Collectivism And Conformity Of Asian Consumer Culture

The anthropology of gifts is also crucial to economics. Entire businesses and industries rely on gift giving as it helps understand the relationships in economy as a cultural system that is not just

The consumption of luxury goods in China is mounting sharply. Not only those born to elite families, but also many common people are greedy for luxury brands (China, a Booming

The dominance of capitalist countries has facilitated the conformity of global civilization and cultural environments resulting in an increase of consumer cultures (Sarmela, 1977; Chaney, 2004). As capitalism experiences a natural and unavoidable expansion, consumers engage with consumer culture creating invisible products such as social status, identity, cultures, and ethical relationships (Sternberg, 2017). There are two sides to consumer culture that are the values held by society; those who conform and those who rebel (Turow & McAllister, 2014). All participants of society align with either submission or resistance to dominant ideas, values, and social structures. However, as a result of continued progressive diversity and fragmentation, the distinction between submissive and resistance are blurred. Nevertheless, those who resist and rebel are still participants of consumer culture. Instead they instead form sub cultures in society with alternative beliefs, values and ideas that challenge the mainstream (Chaney, 2004). In order to better understand the relationship between consumption practice and the resistance of consumer culture, theories of reflexive project of self, prosumers, lifestyle commodification, and incorporation will be analyzed in relation to the vegan movement.

Gil, L., Dwivedi, A., & Johnson , L. (2017). Effect of popularity and peer pressure on attitudes toward luxury among teens. Young Consumers, 18(1), 84-93.

Different countries have different cultures and it is important to know the values and norms of each culture, especially in regards to globalization. Some things that we do in the United States that are considered illegal and unethical are normal practices in other countries where they are generally accepted by the people and the government of that country. China, for instance, is a relation-based country, where the United States is a rule-based country. This means that while the United States conducts business based on laws and regulations, China conducts business based on Guanxi. The word Guanxi translates literally into “relationships,” where they build trust in one another and develop Guanxi before conducting any business. Because they are relation-based, Chinese people build this network of trust in order to make up for the lack of legal protection the country provides. However, one of the customs of building this relationship is spending a lot of time together as well as partaking in the act of gift giving as well as receiving as to not insult them.

Consumers consider price, brand, time of delivery, and the quality of the product in making choices on which products to use in the market place, hence the reason it is important to focus on fulfilling the elements in marketing products to consumers. In moving a product from the American market to the Chinese market, similar considerations are necessary since similarities and differences exists in the response of consumers on the use of different marketing mix tools in promoting products in the two countries. Due to the complexity in marketing luxury products in China, it is advisable for marketers to analyze the market in China in order to identify the critical elements for consideration in marketing prior to introducing the commodity

And with the sequential study of Chinese culture, another new dimension is discovered, that is long-term vs. short-term orientation (Hofstede & Bond, 1998). In this article, the study target is to identify the collectivism/ individualism character of Chinese customers in Chinese fast food industry. According to Hofstede’s research, Chinese individual index is far less than western countries. Throughout history, collectivism has always as a mainstream culture to be praised and followed in China. On the contrary, western countries has highly influenced by individualism culture. And in fact, some one stated that the reason Chinese customers showed collectivism in their fastfood behavior is the result of the influence from traditional Chinese culture. And on the other hand, other factor also influence the collectivism characteristic in the behavior of Chinese customers in fast-food consumption, for example the perceived environmental uncertainty [6]. But in this article, we just want to find out whether the culture influence the collectivism of Chinese customers behavior in the fast-food industry. 2. Methodology 2.1. Questionnaires This research adopts the study methods which combine interview and questionnaire together, and mainly by questionnaire method. The interview is to get basic information of Chinese fast-food consumers and the consuming characters by communicating with managers of sample fast food restaurants, thus to build the research hypothesis. The

Current challenges in the Japanese luxury market are mounting and consumer behavior is changing. The Japanese consumer once purchased Louis Vuitton product as form of social expression. Today, the Japanese consumer is wiser to the value of the yen and unwilling to pay for the high price for a Louis Vuitton product. In response, Louis

The paper concentrates on three primary factors to argue how the existence of prestigious luxury counterfeits elevates consumer’s willingness to purchase the real luxury brands. It first focuses on the argument that by taking advantage of Chinese “face” culture, luxury counterfeit improves consumer’s willingness to purchase original luxuries by

Second-hand trades have been growing rapidly in the past __ years. The second-hand industry grew at about 7% a year in 2014 and 2015, according to the National Association of Resale Professionals (Narts). Second-hand luxury goods, in particularly, has become a unique segment standing out among the rest of second-hand products. While companies like The Real Real and What Goes Around Comes Around (WGACA) have been successfully enticed U.S. customers to sell and buy second-hand luxury, they might have left another huge group of potential customers behind – international college students from China, who carry a stack of cash to the US each year and share a strong enthusiasm towards luxury brands at a young age like most middle-class Chinese. This study intends to focus on Chinese students studying in the US, their culturally specific motivations and concerns for shopping second-hand luxury so as to provide insights for local second-hand stores to better attract them as potential customers.

The interviewees should complete the questionnaire which contains twelve questions with five scores which means the different degree of agreement. Among the questions, the three culture background related questions are used to judge the recognition degree of Chinese traditional culture and Chinese catering culture of consumers; the three consumer consumption characters questions are used to identify the main consuming model of consumers; while the six consumer behavior statement questions are to describe the principal characters of consumers’ behavior. The questions describing the consumer behavior characters are designed based on the “AIO” (Activities/ Interests/ Opinion) life style research, by Shrum and Lowrey. is mainly concerns the statement related with understanding consumers’ purchasing behavior (such as, the extent of regarding opinion leader, characters of consumption behavior, price sensitivity and the financial hesitation when purchasing and the loyalty of brand interest). In the questionnaire, an efficient evaluation system—Likertscales (Sarantakos,S, 2005:250) is adopted, measuring every question by using 5 scores. And the distribution of cultural dimension related questions in questionnaire as table 2 listed:

With the increasing attraction of MNCs to the size and growth of the Chinese consumer market, some are inclined to overlook the diversity among the indigenous consumers. The popular misconception of China as a huge market with homogeneous consumers often results in difficulties in evaluating demand and formulating effective marketing strategies. In reality, China is a large geographic area consisting of multiple fragmented markets; segmented by regional economic development and local culture. The Chinese also have diverse cultural patterns demonstrated by deviations in dialects, ideals, lifestyles, traditions, and customs. Consequently, these regional disparities affect people's perception of

Since consumers are always changing and purchase differently with various cultures, it is necessary for marketers to research and analyze different cultures where their customers in and how buyer behave during their shopping trip in order to effective stimulus and lead consumers to purchase, provide better service for them and sharpen the competitive edge in the market. For consumers, shopping is not only satisfy their needs, but also the important activity for satisfy their wants in nowadays.Therefore, marketers have increasingly paid more attention on different causes that most consumers’ behavior are influenced.

Unlike other nations, the exchanging gifts do not convey any negative meanings in the business culture of INDIA. Gifts ought to dependably be traded for festivities, as much obliged for help and even as a sweetener for future favours. Notwithstanding, it is vital not to give or exchange gifts without a justifiable witness or a reason. This may be interpreted in an unexpected way. At the point when the Chinese need to purchase gifts it is not phenomenal for them to ask what you would like. Try not to be shy to indicate something interested to you. In any case, it would be insightful

Contrary to the traditional beliefs that Asians are conservative and skeptical towards materialism, according to Radha Chadha, author of The Cult of the Luxury Brand, Asia is currently facing a “luxeplosion” where millions of men and women aged 1830, are flocking to purchase luxury products from labels such as Burberry, Rolex, Louis Vuitton etc. This phenomenon that started off in Japan, is rapidly spreading to the rest of Asia, including South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and China. (Ravindran, 2007) Furthermore, sales of such branded goods carry on even in bleak economic conditions. This brings us to question why are millions of Asians, not all of them