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Decoding the Mystery Behind the Globalization of Chinese Time-honored Brands -- A Case Analysis of Lao Gan Ma Chili Sauce

Received: 27 February 2020     Accepted: 10 March 2020     Published: 31 March 2020
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Abstract

Globalization creates a complexly interrelated arena where multiple local differences converge and compete against each other. With respect to its consequent potential impact on various local cultures, Western dominant cultures have been believed as the ultimate destiny for the modernizing cultures under this fast-changing global context, as is more often proved in business where countless companies in developing nations have been keen on learning from Western business giants in the names of modern enterprise administration or international conventions. An originally underprivileged Chinese brand, Lao Gan Ma Chili Sauce, however, has established an invaluably different developmental route by branding with strong Chinese flavors and exposing itself as a miniature of indigenous cultures, successfully growing into a worldwide Chinese cooperation in the past decades. Decoding the mystery underlying its success therefore of significance in cross-cultural business studies. Applying such cultural theories as cultural identity, symbolic consumption and instinct theory, the present study analyzes the business strategies Lao Gan Ma conducts. The qualitative study in this essay demonstrates that cultural resources of a firm are potentially convertible into its powerful capital in the fierce competing world market. More specifically, a unique cultural identity and certain perceived symbolic values retained by a business corporation can serve as alternative and desirable resources to make that firm, especially one in less affluent societies, a competitive contender in the globalized market system. Besides, enterprises whose products cater to the human inner instinct can enjoy exceptional advantages in their penetration into the global market.

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 8, Issue 2)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Humanity and Science: China’s Intercultural Communication with the Outside World in the New Era

DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.18
Page(s) 87-92
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Globalization, Glocalization, Cultural Identity, Symbolic Consumption, Human Instinct

References
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[3] Tomlinson, J. Globalization and Culture, 2rd ed., vol. 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999, pp. 2-8.
[4] Robertson, R. Globalization: Social Theory and Global Culture, 2rd ed., vol. 6. London: Sage, 1992, pp. 177-178.
[5] Waters, M. Globalisation. 2rd ed., vol. 1. New York: Routledge, 2001, pp. 9-10.
[6] Bhabha, H. K. 2rd ed., vol. 9. The Location of Culture. New York: Routledge, 2004, pp. 204-216.
[7] Aristova, N. (2016). Rethinking cultural identities in the context of globalization: linguistic landscape of Kazan, Russia, as an emerging global city. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 236: 153-160.
[8] Han, Z. (2005). On the multi-cultural identity in the process of modernization. Seeking Truth, 32 (5): 21-26.
[9] Chen, K. J. & Zhang, J. (2016). A critique on pan-amusement of postmodern culture. Philosophical Research, 7: 120-126.
[10] He, J., & Wang, C. L. (2015). Cultural identity and consumer ethnocentrism impacts on preference and purchase of domestic versus import brands: an empirical study in China. Journal of Business Research, 68: 1225-1233.
[11] Watson, J. L. (2000). China’s big mac attack. Foreign Affairs, 79 (3): 120-134.
[12] Jin, Y. P. (2013). Glocalization, local globalization and interculturality. International Cultural Administration, 2: 12-16.
[13] Radhakrishnan, R. (2001). Globalization, desire, and the politics of representation. University of Oregon, 53: 315-332.
[14] Ritzer, G. (2004). The “Mcdonaldization” of society. The Journal of American Culture, 6 (1): 100-107.
[15] Schneider, J. (1977). Was there a pre-capitalist world system? Peasant Studies, 6: 2-29.
[16] Baudrillard, J. (1993). Symbolic Exchange and Death. London: Sage.
[17] Ray, L. (1999). Why we give: testing economic and social psychological accounts of altruism. Polity, 30 (3): 383.
[18] Chen, K. J. 1rd ed., vol. 4. A Critique on Pan-Amusement of Postmodern Culture. Beijing: Intellectual Property Publishing House, 2018.
[19] Saussure, D. F. “Cours de linguistique générale,” The Commercial Press. Beijing, vol. 4, pp. 100-102, November 1980.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Wu Yanqin, Chen Kaiju. (2020). Decoding the Mystery Behind the Globalization of Chinese Time-honored Brands -- A Case Analysis of Lao Gan Ma Chili Sauce. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 8(2), 87-92. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.18

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    ACS Style

    Wu Yanqin; Chen Kaiju. Decoding the Mystery Behind the Globalization of Chinese Time-honored Brands -- A Case Analysis of Lao Gan Ma Chili Sauce. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2020, 8(2), 87-92. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.18

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    AMA Style

    Wu Yanqin, Chen Kaiju. Decoding the Mystery Behind the Globalization of Chinese Time-honored Brands -- A Case Analysis of Lao Gan Ma Chili Sauce. Int J Lit Arts. 2020;8(2):87-92. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.18

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.18,
      author = {Wu Yanqin and Chen Kaiju},
      title = {Decoding the Mystery Behind the Globalization of Chinese Time-honored Brands -- A Case Analysis of Lao Gan Ma Chili Sauce},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {8},
      number = {2},
      pages = {87-92},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.18},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200802.18},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20200802.18},
      abstract = {Globalization creates a complexly interrelated arena where multiple local differences converge and compete against each other. With respect to its consequent potential impact on various local cultures, Western dominant cultures have been believed as the ultimate destiny for the modernizing cultures under this fast-changing global context, as is more often proved in business where countless companies in developing nations have been keen on learning from Western business giants in the names of modern enterprise administration or international conventions. An originally underprivileged Chinese brand, Lao Gan Ma Chili Sauce, however, has established an invaluably different developmental route by branding with strong Chinese flavors and exposing itself as a miniature of indigenous cultures, successfully growing into a worldwide Chinese cooperation in the past decades. Decoding the mystery underlying its success therefore of significance in cross-cultural business studies. Applying such cultural theories as cultural identity, symbolic consumption and instinct theory, the present study analyzes the business strategies Lao Gan Ma conducts. The qualitative study in this essay demonstrates that cultural resources of a firm are potentially convertible into its powerful capital in the fierce competing world market. More specifically, a unique cultural identity and certain perceived symbolic values retained by a business corporation can serve as alternative and desirable resources to make that firm, especially one in less affluent societies, a competitive contender in the globalized market system. Besides, enterprises whose products cater to the human inner instinct can enjoy exceptional advantages in their penetration into the global market.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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    AB  - Globalization creates a complexly interrelated arena where multiple local differences converge and compete against each other. With respect to its consequent potential impact on various local cultures, Western dominant cultures have been believed as the ultimate destiny for the modernizing cultures under this fast-changing global context, as is more often proved in business where countless companies in developing nations have been keen on learning from Western business giants in the names of modern enterprise administration or international conventions. An originally underprivileged Chinese brand, Lao Gan Ma Chili Sauce, however, has established an invaluably different developmental route by branding with strong Chinese flavors and exposing itself as a miniature of indigenous cultures, successfully growing into a worldwide Chinese cooperation in the past decades. Decoding the mystery underlying its success therefore of significance in cross-cultural business studies. Applying such cultural theories as cultural identity, symbolic consumption and instinct theory, the present study analyzes the business strategies Lao Gan Ma conducts. The qualitative study in this essay demonstrates that cultural resources of a firm are potentially convertible into its powerful capital in the fierce competing world market. More specifically, a unique cultural identity and certain perceived symbolic values retained by a business corporation can serve as alternative and desirable resources to make that firm, especially one in less affluent societies, a competitive contender in the globalized market system. Besides, enterprises whose products cater to the human inner instinct can enjoy exceptional advantages in their penetration into the global market.
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Author Information
  • Center of Business Culture and Philosophy of Culture, Institute of Hermeneutics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China

  • Center of Business Culture and Philosophy of Culture, Institute of Hermeneutics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China

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