Materialism in China – Review of Literature

Authors

  • Bogdan Robert Ioane Higher Colleges of Technology Al Ain,

Keywords:

materialism, culture, cultural values, China

Abstract

Materialism is a trait or a value that influences the goals consumers pursue and the means by which they pursue those goals. Materialism is influenced both by individual characteristics such as social status and income, and by cultural norms. The existing research into materialism in Chinese culture is currently incomplete, failing to acknowledge the dramatic shifts caused by modernity. This review of literature discusses materialism in China and its associations with both traditional aspects of Chinese culture, such as shame, filial piety, and collectivism, and changes brought on by modernity, including industrialization, the emerging middle class, and generational effects.

References

• Ahuvia, A. & Wong, N. (1995) Materialism: Origins and implications for personal well-being. European Advances in Consumer Research 2: 172-178.

• Atay, E. G., Sirgy, M. J., Cicic, M., & Husic, M. (2009) Extending the research in relation to materialism and life satisfaction. Advances in Consumer Research 36: 225-232.

• Belk, R. (1984) Three scales to measure constructs related to materialism: Reliability, validity, and relationships to measures of happiness. Advances in Consumer Research 11(1): 291-297.

• Belk, R. (1985) Materialism: Trait aspects of living in the material world. Journal of Consumer Research 12(3): 265-280.

• Berry, J. (1997) Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review 46(1): 5-68.

• Bond, M. H. (2008) The psychology of the Chinese people. Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

• Browne, B. & Kaldenburg, D. (1997) Conceptualizing self-monitoring: Links to materialism and product involvement. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14(1): 31-44.

• Burroughs, J. E. & Rindfleisch, A. (2002) Materialism and well-being: a conflicting values perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 29: 348-370.

• Burroughs, J. & Rindfleisch, A. (2011) What Welfare? On the definition and domain of consumer research and the foundational role of materialism. In: D. G. Mick (ed.), Transformative consumer research for personal and collective well-being. New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 249-266.

• Chan, K. & McNeal, J. (2003) Parent-child communications about consumption and advertising in China. Journal of Consumer Marketing 20(4): 317-332.

• Chan, K. (2003) Materialism among Chinese children in Hong Kong. International Journal of Advertising and Marketing to Children 4(4): 47-61.

• Chan, K. & Prendergast, G. (2007) Materialism and social comparison among adolescents. Social Behavior and Personality 35(2): 213-228.

• Choi, H. & An, D. (2013) Materialism, quality of life, and the well-being lifestyle of urban consumers: A cross-cultural study of Korea and China. Global Advanced Research Journal of Management and Business Studies 2(5): 245-257.

• Chung, E. & Fischer, E. (2001) When conspicuous consumption becomes inconspicuous: the case of the migrant Hong Kong consumers. Journal of Consumer Marketing 18(6): 474 – 487.

• Churchill, G. & Moschis, G. (1979) Television and interpersonal influences on adolescent consumer learning. Journal of Consumer Research 6(1): 23-35.

• Clark, P., Martin, C., & Bush, A. (2001) The effect of role model influence on adolescents' materialism and marketplace knowledge. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice 9(4): 27-36.

• Cleveland, M. & Chang, C. (2009) Migration and materialism: The roles of ethnic identity, religiosity and generation. Journal of Business Research 62(10): 963-971.

• Cleveland, M., Laroche, M., & Papadopoulos, N. (2009) Cosmopolitanism, consumer ethnocentrism, and materialism: An eight-country study of antecedents and outcomes. Journal of International Marketing 17(1): 116-146.

• CLSA. (2011) China to become the world’s largest market for luxury goods over the next decade. Media Release, 2 February, https://www.clsa.com/about-clsa/media-centre/2011-media-releases/china-to-become-the-worlds-largest-market-for-luxury-goods.php

• Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000) Beyond boredom and anxiety. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Deshpande, R., Hoyer, W., & Donthu, N. (1986) The Intensity of Ethnic Affiliation: A study of the Sociology of Hispanic Consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 13(September): 214-220.

• Doctoroff, T. (2005) Billions: Selling to the New Chinese Consumer. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

• Dodds, R. (2004) The Greeks and the Irrational. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. (Original work published 1951)

• Doherty, K. & Schlenker, B. (1991) Self-consciousness and strategic self-presentation. Journal of Personality, 59(1): 1-18.

• Durvasala, S. & Lysonski, S. (2010) Money, money, money – How do attitudes toward money impact vanity and materialism? The case of young Chinese consumers. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 27(2): 169-179.

• Eastman, J. Goldsmith., R., & Flynn, L. (1999) Status consumption in consumer behavior: Scale development and validation. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 7(3): 41-51.

• Fenby, J. (2012) China's unfinished revolution [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.chathamhouse.org/events/view/182923

• Firat, F. A. & Venkatesh, A. (1995) Liberatory postmodernism and the reenchantment of consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 22(3): 239-267.

• Fitzmaurice, J. & Comegys, C. (2006) Materialism and social consumption. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 14(4): 287-299.

• Forsyth, D. R., O'Boyle, Jr., E. H., & McDaniel, M. A. (2009) East meets est: A meta-analytic investigation of cultural variations in idealism and relativism. Journal of Business Ethics 83: 813-833.

• Freedman, M. (1979) The study of Chinese society. California: Stanford University Press.

• Ger, G. & Belk, R. (1996) Cross-cultural differences in materialism. Journal of Economic Psychology 17(1): 55-77.

• Gu, F. F., Hung, K., & Tse, D. (2005) Determinants for consumption materialism among late adolescents in China. Advances in Consumer Research, 32: 649-650.

• Gu, F. F. & Hung, K. (2009) Materialism among adolescents in China: A historical generation perspective. Journal of Asia Business Studies 3(2): 56-65.

• Hall, E. (1976) Beyond culture. New York, NY: Anchor Books.

• Hartnett, J. & Skowronski, J. J. (2008) Cash, money, woes: The match between a person's level of materialism and the materialistic (or non-materialistic) character of events alters affective forecasts. North American Journal of Psychology 10(3): 647-664.

• Heelas, P., Lash, S. & Morris, P. (eds.) (1996) Detraditionalization: Critical reflections on authority and identity. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, pp. 1-20.

• Hiebert, P. (1985) Anthropological insights for missionaries. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

• Hofstede, G. (2005) Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

• Hofstede, G. (2001) Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Hofstede, G. (1983) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the mind. Administrative Science Quarterly, 132-134.

• Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

• Holt, D. B. (1997) Poststructuralist lifestyle analysis: Conceptualizing the social patterning of consumption in postmodernity. Journal of Consumer Research 23: 326-350.

• Hoyer, W. & MacInnis, D. (2007) Consumer Behavior (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

• Huang, C. C., Lu, L., You, C., & Yen, S. (2012) Impacts of ethical ideology, materialism, and selected demographics on consumer ethics: An empirical study in China. Ethics and Behavior 22(4): 315-331.

• Hung, K., Gu, F. F., & Bennett, C. K. (2007) A social institution approach to identifying generation cohorts in China with a comparison with American consumers. Journal of International Business Studies, 38(5): 836-853.

• Inglehart, R. & Carballo, M. (1997) Does Latin America exist? (and is there a Confucian culture?): A global analysis of cross-cultural differences. Political Science and Politics 30(1): 34-47.

• Inglehart, R. (1981). Post-materialism in an environment of insecurity. American Political Science Review, 75(4): 880-900.

• Jacobs, G. & Smit, E. (2011) Materialism and debt among low-income consumers, http://thoughtprint.usb.ac.za/Pages/USB-Leaders-Lab.aspx

• Jing, L. & Yongyu, G. (2012) A study on the conflict between materialism and traditional Confucian values in college students. Journal of Psychological Science 35(1): 160-164.

• Jones, E. & Nisbett, R. (1971) The actor and the observer: Divergent perceptions of the causesf behavior. New York, NY: General Learning Press.

• Jones, M. (2007) Hofstede, culturally questionnable? Paper presented at the Oxford Business and Economics conference; 24-26 June, Oxford, UK.

• Kasser, T. (2002) The high price of materialism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

• Kasser, T. & Ryan, R. M. (1996) Further examining the American dream: Differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Personality and Social Psychology 22: 280-287.

• Kasser, T., Ryan, R. M., Couchman, C. E. & Sheldon, K. M. (2004) Materialistic values: their causes and consequences. In: T. Kasser and A. D. Kanner (eds.), Psychology and Consumer Culture. Washington, DC: American Psychology Association, pp. 11-28.

• Kluft, R. P. & Foote, B. (1999) Special section: Dissociative disorders. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 53(3): 283-288.

• Kilbourne, W. & LaForge, M. (2010) Materialism and its relationship to individual values. Psychology and Marketing, 27(8): 780-798.

• Lau, S. K. (1982) Society and politics in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.

• Lindridge, A. (2012) Middle class consumption in China and India: All change or retrenchment of cultural positions? Paper presented at Asia Rising: A New Oriental Globalism? Conference; The Open University, Buckinghamshire, UK.

• McCort, D. & Malhotra, N. (1993) Culture and consumer behavior: Toward an understanding of cross-cultural consumer behavior in international marketing. Journal of International Marketing 6(2): 91-127.

• McKinsey. (2012). China’s love for luxury. https://solutions.mckinsey.com/insightschina/_SiteNote/WWW/GetFile.aspx?uri=:/insightschina/default/en-us/aboutus/news/Files/wp2055036759/McKinsey%20InsightsChina%20-%202011%20Luxury%20Consumer%20Report_7fbe9eff-0bfd-4cea-8bc5-2dff874db6d0.pdf

• Micken, K. S. & Roberts, S. D. (1999) Desperately seeking certainty: Narrowing the materialism construct. In: E. J. Arnould and L. M. Scott (eds.), Advances in consumer research. Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research Conference, pp. 513-518.

• Moschis, G. P. (2007) Life course perspective on consumer behavior. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 35: 295-397.

• Moschis, G. P. (1981) Patterns of consumer learning. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 9(2): 110-126.

• Mukerji, C. (1983) From graven images: Patterns of modern materialism. New York, NY: Colulmbia University Press.

• Naisbitt, J. & Naisbitt, D. (2010). China’s megatrends: The eight pillars of a new society. New York, NY: Harper Business.

• Nisbett, R. (2003) The geography of thought: how Asians and Westerners think differently...and why. New York, NY: Free Press.

• Parker, S., Haytko, D., & Hermans, C. (2010) The perception of materialism in a global market: a comparison of younger Chinese and United States consumers. Journal of International Business and Cultural Studies 3: 399-411.

• Piron, F. (2006) China's changing culture: rural and urban consumers' favorite things. Journal of Consumer Marketing 23(6): 327-334.

• Podoshen, J. & Andrzejewksy, S. (2012). An examination of the relationships between materialism, conspicuous consumption, impulse buying and brand loyalty. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice 20(3): 319-333.

• Podoshen, J., Li, L., & Zhang, J. (2010) Materialism and conspicuous consumption in China: A cross-cultural examination. International Journal of Consumer Studies 35: 17-25.

• Polanyi, K. (1944). The great transformation. New York, NY: Rinehart.

• Rassuli, K. & Hollander, S. (1986) Desire: Induced, innate, insatiable? Journal of Macro-Marketing, 6: 4-24.

• Richins, M. & Dawson, S. (1992) A consumer values orientation for materialism and its measurement: Scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer Research 19(3): 303-316.

• Richins, M. L. (2011) Materialism, transformation expectations, and spending: Implications for credit use. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing 30(2): 141-156.

• Rindfleisch, A. & Burroughs, J. E. (2004) Terrifying thoughts, terrible materialism? Contemplations on a terror management account of materialism and consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 4(3): 219-224.

• Roberts, J. A., Manolis, C., & Tanner, J. (2003) Family structure, materialism, and compulsive buying. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 31: 300-311.

• Roberts, J. & Clement, A. (2007). Materialism and satisfaction with overall quality of life and eight life domains. Social Indicators Research, 82(1): 79-92.

• Rogler, L. (2002) Historical generations and psychology: The case of the Great Depression and World War II. American Psychologist 57(12): 1013-1023.

• Rose, P. & DeJesus, S. P. (2007) A model of motivated cognition to account for the link between self-monitoring and materialism. Psychology and Marketing, 24: 93-115.

• Ross, D. (1977) The intuitive psychologist and his shortcomings: Distortions in the attribution process. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 10: 173-220.

• Ryan, E. J. (1961) The value system of a Chinese community in Java. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

• Sahlins, M. (1976) Culture and practical reason. Illinois: University of Chicago Press.

• Schaefer, A., Hermans, C., & Parker, S. (2004) A cross-cultural exploration of materialism in adolescents. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 28(4): 399-411.

• Schiffman, L. & Kanuk, L. (2006) Consumer Behavior (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

• Schouten, J. W. & McAlexander, J. H. (1995) Subcultures of consumption: An ethnography of the new bikers. Journal of Consumer Research, 22(1): 43-61.

• Shao, A. & Herbig, P. (1994) Parent agency influence and control over foreign affiliates: A global advertising perspective. International Journal of Commerce and Management, 4(3): 50-67.

• Sun, G., D’Alessandro, A., & Winzar, H. (2008) Traditional cultural values, political ideologies, and luxury consumption desire in China: A conceptual model. In ANZMAC 2011: conference proceedings.

• Trompenaars, F. & Hampden-Turner, C. (1997) Riding the waves of culture: Understanding diversity in global business. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

• Tse, D. K. (1996) Understanding Chinese people as consumers: Past findings and future propositions. In: M. H. Bond (ed.) The handbook of Chinese psychology. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, pp. 352-363.

• Veblen, T. (1899) The theory of the leisure class: An economic study of institutions. London, UK: Macmillan.

• Ward, S. & Wackman, D. (1971) Family and media influences on adolescent consumer learning. American Behavioral Scientist 14(3): 145-427.

• Watson, J. (2003) The relationship of materialism to spending tendencies, saving and debt. Journal of Economic Psychology, 24(6): 723-739.

• Wei, Y. & Talpade, S. (2007) Materialism of mature consumers in China and USA: A cross-cultural study. Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business, 1: 1-15.

• Wong, N., Shrum, L. J., Arif, F., Chugani, S., Gunz, A., Lowrey, T. M. … Sundie, J. (2011) Rethinking materialism: A process view and some transformative consumer research implications. Journal of Research for Consumers, 19: 1-4.

• Xin, W. (2013) Desperately seeking status: Political social and cultural attributes of China’s rising middle class. Modern China Studies, 20(1): 1-45.

• Zhao, B. (1997) Consumerism, Confucianism, communism: Making sense of China today. New Left Review, 222: 43-59.

Downloads

Published

2016-06-15

How to Cite

Ioane, B. R. (2016). Materialism in China – Review of Literature. Asian Journal of Business and Management, 4(3). Retrieved from https://ajouronline.com/index.php/AJBM/article/view/3934

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 3 (2016): June 2016

Section

Articles

License

  • Papers must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis) and are not currently under consideration by another journal published by any other publisher.
  • It is also the authors responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular source are submitted with the necessary approval.
  • The authors warrant that the paper is original and that he/she is the author of the paper, except for material that is clearly identified as to its original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required.
  • The authors ensure that all the references carefully and they are accurate in the text as well as in the list of references (and vice versa).
  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
  • The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.