Changing tastes: the adoption of new food choices in post-reform China
Ann Veecka,*, Alvin C. Burnsb,1
aDepartment of Marketing, Haworth College of Business, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
bDepartment of Marketing, E.J. Ourso College of Business Administration, Louisiana State University, 3427 CEBA, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
Received 20 December 2002; accepted 12 August 2003
Abstract
In developing nations throughout the world, consumers are being assailed by new products and services, many of which can alter or
supplant time-honored consumption customs. Based on a yearlong field study in Nanjing, People’s Republic of China, this research
investigates the factors that influence the extent to which individuals are willing to alter their traditional consumption patterns when offered
new choices. Results suggest that, as household production theories would predict, adoption of time-saving processed food items by
contemporary Chinese consumers is influenced by increased income and increased demands on time. A number of other important
influences, however, are equally important, including loyalty to a long tradition of buying fresh food, the need to be ‘‘in control,’’ and a desire
to maintain identity and traditional family relationships. The study indicates that an interplay of factors motivates consumers to resist or
embrace new consumption choices.
D 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: China; Consumption changes; Foodways; Globalization