Malaysian Chinese Consumer Behaviour


Book Description

The Malaysian Chinese is unique and highly distinctive among the ethnic Chinese. They are living in multicultural environment and having highly westernised lifestyle. Thus, this work is attempt to explore new insight and develop further knowledge of Malaysian Chinese consumers' (aged 25 - 34) behaviour which has been under-researched for sometimes. Previously, marketing researchers (Ong, 1993; Mokhlis, 2009) found that there is no homogenous among Malaysian Chinese in terms of ethnic attitudes and consumer behaviours. Therefore, it would be appropriate to explore Malaysian Chinese's ethnicity ties and self ethnic identification, because it is important in determine continuation of Chinese culture influence. Moreover, this work will also continue to unfold the affect of Chinese culture influences on Malaysian Chinese consumers' perceived value in consumption. Furthermore, the qualitative research approach has been adopted in this research. Three naturalistic group interviews and two in-depth interviews were conducted to interview three groups of informants, namely consumers, marketer and retailer.




An Investigation Into the Impact of Income, Culture and Religion on Consumption Behaviour


Book Description

The study of consumer behaviour has attracted much attention from researchers. Models have been postulated and re-postulated in many attempts to explain the decision process of consumers as it changes over time and space, as well as in different environments such as culture, race and religion. The growing interest in investigating the relation between psychographics and consumer behaviours with regard to their purchase preferences has helped marketers in segmenting the market more accurately so as to ensure certainty of profitability. This is especially relevant in the modern market where 'crossing culture' (Davies and Fitchett, 2004, p.315) and acculturation, as well as the process of cultural integration, are common as a result of many factors such as travelling both for leisure and business, emigration and re-location, etc. Nevertheless, these studies have mainly focussed on a single community or ethnic group. This current study differs in that it attempts to compare two ethnic groups of diverse culture and religious background, i.e. the Malays and the Chinese, within a single Malaysian community. The political and social environments in Malaysia make the current study unique in that the Malays receive financial aids and incentives from the ruling Malay-dominant government while the Chinese have little or no assistance at all. Therefore, apart from looking at the psychographical aspects of consumption habit, the current study also includes source of income as a variable factor in comparing the presumed differences in spending between the two ethnic groups - the Malays receive extensive financial aids and benefits from the ruling government while the Chinese work hard and save as much as possible to ensure a better future. The current study focuses on University Technologi Mara (UiTM) and University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) because of their respective racial composition of Malay and Chinese youths. The findings in this study elucidate that there seems to be no apparent difference in spending behaviour between the Malays and the Chinese despite their cultural and religious differences. This could be the result of the many years of co-existence and the influence of global media and culture on both the Malay and Chinese youths. The current study also does not find any strong basis in supporting the perception that the Chinese would be more frugal in their spending because of unfavourable economic support for them in the country. On the contrary, the study shows that the Chinese are indeed financially wealthier than the Malays because of their life-long culture of prudence in savings. Another reason for this could be the failure of the government's New Economic Policy in addressing the economic needs of the masses of the Malay population. Rather, the policy only favoured the selected few with strong political link or clout. This study also shows that there are significant differences in the spendingbehaviour between the genders. This study also highlights the differences in spending behaviour of the cluster groups with their respective attached inherent value-traits. The study also reveals that the Malays are no longer the homogenous group as previously thought. Rather they indicate distinct differences in their spending behaviour. It is hoped that in future, wider and in-depth studies can be conducted to further examine the consumption behaviour of races according to their value-traits.




Expressing Identity in Crossing to the New Year


Book Description

This study contributes to the growing cross-cultural body of literature of globalised consumer behaviour with pecific to CCT within the discipline of consumer research addressing the consumer identity of consumption. It explores the role of social influences in explaining consumer behaviour of a specific ethnic minority group in Malaysia (i.e. the Chinese Malaysians) during the celebration of the Lunar New Year. Specifically, this study aims to investigate the consumption celebration of the Reunion Dinner through its cultural significance within the multicultural Malaysian context especially of the Chinese Malaysian. Its objectives are to explore the ritual of the consumption, beyond the frame of economics or psychology but from the view of cultural meanings within the contextual, symbolic and experiential of consumption from acquisition to consumption and disposition. The theoretical guidance for this study which is parallel with CCT incorporates the lenses of social anthropology and consumer behaviour, which is based on interpretive and ethnographic approaches. Data was collected from forty in-depth interviews, participant observation, photographs over three years to provide a schema of analyses. The findings reveal variations of the celebration consumption from the participants, place, time and activities with negotiations made across age, gender and social status. Four central themes came to light as integral components of the celebrationconsumption experience in addressing the consumers' identity and its identification through namely solidarity, symbolism, self-concept and play among ethnic subculture members. Firstly identity is negotiated through solidarity likened to the western identity with thanksgiving; bonding in preparation; time for all and reconnection; inclusion of ancestors, deities, friends and relatives; appropriation of food; and pragmatism of time and venue for the gathering. Secondly, identity is associated with symbolism derived from the meanings of: time; food and actions of gifting; and prayers to taboos. Thirdly, the concept of self-identity is reflected in the projection of future self; the role of mother, wife, daughter-in-law, and children; social identity and interdependent of self. Lastly, the phenomenology of play due to the liminal essence of standing between the threshold of old and new, is manifested through food, gifts and gambling as the ritual is being re-experienced through an imagined construction of reality and new identity. The findings of this study generate implications for theorists and practitioners within the context of the identity of the consumers in the construction, maintenance and negotiation of identity is often used to maintain the sense of identity through time as it defines oneself in relationship to other people. This study validates the knowledge of culture that is continuously produced, reproduced and negotiated within the CCT constructs from the ethnic subculture consumption perspective. Keywords: culture, consumption, ritual, identity, ethnic, subculture, solidarity,symbolism, self-concept, play Chinese, Consumer Culture Theory (CCT).




Measuring Consumption Behaviour of Shopping Products Among Young Malaysian Consumers


Book Description

Since the evolution of human being from caves to the modern era of faster innovation, the consumption remains constant, but the trend and predictors of consumption have been noticed as a drastic and ever changing phenomena. Due to this volatile and ever evolving demand for consuming any product, it is of dire concern for companies to predict the factors influencing echo boomers' behaviour ahead of its occurrence. Today, it has been challenging for business entities to explore about fickle behaviour of young consumers. Those who fail to go along with this challenge often collapse and eliminate from the screen of cut throat competition. Taking into account technological and communication breakthrough, the coin of globalization has been replaced with the newly emerged concept of Glocalization. It refers to a concept describing individual, product or service that reflects not only global standard but also local one. In this regard, multinational companies strive to monitor local demands in alien markets for their potential consumers. Malaysia is one of those developed countries, whose economy is bombarded with foreign outlets. However, not to forget that majority of Malaysian population is comprised of young generation with high tendency of consumption. Although research on culture and sub cultural norms have been conducted thoroughly to investigate relation to consumer behaviour, yet factors to modify this behaviour has received only slight attention in the marketing literature. However, this study focuses on variety of variables who predict the behaviour of young consumers of Malaysia. Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is thought as one of the best theories to predict any behaviour. Due to versatile implication of Theory of Planned Behaviour, it has been chosen as underpinning theory for this research. Based on the theory, the three independent variables namely Money Attitudes, Socialization and Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC) have been rigorously studied and carefully gone through the literature, which has given variety of perspectives of these variables in different parts of the world. The mentioned variables have been explored while considering Intentions as a mediating variable and finally, the direct and indirect effect of these IVs on Consumption Behaviour. Data has been collected from Malaysian Young Consumers from different states and coded in SPSS for further analysis. Initially factor analysis has been conducted for items from all the variables, as items were adopted/adapted from different cultures. Once factor analysis done, reliability has been checked. Finally, Structural Equation Modeling has been used to conclude the best-fit model. The best-fit model shows that Money Attitudes and Socialization affects Consumption Behaviour after double mediation of Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC) and Intentions. In addition to this, it is clearly indicated that there is no difference of Consumption Behaviour between male and female. Working Young Malaysians and Malaysian Young Consumers who are students have shown the same Consumption Behaviour. However, Malay, Chinese and Indians have shown distinct Consumption Behaviour. The mentioned results lead towards the finding that Money Attitudes and Socialization plays a significant role in shaping up the Consumption Behaviour of Malaysian Young Consumers. The findings of this study are food for thought for academicians who can see that how variety of variables play strong role in giving dimension to the Consumption Behaviour of Malaysian Young Consumers. Additionally, marketers and industrialists can also get full benefit from the research by strategizing their advertising campaigns, marketing of their products and in the design and presentation of their goods and services.




Consumer Behavior in Asia


Book Description

Consumer Behavior in Asia: Issues and Marketing Practice will help you understand Asia's consumer market by providing a consumer segmentation of China's 1.25 billion population as it explores Asia's cultural values, consumer perceptions, and attitudes. Consumer Behavior in Asia provides you with demographics, psychographics, and life-styles of Asian consumers to assist you in successfully entering the Asian market and enabling you to accurately assess market demands and enact effective marketing strategies. Consumer Behavior in Asia provides you with a complete overview of China's economy and highlights the attractiveness of the growing market.




Understanding Chinese Consumers


Book Description




Media Consumption in Malaysia


Book Description

How do visitors immersing themselves in material places such as shopping malls or video sites online make sense of the experience, enabling criticizing - or consenting to content? How is this evident in behaviour? Reflecting on accounts by Chinese, Indian, Malay and Indigenous members of Malaysian society, this book addresses these questions from a practices perspective increasingly adopted by scholars in marketing and media studies. The volume provides an account of practices theory from its origins in critical hermeneutics (such as Heidegger, Gadamer and Ricoeur), as reflecting on the processes of embodied understanding, developing alongside interpretive and reception theory. Part I draws upon authors as diverse as Heidegger and Henry Jenkins, with a practices perspective on media and mall consuming shown as developing from forty years of theorizing about audience activity. An empirical study of Malaysian blogging and branding on YouTube exemplifies this approach. Part II considers Malaysians absorbed in social media sites, as everyday visitors and the subjects of consumer research. The book then returns to the material world, exploring the horizons of understanding from which Malaysians enter their mediated malls, and concludes by positioning media practices theory within a spectrum of philosophical ideas. Recognizing the current (re)turn in Consumer and Media Studies to employing hermeneutics as an account of our embodied human understanding, this book presents its major philosophical proponents, showing how close attention to their writing can now inform and shape research on ubiquitous screen users. As such, it will be of particular interest to students and scholars of Media Studies, Asian Studies and Marketing Studies.




Consumer Behaviour in China


Book Description







Media Consumption in Malaysia


Book Description

How do visitors immersing themselves in material places such as shopping malls or video sites online make sense of the experience, enabling criticizing - or consenting to content? How is this evident in behaviour? Reflecting on accounts by Chinese, Indian, Malay and Indigenous members of Malaysian society, this book addresses these questions from a practices perspective increasingly adopted by scholars in marketing and media studies. The volume provides an account of practices theory from its origins in critical hermeneutics (such as Heidegger, Gadamer and Ricoeur), as reflecting on the processes of embodied understanding, developing alongside interpretive and reception theory. Part I draws upon authors as diverse as Heidegger and Henry Jenkins, with a practices perspective on media and mall consuming shown as developing from forty years of theorizing about audience activity. An empirical study of Malaysian blogging and branding on YouTube exemplifies this approach. Part II considers Malaysians absorbed in social media sites, as everyday visitors and the subjects of consumer research. The book then returns to the material world, exploring the horizons of understanding from which Malaysians enter their mediated malls, and concludes by positioning media practices theory within a spectrum of philosophical ideas. Recognizing the current (re)turn in Consumer and Media Studies to employing hermeneutics as an account of our embodied human understanding, this book presents its major philosophical proponents, showing how close attention to their writing can now inform and shape research on ubiquitous screen users. As such, it will be of particular interest to students and scholars of Media Studies, Asian Studies and Marketing Studies.