Impact of China's Nation Brand on Purchasing Decisions in Kenya. An In-Depth Analysis

Master's Thesis , 2020 , 77 Pages , Grade: FIRST CLASS HONOURS

Politics - Topic: International relations

This study aims at to establish the cause-and-effect relationship between China’s nation brand dimensions and China’s nation brand efforts on the perceptions of its nation brand in Kenya. The theories that were chosen as the theoretical base of this study were Nations Branding, Anholt’s Nation Brand Index and Country-of-Origin effect. Three research questions were asked around the theory base and a survey was done on 75 professionals in Nairobi. Results obtained from the respondents allowed for statistical analysis. The results indicated that the China has a strong nation brand in Kenya, Kenyans are very familiar with and favourable towards China’s Nation Brand. However, China’s country of origin has minimal effects on purchasing decisions in Kenya. Kenyan purchasing decisions are influenced by the cost and quality of products from China.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• CHAPTER 1
  • INTRODUCTION
  • 1.1 BACKGROUND
  • 1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM
  • 1.3.1 RESEARCH AIM
  • 1.3.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
  • 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
  • 1.5 JUSTIFICATION FOR THE STUDY
• CHAPTER 2
  • LITERATURE REVIEW
  • 2.1 ORIGINS OF NATION BRANDING
  • 2.1.1 COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN EFFECTS
  • 2.1.2 PLACE BRANDING
  • 2.1.3 NATIONAL IDENTITY
  • 2.1.4 PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
  • 2.2 LINKING BRANDING THEORY TO NATION BRANDING
  • 2.3 NATION BRAND REPUTATION
  • 2.4 ANHOLT'S NATION BRAND INDEX (NBI)
  • 2.5 CHINA'S NBI 2020 RESULTS
  • 2.5.1 Culture
  • 2.5.2 Exports
  • 2.5.3 Tourism
  • 2.5.4 Investment & Immigration
  • 2.5.5 Governance
  • 2.5.6 People
  • 2.6 CHINA'S NATION BRANDING EFFORTS
  • 2.6.1 Events
  • 2.6.2 Media Investments
  • 2.6.3 Confucius Institutes
  • 2.6.4 Sino-African History
  • 2.6.5 Sponsorship of African students
  • 2.7 CHINA'S NATION BRANDING EFFORTS IN KENYA
  • 2.7.1 Media Investments
  • 2.7.2 Confucius Institutes
  • 2.7.3 Shared Sino-Kenyan History
  • 2.7.4 Sponsorship of Kenyan Students
  • 2.7.5 Events
  • 2.7 PERCEPTIONS OF CHINA IN AFRICA
  • 2.8 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
• CHAPTER 3
  • RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
  • 3.1 POSITIVIST PARADIGM
  • 3.2 EXPLANATORY RESEARCH DESIGN
  • 3.3 SURVEY STRATEGY
  • 3.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND THE QUESTIONNAIRE OUTLINE
  • 3.4.1 Research Question 1: How aware Kenyans of China's Nation Branding?
  • 3.4.2 Research Question 2: How favourable are Kenyans towards China's Nation Brand?
  • 3.4.3 Research Question 3: How strong is China's Nation Brand reputation in Kenya?
  • 3.4.4 Research Question 4: Does China's country-of-origin effect Kenyan purchasing decisions?
  • 3.5 POPULATION OF RELEVANCE
  • 3.6 SAMPLING
  • 3.7 PRETESTING THE QUESTIONNAIRE
  • 3.8 DATA COLLECTION VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
  • 3.8 DATA ANALYSIS
  • 3.9 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
  • 3.10 TIME HORIZON
• CHAPTER 4
  • FINDINGS
  • 4.1 QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSE RATE
  • 4.2 GENERAL INFORMATION
  • 4.3 FAMILIARITY WITH CHINA
  • 4.4 FAVOURABILITY TOWARDS CHINA
  • 4.5 NATION BRAND INDEX
• CHAPTER 5
  • DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
  • 5.1 QUESTION 1: HOW AWARE ARE KENYANS OF CHINA'S NATION BRAND?
  • 5.2 QUESTION 2: HOW FAVOURABLE ARE KENYANS TOWARDS CHINA'S NATION BRAND?
  • 5.3 QUESTION 3: HOW STRONG IS CHINA'S NATION BRAND REPUTATION IN KENYA?
  • 5.3.1 TOURISM
  • 5.3.2 PEOPLE
  • 5.3.3 GOVERNANCE
  • 5.3.4 CULTURE
  • 5.3.5 IMMIGRATION AND INVESTMENT
  • 5.3.6 EXPORTS
  • 5.4 QUESTION 4: DOES CHINA'S COUNTRY OF ORIGIN EFFECT PURCHASING DECISIONS IN KENYA?

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This study aims to determine the causal relationship between China's nation brand dimensions and nation branding efforts on the perceptions of its nation brand in Kenya. The research utilizes theories of nation branding, Anholt's Nation Brand Index, and country-of-origin effects as its theoretical foundation.

• China's nation brand reputation in Kenya
• Kenyan perceptions of China's nation brand
• The influence of China's nation branding efforts on Kenyan perceptions
• The impact of China's country-of-origin on Kenyan purchasing decisions
• The role of Anholt's Nation Brand Index in understanding China's brand image

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

Chapter 1: Introduction introduces the research problem, research aims, objectives, and questions. It also justifies the study and provides background information. Chapter 2: Literature Review explores the origins of nation branding, including concepts like country-of-origin effects, place branding, national identity, and public diplomacy. It also discusses linking branding theory to nation branding, nation brand reputation, and Anholt's Nation Brand Index, along with its application to China. Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology details the positivist paradigm, explanatory research design, survey strategy, and the structure of the questionnaire. The chapter also covers population of relevance, sampling, pretesting the questionnaire, data collection validity and reliability, data analysis, ethical considerations, and the time horizon of the study. Chapter 4: Findings presents the questionnaire response rate, general information, familiarity with China, favourability towards China, and the Nation Brand Index findings.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The core keywords and focus topics of this dissertation include Nation Branding, Nation Brand Index, Soft Power, China, Kenya, country-of-origin effects, and consumer perceptions.

• Course: Strategic Marketing
• Grade: FIRST CLASS HONOURS
• Author: Olivia Mengich (Author)
• Publication Year: 2020
• Pages: 77
• Catalog Number: V1401086
• ISBN (PDF): 9783346967107
• ISBN (Book): 9783346967114
• Language: English
• Tags: Nation Branding , Country Branding , Place Branding , Branding , marketing , Nation Brand Index , Country of Origin , Soft Power