Abstract
Tea should be perceived more as a cultural product than a fast-moving consumer good with its roots deep in different cultures across nations. Nevertheless, consumer demands on tea have not been explored sufficiently from a cultural perspective. This research aims to examine motives that are driving Chinese tea consumption on two usage occasions, under the influence of the Chinese renqing, mianzi, collectivism, and man-nature unity culture. Linkage was established between Chinese culture and consumer motives. The factor analysis on 280 respondents identified five consumer psychological motives. Further logistic regression analysis suggested consumer motives and usage situations were related. The contribution of the findings is summarized. On one hand, this study adds to the limited understandings on consumer motives of tea in an emerging country from the cultural aspect. On the other hand, deep understandings of brand chasing, sustainability, and pragmatism motives should businesses to better serve consumers.
Highlights
Usage situation suggests the anticipated usage and product attributes for one product [1]
Factor analysis suggests that a solution with five key motive dimensions is reckoned to be most logical, that is sustainable, brand and prestige chasing, social confirmatory, novelty and uniqueness chasing, and pragmatic motives
While previous literatures connect brand and prestige chasing motives with Chinese luxury consumption and out-shopping, the results of this study show that brand and prestige chasing motive has effects on ordinary goods consumption, such as tea, for Chinese or possibly people under Confucian’s mianzi and renqing influence during social situations
Summary
Usage situation (or consumption situation) suggests the anticipated usage and product attributes for one product [1]. People may choose an unusual brand of coffee for their dinner guests. It is a critical element of the situational factor in the marketing context that can influence purchase decisions and choice of products [1, 2]. The tea-drinking behavior discloses cultural and social characteristics rather than just for quenching thirst [5]. Only a handful of researches exploring consumer behavior of tea, with many focusing on tea’s functional value [9,10,11] and consumers’ social demographic characteristics [12,13,14]. The marketing strategy of tea should be seen from a rich cultural background, different from that of industrial products
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
