Consumers purchase attitudes toward Shanzhai products: An empirical study of Chinese consumers

Shanzhai products have witnessed a huge growth China market. Although the shanzhai problem has been discussed in the literature, most of the studies are mainly literature review, practical report, or theoretical analysis. Empirical research remains scarce, especially the examination of underlying key purchase determinants of shanzhai purchase from consumer behavior perspective. This study embeds the shanzhai phenomenon into the consumer behavior literature by unveiling the underlying mechanism of drivers of its purchase, and identifying the relationship between the purchase determinant and its purchase attitude, besides, understanding the link between the attitude and the purchase behavior intention. Specifically, it conducts a quantitative survey with 200 undergraduate consumers in China market and uses the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique to test the hypothesized relationships. The study unravels those consumers’ intentions to buy shanzhai products are dependent on the attitudes they have toward shanzhai, which in turn are influenced by degree of satisfaction, product attributes and price preference, but not by social influence. The paper reinforces the mediator role of attitude in the relationship between the antecedents and behavioral intentions of shanzhai purchase, and it contributes to inform policy makers and product managers of the main predictors of consumer’s attitudes toward shanzhai. Therefore, shanzhai should continue to offer good price and innovative features, interesting product design and improved product experience, and increase satisfaction of customers.