Modeling Luxury Wine Preference, A Study of Business Travelers from China

The purpose of this study was twofold: Part 1, to empirically develop and statistically analyze a new model that measures the culture-based motivators to consume luxury wine by business travelers that identify as culturally-Chinese; and Part 2, to validate the new model. Luxury wine stakeholders may often have issues accessing luxury wine and providing the ideal choices that appeal to the business traveler from China, and yet there is a larger concern.

In a field with a significant lack of research, it is a challenge for global stakeholders to gather information, acquire and implement cross-cultural competence, and remain knowledgeable of the most important motivators for Chinese consumers to pursue luxury wine in an environment of accelerated consumption. The intent of developing and validating this model was so that the resulting developmental process might be adopted by other researchers who wish to explore the psychological, culture-based motivators to consume luxury products by those that identify as culturally-Chinese, including, but not limited to, wine. The model provides stakeholders with culture-based knowledge to meet, or transcend, their consumers’ luxury wine purchasing, tasting, and presenting needs. It also addresses gaps in research literature surrounding luxury product consumption, such as emerging markets, global affairs, Chinese (Eastern) versus Euro-American (Western) perspectives, and consumer sociodemographics. Interdisciplinary scale development and inventory tests followed by hospitality-specific, culture-based scale development and item development literature were reviewed and deduced for model development. The scale underwent validity and reliability tests; through a rigorous scale development procedure that tested theory, the scale became a model. The findings and implications are discussed and recommendations for future research are offered.