| This paper is a research of gift giving behaviors in China especially in the field of consumer research. A literature review of face concept, social comparison and gift-giving is also provided. A three-dimension structure that includes dimensions such as economic exchange, social exchange and self-expression is developed to incorporate research findings about gift giving behaviors into a literature review. Moreover, we use the three-dimension structure to analyze gift giving in China characterized by its distinctive value and social context. Based on the literature research, theoretical hypothesis are proposed that face concept of an individual will affect his/her gift-giving behavior and that social comparison will have an intermediary effect between face concept and gift-giving. Then an empirical test on the influence of face on the gift-giving and the intermediary effect of social comparison confirms our hypothesis. There's innovation in this study, in a local perspective. Based on the unique features of gift giving in China, this study is targeted at gift-giving in the view of face and social comparison. From a theoretical sense, the research provides a local perspective of innovation of consumer behavior in China, and makes a contribution towards the development of the theory of gift-giving in China. In practice, the research could provide some advices for enterprises that are developing targeted market and advertising strategies towards gift consumption. |
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