Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Consumers’ perceptions regarding questionable consumption practices in China

Consumers’ perceptions regarding questionable consumption practices in China Since East Asian Confucian societies are relational societies that view harmonious relationships with others as important, the issue of consumer ethics has received considerable attention in the quest to improve the effectiveness of business transactions. This is especially true of China, a large developing country with many business investment opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between consumer ethical beliefs and the personality traits of consumer relationship proneness, religiousness, attitude toward business and love of money, which are seldom explored in the literature.Design/methodology/approachThe sample is collected by systematic sampling in China and a sample of 434 individuals is surveyed. This study performs confirmatory factor analysis to examine the reliability and validity and then uses the evaluation of the structural equation model exhibited a good fit between the model and the observed data to test the hypotheses via LISREL 8.7.FindingsFindings show that individuals with stronger relationship proneness and high religiousness tend to more strongly consider many questionable consumer practices as unacceptable. Attitude toward business and love of money partially impact consumer unethical beliefs.Originality/valueWhile there cultural differences between East Asian and western societies, consumer relationship proneness and the three other constructs featuring Chinese characteristics should be considered a vital personality in Chinese society. The results of this study offer findings which are not fully consistent with the findings of studies conducted in other countries and can improve friendly relationship marketing practices with Chinese consumers. More research is necessary to understand consumer ethical behavior in the varied cultures of Asia. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics Emerald Publishing

Consumers’ perceptions regarding questionable consumption practices in China

Download PDF
17 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/consumers-perceptions-regarding-questionable-consumption-practices-in-GDJpdLn9W2
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
1355-5855
DOI
10.1108/apjml-08-2017-0168
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Since East Asian Confucian societies are relational societies that view harmonious relationships with others as important, the issue of consumer ethics has received considerable attention in the quest to improve the effectiveness of business transactions. This is especially true of China, a large developing country with many business investment opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between consumer ethical beliefs and the personality traits of consumer relationship proneness, religiousness, attitude toward business and love of money, which are seldom explored in the literature.Design/methodology/approachThe sample is collected by systematic sampling in China and a sample of 434 individuals is surveyed. This study performs confirmatory factor analysis to examine the reliability and validity and then uses the evaluation of the structural equation model exhibited a good fit between the model and the observed data to test the hypotheses via LISREL 8.7.FindingsFindings show that individuals with stronger relationship proneness and high religiousness tend to more strongly consider many questionable consumer practices as unacceptable. Attitude toward business and love of money partially impact consumer unethical beliefs.Originality/valueWhile there cultural differences between East Asian and western societies, consumer relationship proneness and the three other constructs featuring Chinese characteristics should be considered a vital personality in Chinese society. The results of this study offer findings which are not fully consistent with the findings of studies conducted in other countries and can improve friendly relationship marketing practices with Chinese consumers. More research is necessary to understand consumer ethical behavior in the varied cultures of Asia.

Journal

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics – Emerald Publishing

Published: May 24, 2019

Keywords: Religiosity; Consumer ethics; Business attitude; Love of money; Relationship proneness

References

  • Relationship marketing in a B2C context: the moderating role of personality traits
    Adjei, M.T.; Clark, M.N.
  • Personal religious orientation and prejudice
    Allport, G.W.; Ross, J.M.
  • Evaluating the relationships among attitude toward business, product satisfaction, experience, and search effect
    Anderson, R.D.; Engledow, J.L.; Becker, H.
  • On the evaluation of structural equation models
    Bagozzi, R.P.; Yi, Y.
  • Assessing construct validity in organizational research
    Bagozzi, R.P.; Yi, Y.; Phillips, L.W.
  • Applications of structural equation modeling in marketing and consumer research: a review
    Baumgartner, H.; Homburg, C.
  • The impact of need for social affiliation and consumer relationship proneness on behavioural intentions: an empirical study in a hairdresser’s context
    Bloemer, J.; Odekerken-Schröder, G.; Kestens, L.
  • Relationship marketing in consumer markets
    Christy, R.; Oliver, G.; Penn, J.
  • Investments in consumer relationship: a cross-country and cross-industry exploration
    De Wulf, K.; Odekerken- Schröder, G.; Iacobucci, D.
  • Intrinsic and extrinsic religiousness: review and meta-analysis
    Donahue, M.J.
  • Money, money, money – how do attitude toward money impact vanity and materialism? The case of young Chinese consumers
    Durvasula, S.; Lysonski, S.
  • Striving for the sacred: personal goals, life meaning, and religion
    Emmons, R.A.
  • The blind spot of relationships in consumer markets: the consumer proneness to engage in relationships
    Fernandes, T.M.; Proença, J.F.
  • Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error
    Fornell, C.; Larcker, D.F.
  • An integrative model of the influence of parental and peer support on consumer ethical beliefs: the mediating role of self-esteem, power, and materialism
    Gentina, E.; Shrum, L.J.; Lowrey, T.M.; Vitell, S.J.; Rose, G.M.
  • The abundance effect: unethical behavior in the presence of wealth
    Gino, F.; Pierce, L.
  • The structure of goal contents across 15 cultures
    Grouzet, F.M.E.; Kasser, T.; Ahuvia, A.; Dols, J.M.F.; Kim, Y.; Lau, S.; Sheldon, K.M.
  • A general theory of marketing ethics
    Hunt, S.D.; Vitell, S.J.
  • Cultural differences in morality in the real and virtual worlds: a comparison of Chinese and US youth
    Jackson, L.A.; Zhao, Y.; Qiu, W.; Kolenic, A.; Fitzgerald, H.E.; Harold, R.; Von Eye, A.
  • Money as tool, money as drug: the biological psychology of a strong incentive
    Lea, S.E.G.; Webley, P.
  • Money is power: monetary intelligence – love of money and temptation of materialism among Czech university students
    Lemrová, S.; Reiterová, E.; Fatěnová, R.; Lemr, K.; Tang, T.L.P.
  • Emerging consumer orientation, ethical perceptions, and purchase intention in the counterfeit smartphone market in China
    Li, T.; Seaton, B.
  • Confucian dynamism, culture and ethical changes in Chinese societies – a comparative study of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong
    Lin, L.H.; Ho, Y.L.
  • The developmental process of unethical consumer behavior: an investigation grounded in China
    Liu, Z.; Yang, Z.; Zeng, F.; Waller, D.
  • Consumer personality and green buying intention: the mediate role of consumer ethical beliefs
    Lu, L.-C.; Chang, H.H.; Chang, Z.H.
  • Confucian dynamism, the role of money and consumer ethical beliefs: an exploratory study in Taiwan
    Lu, L.C.; Huang, Y.W.; Chang, H.H.
  • The effects of cultural dimensions on ethical decision making in marketing: an exploratory study
    Lu, L.C.; Rose, G.M.; Blodgett, J.G.
  • Moral philosophy, materialism, and consumer ethics: an exploratory study in Indonesia
    Lu, L.L.; Lu, C.J.
  • Money as a motivator: some research insights
    McClelland, D.C.
  • Consumer religiosity and retail store evaluative criteria
    McDaniel, S.W.; Burnett, J.J.
  • The meaning of money: an individual difference perspective
    Mitchell, T.R.; Mickel, A.E.
  • Consumer ethics: an investigation of the ethical beliefs of the final consumer
    Muncy, J.A.; Vitell, S.J.
  • Strengthening outcomes of retailer–consumer relationships – the dual impact of relationship marketing tactics and consumer personality
    Odekerken-Schröder, G.; De Wulf, K.; Schumacher, P.
  • Consumer relationship proneness: a reexamination and extension across service exchanges
    Parish, J.T.; Holloway, B.B.
  • Self-reports in organizational research: problems and prospects
    Podsakoff, P.M.; Organ, D.W.
  • Optimum stimulation level: its relationship to personality, demographics, and exploratory behavior
    Raju, R.S.
  • The link between religion and spirituality and psychological adjustment: the mediating role of optimism and social support
    Salsman, J.M.; Brown, T.L.; Brechting, E.H.; Carlson, C.R.
  • Monetary intelligence: money attitude - unethical intentions, intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction, and coping strategies across public and private sectors in Macedonia
    Sardžoska, E.G.; Tang, T.L.P.
  • The impact of intrinsic religiosity on consumers’ ethical beliefs: does it depend on the type of religion? A comparison of Christian and Moslem consumers in Germany and Turkey
    Schneider, H.; Krieger, J.; Bayraktar, A.
  • Toward an understanding of religiousness and marketing ethics: an empirical study
    Singhapakdi, A.; Marta, J.K.; Rallapalli, K.C.; Rao, C.P.
  • Why is it (un-) ethical? Comparing potential European partners: a western Christian and eastern Islamic country – on arguments used in explaining ethical judgments
    Srnka, K.J.; Gegez, A.E.; Arzova, S.B.
  • Relationship commitment and ethical consumer behavior in a retail setting: the case of receiving too much change at the checkout
    Steenhaut, S.; Van Kenhove, P.
  • The meaning of money revisited
    Tang, T.L.P.
  • The development of a short money ethic scale: attitude toward money and pay satisfaction revisited
    Tang, T.L.P.
  • Is the love of money ‘the root of all evil’? Or different strokes for different folks: lessons in 12 countries
    Tang, T.L.P.
  • Theory of monetary intelligence: money attitude – religious values, making money, making ethical decisions, and making the grade
    Tang, T.L.P.
  • Income, money ethic, pay satisfaction, commitment, and unethical behavior: is the love of money the root of evil for Hong Kong employees?
    Tang, T.L.P.; Chiu, R.K.
  • The meaning of money among mental health workers: the endorsement of money ethic as related to organizational citizenship behavior, job satisfaction, and commitment
    Tang, T.L.P.; Kim, J.K.
  • Monetary intelligence and behavioral economics: the enron effect – love of money, corporate ethical values, Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), and dishonesty across 31 geopolitical entities
    Tang, T.L.P.; Sutarso, T.; Ansari, M.A.; Lim, V.K.; Teo, T.S.; Arias-Galicia, F.; Vlerick, P.
  • Confirmatory analysis of computer self-efficacy
    Torkzadeh, G.; Koufteros, X.; Pflughoeft, K.
  • Consumer ethics research: review synthesis, and suggestions for the future
    Vitell, S.J.
  • The role of religiosity in business and consumer ethics: a review of the literature
    Vitell, S.J.
  • Consumer ethics: an empirical investigation of factors influencing ethical judgments of the final consumer
    Vitell, S.J.; Muncy, J.
  • The Muncy-Vitell consumer ethics scale: a modification and application
    Vitell, S.J.; Muncy, J.
  • The role of money and religiosity in determining consumers’ ethical beliefs
    Vitell, S.J.; Paolillo, J.G.P.; Singh, J.
  • Religiosity and consumer ethics
    Vitell, S.J.; Paolillo, J.G.P.; Singh, J.J.
  • Consumers’ ethical beliefs: the roles of money, religiosity and attitude toward business
    Vitell, S.J.; Singh, J.J.; Paolillo, J.
  • Religiosity and moral identity: the mediating role of self-control
    Vitell, S.J.; Bing, M.N.; Davison, H.K.; Ammeter, A.P.; Garner, B.L.; Novicevic, M.M.
  • Spirituality, moral identity, and consumer ethics: a multi-cultural study
    Vitell, S.J.; King, R.A.; Howie, K.; Toti, J.F.; Albert, L.; Hidalgo, E.R.; Yacout, O.
  • Does consumer unethical behavior relate to birthplace? Evidence from China
    Zhao, B.; Xu, S.