Effects of Apples Marketing Strategy on Customers Behaviour in Chinese Market

Effects of Apples Marketing Strategy on Customers Behaviour in Chinese Market Introduction In a retrospect, Apple, Inc. is one of those companies that were destined to become the world leaders. Launched into the global market with its innovative concept of Apple III, a personal computer that turned out to be quite competitive in the environment dominated by IBM and Microsoft, the organisation has been increasingly successful ever since (Hagedoorn, Carayannis Alexander 2001).Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Effects of Apple’s Marketing Strategy on Customers’ Behaviour in Chinese Market specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, with the creation of the global market, the company has faced a range of challenges, particularly, the need to promote its products with an account of the cultural specifics of the target population (Schiavenza 2013). Despite impressive differences between the Americana and the Chinese cultures, Apple managed to adjust its marketing campaign to the cultu ral specifics of the above-mentioned market by putting a very strong emphasis on the significance of the technological advance (Minakhmetova Savchenko 2015). As a result, Apple may have spurred the creation of a new type of consumer behaviour in China and even launched an irreversible process of change in the Chinese society (Apple’s foray into China - and the mind of the new Chinese consumer 2013). Literature Review and Research Background Apple, Inc. has been known as the key innovator in the It market for a while (Chapman, Hoskinson Christian 2013) due to the integration of the so-called Quantum strategy into its design; specifically, the mixture of technological advances and efficacy in the company’s overall performance (Heracleous 2013) deserves to be mentioned. Entering into the global market, the company, however, had to bend its strategy so that Apple’s products could appeal to the target demographics; notably, the cultural specifics of the states, wh ich Apple has chosen to expand in, have been identified carefully by the organisation. As a result, the entrance into the Chinese market planned previously by Apple was carried out rather smoothly with the introduction of the new consumer philosophy to the Chinese customers (Better days ahead; Apple in China 2013). The specified tendency can be explained by the fact that, as a worldwide brand, Apple, Inc. already has a very active community of customers and followers (Montgomerie Roscoe 2013), who, in their turn, have created a range of traditions and values related to the company and its vision (Apple plans Apple University in China, bringing Jobs’ vision to Asia 2013). Therefore, when rethinking the possible effects, which Apple, Inc. is going to have on the Chinese community after the adoption of the specified marketing approach, one must admit that opening the Chinese population to new opportunities in terms of education and the use of technology in their daily life can be deemed as a fairly positive change (Apple in China: big country, big company 2015).Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More After all, the fact that â€Å"Apple currently has 12 stores in China and corporate offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai† (Apple plans Apple University in China, bringing Jobs’ vision to Asia 2014, par. 5) means that the company has a range of employment options for the local residents. In the light of the fact that the Chinese society is currently facing significant challenges in meeting the needs of farmers and workers and that a strong effort is required in order to steer the state economy and politics in the right direction, the creation of a new type of society members, which Apple along with other several companies contributes to, is clearly a big step in the right direction: â€Å"A new generation of workers, above al l rural migrant workers, is standing up to defend their dignity and rights† (Chan, Pun Selden 2013, p. 112). Seeing that â€Å"Apple and Foxconn now find themselves in a limelight that challenges their corporate images and symbolic capital, hence requiring at least lip service in support of progressive labour policy reforms† (Chan, Pun Selden 2013, p. 112), it can be assumed that the marketing strategy chosen by Apple is bound to affect not only the creation of an entirely new type of customers in the Chinese market but also reinvent the very concept of economic relationships within the specified environment. It should be noted, though, that the implications of the approach adopted by Apple can be viewed as a double-sided sword, as it may turn out to have rather drastic effects on the Chinese society. Though clearly providing the Chinese population with a range of benefits, including the opportunity for the Chinese people to enter the environment of international comm unication, Apple affects the very core of the Chinese consumer culture by shifting the emphasis in the set of cultural values from appreciation of time honoured traditions to the pursuit of the ephemeral fades. On a more practical level, the specified change makes Chinese consumers are likely to be driven away from some of the current issues in the Chinese economy with the introduction of a new fad (Fitzsimons, Chartrand Fitzsimons 2008). Specifically, the fact that the local afflicted landowners and workers will no longer have the support of the rest of the Chinese population with the new concept of wellbeing engulfing the local population: â€Å"The Chinese state is also seeking to raise domestic consumption and hence living standards, in part in major response to the struggle of aggrieved workers and farmers† (Chan, Pun Selden. 2013, p. 112). More importantly, some of the studies related to the ethics of the company and the approaches, which Apple used as the means of wi nning Chinese customers’ trust, reported about â€Å"a powerful indictment of Apple, supply chains, consumer fantasy about technology, and the ethics of consumption† (Litzinger 2013, p. 175). Therefore, the alterations, which the Apple Company’s strategy is going to have on the economic and social life of the Chinese population, are far from being stellar. Research Objectives The principal goal of the study, therefore, is to investigate the effects that the current strategy undertaken by the Apple, Inc. has on the consumer behaviour patterns in China. Specifically, the research will consider the effects, which the current marketing approach has on the Chinese people’s mindset and their concept of the social elite.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Effects of Apple’s Marketing Strategy on Customers’ Behaviour in Chinese Market specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In other words, the study is aimed at determining whether Apple’s concept of innovative products as the means of being singled out contributes to the creation of a new stratum of the Chinese society, i.e., the so-called technology related elite (Huang, Hu Zhang 2013).  Additionally, the study incorporates several key objectives. It is essential to identify the specifics of the marketing strategy that Apple, Inc. has adopted in China. Moreover, the characteristics of the Chinese consumers’ culture will have to be identified to locate the changes, which Apple’s strategy has triggered in the Chinese society. Finally, the key factors, which have contributed to the change, including both the internal (i.e., the intrinsic factors that are related directly to the mindset of Chinese people) and the external (i.e., the global market, Apple’s vision (Mission statement of Apple 2015), etc.) ones will have to be identified in order to retrieve the necessary information. The key research question is, therefore, whether the approach adopted by the Apple, Inc. may possibly spawn a societal change in China.  The negative effects, which the Apple strategy is going to have on the concept of a Chinese customer and the ethics thereof, however, are not restricted to the societal effects. Apart from the concern for the working class in China, the issue regarding environmental awareness rates among the Chinese people deserves to be mentioned (Apple announces new environmental initiatives in China 2015). It is feared that the concept of technological advances as the measure of a social status may have a rather negative impact on the Chinese environment: â€Å"Apples success in the Chinese mainlands market is achieved at the expense of the local environment† (Jilong 2012, p. 45). By stressing the significance of innovative technology as an attribute of being rich and socially popular, Apple, inc. may make the target denizens of the Chinese population forget ab out the need to be environmentally friendly. Finally, the fact that Apple products have never enjoyed wide popularity in China to begin with deserves to be brought up (Reeve 2013). Seeing that the target market is dominated by Samsung, Apple will have to work especially hard in order to attract Chinese customers; therefore, it can be assumed that the tools to be used by the company are going to leave an especially persistent strategy. Therefore, the study is aimed at answering the following questions: What alterations has the Apple Company done to its marketing approach in order to promote its products to the Chinese population? What consumer behaviour is considered traditionally acceptable in China? In what way does the marketing strategy adopted by Apple alter the behavioural patterns of Chinese buyers? What effects will these changes have on the Chinese society in the nearest future? Methodologies and Methods Seeing that the relationships, which are going to be identified, are primarily qualitative, there is no obvious need to quantify the research outcomes (Gunter, Zhu Murphy 2011). Indeed, a closer look at the nature of the study will show that the key variables, i.e., the marketing strategy adopted by Apple, Inc. (the independent variable) and the changes in the consumer behaviour of the Chinese population (the dependent one) do not need to be quantified in order to define the link between them.Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, the qualitative research design is suggested as the basis for the study (Khan 2014). As far as the research method is concerned, it can be suggested that a combination of a general research and a phenomenology should be used as a primary design for carrying out the study. The choice of two methods simultaneously can be justified by the fact that the issue to be considered in the course of the study is twofold. On the one hand, the specifics of Apple’s marketing have to be considered; on the other hand, the analysis will have to be carried out in the context of the Chinese culture. Therefore, a thorough study of the phenomenon in question placed in the specified setting needs to be conducted (Wertz 2014). As far as the general research is concerned, the specified step is crucial for identifying the basic characteristics of Chinese consumers, as well as the Chinese culture in general (Sincovics Alfoldi 2012). By reviewing several major works on Chinese consumerism, as well as Chinese traditions in general, one will be capable of predicting the effects, which the Apple strategies are going to have on the target denizens of the population. In fact, the general research mentioned above is going to incorporate an overview of the information regarding the Apple strategies as well. Thus, a full overview of the conflict to be considered can be obtained. The data regarding Apple’s marketing strategy and the effects that it has on the Chinese consumers, therefore, will be collected with the help of an overview of the existing literature on the subject. Particularly, articles in peer-reviewed journals, which were released after 2011, will be considered as the key secondary source of information for the research. Moreover, the reports released by Apple, Inc. and the Chinese government, which reflect the alterations in the Chinese people’s consumer behaviour, will be studied thoroughly. In addition, observations of the customer behaviour cha nges among Chinese people will be conducted based on the reports published by the trustworthy sources. As a result, the latest alterations in the consumer behaviour patterns will be identified and included into the study, which will make the analysis richer and more objective (Onwuegbuzie, Leech Collins 2010). The analysis of the information retrieved in the course of the above-mentioned observations and the study of the related literature will be conducted with the help of the constant comparison analysis. Being one of by far the most widely used tools for understanding and interpreting qualitative data, the specified device will allow for a careful evaluation of every significant factor affecting buyers’ behaviour in China. The data required for the research will be sampled with the help of the tool known as snowball sampling (Heckathorn 2011). The method in question will help split the research into several key stages based on the severity of the factors that affect the k ey dependent variable (e.g., the customer’s behaviour). Consequently, the tool under consideration can be deemed as an adequate choice for the specified study design and research setting. In fact, the method of snowball sampling will be updated by using social networks, such as Facebook (Baltar Brunet 2012). Thus, the options for data retrieval will be increased greatly.  In addition to the above-mentioned research tools, interviews will be administered to the participants. The interviews will be aimed at determining the shift in values among the Chinese population after the introduction of Apple products into the target market; specifically, the issue regarding the change in people’s perception of their social status after the purchase of Apple products will be considered.  The interview will consist of ten open-ended questions. Although the information retrieved in the course of interviewing is likely to come in the form of an unstructured text, classifying the data based on a specific taxonomy will allow for identifying the key factors that affect the buyers’ behaviour. The questions included in the interview will help identify the recent trends in the Chinese society, the rates of enthusiasm regarding acquiring new gadgets among Chinese people, the attitude towards the people possessing the specified devices, etc. It is assumed that the tools listed above will help attain a high level of academic objectivity and contribute to the understanding of the effects that the marketing approach adopted by Apple, Inc. has on the Chinese population in terms of their customer behaviour. However, in order to gain a deep insight on the alterations in the above-mentioned behavioural patterns, the changes in question will have to be considered from the perspectives of both the social and economic specifics of China. The case in point is a graphic example of a clash of cultures (i.e., the American and the Chinese ones); therefore, it must be viewe d from the cultural perspective as well. By identifying the essential changes, which the Chinese people have to undergo under the pressure of Apple’s obtrusive marketing campaign, one will be able to locate a reasonable compromise for the company to make between the need to attract more customers and the necessity to prevent any possible harm to the Chinese society. Reference List Apple announces new environmental initiatives in China 2015, https://www.apple.com/pr/library/2015/05/11Apple-Announces-New-Environmental-Initiatives-in-China.html. Apple in China: big country, big company 2015, msn.com/en-gb/money/other/apple-in-china-big-country-big-company/ar-AA8GHuj. Apple plans Apple University in China, bringing Jobs’ vision to Asia 2013, http://9to5mac.com/2014/11/03/apple-plans-apple-university-in-china-bringing-jobs-vision-to-asia/. Apple’s foray into China - and the mind of the new Chinese consumer 2013, http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/apples-fora y-into-china-and-the-mind-of-the-new-chinese-consumer-2/. 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