Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 505–515

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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

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In search of status through brands from Western and Asianorigins: Examining the changing face of fashion clothingconsumption in Chinese young adults

Aron O'Cass n, Vida Siahtiri 1

School of Management, Faculty of Business, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 2 August 2012Received in revised form24 May 2013Accepted 25 May 2013Available online 28 June 2013

Keywords:ConsumerismBrand statusConsumer decision making styleStatus consumptionChinese adults

89/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. Ax.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2013.05.005

espondence to: School of Management, Sans, Commerce Building, Room 217, Private Baga. Tel.: +61 3 6226 7432; fax: +61 3 6226 2170ail addresses: aron.ocass@utas.edu.au (A. O'Cahtiri@utas.edu.au (V. Siahtiri).l.: 61 41 274935; fax: 61 3 6226 2170.

a b s t r a c t

Consumption for many is increasingly underpinned by the search for and creation of identity and statusthrough specific consumption practices, including consumerism and placing a high priority on brands.One product category where such consumption practices underpin its growth and marketing is fashionclothing. The expressive nature of clothing makes it particularly important in societies whereconsumerism and status seeking is a priority. In picking up the significance and the role of fashionclothing, this study explores the impact of Chinese young adults’ consumerism, their status consumptiontendencies and decision-making style on their perceptions of fashion clothing brands’ status, with originsfrom the West versus Asia. The results show that Chinese young adults prefer fashion clothing brandswith Western origins over those with Asian origins. The levels of consumerism, status consumption anddecision-making styles were major contributors to how they perceived the brands, and in this sensewestern fashion clothing brands may communicate status and wealth better than Asian brands. Further,the findings show a willingness on the part of young Chinese adults to buy more than what they needand look for prestigious-symbolic brands of fashion clothing.

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1. Introduction

Living life to the full for many, especially young adults, isincreasingly aligned with consumerism and status seeking aslegitimate pursuits (Goldsmith et al., 2010; Hume, 2010; O'Cassand Frost, 2002; Sheth et al., 2011). As cultural expressions,consumerism and status manifest specific consumption behaviors,especially the desire to possess certain brands that help to achievestatus and help one feel fulfilled. Excessive consumption isembraced by many individuals in search of identity, especiallythose who place a high priority on seeking status and ownershipof specific brands to show their status. Consumerism is a phenom-enon where individuals consume excessively, consume conspicu-ously and consume for self-fulfillment (Stearns, 2006), and suchpractices underpin what is often labeled a consumer society.A consumer society is one where economic and social advancesmanifest visible signs of prosperity through possessions (Chao andMyers, 1998; Wei and Pan, 1999) to the point where possessions

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become a central focus of such a society. In this context, the signsof consumerism include increasing spending power, excessiveconsumption, and extensive choice underpinned by the prolifera-tion of new products and brands, the emergence of fashionableitems, and increasing desires to improve one's status (Chao andMyers, 1998; Stanat, 2006; Wei and Pan, 1999). Individuals areencouraged by society and marketers to pursue status throughfashion which represents a symbol of desired lifestyles, embeddedin specific fashion clothing brands.

Along with the spread of consumerism, there has been pro-liferation of the status brand. The ability of brands to supportindividuals' status desires is a key phenomenon and is nowreferred to as status branding. In the context of status branding,the culture of origin of brands has the capacity to help or hinderthe consumers' ability to obtain the status they seek (O'Cass andLim, 2002). As such, a brands’ origin embeds it deeply within thebroader context of consumerism and is a vital factor in the pursuitof status.

The strong branded element of fashion clothing and its expres-sive nature makes it particularly important in societies whereconsumerism is high and status seeking is a priority (Craik, 1994).Consumerism, status and fashion clothing are entwined (O'Cassand Frost, 2002; Tungate, 2005). Fashion clothing is becoming avehicle for conspicuous consumption for anyone who has upwardaspirations and wishes to signal status (Eastman and Eastman,

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2011; Goldsmith et al., 2010). Fashion clothing is used to signal aperson's status and achievement to others (Husic and Cicic, 2009;O'Cass and Frost, 2002), and in this sense consumers are notbuying clothes but identity, and therefore, the role of fashionbranding is to link the individual's identity to the brand's values(O'Cass and McEwen, 2004; Tungate, 2005). With the applicationof sophisticated marketing commonly seen in a consumer society,the hallmarks of fashion and style are extended to non-elitegroups and thus consumerism and status seeking through pro-ducts and brands are extended to groups outside the realms ofthose in the upper-class (O'Cass and McEwen, 2004; Sheth et al.,2011).

While the notion of consumerism has increasingly been acknowl-edged, little effort has been devoted to studying it from a consumerbehavior perspective, especially through a branding lens. Discussionson consumerism remain focused largely on the elaboration of macro-level consumption patterns or aggregate levels of expenditure (Chaoand Myers, 1998). Research into how an individual's consumerismimpacts their consumer behavior is lacking, and little work focuses onspecific product categories, the role of brands and the effect of brandorigins in status evaluations driven by consumerism. This study seeksto fill this gap by exploring the levels of consumerism of young adultconsumers and how it impacts their status consumption tendencies,consumer decision-making styles and perceptions of brand statusacross fashion clothing brands whose origins are from the West orAsia. Young adults, especially those in emerging economies such asChina are seen as drivers of social and consumer change (Zhang andKim, 2012).

China is used as the focal context and fashion clothing as thefocal object of this research. Fashion clothing is considered a signof status in a consumer society and China is emerging as a majorconsumer society. Therefore, given the impetus created by thegrowth of the young adult Asian consumer and their desire toconsume fashion, this study focuses on examining young Chineseadults’ status perceptions of Western and Asian brands of fashionclothing. It focuses on the interplay of consumerism and statusconsumption dispositions and decision-making style as drivers ofbrand perceptions.

2. Consumerism: A revolution in China

The rise of consumerism in China can be seen in the increasingreference to a “consumer revolution” (Stearns, 2006), whichunderpins unprecedented increases in the consumption of domes-tic (Chan and Cui, 2004) and imported products (Dayal-Gulati andThomas, 2004). In this cultural and economic context Chineseyoung adults are an important generation who desire a life thatincreasingly looks toward aspirations and ambitions embracingconsumerism (Stanat, 2006; Zhang and Kim, 2012). They are opento Western ideas and products (Arora, 2005), and are willing tospend time and money to buy clothing and apparel, especiallyforeign fashion clothing labels (Kwan et al., 2003; McEwen et al.,2006; O'Cass and Choy, 2008; Tungate, 2005).

Due to changes in Chinese citizens’ income, consumptionpatterns have altered, and on the back of such changes interna-tional fashion brands such as Armani, Prada, Chanel and manyothers have moved into China (Tungate, 2005). A growing numberof Western firms are trying to capture the changing tastes ofChinese consumers, especially younger adult consumers who arehungry for brands (The Economist, 2005). These young adults haveshifted their choice of clothing style and search for clothing fromspecific origins (O'Cass and Choy, 2008). Young adults appear tohave a significant desire for brands that originate from specificcountries or regions (O'Cass and McEwen, 2004) indicating thatbrand origin is a significant factor in purchase behavior.

The spread of status consumption and importance of brands toindividuals are two important phenomena which have convergedand are seen in a new generation of young adult consumers whoembrace consumerism as China becomes more affluent (Stanat,2006). This cohort is increasingly influential in public policy andprioritizing the development of the nation's movement towards aconsumer society (Arora, 2005; Stanat, 2006). China's young adultsrepresent approximately 240 million out of its total population.These individuals are active information seekers and stronglyoriented towards Western brands (O'Cass and Choy, 2008). Theylike to spend money on brands that can differentiate them fromothers (Li and Fung Research Centre, 2005; O'Cass and Choy,2008). These characteristics provide an excellent context toinvestigate consumerism, brand status and their relationship withstatus consumption and decision-making style in this emergingeconomy.

2.1. Status consumption

Status consumption is the tendency of individuals to seek prestigeand recognition from the acquisition and consumption of products(see also O'Cass and Frost, 2002). Status conscious consumers gen-erally have a distinct pattern of consumption (O'Cass and Choy, 2008).Their patterns of consumption can be seenwithin the phenomenon ofconsumerism. Consumerism is a state where consumption is excessiveand conspicuous, and self-fulfillment is sought through excessiveconsumption. To this end we contend that when seeking status, thepurchase of specific goods is given priority in societies that havehigher levels of consumerism, and in this sense consumerism is a keydriver of status consciousness (as shown in Fig. 1). In consumersocieties there is a movement toward the consumption of statussymbols, not generic products and this gives rise to the status brand.As such, the symbolic meaning of a brand is seen as more importantthan the generic object itself. It is the symbolic value of the brand thatassists in identity-making (see also O'Cass and Frost, 2002; Sarup,1996).

The convergence of the Chinese psyche and growing affluencehas seen significant focus by specific groups on brands. During thelast few decades, China has experienced significant socio-political–economic changes driven ostensibly by opening up its borders andrapid economic development (Kaigler-Walker and Gilbert, 2009).Chinese consumers in general have strong and increasing aspira-tions for luxury goods. Chinese status seeking consumers areprone to focus more on needs that are externally social ratherthan internally individualized. The symbolic value of products andcertain brands carries status in China (Adams, 2011; O'Cass andChoy, 2008) and as such, symbolic, status laden products andbrands are sought to obtain a desired image, because image is animportant concern.

Chinese consumers appear to be placing increasing importanceon material goods (Paek and Pan, 2004; Sun and Wu, 2004) andincreasingly look for luxury products that enhance their status(Movius, 2005). Further, they see consumption as a pleasure, andare enthusiastic about fashion and style (Tai, 2005). They associatesuccess with consumption of Western brands (Dickson et al., 2004;Smith and Wylie, 2004). Individuals high in consumerism areprone to place a higher priority on ownership of status ladenbrands (O'Cass and McEwen, 2004; O'Cass and Choy, 2008). Statusbrands can be used to create and express identity (see alsoEastman and Eastman, 2011; Goldsmith et al., 2010) and supportthe desire for self-fulfillment and conspicuous consumption whichare key characteristics of those high in consumerism. As such, it isexpected that the underlying nature of consumerism (manifestthrough practices such as excessive consumption, self-fulfillmentthrough consumption, and conspicuous consumption) directlyaffect individuals’ status consumption. Therefore,

Fig. 1. Theoretical model of drivers of perceived brand status.

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H1. Consumerism is positively related to status consumptionamong Chinese young adults.

2.2. Consumer decision-making style

Consumer decision-making style (CDMS) focuses on consu-mers’ mental orientation characterizing their approach makingpurchases (Sproles and Kendall, 1986). CDMS focuses on applyingspecific decision criterion embedded in notions quality, brand,fashion, recreational, and price consciousness which providedecision criterion for influencing shopping behaviors and makingpurchases. Individuals high in consumerism enjoy shopping andsee it as a source of pleasure. Shopping centers are not solely forthe display of products, they also serve as a platform to displaysigns and symbols in an effort to affect consumers’ decision-making (Gabriel and Tim, 2006; Stanat, 2006). This view ofshopping is now seen extensively in countries such as China,with growth in upper-market, mall style shopping premised onWestern style shops and shopping experiences.

Fig. 1 articulates the contention that consumerism positivelyinfluences consumer's decision-making style. Those high in con-sumerism are more likely to enact specific decision-making stylesthat are underpinned by heightened consciousness of quality,brands, fashion and the like as mentioned above when purchasingproducts or making choices about which brands to choose. This isespecially so for choices within status oriented categories such asfashion clothing. Previous research on Chinese consumer decision-making style, though not extensive, depicts them as extensiveinformation seekers (Fan and Jing, 1998), holding hedonic atti-tudes toward shopping (Wong et al., 2004; Zhou et al., 2010),being fashion oriented (Tai, 2005; Wang et al., 2004), placingimportance on Western brands (Dickson et al., 2004; Smith andWylie, 2004). These characteristics underlie their decision-makingstyle. Considering that these factors underlie decision making styleit is expected that increasing levels of consumerism will affectdecision-making styles. Therefore,

H2. Consumerism is positively related to consumer decision-making style among Chinese young adults.

Fashion clothing is seen by many as a luxury product thatconveys individual status (Wong and Ahuvia, 1998). To achievestatus through the consumption of branded products such asfashion clothing, specific decision-making styles will be enacted

by consumers. As indicated above, CDMS focuses on applyingspecific decision criterion. These reflect the underlying consumerdecision-making styles adopted by individuals. Status consumersdesire high status brands which are socially or publicly visible(Chao and Schor, 1998). They have heightened levels of brand,fashion and quality consciousness (Goldsmith et al., 2010). Thismental orientation is likely a manifestation of the degree of statusconsciousness possessed by individuals.

Chinese consumers increasingly enjoy shopping, and view it asa social activity (Fram et al., 2004). They like quality shoppingexperiences, communicating with the sales person to obtainadvice and intelligence on products, particularly in areas such asfashion clothing and clothing trends. They have increased theirstandards on choosing apparel, and tend to choose clothes thatreflect their personalities (Kwan et al., 2003). For young adultChinese consumers there should be significant relationshipbetween status consumption and their decision-making style, asoutlined in Fig. 1. Status consumption has the capacity to provide amajor impetus or influencing force on CDMS. Therefore,

H3. Status consumption is positively related to consumerdecision-making style among Chinese young adults.

2.3. Perceived brand status

The increasing spending power of young adult Chinese hasprovided the impetus for many retailers and fashion clothingbrands catering to this young adult segment to enter the Chinesemarket. Young adults appear to have a significant desire for brandsand more specifically brands that originate from specific countriesor regions (O'Cass and McEwen, 2004). Among the many factorswhich are believed to influence perceptions of brands—brandorigin has received significant attention (O'Cass and Lim, 2002).Thakor and Kohli (1996, p.27) also addressed a similar concern tothose studying country of origin, introducing the concept of brandorigin to the literature, defining it as “the place, region or country towhich a brand is perceived to belong to by its target consumers”.Brands of a Western origin are successful in Southeast Asia. Brandsof a Western origin are in a general sense perceived morefavorably and rated as superior to brands of an Eastern origin byyoung adults in many Asian countries (see O'Cass and Lim, 2002;O'Cass and Choy, 2008).

Brand perceptions raise a number of important issues, espe-cially in relation to perceived brand status. Perceived brand status

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refers to the consumers’ assigned level of status a brand possesses.A brand's status encapsulates the level of prestige and its capacityto symbolize success in the minds of consumers (Bhat andSrinivas, 1998; O'Cass and Frost, 2002). The perception held byconsumers’ of a specific brand is believed to be affected by theirstatus consumption tendencies which directly impacts the level ofstatus ascribed to a brand being evaluated. As many consumers seeclothing as a means of self-expression (Michaelidou and Dibb,2006), the existence of perceived differences in brand status canstem from many factors including country of origin, which isexpected to be distinguishable by status conscious consumers.When purchasing fashion clothing which is a status laden productcategory, country-of-brand origin is an important factor (Kwanet al., 2003), as the origin of the brand has the capacity to transferthe perceived culture of the brand origin into the brand (O'Cassand Lim, 2002). Therefore, it is expected that status consumerswill react to brands from dissimilar origins in different ways.

The relationship between status consumption and brand statusillustrated in Fig. 1 articulates the view that young adult Chineseconsumers are brand conscious and in general will see westernbrands as possessing higher status. The higher status stems fromhigher quality, stylish designs, credibility of Western brands (CNN.Money, 2012), and most importantly the notion of the culture ofthe West transferred to such brands (O'Cass and Lim, 2002). Asstatus conscious consumers appreciate brands that convey higherstatus, it is expected that reactions to brands from Western vs.Asian origins will be discernible on status by Chinese young adultconsumers. Therefore,

H4. Status consumption is (a) is not-significantly related toperceived brand status of Asian brands, and (b) positively relatedto perceived brand status for Western brands among Chineseyoung adults.

In the process of decision making, status conscious consumersare out to purchase the “right” brands to differentiate themselves(Goldsmith et al., 2010) and their preferences are based onavailable brand information (Rajagopal, 2010) or stimuli relatedto the brand (Truong et al., 2010). Status conscious consumers willpurchase certain brands that are meaningful (Eastman andEastman, 2011; O'Cass and McEwen, 2004) in assisting them todefine their role and identity (O'Cass, 2004). Further, statusconscious consumers prefer heavily branded products (Phau andLeng, 2008) because they assist them to obtain social value (Clarket al., 2007; Han et al., 2010) and demonstrate their uniqueness(Clark et al., 2007).

Placed in the context of perceptions of brand status, decision-making style may affect the perception of the status of differentbrands with dissimilar origins. For example, East Asians consu-mers tend to prefer international brands, especially luxury brandseven when they have low economic power (Liao and Wang, 2009).In this context the origin and brand name have the capacity todeliver value and affect the perception of value (Tsai, 2005), andthus affect the status ascribed to a brand. Brands of a Westernorigin are seen more favorably, and are seen as superior to brandsof an Asian origin by young adult Asian consumers (Liao andWang, 2009; O'Cass and Lim, 2002). They especially desire brandsthat are distinctive and represent their personal style (Smith andWylie, 2004) and success (Dickson et al., 2004), a key foundationfor successful fashion clothing brands. Therefore, it is expectedthat CDMS affects perceptions of the level of brand status bytaking into account the origin of the brand. Thus,

H5. Consumer decision-making style is (a) not-significantlyrelated to perceived brand status of Asian brands and(b) positively related to perceived brand status of Western brandsamong Chinese young adults.

3. Research design

To gather the data to test the hypotheses, a survey wasdesigned and administered to a sample of young Chinese adultsin a specific region in China. We collected data using an interceptadministered survey of university students at two Chinese uni-versities in a major city in the south of China. Student consumersare appropriate for the study because they have considerableexperience in the marketplace, clothing is a major purchasecategory for them, and they represent a large segment of futureconsumers (Lim and O'Cass, 2001). Their role as future consumersin product categories such as clothing is important. On this pointthe contentions of both Zhou et al. (2010) and Lim and O'Cass(2001) provide support for studying university students as youngadult consumers. Couched within their arguments is the view thatstudents are significant future consumers because when theygraduate they gain employments and the ability to acquire thecapacity for purchasing within many consumer product categories.Zhou et al. (2010) also indicate when moving into this stage theyare among the most affluent consumers in China and tend to leadthe market in purchasing goods and services. Student sampleshave also previously provided data for many studies about statusconsumption and branding (see Goldsmith and Clark, 2012; O'Cassand Choy, 2008), and fashion clothing is an important category foruniversity students (O'Cass, 2000). They are in many ways arelatively homogeneous segment according to Lysonski et al.(1995) and Zhou et al. (2010) in a sampling context in respect ofdemographic and socioeconomic backgrounds

3.1. Measures

3.1.1. ConsumerismConsumerism was measured by items drawn from Wei and Pan

(1999) which comprises three components: excessive consump-tion, self-fulfillment, and conspicuous consumption. The consu-merism measure used in this study consisted of 16 items, of which,five items measure excessive consumption, six items measure self-fulfillment, and five items measure conspicuous consumption.The measurement items are shown in Appendix A. The constructof consumerism was operationalized as a higher order type IIformative constructs (c.f. Jarvis et al., 2003). In this configuration,consumerism is formed by excessive consumption, self-fulfillment,and conspicuous consumption.

3.1.2. CDMSConsumer decision-making style was measured using the

approach of Sproles and Kendall (1986). CDMS comprises eightcomponents covering quality conscious, brand conscious, fashionconscious, recreational conscious, price conscious, confusion byover-choice, impulsive buying and habitual/brand loyalty (see alsoRook and Fisher, 1995). A total of 35 items were used to tap theeight dimensions of CDMS.

The constructs of consumer decision-making style was oper-ationalized as a higher order type II formative constructs (c.f. Jarviset al., 2003). In this configuration, consumer decision-making styleis formed by quality consciousness, brand consciousness, fashionconsciousness, recreational consciousness, price consciousness,confusion by over-choice, impulsive buying, and habitual/brandloyalty which all possess reflective indicators.

3.1.3. Status consumptionStatus consumption was measured via six items adopted from

the work of O'Cass and Frost (2002).

A. O'Cass, V. Siahtiri / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 505–515 509

3.1.4. Perceived brand statusPerceived brand status was measured by eight items adopted

from O'Cass and Choy (2008).

3.1.5. Brand stimuliFour brands (visuals) were used as stimuli in the study. The

choice of brand stimuli was based on the extent that the brandswere generally familiar to the target group of respondents and thebrands’ distinct market positioning in terms of brand appeal toyoung adult consumers including advertising appeals, price differ-entials and identifying brand origins.

Further, pretesting and pre-study screening examined thefamiliarity of the sample with the selected brands. The imageand the name of brands were provided to respondents and theywere asked to indicate their familiarity with the proposed brand(on a 7-point scale from not at all familiar to very familiar), andwhether or not they owned (rated on a yes-no scoring) and hadany intention of purchasing it (7 point scale from no intention tovery strong intention). The preliminary testing and screeningresulted in the retention of four brands after filtering out thebrands that had low familiarity, ownership and purchase intentionscores. The four selected brands were Calvin Klein, Esprit, Giordanoand Yishion. In China, Calvin Klein and Esprit are Western brandswith strong status appeal (O'Cass and Choy, 2008; Tungate, 2005)and priced comparatively higher than the other two Asian brands—Giordano and Yishion which have significantly stronger massmarket penetration (Fellman, 2006; Financial Times, 2006).

All items were measured via a 7-point Likert scale with endpoints labeled as “strongly disagree” and “strongly agree” and allpole points numbered from 1 to 7.

Four permutations of the surveys were developed, each identi-fying one brand. The questionnaires were designed in English andtranslated into Chinese before being administered. The translationprocess included forward and back translation to ensure theoriginal meanings of scale items were captured (Brislin, 1986;Wang and Wallendorf, 2006). Further, pilot testing was conductedbefore final data collection to examine the readability of items,instructions, and time taken to complete the survey and to test thefour brand stimuli.

The survey was administered to 600 university students inChina via a self-completed intercept administration method. Datawere collected via intercept method around two university cam-puses. Students were approached and provided with a descriptionof the study and asked if they wished to participate in the study. Ifthey agreed, they were asked if they had purchased recently, orcurrently owned one of the four focal brands being used as thebrand stimuli. If they agreed, they were then offered one of foursurveys based on them choosing the one they recently purchasedor owned.

Table 1Preliminary results for construct measures.

Constructs and items Cronbach alpha Range of loading AVE

Consumerism1. Excessive consumption 0.82 0.66–0.77 0.582. Self fulfilment 0.86 0.58–0.84 0.643. Conspicuous consumption 0.87 0.73–0.82 0.65Consumer decision-making style4. Quality conscious 0.82 0.64–0.86 0.655. Brand conscious 0..80 0.66–0.80 0.626. Fashion conscious 0.89 0.77–0.84 0.647. Recreational conscious 0.86 0.49–0.88 0.718. Price conscious 0.89 0.80–0.88 0.769. Confusion by over choice 0.84 0.67–0.86 0.6110. Impulsive buying 0.76 0.50–0.80 0.5011. Habitual brand 0.88 0.72–0.87 0.67Status consumption 0.87 0.59–0.90 0.56Brand status 0.95 0.77–0.90 0.74

4. Results

Out of the 600 surveys distributed, 460 were surveys returned,yielding a response rate of 76.6%. Around 30% of questionnaireswere completed by males and about 70% by females. The ages ofrespondents ranged from 18 to 25 and the mean age of therespondents was 22 years. Specifically, we obtained completed11 surveys from those aged 18 years, 29 from 19 years old, 23 from20 years old, 96 from 21 years old, 193 from 22 years old, 80 from23 years old, 21 from 24 years old and 18 from those aged 25 years.

While we sampled in a specific region, some of the respondentscame from other cities in China. Among the respondents, some55% came from Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Provincelocated in the south of China, and the others came from over 60different cities in China. An analysis of the brand stimuli used in

the questionnaires showed that respondents were quite evenlydistributed among the four brands, namely, Calvin Klein at 25.0%,Esprit at 24.8%, Giordano at 24.3% and Yishion at 25.9%.

4.1. Analytical strategy

The analytical strategy adopted in the study consisted of twophases. The first phase focused on preliminary analysis, while thesecond phase focused on testing of hypotheses. Partial least squares(PLS), specifically Smart-PLS 2 was used to assess the adequacy ofouter measurement models and the predictive relevance of the innerstructural model. The selection of PLS was based on a number ofcriteria. First, it allows the specification of relationships among theconstructs of interest and the measures underlying each construct,resulting in simultaneous analysis of (1) how well the measures relateto each construct and (2) whether or not the hypothesized relation-ships are empirically valid (Limayem et al., 2007). Second, as a result ofincluding reflective and formative constructs (e.g., consumerism andconsumer decision-making style operationalized as a first-order–second order type II model containing reflective 1st order compo-nents, and formative 2nd order configuration), and non-normality ofsome of the data (preliminary analysis identified several items thatwere outside the normal 72 range for skew and kurtosis thusindicating a sufficient level of non-normality of data), PLS was seenas more appropriate than covariance based structural equationmodeling (Hair et al., 2011) in this regard. Third, PLS was seen asappropriate as the main objective of the study was concerned withmaximizing the prediction of respective constructs (Hair et al., 2011).The procedure adopted is similar to that used by Carlson and O'Cass(2011) when analyzing models using PLS with formative and reflectiveconstructs and 1st order–2nd order configurations. In the first phase,we used partial least squares (PLS) to examine construct factorloadings, weights, AVEs (average variance explained) and reliabilities.In the second phase, the hypotheses were then tested using PLS.In this study, the adequacy and significance of reflective outer-measurement models were assessed through examination of a rangeof indices including individual indicator loadings, weights, compositereliability, and average variance explained (AVE), bootstrap t-statistic,convergent validity, and discriminant validity.

4.2. Preliminary results-outer measurement models

As shown in Table 1, the outer-measurement models demon-strated acceptable bootstrap critical ratios (t-statistics) meetingthe recommended benchmarks of 41.96. The preliminary analysisof the scales is presented in Table 1. The analysis shows that theindicator loadings of all measures for all constructs ranged

A. O'Cass, V. Siahtiri / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 505–515510

between 0.49 and 0.90. The Cronbach Alphas of all constructsranged between 0.76 and 0.95, AVEs were in the range of 0.50–0.76, and composite reliabilities ranged from 0.76 to 0.95. As suchthe preliminary analysis supports the suitability of the measures.

We collected data using single-informant surveys, and as suchcommon method bias may be a potential issue (Podsakoff and Organ,1986). We addressed this issue in two stages. First, we conducted aHarmon's single-factor test that shows no single factor accounted forthe majority of the variance (the first factor accounted for 10.79% ofthe 71.54% explained variance). Second, we followed Lindell andWhitney (2001) and Malhotra et al. (2006) and used the marker-variable technique. We selected city where the respondent was from(coded as 0 being from Guangdong Province and 1 being from outsidethis province) as a marker variable to control for common methodvariance (rM¼0.012, p¼0.09). The mean change in correlations of thefocal constructs (rU−rA) when partialling out the effect of rM was 0.03,providing no evidence of common method bias.

We followed the recommendation of Shook et al. (2004) andexamined convergent validity using the composite reliability. Asshown in the third column of Table 2, the composite reliability forall constructs (ranging from 0.86 to 0.94) were above the thresholdof.70 (Fornell and David, 1981), demonstrating satisfactory con-vergent validity. Further, we followed the procedure outlined byNgo and O'Cass (2009) to assess discriminant validity of theconstructs, which indicate that discriminant validity is evidentwhen the correlation between any two constructs is not higherthan their respective reliability estimates. We found that noindividual correlations (0.06 to 0.61) were higher than theirrespective composite reliabilities (0.86 to 0.94).

4.3. Hypothesis testing

We used partial least squares (PLS) to test the hypothesizedrelationships as depicted in Fig. 1. We chose SMART PLS 2. PLSfocuses on the explanation of variance using ordinal least squares,and is better suited for the investigation of relationships in a

Table 2Construct-level measurement statistics and correlation matrix.

Constructs Mean SD Compos

Brand status 3.68 1.41 0.94Consumer decision-making style 4.39 0.70 NAConsumerism 3.65 1.07 NAStatus consumption 4.60 1.28 0.86

Note: CR not reported as constructs are formative.

Table 3Partial least squares results for theoretical model.

Predicted variables Predictor variables Path we

Hypothesis 1 to 3H1 Status consumption Consumerism 0.31H2 Consumer decision style Consumerism 0.44H3 Consumer decision style Status consumption 0.54AVAHypothesis 4 to 5Model 1 Asian brands H4a–H5aH4aPerceived brand status Status consumption 0.08H5a Perceived brand status Consumer decision style −0.09AVA 0.24Model 2 Western brands H4b–H5bH4b Perceived brand status Status consumption 0.26H5b Perceived Brand Status Consumer decision style 0.14AVA

a Exceeds minimum acceptable level 0.015.b Exceeds minimum acceptable level 1.96.

predictive rather than a confirmatory fashion (O'Cass and Ngo,2011). In this study the primary concern is with maximizing theprediction of the endogenous constructs. With respect to thepredictive relevance of individual paths, we computed thestrength and significance of individual paths to test the hypoth-eses. We used bootstrapping with replacement, as the estimationprocedure to assess the significance of the model. Because of thenature of the hypotheses we tested hypotheses H1–H3 on a singledata set and for H4 and H5 the data were then split into Westernbrands in one data set and Asian brands in the other. We ran 1000bootstrapping runs, with sub-samples set at 70% of the number ofcases in data set. Particularly, beta coefficients, t-values, individualpath variance, along with R2 for the endogenous construct werecalculated and are reported in Table 3.

The results indicate that the majority of path weights (rangingbetween 0.08 and 0.51), are significant. Specifically, the bootstrappedcritical ratios (CRs—t-values) and path variances have magnitudesabove the acceptable benchmarks for all paths where significantpositive effects were predicted. The R2 values are greater than therecommended 10 (Falk and Nancy, 1992) for all of the predictedconstructs where positive effects were predicted. The R2 for perceivedstatus brand for Asian brands was not significant as expected. Inrelation to H1, consumerism was predicted to be positively related tostatus consumption. The results support H1 with path weight 0.31(t-value 15.41; path variance 0.03). For H2, we predicted thatconsumerism is positively related to consumer decision-making style.The results provide evidence supporting H2 with path weight 0.44(t-value 8.76; path variance 0.05).

In H3, it was predicted that status consumption is positivelyrelated to consumer decision-making style. As shown in Table 3the results support this hypothesis. The path weigh for thishypothesis is 0.54, t-value is 6.48, and path variance is 0.04.

The paths in Model 1 which address H4 and H5 focus on theAsian brands (low status brands). The focal paths that relate to theperceived brand status are insignificant as predicted. Further,these same paths were positive and significant as predicted in

ite reliability 1 2 3 4

1.0000.09 1.0000.06 0.61 1.0000.15 0.53 0.46 1.000

ights Variance due to path R2 Critical ratio

0.03a 15.41b

0.05a 0.44 8.76b

0.04a 0.29 6.48b

0.36

0.05b 1.470.07b 0.01 1.37

0.24

0.05b 4.93a

0.05b 0.14 2.70a

0.28

Table 4Tests comparing results across the two brand groups: Low and high status brands.

Results of brand stimuli comparability of Asian V Western brand models

Hypotheses and paths Asian brandmodel

Western brandmodel

t-value

Pathweights

SE Pathweights

SE

H4 Brand status—Statusconsumption

0.08 0.05 0.26 0.05 −38.60

H5 Brand status—CDMS −0.09 0.07 0.14 0.05 −40.51

A. O'Cass, V. Siahtiri / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 505–515 511

the high status Western brand group in Model 2. Overall, in H4astatus consumption was predicted to be non-significantly relatedto perceived brand status for low status Asian brands, and theresults support this prediction (path weight 0.08; t-value 1.47;path variance 0.05). In H4b, it is predicted that status consumptionis positively related to perceived brand status for high statusWestern brands. The results provided in Table 3 support thishypothesis (path weight 0.26; t-value 4.93; path variance 0.05).H5a predicted a non-significant relationship between consumerdecision-making style and perceived brand status for low statusbrands and the results support this relationship (path weight−0.09; t-value 1.37; path variance 0.07). H5b has predicted thatconsumer decision-making style is positively related to perceivedbrand status for high status brands. The results presented inTable 3 support this hypothesis (path weight 0.14; t-value 2.70;path variance 0.05).

Further, to test H4 and H5 we used the procedure outlined byGrace and O'Cass (2005) where the estimates of the re-samplingare treated in a parametric manner, through t-tests. To undertakethis test, a parametric assumption was made and the standarderrors were taken from the bootstrapped outputs for the structuralpaths provided through the PLS analysis. The t-tests were thencalculated manually to determine the differences in paths betweenAsian brand group and Western brand group respondents.2

The results of the differences examining the strengths ofrelationships are shown in Table 4. As shown in Table 4, thet-tests focusing the differences in the effect of CDMS and statusconsumption on individuals’ perceptions of Western brands andAsian brands indicated there are differences as predicted. In H4the t-value was −38.60, and H5 t-value was −40.51 which arenegative and significant. Our results show that individuals whoevaluated the Asian brands saw these as having less status thanthose who evaluated the Western brands.

4.3.1. Model fitHaving assessed the adequacy of the measurement models, the

predictiveness of the inner-structural model and differences inevaluations across Western and Asian brands, we used thegoodness-of-fit index (GoF) adopted by O'Cass and Ngo (2011) toassess the fit of both the outer-measurement and inner-structuralmodels to the data simultaneously. We drew upon the categoriza-tion of R2 effect sizes, using the cut-off value of 0.5 for common-ality and GoF criteria for small, medium, and large effect sizes of0.1, 0.25 and 0.36 respectively (e.g., Ngo and O'Cass, 2009) toexamine GoF. The GoF is computed by taking the square root of theproduct of the average communality of all constructs and theaverage R2 value of the endogenous constructs as:

GoF¼ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffifficommunality � R2

q. The computed GoF for the Asian

brand model 1 is 0.34 and Western brand model 2 is 0.36,indicating good fit of the models to the data.

5. Discussion and implications

The focus of this study was on contributing to the literaturethrough examining the role of consumerism and decision makingstyle in driving status consumption and individuals perceptions ofhigh and low status (Western versus Asian) fashion clothingbrands in China. In this pursuit we examine the interplay of young

2 Spooled ¼ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffif½ðN1−1Þ=ðN1 þ N2−2Þ� � SE2

1 þ ½ðN2−1Þ=ðN1 þ N2−2Þ� � SE21g

qThen:

t¼ðPC1−PC2Þ=½Spooled �ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffið1=N1Þ þ ð1=N2Þ

p� where: SPooled¼pooled estimator for

the variance; t¼t statistic with N1+N2−2 degrees of freedom; N1¼sample size ofdataset for study 1; N2¼sample size of dataset for study 2; SEi¼standard error ofpath in structural model of I, PCi¼path coefficient in structural model of i.

adult Chinese individual's levels of consumerism with their per-ceptions of brand status (BS) through their status consumption(SC) tendencies and consumer decision-making style (CDMS).

Our focus and contribution was built on the premise thatresearch into how an individual's consumerism impacts theirconsumer behavior is lacking, and little existing research focuseson specific product categories such as fashion clothing. Further, wecontribute by identifying the role of brands and the effect of brandorigins on status evaluations driven by consumerism. This studyfills this gap by exploring the level of consumerism of Chineseyoung adult consumers and how it impacts their status consump-tion tendencies, consumer decision-making styles and perceptionsof brand status across brands whose origins are Western andAsian. Fashion clothing is considered a sign of status in a consumersociety and China is emerging as a major consumer society.Therefore, given the impetus created by the growth of the youngAsian consumer, especially young Chinese, and their desire toconsume fashion, this study contributes to this important area byexamining young adult Chinese perceived brand status of Westernand Asian fashion clothing brands. We identify the interplay ofconsumerism, as well as status consumption dispositions anddecision-making style as drivers of brand perceptions.

Past studies in the area of status consumption are underpinnedby motivations for status and even conspicuous consumption (i.e.,Goldsmith and Clark, 2012; O'Cass and Frost, 2002; O'Cass andMcEwen, 2004; Zhang and Kim, 2012). In much of this literature,samples have tended to be drawn often fromwealthier consumers.This approach makes sense within a narrow definition of status,especially when products and the focus is on luxury consumption,but aspirations and purchase behavior can exist independently ofreal wealth, income and status. Growth of consumers’ disposableincomes has enabled middle and lower-class consumers across theglobe to aspire to the lifestyle of the wealthy and to become statusconscious consumers (Miles Homer, 2008; Rusli, 2010; Silversteinand Fiske, 2005). This study includes students using aspirational-oriented constructs rather than actual achievement constructs.The relationship between consumerism, decision-making style,status, and brand status proves to be very salient, suggesting thatpurchasing status clothing brands as a self-reward may be apowerful way to satisfy one's need for self-enhancement of one'sstatus.

This research makes two important contributions to the statusliterature. First, the study extends the debate on the relativeimportance of new drivers of status beyond those which havebeen the focus on much attention such as involvement, materi-alism and the like in the purchase of status brands. We confirm theimportance of two variables called consumerism and consumerdecision-making style in underpinning status consciousness inconsumers. Prior research has focused heavily on the role ofmaterialism (i.e., Goldsmith and Clark, 2012; Kim et al., 2012;Lertwannawit and Mandhachitara, 2012), which accords withthe practice of marketers of status brands communicating with

A. O'Cass, V. Siahtiri / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 505–515512

consumers through themes built around possessiveness. However,recently some researchers have given more consideration to theroles of a wider array of consumer characteristics in the consumer

Table A1List of items used.

Consumer decision-making style

HQ01 When it comes to purchasing products, I try to get the highest quality producHQ02 In general, I usually try to buy the best overall qualityHQ03 I make special effort to choose the very best quality productsHQ04 My standards and expectations for the products I buy are very highBC01 The well-known brands are generally the bestBC02 I prefer buying the best-selling brandsBC03 When buying I focus heavily on the brand namesBC04 When buying I always look for the well known brandsNF01 I keep up-to-date with the changing (i.e. latest) fashionsNF02 The latest fashionable, attractive styling is important to meNF03 I generally try to keep up to date with the latest fashionsNF04 I am fashion consciousRS01 Shopping is a pleasant activity to meRS02 Going shopping is an enjoyable activity for meRS03 I enjoy shopping just for the fun of itRS04 It's fun to shop for something new and excitingPC01 I will shop at more than one store to take advantage of low pricesPC02 The money saved by finding low prices is usually worth the time and effortPC03 I would shop at more than one store to find low pricesPC04 The time it takes to find low prices is usually worth the effortCO01 There are so many brands to choose from, that I often feel confusedCO02 The more I learn about products, the harder it seems to choose the best brandCO03 I am often confused about what brand to buyCO04 When shopping its hard to know what brand to chooseCO05 All the information I get on different products and brands confuses meIC01 I often buy things spontaneouslyIC02 I often buy things without thinkingIC03 “I see it, I buy it” describes meIC04 Sometimes I am a bit impulsive about what I buyIC05 “Just do it” describes the way I buy thingsHB01 I have favorite brands I buy over and overHB02 Once I find a brand I like, I stick with itHB03 I always shop at the same storesHB04 I am loyal to certain stores and brandsHB05 I always buy the same brands

Status consumptionSC01 Some products and brands are status symbolsSC02 Some products and brands are prestigiousSC03 Status products and brands are a reflection of wealthSC04 Status products and brands are a reflection of an achievementSC05 Status products and brands are a reflection of successSC06 The status of products and brands are important to me

Perceived brand statusSB01 ……….is prestigiousSB02 ……….is a brand that symbolizes statusSB03 ……….is a distinctive brandSB04 ……….is a sophisticated brandSB05 ……….is held in high esteemSB06 ……….indicates successSB07 ……….indicates wealthSB08 ……….is an exclusive brand

ConsumerismEX01 I find myself excessively acquiring products and servicesEX02 Consuming excessively describes meEX03 I often have unexplainable urges, a sudden and spontaneous desire, to buy thEX04 As soon as I enter a shopping centre (or a shop), I have an irresistible urge toEX05 Some people find that when they're out shopping, they can't help themselves a

often happens to meSF01 I see the consumption of goods and services as a way of enhancing the qualitSF02 I get pleasure from buyingSF03 I get self-fulfillment from buyingSF04 When I buy lots of products I feel a sense of achievementSF05 Self-fulfillment comes through what I can buySF06 I feel really fulfilled in life by all the products I ownCC01 When others see me using status products, I gain their respectCC02 I buy products to be noticed by othersCC03 When you pay more for a product because of its status, others should see youCC04 I like to show off what I buyCC05 I enjoy attracting the attention of others through what I own

status and status branding domain. Given the growing number ofintrinsic rather than extrinsically motivated individuals (Kim et al.,2003; Sheldon et al., 2001); research into status needs to give

ts

ingsgo and buy somethingnd buy things they don't need at all. They can't control their shopping urges. This

y of my life

using it

A. O'Cass, V. Siahtiri / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013) 505–515 513

more importance to intrinsic motivations as antecedents of statusconsumption and the role of brands.

Second, the study expands our understanding of the relation-ship between status consciousness and status consumption in theform of perceptions of brands status. In picking up on this pointwe address the issue raised by Han et al. (2010), who suggest thata better understanding of status is required. To respond to theircall this research sought to examine the mechanisms by whichstatus consciousness is associated with consumerism anddecision-making styles as drivers of responses to different brands(Western versus Asian) in the form of status assessments ofbrands. Classifying fashion clothing brands into low status andhigh status assists to measure how consumer perceptions aboutbrands may lead to different behaviors towards them and whatimpacts those assessments simultaneously. An important contri-bution of this research is its focus on the interplay of statusconsciousness and consumerism in an emerging market. This isespecially the case in a market that is increasingly seen as beingunderpinned by consumerism which is oriented toward excessand status (Eastman and Eastman, 2011; Sheth et al., 2011).

The research contributes to expanding knowledge on indivi-dual as well a cohort behavior that is driven by consumerism,status consciousness, and consumer decision-making style, asmuch of the previous research has focused on macro level issues(see Chao and Myers, 1998; Davis, 2000; Pan et al., 2003). Chinawas chosen as an appropriate context because of its rapidlyevolving nature as a consumer society, changes in consumerattitudes toward consumption and brands. It also has experiencedchanges in individuals’ higher education, disposable income andtechnology developments. As such, this market is a valuablelocation for academics to develop and test theories and practi-tioners to target and try to capture more customer share of mind,heart and wallet for their brands.

The results of the research provides evidence that Chineseyoung adult consumers are consumeristic, status conscious andperceive Western fashion clothing brands to have higher statusthan Asian brands. This conclusion is underpinned by the fact SCand CDMS are important factors in how Chinese young adultconsumers perceive the status of fashion clothing brands. Thesefindings underpin a society where the young adults are headingmore and more toward Westernized consumption practices. Theyappear to favor and purchase clothing brands that reflect successand achievement. These brands are high in status, and supportconsumers’ status consumption. The results show this young adultcohort see Western clothing brands as symbols of success, prestigeand wealth. Their consumerism is positively related to theirdecision-making style which leads them to perceive brands interms of high or low status when evaluating fashion clothing. Thisview is evident not only in our findings, but also the work ofothers which show that high numbers of young adults possessvalues embedded in consumerism, and seek a lifestyle of affluencemirrored on western societies (Goldsmith et al., 2010). Thesefindings offer some important implications for both foreign andlocal brands who want to position their brands as status brands inthe market place.

Western brands should demonstrate specific life styles in theircommunications which signal western values and convey success,prestige, and affluence, as Chinese consumers seek to demonstratethese factors in their daily life. Chinese firms in the fashionclothing industry should take into consideration specific driversbehind consumption when implementing branding strategies inrelation to fashion clothing. The firm's communications must berelevant to the Chinese consumers’ consumption values anddecision-making style underpinning the lifestyle Chinese consu-mers wish to achieve. When formulating marketing communica-tion strategies, the branding messages must be able to convey

brand attributes that convert status and help create such percep-tions in the minds of this particular segment. Status attributesmust be demonstrated in the brands that young adult Chinesecustomers evaluate to purchase. As such, the messages that havesymbolic expressiveness and are supported by the quality ofproducts should be considered.

5.1. Limitation and future research

This study has several limitations. The main concern is aboutthe issue of the generalizability of the findings. The sample is notrepresentative of the general population of China. Thus, thesample employed in this study limits the generalizability of thestudy. Inferences drawn from sampling procedures such as thoseused in this study have limitations with regard to generalizability.The young adult consumer segment comprises not only students,in fact a comparatively larger portion are non-students. Toimprove the issue of generalizability probabilistic sampling shouldbe considered to enable a wider claim of inference. Further,studying a population with wider age spread is important tounderstand the extent of consumerism and status consumptionin China and other countries to aid theory development. Other agegroups from other geographic regions in China should beemployed in future research to validate the generalizability ofthe findings. Another limitation is related to a relatively smallsample size across the brand split (Western–Asian context). Futureresearch could utilize SEM to test the theory with an appropriatesample size on a population more representative of the generalpopulation. Consumers’ individual differences such as previousexperiences in purchasing status fashion might have a differenteffect on their views of brands from different origins and purchaseintent and willingness to pay more to obtain them. The funda-mental purpose of this study was to examine Chinese youngconsumers’ consumerism, decision-making style, status consump-tion and perceptions of the status of fashion clothing brands. Thisfocus adds insight into Chinese fashion clothing consumptionliterature that at present is still underdeveloped. Future researchcan include consumers’ prior purchase experience to fully under-stand factors that affect Chinese young adults’ attitudes towardsand purchase intent of status and non-status fashion clothing fromdifferent global regions.

Appendix A

See Table A1.

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