TheEffectofProductExtrinsicAttributesonWillingnesstoBuyacrosstheBorder

Abstract：AsaresultofincreasingdisposableincomesinChina，anappreciatingcurrencyandtherelaxationof restrictionsonforeigntravel，greaternumbersofChinesepeopleshopandconsumeoverseas.Thisphenomenonhas attractedconsiderableinternationalattentionoverthepastdecade.AccordingtotheWorldTourismOrganization，thevolumeofinternationaltripsbyChinesetravelersgrewfromtenmillionin2000toeighty？threemillionin2012. China’sexpenditureonforeigntravelreachedUS$102billionin2012，makingChinatheforemostglobalsourceof tourismexpenditure.However，therehasbeenlittleresearchtodateonthecross？bordershoppingaspectofthis phenomenon.Manyresearchershavedevelopedand/ortestedmodelsofbuyers’perceptionsofqualityandvalue，withaparticularemphasisonthebuyers’perceptionoftheproductextrinsicattributes（suchaspriceandbrand name）asindicatorsofvalue.However，previousresearchfocusedononecountryorlocation，anddidnotconsider thesituationofcross？bordershopping.Thefirstresearchquestionis：inacross？bordershoppingcontext，whatis theeffectofproductextrinsicattributesonwillingnesstobuy？HongKong’seconomybenefitsfromnumerous shoppersfrommainlandChinaeveryyear.AseriesofscandalsinvolvingmilkproducedinmainlandChinasapped domesticshoppingconfidence.ConsumerssubsequentlyflockedtoHongKongtopurchaseinfantmilkformula，angeringlocalresidentsbygeneratingshortagesandpushingupprices.Asinfantmilkformulaisacredencegood（agoodthatisdifficulttoevaluatethequalityof，evenafterpurchaseandconsumption），itreliesheavilyon consumerconfidence，andshoppinglocationsactuallyaffectpurchaseintention.Doestheshoppinglocationeffect stillapplyforsearchgoods（goodswhosecharacteristics，suchasqualityorprice，areeasilyevaluatedbefore purchase）andexperiencegoods（goodswhosecharacteristicsaredifficulttoevaluatebeforepurchase，andthat mustbeusedorconsumedbeforetheirtruevaluetotheconsumercanbedetermined）？Thisisthesecondresearch questionofthisstudy.Thestudyadoptsanexperimentalscenariomethodtoexaminetheeffectofproductextrinsic attributes（price，country？of？origin，andshoppingplace）onCantonesewillingnesstobuysearchgoodsand experiencegoods.Thisexperimentincludesvariablessuchas：theshoppingmarket（HongKongvs.mainland China）；theprice（highvs.low）；thecountryoforigin（Westernbrandsvs.Chinesebrands）；andthegoodtype（searchgoodsvs.experiencegoods）.AsurveyundertakenonMBAstudentsfromJinanUniversityinGuangzhou，China，revealsthatthereisnosignificantdifferencebetweentheCantonesepeople’swillingnesstobuyinmainland ChinaorHongKongforeithersearchgoodsorexperiencegoods.Forexperiencegoods，Cantonesepeoplearemore likelytobuyWesternbrandgoodsthanthedomesticbrandgoods.Thispreferenceisnotaffectedbypriceor shoppinglocation.Forsearchgoods，thepriceandcountryoforiginhaveasignificantinteractiveeffecton willingnesstobuy.WhenCantonesepeopleperceivethatthepriceislow，theirintentiontopurchasewestern brandsisgreaterthantheirintentiontopurchasedomesticbrandgoods.Themajorfindingsarediscussedandthe implicationsoftheseareargued.

Keywords：cross？bordershopping；country？of？origin；willingnesstobuy；searchgoods；experiencegoods