Perception and purchase behavior of young Indian consumers towards Chinese products under the backdrop of their economic and political rivalry

• Published date: 01 February 2022
• Author: Angan Sengupta
• Date: 01 February 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2388

ACADEMIC PAPER

Perception and purchase behavior of young Indian consumers

towards Chinese products under the backdrop of their

economic and political rivalry

Angan Sengupta

Department of Management, Amrita Vishwa

Vidyapeetham, Bengaluru, India

Correspondence

Angan Sengupta, Assistant Professor,

Department of Management, Amrita Vishwa

Vidyapeetham, Bengaluru, India.

Email: angan.and@gmail.com

Objective: This study examines the impact of perceptions of young Indian adults

about Chinese products in Indian markets upon their purchase behavior, especially

after the border conflict in Doklam.

Methodology: We have analyzed data collected from a randomly selected sample of

339 educated urban individuals (18–40 years). Binary logistic regression was con-

ducted to estimate the likelihood of buying Chinese products given their level of

acceptance among those respondents who are aware of the Indo-China conflict.

Findings: Young Indians mainly focus on quality and price while purchasing a product,

and not the country-of-origin (COO). Those who took the social media messages to

ban Chinese products seriously, concerned about the dominance of Chinese products

in the Indian market, and check if the COO is China demonstrate significantly aver-

sive purchase intention towards Chinese products. On the contrary, the odds of pur-

chase decision making getting influenced by Indo-China conflict is significantly lower

for them who have some preference for Chinese products over its Indian substitutes.

Conclusions: Feeling of animosity does not result in considerable hostility against the

willingness to buy Chinese products, when price, quality, brand awareness, and non-

availability of appropriate Indian substitutes matter more. However, if the sense of

animosity is utilized well, Indian manufacturers, especially the MSME sectors, can

gain entrepreneurial opportunities and mileage.

1|BACKGROUND

1.1 |Post-independence relationship between

India and China

“Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai”(Indians and Chinese are Brothers) is a popular

Hindi slogan coined in1950s after the independence of the two coun-

tries, when they shared a common interest of Asian peace and Afro-

Asian solidarity, under the backdrop of colonized past and U.S.-Russia

cold war. However, the relationship between Indiaand China has been

in troubled water for last six decades due to several political and eco-

nomic factors (Yuan, 2007), such as the close association between

Pakistan and China, China's ambiguity in endorsing India's permanent

seat in United Nations Security Council, India's reluctance to accept it

as a South AsianAssociation for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)country,

besides territorial aggression. Border disputes are often active and call

for militarymovements. There werethree military conflictsbetween the

countries-in the years 1962, 1967 and 1987. A recent conflictbetween

India and China, known as the Doklam Stand-off, refers to a situation

where the armed forces of both the countries were engaged in a face-

off for more thana couple of months (16th June to 28thAugust 2017).

The reason for such stand-off is the construction of a road by China

near the tri-junction bordering India, its ally Bhutan, and China. There

have been widespread internet-based campaigns in India propagating

for “Ban Chinese Products”or “BoycottMade in China,”especially after

the Doklam issue. Contents of those messages included patriotic

insights, how buying Chinese products benefit the Chinese economy,

and even how thatmay fund terrorist activitiesin India.

Received: 8 May 2020 Revised: 16 July 2020 Accepted: 8 August 2020

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2388

J Public Affairs. 2022;22:e2388. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 1of12

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2388