Title: Modelling Chinese Consumers in Green-Value-Attitude Enhancing New First-Tier Cities’ Consumption Market
Author: Miss Chen Ling
Advisor: ดร.สุเทพ ดวงจินดา – Dr. Suthep Duangchinda
Degree: บริหารธุรกิจดุษฎีบัณฑิต สาขาวิชาการตลาด – Doctor of Business Administration Program in Marketing
Major: บธ.ด. การตลาด – D.B.A. Marketing
Faculty: บัณฑิตวิทยาลัย (Graduate School)
Academic year: 2566 (2023)
Published: Sripatum Chonburi Academic Journal Volume 20 Issue 4 April – December 2024 pp.205-223 | วารสารวิชาการศรีปทุม ชลบุรี ปีที่ 20 ฉบับที่ 4 เดือนเมษายน ถึง ธันวาคม 2567 หน้า 205-223 Click PDF
Abstract
Furniture has become a necessity to improve the quality of life for today’s consumers. With customer’s increasing environmental and health consciousness, green furniture products which are more friendly to the environment and less harmful to consumers’ physical health are becoming mainstream worldwide gradually. In the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the world’s second-largest economy, there is an increasing demand for green furniture products in recent decades as well.
Ultimately, the concept of consumer value, its effects on attitude and consumption behaviors, and the effects of Chinese consumer’s demographic attributes on various consumer value factors are critical to the research on green furniture products marketing. There are only a few research conducted on the new first-tier cities market in the PRC while most studies are focused on Western developed countries or PRC’s first-tier big cities. On fact these new first-tier cities represent the rise of China’s emerging cities in the future. From the standpoint of product categories, research on consumer perceptions or behaviors toward specific green furniture has been limited. Little research is designed to explore a comprehensive set of more contemporary customer value systems, particularly, from an internal personnel qualitative analysis perspective in the furniture industry. Few studies link Chinese consumers’ demographic attributes with consumers’ values to the overall attitude and consumption behaviors toward green furniture products. In addition, there is an argument on attitude’s mediating role between customer values and their consumption behaviors in previous studies. To address these gaps, considerable attention and academic contributions should be devoted to green furniture consumption in PRC’s new first-tier market.
To scope down the aforementioned gaps, particularly, research objectives are set up for this study: 1) To investigate the demographic characteristics (city, gender, age group, education level, income, marriage status, organization to buy) of Chinese consumers who purchase green furniture; 2) To study Green Chinese values (product value, personal value, eco-friendly system value), attitudes (cognitive, affective, conative), and to examine the value factors that influence Chinese consumer’s consumption behavior (willingness to buy, willingness to recommend, willingness to re-purchase green furniture); 3) To analyze the mediating role of attitude (cognitive, affective, conative) in the relationship between Green Chinese values (product value, personal value, eco-friendly system value) and consumption behavior (willingness to buy, willingness to recommend and willingness to re-purchase green furniture); 4) To present and develop the Chinese consumer’s value-attitude causal model which enhances its green furniture consumption behavior in the new first-tier cities’ Chinese market. This study develops hypotheses regarding the relationships among Chinese consumers’ demographic profiles, values, attitudes, and green consumption behavior. The quantitative research that employed the instrument was a questionnaire. After the data collection from four major Chinese new first-tier cities（Chengdu, Hangzhou, Xi’an, and Wuhan), 832 questionnaires were collected and used for data analysis. The target samples were consumers aged 15 years and up who have experience in purchasing green furniture products in PRC’s four new first-tier cities. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), multiple linear regression analysis, path analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted to test hypotheses using SPSS version 23.0 and AMOS version 22.0.
The result of this study confirmed the different demographic backgrounds of PRC consumers play a role in the green furniture consumption process, consumers from Hangzhou and Wuhan, married couples with children, and consumers with high incomes as 7,001 yuan and up are some significant consumer groups that marketers should pay special attention when implement segmentation strategy. This study also identified significant consumer values and examined the extent level of these value factors impact Chinese consumers’ attitudes and consumption behavior. The study’s results showed that 6 out of 7 hypotheses are supported, and one hypothesis is rejected. “Product value” (β= 0.605*) and “eco-friendly system” value (β= 0.056*) had a positive effect on “attitude”. “Attitude” had a positive influence on “consumption behavior” (β= 0.654*). Furthermore, “product value” (β= 0.817*), “personal value” (β= 0.160*), and “eco-friendly system” value (β= 0.516*) significantly positively affect “consumption behavior”. Chinese consumers’ “attitude” as the mediator: Chinese consumers’ “green consumption behavior” was positively impacted by product value (β= 0.056*) and “eco-friendly system” value (β= 0.027*). Finally, there is no empirical evidence found that “personal value” had a positive effect on “attitude” in this study.
From an academic perspective, this study adds to the current knowledge of Chinese consumer demand in terms of green furniture consumption in the new first-tier cities market and broadens on previous theories such as attitude-behavior hierarchy, consumption value, and theory of planned behavior (TPB) theory. Particularly, this study contributes to the development of the Chinese consumer’s value-attitude causal model which enhances its green furniture consumption behavior.
From a practical perspective, the CEO of green furniture enterprises and marketing manager can understand PRC consumers’ multidimensional green furniture consumer value and which types of values can influence consumers’ attitudes and consumption behavior toward green furniture products. This understanding allows the CEO of green furniture enterprises and marketing managers to allocate their limited resources appropriately. The CEO of green furniture enterprises and marketing manager can also strategically decide on managing and consequently enhancing the effectiveness of the green furniture value that they offer.
Based on the results of this study, the strategic recommendations for Chinese consumers are accumulating a positive attitude, cultivating green furniture consumption lifestyles, and improving consumption capability. For enterprises, enhancing the functional, health, and service value of green furniture products, particularly for parents and high-income consumers, while stressing the importance of market segmentation based on different demographic characteristics. For government organizations, enhancing the dissemination of knowledge about green furniture products, promoting the use of new technologies, cooperating with various organizations and institutions, and implementing nationally authoritative green furniture certification and green label systems are important.
Keywords: Keywords: Green Furniture, Consumer Values, Attitude, Green Consumption Behavior, Demographic Profile, PRC New First-Tier Cities
Modelling Chinese Consumers in Green-Value-Attitude Enhancing New First-Tier Cities’ Consumption Market
6319310003 – Miss Chen Ling 2566 (2023) Modelling Chinese Consumers in Green-Value-Attitude Enhancing New First-Tier Cities’ Consumption Market วิทยานิพนธ์ (Thesis), Advisor: ดร.สุเทพ ดวงจินดา – Dr. Suthep Duangchinda, ปริญญาเอก (Doctorate Degree), บัณฑิตวิทยาลัย (Graduate School), บริหารธุรกิจดุษฎีบัณฑิต สาขาวิชาการตลาด – Doctor of Business Administration Program in Marketing, บธ.ด. การตลาด – D.B.A. Marketing, Bangkok: Siam University
Academic Year 2023, Graduate School 2023, IMBA, IMBA 2023, Independent Study, Independent Study 2023, Master of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration (International Program) 2023, Master of Business Administration 2023, ปริญญาเอก (Doctorate Degree), บัณฑิตวิทยาลัย (Graduate School), บริหารธุรกิจดุษฎีบัณฑิต สาขาวิชาการตลาด – Doctor of Business Administration Program in Marketing,บธ.ด. การตลาด – D.B.A. Marketing