Trust And Commitment: A Tracking Study On Generation Difference And Intergenerational Influence Of Time-Honoured Brand Relationship Quality In China

摘要

Based on the integrated perspectives of generation differences and intergenerational influences, attitudes of China's consumers towards time-honoured brand are explored. A quantitative study on 2083 subjects from 4 cities of China using door-to-door questionnaire is conducted in two phases (2007 and 2009). The results indicate a decline in the evaluation of trust and commitment down the generations, and a significant difference between the old and the young generations, especially in commitment evaluation. The results also show that, in consumer behaviour of Chinese city households, influence on the parents frorn children is more significant and pronounced than influence on children from parents. This influence weakens rather than strengthens the commitment effect caused by the parents' trust on time-honoured brand. The theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed at the end.