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Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behaviorWang Qian
Singapore Chinese Chamber, Institute of Business, Singapore
Mohammed Abdur RazzaqueThe University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and
Kau Ah KengNational University of Singapore, Singapore
AbstractPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study undertaken to investigate the gift-giving behavior of consumers in the People’sRepublic of China (PRC) during the Chinese New Year and the influence exerted by Chinese cultural values on such behavior.Design/methodology/approach – Using a survey among a large sample of people in the city of Tianjin, gift-giving behavior was measured by theimportance accorded to gift-giving, the amount given, the effort spent on gift selection and brand orientation when selecting gifts. The cultural valuesexamined were renqing (human obligations), guanxi (relationship), yuan (destiny or fate), reciprocity, family orientation and Mianzi (face). Factoranalysis and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data.Findings – Results indicated that Chinese cultural values as a whole as well as most of its components investigated in this research had positive effectson the various gift-giving behaviors. The “face” component was, however, found to affect only the importance attached to gift-giving, the amountgiven and the choice of brand.Research limitations/implications – Research results should be interpreted with caution as the study was limited to Tianjin – one of the severalmajor cities in the PRC. Also the Chinese New Year may not be representative of other occasions when gifts are exchanged.Practical implications – The results of this investigation would benefit practitioners involved in the marketing of “gift items” in the PRC by providingthem with a clear understanding of the general consumption patterns of the PRC urban consumers, insights into the various antecedents of gift-givingand linking them with various aspects of Chinese cultural values. The research findings would also benefit researchers, academics and others interestedin the PRC market by making them familiar with some of the salient aspects that characterize Chinese consumers.Originality/value – This study develops a new model describing the relationships among values (Chinese cultural value and personal value),motivation for gift-giving and gift-giving behavior. It also develops new scales for measuring the constructs such as Chinese cultural values, motivationfor gift-giving and gift-giving behavior.
Keywords China, Consumer behaviour, National cultures
Paper type Research paper
An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this article.
Doing business in the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) –
the world’s largest single consumer market – poses great
challenges for foreign marketers. To successfully compete in
this market, foreign firms must learn how to penetrate it
(Miller, 1990). This requires a clear under-standing of the
Chinese market (Zhao, 1991); particularly the Chinese
consumers and their behavior. This research involving an
investigation of the gift-giving behavior of the Chinese people,
a practice that has been historically central to Chinese
tradition and culture during their most celebrated festival, the
Chinese New Year, is an attempt to contribute towards this
understanding.Gift-giving, a microcosm of the overall consumption
behavior in any society, is a complex, value-laden
phenomenon. The redundancy of the economic function of
gifts in affluent societies (Cheal, 1988) notwithstanding, gift-
giving continues to be one of the primary exemplars of
symbolic consumer behavior (Otnes and Beltramini, 1996).
An empirical research on this practice in the PRC will shed
some light on certain aspects of the consumption behavior of
the Chinese and provide food for thought for further research.This research has two major objectives. First, it aims to
illustrate the relevance of cultural values of the Chinese
consumers in the context of gift-giving and examine their
relationships with gift-giving behavior. Second, it investigates
Chinese consumers’ perception of the importance of gift-
giving, efforts in gift selection, spending on gifts and
preference for brands of gifts given during the Chinese New
Year.
Research on gift-giving
Conceptualization
Gift-giving has been conceptualized as the evaluation,
selection, and transfer of material and non-material objects
in a spontaneous mode or in fulfillment of an obligation
(Macklin and Walker, 1988). A universal practice that
constitutes a part of most cultural mores (Mauss, 1954;
Schwartz, 1967; Hyde, 1979), gift-giving has been extensively
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Journal of Consumer Marketing
24/4 (2007) 214–228
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0736-3761]
[DOI 10.1108/07363760710756002]
214
explored by researchers from diverse disciplines such associology (Gouldner, 1960; Caplow, 1982, 1984; Cheal,1986, 1987), anthropology (Mauss, 1954; Levi-Strauss, 1956;Davis, 1972), economics (Belshaw, 1965; Garner andWagner, 1988), psychology (Schwartz, 1967; Gould andWei, 1991), and marketing (Rynans, 1977; Lutz, 1979; Beattyet al., 1991, 1993, 1996; Yau et al., 1999).
Gift-giving occasions
People may give gifts on various occasions. For theAmericans, Christmas (Belk, 1975; Fischer and Arnold,1990) and birthdays (Belk, 1975) are the two most importantoccasions for giving gifts. They also give gifts on Valentine’sDay (Netemeyer et al., 1993; Otnes and Ruth, 1994), duringThanksgiving time (Rucker et al., 1994), on Mother’s Day/Father’s Day, Wedding Anniversary and on Graduation (Belk,1975). In Singapore, all the three ethnic groups namely, theChinese, the Malays, and the Indians give gifts at weddings,while visiting newborn babies (Nah, 1998) and on birthdays(Tang, 1995). The culture of a society determines if aparticular occasion merits gift-giving or gift-exchange. Forexample, Chinese New Year is an important occasion for gift-giving in the Chinese culture, but would not be one in theWest (Yau et al., 1999).
Motivation for giving gifts may result either from some self-gratifying objective of the gift-giver (giver orientation) or froman urge to please the gift-recipient (recipient orientation).While obligation (Mauss, 1954; Levi-Strauss, 1956; Goodwinet al., 1990; Wolfinbarger, 1993; Park, 1998) and self-interest(Mauss, 1954; Sherry, 1983; Wolfinbarger, 1990; Park, 1998)constitute orientation of the giver, recipient orientationconsists of altruism i.e. maximization of recipient’s pleasure(Sherry, 1983; Wolfinbarger, 1990; Park, 1998) andpracticality of the use of the gift given (labeled asexperiential or positive motivation by Wolfinbarger (1993)).
An individual’s gift-giving behavior seems also to beinfluenced by his/her personal value system and valueorientation. Values such as frugality, equipollence, tradition,edification and social recognition have been found to guideChristmas gift selection behavior in the USA (Lowrey et al.,1996). Value differences have been reported in the gift-givingbehavior of the Americans and the Japanese (Beatty et al.,1993) as well as the Americans, French, West German andDanish gift givers (Beatty et al., 1996). However, Hill andRomm (1996) reported the existence of inherent complexitiesof culture specific rules in the gift-giving process in terms ofmotivation, selection, presentation, and reaction.
Chinese cultural values
China’s long historical and cultural traditions have a profoundimpact on the values the life-style and the consumptionpatterns of its people. In order to understand these aspects, itis necessary to have an in-depth knowledge of some salientaspects of the Chinese cultural norms that have been formedand created largely from interpersonal relationships and socialorientations of the Chinese people. This is explicit from theworks of Confucius, whose doctrines constitute the basicpillars of Chinese life and ways of living even today. Salientaspects of Chinese culture are discussed below.
Family orientationChinese cultural values emerge from and sustain in an Easternworld-view and pattern their behaviors (Frankenstein, 1997).Chinese society is built around clan-like networks, with close
family members constituting its core. Concept of “family”
extends beyond its strict biological meaning (Luo, 1997a) and
can be viewed as a set of concentric circles of contacts.
Chinese ethnocentrism has its roots in the family; most or all
of the emotional and cultural values of the Chinese
individuals are derived exclusively from the family and
conditioned largely within the solidarity of one family setting
(La Barre, 1946).It is the family and kinship relations, not the educational
institutions that pass on the heritage to the Chinese children.
Family teaches children the importance of loyalty, obedience,
and filial piety within a role-bound network (Hsu, 1972) as
well as the virtues of restraining their individuality and the
necessity of maintaining harmony (Hofstede and Bond,
1988). Family members cultivate an interconnected sense of
self (Hsu, 1970) and the social order of family serves as the
prototype for conduct in all Chinese organizations (Chen and
Chung, 1994).
GuanxiA major dynamic force in the Chinese society, guanxi refers to
the direct particularistic ties between two or more individuals
(Jacobs, 1979) that determine the strength or closeness of
interpersonal relationship. It is the most important social-
business resource of an individual Chinese (Ju, 1995) that
draws on connections in order to secure favors in personal
relations. Viewed as a “secret” to corporate success in China,
guanxi is an intricate and pervasive relationship network
which the Chinese people cultivate energetically, subtly, and
imaginatively (Luo, 1997b). The larger one’s guanxi network
is, the more powerful the person becomes. Nothing can be
done in China without guanxi (Ju, 1995); it may be seen as a
double-entry system, involving a continued and reciprocal
exchange of favors between the two parties involved. When
one party receives a favor from another, it is expected that the
former will reciprocate at some time in the future, otherwisethe guanxi cannot be sustained.
YuanYuan (or karma, destiny) is individuals’ predetermined
relations with things beyond one’s control which can be
explained by the theory of locus of control (Rotter, 1966). It is
a particular case of the theory of attribution, in which people
attribute their failures to external forces. Yuan has an internal
as well as an external dimension. Internal locus of control
refers to the phenomenon that enables people to see
themselves as controller of their lives while external locus of
control refers to whether they see themselves to be governedby forces beyond their control (Sampson, 1980).
Unlike the Westerners, who under the influence of the
Protestant ethic’s individualism tend to perceive themselves
competent and have some control over their own lives (Rotter,
1966), the Chinese emphasizes external locus of control. They
regard man as a part of nature who must learn to adapt to it to
reach harmony since nature has the way by which all things
become what they are (Chan, 1963). Chinese believe that
friendships or even marriages are predetermined. It alsoaffects a consumer in his pursuit to find products that would
satisfy him (Yau, 1994).
MianziMianzi or face is an individual’s public image, gained by
performing one or more specific social roles that are well
recognized by others (Hu, 1944; Redding and Ng, 1982). It is
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior
Wang Qian, Mohammed Abdur Razzaque and Kau Ah Keng
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Volume 24 · Number 4 · 2007 · 214–228
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the respectability and/or deference which a person can claim
for himself from others, by virtue of his relative position in the
social network and the degree to which he is judged by others
to have functioned adequately and acceptably in his general
conduct in that position (Ho, 1976). The interdependent self-
concept, which emphasizes social role and public perceptions
being central to one’s identity, leads Chinese to focus on
“face”.Although what constitutes a desirable mianzi is culture-
specific, the concept is “more disciplined by concerns about
hierarchical order in Chinese culture” (Bond and Hwang,
1986, p. 249) making the Chinese particularly sensitive to it
(Hu, 1944; Hu and Grove, 1991; Redding and Ng, 1982). A
humanistic culture has made the Chinese extremely conscious
of oneself and of others. The concern for not losing one’s face
and at the same time saving other people’s face is a key
component of the Chinese cultural value (Redding and Ng,
1982). For the Chinese, “losing face socially” is comparable
to the physical mutilation of one’s eyes, nose, or mouth! It is a
source of shame that can be avoided by communicating in
ways that shun embarrassing another person (Varner and
Beamer, 1995).Saving face is very important to the Chinese (Redding,
1990) as it means that a person is more concerned with other
people’s perception of him/herself and with maintenance of
his/her own status (Lee and Green, 1991). As such “face” is
likely to influence Chinese consumers’ buying decisions.
Comparative studies in Confucian and Western societies have
shown that personal taste and family face result in different
practices in luxury consumption in these cultures (Wong and
Ahuvia, 1998).
RenqingRenqing, another central concept of the Chinese culture
system, has several meanings. It may mean:. human feelings – the basic emotional responses of an
individual in confrontation with various daily life
situations;. a set of social norms and obligations that require keeping
in contact with those of one’s guanxi network and
participating in exchange of gifts, greetings, visits, and
assistance;. a kind of resource, such as a favor or gift, and can be used
as a medium of social exchange; and. finally, in certain contexts as a synonym for guanxi (Yan,
1996).
Renqing is a complicated social relationship concept that refers
to social favors that are exchanged by interacting individuals
in the form of money, goods, information, status, services,
and affection according to an implicit set of rules (Hwang,
1983, 1987). It is the main conceptual tool to study patterns
of personal relations (King, 1994). Developing renqing is a
precondition for the establishment or use of guanxi, but the
advantages run both ways. In weaving their guanxi network,
Chinese people also weave web of renqing obligations; while
enjoying the benefits of a network, they also take on a
reciprocal obligation which must be “repaid’ in the future
(Hwang, 1987).
ReciprocityReciprocity consists of three inter-related aspects of social
action – bilateral contingency, interdependence for mutual
benefit and equality of exchanges – between two individuals
(Lebra, 1976). A cornerstone of social intercourse in the
Chinese society that emphasizes the necessity of social
interactions in maintaining a harmonious social order, it
directly links gift-giving activities to the notion of propriety
(li). Propriety – widely known to have played a central role in
traditional Chinese culture – constitutes “the basic concept of
Confucianism” (Weber, 1968). A good person will always
interact with others in a reciprocal way. For example, visiting
someone without bringing anything is very unusual, and
accepting a gift and not reciprocating is morally wrong
(Steidlmeier, 1999). In a Chinese society, reciprocity is
characterized by the obligation of giving, receiving, and
returning gifts in the long run, as captured in the Chinese
proverb li shang wanglai.
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving
Yan (1996) studied exchange of food and labor during routine
visits between relatives and neighbors and exchange of gifts
between friends on special occasions. Using an
anthropological approach with particular interest in the gift
items, the types of gift-giving, and the hierarchical
arrangement of givers and receivers of gifts, he constructed
a classification of exchange behavior in a village society and
presented new interpretations of renqing and guanxi. He noted
that elaborate social networks had adjusted to and survived
the radical social changes that took place during four decades
of socialism. In a later study, Yau et al. (1999) found that the
behavior of gift-giving among Hong Kong consumers was
mediated by such Chinese cultural values as face saving,
reciprocity and guanxi. They developed a more parsimonious
model to explain the influence of Chinese cultural values on
gift-giving and made some suggestions based on this
comprehensive model for future testing.
Hypotheses
The discussion presented above indicates that the Chinese
cultural value as a whole and its various components such as
family orientation, guanxi, yuan, face, renqing, and reciprocity
may have an impact on the gift-giving behavior of the Chinese
people. More specifically, these might have influenced the
perceived importance of gift-giving, the amount/dollar value
of the gift-given, the gift-selection effort, and the brand of the
gift given. Hence, in the light of the literature discussed above,
the following hypotheses are proposed. It should be noted that
each of the hypotheses H1a, H2a, H3a, and H4a are
composite hypotheses with sub-hypotheses (for each
component):
H1a. Chinese cultural value components are associated
positively with the perceived importance of gift-giving.
H1b. Chinese cultural value as a whole is associated
positively with the perceived importance of gift-giving.
H2a. Chinese cultural value components are associated
positively with the perceived amount given.
H2b: Chinese cultural value as a whole is associated
positively with the perceived amount given.
H3a. Chinese cultural value components are associated
positively with the perceived gift selection effort.
H3b. Chinese cultural value as a whole is associated
positively with the perceived gift selection effort.
H4a. Chinese cultural value components are associated
positively with the perceived brand orientation.
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior
Wang Qian, Mohammed Abdur Razzaque and Kau Ah Keng
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 24 · Number 4 · 2007 · 214–228
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H4b. Chinese cultural value as a whole is associatedpositively with the perceived brand orientation.
Research methodology
The sample
The objectives and the nature of this investigation dictated theadoption of survey research using a self-administeredquestionnaire as the most appropriate method for datacollection. However, given the respondents’ general lack ofexposure to such research, each questionnaire was handdelivered by an interviewer with specific instructions to helpthe respondent to complete it if assistance was sought. It isworth noting that the presence of an interviewer increasesresponse rate, generates quality response, and allows the useof probing and open-ended questions (Churchill, 1995).
The data for this study were collected from Tianjin, thelargest port city and trade center in North China.Neighboring Beijing, Tianjin has been known as thegateway to the Chinese capital. In addition, a largepopulation base of over 9.3 million spread over six centraldistricts, seven suburbs, and five counties makes the Tianjindwellers a good representation of the urban consumers ofPRC.
The survey was participated by a total of 550 respondentswho were selected in two stages. First, residential committeeswere randomly chosen from each of Tianjin’s six districts.This was followed by the selection of households. Residentsaged between 20 and 60 were randomly selected from theinhabitant records (names, addresses, and telephonenumbers, etc.), maintained by the sampled residentialcommittees. A packet containing a cover letter, a surveyquestionnaire, and a gift worth 10 CNY(1 CNY ¼ US$0:12)as an incentive for completing the questionnaire was handdelivered to each respondent by an interviewer. The coverletter explained the purpose of the survey and promised theconfidentiality of the information provided. As therespondents have little or no knowledge of English,Mandarin questionnaires were administered to them. First,an English questionnaire was developed. This was thentranslated into Mandarin and back translated to English bytwo bilingual researchers to ensure congruency with theoriginal instrument.
Since gift-giving is a matter of personal choice and to someextent a sensitive topic, participants were asked to completethe survey by themselves in the privacy of their homes. Almost90 percent of the completed questionnaires were returned tothe interviewers on the spot. However, the remainingquestionnaires were returned on the following day. Sincemost of the questionnaires were completed by the respondentsthemselves, social desirability bias, common in most face-to-face interviewing (Dillman, 1978), was reduced. Datacollection was completed over a six-week period betweenFebruary and March 2000.
Measures
A total of 32 items were used in operationalizing the Chinesecultural value measures. Four of these items representingharmony with universe, were adopted from Yau’s (1994)scale. Another four items representing family orientation weretaken from the work of Tai and Tam (1997). The remaining24 items representing renqing, reciprocity, guanxi, yuan, andface-saving were specifically developed for this study.
For measuring the amount spent for gifts and gift-selectioneffort aspects, eight statements reflecting the importance ofChinese New Year were developed. These statements are inline with the work of Beatty et al. (1991). Another eightitems used to measure the perceived importance of gift-giving and brand orientation were selected from anexploratory study conducted among PRC students inSingapore, involving 13 statements describing theimportance of gift-giving and brand orientation. All itemswere measured on a seven-point Likert-type scale, rangingfrom “1 ¼ strongly disagree” to “7 ¼ strongly agree” with 4as “neither agree nor disagree”.
Analyses and findings
Sample profile
Of the 550 completed questionnaires received, 504 (91.6percent) were usable. The high response rate is attributable tothe dedication of the field staff employed for the datacollection. The demographic characteristics of therespondents are shown in Table I.
Validity and reliability assessmentThe validity of the scale items used was assessed throughfactor analysis using Principal Component Analysis (PCA)with Varimax rotation. Factor loadings (Tables II and III)ranged between a low 0.507 and a high 0.913 and exceededthe minimum cut-off point of 0.5 suggested by Zikowsky(1985).
Reliability of the scales is measured by computing theCronbach alpha (a) values for all the multi-item measuressuch as gift-giving behavior and Chinese cultural values. Forall the ten factors used in this research, the reliability valuesranged between 0.700 and 0.811, which exceed or equal theminimum acceptable value of 0.7 suggested by Nunnally(1978).
Exploratory factor analysis
A correlation matrix was computed for each of the scales-one with 16 items for the gift-giving behavior scales and theother with 32 items operationalizing the Chinese culturalvalues. Only those items having high correlation ($ 0.5)with other items were used in factor analysis. Of the 16items examined in the gift-giving behavior scale, four hadloadings below 0.5 and were deleted from the scale. Factoranalysis of the remaining 12 items resulted in four factorslabeled as importance of gift-giving, amount given, gift-selection effort, and brand orientation, accounted for 51.65percent of the total variance. On the other hand, 27 of the32 Chinese cultural value items examined showedacceptable levels of factor loading and communality.Factor analysis of theses items yielded six factors relatedto Chinese cultural value components, and were labeled asrenqing, reciprocity, yuan, guanxi, saving-face, and familyorientation. Together, they explained 55.9 percent of thetotal variance.
Data analysisNull model (impact of Chinese cultural value on gift-giving)As mentioned earlier, Chinese cultural value as a whole (Cv)and its components were hypothesized to have direct positiveimpact on the components of gift-giving behavior. Based onthe theoretical model, a path diagram is constructed usingAMOS (Figures 1 and 2). The constructs are drawn as bigger
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior
Wang Qian, Mohammed Abdur Razzaque and Kau Ah Keng
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 24 · Number 4 · 2007 · 214–228
217
ovals, indicators are represented by rectangles, error terms are
shown as smaller ovals and the relationships between
constructs are represented by arrows. A straight, single-
headed arrow indicates a direct causal relationship of one
construct with another. The AMOS notations for the
exogenous variables for Chinese cultural value (Cv) in the
model are: Rq ¼ renqing, Re ¼ reciprocity; Gx ¼ guanxi;
Yu ¼ yuan; Fo ¼ family orientation; and Sf ¼ saving face.
The notations for endogenous variables for gift-giving (Gb),
on the other hand are: Im ¼ importance of gift giving; Am ¼amount given; Ef ¼ gift selection effort and Bo ¼ brand
orientation.
Testing the factorial validity of CFA modelBefore proceeding with structural equation modeling (SEM),
confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on the
exogenous variables to test if the specified indicators load
correctly and highly on the constructs and to estimate the
measurement model. The model can be used to validate the
scales measuring the constructs (Hair et al., 1998).As mentioned earlier a total of ten components constitute
the array of independent and dependent variables in this
study. These include six Chinese cultural value components
(renqing, reciprocity, guanxi, yuan, family orientation, and
saving face) and four gift-giving behavior components
(importance of gift-giving, amount given, gift-selection, and
brand orientation). The accompanying scale items extracted
from the exploratory factor analysis were further subjected to
CFA. The path diagrams for the null-CFA (CFA1 and
CFA2) are presented in Figures 3 and 4.
First-order for Chinese cultural value and gift-giving behaviorCFA1 (Figure 3) was conducted using the six factors
representing Chinese cultural value. This produced a chi-
square (x2) statistic of 387.588 (df ¼ 125), with goodness-of-
fit (GFI), root mean square error of approximation
(RMSEA), Tucker-Lewis coefficient (TLI), and adjusted
goodness-of-fit (AGFI) indices of 0.915, 0.065, 0.906 and
0.884, respectively. CFA2 (Figure 4) was conducted using
four components of gift-giving behavior resulting in a x2 of
112.709 (df ¼ 48) with GFI, AGFI, TLI, and RMSEA of
0.964, 0.941, 0.935, and 0.05, respectively. The x2 statisticsof the two models along with p value significant at ,0.001
indicate an unacceptable model fit. It is worth noting that this
p value is typical for such measurement models (Post et al.,1999); and the x2 value increases rapidly (Arbuckle, 1997)
with large degrees of freedom. However, values for all the
other indices such as GFI, AGFI, TLI, and RMSEA fall into
the acceptable ranges. Given the larger sample size (n ¼ 504)
these values indicate that the two factor null models related to
Chinese cultural value and gift-giving behavior display
reasonably good model fits and are acceptable overall.
Assessing the reliability of indicatorsThe reliability of an indicator can be interpreted as the extent
to which its variance is explained by the construct that it is
loaded on. Although the indicator reliabilities should exceed
0.5, which equals to a standardized loading of 0.7 (Hair et al.,1998), indicators with factor loadings of 0.5 and above
(reliability estimate of 0.25) are acceptable. Hence, for further
analysis, indicators with factor loading #0.5 were dropped
from the model (with the exception of constructs with two
indicators) because of their low explanatory power. This led
to the deletion of Cv22 (loading ¼ 0:478) and Cv29
(loading ¼ 0:490) from the model before carrying out
subsequent analysis (see Table IV). Consequently, all the
indices of measures of fit for Chinese cultural value, i.e. GFI
(0.965), AGFI (0.949), TLI (0.970), and RMSEA (0.041),
indicate a good fit for the constructs.
Second-order CFA model for Chinese cultural valueThe purpose of specifying a second-order factor model is to
confirm that the first-order factors estimated are actually sub-
dimensions of a broader and more encompassing construct.
In this study, Chinese cultural value (Cv) is second-order
factors. The CFA-3 model (Figure 5) hypothesizes a priori
that responses to 25 items can be explained by six first-order
Table I Demographic profile of the respondents
Demographics Frequency Percentage
SexFemale 270 46.4
Male 234 53.6
Total 504 100.0
Age 78 15.5
Below 20 years 118 23.4
20-29 years old 93 18.5
30-39 years old 91 18.1
40-49 years old 96 19.0
50-59 years old 28 5.6
60 years old and above
Total 504 100.0
OccupationProfessional 84 16.7
Managerial 85 16.9
Technician/salesman 76 15
Clerical 69 13.7
Machine operator 57 11.3
Student 59 11.7
Retired/housewife/not-working 74 14.7
Total 504 100
Marital statusMarried 329 32.5
Single 164 65.3
Other 11 2.2
Total 504 100.0
Highest education levelPrimary school and below 40 8
Junior middle school 63 12.5
Senior middle school 125 24.8
Diploma holder 121 24.0
University 126 25.0
Postgraduate 29 5.8
Total 504 100.0
Gross monthly income (RMB)Below 399 112 22.2
400-799 153 30.4
800-1,199 142 28.2
1,200-1,599 63 12.5
1,600 and above 34 6.8
Total 504 100.00
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior
Wang Qian, Mohammed Abdur Razzaque and Kau Ah Keng
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 24 · Number 4 · 2007 · 214–228
218
Table II Factor loading, mean, reliability estimate, eigenvalue, and percentage of variance for gift-giving behavior
Item Factor Loading Mean
Factor 1: importance of gift-giving (Cronbach alpha ¼ 0:7266, EV ¼ 2:690, VAR ¼ 15:450)
3 Gift-giving always accompanies Chinese New Year 0.698 4.9544
6 Gift-giving is part of Chinese culture and tradition 0.672 5.1627
7 I think that gift-giving during Chinese New Year is important 0.661 4.5952
Factor 2: amount given (Cronbach alpha ¼ 0:7312, EV ¼ 2:122, VAR ¼ 13:612)
8 I spend a lot of money on gifts during Chinese New Year 0.787 4.7460
15 I almost never give gifts to people for Chinese New Year (reverse scored) 0.714 4.6242
2 I give many gifts during the Chinese New Year 0.650 4.9496
Factor 3: gift-selection effort (Cronbach alpha ¼ 0:7506, EV ¼ 2:080, VAR ¼ 12:410)
12 I often wait until the last minute to purchase Chinese New Year gifts (reverse scored) 0.851 4.9683
11 I always try to spend a lot of time for gift-shopping during Chinese New Year 0.760 4.8817
16 I always make a special effort to select or make Chinese New Year special for others 0.686 5.2282
Factor 4: brand orientation (Cronbach alpha ¼ 0:7003, EV ¼ 1:635, VAR ¼ 10:177)
9 I look for well-known brands when choosing Chinese New Year gifts 0.749 4.8135
5 I prefer to buy Chinese brands as Chinese New Year gifts 0.649 4.1369
4 I think that the brand-name of Chinese New Year gifts is important 0.652 4.8671
Table III Factor loading, mean, reliability estimate, eigenvalue, and percentage of variance for Chinese cultural values
Item Factor Loading Mean
Factor 1: renqing (Cronbach alpha ¼ 0:8109, EV ¼ 7:119, VAR ¼ 12:318)
4 I do not like to owe other people renqing (favors) 0.782 5.9246
7 I do not feel obligated to return someone a renqing (favor) (reverse scored) 0.780 5.8075
10 It is easy enough to repay a debt, but hard to repay renqing (favors) 0.758 5.4742
14 It is more urgent to pay back renqing (favors) than debt 0.753 5.6647
Factor 2: reciprocity (Cronbach alpha ¼ 0:7789, EV ¼ 1:638, VAR ¼ 10:736)
28 The reciprocity is important to me 0.728 5.9861
25 No matter what you are doing, you should understand reciprocity 0.674 4.8532
11 I believe that one should treat others as one wishes to be treated 0.628 5.3333
Factor 3: guanxi (Cronbach alpha ¼ 0:7371, VE ¼ 1:872, VAR ¼ 9:841)
9 I prefer to do things on my own rather than relying on guanxi (connection) with others (reverse scored) 0.818 4.9940
15 I believe that getting things done depends more on guanxi (connection) than on personal effort 0.711 5.3135
2 I would like to follow different customs in different places 0.674 5.6448
5 I believe that developing guanxi (connection) is necessary in one’s daily life 0.599 5.3770
20 I like to retain good guanxi (connection) with others 0.578 5.4067
26 When in Rome, do as the Romans do 0.512 5.7857
Factor 4: Yuan (destiny) (Cronbach alpha ¼ 0:7229, VE ¼ 2:319, VAR ¼ 8:193)
21 I believe that marriage is based on yuan (fate) 0.913 5.9802
6 I do not believe yuan (fate) that everything in life is far beyond our control (reverse scored) 0.705 5.9246
16 Yuan (fate) brings together people who are far apart 0.630 6.0774
17 I think that everything in life is dictated by yuan (fate) 0.618 6.0913
1 Do all that is humanly possible and leave the rest to the will of providence 0.519 5.2154
22 Let those who comply with Heaven thrive and those who resist Heaven perish 0.507 5.6215
Factor 5: family orientation (Cronbach alpha ¼ 0:7123, EV ¼ 1:213, VAR ¼ 7:818)
12 I listen to the advice of elders 0.754 5.9425
8 My family is the most important thing to me 0.718 4.9362
23 I am always proud to have a close-knit family 0.624 5.8909
29 Youngsters should have more respect for elders 0.531 4.6865
Factor 6: saving face (Cronbach alpha ¼ 0:7011, EV ¼ 1:173, VAR ¼ 6:998)
13 I do not mind suffering hardships in order to preserve face 0.793 5.9996
3 I worry about losing face in daily life 0.754 5.9325
18 I am concerned about how others perceive me 0.620 5.1231
27 I believe that it is important to give “mainzi”(face) to others 0.529 6.2361
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior
Wang Qian, Mohammed Abdur Razzaque and Kau Ah Keng
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 24 · Number 4 · 2007 · 214–228
219
factors (renqing, reciprocity, guanxi, yuan, family orientation,
and saving face) and one second-order factor (Chinese
cultural value). The model produced a x2 statistic of 321.642
(df ¼ 128, p , 0:001), with GFI and AGFI indices of 0.965
and 0.931, respectively. Therefore, all of the multiple
goodness-of-fit measures for second-order factor of Chinese
cultural value indicated a reasonably good model fit.
SEM
In order to examine the effect of each of the components of the
Chinese cultural value and Chinese cultural value as a whole on
gift-giving behavior, SEM for the effects of the independent
variables on dependent variable was carried out. Similar to the
procedure for CFA discussed earlier, a null-SEM1 and SEM2
path diagram was first constructed in AMOS for the expected
main effects. Based on the fitted CFA model, a null structure
model was constructed to test for any impact of components on
gift-giving behavior (Figures 1 and 2).The results of the null-SEM1 and SEM2 are presented in
Tables V and VI. The AMOS outputs reveal that the x2
statistics for SEM1 (x2 ¼ 772:309, df ¼ 204) and for SEM2
(x2 ¼ 657:176, df ¼ 221) are both significant at p , 0:01,
indicating an unacceptable fit. However, all of the additional
goodness-of-fit measures for the two models (i.e. GFI ¼
0:939 and 0.951; AGFI ¼ 0:901 and 0.923; CFI ¼ 0:942 and
0.965; IFI ¼ 0:949 and 0.968; TLI ¼ 0:928 and 0.920; and
RMSEA ¼ 0:047 and 0.041, respectively) indicated a good
model fit. Therefore, in summary, the multiple goodness-of-
fit measures validated the model as an acceptable
representation of the hypothesized constructs.In order to avoid the problems of mis-specification, Hoelter
(1983) recommended 200 as the “critical sample size”
(Critical N or CN) for SME with maximum likelihood
estimate (MLE) as the estimation procedure. MLE becomes
“too sensitive” for larger samples (such as 504 as used in this
research) often resulting in goodness-of-fit measures that
indicate a poor fit (Hair et al., 1998). This justifies the use of
additional goodness-of-fit measures.
Measurement model fit
All the indicators are sufficient in terms of how the
measurement model is specified as their loadings are above
0.5 and significant at p , 0:001. The factor loadings of first-
order constructs related to renqing, reciprocity, guanxi, yuan,
family orientation, and saving face are all significant at
p , 0:001. This means that the second-order construct
Chinese cultural value (Cv) is well explained by these six
first-order constructs.
Figure 1 SEM-1 of Chinese cultural value components on gift-giving behavior
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior
Wang Qian, Mohammed Abdur Razzaque and Kau Ah Keng
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 24 · Number 4 · 2007 · 214–228
220
All ten constructs related to Chinese cultural values and gift-
giving behavior have reliability values exceeding
recommended level of 0.70. Renqing (0.808) and yuan(0.804) showed relatively high levels of reliabilities
respectively, while other constructs such as reciprocity
(0.773), guanxi (0.791), family orientation (0.752), saving
face (0.772), importance of gift-giving (0.744), amount given
(0.736), gift-selection effort (0.774), and brand orientation
(0.706) also have acceptable reliability values. Hence, the
indicators are sufficient representations of the constructs that
they load onto.
Testing of the hypotheses
Before estimating the hypothesized model, the variance
inflation factor (VIF), the inverse of (1 2 R2) is computed.
To indicate little or no multicollinearity, its value should be
1.00 or near 1.00. However, Hair et al. (1998) suggest a cutoff
VIF value of 10.00 as acceptable. Among the variables used in
this study, the highest VIF occurs in equation 2 (VIF ¼ 2:01,
R2 ¼ 0:42) indicating a negligible multicollinearity effect
among the variables.One-tailed tests of significance were used to determine the
significance of each path coefficient. Tables V and VI, which
show the structural parameter estimates from the
hypothesized model, also presents the findings of the final
fitted model’s coefficients and the coefficients of
determination (R2). R2 is a measure of the entire structural
equation and provides a relative measure of fit for each
structural equation. R2 values ranged from 0.104 to 0.423 for
equations 1-8 in SEM using AMOS.
Findings of hypotheses testing
H1a and H1b, predict that components of Cv and Cv as a
whole have positive and significant effects on gift-giving
behavior. The relationship between Chinese cultural value
components and Chinese cultural value as a whole
(independent variables) and gift-giving behavior components
(dependent variables) reflected in Tables V and VI suggest
that most of the sub-hypotheses referred to in H1a are
supported at p , 0:05 or better. Results of the parameter
estimates reveal that with the exception of family orientation
(b ¼ 0:056, p ¼ 0:219) all the other five components of Cv
have positive and statistically significant effect on the
perceived importance of gift-giving. While each of renqing(b ¼ 0:195), reciprocity (b ¼ 0:233), and yuan (b ¼ 0:351)
are significant at p , 0:01 level, guanxi (b ¼ 0:154) and
saving face (b ¼ 0:135) is significant at p , 0:05. These lend
support to H1a. Moreover, the results (Tables V and VI) also
Figure 2 SEM-2 of Chinese cultural value as a whole on gift-giving behavior
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior
Wang Qian, Mohammed Abdur Razzaque and Kau Ah Keng
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Volume 24 · Number 4 · 2007 · 214–228
221
show that the parameter estimates for Chinese cultural value
as a whole (Cv) on perceived importance of gift-giving are
positive and significant (b ¼ 0:512, p , 0:01). Therefore,H1b is supported.
Results also indicate that Chinese cultural value
components such as renqing (b ¼ 0:364, p , 0:01),reciprocity (b ¼ 0:254, p , 0:01), guanxi (b ¼ 0:211,
p , 0:01), yuan (b ¼ 0:144, p , 0:05), and saving face(b ¼ 0:322, p , 0:01) have positive effect on the amount
given, respectively. Therefore, all sub-hypotheses of the
composite hypotheses H2a are supported. The parameterestimate for Cv as a whole on the perceived amount given,
which is 0.480 (p , 0:01) tends to support H2b.For H3a and H3b, the influence of Cv components on gift-
selection effort, the results reveal that renqing (b ¼ 0:159,
p , 0:05), reciprocity (b ¼ 0:176, p , 0:01), guanxi(b ¼ 0:169, p , 0:01) and yuan (b ¼ 0:148, p , 0:05) arepositively associated with gift-selection effort. These render
partial support to H3a. Review of H3b reveals that Cv as a
whole is associated with an increase in gift-selection effort.Furthermore, the parameter estimate is positive and
significant (b ¼ 0:29, p , 0:05). Therefore, H3b is supported.Finally, for H4a and H4b, the results indicate that brand
orientation is significantly and positively influenced by
Chinese cultural value components such as renqing(b ¼ 0:162, p , 0:01), reciprocity (b ¼ 0:296, p , 0:01),
guanxi (b ¼ 0:154, p , 0:05), yuan (b ¼ 0:167, p , 0:01),
and saving face (b ¼ 0:208, p , 0:01). Therefore H4a is alsosupported. H4b posits that Chinese cultural value as a whole
(Cv) has positive effects on the brand orientation. H4b is
supported, as the parameter estimate for Chinese culturalvalue as a whole on brand orientation is positive and
significant (b ¼ 0:366, p , 0:01).
Discussion and managerial implications
The results of this investigation have several important
implications for both marketing practitioners and researchers.
They provide a broad understanding of the generalconsumption patterns of urban consumers in the PRC by
offering insights into three antecedents of gift-giving namely,Chinese cultural values, personal values and motivation for
gift-giving. They also highlight some other related aspects
such as importance of gift-giving, amount given, gift-selectioneffort, and brand orientation. The results suggest that the
choice of gift may not depend only on personal values and
motivation for gift-giving; it may also be a function of theircultural values. For example, Chinese consumers generally
put more emphasis on brand orientation in buying Chinese
New Year gifts. Hence, marketers should take note of thebrand orientation in developing market strategies.
This study can also help marketers better segment theirmarket based on consumers’ personal values, cultural values,
and motivation for gift-giving and establish appropriate
marketing strategies for their target market. Knowledgeabout gift-giver and gift-receiver orientation and
consequences of gift-giving will help them develop better
strategic decisions regarding the gift-market. In developing asuitable strategy for the target market, marketers should note
that gift-giving behavior in the PRC is influenced by Chinese
cultural values, social value orientation, and recipientorientation as well as giver orientation rather than self-value
orientation alone. For example, values such as renqing, guanxi,
Figure 3 Null model (CFA for Chinese cultural value)
Figure 4 Null model (CFA for gift-giving behavior)
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior
Wang Qian, Mohammed Abdur Razzaque and Kau Ah Keng
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Volume 24 · Number 4 · 2007 · 214–228
222
yuan, saving-face, and reciprocity influence more consumers
in China.While the study has reconfirmed Hou’s (1999) observation
that Chinese New Year is special occasion, in which Chinese
consumers are willing to spend much money on gift, it has
further revealed that the levels of expenditure are related to a
number of demographic factors. Hence it makes sense for
marketers to pay more attention to these variables in
developing their marketing mix for the gift market in the
PRC.Last but not the least, the results tend to suggest that
marketers should be aware that although social orientation
and Chinese cultural value have positive influence on
recipient orientation, they also have negative influence on
giver orientation. This particular finding is useful as it
provides food for thought for marketers regarding the best
ways to promote their products as gifts.It is worthwhile to note that this research develops a scale
for measuring Chinese cultural values. In addition, by using
AMOS in discovering causality between the various variables
such as Chinese cultural value, personal value and motivation
for gift-giving and gift-giving behavior, it also displays a
methodological improvement over previous research in the
area that used LISREL.
Limitations and future studies
Like other survey-based studies, the study has some
limitations as well. Since the sample from Tianjin may not
have represented all the sub-cultures of PRC, it may not be
Table IV Squared multiple correlations of indicators (null model CFA)
Construct First-order-factor Indicator Estimates Standardized factor loading
Chinese cultural value (Cv) Renqing (Rq) Cv4 0.681 0.825
Cv7 0.594 0.771
Cv10 0.494 0.703
Cv14 0.520 0.721
Reciprocity (Re) Cv30 0.527 0.726
Cv25 0.621 0.788
Cv11 0.555 0.745
Guanxi (Gu) Cv9 0.681 0.825
Cv15 0.501 0.708
Cv2 0.539 0.734
Cv5 0.549 0.741
Cv20 0.251 0.508
Cv26 0.267 0.517
Yuan (Yu) Cv21 0.846 0.921
Cv6 0.449 0.673
Cv16 0.367 0.632
Cv17 0.360 0.604
Cv1 0.250 0.500
Cv22 0.222 0.478Family orientation (Fo) Cv12 0.548 0.742
Cv8 0.336 0.583
Cv23 0.490 0.705
Cv29 0.240 0.490Saving face (Sf) Cv13 0.562 0.753
Cv3 0.423 0.654
Cv18 0.578 0.762
Cv27 0.250 0.503
Gift-giving behavior (Gb) Importance of gift-giving (Im) G6 0.469 0.685
G3 0.500 0.707
G7 0.389 0.624
Gift-section effort (Ef) G12 0.663 0.814
G11 0.511 0.715
G16 0.362 0.602
Amount-given (Am) G8 0.428 0.654
G15 0.480 0.693
G2 0.493 0.702
Brand orientation (Bo) G9 0.742 0.861
G5 0.353 0.607
G4 0.304 0.583
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior
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223
appropriate to generalize these findings to all other cities or
parts of the country. Second, the gift-giving occasion selected,
i.e. the Chinese New Year, may not be representative of other
occasions when gifts are exchanged.Keeping these limitations in view, future research may be
conducted in other cities or regions of PRC to detect if there
are significant differences among the consumers there. The
study can also be extended to other areas such as Taiwan,
Hong Kong, Macao and Singapore where Chinese cultural
value is also well established. These studies would help
generalize if Chinese cultural value exerts the same degree of
influence on gift-giving behaviors across all these areas. It
would also be useful to conduct studies on gift giving behavior
during occasions such as birthday and the Lantern Festival to
establish if gift-giving behaviors differ.
Summary and conclusions
The main objective of this study was to assess the role played
by various components of Chinese cultural value and Chinese
cultural value as a whole in influencing gift-giving behaviors.
To this end, an explicit and comprehensive model was
developed and tested in this study that provides a good
explanation of consumers’ gift-giving behavior in the PRC.
Behavioral measurements studied include the importance
attached to gift-giving, the amount/dollar value spent on gift-
given, brand orientation and gift selection efforts. Survey
results based on a large sample of respondents indicated that
the Chinese cultural value as a whole had positive effects on
these behaviors. In addition, components of Chinese cultural
values such as renqing, reciprocity, guanxi, and yuan were
found to exert influence on all aspects of gift-giving behaviors.
The “face” component was found to have effect on
importance attached to gift-giving, the amount given and
brand orientation. However, the “family orientation”
component did not seem to have any positive effect on the
four behavioral elements studied.In summary, the results of this study illustrate the need for
marketers to engage in different approaches when dealing
with Chinese consumers with different value orientations; and
consider the importance of motivations (i.e. recipient and
giver orientations) of consumers in segmentation, advertising
and product brand orientation. The results further imply that
Western international operations must familiarize themselves
with Chinese culture value when they extend their business to
the PRC.
Figure 5 Finally hypothesized second-order model of Chinese culturalvalue
Table V Relationships between Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior components
Endogenous constructs
Importance of
gift-giving Amount given
Gift selection
efforts Brand orientation
Exogenous constructs (bs) (bs) (bs) (bs)
# Equation 1 Equation 2 Equation 3 Equation 4
Chinese cultural value components and
gift-giving behavior components
Renqing 0.195 * * 0.364 * * 0.159 * 0.162 * *
Reciprocity 0.223 * * 0.254 * * 0.176 * * 0.296 * *
Guanxi 0.154 * 0.211 * * 0.169 * * 0.154 *
Yuan 0.351 * * 0.144 * 0.148 * 0.167 * *
Family orientation 0.056 0.108 0.069 0.065
Saving face 0.135 * 0.322 * * 0.092 0.208 * *
Structural equation fit (R2) 0.312 0.423 0.15 0.29
Model-fit measures Chi-square ¼ 772.309 p , 0.01 df ¼ 204
GFI ¼ 0.939 AGFI ¼ 0.901 CFI ¼ 0.942
IFI ¼ 0.949 TLI ¼ 0.928 RMSEA ¼ 0.047
Notes: * Significant at 0.05; * * Significant at 0.01
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior
Wang Qian, Mohammed Abdur Razzaque and Kau Ah Keng
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 24 · Number 4 · 2007 · 214–228
224
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Endogenous constructs
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About the authors
Wang Qian is a Lecturer and Department Head with theSingapore Chinese Chamber Institute of Business. She
obtained her undergraduate education in the People’sRepublic of China and her MSc from the National
University of Singapore. Wang Qian has been engaged inteaching, research, and business consultancy in China,
Singapore, and Malaysia for almost two decades.Mohammed Abdur Razzaque is affiliated with the School of
Marketing at the University of New South Wales (UNSW),
Sydney. Before joining the UNSW, Mohammed was anAssociate Professor in the Department of Marketing, NUS
BusinessSchool,NationalUniversityofSingapore.Mohammedhas published in and served as a reviewer for several
internationally refereed marketing journals and conferenceproceedings.Mohammed AbdurRazzaque is thecorresponding
author and can be contacted at: ma.razzaque@unsw.edu.auKau Ah Keng is presently the deputy director of the NUS
Entrepreneurship Centre. Previously a Professor ofMarketing, he was the Head of the Marketing School and aVice Dean of the NUS Business School, National University
of Singapore. Professor Ah Keng has published in manyinternationally refereed journals and conference proceedings.
Executive summary and implications formanagers and executives
This summary as been provided to allow managers and executivesa rapid appreciation of the content of this article. Those with aparticular interest in the topic covered may then read the articlein toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description ofthe research undertaken and its results to get the full benefit of thematerial present.
Gift-giving has been investigated by researchers from a wide
range of disciplines. It is accepted that gift-giving is a complex
ritual in most societies, not least because of its symbolic
nature. People give gifts on numerous occasions like birthdays
and weddings, and during festivities unique to specificcultures. The Chinese New Year is one such occasion.
Many observers point out that Western organizationshoping to do business in China must strive to understand
the market and the behavior of Chinese consumers.As within other cultures, gift-giving behavior in China is
partly determined by personal values. Research has also
shown that motivation can result from self-gratificationobjectives on the part of the giver or from a desire to please
the recipient. However, as analysts have noted, personal
values in China are heavily influenced by the historical andcultural traditions held in the country.
Chinese cultural values
The family is at the heart of Chinese society and plays the
principal part in educating children about their role within thefamily and wider society. Family teaches key emotional and
cultural values and enlightens children about loyalty,
obedience, respect and the importance of suppressingindividuality. The hierarchical family structure is mirrored
within Chinese organizations.Chinese culture regards saving face as important and
adherence to this value demands compliance with expected
social roles and behaviors. People are assessed on how theyperform to expectation and losing face attracts strong societal
condemnation. Analysts claim that this value has importantimplications for buying decisions because, for example,
presenting an unsuitable gift negatively impacts on the
giver’s social standing.Guanxi relates to an individual’s network of contact and
determines the strength of interpersonal relations. The largerthe guanxi network, the more powerful an individual can
claim to be. Chinese culture advocates firm belief in destiny
(yuan) to the extent that many events are felt to bepredetermined and thus out of one’s control. This can
include relationships and even marriage. Nature plays a key
role and man should strive to remain harmonious with it.Renqing denotes complicated social relationships that
involve the exchange of social favors in the form of such asmoney, goods, services and information. A key aspect of this
value is an obligation to return the favor in the future. This
value has parallels with reciprocity, which promotes thenotion that a decent person interacts with others in a
reciprocal way. One manifestation of this is an expectancy thatindividuals who accept a gift give one in return.
The effect of cultural values on gift-giving behavior
Earlier research found some evidence of Chinese cultural
values influencing gift giving in Hong Kong and Qian et al.aim to build on this by illustrating the impact of these valueson gift giving during the Chinese New Year. The authors
hypothesize that the cultural values individually andcollectively impact on the perceived importance of the
occasion, gift selection, the amount given and brand
preference.The study involved randomly selected participants
completing a self-administered questionnaire in Tianjin, aport city neighboring the capital Beijing. The 504 survey
respondents were aged between 20 and 60.
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior
Wang Qian, Mohammed Abdur Razzaque and Kau Ah Keng
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 24 · Number 4 · 2007 · 214–228
227
Qian et al. found that all the values have a significantlypositive effect on the perceived importance of gift-giving, theamount given and brand orientation. The only exception wasthe lack of influence from family orientation, which wascontrary to expectations. Results also indicated a positiveinfluence on gift selection from renqing, guanxi, yuan andreciprocity. Chinese cultural values taken as a whole werepositively associated with gift giving, the amount given, giftselection and brand orientation.
The results corroborate previous assumptions that gift-giving behaviors may not solely depend on personal valuesand whether the decision is motivated by a reasons connectedto self-fulfillment or a desire to please the recipient. The roleplayed by Chinese cultural values also appears highlyimportant.
Marketing recommendations
Additionally, the authors noted evidence that consumers inChina put a greater amount of emphasis on brand selectionwhen buying gifts for the Chinese New Year festivities andsuggest that marketers should incorporate brand orientationwhen developing strategies. They also believe that the studyfindings indicate that market segmentation based onconsumer personal values, Chinese cultural values and themotivation for giving gifts would be an appropriate strategy toadopt.
The importance of motivation is likewise emphasized and
marketers are advised to be aware of tendencies toward giver
or recipient orientation within segmentation and advertising.
Qian et al. further observe that Chinese cultural values exert
significant influence when gift-giving activities are driven by
an aspiration to please the beneficiary, though it is seemingly
not the case when self-gratification is the objective. This is
another reason to develop various approaches in order to
effectively reach different consumer segments within the vast
Chinese market.Qian et al. acknowledge that the study sample may not be
representative of all sub cultures in China and concede that it
would be inappropriate to generalize findings without
conducting additional research in other cities or regions of
the country. They likewise point out that the Chinese New
Year is a unique event and that consumer behavior during the
period may not necessary be replicated at other times when
gifts are given. It could therefore prove beneficial to build on
the present study by carrying out studies into other occasions
when gifts are exchanged. The authors also recommend that
research is also carried to compare the influence of Chinese
cultural values in Taiwan, Singapore or other countries where
the values are recognized.
(A precis of the article “Chinese cultural values and gift-giving
behavior”. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)
Chinese cultural values and gift-giving behavior
Wang Qian, Mohammed Abdur Razzaque and Kau Ah Keng
Journal of Consumer Marketing
Volume 24 · Number 4 · 2007 · 214–228
228
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