Prof. Ronnie (Chuang-Rang) Gao
School of Business, Trinity Western University, Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Title: “I am not targeted:” Investigating Majority Consumers’ Attitudes towards Minority-Targeting Services
Abstract:
Many countries are becoming increasingly ethnically diversified. To take advantage of business opportunities arising from this demographic trend, many retailers have begun to provide services specifically targeting minority consumers. How majority consumers react to minority-targeting services? Through two studies, we identify that U.S. majority consumers living in different areas react differently to minority-targeting services, mediated by level of cosmopolitanism. They prefer services targeting multiple minority groups over single targeting services, mediated by perceived efficiency and perceived fairness. The underlying causes for consumers’ reactions are multiple and complex, including “in-group” vs. “out-group” categorization, degree of cosmopolitanism, degree of intergroup contact, and period of existence of a service. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Biography:
Ronnie (Chuang-Rang) Gao, Ph.D., is Full Professor of Marketing (with tenure) at School of Business, Trinity Western University, Langley, British Columbia, Canada. Ronnie received his B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from Tongji University in Shanghai, China. He earned his M.B.A. from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and his Ph.D. in marketing from Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Ronnie’s professional employment includes positions as locomotive engineer at the Chinese Railway Systems, as training engineer at the Chinese Railway Expert Team at Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority, as public relations & marketing director at the Nigerian Railway Rehabilitation Project, and as vice president business development and marketing at the China Operations of a Canadian consulting company.
Ronnie’s research focuses on several different areas including cross-(sub)cultural consumer behavior, sales management, and green consumer behavior. His work has been published on Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Christian Business Review, Association for Consumer Research (ACR) North American Advances, and American Marketing Association (AMA) Proceedings.