HOW ARE SYMBOLS CULTURALLY SELECTED? --MALAYSIAN ACCEPTANCE AND SYMBOLIC FILTERING MECHANISMS OF CHINESE ARTWORKS

Abstract

This study investigates how Malaysian consumers perceive, interpret, and negotiate the symbolic features of Chinese artworks in a multicultural context. Drawing on McCracken’s Meaning Transfer Model and Consumer Culture Theory, we conducted 30 in-depth interviews with participants from Chinese, Malay, and Indian backgrounds. Reflexive Thematic Analysis identified seven symbolic dimensions—including historical heritage, calligraphic expression, material craftsmanship, and religious compatibility—that significantly influence purchase intentions. Two pathways of influence were observed: an emotion–identity pathway, where artworks evoke collective memory and cultural attachment, and a cognitive–status pathway, where symbols serve as markers of taste and cosmopolitan identity. Findings show that cultural background variables—ethnicity, acculturation level, religious observance, and art knowledge—moderate symbolic reception in distinct ways. The study introduces the concepts of Ethical Proximity and Halal Semiotics to explain how religious ethics reconfigure symbolic value, and proposes a Cultural Hybrid Marketing Framework for understanding cross-cultural art consumption.