Compare Chinese International Students Online Purchase Behaviours of Personal Computers with UK Students

Purpose - This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of consumer behaviours of purchasing personal computers (PCs) online through an analysis of the factors of cultural impacts, company profile, reference groups and ‘the hand of the past’ that influence the brand decision making of two groups of university students: Chinese international students studying in the UK universities and local English students. Design/Methodology - This study has been designed into a qualitative research by conducting twenty semi-structured interviews of target groups of students (ten Chinese participants and ten English participants). Selected data has been fully transcribed, coded into categories of different influences of predicated factors, and analysed accordingly. Findings - Brand preferences of Chinese international students are distinct from that of the UK students: a more focused brand distribution rather than a shape of balanced brand distribution of the UK students. It is also suggested from the findings that four factors have all contributed to determining decision making behaviours, though of different power levels of influencing. Originality/Value - The study contribution that this paper makes is twofold. First, it contributes to the literature of consumer behaviours in the e-marketing practices. Second, it exploits some conflicting issues associated with influencing factors of decision making and provides logical explanations to these phenomena