This thesis, set against the background of accounts of globalisation, aims to figure out the consumer orientation of the middle class in contemporary China, in particular how the new elements in consumer orientation operate in the Chinese context. It focuses on the contemporary middle class, including professionals, managers, business-owners and civil servants, and on the metropolitan cities, because these are the two most important factors in the rise of consumer culture in China. Data come from the China General Social Survey of 2003 and 30 interviews with middle class people in Beijing carried out in 2008. The quantitative analysis is concerned with characteristics of the middle class in the metropolitan cities and their participation in consumption practices. Qualitative analysis provides a comprehensive analysis of the consumption patterns and the consumer orientations of 30 adults and considers subjective interpretations in specific contexts. The focus is the consumption patterns from everyday consumption, taste and material culture, and the findings are interpreted in relation to major theories in the sociology of consumption. In order to understand consumption patterns, this dissertation seeks accounts of consumer orientations: the distinct or particular reasons for purchasing and using certain material goods and services. Consumption patterns are also explained against the background of globalization, and in relation to the essential features of Chinese culture, social changes and social conventions. The analysis draws attention particularly to the justifications of tastes by the Chinese middle class and exposes their concomitant anxieties and ambivalence. It is shown that pursuit of pleasure, tempered with pursuit of comfort, is a significant form of aesthetic justification; and living within one's means, i.e. keeping a balance between expenditure and income, is the main moral justification. The orientation to personal pleasure and comfort is shaped by social conventions, traditional values and the metropolitan context. Consumer sovereignty, as opposed to social discipline and authority, becomes a force. Despite anxieties and ambivalence, the interviewees generally show satisfaction and confidence with their consumption. The findings challenge the stereotype of the Chinese 'new rich' and the one-dimensional pictures of tendencies towards either conspicuous display or frugality.

The emergence of ‘new luxury’ available at affordable prices has resulted in abundance of counterfeit products in the markets. As the extent of counterfeiting is increasing in almost every industry, it becomes critical to develop measures that can help to prevent buying and selling of counterfeit products. In exploring consumers’ buying behavior of counterfeit products, this study was designed to examine the influence of individuals’ characteristics or consumer orientations, both social and personal, on that generate the demand for counterfeit brands. This study employed four theoretical frameworks: (a) the Theory of Planned behavior, (b) Value-Attitude-Behavioral intention system, (c) Bandwagon effect in the theory of consumer demand, and (d) Aberrant consumer behavior. Specifically, this study investigates consumers’ intention to purchase counterfeit brands based on their social consumer orientation (social conformity, status seeking, fashion consciousness, and price-quality schema) and personal consumer orientation (ethical value, social responsibility, and integrity), attitudes toward the purchase of counterfeit brands, subjective norm, and perceived control over the purchase of counterfeit brands. Further, this study aims to explore the role of price sensitivity as a moderator in understanding the relationship between attitudes and intentions to purchase counterfeit and original luxury brands. This study was conducted in the context of fashion luxury brands that sell handbags and wallets. An online self-administered survey methodology was employed to collect the data from 500 subjects. The data were analyzed by maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) procedure using structural equation modeling (SEM). Out of total 14 proposed hypotheses, 10 were significant, as expected. However, the rest 4 were not found to be significant. Status seeking was found to have an insignificant relationship with subjective norm to purchase a counterfeit brand. Fashion consciousness was found to have a negative influence on attitude while the relationship of price-quality schema with attitude was not found to be significant. Also, integrity was not found to significantly influence subjective norm. Price sensitivity did not act as a moderator due to non significant relationships between attitude and intensions to purchase counterfeit and original brands. Research and managerial implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research were drawn based on the results.

International companies face many challenges when operating in foreign country markets, as a new environment could be absolutely opposite to the one of the home market, which the companies are used to. One of the biggest issues for a company in the foreign market is to understand how to market its product and make it more appealing to the audience. This research is aimed at studying content marketing strategy as a new trend and a part of marketing strategy of an organization. Particularly, the main focus of this research is to investigate the process of building content marketing strategy of Western firms in the Russian environment. During the study, a few questions are illuminated, such as what steps are undertaken in order to manage a sound content marketing strategy and how the characteristics of Russian consumers influence the decision making and to what extent. The paper studies all these issues by the qualitative approach, presenting data and insights acquired through interviews with four Western companies, operating in Russia: Burger King, Johnson & Johnson, The Coca-Cola Company and Visa Inc. The analysis of the findings is done, comparing the experience of the companies with each other, which enables the authors to extract general patterns for content marketing strategy in Russia in terms of strategy building and consumer orientation and comparing empirical data with theoretical knowledge gained after the examination of the theory. The paper concludes giving answers to the research question and generalizing the analysis, as well as presenting the revised conceptual model. Later on, the main limitations of this study are mentioned and the suggestions for future research are stated to develop the understanding of content marketing strategy.

No description available.

2005年4月號The Econonist 經濟學人週刊的封面刊登: 'Power at last - How the internet means the consumer really is king (and queen). ' 沒錯！消費者是國王的時代來臨了！消費者在網際網路上可以隨時隨地取得更多、更有價值的消費訊息，以極低的成本，應用網路中各種透明的消費資訊，任意的改變消費的抉擇，史無前例的表達出有別於過去被動接受產品的主動消費力量，消費利益也確實受到保護，因此以資訊為基礎的行銷策略就是消費者導向策略(Glazer,1997)，呼應了經濟學人週刊的聳動標題；本研究即証明了在獲得充分且有價值的消費資訊，對消費者在進行消費決策與行為時，是具有「主動的」改變力量，因此提供消費者更豐富的消費資訊，也必定能保護更多的消費者利益。 當新的資訊處理技術與傳播媒體出現，或是由某種新工藝的創造與發展，進而改變現存的政治、經濟與文化、風俗產生新的變遷將對消費行為，產生戲劇化影響(Innis, 1951; McLuhan, 1964)，原因在於消費者在面對嶄新而且陌生的消費環境，所採取維護自身消費利益的因應之道；本研究引用學者 Kahneman and . Tversky 提出的「預期理論」（Prospect Theory)，以及Barry Schwatz（2004）提出的「經驗效用」（Experienced Utility）、「期望效用」（）、「記憶效用」（Remembered Utility），因為以人類基於維護自身利益為出發點，方能準確反映出消費者的行為，洞察消費變化的先機；特別是在網際網路平台上對此議題的研究，本研究尚屬先例。 企業經營的成敗可由她與客戶關係的良莠顯現，衡量客戶關係最重要的指標就是：企業是否能由與消費者在消費流程互動中（關係），掌握所留下的足跡（資訊），加以解讀應用並促進消費者再消費，如此資訊的應用就是 Rashi Glazer所稱的企業「關鍵資產」，反映出不斷促進產品、服務交易的要素( Glazer,1997)：如果廠商忽視此變化，影響所及，失去的將不只是企業經營的「關鍵資產」，甚至還會被消費者「主動」的遺棄；因此，在企業經營的研究中，能將劇變如此的消費行為與決策，研究出可遵循與掌握的模式，相信對廠商競爭力的提升有莫大助益。 本研究的貢獻呈現在CORM-PET模式，也就是展現消費者是如何表達他「主動」消費力量的軌跡；試想，當企業發現消費者表示喜歡你的產品卻無消費行動，在過去對企業的影響並不明顯，因為同行也不知道何以如此（無資訊）！但是面對資訊處理能力百倍於過去的今天，能經由對資訊精準處理與應用，知道其中原因的廠商將嶄露頭角；CORM-PET模式就是我們提出能解釋消費行為何以如此的模式，以及能精確應用當前處理資訊的能力，解讀消費行為留下的資料轉為有力的應用資訊，幫助供需雙方在新興「資訊經濟時代」的市場交易中各取所需。 關鍵詞 消費者導向、預期理論、期望效用、記憶效用、經驗效用、稟賦效用、定錨效用、框架效用、消費風險、消費價值、頂端效用、可得性捷思法 / The front cover title of The Econonist magazine (April of 2005) read ' Power at last-How the internet means the consumer really is king (and queen). ' Consumers can obtain more valuable consumption information whenever and wherever in the internet, this shows unprecedentedly consumers’ active consumption strength which is different from their passively accepted the products in the past. Consumers can use the transparent price information in the network with the extremely low cost, and are free to choose any consumption. Consumption interests are also really protected, so the marketing tactics based on information are that consumers lead tactics (Glazer, 1997), which echoed the title of the The Econonist magazine. This research has proved that valuable and sufficient consumption information for consumer while making consumption decision provide active power of change. Therefore, offering more abundant consumption information to consumers can certainly protect more consumers’ interests. Enterprises’ relation with customers can reflect the success or failure of their management. The most important criteria of the relationship are whether both enterprises and consumers can keep enough track in the consumption procedure to facilitate the same consumer to consume again. This is what Glazer (1997) said ' key assets ' of enterprises, which reflect key elements to promote products, service trade constantly. If the owner ignores the fact that information changes consumption decision and behavior, he or she will lose not only ' key assets ' of enterprises, but also can be abandoned by consumers. So if academic research of enterprise management can figure out the model of drastic change of the consumer behavior and decision, which can be followed and grasped, manufacturer's competitiveness will be greatest improved. The change of consumption decision and behavior is because the consumer guided by information in the face of brand-new and strange consumption environment (network market) to adopt and safeguard self-consumption interests. Historian and mass communication scholar (Innis, 1951; McLuhan, 1964) point out such a change, as new materials treatment technology and media appear or new craft created and developed can change extant politics, economy, culture and custom. Other scholars maintain one after another that must extend the value concept of the customer in the past to apply to the business activity in the internet network (Keeney, 1999; Keeney, 1992; Rayport, Sviokla, 1994). All the scholars’ academic researches of mankind’s protect one's own interests over the years, the most excellent theories are 'Prospect Theory' by Kahneman ＆ Tversky. Schwatz’ (2004) 'Experienced Utility ', ' Expected Utility' , ' Remembered Utility '. We adopt the academic research of above-mentioned scholars, as the foundation of developing this research, because the academic research is based on mankind’s safeguarding one's own interests, which is different from others are on roles development. This research based on this kind of research to develop more concrete consumption behavior, especially the consumer behavior on the internet network platform, still belongs to the precedent. The contribution of the study appears in CORM-PET model, which represents how consumers express their initiatively consumption power. Just try to think that when the enterprises find that consumers like your products but not having the consuming action. There was not obvious in the past influence enterprises’ for the counterparts had no idea about the reasons. But information handling ability hundred times to the past today, the manufacturers who can process and apply with information accurately, and know the whys and wherefores will show up prominently. The CORM-PET model we proposed helps to explain how the consumer behavior like this pattern, dealing with information accurately, to understand the materials staying behind in consumer behavior transferring to powerful application information, to help both. Key words: Consumer orientation, Prospect theory, Expected utility, Remembered utility, Experienced utility, Endowment effect, Anchor effect, Framing effect, Consumer risk, Consumer value, Peak effect, Availability heuristics