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Food Quality and Preference 18 (2007) 576–584

www.elsevier.com/locate/foodqual

The application of fuzzy logic in measuring consumption values:


Using data of Chinese consumers buying imported fruit
Ximing Sun *, Ray Collins
School of Natural and Rural Systems Management, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia

Received 22 November 2005; received in revised form 20 June 2006; accepted 17 August 2006
Available online 24 October 2006

Abstract

The conventional approach used to examine consumption values of consumers for a given product category is the Means-End Chain
(MEC) approach. The MEC retrieves values through establishing links between product attributes and consumption values by an inter-
viewing technique called laddering. The laddering technique is a qualitative approach with limited ability to deal with segments of con-
sumers who hold multiple consumption values. In this research fuzzy logic theory is applied in conjunction with laddering to measure the
consumption values of Chinese consumers purchasing imported fruit. Results demonstrate that fuzzy logic is not only an effective
approach to quantifying the consumption values that consumers pursue in a give context, but also, when consumers hold multiple values
of unequal weights, it can reveal how consumption values are mingled.
Crown Copyright Ó 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Consumption values; Fuzzy logic; Laddering technique; Economics; Chinese consumers; Imported fruit

1. Introduction (MEC) theory, which assumes that the attributes of a prod-


uct and consumers’ consumption values are linked through
Marketers need to understand why consumers buy cer- the consequences of consumption (Reynolds & Gutman,
tain products. A common approach to addressing this issue 1984). MEC data are gathered through a qualitative inter-
is to examine the importance of attributes of the product viewing technique known as laddering (Hinkle, 1965; Rey-
and position it based on the performance of the most nolds & Gutman, 1984). Laddering assumes that a
important attributes. However, in markets where compet- homogeneous group of respondents’ knowledge is orga-
ing products have very similar attributes this approach nized as a poly-hierarchy, i.e., multidimensional sets of
does not always work (Welch, 2000). Product positioning hierarchies, and also assumes that this knowledge is cate-
based on information about multiple product attributes is gorical, i.e., consisting of nominal values arranged in cate-
also difficult for consumers to interpret (Vriens & ter Hof- gories. Laddering is a form of structured interviewing in
stede, 2000). To position a product successfully, marketers which the interviewer uses a limited set of standardized
need to categorize information about that product’s attri- questions or probes to explore the structure and nature
butes into the consumption values that the product can of the respondent’s knowledge.
provide. Although laddering has the ability to identify and estab-
The conventional approach used to examine consumers’ lish the relationship between values and product attributes,
values in a given product category is the Means-End Chain the presumed hierarchical value structure in laddering lim-
its its ability to deal with consumers who hold multiple val-
ues, or mixed values. It is known that consumers may not
always be motivated exclusively by one consumption value
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 7 54628785; fax: +61 7 54621321. (Douglas & Craig, 1997); many consumers can hold multi-
E-mail address: x.sun@uq.edu.au (X. Sun). ple values, and the degree of belonging to each value may

0950-3293/$ - see front matter Crown Copyright Ó 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2006.08.001
X. Sun, R. Collins / Food Quality and Preference 18 (2007) 576–584 577

differ (Hofstede, Audenaert, Steenkamp, & Wedel, 1998; influenced by western values, labelled as ‘hedonic values’
Malhotra, 1996; Rugg & McGeorge, 1995). It would be (Sklair, 1994; Wei & Pan, 1999). In such a circumstance,
helpful to be able to identify segments of individuals with it may be unwise to view Chinese consumers as sets of sep-
similar mixed values. arate entities, each characterized by a particular consump-
Fuzzy logic is an analytical approach that allows for tion value. For example, Sun and Collins (2002) showed
multiple membership of sets and different levels of belong- that for consumers purchasing imported fruit, their con-
ing to any one set. The basic assumption is that no clear sumption values were mixed, but the degree of emphasis
boundaries exist between members and non-members of a differed from group to group. As the laddering technique
set, which has been defined as a collection of distinct things lacks the ability to deal with the issue of overlapping val-
considered as a whole. The notion of fuzzy logic has been ues, this research applied fuzzy set theory combined with
used in a wide range of topics in marketing research such a laddering technique to examine the importance of each
as fuzzy market segments and fuzzy market structures identified consumption value to Chinese consumers when
(Hruschka, 1986; Wedel & Steenkamp, 1989; Wedel & purchasing imported fruit, and how the different values
Steenkamp, 1991); consumer preference (Mela & Leh- overlapped.
mann, 1995); and measures of product categorization
(Loken & Ward, 1990; Ozanne, Brucks, & Grewal, 1992; 2. Research methods
Viswanathan & Childers, 1999). In doing so, it presents
marketing researchers with a new way to capitalize on a 2.1. Research steps
concept or process that contains inherent imprecision
(Hruschka, 1986; Mela & Lehmann, 1995; Smithson, The research involved four steps. The first step was to
1987; Varki, Cooil, & Rust, 1997; Wedel & Steenkamp, establish connection structures for each consumption value
1991; Zadeh, 1965). However, the notion of fuzzy logic the- based on the data from depth interviews using the ladder-
ory has not been developed in marketing research as a ing technique. The connection structures were represented
means of assessing the consumption values that consumers by favourable and unfavourable fruit attributes associated
pursue. In this research, we use Chinese who purchased with each consumption value. The second step was a mall
imported fruit as a case to demonstrate that fuzzy set the- intercept survey conducted on a large scale (n = 520) using
ory can be used as an effective approach to examining con- a standard questionnaire in multiple choice form. The pur-
sumers’ consumption values, particularly when consumers pose of this survey was to examine the perceptions of
hold multiple values with different levels of emphasis. imported fruit buyers in a supermarket towards fruit attri-
Imported fruits have been available on a large scale in butes that linked to various consumption values discovered
China since 1993, and the imported fruit business has since in the earlier depth interviews by laddering. The third step
experienced burgeoning demand and high profits (Instate was to calculate the similarity of consumers’ perception
Pty Ltd., 1997). Though imported fruit sells in China for patterns to the connection structure of each value gener-
many times the price of its local equivalent, and sometimes ated from laddering. In this process, fuzzy logic theory
at prices higher than in developed countries, there are still was applied to calculate similarity through measuring the
many willing buyers despite a much lower income of local degree of membership of each respondent to each connec-
people than that of people in developed counties and that tion structure, in other words, the degree of belonging to
abundance of fresh, cheap local fruit available in the mar- each consumption value. Such an approach allowed a con-
ket. This raises the question, ‘‘What consumption values sumer to hold multiple consumption values with different
are Chinese consumers seeking in imported fruit?” Under- degrees of belonging to each value. Finally, in the fourth
standing this issue is important for positioning and brand- step, conventional k-means clustering was used to segment
ing imported fruit in Chinese markets. consumers based on their degree of membership of each
Zhang and Jolibert (2000) classified Chinese consump- connection structure, or consumption value. Characteris-
tion values into three categories: symbolic values, health tics of the membership of each segmented group revealed
values and utility values based on three main Chinese doc- how consumption values overlap.
trines, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, which these The combination of laddering and mall intercept survey
authors refer to as the three pillars of Chinese cultural val- was essential in this research for three reasons:
ues. Symbolic consumption relates to products having a
social value, such as the way in which a product can reflect (1) Laddering serves as a tool to discover the connection
the purchaser’s ability to afford an expensive item. Health patterns for each consumption value. This is beyond
related consumption focuses on products which confer the ability of a mall intercept survey, where the inter-
benefits such as superior nutrition, low chemical use, or viewee is normally patient for no more that 3–5 min
other health-related benefits. Utility related consumption (Malhotra, 1996). The questionnaire in multiple
focuses on a product’s functionality rather than on attri- choice form helps to keep the intercept time short.
butes such as appearance or branding. However, some Moreover, including questions about consumption
authors have noted that since China has opened its doors values in the questionnaire could cause difficulty to
to the western world, consumer behavior has also been interviewees because concepts of consumption values
578 X. Sun, R. Collins / Food Quality and Preference 18 (2007) 576–584

are elusive and abstract for most people. Explaining was only interested in the respondent’s opinions. In choos-
and making sure interviewees understand such a con- ing the sample of 40 interviewees, their experience of hav-
cept would increase interviewing time significantly. ing purchased imported fruit was more important than
(2) The combination makes it possible to evaluate con- their city of origin, age or gender, although a reasonable
sumers with multiple values with different emphasis. cross-section was sought. A total of 40 depth interviews
Laddering helps to develop a typical connection was considered sufficient to elicit the required information.
structure for each consumption value and its associ-
ated fruit attributes, while mall intercept surveys 3.1. Questionnaire and mall intercept survey
reveal customer perceptions towards fruit attributes.
By calculating the similarity of consumers’ perception Based on the findings from laddering interviews, a stan-
patterns to each of the connection structures, the dard questionnaire was constructed for use in mall intercept
degree of value overlap can be estimated. surveys. In the questionnaire, 14 attributes that were found
(3) This combination enables quantitative assessment of through laddering interviews to have a relationship with
the impact of each consumption value. Data from consumption values were framed into 14 statements. Partic-
laddering is qualitative and on a small scale, while ipants in the survey were asked to respond to each statement,
mall intercept data is quantitative on a large scale, indicating their level of agreement or disagreement using a
enabling quantitative assessments to be made. format 1–5 scale (where 1 = strongly agree; 2 = agree;
3 = uncertain; 4 = disagree; 5 = strongly disagree). For
instance, the attribute of imported fruit’s appearance was
3. Laddering interview measured by consumers’ level of agreement with the state-
ment: I purchase imported fruit because of its appearance.
A laddering interview was conducted for the purpose of Of the 14 attributes, six were related to physical attributes
developing attributes-value connection structures. In lad- of the product: appearance (k1), packaging (k2), freedom
dering, the line of questioning proceeds from product’s from chemicals (k3), good taste (k4), different taste (k5)
attributes to user characteristics. This technique allows and freshness (k6). Four dealt with other reasons for con-
the researcher to tap into the consumer’s network of mean- sumers purchasing imported fruit. These reasons were, fruit
ings. Laddering essentially consists of two steps (Reynolds domestically unavailable (k7), fruit not produced domesti-
& Gutman, 1984; Reynolds & Gutman, 1988). The first step cally (k8), for the brand (k9), and for fashion (k10). The
is to find relevant product attributes that are important to remaining four were more intangible attributes dealing with
the consumer who purchased the products. The second step the product’s symbolic or abstract (Audenaert & Steenk-
is to push the respondent up a ladder of abstraction by ask- amp, 1997) characteristics: that it represented achievement
ing ‘‘Why are, or are not, particular attributes important to (k11), wealth (k12), personality (k13) and social status (k14).
you?” Identifying negative attitudes towards fruit attributes Using this questionnaire, mall intercept interviews were
can strengthen information for describing that value cate- conducted at point of sale immediately after consumers
gory (Reynolds & Gutman, 1984), and thus facilitate the had purchased imported fruit. This survey approach helps
development of connection structures. After the respondent to ensure that the derived consumption values are from the
answers, the interviewer continues with a question like behaviour of purchasing imported fruit. A supermarket
‘‘Why is that important or not important to you?” The pro- run by a China–Taiwan joint venture company in Guangz-
cess continues until the respondent is unable to answer. hou was chosen as the survey location because its fruit sec-
Based on the information from the raw ladders, a so-called tion was clearly divided into domestic fruits and imported
connection structure could be drawn, which is a graphic fruits, it was a heavily trafficked store, and its management
representation of the sampled consumers’ frequently men- gave approval to promote the survey as being on behalf of
tioned associations between categories in the ladders. Only the company. The purpose of the survey was explained to
links between categories that are mentioned by a number of interviewees as being for the improvement of service so that
respondents exceeding a chosen cut-off level are included in customers’ needs could be better understood and met, as
the structure. the company also wanted to use the results. The rationale
This study involved 40 respondents who had bought for this approach was to ensure that the interviewee’s per-
imported fruit previously (15 males and 25 females, age sonal interest was directly associated with the quality of
range 18–40 years). They were from the metropolitan areas their answers to the questions. The survey, conducted in
of Zhengchou, Chongqin, Hangzhou, Beijin, Changchun, July 2000, involved 520 personal interviews directly after
Xian, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Urumqi. After initial con- a purchase of imported fruit. A total of 495 useable
tact, information concerning the purpose of the study responses were recorded.
and the length of time required was given. Each interview,
conducted in Chinese, lasted between 20 and 30 min, begin- 3.2. Fuzzy set construction
ning with a brief description of the project and the purpose
of the study. The respondent was told that there were no In this study, the connection structures of four values
right or wrong answers to the questions, and the researcher were conceptualized by fuzzy sets. A detailed treatment
X. Sun, R. Collins / Food Quality and Preference 18 (2007) 576–584 579
8
of definitions, notation and theory relating to fuzzy sets can < 1 if agreement level ¼ 1 and 2
>
be found in Klir and Folger (1988). The definition and k j ¼ 0:5 if agreement level ¼ 3
notation relevant to each fuzzy value set are included >
:
0 if agreement level ¼ 4 and 5
below:
Let lA (xi), lB (xi), lC (xi), and lD (xi) denote the degree
of membership of consumer xi in the fuzzy value sets A If a consumption value shows a negative attitude towards
through D, respectively. xi  X, where X is the universal an attribute (kj), then
set, or the total number of consumers investigated. 8
The support sets of value sets A, B, C and D in the uni- < 0 if agreement level ¼ 1 and 2
>
0
versal set X are the crisp sets that contain all the elements in k j ¼ 0:5 if agreement level ¼ 3
>
:
X that have nonzero membership in A, B, C and D, then: 1 if agreement level ¼ 4 and 5
Supp A ¼ fxi  XjlA ðxi Þ > 0g
kj represents the attributes, j = 1,2. . .14.
B ¼ fxi  XjlB ðxi Þ > 0g
C ¼ fxi  XjlC ðxi Þ > 0g
D ¼ fxi  XjlD ðxi Þ > 0g 4. Analysis and results

where i = 1...n and n is the total number of consumers 4.1. Connection structure and membership functions
investigated.
Let xi  Supp A, B, C and D, respectively Laddering interviews revealed 14 attributes associated
with 4 different consumption values. A cutoff level = 10
A ¼ mA ðx1 Þ=x1 þ mA ðx2 Þ=x2 þ    þ mA ðxn Þ=xn
was used to develop the connection structures between
B ¼ mB ðx1 Þ=x1 þ mB ðx2 Þ=x2 þ    þ mB ðxn Þ=xn attributes and values. In other words, an attribute and a
C ¼ mC ðx1 Þ=x1 þ mC ðx2 Þ=x2 þ    þ mC ðxn Þ=xn value can only be linked when more than 10 interviewees
D ¼ mD ðx1 Þ=x1 þ mD ðx2 Þ=x2 þ    þ mD ðxn Þ=xn report this relationship. The cut-off level 10 is chosen
through a trade-off between a parsimonious and a complete
Where the ‘‘/” symbol links the grade of membership mi representation of the data. The development of the connec-
with the element xi, and the ‘‘+” symbol shows that the tion structures and their associated membership functions
various m/xi collectively comprise the sets. for the each of the four consumption values is described
as follows (Fig. 1).
3.3. Membership function
4.1.1. Connection structure of symbolic consumption value
The membership function of a fuzzy set defines how the
and its membership function (A)
grade of membership of x in A is determined. It is used to
Fig. 2 illustrates the connection structure of symbolic
describe the vague characteristics of a fuzzy set. The assign-
consumption. Symbolic consumption is related to five
ment of the membership function of a fuzzy set complies
extrinsic attributes: good appearance (k1), superior packag-
with the rule that the grade of membership is 1 at the centre
ing (k2), seasonally unavailable (k7), not produced in China
of the set and that it falls off in an appropriate way through
(k8) and foreign brand (k9). The consequence that consum-
the fuzzy boundaries to the region outside the set where it
ers expected from these attributes is that they represent
takes the value 0. The membership function could, there-
achievement (k11), wealth (k12) or social status (k14).
fore, be used to describe any distribution of membership
According to this connection structure, a consumer’s
between the set and elements.
degree of belonging to symbolic values can be estimated
The graded membership function can be represented in
through two factors. One is the agreement level of consum-
different forms, depending on the situation to be described.
ers with the statements that his/her purchasing behaviour is
In this study, the membership functions for each consump-
motivated by any one or more of the five extrinsic attri-
tion value were built up based on the connection structures
butes. The other is the agreement level with the statements
developed from laddering interviews.
that he/she is seeking any of the three symbolic conse-
quences through these extrinsic fruit attributes. The degree
3.4. Survey data transformation of membership of a consumer to the symbolic consumption
set can be calculated by taking the smaller value of the
In order to process fuzzy operations, the survey data strongest agreement score in the five extrinsic attributes,
from respondents on their level of agreement with concept and the strongest agreement score in the three symbolic
statements were transformed by the following segment attributes. The membership function uA(xi) for symbolic
functions before entering the membership functions: consumption value can therefore be defined as
If a consumption value is favourable towards an attri-
bute (kj), then: uA ðxi Þ ¼ ðk i1 _ k i2 _ k i7 _ k i8 _ k i9 Þ ^ ðk i11 _ k i12 _ k i14 Þ
580 X. Sun, R. Collins / Food Quality and Preference 18 (2007) 576–584

Fig. 1. The graded structure from one value to another among Chinese purchasing imported fruit.

Representative of achievement (k11) Representative of wealth (k12) Representative of social status (k14)

Symbolic consumption

Good appearance (k1) Good packaging (k2) Seasonally unavailable (k7) Not produced in China (k 8) Foreign brand (k9)

Fig. 2. Connection of symbolic consumption.

4.1.2. Connection structure of the health concerned value and sumer’s stronger agreement score in relation to the two
its membership function (B) fruit attributes of less chemicals (k3) and freshness (k6).
Fig. 3 illustrates the connection structure of health con- The second is the lowest score for the fruit symbolic attri-
cerned consumption. Consumers whose values relate to butes (k11, k12, k13, k14) and fashion (k10), as seeking any
concerns about health purchased imported fruit because one of those attributes reduces consumers’ belonging to
of its less chemical residues, freshness or both. In most the health concerned value. The membership function
cases they show negative attitudes to buying imported fruit uB(xi) for symbolic consumption value can therefore be
because of its symbolic meanings or fashion. According to defined as
this connection structure, a consumer’s degree of belonging
uB ðxi Þ ¼ ðk i3 _ k i6 Þ ^ ðk 0i10 ^ k 0i11 ^ k 0i12 ^ k 0i13 ^ k 0i14 Þ
can be estimated by two factors. One is the agreement level
with the statements that his/her purchasing behaviour is
motivated by less chemical residues or freshness or both. 4.1.3. Connection structure of the basic need value and
The other is the agreement level with statements that he/ its membership function (C)
she is seeking symbolic consequences or fashion by con- Fig. 4 illustrates the connection structure of basic need
sumption of imported fruit. The degree of membership consumption. Consumers holding the basic need value
for a consumer belonging to this value can be determined may purchase imported fruit for one or more of the four
by taking the smaller value of two. The first is the con- fruit attributes: taste better (k4), taste different (k5), domes-

Representative of achievement (k11), wealth (k12), social status (k13) and personality (k14) Fashion (k10)

_ _

Health concerned

Less chemical residues (k3) Freshness (k6)

Fig. 3. The connection structure of the health concerned consumption value.


X. Sun, R. Collins / Food Quality and Preference 18 (2007) 576–584 581

Representative of achievement (k11),


wealth (k12), social status (k13) and personality (k14) Good packaging (k2) Foreign brand (k9) Fashion (k10)

_ _ _
_

Basic need

Taste better (k4) Taste different (k5) Seasonally unavailable (k7) Not produced in China (k8)

Fig. 4. The connection structure of the basic need consumption value.

tic product seasonally unavailable (k7) and not produced in (k7), not produced in China (k8) and foreign brand (k9).
China (k8). However, consumers in this group display neg- However, the consequence that consumers expect from
ative attitudes towards the statements that they purchase these attributes is fashion (k10) or representativeness of per-
imported fruit because of good packaging (k2), foreign sonality (k13) or both, which differs from symbolic con-
brand (k9), fashion (k10) and symbolic meaning (k11, k12, sumption. According to this connection structure, a
k13, k14). According to this connection structure, a con- consumer’s degree of belonging to the hedonistic value
sumer’s degree of belonging to the basic need value can can be estimated through two factors. The first is the agree-
be estimated through two factors. The first is the agreement ment level of the consumer’s evaluation towards the state-
level of consumers’ evaluation of statements that his/her ments that his/her purchasing behaviour is motivated by
purchasing behaviour is motivated by one or more of the any one or more of the five extrinsic attributes. The second
attributes k4, k5, k7 and k8. The second is the agreement is the agreement level with the statements that he/she is
level towards the statements that he/she is seeking good seeking the consequence of fashion or personality through
packaging (k2), foreign brand (k9), fashion (k10) or sym- these attributes. The degree of membership of a consumer
bolic attributes (k11, k12, k13, k14) by the consumption of to hedonistic consumption can be calculated by taking the
imported fruit. The degree of membership for a consumer smaller value of two. The first is the strongest agreement
belonging to this value can be determined by taking the score among the five extrinsic attributes. The second is
smaller of two values. The first is the consumer’s strongest the stronger agreement score towards attributes of fashion
agreement score in relation to fruit attributes k4, k5, k7 and and personality. The membership function uD(xi) for hedo-
k8. The second is the least disagreement score among fruit nistic consumption can therefore be defined as
attributes k2, k9, k10, k11, k12, k13, k14, as seeking any one of
uD ðxi Þ ¼ ðk i1 _ k i2 _ k i7 _ k i8 _ k i9 Þ ^ ðk i10 _ k i13 Þ
those attributes reduces consumers’ belonging to health
concerned value. The membership function uC(xi) for basic
need value can therefore be defined as
4.2. Examining the impact of consumption values on
uC ðxi Þ ¼ ðk i4 _ k i5 _ k i7 _ k i8 Þ ^ ðki20 ^ ki90 ^ ki10
0 0
^ ki11 0
^ ki12 Chinese buying imported fruit
0
^ ki13 ^ k 0 xi14 Þ
To examine the impact of the four consumption values
on Chinese purchasing imported fruit, individual respon-
4.1.4. Connection structure of the hedonic value and dent’s degree of belonging to each of the four consumption
its membership function (D) values were first calculated. This was calculated through
Fig. 5 illustrates the connection structure of hedonistic the constructed membership functions described as above
consumption. As with the connection structure for the by using the transformed data of consumer’s agreement
symbolic consumption value, hedonistic consumption is levels to the 14 statements about imported fruit. If a
driven by any of the five extrinsic attributes: good appear- respondent belongs to consumption value A, the associated
ance (k1), superior packaging (k2), seasonally unavailable membership function will generate a value of 1 to denote

Fashion (k10) Representative of personality (k13)

looks good

Good appearance (k1) Good packaging (k2) Seasonally unavailable (k7) Not produced in China (k8) Foreign brand (k9)

Fig. 5. The connection structure of hedonic consumption value.


582 X. Sun, R. Collins / Food Quality and Preference 18 (2007) 576–584

Table 1 Table 2
Percentage of consumer numbers distributed in three intervals of Cluster centers and percentage of consumers in each group in Guangzhou
membership degree for four consumption values
Values G1 G2 G3 G4
Degree of Symbolic Safety and Basic need Hedonic
Hedonistic 0.95 0.19 0.22 0.29
membership consumption health consumption consumption
Symbolic 0.64 0.15 0.03 0.94
concerned
Health concerned 0.07 0.44 0.84 0.00
1.0 29.1 13.9 7.5 43.2 Basic need 0.00 0.59 0.16 0.00
0.5 24.2 31.7 27.9 24.4 No. of consumers 230 159 73 33
0.0 46.7 54.3 64.6 32.3 Total (%) 46 32 15 7

the degree of membership. If the respondent belongs 50% and G4) are characterized by individual consumption
to consumption value A, the membership function will gen- values.
erate a value of 0.5. If the respondent does not belong to G1 was the largest group of the four with 46% of total
consumption value A, the membership function will gener- respondents. Consumers in this group show a mix of hedo-
ate a value of 0. In such a circumstance, the percentage of nic and symbolic values in purchasing imported fruit.
respondents who have degree of membership of 1 in each of However, G1 has 0.95° of belonging to the hedonistic value
the four consumption values indicates how much each con- and 0.64° to the symbolic value, which means consumers in
sumption value influences behaviour. Table 1 presents the G1 are more strongly led by the hedonistic value with only
percentages of respondents distributed in each consump- moderate emphasis on the symbolic value. G2 is the second
tion value at three interval levels of membership degree. largest group, with 32% of total respondents. G2 shows a
The ranking order of the impact of the four values is: hedo- mix of health concerned and basic need values. However,
nism (43.2%) > symbolic consumption (29.1%) > health the degrees of membership of those values are not high
concerned consumption (13.9%) > basic needs (7.5%). (0.44 for health concerned and 0.59 for basic needs).
The results suggest that the majority of consumers who G3 and G4 are led by individual values. G3 (15% of the
purchase imported fruit in China are seeking hedonic and total respondents) has 0.84° of belonging to health con-
symbolic values. Health concerned values and basic needs cerned and minimal (<0.22) belonging to the other three
are far less important overall. values. G3 is therefore regarded as representing health-con-
The advantage of constructing membership functions in cerned consumption. G4 is the smallest group in size, con-
this way is that when a consumer holds multiple consump- taining 7% of total respondents. G4 has 0.94° of belonging
tion values, the degree of membership of the consumer to to symbolic consumption and minimal (<0.29) belonging
each value can be calculated. Such a treatment allows an to the other three values. G4 is therefore regarded as repre-
examination of the value overlap issue, which is addressed senting symbolic consumption.
by clustering consumers on the basis of their degree of
membership of the four consumption values.
6. Discussion

5. Consumer clustering based on the degree of memberships The research demonstrates that fuzzy logic theory can
be used as an effective approach to quantitatively measure
Consumers are traditionally assumed to belong to crisp the impact of consumption values on consumer behaviour.
sets with different values that clearly distinguish them from Using membership functions, a respondent’s degree of
each other (Hruschka, 1986). In reality, consumers can membership to each value can be calculated. If a respon-
hold multiple values with different degrees of belonging dent holds multiple values, the degree of membership can
to each value (Douglas & Craig, 1997). show to what degree the respondent belongs to each value,
Clustering consumers based on their degree of member- thus addressing the issue of value overlap.
ship of a value set allows an examination of how values Results showed that a total of 43.2% of respondents
overlap. Each clustered consumer group has its own cluster have a degree of membership 1 belonging to the hedonistic
centre composed by the average degrees of membership of consumption value and 29.1% to the symbolic consump-
this group to each of the four consumption values. The val- tion value. Hedonistic consumption stems from western
ues of the average degrees indicate how and to what degree cultural values. Almost half (43.2%) the respondents
consumption values overlap, and the percentage of total belong to this value, suggesting that western cultural values
consumers in that group can indicate the extent to which have a significant influence on Chinese consumers’ deci-
mixed values can influence behaviour. sions to purchase imported fruit. Symbolic consumption
Table 2 presents the cluster centres of four groups using stems initially from Confucian values where the behaviour
K-means clustering. Clustering into more than four groups of a person, who is an element in an organism made up of
made some segments too small to be meaningful for the multiple, interconnected classes and functions (Zhao &
data sets. Table 2 shows that two cluster groups (G1 and Zhao, 1998), must be appropriate to his or her social
G2) show strong value overlap, while the other two (G3 status. The relatively large proportion of respondents
X. Sun, R. Collins / Food Quality and Preference 18 (2007) 576–584 583

(29.1%) belonging to this group may suggest that Confu- However, the purpose of developing this method is to
cian values which were criticized under the Communist examine the impact of values rather than to measure the
regime also play an important role for many people who strengths of linkages. The second limitation of the method
purchase imported fruit. is that it does not entirely distinguish symbolic values initi-
Results from clustering consumers reveal that the major- ated from Chinese Confucian culture from those associated
ity of consumers who bought imported fruit hold two types with western hedonistic values, as western hedonistic con-
of mixed consumption values; hedonistic mingled with sumption also emphasizes the symbolic meaning of a prod-
symbolic values, or utility values blended with health con- uct, such as achievement and power (Feather, 1994). This
cerns. The largest mixed value group is the hedonistic con- limitation could be addressed by additional questions in
sumption group with moderate emphasis on symbolism the laddering interviews to differentiate between the two.
(46%). The overall proportion of consumers with mixed
values was 78%. As a result, the percentage of consumers 7. Conclusion
pursuing individual values exclusively is relatively small.
These findings demonstrate that Chinese culture is highly Given the importance of predicting future demand for
complex and people have always held multidimensional consumer goods in China, better methods are needed to
cultural values (Wei & Pan, 1999). evaluate how various consumption values can affect con-
In order to demonstrate the influence of various cultural sumer behaviour. The method developed in this study pro-
values on Chinese consumer behaviour, many researchers vides an algorithm with flexibility in constructing
have used the explosion of consumer demand in China membership functions for each consumption value based
both as an example of cultural imperialism and of auton- on product attributes. It allows the examination of the
omy and increasing diversity in consumer culture (Wilk, roles of consumption values in consumer behaviour in a
1996). However, the rise of consumer demand is not neces- given context and could be adapted to a wide range of
sarily the consequence of western cultural impacts, partic- products in the market place.
ularly as the income of the Chinese has been increasing
dramatically since 1980. The question is whether Chinese References
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