Purpose
As part of a cross-cultural research, the purpose of this paper is to provide further insights into the existing product-country image (PCI) of the Chinese consumers’ perceptions of Spain, its products, and its people, thereby providing an overall contemporary Spanish PCI within the Chinese market.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 215 valid structured questionnaires were gathered throughout China. Following a pre-investigation of 259 usable questionnaires, a 52-item construct was drawn from the existing widely used PCI item scales, designing a structured PCI construct, covering: “country image,” “personal image,” “product image,” “general knowledge about Spain,” and “personal data.”
Findings
The study provides: a PCI pre-investigation research results as well as a literature review on PCI topic; research results for the five hypotheses concerning Chinese citizens’ view of Spanish product price, quality, technicality, inventiveness, and known brands view; descriptive statistics as well as result graphs for each of the covered PCI sections; our PCI construct variable correlations with the tested five product image variables; and general implications.
Research limitations/implications
Standardizing PCI longitudinal studies, as well as focusing on how the Spanish Government and private sector should determine the long-term criteria to facilitate a clearer representation of the Spanish PCI evolution within the Chinese market, is advised.
Originality/value
The current study intends to capture insights for Spain and other country’s public and private sector decision makers to better integrate market and non-market strategies. The results would further assist delineating strategies to avoid the liability of foreignness of Spanish organizations within China.
Effect of the Country Image on the Purchase Intention of the Korean Product by the Chinese Consumers
