Relationship amongst cultural openness, world-mindedness, product-country image and purchase intention of Korean and Chinese smartphone products: A case study of the South African consumers

You-Kyung Lee,Charles A Robb

doi:10.4102/sajbm.v53i1.2296

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines the relationships between cultural openness, world-mindedness (WMD), product-country image (PCI) and the purchase intentions of South African consumers situated in the South African marketplace. In addition, distinctions between PCI and the purchasing intention (PI) concerning smartphones made-in South Korea and China are analysed and discussed as in relation to the South African consumers. Design/methodology/approach: Constructs were measured using a self-administered survey conducted on 355 South African consumers residing in South Africa. A multivariate analysis was conducted to distinguish the differences between South African consumers’ perceptions of PCI along with purchase intention towards smartphone products from South Korea and China. Thereafter, the study hypotheses were examined using a structural model for consumer perceptions towards South Korea and China. Findings: The results from the study confirm that both consumer cultural openness and WMD increase the purchase intention and the PCI towards Korean smartphones, whilst only WMD increased the PCI together with the purchase intention towards Chinese smartphones. Findings from the study also suggest that PCI has a considerable effect on the purchase intention of both Korean and Chinese products. Practical implications: This study expects to provide practical marketing knowledge to organisations hoping to understand the South African marketplace when developing and promoting further their PCI and enhancing the PI of their products. Originality/value: This study presents nascent literature on research surrounding the country-of-origin effect in a multicultural African context. It fills an important gap by providing greater clarity with regard to South African consumer purchase intention.

Highlights

The tireless efforts of international market mechanisms such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) to promote global fair trade have resulted in a greater number of commercial institutions to internationalise than ever before (Nuruzzaman, Gaur, & Sambharya, 2021)
It was found that South African consumers generally have a more positive product-country image (PCI) and higher purchasing intention (PI) for Korean products than Chinese products
The difference between South African consumers’ PCIs for Korean and Chinese products is relatively large, but the difference in PIs for Korean and Chinese products is not that large. This shows that South African consumers perceive Korean products as more technologically advanced products compared to Chinese products, but the PI for Korean and Chinese products does not show much difference for South African consumers

Summary

Introduction

The tireless efforts of international market mechanisms such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) to promote global fair trade have resulted in a greater number of commercial institutions to internationalise than ever before (Nuruzzaman, Gaur, & Sambharya, 2021). A factor of particular importance observed in marketing literature that is associated with firm’s success during the process of internationalisation is the country-of-origin effect (COO) (Diamantopoulos, Kalajdzicb, & Moschikc, 2020; Lee & Robb, 2019). The COO refers to the affective or cognitive images related to a country or the products emanating from the country by foreign consumers (Roth & Diamantopoulos, 2009). It has been observed in past literature that the COO associated with a particular country by a consumer from another country has the potential to drastically impact a firm’s performance (Gammoh, Koh, & Okoroafo, 2020). Whilst research in COO continues to expand, seminal research into the country and product image literature has focused on http://www.sajbm.org

Objectives

Results

Conclusion