Elena Millan

Independent and interdependent self‐views and their influence on clothing consumption

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of individualism and collectivism at an individual level, in the context of an emergent market economy of Eastern Europe. More specifically, the effects of the psychological constructs of independent/interdependent self on a number of clothing‐related consumer behaviour phenomena are examined.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through a home‐based face‐to‐face survey of some 1,000 Bulgarian respondents.Findings – Evidence was found supporting the notion that the relationship between individualism and collectivism is complex, and individualist and collectivist values do not characterise two opposing cultural dimensions. Additionally, being autonomous or being interrelated with important, others were found to play an important part in consumer preference for self‐ and social‐symbolic meanings of clothing artefacts, as well as on shopping attitudes held and actual purchase behaviour.Research limitations/implications – Conclusions ...