From ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China’ : the development of a country brand in the international exporting context
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Date
25/11/2014Author
Lin, Fenfang
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Abstract
Globalisation has created a world where countries compete with each other over
trading. Historically, emerging countries started with a negative brand image to
enhance exporting. This is particularly true in the Asian context where a general
developmental path has been established by countries such as Japan and South
Korea. Their success has gained a strong brand image for their products. China, after
launching itself into the global market in the late 70s, has gained an increasing
market share of ‘Made in China’ products. The reputation of ‘Made in China’,
however, is perceived at low quality mass production of low-tech content, and there
are only few Chinese brands which can stand out in the global market.
This study explores ‘Made in China’ phenomenon in the global market, especially
from the producer’s viewpoint. The literature review provides a background to the
research. It covers the studies on Country of Origin (COO) effect, economic
development strategies and competitive advantage theories. This research employs a
mixed methods strategy that combines both quantitative and qualitative studies. The
questionnaire survey was designed to reveal British importers’ perception of ‘Made
in China’ products. Netnography and Interview are adopted to investigate the voice
from Chinese producers and manufacturers. The design of this research allows for
triangulating the findings.
The results show the international buyers, i.e. British importers, perceive the biggest
advantage for Chinese products is price. Chinese producers’ contributions suggest
four themes to represent the current situation of ‘Made in China’, namely the image,
price, quality and imitation. In their view the future development lies in ‘Created in
China’, which consists of other four themes: creativity, branding, designing and
R&D. A model of -From ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China’- is developed in this
research. This model identifies the major obstacles that impede the development are
thin profit and copying.
This research shed lights on the study of developing a country brand, especially for
the emerging nation like China. For the first time, this research explores the
producers’ views to highlight the importance of their roles in a country brand’s
development. The findings also have the implications for Chinese policymakers and
industrial development agency. It further offers knowledge to the emerging nations
who wish to develop their country brand in the international exporting market.