Yeqing Bao

A paradox of price–quality and market efficiency: a comparative study of the US and China markets

Abstract The price–quality schema rests on an assumption that price is credible information about product quality. However, the credibility of price information varies across different markets. In an inefficient market, consumers would believe in the price–quality relationship to a lesser extent because price information is less credible. Paradoxically, in such a market, sometimes consumers have to rely more on price to infer quality because other product information is less available. With a cross-national perspective, this study investigated the influences of market efficiency and consumer risk aversion on the price–quality schema between the China and the US markets. We found that due to the inefficient market environment, Chinese consumers possess a weaker price–quality schema than American consumers. Chinese consumers are more risk averse than their American counterparts. However, in China, risk-averse consumers are more likely to use price to infer product quality. Implications for global marketing are discussed, and directions for future research are suggested.

Assessing quality perception of private labels: intransient cues and consumer characteristics

Purpose – This study aims to examine the moderating effects of two important consumer characteristics (product familiarity and risk aversion) on the relationships between two intransient cues (store image and product signatureness) and consumer quality perception of private label, as well as the interaction between the cues themselves.Design/methodology/approach – This paper employs survey research to test three main hypotheses. The authors collected data from parents in an elementary school in a southern state.Findings – The study yields some counterintuitive results. The paper finds that the combination of two diagnostic cues does not necessarily enhance the positive evaluation of private labels. Instead, store image reduces the effect of product signatureness. Further, product familiarity induces a positive moderating effect on product signatureness, whereas risk aversion exerts a negative moderating effect on store image.Originality/value – Prior literature neglects the interactions between cues and c...

Strategic consensus of market orientation: a transitional economy perspective

In transition economies, firms are faced with the challenge of adapting to new competitive pressures domestically and realizing market opportunities abroad. A market orientation is central to such adaptation. Using a multiple-source, multiple-informant design, nearly 4000 employees from 180 Chinese manufacturing firms were surveyed to explore how market orientation evolves. Results show that consensus, about being market oriented, between top managers and non-supervisory employees positively affects firm performance. This consensus is more likely in firms with participative cultures. Interestingly, firm performance was unrelated to middle and top manager consensus and unrelated to middle manager and employee consensus. Also contrary to expectations, the formalization of organizational procedures is not predictive of strategic consensus.

A cross-national study of intergenerational influence: US and PRC

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the intergenerational influence across dyads of mothers and daughters from the United States (US) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with a particular interest in discovering the cross-national differences in terms of the level of mother-daughter brand preference agreement, the directional influence from daughter to mother, and leading factors for the observed differences. Design/methodology/approach Using a parallel survey method, responses were obtained regarding participants’ brand preferences, as well as their perceptions of their dyad partners’ preferences, for 20 product categories. A total of 76 dyads in the US and 114 dyads in PRC were collected. Findings Results not only confirmed the existence of intergenerational influence in mother-daughter dyads’ brand preferences after removing the nominal bias that previous studies commonly suffered, but also suggested two interesting cross-national differences. Specifically, we find that US mother-daugh...