How to Use “Jade of Other Mountains” in Cultural Resources? A Study on Consumer Responses to Brand Cultural Appropriation Based on the Grounded Theory

Zhang Yicong, Guo Xiaoling, Xu Zhennan

Foreign Economics & Management Vol. 46, Issue 03, pp. 18 - 35 (2024)  DOI:10.16538/j.cnki.fem.20230605.301

Summary

Within the context of economic globalization, it is increasingly common for brands to use foreign cultural elements in their marketing activities. However, the reasons for the success or failure of brand cultural appropriation are not clear to academia or industry. The concept of “cultural appropriation” has been mainly used in the fields of art, cultural communication, and identity politics, but rarely in the field of marketing. By reviewing existing literature, the concept of “cultural appropriation” is defined and analyzed in the context of this paper. Then, in-depth personal interviews, online open-ended questionnaires, and second-hand online data are used to explore the impact mechanism and conditions of brand cultural appropriation on consumer responses using the grounded theory, and build the “brand cultural appropriation features–emotions stimulated by cultural appropriation–consumer responses” model. This paper advances the theoretical discussions on global brands and consumer behavior from the cultural perspective and has important practical implications for global brands to make better use of external cultural resources.

Keywords

grounded theory; brand cultural appropriation; consumer emotions; consumers’ brand attitude and behavior