Revisiting Normative Influences on Impulsive Buying Behavior and an Extension to Compulsive Buying Behavior: A Case from South Korea

Social norms and networks are important to understand consumer behavior. Here, we reexamine normative influences on impulsive buying (Rook and Fisher 1995) within a different cultural context, South Korea. Results of Study 1, with a general consumer sample from South Korea, confirms prior findings in the United States that the relationship between buying impulsiveness and impulsive purchase decisions is moderated by subjective norms. Study 2 extends the concept of subjective norms to compulsive buying tendencies in South Korea. Our results show that a positive relationship between compulsive buying tendencies and compulsive buying decisions exists, but does not appear to be moderated by subjective norms. (C) 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.