How product hedonism affects the Country-of-Origin effect on product perceived quality and price in the China market
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
ISSN: 1355-5855
Article publication date: 3 November 2023
Issue publication date: 9 April 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Western manufacturers have often benefited from the Country-of-Origin (COO) effect when a product is launched into emerging markets. The authors examine if this still holds true in the China market. The authors believe that the degree of perceived hedonism associated with the product does matter and, therefore, conducted an experiment to test how this influences the effect of COO on perceived quality and price of the product. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objective.
Design/methodology/approach
A lab experiment with a 2 (COO: Western vs. Local) x 2 (Hedonism: High vs. Low) factorial design was conducted with Chinese consumers as subjects. The dependent variables were perceived quality and price of the products.
Findings
It was found that Western COO has a positive effect on the product perceived quality and price in the China market, but the effect was significantly moderated by the degree of perceived hedonism of the products.
Originality/value
The study used an experiment to investigate the different prominence of the COO effect on perceived quality and price in terms of hedonic vs. utilitarian products which has not been done previously. The findings provide implications concerning allocation of marketing resources to product positioning in the presence of different degrees of perceived hedonism and suggest additional areas for future examination.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from Specialized Subsidy Scheme for the Tourism Education and Training for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of Higher Education Fund (Ref No: TET-UMAC-2021-01).
Citation
Chow, C.S.F., Chow, W.C., Leong, W.I. and Zheng, S. (2024), "How product hedonism affects the Country-of-Origin effect on product perceived quality and price in the China market", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 36 No. 4, pp. 862-877. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-09-2022-0808
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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