KOREASCHOLAR

Foods play important roles in Chinese gift giving behavior; they contain abundant symbolic and semiotics meanings. Typical food products are exchange during festivals, commercial intercourse, and other social intercourse occasion. The purpose of study is to investigate how the meanings and values of food gifts affect gift-giving behavior under Chinese cultural context. Qualitative in-depth interviews are applied, eighteen participants from food gift industry, academic field and consumers are invited in the study, and qualitative data analysis framework is designed based on Sheth’s consumption values theory. We find that food gifts cover function value, emotional value, social value, epistemic value and conditional value. Gift values are explained by givers and recipients during gift-giving process. Gift-giving occasion, gift-giving purpose, relationship between givers and recipients are influence the value of gift. Study provides some practical recommendation for food products design and marketing.

• Lin Lin(I-Shou University, Taiwan)