An Exploratory Qualitative Exploration of the Personal Values Underpinning Taiwanese and Malaysians’ Wine Consumption Behaviors

Augmented buying power of East Asian consumers has resulted in increased interest in these markets. Wine is a particularly promising sector to target as the number of East Asians choosing to drink wine rises. In order to serve these markets, companies must understand factors influencing consumers’ choices. The objective of this research was to understand how Taiwanese and Malaysian consumers’ personal values influenced their consumption decisions about wine. The means–end chain framework and associated semi-structured interview technique, value laddering, was used to elicit consumers’ preferred product attributes, the consequences of these attributes and the values that underpin these consequences. Data collection involved intercepting foreign travelers from Malaysia and Taiwan in New Zealand (20 Taiwanese and 20 Malaysian) to partake in a wine choice interview. The resulting findings are exploratory in nature. Analysis revealed the most preferred wine attributes for Taiwanese were “Price” and “Sensory Aspects”—that these attributes were linked to consequences “Financial Considerations” and “Satisfy Senses”—which in turn were linked to personal values “Self Direction” and “Achievement”. For the Malaysian participants, the attribute “Sensory Aspects” of wine was most important, as was the value “Hedonism”. This study adds to literature related to beverage consumption decision making by exploring cultural aspects. It also offers suggestions for practitioners interested in targeting these consumers.