Explorations of National Culture and Word-of-Mouth Referral Behavior in the Purchase of Industrial Services in the United States and Japan

In this study, the authors examine how national culture affects referral behavior for industrial services such as advertising, banking, and accounting. The authors collected data using interviews with managers of small- and medium-sized companies in the United States and Japan. The results show that national culture has a strong effect on the number of referral sources consulted and that Japanese companies use more than comparable American companies do.