Consumer Ethnocentrism ································································

Shimp and Sharma (1987)’s CETSCALE was considered when I evaluated my

consumer ethnocentrism. As discussed in the Chapter Two, there are 17 items in the original CETSCALE which was based on American consumers’ ethnocentrism in the context of products. Nonetheless, I examined the 17 items in the context of services. I

also converted the U.S into China and see American consumers as Chinese consumers

Table 3.10: CETSCALE (Shimp and Sharma 1987) Item

1 Chinese people should always buy Chinese-made services instead of imports 2 Only those services that are unavailable in China should be imported

3 Buy Chinese-made services. Keep China working 4 Chinese services, first, last, and foremost

5 Purchasing foreign services is un-Chinese

6 It is not right to purchase foreign services, because it puts Chinese out of jobs 7 A real Chinese should always buy Chinese services

8 We should purchase services provided in China instead of letting other countries get rich off us.

9 It is always best to purchase Chinese services

10 There should be very little trading or purchasing of services from other countries unless out of necessity.

11 Chinese should not buy foreign services, because this hurts Chinese business and causes unemployment

12 Curbs should be put on all imports.

13 It may cost me in the long-run but I prefer to support Chinese services. 14 Foreigners should not be allowed to put their services on our markets 15 Foreign services should be taxed heavily to reduce their entry into China

16 We should buy from foreign countries only those services that we cannot obtain within our own country.

17 Chinese consumers who purchase services in other countries are responsible for putting their fellow Chinese out of work.

My consumer ethnocentrism is weak because I do not particularly intend to buy

Chinese or foreign made services in most cases (Table 3.11). For example I disagree with the item of “it is not right to purchase foreign services, because it puts Chinese people out of jobs”. In my opinion, there is a large number of foreign services provided by Chinese workers. From this point, sometimes purchasing foreign services

can create Chinese employment. I would like to buy services with comparatively low

price and perceived high quality. Therefore, my consumer ethnocentric value can

neither influence my evaluation of services nor the COO effects in my evaluation of

Table 3.11: Consumer Ethnocentrism in the Review of Cultural Category

Research Question Cultural Category

(Before going to the U.K)

Cultural Category (After going to the U.K)

8. To what extent can Chinese students’ consumer ethnocentrism positively or negatively influence COO effects in their evaluation of British higher education services?

Consumer Ethnocentrism Weak consumer ethnocentrism:  No particular intention to buy

Chinese made services

Consumer Ethnocentrism Weak consumer ethnocentrism:

 No particular intention to buy Chinese made services

3.4 Part Three of the Study: External Influences of COO Influence on Service Evaluation

Part three of the study aims to examine the external influences of COO effects in the

evaluation of British higher education services and Chinese higher education services.

The external influences of COO effects in Chinese students’ evaluation of British

higher education services from the literature review of international higher education

in the Chapter Two include:

 Academic reputation (e.g. Yao, 2004; Diaz and Krauss, 1996; Huang and Brown, 1996; Singh and Ninemeier, 2003; Chen 2007; Mazzarol 1998; and Mazzarol and

Soutar, 2004);

 Entry requirement (e.g. Economist, 2005; Chen, 2007)

 Availability of courses in home country (e.g. Mazzarol and Soutar, 2002; Yao, 2004; Davidson and Wang, 2008);

 Influence of normative referents (e.g. Lawley and Perry, 1999; Pmipa, 2002, 2003, 2004; Economist, 2005; Chen and Zimitat, 2006; Mazzarol and Soutar, 2002);

 English acquisition (e.g. Malcolm, et al. 2004; Yao, 2004);

 Costs of studying overseas (e.g. Davidson and Wang, 2008; Chen, 2006, 2007; Yao, 2004; Chen and Zimitat, 2006); and

 Employment opportunities (e.g. Yao, 2004; Economist, 2005; Davidson and Wang, 2008)

 Country environment (e.g. Cubillo, et al. 2005, 2006; Srikatanyoo and Gnoth, 2002, Chen and Zimitat, 2006; Lawley and Perry, 1998; Kemp, et al. 1998; Yao, 2004;

Davidson, 2008)

In addition, Chapter Two also suggested three stages of students’ decision making

process when they select international higher education. These three stages are: first

deciding to go abroad, then selecting a particular country, and selecting a particular

institution. The importance of the aforementioned external influences of COO effects

had been changing before and after I went to the U.K. Such difference is shown in the

table 3.12.

Table 3.12: External Influences of COO Effects on Selecting International Higher Education

Research Question Cultural Category

(Before going to the U.K)

Cultural Category (After going to the U.K)

9. To what extent can COO effects in Chinese students’ evaluation of British higher education services be perceived as less important when other additional information cues are considered?

Other information cues considered: Stage One: Deciding to going abroad

 Prestige of studying abroad  Influence of parents  Cost of study overseas

 Curiosity (to see the world; to seek adventure)

 Culture of sending student overseas  High entry requirement in Chinese

universities

Stage Two: Selecting a particular country (The U.K) and institution (Manchester Metropolitan University)

 Recognition of degree by home country  Family financial support available  Cost of study including tuition fee and

living cost

 The wealth and power of host country  Influence of parents

 English language (the U.K is the birth place)

 Perceived reasonableness of time to complete a course

 Course exemptions

 The ease of acquiring student visa  Possibility of emigration

Other information cues considered: Stage One: Deciding to going abroad

 Recognition of degree by home country  Seeking independence

 Prestige of studying abroad  Influence of parents  Cost of study overseas

Step two: Selecting a particular country (the U.K)

 Financial ability to support myself  Possibility of getting a part-time job  The ease of acquiring student visa  English language (No need to study

another language)

 Reasonable time to complete a course  Influence of parents

Step three: Selecting a particular institution (University of Salford)

 Possibility of getting a part-time job  Employment prospects

 Working experience

 Cost of study including tuition fee and living cost

 Scholarship

 Employment perspective

Before Going to the U.K

Stage One: Deciding a study destination country

After I finished high school study, I found that I could not go to what I perceived as a

good Chinese university for further study due to the high entry requirement. I had

difficulty being admitted to good Chinese universities. Therefore, I had to choose to

study abroad as there are more potential study opportunities in foreign countries. As

my family could not afford the perceived extraordinarily high expense of studying

abroad, we made the decision of where I went to study carefully. I decided to study in Xi’an Lighten Infobus International College (re-named as Xi’an TMC International College in 2004) as this was the most economical way of going abroad for study. The

college was in Xi’an, China. As an independent Sino-Foreign cooperative college, it was founded by Xi’an Lighten Technology Company and Singapore TMC Education Corporation Ltd as a joint venture.

I studied a top-up course named International Business Management there. It was a

three year course of the Higher National Diploma. The qualification was issued by

University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. After I completed the course,

I could go to a few cooperating foreign universities for further studies with course

exemptions. The tuition fee was only 11,000 yuan (less than 800 pounds in 2003) per

year and the accommodation fee was just 1,000 yuan (less than 70 pounds) per year.

Stage two: Choosing a study destination and particular institution

As the Higher Diploma could only be accepted by a few foreign institutions which

cooperated with my college, I made the decision on a study destination and particular

evaluated the various strengths and weaknesses of a range of higher education service

providers in the U.K as depicted in the table 3.13. After this evaluation of service

attributes I eventually chose Manchester Metropolitan University.

Table 3.13: Options of study destination and particular institution (before going to the U.K)

University Destination Study

Period

Strengths Weaknesses

Manchester Metropolitan University

The U.K 1 year  Low total cost of study abroad  Reasonable time to complete a course  Course exemption

 Reputation for high quality education  Ease of obtaining a student visa in

short time

 Having working rights during study  Degree offered is recognised in China

 Lower ranked than Deakin University and Monash University  Possibility of emigrating

University of East London

The U.K 1 year  Low total cost of study abroad  Reasonable time to complete a course  Course exemption

 Ease of obtaining a student visa  Having working rights during study  Degree offered is recognised in China

 Lower ranked than Manchester Metropolitan University  Possibility of emigrating

Georgian College

The U.S 1 year  Low total cost of study abroad  Reasonable time to complete a course  Course exemption

 Having working rights during study  Degree offered is recognised in China

 Most difficult to get a visa  Possibility of emigrating  Low level of personal safety

Deakin University

Australia 2 years  Reputation for high quality education  Possibility of emigrating

 Having working rights during study  Degree offered is recognised in China

 High total cost of study abroad  Unreasonable time to complete a

course

 Fewer course exemption  Difficult to get a student visa in

short time

 Proof of substantial funds required before a visa granted

Monash University

Australia 2.5 years

 Reputation for high quality education  Possibility of emigrating

 Having working rights during study  Degree offered is recognised in China

 High total cost of study abroad  Unreasonable time to complete a

course

 Fewer course exemptions  Difficult to get a student visa in

short time

before a visa granted TMC College Singapore 1 year  Lowest total cost of study abroad

 Reasonable time to complete a course  Course exemption

 Possibility of emigrating

 Cultural Proximity

 Having no working rights during study

 Degree offered may not be recognised in China

As my family could only afford one year study abroad for me, Deakin University and

Monash University were excluded in my consideration even they were ranked higher

than other universities. Additionally, I didn’t want to go to Singapore for my study

due to the proximity of its culture to that of the Chinese.

I chose the U.K as a final decision because British COO image I held was better than

American COO image. Such a positive image can largely result in my positive

evaluation of British higher education. Although I did not have experience based

knowledge of the U.K and its higher education, I had perceived knowledge of them

from sources like my English textbooks, the Internet and people around me who had

experience of British higher education. My understanding of the U.K and its higher

education was fuzzy. It was my strong curiosity of the U.K and its higher education

that motivated me to select the U.K as my study destination. Additionally, I chose

Manchester Metropolitan University rather than University of East London because of

the university ranking list which showed that the former university was higher ranked

than the latter one.

After Going to the U.K

After I lived and studied in the U.K for a few years, my views of the country and its

higher education had changed. I chose to continue to study after I finished my

Bachelor degree in Manchester Metropolitan University. I chose the University of

Salford as my study destination largely due to the scholarships provided and the low

tuition fee. In addition, I would not like to move to other cities and give up my

earn money by myself because I could not obtain any financial support from my

parents. Nonetheless, my views of the U.K and its higher education did not change

much before and after I studied my Ph.D course. The table above presents the

difference of my cultural review at the time before and after I went to the U.K. The

bullet points are the cultural categories identified by my self-evaluation.

In document Country of origin influence on service evaluation An insight into Chinese students' choice of British higher education (Page 120-127)