Guanxi and Chinese brand loyalty
Staff Page Link
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
2014
Keywords
Chinese, Grounded theory, Brand loyalty, Financial services, Guanxi, Mianzi, Track: Consumer behaviour
Abstract
This exploratory study examined how brand loyalty can be established in a non-Western market where Chinese customers are motivated to be loyal to a brand by cultural drivers, specifically guanxi (personal relationships) and mianzi (face). The brand loyalty of Chinese customers for financial products in Hong Kong and mainland China was investigated using a qualitative, grounded theory approach. Nine semi-structured, indepth interviews were conducted with three expert interviewees. The results demonstrate that companies can cement client loyalty through using guanxi as an attitudinal trait to secure introductions in a buyer-seller relationship. Sellers strive to join a client’s guanxi network and then accumulate credit for offering good value and showing respect. They trade favours and later call in debts. This has been one of the first studies to use grounded theory to investigate the influence of key Chinese cultural attributes on brand loyalty to financial products.
Source Publication
ANZMAC conference, 2014 Dec 1-3, Brisbane, Australia. Proceedings
First Page
433
Last Page
440
Recommended Citation
Lee, W.,& Tang, Y. (2014). Guanxi and Chinese brand loyalty. ANZMAC conference, 2014 Dec 1-3, Brisbane, Australia. Proceedings, 433-440. Retrieved from https://repository.vtc.edu.hk/thei-fac-man-hos-sp/98