The impact of cultural masculinity and femininity on purchase intention.

Abstract

The cultural dimension of masculinity/femininity is taken into consideration as a possible factor of influence in advertising. As researchers in the marketing and advertising field reported evidence that culture has an impact on the persuasion process, this article aims to understand whether the masculine/feminine cultural dimension influences consumers as well. To this purpose, the fictitious brand of protein supplements “Gainful” was designed, followed by a slogan framed either for a masculine or a feminine culture. The product and the slogan were presented to Italian (masculine culture) and Dutch (feminine culture) participants, followed by a questionnaire expressing their buying intention, willingness to pay and willingness to spread word of mouth. The results of the research show that participants were not influenced by the framing of the slogan so that it can be concluded that the masculine/feminine dimension is not activated by framing techniques.