Symbolic Value of Foreign Products in the People's Republic of China

TLDR

Chinese consumers are increasingly favoring domestic goods over foreign ones, a trend attributed by commentators to government policy, ethnocentrism, and rising local product quality. This study proposes that the decline in foreign product appeal stems from a loss of their symbolic value. Using Canadian pork sausage as a privately consumed, inconspicuous foreign item, the authors show that symbolic attributes such as modernity, prestige, and foreign lifestyle associations drive PRC consumers’ purchases of nonlocal goods. The findings contest the view that local quality improvement drives the shift, and suggest global marketers must adapt positioning strategies to address the diminishing symbolic appeal of foreign products.

Abstract

In the People's Republic of China (PRC), consumers have recently shown a tendency to shift away from foreign products in preference for local offerings. Some commentators have speculated that this new market phenomenon is a result of government intervention, consumer ethnocentrism, and improvement in the quality of local products. In this study, the authors offer an alternative reason, which pertains to the fading symbolic value of foreign products in the PRC market. To provide support for their argument, Zhou and Hui present the results of a study of Chinese consumption behaviors involving a foreign, inconspicuous product item (Canadian pork sausage). By using such a privately consumed item, the authors attempt to demonstrate that symbolic benefits (such as modernity, prestige, and associations with foreign lifestyles) constitute one of the primary motivating forces of PRC consumers’ purchases of products of nonlocal origin, including products that may not be commonly regarded as conspicuous. The results challenge the conventional wisdom that improvement in the quality of local products is the main cause of the decreasing competitiveness of foreign products in the PRC. The authors also discuss implications for global marketers with respect to market adaptation and positioning strategies in the PRC.