Attitudes toward Made in China Label Consumption in Luxury Fashion - Assignment Example

THE TOPIC IS ATTITUDES TOWARD MADE IN CHINA LABEL CONSUMPTION IN LUXURY FASHION Literature review of the Date of submission LITERATURE REVIEW The clothing industry is a dynamic sector of the economic owing to the changing trends defined by the fashion. The changes mean that consumers require a product that meets their expectations. These trends define the product preferences and the consumer behaviour toward the product (Chung-Hoon and Gul, 2003). Some of these trends are breaking away from the conventional ways characterised by the older generation. While most luxurious clothing items were associated with the wealthy older generation, there is an emerging trend for both the generation Y and X in gaining the significant share of the market (OCass and Choy, 2008). Luxury products are not only expensive but have been seen as a preserve of the wealthy. The great recession may have played a pivotal role in levelling the ground for the consumption of luxury clothing. The retail core value is the tenet involved in reshaping the modern fashion industry (Guoxin et al., 2012). However, consumers are very particular about their fashion, which means that certain attributes have a particular impact on their involvement, purchasing behaviours, and selection of luxury fashions (Dholakia, and Zhao, 2010). Retailers with a good understanding of such attributes would devise ways of targeting a niche market and make the most out of the strategy (Gerard et al., 2011). For that reason, most studies have investigated elements that affect consumer involvement in luxury fashions. For instance, factors like the impact of attitude on consumption, attitude toward luxury brands, attitude toward a particular market as factors that guide investors in the decision-making (Zhang and Kim, 2013). However, many factors motivate consumers for a particular product and brand. The underlying basis is that consumer use products that define their personalities (Chou, 2013). Therefore, consumers are willing to part with extra funds for the products that give them identity. In fact, consumers are empowered with brands that assist them to identify with the society and others (Chou, 2013). Such identity must be consistent with the current trend, hence the need for the retailers to consider the evolution of designs. However, different market segments have unique attributes that vary depending on the cultural values (Li, Robson and Coates, 2013). Cultural changes affect the product favourability as well, but how people are socialised is also dynamic. For these reasons, the industry of luxury clothing is a multifaceted sector of the economy that depends on multiple factors. Social orientation varies from one county to another, and the way people embrace buying attributes in the United States is different from China. The differences relate to the variations on how people learn to identify themselves, and communicate, class (product and social category). Consequently, consumers take a multifaceted approach to product selection (social value and personality) (Long-Yi, 2010). The concept of fashion relates to value addition, novelty, ambivalence, and attributes of chance that associated with objects (Li, Robson and Coates, 2013). These attributes are dynamic, making fashion segment of the product consumption an interesting area for continued research. Fashion exists in two categories, the less expensive category, and the explicitly expensive category, individuals who prefer luxury clothing especially in China will go to the second category (Zhang and Kim, 2013). The ever-changing objects that define consumer preference rely on their knowledge of the product. However, just knowing the brand without the consumer involvement may not affect their buying attributes. Besides, fashion is not limited to clothing, but it is a multifaceted term that spans across items like jewellery as well (Chou, 2013). The best way to define fashion associated with clothing is to adopt the argument coined previously by Eicher and Roach-Higgins (1992) when they described fashion of clothing as the inclusion of all items adorning parts of the body (p. 13). The definition clears the doubt and possible biases to a specific category. Consumer behaviour Many studies focus on the behavioural attributes of the consumers. The response of consumers to the brand of luxury clothing items largely depends on their attitude toward the clothing line (Zhang and Kim, 2013). For these reasons, attitude plays a pivotal role in the consumer behaviour. The behaviour of consumer relates to their knowledge of the brand of luxury clothing items. Consumers with adequate comprehension of the product in the market segment will respond to the product either positively or negatively. Studies have shown that attitude is an important attribute for making the decision (Zhang and Kim, 2013). Consumers are likely to respond by either making purchase or rejecting the commodity depending on their perceived attitude for the luxury clothing item (Bian and Forsythe, 2012). Development of consumer attitude remains a challenge in most business frontiers. However, many businesses invest in marketing and advertisement to develop positive consumer attitude toward their products. The family may also influence the purchasing behaviours of the member of the family (Hsu and Kai-Ming, 2008). For instance, a family involved in sporting activities is likely to make the purchase of sporting clothing and shoes irrespective of their expensive value proposition (Hsu and Kai-Ming, 2008). Involvement of the family members at school, peers, parents, siblings, and other associates like mass media and shopping experience are attributed to consumer attitude (Nayeem and Casidy, 2013). Therefore, development of attitude for the consumption of the product is not unidirectional but rather cuts across several concepts that have equal significance. Although studies show that consumer behaviour may affect their preferences for a product, such studies present limited understanding of the attitude toward a preference for the luxury clothing. For that reason, this study will attempt to comprehend how attitude affects consumer behaviour with reference to luxury fashion. The luxury market has been under the dominance of baby boomers, who were considered wealthy and the most affluent group (Loroz and Helgeson, 2013). However, the market is changing rapidly because generation Y and X are beginning to take part in the luxury fashion (Loroz and Helgeson, 2013). Marketers still ensure they attract both the baby boomers and the members of generation Y and X (Stein and Sanburn, 2013). The study by Giovannini and Xu (2013) demonstrated that emerging clusters of consumers in the USA market were found to the main factor for the increasing growth of the luxury market. Most of the consumers in the emerging category did not belong to the wealthy group. Initially, the market for luxury products was mainly under the control of baby boomers that controlled about 60 percent of the consumption (Loroz and Helgeson, 2013). However, after the recession, the generations Y and X represented a majority of the consumers in the emerging category, who contributed hugely to the growth. For instance, during the year 2011, the Y generation increased their spending for the luxury clothing by 33 percent (Loroz and Helgeson, 2013). Such trends were also replicated in the Chinese market. However, there is limited data to justify reasons that played a critical role in such trends. Perhaps these changes were occasioned by the consumer attitude. H1: Assessing how attitude affects consumer behaviour H2: Assessing how consumer attitude toward luxury fashion affects their consumption (buying attributes) Pagla and Brennan (2014) assert that consumer involvement is a vital factor that affects attitude toward consumption. When consumers get involved in the product, the product becomes a part of their life, and that could have a significant effect in changing their attitude toward that product (Dholakia, and Zhao, 2010). In fact, Pagla and Brennan (2014) observed that consumers that were highly involved responded positively to products. For that reason, involving the consumers could have influenced their attitude leading to an overall more positive attitude. Some of the concepts coined on consumer behaviours toward clothing relates to consumer socialisation. Socialisation is the abilities to access information and develop rational decisions from the information. Besides, socialisation plays a role in the development of attitudes that defines consumers function. Chinese products The diversity of the Chinese market owing to its multiple cultural values and the large population mix offers diverse cultural values, which creates the product with multiple cultural orientations (Jia and Soyoung, 2013). Culture identifies with the way people interact and lives in the society. Although society is constructed through socialisation, cultural norms play important functions in defining objects like clothing (Piron, 2006). Probably, the Chinese market is one of the biggest market segments in the world with a rich cultural background (Piron, 2006). The current trend, which involves outsourcing for services and manufacturing processes have complicated the identity of brands that were initially associated with nations and their country of origin. For example, most companies in China are stationed far from their original country of operation because such organisations seek to cut the cost of operation. The size of the Chinese market makes it preferable to the world (Piron, 2006). Its enormous population provides the largest consumer market for most ventures. Previous studies have assessed the growing interest in the consumer studies. Consumers are the main players constantly studied to help the entrepreneurs and designers to identify trends that take shape in the society to enable them stay relevant in the market a For instance, consumer behaviour affects their buying attributes. Shopping patterns may vary from one region to another. In fact, shopping pattern is an element of buying attribute. The behaviour of the consumers plays a significant role determining their preferences for a brand of clothing item. Anthropologist can study the elements of shopping patterns as a form of consumer behaviour to identify elements that may help in the development of strategies for satisfying the customers or meeting their demand (Gerard et al., 2011). How consumer responded to brands and perceived the brands based on their status is a crucial step in gathering information. How such information is processed is key to understanding the concepts that drive consumers toward liking a preferred brand status of the luxurious cloth fashion (Husic and Cicic, 2009). The enormous Chinese population offers the best alternative to cheap labour (Piron, 2006). Therefore, most multinational companies that require industrial manufacturing processes prefer relocating their manufacturing plants in the Chinese markets to offer the much-needed labour force at the lowest cost of production. Whether such trends have an impact on the consumer, purchasing attributes are yet to be reported in the literature. Most consumers are particular about the model of the product (Lingjing and Yanqun, 2012). For instance, consumers in the fashion industry may be particular about the country that manufactured the luxury clothing. These are likely to influence their attitude toward the product. Most of the luxury clothing items are manufactured in China (Made in China). However, there is little evidence that associates a particular product with the country of manufacture, and whether such association affects consumer attitude toward the brand remains elusive. H3: assessing the attitude towards luxury clothing items with the label ‘Made in China.’ Many consumers would draw their motivation for a particular brand owing to its cultural association (Teimourpour and Hanzaee, 2011). Therefore, culture motivates the consumer behaviours. Given that clothing form of identity, they help in giving the personal identity of an individual, yet certain societies embrace their cultural values as a form of identity, clothing represent cultural heritage as well. Other consumers would be motivated by other cultures depending on item they seek to communicate (Teimourpour and Hanzaee, 2011). Markets with diverse cultural values not only offer an opportunity for huge designers and investors, but also pose a challenge to identity. There is limited literature that assessed the association of the brand to the culture (Piron, 2006). For instance, the luxury clothing varies from one culture to another culture and from one country to another (Zheng et al., 2013). People from different countries representing different cultural backgrounds will have different perceptions of luxury clothing from a different culture or country (Lingjing and Yanqun, 2012). Materialistic Consumers are attached to the luxury fashion because such cadre of clothing represents the value of the material (Li, Robson and Coates, 2013). The concept of materialistic was coined by Belk (1988), who assessed the value of materialist in symbolising the value of the object. Materialistic items, which relates to the luxury fashion highlights the attachment the individual has for the clothing. Given that such items are expensive, it signifies ownership and the self-image. In particular, self-image plays a pivotal role in the concept of materialistic owing to the impression it aims to attain in the public domain. Luxury fashion is a form of symbolic consumption (Zheng et al., 2013). Consumers tend to purchase a particular luxury clothing to symbolise their identity with the concepts they want to communicate because it is associated with social visibility, high prices, exclusiveness, and high quality (Bruce and Daly, 2006; Bian and Forsythe, 2012). The level of materialistic may vary from one consumer to another because consumer behaviour and personality trait are not universal (Long-Yi, 2010). The concept of materialistic also determines the consumer willingness to pay for the most luxurious fashion brands (Guoxin et al., 2012). Consumers identify themselves with the luxurious fashion. Perhaps, the uniqueness of the materialistic luxurious fashion may have an impact on behavioural attributes (Husic and Cicic, 2009). The concept could affect people’s attitude and the attitude toward prestigious brands of fashion. Some factors like marketing initiatives may contribute to the dissemination of the luxurious materialistic brands of fashion. These factors affect both the purchasing and consumer behaviours, however, whether brand status and brand attitude have influence the willingness of consumers remains elusive. For that reason, it is necessary to assess the impact of the brand and the brand attitude could affect consumer willingness. H4: To assess the impact of brand status and brand attitude on the impacts of consumers willingness to pay for the premium luxurious fashion Self-esteem and Self-consciousness to luxurious brands of fashion Self-esteem and self-consciousness affect clothing interest, attitude toward conformity, and the opinion in a specific fashion (Pyszczynski, et al., 2004). It represents a segmentation that affects consumption of products especially the luxury brands (O’Cass and Siahtiri, 2014). Besides, the level of consumer’s public self-consciousness affects their selection of fashion. For instance, a consumer with the high level of consciousness is likely to assess and make purchasing of a particular luxurious fashion from an informed perspective (Bruce and Daly, 2006). Such a consumer with in-depth knowledge of the fashion, the trend of the fashion, and how such brand impact on their social life because of the attributes linked to the brand and the social visibility (Husic and Cicic, 2009). Personal attributes like Self-perception and self-esteem affects the behaviour and the decision-making process of the individuals (Pyszczynski, et al., 2004; Lingjing and Yanqun, 2012). These attributes are likely to manifest themselves even in the consumer behavioural traits related to purchasing of commodities (Bruce and Daly, 2006). Self-esteem is an element of consumer behaviour; it refers to the evaluation capabilities of the consumer. Consumers with the power to evaluate brands of luxurious fashions are likely to make conscious decisions (O’Cass and Siahtiri, 2014; Thomas et al., 2007). Besides, it influences the way people act by serving as an advantage to motivating the consumers. Low esteem is likely to encourage individuals to embrace positive consumer purchasing behaviours (Bruce and Daly, 2006). The motivational aspect affects their behaviour in responding to a brand in a positive way. Self-esteem also signifies their need to find approaches that improve the social aspect of the consumers. Individuals that tend to possess low self-esteem will find ways of enhancing their self-esteem, perhaps through adopting purchasing of perceived brands (Pyszczynski, et al., 2004). Self-esteem relates to social inclusion. When people experience excluded from the society, they respond with low self-esteem, which is likely to influence their behaviours to clothing (Pyszczynski, et al., 2004). Peer pressure and the society play a role in determining the clothing. People would strive to conform to their peers’ perception, gain acceptance by consuming the correct items at the right moment. These trends also help in maintaining the friends’ hence boosting self-esteem. For these reasons, the two personal attributes affects the behaviour toward the luxury brand (Zheng et al., 2013). Self-esteem and self-consciousness play a significant role in the brand consciousness. Conscious consumers are likely to exhibit specific traits to drive their purchasing behaviours (Bruce and Daly, 2006). There are drivers that play a role in bonding the relationship between the cloth fashion and the consumers (Thomas et al., 2007). For instance, when one intends to comprehend how such relationship comes about, it is important to assess materialistic value, aesthetics, self-presentation, and the consumer attachment to the values of the product (Li, Robson and Coates, 2013). Consumption behaviour helps in the comprehension of the concepts that drive consumers toward certain buying attributes. Assessment of how self-consciousness, affects how people act, makes purchasing decision for luxurious fashion, and motivation for the same group of clothing (O’Cass and Siahtiri, 2014). There are two aspects of self-consciousness. These are the public and the private self-consciousness. The concept exerts strong desire for items with value for the individuals; it affects behavioural attributes like the consumption and acquisition of the product. Those with high self-consciousness tend to prioritise the creation and the maintenance of desired image in the selected brands. Response to brands The consumers have a tendency for affective behaviours for the luxurious brands. It refers to the urge of embracing the brand for its value in the society and the identity (Li, Robson and Coates, 2013). Brand loyalty has been studied in literature as a factor that drives the consumer purchasing behaviour (Palumbo and Herbig, 2000; Bruce and Daly, 2006). However, most consumers prefer particular brands for the uniqueness. Consumers find value and the aesthetic with the brand they can identify their personality with because the brand generates a feeling (Long-Yi, 2010). Marketing strategies helps most consumers to understand the concepts that are unique with particular brands (Gérard et al., 2011). However, there is limited knowledge in the literature about the association between brand status and brand attitude toward luxurious fashions and the pricing preferences (O’Cass and Frost, 2002; Thomas et al., 2007). How the consumers perceive the brand largely depends on the experience the consumers have concerning the brand (Vigneron and Johnson, 2004; Lingjing and Yanqun, 2012). For that reason, most retailers invest in strategising to get their brand to the consumers using media platform that targets specific consumers (Gerard et al., 2011). The two main aspects of brands are the brand attitude and the brand status (O’Cass and Frost, 2002). These features change with time and the trend of the fashion. However, consumers seem to play a major role in these changes owing to their demands. Factors like age and market segments may also affect the perceived brands and the consumer perception (Vigneron and Johnson, 2004). For instance, brands that identify with certain cultural values are likely to receive acceptance and preference of the consumers who identify themselves with the culture as opposed to another cohort of consumers without the knowledge of the cultural values (Teimourpour and Hanzaee, 2011; Lingjing and Yanqun, 2012). If a brand has an influence on the consumer, it is not clear whether such influence may turn into behaviour like purchasing attributes (Bruce and Daly, 2006). Therefore, the study sought to assess how brand status and brand attitude influence the consumer purchasing behaviours. H5: assessing consumer perception on brand status and brand attitude and their association toward luxurious fashions Key findings of this study The findings show that respondents have a rational approach to brand status and brand quality. Consumer involvement in making purchase was influenced by their knowledge of the brands. There is a deliberate preference towards luxurious fashions of china decent because of the identity. Many respondents believe that these brands have what they identify themselves with hence the preference. These findings show that respondents exhibit extreme concerns about the brands of fashions in the market. There were association between the attitude of the respondent and the both the brand status and brand quality. This shows that consumers with high attitude about a give brand have increased chances of making purchase for the brand. However, when the consumers were asked to state whether financial capabilities played a critical role in their behaviours toward the brand, there were no correlation, which indicates that the desire to purchase luxurious fashion is not dictated by the consumer financial status. The study found that statistically significant numbers of consumers made purchase for the luxurious Chinese brands for the purpose of identity of their personalities. A significant number of respondents made purchase of the perceived luxurious fashions. This shows that quality of the brands played a role in influencing their purchasing attitude. Besides, these consumers made purchase of the luxurious Chinese brands especially the brands that they had knowledge about, signifying the role of knowledge of the brand status and brand quality. Most respondents’ acknowledged the role of marketing in understanding the various brands that made their top preferences. 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