On the malleable nature of product meaning in China

Abstract

Abstract While we know that consumers can hold varying meanings for products depending on context, the source of the variation is not clear. We investigate the source of malleable meanings in the Chinese context, as Chinese consumers are especially likely to hold multiple meanings for the same product. We discover that meanings can be inherently malleable, as opposed to one “true” meaning being altered by situational variables, and that the overwhelming importance of interpersonal relationships and the cultural categories that become salient in varying contexts are what allows incongruent meanings to be held non‐problematically in the Chinese context. This suggests that in China, marketing communications can be difficult to craft because consumer interpretations will be contextually driven, and that social relationships should be emphasized. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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