Tightness–looseness: Implications for consumer and branding research

This commentary highlights the importance of the tightness–looseness distinction to provide a more nuanced understanding of cross-cultural consumer behavior (Li, Gordon & Gelfand, this issue). We provide guidelines to integrate the tightness–looseness distinction into existing cross-cultural models of consumer behavior, and suggest how doing so can help to refine predictions about the persuasiveness of message appeals. We also discuss how the tightness–looseness distinction can enrich branding research, by suggesting future research opportunities in the domains of brand extension research and brand protection.