The semiotics of luxury mobility in Chinese culture and the implications for the design and branding of international corporations Shang Shi Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds School of Design September 2018 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to others’ work. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. © 2020 The University of Leeds and Shang Shi Acknowledgements This thesis could not have been completed without the support of several key people. Firstly, I would like to thank my primary supervisor, Professor Vien Cheung, for her support throughout the study, both academically and personally. Secondly, I would like to thank the secondary members of my supervisory team, Professor Stephen Westland and Dr Kishore Budha, for their patience, understanding, and support. Thirdly, I would like to thank all of my peers for the past four years who have supported me through their shared experience and advice. Furthermore, I would like to express my appreciation to the participants and contributors involved throughout the study for their time and contributions to the data collection phase. Finally, I would like to thank my support network of family and friends and all the others who have directly or indirectly supported this endeavour for the past four years. I Abstract British luxury automotive (ILA) corporations have not, as yet, fully grasped the cultural preferences of the Chinese consumer. Branding is an inescapable part of modern design, consumption, global markets, and indeed culture. It creates and sustains competitive advantages for firms and finally delivers profits. This research is conducted by understanding the cultural meaning of “luxury mobility” in China via semiotics. The research objectives are to investigate this phenomenon from a semiotic perspective and explain how the cultural meanings of “luxury mobility” and consumer preferences of automobiles are connected in China. This research chooses semiotics as the primary analysis method as semiotics’ emergent role, a study of the sign, in the design and branding field. This research will identify the syntagmatic structure of mobility and useful paradigm of luxury artefacts associated with mobility in China through semiotics analysis. Finally, the study will develop the semiotics-based practical guidelines for ILA corporations’ design and branding strategies seeking to either break into or improve their existing position in the Chinese automotive market. II Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... I Abstract ............................................................................................................ II Table of Contents ............................................................................................ III List of Tables .................................................................................................. VI List of Figures .............................................................................................. VIII List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................... XI Chapter I Introduction ...................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research background ......................................................................... 1 1.2 Why design and branding? ................................................................. 5 1.3 Research gap ..................................................................................... 8 1.4 Research questions ............................................................................ 9 1.5 Aim and objectives of the research ................................................... 10 1.6 Thesis structure ................................................................................ 11 Chapter II Literature review ............................................................................ 14 2.1 What is culture? ................................................................................ 14 2.2 Semiotics theory overview ................................................................ 27 2.2.1 The models of sign ................................................................. 28 2.2.2 The structure of sign ............................................................... 33 2.2.3 The levels of meaning ............................................................. 37 2.2.4 Codes ..................................................................................... 44 2.2.5 Discussion .............................................................................. 48 2.3 What is mobility? ............................................................................... 52 2.4 Mianzi in Chinese culture .................................................................. 60 2.5 Summary .......................................................................................... 63 Chapter III Methodology ................................................................................. 65 3.1 What is research? ............................................................................. 66 3.2 Research paradigms ......................................................................... 69 III 3.3 Formulating the research methodology ............................................ 77 3.4 In-depth interview design .................................................................. 82 3.4.1 Participant selection ................................................................ 83 3.4.2 Interview design ...................................................................... 88 3.5 Interview analysis method................................................................. 93 3.6 Summary ........................................................................................ 101 Chapter IV Chinese traditional luxury mobility ............................................. 104 4.1 Chinese traditional cultural value .................................................... 104 4.2 Yufu system in Chinese culture ....................................................... 117 4.3 Chinese traditional luxury mobility .................................................. 119 4.3.1 Two-wheels carriage ............................................................. 119 4.3.2 Jiao ....................................................................................... 123 4.3.3 Summary .............................................................................. 130 4.4 Luxury goods in Chinese culture ..................................................... 132 4.5 Summary ........................................................................................ 138 Chapter V The cultural meanings of luxury mobility in China ....................... 141 5.1 Overview ......................................................................................... 141 5.2 Analysis section one: geographic conditions................................... 147 5.3 Analysis section two: age ................................................................ 161 5.4 Analysis section three: gender ........................................................ 172 5.5 The Cultural meanings of luxury mobility in China .......................... 179 Chapter VI Discussion ................................................................................. 187 6.1 What is brand? ................................................................................ 187 6.2 Based on brand equity .................................................................... 191 6.3 Meaning centred design (MCD) ...................................................... 203 6.4 Guidelines for the design and branding strategy ............................. 206 Chapter VII Conclusions .............................................................................. 210 7.1 Summary ........................................................................................ 210 7.2 Recommendations for future work .................................................. 215 List of References ........................................................................................ 217 IV Appendices .................................................................................................. 239 Appendix I: Information Sheet............................................................... 239 Appendix II: Participant Consent Form ................................................. 243 Appendix III: An example of interview transcription ............................... 245 Appendix IV: Dynasties in Chinese history ........................................... 252 Appendix V: Ancient Chinese text and its author .................................. 254 Appendix VI: Semiotic Thinking Group ................................................. 256 V List of Tables Table 1.1.1: UK-built automobiles export volumes by region 2015 ........... 2 Table 1.1.2: UK-built automobile top 10 Asian export markets .................. 2 Table 1.1.3: 2010 Luxury car sales in China 2012 .................................... 3 Table 1.1.4: J.D Power Band Rating 2018 in the worldwide market .......... 4 Table 2.1.1: Social anthropology subdivisions .......................................