Kiasuism in Singapore and its impact on repurchase intention

Abstract

This study investigates kiasuism in Singapore and its impact on repurchase intention. The main objective is to find out what the characteristics of kiasu Singaporeans are and how these characteristics affect the levels of satisfaction and perceived risk of consumers towards a purchased brand. We further aim to understand how the level of satisfaction will lead to possible brand inertia. We also look into the impacts of perceived risks on tangible benefits. Finally we establish switching costs as a moderating variable that may alter the impact of satisfaction level on brand inertia. A survey was conducted on 504 respondents using two product categories, namely cars and handphones. All our hypotheses were supported in our study. However, the relationship between satisfaction and brand inertia of handphones appears to be low. The relationship between tangible benefits and repurchase intention for handphones is also weak. Possible explanations for these results were discussed. This study offers insights on how marketing strategies could be affected by kiasuism due to its impact on repurchase intention. The latter phenomenon should not be ignored if global marketers want to succeed in capturing the hearts of Singaporean consumers. The main limitation of this study is that it focused on only two product categories. Future research should focus on how kiasuism can influence other product categories such as luxury goods and daily necessities.