Cultural motives affecting tea purchase behavior under two usage situations in China: a study of renqing, mianzi, collectivism, and man-nature unity culture

Abstract

Tea should be perceived more as a cultural product than a fast-moving consumer good with its roots deep in different cultures across nations. Nevertheless, consumer demands on tea have not been explored sufficiently from a cultural perspective. This research aims to examine motives that are driving Chinese tea consumption on two usage occasions, under the influence of the Chinese renqing, mianzi, collectivism, and man-nature unity culture. Linkage was established between Chinese culture and consumer motives. The factor analysis on 280 respondents identified five consumer psychological motives. Further logistic regression analysis suggested consumer motives and usage situations were related. The contribution of the findings is summarized. On one hand, this study adds to the limited understandings on consumer motives of tea in an emerging country from the cultural aspect. On the other hand, deep understandings of brand chasing, sustainability, and pragmatism motives should businesses to better serve consumers.