A Study On The Chinese Consumer's Selection Of Korean Products

Nowadays consumers are making every effort to satisfy their interests inproduct purchases. This means that consumers purchase products at their desiredlevel of quality and price. However, consumers have difficulty in choosing productsbecause the information available does not allow them to adequately evaluate thequality of product. Because of this, consumers may use proxy indicators of productquality to evaluate the real product quality or the money value of a product. Proxyindicators such as country of origin, brand and price information are extrinsicinformational cues frequently used by consumers.There have been many studies which investigate the relationship betweenproduct quality and such proxy indicators. Researchers have found that consumersevaluate product quality according to the country of origin information and thebrand name of a product. However, existing studies on country image mainlyemphasize the functional factors of a product and brand related to country image inconsumer purchasing decisions. They have given relatively little weight to thesymbolic and emotional aspects of brand and product.In this context, this thesis researches directly and indirectly how country imageand functional attributes as well as brand personality, influence Chinese consumer'sKorean brand selection-preference and purchase intention-and reports the strategicimplications of its findings. Further, the country image embodied in products isexamined for the Hyundai brand compact cars, Samsung brand mobile phones andLG brand TVs in China.The strategic implications of this research is as follows: functional attributesabove all else were revealed as the most powerful variable. Next, brand personalitypresents as a symbolic aspect that accounts for a significant amount of differences inChinese consumer's Korean brand selection.Throughout this study, it can be acutely recognized that brand personality inrelation to its symbolic aspect has an important influence on Chinese consumer'sKorean brand selection.The results of this study show 1) the image of country brand is manifest infunctional and symbolic aspects 2) five different brand personalities apply to thissymbolic aspect 3) brand personality as well as functional attributes have an effecton Chinese consumer's Korean brand selection.The findings in this research confirms previous research results in the countryof origin research. However, it is the first attempt to include the concept of brandpersonality as a symbolic aspect in such studies.This study suggests the necessity of effort to develop representative brands witha unique personality in connection with a country image. That is, brand personalityadds brand identity to reliability and makes for a stronger brand in the Chinesemarkets.