Bias behind closed doors: Chinese consumers' perception of foreign wines

Abstract

AbstractAlthough considerable research has explored consumer ethnocentrism and conspicuous consumption effects independently, a meaningful quantitative analysis of the interaction of such effects on consumer perception is yet to be undertaken. This study aims to provide insight into these effects by examining the impacts of consumer ethnocentrism and consumption setting on foreign Country‐of‐Origin (COO) effects in a Chinese consumer wine market context. A total of 324 wine consumers in mainland China participated in a 3 (COO: France vs. Australia vs. China) × 2 (Consumption Setting: Public vs. Private) × continuous (Chinese consumer ethnocentrism) between‐subject, factorial design experiment. The study finds that Chinese consumers favor French red wine when compared with its Australian and Chinese counterparts but shows that Australian wines still benefit through smaller, indirect COO effects. Additionally, French COO effects are mediated by the utilitarian and hedonic meanings of red wine and moderated by consumer trait ethnocentrism and the consumption setting. This paper contributes to the understanding of culturally informed self‐regulation of consumer behaviors and how Chinese consumer ethnocentrism interacts with consumption settings to alter a consumer's perception of foreign goods. The findings of this paper also provide practical insight into Chinese wine consumers' perceptions and decision‐making processes for wine exporters.