across different cultural/national samples. The results show that the influencing factors which contribute to the existence of a social desirability bias also vary across countries and cultures. Based on these findings, implications for international research and business decision-making are discussed.