A review of Spanish consumers’ product-country image of China

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to facilitate and clarify the perceptions of Spanish consumers towards China, its people, and its products, while outlining the overall contemporary Chinese product-country image (PCI) within the Spanish market. Design/methodology/approach A 52-item construct was adapted from former PCI scales from cross-cultural equivalence, including “country image”, “personal image”, “product image”, “general knowledge about China”, and “personal data”. Overall, 215 valid structured questionnaires were gathered. Findings The current study provides: a PCI literature review; hypotheses results concerning Spanish citizens’ views of Chinese products’ price, quality, technicality, inventiveness, and known brands concepts; descriptive statistics and results graphs for each of the PCI sections; and correlations of other variables with the five product image variables within the construct. Research limitations/implications Implementing standardized, longitudinal consumer studies that facilitate better comprehension of PCI evolution within a specific market emerged as a future research agenda. Originality/value The data informed both the Chinese public and private organizations’ managers of the importance of adapting to the market and non-market environments within Spain to avoid the liability of country of origin effect.