Men’s attitude and motivation toward consumption of grooming products: A comparison of Chinese and Pakistani male consumers

Current research explores the concept of masculine identity in modern social world as evidence of retail products consumption which was traditionally seen as female or feminine (cosmetic grooming products). This study comparatively analyze the effect of personal, social, and marketing factors on the attitude of Chinese and Pakistani male consumers toward the consumption of cosmetics. This paper begins with a comprehensive review of the literature on the topic. Data were collected from 260 Chinese and 210 Pakistani male customers from three metropolitan cities from each country. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis (ordinary least square (OLS) and Ridge) are used to test the hypotheses. Results show mixed effect on Chinese and Pakistani male’s attitude and motivation toward consumption of cosmetic products. Physical attractiveness impacts only on Pakistani men while lifestyle effects only on Chinese male consumers. It directs the marketers to find the most significant factors toil in men cosmetic segment in China and Pakistan. Subjects: Social Sciences; Behavioral Sciences; Health and Social Care


Introduction
Everyone in societies irrespective of gender want appearance similar to the models. Customers think the core of pleasant life concealed in the beautiful and bright skin and idyllic body shape (Nair, 2007). Cosmetic products are archetypally concomitant with women because the cosmetic industry has ABOUT THE AUTHOR Imran Khan is pursuing PhD from School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, China and has been in academic for about 10 years, having lectured marketing, especially consumer behavior at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has supervised many masters candidate, published numerous papers in international peer-reviewed journals, as well delivered papers at international academic conferences.

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
Everyone in societies, irrespective of gender, wants appearance similar to the models. They think that the key of delightful life concealed in the charming and bright skin and idyllic body shape. Cosmetic products are archetypally concomitant with women because the cosmetic industry has conventionally been producing feminine products but as the time takes a turn, it changes the situation and now cosmetic industry has a separate market for men. Current research is an effort to explore the factors associated with the purchase of Cosmetic products by male customers with the consideration of the theory of selfconcept, sociocultural theory, interaction theory and marketing aspects.
conventionally been producing feminine products, but as the time takes a turn, it changes the situation and now the cosmetic industry has a separate market for male consumers. The male recess in cosmetic market is increasing with a flying leap which is an opportunity for manufacturers of this industry. In western countries its percentage is high but in developing countries it is growing rapidly. Separate dedicated products are available for men i.e., face creams, anti-wrinkle creams, hair coloring, and toning gels. In contemporary societies, people live in a time of transitions that creates social and technological changes which reflect in consumer behaviors. Grooming products attain the attention of men's shopping behaviors. Purchasing cosmetics products are now men's priority and they are more attracted toward them including fragrances and other skin care products.
Various researchers have worked on this topic in consideration of developed countries but there is not any comparative research available in the literature on the attitude and motivation of male toward the consumption of grooming products in China and Pakistan. In this study, we examine the men's attitude toward the use of cosmetics by taking three important variables namely: personal variables, sociocultural variables and marketing variables. The personal variable is subdivided into self-representation (self-image), elderly effect (aging effect), physical magnetism (attractiveness) and health condition (health care). Sociocultural variable concerns about the social beliefs and lifestyle of the target audience and marketing variable includes advertisement and purchase situation. These variables assert influence on men's attitude on consumption of cosmetics. The Same type of studies is available in developed economies (e.g. Sarpila & Räsänen, 2011;Souiden & Diagne, 2009;Tan, 2005;Weber & Capitant de Villebonne, 2002). Current research is an effort to explore the factors associated with the purchase of Cosmetic products by male customers with the consideration of the theory of self-concept, sociocultural theory, interaction theory, and marketing aspects. With the help of this research, we can understand more about the Pakistani and Chinese male grooming market and purchasing habits, consumer behavior, and market implications for masculinity side of the cosmetic industry.

Brief industry background
Usually it is considered that cosmetic industry is only associated with color or makeup but it has five broad categories (skin care, hair care, makeup (makeup is subdivided into four categories like face makeup, lipstick, eye makeup, and nail products), fragrance, and personal hygiene) (Lepir, 2003). United States of America (USA) is the largest market of this industry and France is the biggest exporter of cosmetics. Industry for women grooming products has been mounting since long time, whereas men cosmetic industry is just blooming. Now men are more aware of the importance of beautifulness, boyish charm, and fitness (Souiden & Diagne, 2009).
L'Oréal™ is considered as the pioneer in men cosmetic segment as it introduced "Biotherm Homme" in 1985 for men market. In his interview with Drug Store News, Carol Hamilton, the president of L'Oréal™ Paris said, "We feel we launched it at just the right time because the category was tiny, and it is starting to bubble and move" (Antoinette, 2005). After 20 years monopoly of L'Oréal™ Paris, Nickel introduced masculine beauty institute in 1996 by launching a separate line for men cosmetic segment (Nickel, 2010).
If we look at the sale of cosmetics from top 100 companies till 2003 then 43.67% of the total sales are from European companies (France is the biggest producer of cosmetic products), American companies have 42.75% market share and Asian companies have only 13.58% WWD (2003). The WWDduring 1997-2001 was 4.88%. In this period, the highest growth rate was in South America; 9.03%, the second significant increase was in Europe 6.60%, North America was at third with 3.81% growth rate, and lowest growth rate was in Asia 2.82% annually (Kumar, 2005). Now cosmetic industry growth is shifted from Western region to developing hemisphere of Asia especially China, India, and Pakistan. Cosmetic market in China is growing fast as its growth rate is 6.7 and 10.9% for 2014 and 2015. Retail sales in China's skincare and cosmetics products market will grow at an average annual rate of 12.8% from 2016 to 2019, much higher than the global average of 6.0%, and will top RMB 287 billion (USD 44 billion) in 2019 (Euromonitor, 2016). The men's cosmetics sector exhibits strong growth, in particular skincare products for men. According to the estimates of Euromonitor (2016), the market of skincare products for men expanded by 7.6% year-on-year in 2015 as more and more male consumers are accepting skincare and make-up products for men in China. Lower tier cities show more growth than the first and second tier cities. However, the significant market share is held by first and second tier cities. Same type of situation is in Pakistan. The pace of the cosmetic industry is higher than the past decade (1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005). According to the Bureau of Statistics of Pakistan, average growth rate of cosmetic industry is more than 10% (200610% ( -201110% ( ) (PBS, 2011. According to (Euromonitor, 2014) men's grooming market is subdivided into two categories: men's shaving and men's toiletries. Men's shaving includes post-shave, pre-shave, and razors & blades while men's toiletries includes bath and shower (premium men's bath and shower and mass men's bath and shower), men's deodorants (premium and mass), men's hair care (premium and mass), and men's skin care (premium and mass). L'Oréal™ Paris identifies the volume of men cosmetic or grooming product users (beauty cream and lotion) will reach to 50% in the next 50 years which shows that half of the world population will use such type of products.
As China and Pakistan are the growing markets therefore it is important for cosmetic products producers to know about the significant factors associated with the purchase of men cosmetic products. Current research highlights these factors and guides the organization's decision-makers to mold their strategies accordingly.

Self-image
Male consumers use gender-based cosmetics products to highlight self-image (Grubb & Grathwohl, 1967). Motivated consumers are confident about the self-image products (Sirgy, 1982). One of the purposes of using cosmetic products by male consumers is to reproduce the disjointed self-image of individuals (Kellner, 2003). Literature shows that male consumers purchase products through thoughts and images for the development of self-image (Sturrock & Pioch, 1998) and related to their personalities (Schiffman, Hansen, & Kanuk, 2008). Self-image projective products give representative and practical benefits to consumers (Seitz & Johar, 1993). Literature also shows that opposite genders perceive the information differently in the consumption process of products (Coley & Burgess, 2003). For enhancing the self-image of men consumers and conveying this through a symbolic meaning, the use of such products has grasped the central importance of men (Grubb & Grathwohl, 1967). The purpose behind the consumption of grooming products by male consumers is the development of self-identity (Sturrock & Pioch, 1998). Self-image acts as a stimulus for cosmetic consumption, and it is used as a tool to boost self-concept and image (Souiden & Diagne, 2009). Therefore, self-image plays a major role in purchase attention of cosmetic products of male consumers. Based on the literature mentioned above, the following hypothesis is generated. H1. Self-image concern is positively associated with the Men's attitude toward cosmetic products consumption.

Aging effect
Few researches had focused on the effect of aging on the men's purchase intentions toward cosmetic products (Halliwell & Dittmar, 2003). Male consumers prefer to look young therefore they use the grooming products for aging concerns and young appearance. Consumption of male grooming products fulfills the desire to maintain a youthful appearance in an idealized culture (Fuat Firat, Dholakia, & Venkatesh, 1995;Schouten, 1991). Literature shows that younger consumers are more interested than older consumers in purchasing of beauty care and personal care products (Sarpila & Räsänen, 2011). Previous studies indicate that aging is a significant factor associated with the men consumption of grooming products. Younger males are more curious about their youngness and to preserve this youngness they use cosmetic products. This can leads to the following prediction.
H2. Youthfulness curiosity of Men has a positive relation with the Men's attitude towards cosmetic products consumption.

Physical attractiveness
Physical attractiveness means physical exquisiteness which is subjugated by what you see outwardly. It includes notable features including appearance, body size and body contour. (Souiden & Diagne, 2009). Beautifulness is the key to success for individuals. Literature shows that women are interested in keeping relations with good-looking men. It is assumed that handsome persons have higher chances of success. Research also indicates that personality is a major influencing factor in purchasing brands and products (Mulyanegara, Tsarenko, & Anderson, 2009). One of the purposes of consuming grooming products by the male consumers is self-creation (Schouten, 1991). Literature shows that male customers are interested in modifying their bodies for constructing their identities (Gill, Henwood, & McLean, 2005). Numerous researches show that societies of the same age are giving much importance to the body and physical appearance (Gill et al., 2005;Turner, 2008). Literature also proved that wage and career development for labor market influenced by outlooks, body shape, and weight (Härkönen, 2007;Sarlio-Lähteenkorva, Silventoinen, & Lahelma, 2004). Therefore, physically attractive people are preferred by corporations (Andreoni & Petrie, 2008;Mulford, Orbell, Shatto, & Stockard, 1998). Furthermore, individuals focusing on personal care are readily accepted by the society (Souiden & Diagne, 2009;Sturrock & Pioch, 1998). Male consumers are using grooming products for their body modification and fashionable gaze, and they are victimized by fashion and esthetics (Featherstone, 2007). It is proved by academic research that people are much concerned for physical attractiveness (Cash, 2004). Therefore, male consumers spend their money on cosmetic product for physical attractiveness. Based on the above discussion, we formulate the following hypothesis.
H3. Physical attractiveness is positively associated with the Men's attitude towards cosmetic products consumption.

Health care
Health concern motivates male consumers to purchase cosmetics and prevent them from many health problems (Sturrock & Pioch, 1998). In the men grooming products category, skin care is the core product sector. Sixty-three percent of the Chinese male consumers use skin care products (HKTDC, 2016). In cosmetics, personal care product has a significant relationship between opinion leadership and early adoption (Myers & Robertson, 1972). Literature shows that many of the customers use grooming products as they are psychologically implying that they are curious to hygiene, healthiness, and beauty. Consumption of personal care products by male consumers is increasing because of health consciousness (Souiden & Diagne, 2009). Therefore, health care concern of male consumers is a significant factor for their grooming product consumption which pointers us to the following deduction.

H4.
Health care concern is positively related to the Men's attitude towards cosmetic products consumption.

Social beliefs
Male consumers use cosmetics for pressuring current social hope to seem beautiful (Nickel, 2004). Social environment plays a vital role in the selection of particular product for consumption (Souiden & Diagne, 2009). Caroline (2005) observes that consumers use cosmetic products due to authority of social friends and workplace environment (Saurabh, 2008). People live and behave in the way which is supported by the cultural environment. Hence, for fragmented identity construction, the role is most important determinant for consumption especially in the scenario of the postmodern world (Kellner, 2003). Culture impact on consumer behavior as it reflects from individual behavior and people buy products to fulfill their needs that are influenced by culture (Weber & Capitant de Villebonne, 2002). The difference among the social beliefs and lifestyle of the product is derived from interaction theory, and this theory has an impact on lifestyle (Quarantelli & Cooper, 1966). People show extreme pride in their achievements when they consume striking products for conveying their success or social rank (Netemeyer, Burton, & Lichtenstein, 1995). Literature shows that people desire those products which are linked to make them more socialized according to their society. Males represent their bodies as a visible object in their community to show a preference for social meaning (Turner, 2008). Moreover, consumers show themselves socially responsible by adopting discipline for their body which is considered appropriate by society (Featherstone, 2007). Based on the above discussion, the subsequent hypothesis is established.
H5. Social beliefs about men's cosmetic products positively influence the Men's attitude towards cosmetic products consumption.

Lifestyle
Literature shows that in urban areas people have high income and time to spend on appearance and lifestyle and engage with feminine side (Brune, 2004;Donna, 2004;Donoghue, 2005). To become modern, the consumer is interested in changing their outlook like a woman (Fuat Firat et al., 1995). Lifestyle determinants i.e., social class, values and personality have huge impacts on the behavior of individuals toward consumption of products (Coley & Burgess, 2003). The dynamic information and social powers of a person attract the consumption of the products that mainly show the person's social image and lifestyle. Above discussion makes us able to develop this hypothesis.

H6.
Lifestyle has a positive impact on men's attitude toward consumption of cosmetic products.

Advertisement
The advertisement is a tool of marketing communication to transmit the message through particular media; such as print or electronic media. Topical studies have focused on information utility of advertisement in content, consumer perception, expert judgment, and understanding of practitioners (Huh, DeLorme, & Reid, 2004). Advertising through mass media has set beauty standards in our society. Media is increasingly targeting the men's products through communicating messages to increase the sales of cosmetics for male (Souiden & Diagne, 2009). The advertisement is very influential in asserting influence on their viewers to apprehend themselves for their natural craving (Feng, 2008). Companies are investing a lot on the advertisement of their brands. Plenty of advertisement a customer watches on different media like television, newspaper, magazine and billboards related to men cosmetic. L'Oréal™ Paris is at the top in advertisement expenditure in cosmetic and beauty care industry that's why it is the leader in the industry (Euromonitor, 2014). This can lead us to build the following hypothesis: H7. Advertisement on men cosmetic products has a positive effect on men's attitude towards cosmetic products consumption.

Purchase situation
In the cross-cultural situation, marketing strategy should be made by keeping in mind different buying behaviors and decisions making process (Weber & Capitant de Villebonne, 2002). Carrington, Neville, and Whitwell (2010) argue that the presence of a positive situational context facilitates the translation of plans into actual behavior. Consumers buy brands on their efficient and representative meanings. Brand's perceived image and consumer's self-image are internally related to creating imagery in brands. Literature shows that male customers' decision-making process is inclined by several situational aspects like store atmosphere, the location of purchase and convincing salesman (Weber & Capitant de Villebonne, 2002). The environment of buying situation or retail store is a caring function for attracting and keeping the customer interested in the shopping experience, and it has a significant effect on the moods of customers. Literature shows that purchase situation positively influence purchase intention (Grimmer, Kilburn, & Miles, 2015). Customers are influenced by the displays and promotion in outlets for precipitative buying (Coley & Burgess, 2003). It enable us to make the following prediction: H8. Purchase situation has an effect on men's attitude towards cosmetic products consumption.

Theoretical framework
The conceptual framework of this study (Figure 1) consists of four key variables. "Men's attitude towards cosmetic products" is explained variable and the explanatory variables include Personal factors, Sociocultural & Marketing factors.

Questionnaire
To extract the data about variables mentioned above, we use questionnaire. For the measurement of men's attitude toward the purchase and consumption of Cosmetics, we use five items that are adopted from the studies of (Bakewell, Mitchell, & Rothwell, 2006;Coley & Burgess, 2003;Coulter, Feick, & Price, 2002). Self-image concerns/consciousness is measured by three items which are taken from (Coulter et al., 2002;Jamal & Goode, 2001;Sturrock & Pioch, 1998) studies. Three items are extracted from the study of Sturrock and Pioch (1998) to measure the variable aging, and three items are adopted from (Bakewell et al., 2006;Netemeyer et al., 1995;Sturrock & Pioch, 1998) to measure physical attractiveness. For health variable we use two items from the study of Sturrock and Pioch (1998). To examine the effect of culture on men's consumption of cosmetics, we use three items that are adopted from (Sturrock & Pioch, 1998;Weber & Capitant de Villebonne, 2002). Lifestyle is assessed by three items which are taken from (Coulter et al., 2002;Sturrock & Pioch, 1998). Measuring the effect of advertising on men's attitude toward consumption of grooming products, we use two items which are adopted from (Bakewell et al., 2006;Seitz, 1998). We select two items from the study of Lee, Ibrahim, and Hsueh-Shan (2005) for the measurement of purchase situation. All items of the variables mentioned above are measured on a five-point scale, ranging from "1" (strongly disagree) to "5" (strongly agree). To check the internal consistency reliability of the instrument, we use Cronbach's Alpha. Its value above 0.70 is acceptable (Nunnally, Bernstein, & Berge, 1967). Cronbach's Alpha of our instrument is 0.92 which shows that internal-consistency reliability of our instrument.  To check the construct validity, Principal components analysis (PCA) is used for the factorial structure. This test is confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). For the most rigorous goodness-of-fit indexes we use CFA which is considered the most appropriate for this. LISREL (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1996) is used to calculate these indexes. These indexes fit allow researchers to select a theoretical model that corresponds to a factorial structure for fitting the data empirically. We use the fit indexes proposed by (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1996) such as chi-square to degrees of freedom (χ 2 /df), root means square residual (RMR), goodness-of-fit (GFI), and adjusted goodness-of-fit (AGFI). Comparative fit indexes (Bentler & Bonett, 1980) are used to complete this normed fit index (NFI) and non-normed fit index (NNFI) and comparative fit index (CFI) is also used suggested by (Bentler, 1990). The acceptable value of the χ 2 /df ratio is not greater than 5, and more precise measure said that it should be less than 2 or 3 (Pedhazur & Schmelkin, 2013). The least acceptable value of GFI is 0.90 and AGFI should not be lesser than 0.80. According to (Hart, 1994) these, both measures were set at 0.80. In the case of the complex model, the lowest acceptable limit for AGFI is 0.70 (Judge & Hulin, 1993). Pedhazur and Schmelkin (2013) suggest |0.05| as the highest acceptable limit for RMR. Moreover, NFI, NNFI, and CFI authors recommend the base standard 0.90 for them.

Sampling design
We use convenience sampling technique to solicit the reasonable amount of data as Reynolds, Simintiras, and Diamantopoulos (2003) elaborate that non-probability sampling technique is appropriate in theory application when you are conducting international context research. We have to collect the data from diverse countries as Pakistan and China which are different in certain sociodemographic, sociocultural, and economic terms. Having same profile sample from both sides is hard. Therefore, we adopt convenience sampling technique. Our total sample size is 470, out of which 44.68% are from Pakistan and remaining 55.32% are Chinese. From Pakistan, data are collected from three metropolitan cities [Islamabad, Lahore, and Faisalabad (National capital, the provincial capital and industrial city, respectively)], and three metropolitan cities of China [Beijing, Wuhan, and Harbin (first, second and third tier cities respectively)] are selected for this study. Men living in metropolitan areas are considered as metrosexual men because they are more prone to purchase cosmetic products. Industry and sales life cycle in both countries is different as discussed earlier in industry background section. Sample collected from different cultures or countries should be similar as possible as in term of socio-demographic characteristics (Reynolds et al., 2003). Our collected samples from these two cultures are matching this requirement that 66.67% of Pakistani and 74.61% of Chinese are unmarried. A Higher ratio of respondents is between 22 and 35 years of age (77.61% Pakistan and 81.50% China). About two-third (69.04%) of the Pakistani respondents and 73.07% (about two-third) of the Chinese respondents are university students. Difference exists in their employment status as most of the respondents in the sample are from government sector in Pakistan (19.04%), but 15.38% of Chinese respondents are from private sector jobs. Most of the respondents are students, and they do not have any income as they left their income portion blank.

Data analysis and discussion
Data are processed with SPSS, LISREL, and STATGRAPHICS for data analysis. Independent and dependent variables are measured with the averages of their relevant items: Atti = Attitude, SI = Selfimage, Age = Aging, PHA = Physical Attractiveness, HC = Health care, SB = Social Beliefs, LS = Lifestyle, Ad = Advertisement, and PS = Purchase Situation. For the comparison of male attitude toward cosmetic products consumption of both countries, we use descriptive statistics and t-tests. As Table 1 shows the Chinese and Pakistani males have a positive attitude toward consumption of cosmetic products (Atti = 3.580). However, t-test shows that there is statistically significant difference available among them (t = 2.073, Sig = 0.039). Pakistani male consumers have a higher score (3.657) in attitude toward consumption of cosmetic products than Chinese male consumers (3.519). Table 1 also shows the score of variables Age, HC, LS, and PS are significantly different among two samples.
Meanwhile, the score of SI, PhA, SB, and Ad do not have any significant difference among Chinese and Pakistani consumers.
To measure the impact of latent variables on male's grooming product consumption, we decide to run the regression analysis. As industry analysis shows that Chinese and Pakistani markets are at different stages of lifecycle and sample is also different in profile. In the beginning, we use ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions to evaluate the effect of latent variables but when we evaluate the relationship among variables that shows a significant correlation at 0.01 level for both samples (Table 2). Correlation values are higher for Pakistani sample than Chinese sample which indicates relatedness of independent variables to some extent. Multicollinearity means the high significant correlation among the independent variables. Due to multicollinearity, beta coefficients of independent variables change dramatically by little change in the model. To test multicollinearity in our data, we use two tests, tolerance, and VIF (Variance Inflation Factor). A truncated tolerance value and an enormous VIF value (i.e. greater than 10) indicate a high degree of multicollinearity, (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & William, 1998;Neter, Kutner, Nachtsheim, & Wasserman, 1996). Moreover, we aslo use condition index test to check the dependency level of our variables. Its value between 5 and 10 represents weak dependence among independent variables and value between 30 to 100 shows moderate to high dependency, (Belsley, Kuh, & Welsch, 2005). All VIF and tolerance values of our model fall within the acceptable range mean a low level of collinearity. VIF value of Pakistani sample lies between 1.026 and 1.777, and 1.298 and 1.691 for Chinese sample (OLS results in Tables 3 and 4). As for as the condition index values are concerned they fall between 11 and 31 and 13 and 24 for Pakistani and Chinese samples respectively. According to guidelines of Hair et al. (1998), our results are not being affected by  multicollinearity. Despite the favorable results of VIF, Tolerance and Condition Index, high correlation among explanatory variables, and small sample size creates distrust about the stable estimation of parameters (Verhoef, Antonides, & de Hoog, 2004). For this problem, we use ridge regression as a remedy (Hair et al., 1998;Mahajan, Jain, & Bergier, 1977). This treatment solves our correlation problem and also enhances the accuracy of the estimates. The current values of the ridge parameters are 0.243 and 0.220 for Pakistani and Chinese samples, respectively (Ridge regression result  Tables 3 and 4). The ridge parameter value is fixed from 0 to 1. For the determination of the appropriate value of ridge parameter, we scrutinize the standardized regression coefficients and the variance inflation factors. The R-Squared statistic indicates that the model as fitted explains78.1% for Pakistan, 72.1% for Chinese (OLS Tables 3 and 4) and R-squared for ridge regression is 56.4% for Pakistani and 47.4% for Chinese sample (Ridge Regression Tables 3 and 4) to explain the variability in attitude toward the consumption of cosmetic products. This change in R 2 from OLS to ridge regression shows that ridge regression model accounted the multicollinearity. The adjusted R 2 statistic of OLS models are 60.9 and 52% for Pakistani and Chinese samples, respectively, and for Ridge regression models 54.6% for Pakistani sample and 45.8% for Chinese sample (Tables 3 and 4).
The Durbin-Watson (DW) statistic test is used to check the significant autocorrelation or serial correlation in the data. Since the DW value lies between 1.5 and 2.5 in both models of Pakistani and Chinese samples, that shows no indication of possible serial correlation at the 95.0% confidence level (Durbin & Watson, 1950).
In consideration of Chinese sample, OLS result shows that the latent variable LS has insignificant beta coefficient (t = 1.235, sig. = 0.218), while its beta coefficient in ridge regression becomes significant at 0.10 level (t = 1.845, sig. = 0.067). This change in latent variable LS significance is due to its high correlation with independent variable Ad (r = 0.528, sig. = 0.000). With respect to Pakistani sample, the OLS model shows that the explanatory variable PhA has insignificant beta coefficient (t = 0.640, sig. = 0.523), while its beta becomes significant at 0.10 level in ridge regression (t = 1.838, sig. = 0.069). This change in PhA beta coefficient significance is due to high correlation of PhA with SI and Age (r = 0.531, sig. = 0.000 and r = 0.551, sig. = 0.000).
In consideration of ridge regression results, the latent variable self-image (SI) is statistically highly significant for Chinese (t = 8.633, sig. = 0.000) and Pakistani consumer (t = 6.082, sig. = 0.000). It shows self-image impacts on male consumer's purchasing attitude toward grooming products in both countries. This result supports the comment that Self-image acts as a stimulator for cosmetic consumption and it is used as a tool to boost their self-concept and image, (Souiden & Diagne, 2009). This conclusion strongly supports our first hypothesis H1 for both China and Pakistan. Second explanatory variable Age is also statistically highly significant in both Chinese (2.734, 0.006) and Pakistani (4.063, 0.000) consumer cases. This conclusion supports the argument that men preferred to be young and use the grooming products for their aging concerns about the appearance that expresses the men's desire to hold on time. Based on their wish to keep a young look is a culture of respect for the body which entails a strict set of difficulty for the preservation of youthfulness, (Fuat Firat et al., 1995;Schouten, 1991). Our result supports the second hypothesis H2 for both China and Pakistan. Physical attractiveness shows the insignificant result (1.429, 0.157) for Chinese consumers, while it indicates marginally significant result (1.838, 0.069) for Pakistani consumer. Result shows that physical attractiveness is considered by Pakistani male customers while purchasing cosmetic products but Chinese consumers do not consider it while buying grooming products. In a review of Pakistan, our result supports that the societies of the same age are giving much importance to the body and physical appearance, (Gill et al., 2005;Turner, 2008). Our result supports the third hypothesis H3 for Pakistani consumers but opposes the Chinese consumers.
Health care is statistically highly significant latent variable showing the substantial positive impact on men's attitude toward consumption of grooming products (4.039, 0.000 and 2.649, 0.008 Pakistan and China respectively). Result supports hypothesis H4. Results of the current study sustain the finding of Souiden and Diagne (2009). According to them, many of the customers use grooming products as they are psychologically implying that they are curious to hygiene, healthiness, and beauty. Males buying for personal care products are increasing in numbers because of health consciousness.
In consideration of Pakistani and Chinese consumers, social beliefs) is statistically highly significant explanatory variable showing the substantial positive impact on men's attitude toward consumption of grooming products (3.232, 0.001 and 3.387, 0.000, respectively). This result supports hypothesis H5 and upkeeps the findings of previous study (Featherstone, 2007). According to him, consumers show themselves socially responsible by adopting discipline for their body which is considered appropriate by society. Beta coefficient of independent variable lifestyle is marginally significant for Chinese consumers (1.845, 0.067), which supports the finding of Coley and Burgess (2003). According to them lifestyle determinants like social class, values and personality have huge impacts on the behavior of individuals toward consumption of products. Lifestyle is statistically insignificant for Pakistani consumers (0.976, 0.333). Hypothesis H6 is marginally supported in consideration of Chinese consumers but unsupported for Pakistani users. Result shows that Chinese male customers purchase grooming products because of lifestyle determinants but Pakistani consumers are not taking it in consideration.
The advertisement has substantial positive impact on men's attitude toward consumption of cosmetic products in both countries. Beta coefficients of advertisement are statistically significant for both countries (4.294, 0.000 for Pakistan and 3.303, 0.001 for China). Our result upkeeps the dictum; the advertisement is very influential in asserting influence on their viewers to apprehend themselves for their natural craving (Feng, 2008). This result supports hypothesis H7 in both countries. Purchase situation result shows that it has insignificant effect on Chinese (1.063, 0.290) and Pakistani (0.786, 0.436) male consumer's attitude toward consumption of cosmetic products. Therefore, hypothesis H8 is rejected for both Chinese and Pakistani consumers.

Academic and managerial implications
Current research contributes to the literature of men's attitude toward consumption of grooming products. This study includes personal, sociocultural, and marketing variables and finds the intensity of their impact on men's attitude toward the use of cosmetics.
Findings show that Self-image, health care, and aging (personal factor) effect on both Chinese and Pakistani men consumers of cosmetics, consistent with the previous studies (e.g. Schiffman et al., 2008;Souiden & Diagne, 2009) but physical attractiveness only impacts on Pakistani male consumers of grooming product. As for as the sociocultural variables are concerned, social belief effects on men's attitude toward cosmetic products of both countries, consistent with previous researches (Saurabh, 2008;Turner, 2008) but lifestyle only impacts on Chinese consumers. Marketing variable, purchase situation does not effect men's attitude toward cosmetic products of both countries which is contradicting with the findings of former researchers (Grimmer et al., 2015;Weber & Capitant de Villebonne, 2002), according to them male customers' decision-making process is inclined by several situational aspects like store atmosphere, type of allocation, location of purchase, and convincing salesman. On the other hand, Advertisement effect on purchasing habits of men toward grooming products in both countries.
In consideration of Chinese male customers of Cosmetic products, the research results of this study identify that self-image is the most influential variable. Chinese men are purchasing grooming products because of their social beliefs. It is common in Chinese culture that they have to put much energy on the building of their self-image. Lifestyle and health care variables also show the effect on Chinese men's attitude toward consumption of grooming products. Pakistani male consumers' attitude toward consumption of grooming products is affected by self-image and health care concern. Pakistani consumers are more concerned about their skin health regarding fairness, dark spots and skin allergies (a pimple and acne). They want to look attractive and the results pinpoint that physical attractiveness is also an important variable which shows the effect on Pakistani male attitude toward consumption of cosmetic products.
As far as marketing manager's implication is concerned, they can mold their marketing strategies according to the results of the current study. Pakistani and Chinese markets are growing rapidly, but they are at different stages of lifecycle and maturity. The current research unhides the primary motives of purchase for both country's male consumers of grooming products. Self-image, social belief, and lifestyle are the primary motivational factors for Chinese male cosmetic products consumers, while, physical attractiveness, health care, and self-image are the most influential motive for Pakistani male cosmetic product users. Advertising plays a vital role in motivating male consumers of China and Pakistan. Marketers should focus on their creative strategy. As far as the message of advertisement is concerned, the Chinese marketers should focus on self-image, while the Pakistani marketers should focus on physical attractiveness.

Research limitations and future guidelines
This study is probably the first research on conservative society, i.e. Pakistan and a comparative study of China and Pakistan as well. However, the managers should keep in mind the limitations of the current study while implementing these research findings. This research uses convenience sampling technique which is considered as less generalizable and the current study only takes three major cities from each country which don't represent the whole population of both countries as China is the most popular country in the world and Pakistan is the sixth most popular country in the world. To overwhelm these downsides, researchers can use more generalized sampling techniques and expand their area of investigation. The same type of research can also be conducted in other geographical regions to unhide the motivational factors of male consumers toward consumption of cosmetic products.

Conclusion
Current research unhides the important factors motivating men cosmetic consumers of China and Pakistan. Self-image, social beliefs, health care, and aging are the most influencing factors for both countries. Lifestyle is driving the Chinese male consumers to purchase grooming products but Pakistani male cosmetic products consumers do not take it in consideration while making a purchase decision. Physical attractiveness is the vital motivating factor for Pakistani male cosmetic products users. Purchase situation does not impact on the attitude of both Chinese and Pakistani male consumers. The advertisement shows the same positive impact on both Pakistani and Chinese male consumers of cosmetics. Thus, consumers of both countries have mixed intentions, motives, and drivers effecting on attitude toward consumption of cosmetic products.