Consumer responses to East‐West writing system differences : A literature review and proposed agenda

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it aims to review East‐West writing system (cross‐script) differences and summarize previous work examining the cross‐script effect on consumer responses. Second, it aims to describe the implications for international marketing and cross‐cultural studies. Third, it seeks to propose specific questions for future research. Design/methodology/approach – First, the paper presents a critical literature review of studies investigating cross‐script differences influencing consumer attitudes, memory, and information processing. Based on the provided integrative analysis, future directions are indicated for areas relying heavily on written communication, such as international marketing communications, internet marketing, international branding, and cross‐cultural consumer research. Findings – Despite the pervasive nature and importance of written language, scant research has addressed differences between East/West consumer responses attributable to native script processing. Originality/value – The paper is among the first to point out the insufficiency of scholarly studies on written language effects on consumer responses. The findings raise international marketers' awareness of differences in East‐West written language processing in order to effectively target consumers.