Executive Insights: Growing Consumer Power in China: Some Lessons for Managers

The economic reform in China has led to the emergence of a consumer society. Concomitant with the development of the consumer society comes a growing power of the consumers in the marketplace. This is occurring in the form of consumers’ rising awareness of their rights and increasing readiness to take the companies to court to protect their rights. The author describes seven litigation cases pertaining to consumer issues that involve multinational corporations operating in China. The author identifies some general characteristics that cut across the cases, along with suggestions and managerial implications.