A Study on The Intention to Buy Chinese Garment Products of Vietnamese Consumers

INTRODUCTION

Economic integration is an inevitable trend for Vietnam's economy. Accordingly, China - Vietnam economic relations have also developed rapidly. The trade deficit from China accounts for the almost entire value of Vietnam's trade deficit (Bui, 2014). Therefore, Vietnamese consumers can either choose to buy domestic products or products imported from China.

There are several studies in the world on factors that affect consumers' decision to buy domestic or foreign products such as consumer ethnocentrism (Shimp & Sharma, 1987), hostility (Klein & Ettenson, 1999), consumer nationalism, and consumer animosity toward imported products (Klein et al., 1998), the image of the country origin (Papadopoulos & Heslop, 1993), consumer affinity demonstrated by consumer purchasing from a foreign country (Oberecker & Diamantopoulos, 2011; Wongtada et al. 2012; Nes et al. 2014). In Vietnam, there have been several studies applying the theory of consumer nationalism to study the behavior of buying foreign goods of consumers (Nguyen & Tambyah, 2011). However, while consumer animosity and consumer affinity are the two variables that have an impact on foreign product purchasing behavior, there has not been any officially approved research in Vietnam mentioning them.

Chinese garments have widely entered the Vietnamese market, both in big urban areas and in rural areas, which attracts the majority of low-income customers (Thoa, 2012). Therefore, domestic garment enterprises are now facing severe competition from China, not only in the international market but also in the domestic market. This competitor is not only strong in several aspects such as the resources, people, materials, and information but also has extensive experience as well as a powerful distribution system. Their retail business is also much more professional than that of the Vietnamese industry.       

From the above reasons, it is appropriate and necessary to choose the research scope of factors affecting the intention to buy Chinese garment products of Vietnamese consumers.

Literature Review and Hypothesis

Nationalism in Consumption

Netemeyer et al. (1991); Klein et al. (1998); Klein (2002) showed that in developing countries, highly nationalistic consumers were not necessarily aware that domestic products were of higher quality than imported products, even when they rejected foreign products because of ethical reasons. Based on the results of a review of studies related to consumer nationalism, we find that most of the studies show a negative relationship between nationalism and the intention of consuming imported goods of citizens (Sharma et al. 1995; Klein et al. 1998; Bandara & Miloslava, 2012). China and Vietnam share some cultural similarities. Chinese garments at a low price are items available in Vietnam and their quality is not superior to Vietnamese garments. Therefore, we make hypothesis H1.

H1: Nationalism in consumption has a negative relationship with Vietnamese consumers' intention to buy Chinese garments.

Consumer Animosity

Peng Cui et al. (2012) studied the influence of consumer animosity on `the product choice of Iraqi consumers. The study examined the differences in the consuming intention of Iraqi consumers when purchasing imported products from different nations with different levels of animosity. The research results showed that consumer animosity has an important role in determining the intention of buying foreign products of consumers. However, the research also showed that consumers are willing to trade the national animosity for prices. Consumer animosity can come from many reasons such as political, personal concerns, social, religious, economic, and military (Jung et al., 2002). Regardless of the reason for the animosity, consumer sentiment can cause boycotts of a product as a form of retaliation and also as a means to stop future damage. Klein (2002) noted that although American consumers have a relatively low level of animosity towards Japan, there is still a negative impact on their willingness to buy Japanese products. This suggests that there may be a universal negative effect of animosity on consumers' willingness to buy foreign products, regardless of the level of animosity towards a specific country. Thus, the results of studies on consumer animosity since the time this concept was introduced in 1998 have shown that: There is a relationship between consumer animosity and intention to buy imported products of consumers. The authors generate the hypothesis H2.

H2: Consumer animosity has a negative effect on Vietnamese consumers' intention to buy Chinese garments.

Consumer Affinity

Studies on consumer affinity affecting the willingness to buy products from a particular country, such as Verlegh (2007) asserted that consumers voluntarily bought goods from a certain country to show their affinity for that country. Oberecker and Diamantopoulos (2011), and Bernard and Zarrouk-Karoui (2014) also showed that affinity has a positive impact on the willingness to buy products of a given country. On that basis, the authors develop hypothesis H3:

H3: Consumer affinity has a positive influence on Vietnamese consumers' intention to buy Chinese garments.

Attitude Towards a Behavior

Many studies have found a positive relationship between attitude towards behavior and intention to purchase the product of countries or regions that conflicted with their country such as China (Johnston & White, 2003), Hong Kong (Chan & Lau, 2001; Liu & Murphy, 2007; Atik et al., 2021). Based on the results of these studies, we develop hypothesis H4.

H4: Attitude towards a behavior has a positive relationship with Vietnamese consumers' intention to buy Chinese garments

Subjective Norm

Mai (2019) investigated the impact of materialistic values on purchase intention (PI) toward green products among consumers in Vietnam and Taiwan.  The result confirmed the significant impacts of materialistic values (i.e. success and happiness) on attitude, and all three antecedents from the TPB model (i.e. attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control) as positive predictors of green PI.

Subjective norms are people's perceptions of how to behave following society's standards. The campaign "Vietnamese people give prioritize using Vietnamese goods" in the period 2009 to 2014 had a great impact on the perception of domestic consumers on a large scale. According to the results of a social opinion survey organized by the Institute of Social Public Opinion Research (Central Propaganda Department) in July 2014, 92% of consumers were asked if they were “very interested” or “interested” in the campaign of Vietnamese people use Vietnamese products. The results showed that 63% of consumers “self-identified” they would prioritize using Vietnamese products when shopping; 54% of consumers would “recommend family members, friends, acquaintances to buy Vietnamese products”. In addition, Chinese garments are the main competing products for domestic enterprises in the Vietnamese market with an insignificant difference in price, design, and quality. Therefore, if domestic consumers have a growing awareness about consuming domestic goods and are always ready to purchase them, it may negatively affect the intention to buy Chinese garments. On that basis, hypothesis H5 is proposed.

H5: Subjective norm has a negative relationship with Vietnamese consumers' intention to buy Chinese garments.

Perceived Behavioral Control

Perceived behavioral control is defined as an individual's perception of the ease or difficulty of performing the desired behavior. This study focuses on the Chinese garment group in the mid-end and low-end segments. Thoa (2012) said that this was a group of goods imported by many different routes, presented in all markets, both in big cities and in remote areas in the Vietnamese market. Therefore, consumers can easily find the product whenever they need it. In terms of incentives, resources, and convenient opportunities, consumers will have more intention to buy these products. On that basis, the authors develop hypothesis H6.

H6: Perceived behavioral control has a positive relationship with Vietnamese consumers' intention to buy Chinese garments

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Research Sample

An important factor, which determines the success of a quantitative study is the research sample. Generally, there are two methods to choose from: Haphazard sampling and Random sampling. Aside from being widely, random sampling brings more objective results. In this article, we randomly selected Vietnamese Consumers in Hanoi city and Ho Chi Minh city. This sample source is the most reliable because there are a lot of sources of statistics. which show the different numbers about Vietnamese Consumers.

We sent over 600 surveys forms to Vietnamese Consumers in Hanoi city and Ho Chi Minh city and within 5 months and collected 525 surveys forms. After removing unqualified survey forms, the official sample included 406 Vietnamese Consumers.

Research Model

Based on the literature review and some studies recent, such as; Rahman and Kharb (2018); Hostench (2019); Kautish and Rai (2019); Mai et al. (2019); Hong et al. (2020); Karim (2020); Baytar et al. (2020); Mai et al. (2021); Md Harizan and Abdul Shukor (2021); Pathak et al., (2021); Son et al. (2022), etc. We proposed a research model (Figure 1).

Independent variables include six (6) factors: Nationalism in consumption (NC) is measured on 10 attributes; Consumer animosity (CA) is measured on 9 attributes; Consumer affinity (CAf) is measured on 19 attributes; Attitude towards a behavior (ATB) is measured on 4 attributes; Subjective norm (SN) is measured on 6 attributes, and Perceived behavioral control (PBC) is measured on 4 attributes.

Vietnamese Consumers' Intention for buying Chinese Garment Products is measured by four aspects of (i) Buying Chinese garment products is the best; (ii) I will buy Chinese garments products whenever possible; (iii) There is a possibility that I would buy Chinese garment products if they are available in the area where I live; and (iv) I would suggest people buy Chinese garment products (Ha, 2020).

Analysis Approach

To test the hypotheses of the research, SPSS 22 software was used to perform the following analysis: Descriptive statistics; reliability test of scale by Cronbach’s Alpha scale and total correlation of variables; Evaluation of the measurement model by aggregate reliability, convergence value, and discriminant value; hypothesis test by path coefficient via regression model.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Descriptive Statistics

Information on data that was collected. It indicates that among the 406 respondents, about 23.2% were male while the rest of the 312 (76.8%) were female. Out of these, 245 (or 60.3%) were from 18 to 25 years old, 92 (or 22.7%) were from 26 to 35 years old, 68 (or 16.7%) were from 36 to 54 years old, and 0.3% of the participants were over 55 years old.

Cronbach’s Alpha

It can reduce errors in the research model and eliminate inconsonant variables by using scale analysis. Therefore, only variables that have Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients equal to or greater than 0.6 and total correlation coefficients (Corrected Item – Total Correlation) greater than 0.3 are accepted (Hoang & Chu, 2008; Hair et al. 2009). Analyzing Cronbach’s Alpha of determinants has shown their influence on the Vietnamese Consumers' Intention for buying Chinese Garment Products (6 determinants with 52 observed variables) and the result is presented in Table 1.

Table 1 indicates that all Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients of the population are above 0.6; all Corrected Item – Total Correlation of observed variables are above 0.3. Therefore, all variables of the research model are suitable for the next analyses (Hair et al., 2006).

Table 1. Results of analysis of Determinants Confidence of Scales in the Model

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

EFA was conducted and we used the method of extracting coefficients. The results of Varimax and Component Analysis, analyses yield 52 attributes for the independent variables.

Table 2 indicates that 0.5 < KMO = 0.807 < 1. Bartlett’s testimony indicates sig. = 0.000 < 0.05. It means variables are interrelated. After implementing the rotation matrix, 6 determinants with factor load factor are greater than 0.5; Eigenvalues are greater than 1; the variance explained is 67.441%, which shows that research data analyzing factor discovery is appropriate. We have identified 6 determinants influencing the Vietnamese Consumers' Intention for buying Chinese Garment Products through the quality assurance of the scale and the test of the EFA model.

Table 2. KMO and Bartlett's Test

Correlation Analysis

The results of the correlation matrix of the factors are shown in Table 3.

We use Pearson's coefficient to test the correlation between quantitative variables. According to Table 3, the correlation coefficients show that the relationship between the dependent variable (Vietnamese consumers' intention to buy Chinese garments) and the independent variables is statistically significant (Sig < 0.05). Accordingly, the magnitude of the correlation coefficients ensures that there is no multicollinearity. Thus, other statistics can be used to test the relationship between variables (Hoang & Chu, 2008; Hair et al. 2009).

Table 3. Correlations

Regression Model Analysis Result

Based on the adjusted model after the exploratory factor analysis, we have a multiple regression model as follows:

Results of Tables 4-6 show that:

Multicollinearity testing: The multicollinearity of the model is low because all variance inflation factors (VIF) of independent variables are under 2 (Hoang & Chu, 2008; Hair et al. 2009). Therefore, this regression model does not violate any of the CLRM basic assumptions. The Durbin – Watson statistic is used to test the autocorrelation of residuals that are present in the model and because Durbin – the Watson's value is 1.821 (in the interval of 1 and 3), does not violate when using the multiple regression method. Particularly, the model has indicated no autocorrelation of residuals (Hoang & Chu, 2008; Hair et al., 2009). ANOVA testing result: Level of significance (Sig.) = 0.000 implies that the multiple regression model is suitable for data. Coefficient of R² (R Square) = 0.462, which means that the regression model will explain 46.2% of the total variation in the loyalty of accountants. The research model result shows that all independent variables; namely (i) Nationalism in consumption (NC), (ii) Consumer animosity (CA), (iii) Consumer affinity (CA_f), (iv) Attitude towards a behavior (ATB), (v) Subjective norm (SN), (vi) Perceived behavioral control (PBC) is significant (Sig. < 0.05) to the Vietnamese Consumers' Intention for buying Chinese Garment Products (IBCG). Determinants that have influenced the Vietnamese Consumers' Intention for buying Chinese Garment Products are presented in the following standardized regression model:

Table 4. Model Summary­^b

a. Predictors (Constant): PBC, NC, CA, CA_f, ATB, SN

b. Dependent Variable: IBCG

Table 5. Anova^a

a. Dependent Variable: IBCG

b. Predictors: (Constant): PBC, NC, CA, CAf, ATB, SN

Table 6. Coefficients^a

a. Dependent Variable: IBCG

Nationalism in Consumption (NC)

Hypothesis H1 is accepted because the results of Table 5 show that nationalism in consumption has the value of sig = 0.001 < 0.05 and β1 = - 0.129 < 0. So it can be affirmed that the higher the nationalism in consumption, the lower the intention to buy Chinese garments by Vietnamese consumers. This result is consistent with the studies of Sharma et al. (1995); Klein et al. (1998); Tho et al. (2008); Bandara and Miloslava (2012).

According to Shimp and Sharma (1987), nationalist consumers will consider buying imported products due to the perception of hurting the home economy. Many Vietnamese consumers also share the same opinion, especially those with high nationalism who will be more aware that buying imported goods is unethical, which can increase the cost of goods sold. This could increase the domestic unemployment rate, negatively affecting the development of the country's economy. Thus, the intention to buy foreign goods in general and Chinese garments in particular decreases.

Consumption Animosity (CA)

Hypothesis H2 is accepted because the results of Table 5 show consumer animosity with sig = 0.000 < 0.05 and β2 = -0.273 < 0.

Research by Klein et al. (1998) has shown that countries involved in unfair trade practices will receive animosity from other markets. Thus, the higher the consumer's economic animosity towards a particular country, the lower the intention of customers from that country to purchase imported goods.

Besides, the bilateral trade relationship between Vietnam and China is also posing significant challenges for Vietnam. Thanks to the advantages of technology and low labor costs, Chinese goods are often inexpensive and easy to penetrate the Vietnamese market. On the other hand, because there has been no clear and long-term exporting strategy, it is difficult for Vietnamese enterprises to access the Chinese market. Vietnamese goods exported to China are mainly raw materials and fuels, so they often have low economic value. Another problem is that Chinese traders often make purchases of different goods, especially in the field of agriculture and forestry, by spreading rumors, pushing up prices, and buying in large quantities. When Vietnamese traders gathered enough goods, Chinese traders "disappeared", leaving heavy economic consequences for the people. On the other hand, this activity threatens economic security and sabotages Vietnam's production structure and planning. The analysis shows that the animosity of Vietnamese consumers can be caused by economic factors and thereby negatively affects their intention to buy Chinese garments.

Consumer Affinity (CAf)

Hypothesis H3 is accepted because the results of Table 5 show that Consumer affinity has the sig value = 0.000 < 0.05 and β3 = 0.149 > 0.

Studies by Holbrook and Hirschman (1982); Batra and Holbrook (1990) have shown that consumer preferences and product evaluations are not only based on product cues but also on emotions. Research results of Nes et al. (2014) showed that consumer affinity can explain 41% of purchase intention and it is only determined for a specific product or service. Oberecker and Diamantopoulos (2011) argued that consumer affinity had a positive influence on the intention to buy a product from a foreign country that consumers have a good feeling about. This is consistent with hypothesis H3 of this study, that is, the more Vietnamese consumers' affinity towards China, the higher the customers’ intention to buy Chinese garments.

Attitude Towards a Behavior (ATB)

Hypothesis H4 is accepted because the results of Table 5 show that attitude towards a behavior has the sig value = 0.000 < 0.05 and β4 = 0.291 > 0.

β4 > 0 shows that the more positive consumers have about Chinese garments, the more intention they have to buy this product. Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi City are the two largest centers of higher education in the country, having several colleges and universities. So, the percentage of consumers who are young and with no independent income or low income is relatively large. These two cities are both concentrated areas of administrative, enterprises and non-business units, and commercial centers, which have a large population of immigrants. Therefore, the demand of consumers is very diverse. On the other hand, Chinese garments are distinguished by a variety of captivating styles, colors, and designs, cheap prices, and are desirable to low-income and ordinary customers. It shows that if consumers have a positive attitude towards Chinese garments, the intention to buy Chinese garments will be stimulated.

Subjective Norms (SN)

Hypothesis H5 is accepted because the results of Table 5 show that subjective norm has the sig value = 0.000 < 0.05 and β5 = -0.245 < 0.

Because β5 is smaller than 0, subjective norms harm the customers’ intention to buy Chinese garments. Subjective norms are people's perceptions of how to behave following society's standards. In Vietnam, the garment industry on the domestic market has not yet been developed strongly. Enterprises in this industry are mainly outsourcing tailoring to foreign countries. Thus the general requirement of society is to buy and consume domestic garment products to enhance the economic development of the industry. That fact shows that the higher consumers have a sense of favoring domestic garments, the lower their intention to buy Chinese garments.

Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC)

Hypothesis H6 is accepted because the results of Table 5 show that Perceived behavioral control has the sig value = 0.001 < 0.05 and β6 = 0.132 > 0.

Because β6 is smaller than 0, when consumers have a high awareness of behavioral control, they will have more intention to buy Chinese garments. Perceived behavioral control is defined as an individual's perception of the difficulty or ease to perform the desired behavior. In the Vietnam market, Chinese garment products are always available and sold at low prices. Therefore, the perception of behavioral control positively affects the consumers' intention to buy Chinese garments.

CONCLUSION

With the above test results, 6 factors are influencing the consumers' intention to buy Chinese garments. From the research results, we recommend some of the following recommendations:

Recommendations for Managers of Vietnamese Garment Enterprises

Enterprises can invest in research to understand customers' attitudes towards competitors' products better, thereby they can proactively develop marketing programs to positively influence customers' buying behavior. At the same time, promoting and branding products to achieve a higher position compared to other competitors in customers’ mindset. To achieve a competitive advantage, businesses must provide products that are within the capabilities of customers in terms of resources and opportunities.

Vietnamese consumers' intention to buy Chinese garments decreased when nationalism in consumption, consumer animosity, and subjective norms were at high levels. Therefore, marketers need to create promotions that uphold the national spirit, making consumers aware that their behavior of buying imported goods can harm the domestic economic development and the unemployment rate.

Entertainment factors such as movies, music, etc. can attract consumers' affinity and positively affect their purchase intention. Therefore, marketers need to pay attention to this factor in product promotion activities.

Recommendations for State Management Agencies

To develop the domestic garment market, besides the efforts of enterprises. State management agencies should also consider and evaluate situations to make macro impacts to create a more favorable environment for enterprises in their businesses and production. State management agencies should create an environment that facilitates enterprises to enhance their competitive advantages in the domestic market through the following solutions:

1. Building and perfecting the system of product quality standards and the real strict quality inspection and supervision system with a strongly effective sanctions system to protect genuine business enterprises. Punishing and eliminating businesses that violate business ethics.
2. Introducing preferential tax policies for textile enterprises to import machinery, equipment, and raw materials for textile production to serve the domestic market.
3. Establishing a transparent and reasonable financial mechanism for research programs to realize the quality of research from model institutes and research institutes.
4. Coordinating with enterprise associations and enterprises to develop and implement an initial and developing strategy to enhance the quality of domestic raw material areas to gradually reduce the dependence of domestic textile and garments on the global market.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: We would like to thank reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None

FINANCIAL SUPPORT: None

ETHICS STATEMENT: None