Tài liệu Analyzing the impact of individual lecture factors on new product adopting behavior of consumers in hanoi

1 CHAPTER 1. OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 2 adoption? Level of impact? - What are solutions to accelerate adoption of new electronic products? 1.1. Reasons to choose the subject New products are a vital part of the growth and the competitiveness strategy of enterprises. In fact, a large percentage of the sales of the enterprises are obtained from new products. In contrast, the experience of the world also indicates that many new products are unsuccessful and not be accepted by customers. Therefore, the knowledge of the behavior of new product adoption by consumers will be a key factor in ensuring that the enterprises will develop new products successfully. In the world, there have been a lot of studies on the behavior of new electronic product adoption. Most of the studies have focused on the impacts of product characteristics, demographic characteristics and innovativeness on new electronic product adoption behavior that have missed one important factor, individual culture. In fact, in recent years, personal culture has played a significant role in promoting the behavior of new electronic product adoption by consumers in Vietnam. It is evidence that the personal culture factors such as originality, difference, individuality, stylish, self-disclosure, activeness, freedom of choice are often emphasized in the advertising messages of the electronic products for personal use to convince consumers. As a result, the sales of the electronic products in Vietnam in recent years tend to increase, especially electronic products for personal use. Therefore, a study to test whether the individual cultural factors really affect the behavior of new electronic product adoption behavior is theoretically and practically essential. With the reasons above, the study entitled “Analyzing the Impact of Individual Lecture Factors on New Product Adopting Behavior of Consumers in Hanoi; The Group of Consumer Electrical Goods" has been conducted. 1.3. Objects and scopes of the study 1.3.1. Objects of the study: The objects of the study include: - Behavior of adoption and scale of the behavior of new electronic product adoption by consumers. - Theory and Practice of the impacts of personal cultural factors on the behavior of new electronic product adoption by consumers in Hanoi urban area. 1.3.2. Scope of the study: • Product group of the study To achieve the objectives of the study, the electronic products for personal use (laptops, tablets, mobile phones) are selected to conduct research for the following reasons: - This is a group of high-tech and innovative products considered the appropriate context for research on new product adoption behavior. - Key feature of electronic products for personal use is used for personal purposes. Therefore, the selection and consumption can clearly reflects the personal characteristics. • Space of the study: Surveyed subjects are consumers in Hanoi urban area. • Time of the study: The study is conducted in 2013. 1.4. New contributions of the study 1.2. Objectives of the study Objectives of the study: - Firstly, develop a scale of new electronic product adoption behavior - Next, determine the impacts of factors such as individualistic-self, collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and innate consumer innovativeness on the new electronic product adoption behavior. - Finally, propose some solutions to accelerate new electronic product adoption in Hanoi. Research questions: - What is the behavior of new electronic product adoption by consumers in Hanoi urban area like? - Do the personal cultural factors affect the behavior of new electronic product 1.4.1. In terms of theory (i) The study has affirmed the impact of innovativeness on new electronic product adoption behavior in Vietnam. Innovativeness has a positive and strong impact (β = 0.169) on the new electronic product adoption behavior. (ii) The study has supplemented and proven 2 individual cultural factors affecting the new electronic product adoption behavior in the context of economic transformation of Vietnam to the system of elements mentioned in the previous studies. These additional factors include individualistic-self and uncertainty avoidance. The individualistic-self has a positive and strongest impact (β = 0.204), while uncertainty avoidance has a negative and strong impact (β = - 0.178) on the new electronic product adoption behavior. (iii) The study has developed a scale of the new electronic product adoption behavior. It is the frequency of purchasing new consumer eletronics that shows level 3 of the behavior of new electronic product adoption by consumers in a certain time period. This scale has not been mentioned in the previous studies. 1.4.2. In terms of practice (i) The study has identified and specified the level of impact of each individual cultural factor on new electronic product adoption behavior by consumers in Hanoi urban area. Thereby, it has supported enterprises in controlling these factors to increase the success of new electronic products. (ii) The study has made recommendations for the enterprises manufacturing electronic products for reference and use in the process of new product marketing. 1.4. Organization of the study To present the entire contents of the study, it is organized into the following five chapters: Chapter 1: Overview of the study Chapter 2: Rationale and model of the study Chapter 3: Methodology Chapter 4: Findings Chapter 5: Discussion and recommendation 4 Demographic characteristics Most studies have confirmed that those adopting new electronic products are generally male, having better jobs and higher income and education level (Dickerson and Gentry, 1983; Wang, 2006; Venkatraman, 1991). In addition, Dickerson and Gentry (1983), Wang (2006) and Im, et al. (2003) have demonstrated that the age has negative impact on the behavior of new electronic product adoption while Venkatraman (1991) has confirmed the opposite view point. Psychological characteristics In fact, the results of experimental studies inthe US, Europe and Asia on the relationship between innate consumer innovativeness and the new product adoption behavior have shown very different evidences, from a strong and positive relationship (such as the studies of Foxall and Bhate, 1991; Goldsmith et al., 1995; Wood and Swait, 2002; Paswan and Hirunyawipada, 2006; Ho and Wu, 2011), to a very weak relationship (such as the studies of Im et al., 2003; Chao et al., 2010, 2012). In addition, consumer attitudes have a significant impact on the new electronic product adoption behavior (Wang, 2006). Perception of the attributes of new products Perception of the attributes of new products affects the new electronic product adoption behavior (Paswan and Hirunyawipada, 2006; Ho and Wu, 2011); CHAPTER 2. RATIONALE AND MODEL OF THE STUDY IMAPCTS OF SOME INDIVIDUAL CULTURAL FACTORS ON THE NEW PRODUCT ADOPTION BEHAVIOR Thus, the results of the studies in the world show a lack of studies explaining the new electronic product adoption behavior in terms of culture. 2.1 Overview of the studies on the new product adoption behavior 2.1.1. Overview of the studies in the world Up to the completion of the study, in Vietnam, there is no official works with similar or same contents as this study. 2.1.1.1. The concepts of the new product adoption behavior 2.2. Theoretical foundations of the new product adoption behavior Around the world, there are two concepts of new product adoption behavior. One is that new product adoption is a process. Another is new product adoption is a behavior (Rogers and Shoemaker, 1971; Hirschman, 1980, Midley and Dowling, 1978). The concept of new product adoption of Rogers and Shoemaker (1971) is used more commonly. 2.2.1. Concepts 2.1.1.2. Overview of factors affecting the new electronic product adoption behavior From summary of the previous studies, it can be seen that the factors affecting new electronic product adoption behavior have been identified and confirmed. These factors can be divided into three groups. The first group presents demographic characteristics. The second is psychological characteristics such as innate consumer innovativeness and consumer attitude. The last one is the perception of the attributes of the new products. 2.1.2. Overview of the studies in Vietnam 2.2.1.1. Concept of new products According to Kotler (1994), new products may be new products, in principle, improved from existing products or new brands as a result of research, design and testing of enterprises (Kotler, 1994). 2.2.2.2. Concept of the behavior of new product adoption According to Rogers and Shoemaker (1971) representing the behavior concept, “The new product adoption behavior is the degree to which an individual accepts innovation relatively earlier than other individuals in society." According to this concept, the behavior of new product adoption not only includes new product purchase but also relates the time of the new product adoption. 5 2.2.2.3. Consumer electronics - CE According to Webopedia, consumer electronics, referred to as electronic products, include devices that contain electronic circuit boards designed for everyday use. The electronic products include televisions, cameras, digital cameras, phones, computers, camcorders, DVD, clocks, audio equipment, headphones and some other products. 2.2.2. Measurement of the new product adoption behavior 2.2.2.1. Time of new product adoption The new product adoption behavior by consumers is measured by the time of a specific new product adoption over the time of adoption of other consumers (Rogers and Shoemaker, 1971). 6 If the first and the second scale represent the real behavior of new product by consumers, the third scale shows the intention to purchase new products 2.3. Theoretical foundations of culture and individual culture 2.3.1. Concept of culture and levels of culture 2.3.1.1. Concept of culture According to the simplest concept of Yeniyurt and Townsend (2003), "Culture is seen as the shared trust and values." According to Hofstede (2001), "Culture is a system of shared values and ideas that distinguish the members of one group with another group" Advantages: The common feature of these is that the culture represents spiritual values, which converges in each individual as social perception and labor capacity. - The scale is based on the real behavior of new product purchase of customers. 2.3.1.2. Levels of culture - The scale is simple, easy to use. Culture is divided into 3 levels by Yan Luo (2009): Social culture; Communal culture; Individual culture (Figure 2.16). Limitations: - This scale only measures a single product and has been criticized for sensitiveness and creation of biases in the study (Midgley and Dowling, 1978). Social culture - The scale may be wrong due to the variable situations. - Difficulties in the process of collecting the data because consumers are required to memorize the time of new product purchase to answer the questionnaire. High Culture 2.2.2.2. Number of new products owned by consumers The behavior of new product adoption by consumers is measured by the number of new products owned by customers (Goldsmith et al., 1995). According to this measure, researchers shall list new products at the time of the investigation, and then ask the respondents on the number of new products in the list they own. Wide cultural environment Macro culture Communal culture Intermediary culture Advantages: Micro culture - The scale is based on the real behavior of new product purchase of customers. Narrow cultural environment - This scale refers to an overall behavior other than a specific product. Limitations: Individual Culture - This scale only provides the cross-sectional data. - Researchers may have trouble listing new products at the time of the survey. 2.2.2.3. Intention to purchase new products Thirdly, the behavior of new product adoption by consumers is measured by intention of purchasing new products (Holak and Lehmann, 1990). Figure: Levels of culture Source: Yan Luo, 2009 7 2.3.2. Structures of individual culture In the field of research, there are many different theories focusing on the identification of individual cultural factors including "Research on the values" of Rokeach et al. (1931), "Individual Culture" of Mc. Clelland (1991), and "Individual cultural structure" of Schwartz (1994). In particular, the theory of "Individual cultural structure" of Schwartz (1994) is relatively comprehensive and most commonly used in quantitative research. This theory introduces 10 individual cultural values (see Table ....). Each individual cultural factor is determined based on the objectives that it aims to (Schwartz et al., 2000). These values form two groups: (i) openness to change and conservation, (ii) self-enhancement versus self-transcendence. Table: Personal cultural structure of Schwartz (1994). Individual cultural Objective Value factors Individualistic- Think and act independently and Creation, freedom, choice self creatively of own goals, curiousness, independence Innate Be interested in novelty and challenge Diverse, exciting and daring consumer in life. Innovativeness life Hedonism Joy and satisfaction of the senses. Joy, enjoying of life Achievements Success is based on the capacity under Ambitious, successful, social standards capable, influential Social status and prestige, control or Power Powers, wealth, social domination of other people and resources power Uncertainty Safety, harmony and stability in the Social order, family avoidance relationship, in itself and in society. stability, national stability Compliance Limitation of actions, impulsive with social tendencies which are capable of harm Politeness, self-discipline, norms others or violate the expectations or obedience, respect for social norms parents and elders Respect, commitment, adoption of the Modesty, morality, Collectivism customs and ideas of traditional adoption of his position in culture and religion. society and harmony. Protect and enhance the interests of Support others, honesty, Altruism those who have a relationship with selflessness, responsibility, yourself ("in the Group") loyalty, sincere in friendship, seriousness in love. 8 Individual cultural factors Social responsibility Objective Value Sympathy, recognition, tolerance, and Further thought, social protection of the interests of all people justice, equality, and nature. environmental protection 2.4. Model and hypotheses of the study 2.4.1. Model and the variables in the model Based on the individual cultural structure of Schwartz (1994) and the results of the review of the previous studies, the author has proposed four individual cultural factors namely individualistic-self, collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and innate consumer innovativeness to the model (after controlling demographic factors such as age, income and education level). The reason why these variables are considered control variables is that based on the review from the previous studies, these variables have statistic relationship with the dependent variables. To ensure the coherence of the model, three demographic variables are included in the model as control variables. All the variables and relationships between these variables are presented in the following model: Individualistic-self (Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai et al, 2003) + Collectivism (Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai et al, - New electronic product adoption behavior 2003) Uncertainty avoidance Intention of purchasing new consumer electronics (Holak and Lehmann, 1990) - (Jung and Kellaris, 2004) + Innovativeness (Manning et al, 1995) Figure: Preliminary model of the study Control Variables - Age - Income - Education level 9 • Individualistic-self and collectivism Individualistic-self includes independence, self-driven, freedom and confidence in yourself while collectivism relates to dependence, towards other individuals, harmony and similarity (Hui, 1984; Triandis et al, 1988). [53] In the context of Vietnam, scales of individualistic-self and collectivism of Singelis (1994, 1995) have been developed by Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai et al (2003) in a comprehensive manner. Therefore, the cales of individualistic-self and collectivism of Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai et al (2003) will be used in this thesis. • Uncertainty avoidance Uncertainty avoicdance is the degree to which a person accepts or rejects risk (the situation/environment unstable or unstructured) (Hofstede, 2001; Mooij and Hofstede, 2002; Veiga, 2001). In recent year, Jung and Kellaris (2004) have focused on building the scaleof uncertainty avoidance in terms of personal aspect. Therefore, the study uses the scale of uncertainty avoidance of Jung and Kellaris (2004) instead of that of Hofstede although Hofstede's scale has been widely used in many studies. • Innate consumer innovativeness Innate consumer innovativeness is a general characteristic which is difficult to observe and reflect innovativeness of a person, personality and cognitive style in many different situations. Innate consumer innovativeness is inherited and used the scale of Manning et al. (1995). Innate consumer nnovativeness is measured through the demand for searching information on new products. • New electronic product adoption behavior: is measured by the intention of purchasing new consumer eletronics (Holak and Lehmann, 1990). • Control variables and measurement Age of consumers is measured by the number of years from their birth. Income of consumers is measured by the average monthly income (from all sources) of consumers. Education level of consumers is represented by the secondary education or lower, high school graduation, college/university graduation and post-graduation. 2.4.2. Hypotheses of the study Hypothesis 1 (H1): Individualistic-self has positive impact (+) on the new electronic product adoption behavior. Hypothesis 2 (H2): Collectivism has negative impact (-) on the new electronic product adoption behavior. 10 Hypothesis 3 (H3): Uncertainty avoidance has negative impact (-) on the new electronic product adoption behavior. Hypothesis 4 (H4): Innate consumer innovativeness has positive impact (+) on the new electronic product adoption behavior. CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1. Qualitative study 3.1.1. Objectives of the in-depth interviews - Test and screen independent variables as well as determine the relationship between the variables in the research model. - Adjust and supplement the scale for research concepts. 3.1.2. Method of the in-depth interviews - Participants in-depth interviews (the respondent) The in-depth interviews have conducted with 10 consumers in Hanoi urban area. They owns new electronic products such as smart phone, tablet, camera ... - Contents of in-depth interviews: Basically, the interviews focus on the new electronic product adoption behavior and other positive and negative factors. - Collection and processing of information: Data have been collected through direct interview technique. Then, the data have been compared to synthesize the general concept for the study. 3.1.3. Results of qualitative study - Test the independent variables: Preliminary research model is unchanged and is regarded as the official model of the study. - Assess the scales: The scales are unchanged in the questionnaire in quantitative study after a few minor adjustments. - Develop a scale of the behavior of new product adoption: Frequency of purchasing new electronic products. 3.1.4. Official research model and scale 2 The study uses two scales of the new electronic product adoption behavior (intention of purchasing new consumer electronics and frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics). Therefore, the official model and hypotheses of the study are as follows: 11 12 Hypothesis 4b (H4b): Innate consumer innovativeness has positive impact (+) on the frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics. Individualistic-self (Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai et al, 2003) 3.2. Quantitative study + 3.2.1. Preliminary Qualitative Study Collectivism (Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai et al, New electronic product adoption behavior - 2003) Uncertainty avoidance Intention of purchasing new consumer electronics (Holak and Lehmann, 1990) - (Jung and Kellaris, 2004) + Frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics ( Innovativeness (Manning et al, 1995) Control Variables - Age - Income - Education level Figure: Official model of the study Official hypotheses: Hypothesis 1a (H1a): Individualistic-self has positive impact (+) on the intention of purchasing new consumer electronics. Hypothesis 1b (H1b): Individualistic-self has positive impact (+) on the frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics. Hypothesis 2a (H2a): Collectivism has negative impact (-) on the intention of purchasing new consumer electronics. Hypothesis 2b (H2b): Collectivism has negative impact (-) on the frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics. - Design the questionnaire: In addition to the introduction and management part, the main contents of the questionnaire include questions about individualisticself, collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, innate consumer innovativeness of consumers, the new electronic product adoption behavior and demographic information (age, gender, income, education level ...) and a number of questions about the intensity and frequency of new electronic product adoption built by the author. - Sample size: n = 79. - Method of data analysis: Cronbach's coefficient alpha. - Results of a preliminary assessment of the scale: Removal of the two observed variables NT5 and TK6. The remaining scales ensure reliability for use in official quantitative research. 3.2.2. Official quantitative study Sample size: 524 units Sampling method: Stratified sampling by geographic criteria. The sample units are selected by convenient sampling method. Data collection: The data collection with the help of colleagues is taken place at venues such as shopping centers, universities, hospitals, .... of the seven districts of Hanoi. Data analysis: EFA, Cronbach's Alpha, regression analysis. CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS 4.1. The situation of new electronic product adoption behavior by consumers in Hanoi urban area 4.1.1. Descriptive statistics of samples Hypothesis 3a (H3a): Uncertatinty avoidance has negative impact (-) on the intention of purchasing new consumer electronics. After 700 questionnaires are sent out, 634 questionnaires have been collected, in which 524 questionnaires ensure eligibility for analysis. Hypothesis 3b (H3b): Uncertainty avoidance has negative impact (-) on the frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics. 4.1.1.1. Descriptive statistics of samples according to demographic variables Hypothesis 4a (H4a): Innate consumer innovativeness has positive impact (+) on the intention purchasing new consumer electronics. Structure of research samples is built statistically in terms of gender, age, income and education levels. 13 14 (i) In terms of gender: 210 respondents are male, accounting for 40.1% and 314 remaining correspondents are women, accounting for 59.9%. The statistics show that characteristic of the research samples in which the percentage of female is higher than that of male is perfectly suited to the characteristic of the population of Hanoi urban areas. corresponding to 248 people, 29.8% of respondents corresponding to 156 people purchase products in mid-year and 22.9% of correspondents corresponding to120 people purchase at the beginning of the year. (ii) In terms of age: Respondents in the age group from 18 to under 25 account for the largest proportion of 62.6%; followed by the age group from 26 to under 35 accounting for 26.0%; the age group from 36 to 54 accounts for 9.5%; and the age group under 18 accounts for 1.1%; The remaining group from 55 and older accounts for 0.8%. The average age of the sample is 25.67 years old. (D) Occasions of purchasing new consumer eletronics: Consumers in Hanoi urban area buy new consumer electronics on the occasions of promotions, discounts, etc. Few people purchase new products as soon as manufacturers introduce them to the market. 4.2. Results of evaluation on the official scale 4.2.1. Evaluation on distribution form of the official scale (iii) In terms of income: 65.3% of respondents has incomes of less than 5 million dong/ month corresponding to 342 people; 20.2% has incomes from 5 to under 10 million dong corresponding to 106 people; 6.9% has incomes from 10 to under 15 million dong corresponding to 36 people; 3.4% has incomes from 15 to under 20 million dong corresponding to 18 people and 4.2% has incomes of 20 million dong corresponding to 22 people. The average income of the sample is 5.6 million dong/ month (from all sources), which is higher than the average income of the country. Scales on individualistic-self, collectivitism, uncertainty avoidance, innate consumer innovativeness, purchase intention and frequency of purchasing new mobile phones all have normal distribution and ensure performance requirements of the next tests. However, the frequency of purchasing new laptops is positively skewed distribution with a long tail to the right. Therefore, Recenter technique which is applied overcomes the situation of positively skewed distribution of variables and satisfies requirements of the next tests. (iiii) In terms of education levels: 45.8% of the respondents graduated from College/ University (240 people), 37.8% of high school graduates (198 people), 15.6% of correspondents with postgraduate qualifications (82 people) and 8% of correspondents has not graduated from high school (4 people). The education level of the sample is high, which is consistent with the characteristics of consumers in Hanoi urban area. EFA results obtaining 26 observed variables are classified into 4 factors in "Initial eigenvalues" >1. The total variance which can be explained when factor groups are drawn is 55.808%. (> 50%) . Four factors which are individualistic-self, collectivitism, uncertainty avoidance and innate consumer innovativeness are the observed variables which download an independent factor corresponding to the value of factor loading > 0.3. 4.1.1.2. Desriptive statistics on individual cultural factors of the samples 4.2.3. Evaluation on reliability of the official scale The individualistic-self and innate consumer innovativeness of the research samples are higher than the average point (reaching 3.4835 and 3.4256 points on 5point Likert scale). Collectivism and uncertainty avoidance of the research samples are relatively high (reaching 3.7306 and 3.7761 points on 5-point Likert scale) Table: Reliability of the official scale 4.2.2. Evaluation on value of the official scale No. Factor Number of observed variables Cronbach's Alpha 4.1.2. Situation of new electronic product adoption 1 Individualistic-self 6 0.827 (a) Frequency of purchasing new consumer eletronics: New mobile phones are purchased by consumers with the greatest frequency (average of 2.23 times/2 years), followed by new laptops (average of 1.64 times/ 3 years) and new tablets (average of 1.18 times/ 2 years) (Table 4.7). 2 Collectivitism 7 0,868 3 Uncertainty avoidance 6 0.851 4 Innate consumer innovativeness 7 0.853 5 Purchase intention 4 0.706 Total 30 (B) Intention of purchasing new consumer eletronics: at the average score (reaching 3.1 points on 5-point Likert scale). (C) Time of purchasing new consumer eletronics: Most of respondents purchase consumer electronics at the end of the year with a percentage of 47.3%, Results of evaluation on reliability of the scale show that most of Cronbach's alpha values are greater than the required value which is 0.7. Most of Cronbach's 15 16 Alpha values in the case of excluding variables are lower than Cronbach's Alpha value. The values of item-total correlation are greater than 0.3. Therefore, the scales used are highly reliable. 4.3. Results of tests on impacts of some individual cultural factors on the new electronic product adoption behavior This is an important phase of the theme that aims to answer the research questions. To achieve results, multiple regression method is used to test the relation of independent variables and dependent variable. Because the act of new electronic product adoption is measured by two scales: (i) Intention of purchasing new consumer electronics and (ii) Frequency of purchasing new electronic products; therefore, multiple regression analysis is conducted respectively with two models: - Model 1: Testing the relation between four individual cultural factors and intention of purchasing new consumer electronics, after the effects of age, education level and income are controlled. - Model 2: Testing the relation between four individual cultural factors and intention of purchasing new consumer electronics, after the effects of age, education level and income are controlled. Regression results with Intention of purchasing new consumer electronics Regression results show that the regression model with dependent variable which is intention of purchasing new consumer electronics does not have statistical significance. There are no adequate bases for accepting these hypotheses H1a, H2a, H3a and H4a. Table: Regression results between some individual cultural factors and intention of purchasing new consumer electronics Equation 1 2 Variable Beta Beta Control variables Age -0.008 -0.007 Educational level -0.031 0.031 Income 0.032 0.039 Main variable Individualistic-self Collectivitism Uncertainty avoidance Innate consumer innovativeness -0.061 0.083 0.041 0.117 ** Adjusted R 2 -0.004 F 0.254 F change N = 524; p ≤ 0.1; *p ≤ 0.05; **p ≤ 0.01; ***p ≤ 0.001 All correlation coefficients are standardized 0.013 1.999 3.304 * Regression results with the frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics There are two regression equations which are calculated for the dependent variable (frequency of purchasing new electronic products) are detailed in the table below. The first regression equation includes only control variables as independent variables. The second regression equation is a full model including all control variables and main variables which are included in the model simultaneously. In the second regression equation, three control variables and four individual cultural factors are regarded as independent variables. The results show that both regression equation have statistical significance at p <0.01. This confirms the correlation between the four individual cultural factors and frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics with the reliability of 99%, after factors such as age, education level and income of consumers are controlled. Thus, it can be concluded that one of the four individual cultural factors has an impact on the frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics of consumers. The second model is suitable for data collection and it can be used. The regression results also show that values of adjusted R2 of both equations are 0.038 and 0.162 respectively. It is seen that with this data set, control variables (age, education, income) can explain 3.8% of the variation of frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics if they stand alone, they can explain 16.2% of the variation of frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics if they combine with four individual cultural factors. In addition, the value of Fchange is 20.248 with sig = 0.000.Therefore, it is possible to confirm that independent variables (individualistic-self, collectivitism, uncertainty avoidance and innate consumer innovativeness) which can explain additionally 12.4% of the variation of the act of new electronic product acceptance (frequency of purchasing new electronic products) have statistical significance after the effects of age, education and income are controlled. This result also confirms that there are adequate bases for accepting these hypotheses H1b, H3b, H4b. The individualistic-self and innate consumer innovativeness have a positive impact on frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics, while uncertainty avoidance has a negative impact on frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics. Regression equation is expressed as follows: NPA = 0,866 + 0,204. CN - 0,178.NT + 0,169.TK + 17 18 Table: Regression results between individual cultural factors and frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics Equation 1 2 Variable Beta Beta Control variables Age -0.030 -0.040 *** Educational level 0.171 0.151 *** * Income 0.107 0.059 Main variable Individualistic-self Collectivitism Uncertainty avoidance Innate consumer innovativeness Adjusted R 2 0.038 F 7.863 ** F change N = 524; p ≤ 0.1; *p ≤ 0.05; **p ≤ 0.01; ***p ≤ 0.001 All correlation coefficients are standardized 0.204 *** 0.051 -0.178 *** 0.169 *** 0.162 15.439 ** 20.248 *** 4.3.3. Comparison of two research models As above, the first model with dependent variable which is intention of purchasing new consumer electronics does not have statistical significance. The research has not found the correlation between individual factors and intention of purchasing new consumer electronics. This result is entirely consistent with the research context which is the new consumer electronics. Because of the fact that with new consumer electronics in the future, consumers may not realize, understand and may not be aware of new features of them. Hence, they find it difficult to imagine new electronic products obviously. As a result, with the question on the intention of purchasing new consumer electronics in the future, the answers of consumers are often uncertain and neutral. This is the reason why the study has not discovered any significant correlation between a number of individual cultural factors and intention of purchasing new consumer electronics. Meanwhile, the model 2 with the dependent variable which is the frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics has statistical significance (p <0.01). In addition, by the coefficient of determination which is adjusted R2, adding four individual cultural factors in the model 2 helps explain additional 12.4% of the variation of new electronic product adoption behavior (frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics) after the effects of demographic variables are controlled. Therefore, the regression model 2 with dependent variable which is frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics is better suited to the fact of new electronic production adoption by consumers in Hanoi urban area. The scale of frequency of purchasing new products is more suitable and effective than intention of purchasing new consumer electronics in the context of the dissertation. CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5.1. Key findings of the study Over the past half century, there have been many studies which contribute to discover factors having influence on adoption behaviors towards new electronic products within different contexts. These factors can be classified into two categories: demographic characteristics including age, gender, income, education level and occupation; and psychological characteristics such as innovative psychology of consumers and consumption attitudes. In a meantime, observations in actuality indicated that it is cultural values of individuals that exerted influence on the new electronic product adoption behavior. Therefore, the study aims to brigde such theoretical gap by explaining those behaviors from perspectives of individual cultural factors, which have been specified by Schwartz (1994). A combination of qualitative and quanitative investigation has been conducted on the basis of surveying 524 consumers in Hanoi urban area to study on influence of individual cultural factors towards their adoption behaviors. Thanks to that, the study has drawn new and important conclusions. The study results revealed that individualistic-self, uncertainty avoidance and innate consumer innovativeness exert considerable influence on their new product adoption behavior. These behaviors are observed by frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics, which are most strongly driven by the individualistic-self (β = 0.204). This is the first time in this study that the relation betweenindividualistic-self, uncertainty avoidance and new electric product adoption behaviors has been discovered. However, the study could not figure out the relationships between several cultural factors by individualistic-self and intention of purchasing new consumer electronics as well as the relationship between collectivism and frequency of purchasing new consumer electronics. 19 5.2. Discussion on study results 5.2.1. Influence of the individualistic-self Hypothesis H1b “The individualistic-self has positive impact on new electronic product behavior” is accepted. As of the context in Vietnam, such results are absolutely consistent. Today, Vietnam is a country whose the transformed economy, traditional values as well as collectiveness still exist in parallel with modern cultural values. The individualisticself among such modern values, however, has been increasingly popular in Vietnam. A majority of Vietnamese people, though brought up in a collective environment, have changed their attitudes from “earn to survive” to another individualistic viewpoint of “earn to enjoy” as a result of war effects and increasingly properous living condions. According to these results, individualistic consumers tend to focus on personal goals and achievements while enjoying competition, proving themselves and their own personality. New electronic products nowadays have gradually been innovated in regard of technology for better performance in workplace (microprocessing unit Core i3, i5, i7, smart phones, cameras, digital camera, etc.). Possession of such innovative electronic (hi-tech) products enables individuals to gain achievements in job performance as well as facilitate their expression of personality. This is also the reason inducing their accepting behaviors towards innovative electronic products. 5.2.2. Influence of uncertainty avoidance Hypothesis H3b “uncertainty avoidance has negative impact on new electronic production adoption behavior” is accepted. 20 of experiencing new ones. Consequently, risks posed by new introduction of products inhibit new electronic product adoption behavior in Viet Nam. Second, risk originates from time required to adapt. As we all know, a majority of electronic products are fabricated thanks to advanced technology. When adopting a new product, consumers are required to spend time learning new techonology and softwares attached by the product. However, people who are afraid of risk and changes tend to select products based on available knowledge of technology. In fact, they often choose products that are not too innovative to mitigate such risks, assuming that new electronic products are of equal quality. Third is economic risk. When introducing new electronic products into the market, producers usually set a high price before decreasing their value sharply even within 2 months. Consumers, as a result, face with pricing risk, which to some extent hinders acceptance of new electronic products. 5.2.3. Influence of innate consumer innovativeness Hypothesis H4b “Innovative psychology has positive effects on accepting behavior towards new electronic products” is accepted. According to Manning and his assistant (1995), innovative consumers are those who enjoy experiencing new things, as well as searching information of new products, and regularly visiting places exhibiting new products to gain experience. They also tend to positively adapt to new products because of their appealing benefits, applications, styles, colors. Furthermore, they are always actively search information about products and become pioneer in consumption of newly introduced products. As a pioneer, consumers will become consultant of surrouding people on product information, which in turn promotes their social status to some extent. The discovery is absolutely in consistency with cultural characteristics of Vietnamese consumers. According to survey results, Vietnamese consumers have a relatively high level of uncertainty avoidance. It is because today we are facing a market which is saturated with inadequate information from media and other nonindividual channels. Thus, personal information, and word of mouth cover mostly these media. Accordingly, innovators are those who proactively search information and become interested in product innovation. Compared with other individuals, they are the ones who know new products and new technology earlier, and more easily adopt new electronic products. Due to imperfect source of information about products in Vietnam, consumers have to face a high level of risk when approaching a new product. (1) What is the behavior of new electronic product adoption by consumers in Hanoi urban area like? First risk is entailed in new introduction of the product itself. Due to its first time of introduction in the market, consumers find it difficult to fully understand of properties as well as comparison among previously accepted products, which results in uncertainty of comparative advantages of a new product. It is their uncertainty that entails worry and suspection among people afraid of risk. They even associate products’ benefits with their negative impacts on their lives. Such embarrasment and suspection of these people induce them to persist in usage of familiar products instead Answer: Consumers in Hanoi urban area purchase new mobile phones with the highest frequency (2.23 times/2 years on average), followed by new laptops (1.64 times/3 years on average) and new tablets (1.18 times/2 years on average). Thus, Consumers within of Hanoi urban area purchase new mobile phones more regularly than tablets and laptops. 5.2.4. Answers to research questions (2) Do individual cultural factors affect the behavior of new electronic product adoption?Level of impact? 21 22 Answer: The individualistic-self has strong and positive effects on new electric product adoption behavior (β = 0.204). Innovative attitudes also have significant effects on new electric product adoption behavior products (β = 0.169), meanwhile, uncertainty avoidance entails profound but negative impacts on such behaviors (β = 0.178). - The study has made every possible effort to introduce 4 out of 10 individual cultural factors into the study model (Schwartz, 1994) to explain new electronic product adoption behavior. However, such independent variants only worked for 12.4% of variation in new electronic product adoption behavior. It is due to the fact that such individual cultural factors are only indirect contributant to consumer behaviors (Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, 2003). In other words, there are many other factors that the study models can not genreralize thoroughly. (3) What are solutions to accelerate adoption of new electronic products? Answer: Based on study results of the dissertation, the author proposes several solutions such as individualization, application of individual cultural factors in advertisements of consumer electronics; minization of risks to new products by focusing on customers as a target of innovation, utilizing media for provision of information on differences of new and old products; changing pricing strategy for new products; and proposing several media for marketing such offerings. 5.3. Implicit proposals to administrators Individualization of consumer electronics New consumer electronics should be individualization Effects of individual cultural factors should be applied in marketing electronic products Minimizing risks posed to new electronic products Consumers should be considered as a target of innovation. Accordingly, enterprises should conduct refrom driven by simplification of complex technology, making them as friendly and easy to use as possible to ordinary users. They aslo should help customers understand new technology and overcome temporary barriers for acceptance. In addition, in order to mitigate technical risks and risks from certain time required to adopt products posed to potential consumers, producers should utilize media in a diverse manner to comfront possible disparities between old and new products. What is more, pricing strategy for new electronic products should also be altered. Instead, the strategy should be incorporated with several free services to encourage consumption of electronic products. Communication campaign for new electronic products In today digital era, enterprises commercializing technology products should pay much emphasis on new information channel such as E-Marketing. 5.4. Limitations of the study and direction of following research Limitations of the study - Although the study has controlled impacts of demographic variants such as age, income, and education level, another significant factor of gender in adoption behavior has not been under control. - Study samples are not diverse enough. Samples only focus on age group of 28 - 35; females account for 59.9% while males make up 40.1%. This limitation can bring adverse effect to the study results, which should be mitigated in the next research. Direction for upcoming researches - Consideration of indirect impacts of several individual cultural factors towards new electronic product adoption behavior which can be revealed through consumer’s attitudes. - Revision of study model of several individual cultural factors that affects new electronic product adoption behavior for further investigation on other electronic products within a different context.