Predicting young Chinese consumers' intentions to purchase Western brands: Structural model analysis

Area of Science:

• International Marketing
• Consumer Behavior
• Cross-Cultural Psychology

Background:

• Conflicting consumer values and corporate social responsibility (CSR) influence purchase intentions towards Western brands.
• Existing literature insufficiently addresses these factors in the context of emerging markets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how cosmopolitanism, ethnocentrism, and CSR impact young Chinese consumers' brand attitudes and purchase intentions.
• To examine the mediating role of brand attitudes in these relationships.

Main Methods:

• Value-Attitude-Behavior (VAB) and consumer cultural theories formed the research framework.
• Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analyzed data from 314 Chinese undergraduate students.

Main Results:

• Cosmopolitanism positively influenced brand attitudes and purchase intentions.
• Ethnocentrism negatively affected purchase intentions but not brand attitudes.
• CSR positively impacted brand attitudes, not directly purchase intentions.
• Brand attitudes mediated the effects of cosmopolitanism and CSR on purchase intentions.

Conclusions:

• Brand attitudes are a key mediator for cosmopolitanism and CSR influencing purchase intentions among young Chinese consumers.
• Ethnocentrism's impact on purchase intentions is direct, bypassing brand attitudes.
• Findings offer insights for Western brands targeting the Chinese market.