The effect of country image on hypermarket patronage intention: A cross-cultural study in China and Spain

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the cultural influences that country image has on consumers' hypermarket patronage intention in China and Spain.

Design/methodology/approach

Structural equation modelling is utilised to examine the competency of the model in explaining both Spanish and Chinese consumers' intention to patronize major hypermarket brands in their own countries.

Findings

This study has tested the applicability of TRA model in both the China case and the Spain case and confirmed the role of national culture in influencing retail patronage behaviour. In Spain, country image has a direct effect on consumers' hypermarket patronage intention while in China this effect is indirect. In deciding on their patronage behaviours, Spanish consumers tend to rely more on the experience attributes of a hypermarket store and are less likely to be affected by subjective norms. In contrast, Chinese consumers have stronger ethnocentric tendencies in hypermarket shopping behaviour than do Spanish consumers.

Research limitations/implications

The coverage and components of the sample are limited. The convergent validity and discriminant validity of country image scale has not been tested thoroughly.

Practical implications

Foreign hypermarket managers in China should attach special importance to enhancing the experience attributes of their stores and realize the important role of subjective norm in affecting consumers' retail patronage behaviour in collectivist cultures. In addition, multinational retailers in China need to forge a sound image of “corporate citizen” in order to diminish the negative impact of consumer ethnocentrism on their operations.

Originality/value

This paper for the first time tests a model developed in western contexts to explain retailer patronage behaviour in an eastern country and examines the cultural differences of country image effects on this behaviour.

Citation

Kan, G., Cliquet, G. and Puelles Gallo, M. (2014), "The effect of country image on hypermarket patronage intention: A cross-cultural study in China and Spain", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 42 No. 2, pp. 106-130. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-09-2012-0080