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Pak. j. eng. technol. sci. Volume 2, No 2, 2012, 118-143 ISSN: 2222-9930 print ISSN: 2224-2333 online

A Comparative Study of Consumer Perception of Product Quality: Chinese versus Non-Chinese Products

Laiq Muhammad Khan * and Rizwan Ahmed ** College of Computer Science & Information systems Institute of Business Management (IoBM)

Received on: May 8, 2012; Accepted on: June 25, 2012

ABSTRACT Product quality is a critical determinant of consumer satisfaction. The demand for a product depends upon the quality that a manufacturer is providing to their consumers. China, which is a growing economic power, exports its manufactured goods to the entire global markets. Chinese goods have been successful to capture market because of its competitive price strategy as compared to the products of other countries. The major problem with the Chinese products is that these are perceived as of relatively inferior quality in comparison to the products of other countries. This study is an attempt to assess the perceptions of customers regarding price and quality aspects of Chinese and non Chinese products. To compare the relative effectiveness of price and quality, the concepts of perceived life and perceived value are used. It is found that the Chinese products are perceived as price effective but the area of product quality requires immediate attention because Chinese products are perceived as of low quality.

Key Words: Product Quality, Consumer Perceptions, Perceived Quality, Product Quality Metrics

JEL Classification: M30, M39

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Mr. Laiq M. Khan is Senior Fellow Statistics at Institute of Business Management Mr. Rizwan Ahmed is Senior Lecturer Mathematics at Institute of Business Management

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1. INTRODUCTION

It is being observed that the sale of Chinese manufactured goods is very common in the markets around the globe and Chinese products such as home appliances, generators, stationary items, clothes and fabric and hardware are dominating specially in the Pakistani...