Factors influencing attitudes towards gray market cars in Malaysia and intention to buy

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to propose and test a model that integrates the main predictors of consumers’ attitude and behavioral intentions toward gray import cars in Malaysia. The goal is to contribute in helping companies understand the main factors influencing consumer behavior toward gray import cars, be it gray import dealers or authorized dealers. An integrated model is proposed following the studies by Huang et al (2004). A survey with 250 consumers was conducted and structured statistical software was used to test the proposed relationships. The main contribution of the paper is to show that consumer intentions to buy gray import cars are dependent on the attitudes they have toward gray import products, which in turn are influenced by other factors such as price consciousness, value consciousness, price-quality inference and risk averseness of a person. The paper reinforces the mediator role of attitude in the relationship between these antecedents and behavioral intentions. The paper also contributes to inform policy makers and managers of brands in both authorized channel and gray channel about the main predictors of consumer’s attitudes towards gray import cars. In this way, policy by the government can be tailored better to protect brand owners while at the same time liberalize the market to give more choices for the customers.