IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/aumajo/v28y2020i4p332-348.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Tiers and fears: An investigation of the impact of city tiers and uncertainty avoidance on Chinese consumer response to creative advertising

Author

Listed:
  • Bilby, Julie
  • Reid, Mike
  • Brennan, Linda
  • Chen, Jiemiao

Abstract

Marketers in China have long used the government's system of city tiers as a de facto segmentation tool. Previous research shows that this has led to assumptions on the part of advertisers about differing levels of conservatism and uncertainty avoidance between city tiers. This in turn has resulted in advertisers’ reluctance to invest in creative advertising, particularly when it is directed at consumers in low tier Chinese cities. This paper investigates potential differences in consumer response to advertising creativity between high (Tier 1–2) and low (Tier 5–6) Chinese cities; the moderating effect of uncertainty avoidance on Chinese consumer processing of creative ads; and the efficacy of tiers as a means of segmenting the complex Chinese marketplace. Findings reveal that regardless of tier, Chinese consumers respond positively to advertising that engages their emotions. Additionally, while Chinese consumers rank high in uncertainty avoidance, this does not moderate their response to creative ads.

Suggested Citation

  • Bilby, Julie & Reid, Mike & Brennan, Linda & Chen, Jiemiao, 2020. "Tiers and fears: An investigation of the impact of city tiers and uncertainty avoidance on Chinese consumer response to creative advertising," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 332-348.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aumajo:v:28:y:2020:i:4:p:332-348
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ausmj.2020.07.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1441358220300677
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ausmj.2020.07.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Glyn Atwal & Douglas Bryson, 2017. "Luxury Brands in China and India," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-54715-6.
    2. Jiemiao Chen & Robert E. Smith, 2018. "The boundaries for ad creativity: effects of type of divergence and brand processing and responses," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(6), pages 561-576, November.
    3. Geuens, Maggie & De Pelsmacker, Patrick & Faseur, Tine, 2011. "Emotional advertising: Revisiting the role of product category," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 418-426, April.
    4. L. Zarantonello & K. Jedidi & B.H. Schmitt, 2013. "Functional and Experiential Routes to Persuasion: An Analysis of Advertising in Emerging vs. Developed Markets," Post-Print hal-00799077, HAL.
    5. Anonymous, 2013. "Introduction to the Issue," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(2), pages 129-130, November.
    6. Zarantonello, Lia & Jedidi, Kamel & Schmitt, Bernd H., 2013. "Functional and experiential routes to persuasion: An analysis of advertising in emerging versus developed markets," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 46-56.
    7. Ruiz, Salvador & Sicilia, Maria, 2004. "The impact of cognitive and/or affective processing styles on consumer response to advertising appeals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(6), pages 657-664, June.
    8. Chris Baumann & Hamin Hamin & Seung Jung (SJ) Yang, 2016. "Work ethic formed by pedagogical approach: evolution of institutional approach to education and competitiveness," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 374-396, July.
    9. Geng Cui & Hongyan Liu & Xiaoyan Yang & Haizhong Wang, 2013. "Culture, cognitive style and consumer response to informational vs. transformational advertising among East Asians: Evidence from the PRC," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 16-31, January.
    10. Agnès Nairn & Robert Heath & David Brandt, 2006. "Brand relationships: strengthened by emotion, weakened by attention," Post-Print hal-02311769, HAL.
    11. Azarnoush Ansari & Arash Riasi, 2016. "An Investigation of Factors Affecting Brand Advertising Success and Effectiveness," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(4), pages 20-30, April.
    12. Liu, Sindy & Perry, Patsy & Moore, Christopher & Warnaby, Gary, 2016. "The standardization-localization dilemma of brand communications for luxury fashion retailers' internationalization into China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 357-364.
    13. Robert Heath & Agnès Nairn & Paul A. Bottomley, 2009. "How effective is creativity? : Emotive content in TV advertising does not increase attention," Post-Print hal-02312552, HAL.
    14. Xiaojing Yang & Robert E. Smith, 2009. "Beyond Attention Effects: Modeling the Persuasive and Emotional Effects of Advertising Creativity," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(5), pages 935-949, 09-10.
    15. Ng, Mark & Law, Monica & Zhang, Serene, 2018. "Predicting purchase intention of electric vehicles in Hong Kong," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 272-280.
    16. Anonymous, 2013. "Introduction to the Issue," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 243-243, December.
    17. Linda Brennan & Lukas Parker & Dang Nguyen & Torgeir Aleti, 2015. "Design Issues in Cross-Cultural Research: Suggestions for Researchers," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Kenneth D. Strang (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Research Design in Business and Management, chapter 6, pages 81-101, Palgrave Macmillan.
    18. Pochun, Tej & Brennan, Linda & Parker, Lukas, 2018. "Advertising effects? An elemental experiment," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 338-349.
    19. Aaker, Jennifer L & Maheswaran, Durairaj, 1997. "The Effect of Cultural Orientation on Persuasion," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 24(3), pages 315-328, December.
    20. McQuarrie, Edward F & Mick, David Glen, 1992. "On Resonance: A Critical Pluralistic Inquiry into Advertising Rhetoric," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 19(2), pages 180-197, September.
    21. Liu, Zhihong & Huang, Songshan (Sam) & Hallak, Rob & Liang, Mingzhu, 2016. "Chinese consumers' brand personality perceptions of tourism real estate firms," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 310-326.
    22. Davis, Lenita & Wang, Sijun & Lindridge, Andrew, 2008. "Culture influences on emotional responses to on-line store atmospheric cues," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(8), pages 806-812, August.
    23. Robert E. Smith & Scott B. MacKenzie & Xiaojing Yang & Laura M. Buchholz & William K. Darley, 2007. "Modeling the Determinants and Effects of Creativity in Advertising," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(6), pages 819-833, 11-12.
    24. Bicen, Pelin & Kamarudin, Suzilawati & Johnson, William H.A., 2014. "Validating new product creativity in the eastern context of Malaysia," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 2877-2883.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Roy, Sanjit Kumar & Balaji, M.S. & Soutar, Geoff & Lassar, Walfried M. & Roy, Rajat, 2018. "Customer engagement behavior in individualistic and collectivistic markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 281-290.
    2. William K. Darley & Jeen-Su Lim, 2023. "Advertising creativity and its effects: a meta-analysis of the moderating role of modality," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 99-111, March.
    3. Bublitz, Melissa G. & Peracchio, Laura A., 2015. "Applying industry practices to promote healthy foods: An exploration of positive marketing outcomes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2484-2493.
    4. Jiemiao Chen & Robert E. Smith, 2018. "The boundaries for ad creativity: effects of type of divergence and brand processing and responses," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(6), pages 561-576, November.
    5. Ranjana Raghunathan, 2022. "Everyday Intimacies and Inter-Ethnic Relationships: Tracing Entanglements of Gender and Race in Multicultural Singapore," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 27(1), pages 77-94, March.
    6. Balint, T. & Lamperti, F. & Mandel, A. & Napoletano, M. & Roventini, A. & Sapio, A., 2017. "Complexity and the Economics of Climate Change: A Survey and a Look Forward," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 252-265.
    7. Lamperti, Francesco & Bosetti, Valentina & Roventini, Andrea & Tavoni, Massimo & Treibich, Tania, 2021. "Three green financial policies to address climate risks," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    8. Songsore, Emmanuel & Buzzelli, Michael, 2014. "Social responses to wind energy development in Ontario: The influence of health risk perceptions and associated concerns," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 285-296.
    9. Tapsuwan, Sorada & Polyakov, Maksym & Bark, Rosalind & Nolan, Martin, 2015. "Valuing the Barmah–Millewa Forest and in stream river flows: A spatial heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation consistent (SHAC) approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 98-105.
    10. Omar Al-Ubaydli & John List & Claire Mackevicius & Min Sok Lee & Dana Suskind, 2019. "How Can Experiments Play a Greater Role in Public Policy? 12 Proposals from an Economic Model of Scaling," Artefactual Field Experiments 00679, The Field Experiments Website.
    11. Nepomuceno, Marcelo Vinhal & Laroche, Michel, 2015. "The impact of materialism and anti-consumption lifestyles on personal debt and account balances," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 654-664.
    12. Bertschek, Irene & Kesler, Reinhold, 2022. "Let the user speak: Is feedback on Facebook a source of firms’ innovation?," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    13. Das, Kallol & Patel, Jayesh D. & Sharma, Anuj & Shukla, Yupal, 2023. "Creativity in marketing: Examining the intellectual structure using scientometric analysis and topic modeling," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    14. Rik Pieters & Michel Wedel, 2012. "Ad Gist: Ad Communication in a Single Eye Fixation," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(1), pages 59-73, January.
    15. Avelino, Flor & Wittmayer, Julia M. & Pel, Bonno & Weaver, Paul & Dumitru, Adina & Haxeltine, Alex & Kemp, René & Jørgensen, Michael S. & Bauler, Tom & Ruijsink, Saskia & O'Riordan, Tim, 2019. "Transformative social innovation and (dis)empowerment," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 195-206.
    16. Gigi Foster, 2020. "The behavioural economics of government responses to COVID-19," Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE), vol. 4(S3), pages 11-43, December.
    17. Audoly, Richard & Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Guivarch, Céline & Pfeiffer, Alexander, 2018. "Pathways toward zero-carbon electricity required for climate stabilization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 884-901.
    18. Gerards, Ruud & Welters, Ricardo, 2016. "Impact of financial pressure on unemployed job search, job find success and job quality," ROA Research Memorandum 008, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    19. Cairns, George & Wright, George & Fairbrother, Peter, 2016. "Promoting articulated action from diverse stakeholders in response to public policy scenarios: A case analysis of the use of ‘scenario improvisation’ method," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 97-108.
    20. Vasile-Daniel Păvăloaia & Elena-Mădălina Teodor & Doina Fotache & Magdalena Danileţ, 2019. "Opinion Mining on Social Media Data: Sentiment Analysis of User Preferences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-21, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:aumajo:v:28:y:2020:i:4:p:332-348. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/australasian-marketing-journal/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.