How a “China-made” Label Influences Chinese Youth’s Product Evaluation: The Priming Effect of Patriotic and Nationalistic News
(A2022-105407)

AUTHORS

ANQI YU, University of Antwerp; SHUBIN YU, BI Norwegian Business School; Huaming Liu, Departamento de Organización de Empresas I, University of Granada, Campus Universitario de Cartuja, 18071 Granada,Spain

ABSTRACT

Adding labels to highlight products’ attributes has become an acquainted measure for e-tailers to distinguish their products online. This study is to verify whether and how a “China-made” label can affect online consumers’ product evaluation. A 2 (label of “China-made” vs. no label) x 3 (patriotism priming vs. nationalism priming vs. no priming) between subject factorial design was adopted to verify the hypotheses. The results showed when consumers’ nationalism was primed, the label significantly enhanced the product evaluation by increasing the perceived social value of the product. Priming consumers’ patriotism, however, did not play a moderating role for this effect. This study opens a brand-new perspective that domestic products can be perceived and accepted as premier options by Chinese consumers. The results show that although products produced in a developing country are marked with a negative COO effect, marketers can turn it into a strength in marketing in certain conditions.