Ethical Consumption: A Chinese Perspective - Yan Huo
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Ethical consumption is a western born concept; what does ethical consumption mean to the rest of the world? This research project is interested in exploring the meaning of ethical consumption from a Chinese perspective
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Ethical Consumption: A Chinese Perspective - Yan Huo
- 1. 2014 CCRI Winter School Re-Conceptualizing Ethical Consumption: A Chinese Perspective Yan Huo University of Gloucestershire yanhuo@glos.ac.uk
- 2. 2014 CCRI Winter School 2 Beginning Present EC as centre China as centre China as frame EC as frame Transition
- 3. 2014 CCRI Winter School The Attitude-Behaviour Gap in Ethical Consumption • To elicit barriers responsible for this gap • To find out the relative importance of these barriers • To seek solutions to overcome these barriers 3
- 4. 2014 CCRI Winter School Previous Research Design: Mixed Method • First phase: Focus groups • Second phase: Questionnaires 4
- 5. 2014 CCRI Winter School 5
- 6. 2014 CCRI Winter School 6
- 7. 2014 CCRI Winter School 7
- 8. 2014 CCRI Winter School
- 9. 2014 CCRI Winter School Evolved Research Design: An Ethnographic Turn PLAN • Second phase: Questionnaires IMPLEMENTED • Second Phase: 13 interviews with participants observation components 9
- 10. 2014 CCRI Winter School Here & Now （presented） 1. Compared with the established Western literature, are there any differences in the understanding of ethical consumption among Chinese consumers? If so, what are the understandings of ethical consumption among Chinese consumers? 2. What are the barriers for Chinese consumers’ ethical consumption behaviour? What are the similarities and differences between the barriers identified in Western literature? 3. What one can learn from the Western ethical consumption development to provide clues to promote the ethical consumption behaviour among Chinese consumers? 10
- 11. 2014 CCRI Winter School Here & Now （current） 1. What is the current understanding of ethical consumption among Chinese consumers? 2. What are the barriers for to increased ethical consumption behaviour among Chinese consumers’? 3. How to promote can ethical consumption behaviour among Chinese consumers be encouraged? 11
- 12. 2014 CCRI Winter School Making Sense of Interview Data • Applying NVivo analysis software tool 12
- 13. 2014 CCRI Winter School Thank you! Any Comments or Questions?
Editor's Notes
- Hope this hour glass can help illustrate my research progress. The top symbolizes my beginning stage and the bottom symbolizes my current status. There was a turning a point in my research progress reshaped my research focus and research base. At the top, when I just started, ethical consumption was my study centre and focus, this study’s frame was in a Chinese context. Now China got the centre of my study and ethical consumption has become the research frame. Something happened in the middle. So now, I will explain this process…
- When I firstly started, I had a great interest in the attitude-behaviour gap in ethical consumption literature. That is the attitude-behaviour gap, also known as the ‘ethical purchasing gap’, ‘30:3’ phenomenon in ethical consumption. Where about 30% consumers stated they would like to purchase ethically but only 3% actually do. As such, my original intention was, firstly, to elicit the barriers responsible for this gap. Secondly, to find out the relative importance of these barriers. And thirdly, to seek solutions for overcoming these barriers. Of course, find the answers in a Chinese context. Because through the literature review, I noticed that almost all the studies were conducted from a western perspective, so I wanted to explore this gap from a Chinese context, to add on a different perspective to the current understanding.
- To fulfil my original research questions, my original research deign was mixed method of qualitative and quantitative. And my plan was consisted of two phases of data collection. First phase: using focus group to identify those barriers. Second phase: to use questionnaires to find out which barriers are more significant.
- In an extremely hot summer, in 2012, I flew back to China, Beijing, conducted four focus groups. That focus groups experience was a turning point in my research journey. Until then, I realised that the concept of ethical consumption from the literature did not make sense to my focus group participants.
- Just taken an example of ‘fair trade bananas’: when we talk about it here, most consumers here share a common understanding about it. However, in my case, it was a bit disaster… I thought… None of my focus groups participants ever heard of such concept. It didn’t communicate… Another example, when I was asking my participants if they purchase skin care product, would they consider ‘no animal testing’ products? … Again, none of my participants responded to the concept of ‘no animal testing’. There was a very brave lady, she had a little think and expresses her opinion, she said, she would prefer products tested on animals. Because, side effects may be listed. That way, she feel safer, so better. Examples like these reminded me, ethical consumption is s western born concept. The meaning of ethical consumption in a Chinese context may be different! The existing literature, ethical consumption is dominated by one & only voice-a western perceptive.
- In an extremely hot summer, in 2012, I flew back to China, Beijing, conducted four focus groups. That focus groups experience was a turning point in my research journey. Until then, I realised that the concept of ethical consumption from the literature did not make sense to my focus group participants.
- From there, I rolled back! Instead of doing the questionnaires, I decided to apple ethnographic approach to find out what does ethical consumption mean to Chinese consumers, which I did 13 interviews with participants observation components.
- This direction change leads me to where I am now. These are my current research questions.
- This direction change leads me to where I am now. These are my current research questions.
- I am currently in the middle of data analysis, applying NVivo to support my analysis.
- Thank you very much for your attention. That’s my stories so far. Hope I can share my research findings with you next time. Any questions are welcome