Chinese consumers' apparel purchasing criteria, attitudes, perceived knowledge, face-saving

183 Pages·2017·1.61 MB·English

Chinese consumers’ apparel purchasing criteria, attitudes,
perceived knowledge, face-saving, materialistic and ethical values

by

Shuyi Huang

B.S., Kansas State University, 2013

A THESIS

submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

MASTER OF SCIENCE

Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design
College of Human Ecology

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Manhattan, Kansas

2017

Approved by:

Major Professor
Joy Kozar
Copyright
© Shuyi Huang 2017.
Abstract
China is the world’s largest apparel producer, exporter, and maintains the largest
domestic apparel market. Since economic reform in the 1980s that opened up the Chinese market
for foreign investors, China’s domestic apparel market has attracted many foreign (Western)
apparel brands (Shenkar, 2005). More than 10,000 different international apparel brands share
China’s domestic apparel market, including brands from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the
United States, Britain, and South Korea, among others. Around 2,000 Chinese domestic apparel
brands have experienced difficultly surviving in China’s domestic apparel market. Besides the
large number of foreign (Western) apparel brands, counterfeit apparel products have grown
faster than China’s government can control. As a result, China has become the world’s largest
counterfeit market. This has become a secondary threat to China’s domestic apparel market and
national economy. Additionally, because of economic growth and modernization in China,
Chinese consumers have accepted more Westernized values, but also retained their traditional
face-saving values. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore how their attitudes toward
counterfeit apparel products, China’s domestic apparel brands, and foreign (Western) apparel
brands are influenced by their level of perception about knowledge and attitudes toward
counterfeit apparel products, face-saving values, materialistic values, and ethical values. This
study utilized a sample of males and females between the ages of 18 and 64, who reside in
Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Wuhan, China.
A questionnaire was utilized as part of this study and data was collected online by
SOJUMP Survey Company. A total of 1,192 participants (736 males and 456 females)
participated in this study.
There are in total nine significant relationships that have been found in this study. First,
the researcher found a positive relationship between Chinese consumers’ perception about
knowledge of counterfeit apparel products and their attitudes about counterfeit apparel products.
Second and third, the present study also discovered that Chinese consumers with favorable
attitudes of foreign apparel brands or negative attitude of China’s domestic apparel brands would
similarly hold positive attitudes of counterfeit apparel products. Fourth, the present scholar
concluded that Chinese consumers with favorable attitudes of China’s domestic apparel brands
tend to hold negative attitudes of counterfeit apparel products. Fifth and sixth, it was found that
Chinese consumers with high level of face-saving values show positive attitudes of foreign
(Western) apparel brands and counterfeit apparel products. Seventh, Chinese consumers with
high level of face-saving values also possess strong materialistic values. Consequently Chinese
consumers with strong materialistic values tend to hold positive attitudes of counterfeit apparel
products and foreign (Western) apparel products, but negative attitudes of China’s domestic
apparel brands.
The findings of this study show that Chinese consumers have a very low level of

perception about knowledge of counterfeit apparel products. It is necessary to connect educators,
government, apparel industry, and brand owners to develop and enhance anti-counterfeit
educational programs. These programs should clearly explain the perception about knowledge of
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), trademark, and the negative causes of counterfeit products are
warranted. Also, it is better for China’s domestic apparel brand companies to develop better
brand images and improve product quality to meet Chinese consumers’ face-saving standards
and materialistic values.
Table of Contents
List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ xi
Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1
Background of the Study ............................................................................................................ 1
China’s Apparel Marketplace ................................................................................................. 1
The Culture of Counterfeit Goods in China ............................................................................ 2
China’s Apparel Counterfeit Market....................................................................................... 3
The Culture of Face Consumption in China ........................................................................... 6
Materialism and Ethics’ Cause Chinese Consumers’ Buying Behaviors ............................... 7
Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes toward Foreign (Western) Brand Products ........................... 9
Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes toward China’s Domestic Apparel Brands .......................... 10
Apparel Market Segments in Today’s China ........................................................................ 11
Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................................... 12
Purpose of Study ....................................................................................................................... 13
Significance of the Study .......................................................................................................... 15
Definitions and Terms .............................................................................................................. 15
Chapter 2 - Review of Literature .................................................................................................. 17
Apparel Industry Development in China .................................................................................. 17
China’s Apparel Retail Market Segment .............................................................................. 18
China’s Domestic Apparel Brand Market Segment .............................................................. 19
China’s Foreign Apparel Brand Market Segment................................................................. 20
The Apparel Counterfeit Industry in China .............................................................................. 24
The Demand of Counterfeit Apparel Products in China ....................................................... 24
Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes toward Counterfeit Products ............................................... 26
Chinese Consumers’ Perception about Knowledge of Apparel Counterfeit Goods ............. 27
The Supply Dimension of Counterfeit Apparel Products in China ...................................... 30
The Crackdown of Counterfeit Trade in China .................................................................... 32
Materialism and Ethical Values on Chinese Consumers’ Buying Behavior ........................ 34

v
Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................................... 37
Deficiencies in the Existing Research ................................................................................... 37
Theoretincal Framework Overview .......................................................................................... 38
Tricomponent Attitude Model .............................................................................................. 38
Values-Attitudes-Behavior Model ........................................................................................ 41
Theory of Basic Human Values ............................................................................................ 43
Ten Motivational Values Model ........................................................................................... 46
Hypotheses ................................................................................................................................ 49
Chapter 3 - Methodology .............................................................................................................. 58
Population of Interest ................................................................................................................ 58
Pre-Test ..................................................................................................................................... 59
Instrumentation ......................................................................................................................... 60
Chinese Consumers’ Perception about Knowledge of Counterfeit Apparel Products.......... 60
Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes toward Counterfeit Apparel Products.................................. 61
Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes toward Foreign (Western) Apparel Brands ......................... 62
Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes toward Chinese Domestic Apparel Brands ......................... 63
Chinese Consumers’ Face-saving Values ............................................................................. 63
Chinese Consumers’ Level of Materialism ........................................................................... 64
Chinese Consumers’ Ethical Values ..................................................................................... 64
Demographic Variables......................................................................................................... 65
Procedure .................................................................................................................................. 66
Validity and Reliability ......................................................................................................... 67
Summary of Pre-test Result .................................................................................................. 68
Chapter 4 - Findings...................................................................................................................... 70
Demographics ........................................................................................................................... 70
Reliability and Descriptive Statistics of Measures ................................................................... 73
Chinese Consumers’ Perception about Knowledge of Counterfeit Apparel Products.......... 73
Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes toward Counterfeit Apparel Products.................................. 74
Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes toward Foreign (Western) Apparel Brands ......................... 75
Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes toward Chinese Apparel Brands.......................................... 76
Chinese Consumers’ Face-saving Values ............................................................................. 77

vi
Chinese Consumers’ Level of Materialism ........................................................................... 78
Chinese Consumers’ Ethical Values ..................................................................................... 79
Hypothesis Flowchart ............................................................................................................... 81
Results of Hypotheses Testing .................................................................................................. 81
Perception about Knowledge of Counterfeit and Attitudes toward Counterfeit Products .... 81
Attitudes toward Foreign (Western) Brands and Attitudes toward Counterfeits Apparel
Products ................................................................................................................................. 82
Attitudes toward Chinese Domestic Brands and Attitudes toward Counterfeit Apparel
Products ................................................................................................................................. 84
Face Consumption and Attitudes toward Foreign (Western) Apparel Brands ..................... 85
Face Consumption and Attitudes toward Counterfeit Apparel Products .............................. 86
Face-saving Values and Materialistic Values ....................................................................... 87
Materialistic Values and Attitudes toward Counterfeit Apparel Products ............................ 88
Materialism and Attitudes toward Foreign (Western) Apparel Brands ................................ 89
Materialism and Negative Attitudes toward China’s Domestic Apparel Brands ................. 90
Ethical Values and Attitudes toward Counterfeit Apparel Products .................................... 91
Summary of Findings ................................................................................................................ 92
Chapter 5 - Discussion .................................................................................................................. 93
Summary of Results .................................................................................................................. 93
Contributions to Theory .......................................................................................................... 101
Tricomponent Attitude Model ............................................................................................ 102
Value-Attitude-Behavior Model ......................................................................................... 104
Theory of Basic Values ....................................................................................................... 105
Ten Motivational Values Model ......................................................................................... 106
Contributions to Academia ..................................................................................................... 108
Contributions to Industry ........................................................................................................ 111
Overall Implications of Study ................................................................................................. 113
Limitations and Ideas for Future Research ............................................................................. 115
References ................................................................................................................................... 118
Appendix A - Questionnaire (English version) .......................................................................... 151
Appendix B - Questionnaire (Chinese Version) ......................................................................... 161

vii
List of Figures
Figure 1. Tricomponent Attitude Model. ...................................................................................... 41
Figure 2. Vaske and Donnnelly Values-Attitudes-Behavior Model ............................................. 43
Figure 3. Shalom H. Schwartz’s Theory of Basic Human Values Model .................................... 45
Figure 4. Shalom H. Schwartz’s Ten Motivational Values Model ............................................... 48
Figure 5. Hypothesis Flowchart .................................................................................................... 81

viii
List of Tables
Table 1 Demographic Questionnaires .......................................................................................... 66
Table 2 Demographics of Study Participants............................................................................... 72
Table 3 Descriptive Statistics for Chinese Consumers’ Perception about Knowledge of
Counterfeit Products ............................................................................................................. 74
Table 4 Descriptive Statistics for Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes toward Counterfeit Apparel
Products ................................................................................................................................. 75
Table 5 Descriptive Statistics for Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes of Foreign (Western) Apparel
Brands ................................................................................................................................... 76
Table 6 Descriptive Statistics for Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes toward Chinese Domestic
Apparel Brands ..................................................................................................................... 77
Table 7 Descriptive Statistics for Chinese Consumers’ Face-saving Values .............................. 78
Table 8 Descriptive Statistics for Chinese Consumers’ Level of Materialism ............................ 79
Table 9 Descriptive Statistics for Chinese Consumers’ Ethical Values ...................................... 80
Table 10 Linear regression analysis predicting the relationship between the Chinese consumers’
perception about knowledge of counterfeit apparel products and attitudes toward counterfeit
apparel products .................................................................................................................... 82
Table 11 Linear regression analysis predicting the relationship between the Chinese consumers’
attitudes toward foreign (Western) apparel brands and attitudes toward counterfeit apparel
products. ................................................................................................................................ 83
Table 12 Linear regression analysis predicting the relationship between the Chinese consumers’
attitudes toward China’s domestic apparel brands and attitudes toward counterfeit apparel
products. ................................................................................................................................ 84
Table 13 Linear regression analysis predicting the relationship between the Chinese consumers’
level of face-saving values and attitudes toward foreign (Western) apparel products. ........ 86
Table 14 Linear regression analysis predicting the relationship between the Chinese consumers’
level of face-saving values and attitudes toward counterfeit apparel products. ................... 87
Table 15 Linear regression analysis predicting the relationship between the Chinese consumers’
level of face-saving values and materialistic values. ............................................................ 88

ix
Table 16 Linear regression analysis predicting the relationship between the Chinese consumers’
materialistic values and attitudes toward counterfeit apparel products. ............................... 89
Table 17 Linear regression analysis predicting the relationship between Chinese consumers’
materialistic values and attitudes toward foreign (Western) apparel brands. ....................... 90
Table 18 Linear regression analysis predicting the relationship between Chinese consumers’
materialistic values and attitudes toward China’s domestic apparel brands. ........................ 91
Table 19 Linear regression analysis predicting the relationship between the Chinese consumers’
ethical values and attitudes toward counterfeit apparel products. ........................................ 92

x