A cross-cultural/cross-national study of influencing factors and socially desirable response biases

Questionnaires are a frequently employed method of data collection and cons truct measurement in cross-cultural/cross-national marketing research. Whil e offering many advantages, the use of questionnaires in such research ofte n encounters factors which have a negative impact on measurement reliabilit y and validity. One of these common problem factors is a social desirabilit y bias. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in underly ing influencing factors which contribute to the social desirability bias re ported by respondents across different cultural/national samples. The resul ts show that the influencing factors which contribute to the existence of a social desirability bias also vary across countries and cultures. Based on these findings, implications for international research and business decis ion-making are discussed.