IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eco/journ3/2016-03-31.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Made In China” Products and the Implication of Ethnic Identification Strength

Author

Listed:
  • Huat Wei Huang

    (Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Malaysia,)

  • Ernest Cyril de Run

    (Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Malaysia,)

  • Ernest Cyril de Run

    (Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Centre of Business, Economics and Finance, UNIMAS, Kota Samarahan, Malaysia,)

  • Hiram Ting

    (Institute of Borneo Studies, UNIMAS, Kota Samarahan, Malaysia,)

  • Hiram Ting

    (Institute of Graduate Studies, SEGi University, Kota Damansara, Malaysia,)

  • Huong Sung Colin Ting

    (Research Office, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.)

Abstract

This paper seeks to examine the effect of ethnic identification strength between the Malays and Chinese towards purchasing “Made in China” products. A quantitative approach by means of self-administered questionnaire was adopted. 252 Malay and 251 Chinese respondents’ data were collected from local institutions of higher learning. Independent sample t-tests and multiple regression analysis were used to look into difference and relationship pertaining to country of origin (COO) image, product knowledge, product involvement, information search and purchase intention. The findings show Malays and Chinese are different in terms of their perceptions towards COO image and product involvement. Moreover, COO image is found to be significantly different among Malays and Chinese with strong and weak ethnic identification. However, COO image is found to have no effect on information search and purchase intention although both ethnic groups are generally in favor of products “Made in China.” Instead product knowledge and involvement are found to be essential. This study suggests that marketers and managers need to understand what is shared and what is not among Malays and Chinese in a developing and diverse society like Malaysia. Despite the effect of COO image and ethnic identification strength, product knowledge and involvement play pivotal role in understanding consumers today.

Suggested Citation

  • Huat Wei Huang & Ernest Cyril de Run & Ernest Cyril de Run & Hiram Ting & Hiram Ting & Huong Sung Colin Ting, 2016. "“Made In China” Products and the Implication of Ethnic Identification Strength," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 6(3), pages 631-640.
    • Handle: RePEc:eco:journ3:2016-03-31
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.econjournals.com/index.php/irmm/article/download/2452/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://www.econjournals.com/index.php/irmm/article/view/2452/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Deshpande, Rohit & Hoyer, Wayne D & Donthu, Naveen, 1986. "The Intensity of Ethnic Affiliation: A Study of the Sociology of Hispanic Consumption," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 13(2), pages 214-220, September.
    2. Moore, William L & Lehmann, Donald R, 1980. "Individual Differences in Search Behavior for a Nondurable," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 7(3), pages 296-307, December.
    3. Petty, Richard E & Cacioppo, John T & Schumann, David, 1983. "Central and Peripheral Routes to Advertising Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Involvement," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 10(2), pages 135-146, September.
    4. Alba, Joseph W & Hutchinson, J Wesley, 1987. "Dimensions of Consumer Expertise," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 13(4), pages 411-454, March.
    5. Warren J Bilkey & Erik Nes, 1982. "Country-of-Origin Effects on Product Evaluations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 13(1), pages 89-100, March.
    6. Johnson, Eric J & Russo, J Edward, 1984. "Product Familiarity and Learning New Information," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 11(1), pages 542-550, June.
    7. Park, C Whan & Lessig, V Parker, 1981. "Familiarity and Its Impact on Consumer Decision Biases and Heuristics," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 8(2), pages 223-230, September.
    8. Bettman, James R & Park, C Whan, 1980. "Effects of Prior Knowledge and Experience and Phase of the Choice Process on Consumer Decision Processes: A Protocol Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 7(3), pages 234-248, December.
    9. Tyebjee, Tyzoon T, 1979. "Response Time, Conflict, and Involvement in Brand Choice," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 6(3), pages 295-304, December.
    10. Martin S Roth & Jean B Romeo, 1992. "Matching Product Category and Country Image Perceptions: A Framework for Managing Country-of-Origin Effects," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(3), pages 477-497, September.
    11. Celsi, Richard L & Olson, Jerry C, 1988. "The Role of Involvement in Attention and Comprehension Processes," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 15(2), pages 210-224, September.
    12. Brucks, Merrie, 1985. "The Effects of Product Class Knowledge on Information Search Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, June.
    13. Victor V Cordell, 1992. "Effects of Consumer Preferences for Foreign Sourced Products," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(2), pages 251-269, June.
    14. Robert A Peterson & Alain J P Jolibert, 1995. "A Meta-Analysis of Country-of-Origin Effects," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(4), pages 883-900, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vy Dang Bich Huynh & Phuc Van Nguyen & Quyen Le Hoang Thuy To Nguyen & Phong Thanh Nguyen & Phong Thanh Nguyen, 2017. "China Trade Expansion: A Case Study of Vietnam," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 7(1), pages 129-132.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bosul Yoo & Sotaro Katsumata & Takeyasu Ichikohji, 2017. "The Impact of Customer Orientation on Quantity and Quality of User-Generated Content: A Multi-Country Case Study of Mobile Applications," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 17-12, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    2. Sanjay Kumar Mishra & Manoj Kumar, 2011. "How mutual fund investors’ objective and subjective knowledge impacts their information search and processing behaviour," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 16(1), pages 27-41, June.
    3. Yoo, Bosul & Katsumata, Sotaro & Ichikohji, Takeyasu, 2017. "A Multi-Country Comparison of User Innovation Behaviors on Smartphone Applications," 14th ITS Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, Kyoto 2017: Mapping ICT into Transformation for the Next Information Society 168553, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    4. Leonidas C. Leonidou & Bilge Aykol & Saeed Samiee & Nikolaos Korfiatis, 2022. "A Meta-analysis of the Antecedents and Outcomes of Consumer Foreign Country Image Perceptions: The Moderating Role of Macro-level Country Differences," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(5), pages 741-784, October.
    5. Davies, Antony & Cline, Thomas W., 2005. "A consumer behavior approach to modeling monopolistic competition," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 797-826, December.
    6. Naderi, Iman & Paswan, Audhesh K. & Guzman, Francisco, 2018. "Beyond the shadow of a doubt: The effect of consumer knowledge on restaurant evaluation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 221-229.
    7. de Bont, Cees J. P. M. & Schoormans, Jan P. L., 1995. "The effects of product expertise on consumer evaluations of new-product concepts," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 599-615, December.
    8. Wang, Cheng Lu & Li, Dongjin & Barnes, Bradley R. & Ahn, Jongseok, 2012. "Country image, product image and consumer purchase intention: Evidence from an emerging economy," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 1041-1051.
    9. Gaia Rubera & Andrea Ordanini & David Mazursky, 2010. "Toward a contingency view of new product creativity: Assessing the interactive effects of consumers," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 191-206, June.
    10. Wirawan Dony Dahana & HeeJae Shin & Sotaro Katsumata, 2018. "Influence of individual characteristics on whether and how much consumers engage in showrooming behavior," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 665-692, December.
    11. Seung Lee, 2013. "Ethics and Expertise: A Social Networks Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(3), pages 607-621, December.
    12. van Waterschoot, Walter & Kumar Sinha, Piyush & Van Kenhove, Patrick & De Wulf, Kristof, 2008. "Consumer learning and its impact on store format selection," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 194-210.
    13. Flynn, Leisa Reinecke & Goldsmith, Ronald E., 1999. "A Short, Reliable Measure of Subjective Knowledge," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 57-66, September.
    14. Varsha Jain & Chakshu Bhandari & Ganesh B.E., 2017. "Discovering the Interpersonal Relationship Between Luxury Perfume Brands and Consumers," Transnational Marketing Journal, Oxbridge Publishing House, UK, vol. 5(2), pages 85-108, October.
    15. Li, Zhan G. & Murray, L. William & Scott, Don, 2000. "Global Sourcing, Multiple Country-of-Origin Facets, and Consumer Reactions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 121-133, February.
    16. Bayuk, Julia Belyavsky & Patrick, Vanessa M., 2021. "Is the uphill road the one more taken? How task complexity prompts action on non-pressing tasks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 436-449.
    17. Smith, Gerald E. & Venkatraman, Meera P. & Dholakia, Ruby Roy, 1999. "Diagnosing the search cost effect: Waiting time and the moderating impact of prior category knowledge," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 285-314, June.
    18. Tasci, Asli D.A., 2018. "Testing the cross-brand and cross-market validity of a consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) model for destination brands," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 143-159.
    19. Gergaud, Olivier & Livat, Florine, 2007. "How do consumers use signals to assess quality?," Working Papers 37296, American Association of Wine Economists.
    20. Jin, Hyun Joung & Han, Dae Hee, 2014. "Interaction between message framing and consumers’ prior subjective knowledge regarding food safety issues," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 95-102.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Country of Origin Image; Ethnicity; Ethnic Identification; Information Search; Purchase Intention;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing
    • M16 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - International Business Administration

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eco:journ3:2016-03-31. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ilhan Ozturk (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.econjournals.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.