RESEARCH BACKGROUND
Fromtheearly2000s,Vietnamhasappliedsequencedtradeliberalization,atwo- tracka p p r o a c h opening so m e sectorsof t h e economy tointernational m ar ket s wh ileprotecting others.InJuly2006,Vietnam updateditsintellectualproperty legisl ationtocomply withT R I P S , anditbecameamemberoftheWTOon11January2007.Ataresult, moreandmoreinternationalbrandsentertothedomesticmarket.Thecustomershavemoreoptions whenmakingpurchasedecision.
Besides,theexplosivegrowthininternetuseisfundamentallychangingVietna m’se c on o m y andsociety.Internetsurpassednewspapersandradiotobecomepopularmediain Vietnam,according toNet Index surveyin 2011(SemVietnam,2011).Accordingly,e- mail( 6 0 % ) andtextmessaging(73%)aretwomeansofconnectingonlinevogue.Seei ngnewsonline,accessingtheportalhomepageandsearchingviaenginesarethreeonlineacti vitiesmostcommoninturnaccountedfor97%,96%,and96%oftheparticipants(SemVietnam,2
0 1 1 ) SemVietnam(2011)alsoreportsthenumberofusersparticipatinginsocialnetworksincreasedfr om41%in2010to55%in2011.TheVietnamese,especiallytheyouth,nowcane a s i l y a p p r o a c h t h e i n f o r m a t i o n o f p r o d u c t s , a n d interestedintheconcepts“brand”a n d “ p e r s o n a l id entification”morethanever.ThismatterisclearlyindicatewhenVietnamesep e o p l e makingpurchasedecisionforhigh-involvementproducts.
Fortangibleproducts,whentheinformationtendstodigitalandonlinefromuniver sitiestooffices,thereisa tendencyofincreasingrapidlyinneedofhigh- techdevicess u c h aslaptopinVietnam.Laptopbecomesoneofimportantandpopulardevice sforbothacademicandbusinesspurposes.However,since2009,salesoflaptophavebeeninfluenced g r e a t l y fromthepowerfulexplosionofsmartmobiledevicessuchassmartphonesandtablets.R e s u l t s o f t h e s u r v e y r e s e a r c h f i r m N D P a r e c o n d u c t e d int h e e n d o f 2 0 1 2 r e c o r d e d a spectaculargrowthoftabletdevicesandsmartphones,andthishascontributedtothepressuret h a t makest h e n u m b e r o f l a p t o p s i n g l o b a l d e c r e a s e T h i s t e n d e n c y isn o t e x c l u s i v e o fVietnam.Thenarrowerthelaptopmarketisgraduallynarrowduetothesharplyincreasingo f sm artphonesandtablets,thecompetitionbetweenlaptopsmanufacturesisfiercer.In2013, thisfightinlaptopmarketevenmoredecisive.
The demand for foreign language learning, particularly English, is rapidly increasing due to the integration trend in services In response, language centers in major cities like Ho Chi Minh City are striving to keep pace with this growth According to the Department of Education and Training in Ho Chi Minh City, the number of foreign language training institutions rose from 207 in 2009 to 217 in 2010, representing 41.24% of the city's total training institutions However, despite this expansion, the quality of teaching has raised significant concerns, as there is no formal assessment of teaching standards in these language centers, leaving students to rely on individual online references for guidance.
AccordingtoNielsenResearchCompany,althoughtheindexofconsumerconfidenceVi etn am i ncreasedinthefirstquarterof2013,includingsignificantdemandfortechnologyp r o d u c t s ; ne vertheless,choosingtheproductsthatalignfinanceabilitystillthemainstreamofcustomers.T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e i n t e r n e t i n V i e t n a m c r e a t e s f o r c o n s u m e r s t h e e a s i e r a p p r o a c h to marketinformation,reliableresearchresults,andexpertopinion.Basingonthisf a c i l i t a t i o n , c o n s u m e r s c o u l d maked e c i s i o n d e l i b e r a t e l y a n d wisely.T h u s , c o m p e t i t i o n becomesharsherandtheroleofbrandbecomesmoreimportant.
Fromt h e e a r l y de cade s o f the21 stcentury, i n g e n e r a l l y Vie tn am e n t e r p r i s e s h a v e c e r t a i n awarenessoftheimportanceandsignificanceofbrandingissuesanditsroleforthe development ofthecorporation.Brandingisoneoftheimportantdeterminantsofcorporatep o s i t i o n s , whichcontributesignificantlytoimprovingefficiencycompetitiveness.
However,theconceptofthecorporatebrandinVietnamremainslargelyderivedfromshort- termgoals,immediatebenefits,underthepressureofsales,lackoflong- termvision,andevencontainsemotionalnature.Infact,manybusinessesarenotfullyawareoftheneed tobuildandbrandd e v e l o p m e n t , wastingalotoftimeandmaymissmanygoodopportunit iesbenefitduetot h e r e arenoexplicitbrandstrategy.Besides,Vietnamcorporationsstillnot appreciatedthecontributionofelementsrelatedtocustomeridentificationinbranding.
Throughout the late 20th century and early 21st century, researchers have highlighted the importance of self-identity as a fundamental aspect of the human experience (Belk, 1988; Berger & Heath, 2007; Brewer, 1991; Kleine, Kleine, & Kernan, 1993; Tajfel & Turner, 1985) The possessions we buy and consume play a crucial role in defining our identities, encapsulated in Belk's assertion that "we are what we have" (1988, p 160) In this context, brands possess the unique ability to embody and communicate desirable consumer identities (Bhattacharya & Sen, 2003; Escalas, 2004; Escalas & Bettman, 2003, 2009; Fournier, 1998, 2009; Lam, Ahearne, Hu, & ).
Schillewaert,2010;Levy,1959;Strizhakova,Coulter,&Price,2008;Tsai,2005).J u s t asb r a n d s createfunctionaland emotionalvalueforconsumers(deChernatonyetal ,2011),b r a n d advocacyis oneformofvaluecreationbycustomersinthisway.Consumersbecome“ b r a n d advocates”whent heyarehighlyinvolvedwithabrand,andofferinvaluablepositivew o r d ofmouth(WOM)aboutthebra ndtoothers(Wragg,2004).Thisisthewaytoenhancecompetitiveedgesforbusinesses.
Besides,agrowingbodyofstudieshasfocusedonwhatitmeansforconsumerstoi d en tif y withb r a n d s a n d t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s o f s u c h c o n s u m e r - b r a n d i d e n t i f i c a t i o n f o r b o t h consumerbehaviorandeffectivebrandmanagement(e.g.,Cher nev,Hamilton,&Gal,2011;E s c a l a s &Bettman,2003,2009;Lametal.,2010).Inotherapproach,Stok burger-Saueretal.(201 2)havedefinedtheantecedentsandconsequencesofconsumer- brandidentification.
InthecontextoftheVietnameseeconomy,with apopulationstructurethattheyoungp eo pl e accountsformorethanhalf,whomintherapiddevelo pmentofe- commerceaswellassocialmedianetworkshavebetterunderstandingofthebrand,thestruggleincom petitionf o r corporationismorediversifiedandcompetingtomaintainthecommitmentofcustomers.Th erefore,a c k n o w l e d g e o f consumer-brand identificationcould bring considerablesignificanceandcontributioninevaluatingmarketingstrategyaswellasbranddevel opmento f abusiness.
RESEARCH PROBLEMS
InVietnam,thecustomers’awarenessaboutbrandgrowsmoreandmorewiththeentryo f w o r l d w i d e b r a n d T h e c r u c i a l r o l e o f b r a n d s i n t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d maintenanceo f c o n s u m e r s ' identitiesisnotnew(Keller,1993;Levy,1959).However,duringthefirstdecadeo f the21 stcent ury,theresearchesaboutidentificationofcustomerwithabrandconductedinV i e t n a m context sti ll s c a r e d T h e r e f o r e , t h e manageri n t h e V ie t n a m es e c o r p o r a t i o n s h a d l a c k e d ofthevis ionaboutapplyingconsumer- brandidentificationinbuildingbrandadvocacyf o r creatingadvantagecompetition.
This study aims to explore the antecedents and outcomes of consumer-brand identification, supported by several reliable studies (Escalas & Bettman, 2003; Lam et al., 2010; Nicola et al., 2012; Papista & Dimitriadis, 2012; Donavan et al., 2006; Kuenzel and Halliday, 2008; Stokburger-Sauer et al., 2012) Research indicates that a brand influences customer identification through unique and distinctive product or service attributes Additionally, positive impressions and emotions associated with a brand significantly contribute to customer-brand identification The studies also suggest a correlation between customer experiences with a product or service and their identification with the brand In the context of the Vietnamese economy, characterized by rapid advancements in information technology and the influx of global brands, three key factors identified as drivers of consumer-brand identification are brand distinctiveness, brand warmth, and memorable brand experiences.
Basedonthediscussionsabouttheconsequenceofconsumer- brandidentificationfromt h e s e r e s e a r c h e s , t h i s s t u d y a l s o a s s e s s e s t h e e f f e c t ofco nsumer-brandi d e n t i f i c a t i o n toimportantoutcome- brandadvocacy.Inaddition,thisresearchalsoconsidersthemoderateo f productinvolvement factorforaninsightviewaboutconsumer- brandidentificationandb r a n d advocacyinHoChiMinhCity,Vietnam.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Theoverallobjectiveofthisstudyistoexaminetheimpactofthreefactors(bran dd istin cti ven ess, brandwarmth,memorablebrandexperiences)onconsumer- brandidentification aswellastheeffectofconsumer- brandidentificationonbrandadvocacyinHoChiMinhCity,Vietnam.
RESEARCH DESIGN
TheresearchconductsonconsumersinHoChiMinhCity,whichoneofthebiggestc i ty in Vietnam.Tradingactivitiesanddemographicinthiscityarediverseandextending.
ThequestionnaireistranslatedintoVietnamese.Afterin- depthinterviewswitheightp e o p l e e ac h q u e s t i o n, Vietnameseq u e s t i o n na i r e ism o d i f i e d be f o r e applyingw ide ly T he mainsurveycollectsdataandtestthemeasurementandstructuralmo dels.
Allitemsinthisstudyaremeasuredbyaseven- pointLikertscalefrom“1=stronglyd i s a g r e e ” to“7=strongly agree”.T h i s studyusesc onveniencesample, self- administered s u r v e y method.T h e s a m p l e s i z e a t 5 2 3 o bs e r v a t i o n s, 1 0 8 0 q u e s t i o n na i r e s i s de l i v e r e d t o p a r t i c i p a n t s via emailorhardcopy.DatawasanalyzedwithSPSS22,Cronbachalphawereu s e d toexaminethereliability,EFAwereusedfortestthevalidity;andReg ressionAnalysis( L i n e a r , Multiple,andHierarchical)wastakenfortesthypotheses.
SIGNIFICANCE OFTHESTUDY
Throughassessmenttheeffectofbranddistinctiveness,brandwarmthandmemorableb rand exp eriencestoconsumer- brandidentificationthenimpacttobrandadvocacy,wecana p p r o a c h moreeffectivebrandin gstrategies,whichrecognizetheimportanceroleofcon su m er- br an d identificationinVietnamcontext.Inaddition,thestudyprovidesspecifictactics formanagersinVietnamesecorporationsinordertocontrolandconsolidatea n t e c e d e n t s o fconsumer-brandidentification.Besides,basedontheresultsofthisstudy,wecan define thedirectiontoapplyconsumer-brandidentificationin buildingbrandadvocacy.
THESTRUCTUREOFTHESTUDY
Thisc h a p t e r p r e s e n t s ther e s e a r c h b a c k g r o u n d o f thestudy,researchp r o b l e m s , r e s e a r ch objectives,researchscopes,and methodology.Thesignificanceofthestudy,andther e s e a r c h structurealsobementioned.
Inthispart,theauthorrefersthefundamentaltheoriesanddefinitionofeachmentionedconcept.Besides,t heauthorsmakecomparisonpriorresearchestodiscussmoredeeplyaboutt herelationshipbetweenconstruct.Ba sedonthesefoundations,theauthorpresentstheoreticalmodelingaswellasproposeshypothesesandtheconcept ualmodelofthestudy.
Thec o n t e n t o f t h i s c h a p t e r d e t a i l s a b o u t t h e r e s e a r c h d e s i g n , m e t h o d o l o g y a n d illustratetheprocessofconductingtheresearch.Themeasurementofc onstructs,theq u est i o n n air e design,sample,andchosendataanalysismethodarediscussedindetail s.
Forthischapter,theauthorsummariesthecharacteristics ofcollectedsampl esandpresentstheresultsoftheresearchafteranalyzingcollecteddata,bothformeasurementmodela n d s t r u c t u r a l m o d e l F r o m t ha tr e s u l t , t h e a u t h o r d r a w s t h e c o n c l u s i o n s f o r t h e r e s e a r c h hypothesesproposedinChapter2.
Inthischapter,theresearcherpresentstheliteraturereview,proposedhypotheses,andc o n c ep t u a l frameworkoftheresearch.Firstly,thischapterdiscussestheconstructconsumer- br an d identification.Secondly,threeantecedentsofconsumer- brandidentificationarep r e s e n t e d deeply.Thirdly,theauthorsconsidertheoutcomeofconsumer- brandidentification.T h e chaptercontinueswithdiscussionaboutthemoderate roleofPr o duc t categoryinvolvement.Finally,the authorsummarizes allproposedhypothesis andillustratedthemthroughtheconceptualmodel.
THECONCEPTOFCONSUMER–BRANDIDENTIFICATION
AsLevy(1959)mentionedabrandcanberecognizeascarrierofsymbolicmeanings.Whenaper sonconsidertobrandoftheproductwhenmakingpurchasingdecision,itmeanst h a t personnotonly buythatproduct,butalsothevaluecontainedinitsbrands.Inthatway,o w n aproductcanhelpconsum ersatisfytheirdesiresforrevealorconfirmtheiridentityatac e r t a i n level.Hence,theself- identityhasarelationshipcloselywith brandof product,in theo t h e r approachthatistheorganizationidentity.Thisopinionissupportedbyorganizationalb e h a v i o r literature,whereinidentificationtypicallyhasbeenmentionedasapercepti onofo n e n e s s withorbelongingnesstosomehumanaggregate(Ashforth&Mael,1989;Bergami
&Bagozzi,2000;Bhattacharyaetal.,1995;Mael&Ashforth,1992;Stuart,2002).S t o k b u r g e r - S a u e r etal.(2012)definedconsumer- brandidentificationasaconsumer'sp e r c e i v e d stateofonenesswithabrand,isavalida ndpotentexpressionofourquestfori d e n t i t y - f u l f i l l i n g meaninginthemarketplaceofbrands.
The study by Tajfel and Turner (1985) on social identity theory highlights that individuals derive their self-concept and self-esteem through connections with social groups or organizations Bhattacharya and Sen (2003) further explored this concept in the context of consumer behavior, defining consumer-company identification as an active and selective process driven by the fulfillment of self-definitional needs However, it is important to note that consumer-brand identification differs from the comparison of self-identity with brand identity; rather, it can be viewed as a facet of the broader self-brand connection.
EscalasandBettman(2003,2009)definetheconstructofself- brandconnectionsast h e e x t e n t tow h i c h ani n d i v i d u a l h a s i n c o r p o r a t e d a b r a n d i n t o h i s o r h e r s e l f - c o n c e p t B e s i d e s , t h e c o n s t r u c t s i n r e l a t e d r e s e a r c h e s s u c h a s b r a n d - s e l f c o n n e c t i o n o f P a r k e t a l ( 2 0 1 0 ) , self- connectionfromFournier'sstudy(2009)providenarrowernotionsaboutc o n s u m e r - b r a n d i d e n t i f i c a t i o n Comparingw i t h E s c a l a s a n d B e t t m a n ( 2 0 0 3 , 2 0 0 9 ) , t h e s e a u t h o r excludesthepotentialmotivationsguidingsuchself- brandconnections,whichcouldn o t reallycontributetoconsumer-brandidentificationintheirstudies.
Inadifferentapproach, Lametal.(2010)definiedconsumer- brandidentificationasacustomer'spsychologicalstateofperceiving,feeling,andvaluinghis orherbelongingnessw i t h abrand(p.130).Accordingly,theseauthorsconsideredconsumer- brandidentificationa s aformativeconstructcomposedofthreedimensions:
(3) “Evaluativec o n s u me r - b r a n d i d e n t i f i c a t i o n ”,d e f i n e d as “ w he t h e r t h e c o ns u m e r t h i n k s thepsychologica lonenesswiththebrandisvaluabletohimorherindividuallyandsocially”(Lametal.,2010,p.1 37).
(2012)donotagreethatbrandpartnervalueasparto f theconstructofidentification.Theseauthorsrespectt hatthesocialbenefitsofabrandcana c tu a l ly influencebrandidentification,therebyservingasanantecedenttoth econstructrathert h a n b e i n g ani n t e g r a l p a r t o f i t B e r g a m i a n d B a g o z z i ( 2 0 0 0 ) a r g u e t h a t t h e e m o t i o n a l c o n s e q u e n c e s ofidentificationmustbekeptseparatefromthesta teofidentification.Co n sist en t withthetheoryofParketal.
(2010);BergamiandBagozzi(2000);andStokburger-S a u e r etal.(2012),thispaperviewconsumer- brandidentificationprimarilyasacognitiver e p r e s e n t a t i o n , a l b e i t o n e t h a t c a n h a v e ana b u n d a n c e o f e m o t i o n a l a s s o c i a t i o n s M o r e generally,thispaperre gardconsumer- brandidentificationasdifferentfromthepureemotionalb o n d , t h a t isembodiedi n t h e c o n c e p t s o f emotionalb r a n d attachment( M a l ọ r , Krohmer,Hoyer,&Nyffenegger,2011)andb randlove(Batra,Ahuvia,&Bagozzi,2012;
ANTECEDENTS OFCBI
Branddistinctiveness
Peoplestrivetodistinguishthemselvesfromothersinsocialcontexts(e.g.,Tajfel&T u r n e r , 1985).SnyderandFromkin(1977)submitthetheoryofuniquenesspositions,whichc o n s i d e r the needofdistinctiveness asakeycomponentofpeople'sdrivetofeelgoodaboutthemselves(i.e.,self- esteem).Brewer(1991)hasdevelopedthisthemefurtherinthetheory ofoptimaldistinctiveness,whichsuggests thatpeopleattempttoresolvethe fundame ntaltensionbetweentheirneedtobesimilartoothersandtheirneedtobeuniquebyidentifyingw i t h groupsthatsatisfybothneeds.
( 2 0 0 1 ) h a s t a l k a b o u t thee x p r e s s i o n o f d i s t i n c t i v e n e s s i n t h e con su mp t i on realmisperhapsreflectedinthelabeledasconsumer's“needforuniqueness”.T h i s construc tdefinedas“anindividual'spursuitofdifferentnessrelativetoothersthatisachieved t h r o u g h t h e a c q u i s i t i o n , u t i l i z a t i o n , a n d d i s p o s i t i o n o f consumerg o o d s f o r t h e purposeofdevelopingandenhancingone'spersonalandsocialidentity”(p.50).
Therefore,thisstudypositsthebranddistinctivenessisakeyprecursortoaconsumer'sd e s i r e toide ntifywiththatbrand(seealsoBerger&Heath,2007).TheresearchofThompsonetal.
(2006),whichhasdocumentedthatconsumersoftenseektoaffirmtheiridentitiesviaconsump tionofbrandsthatareperceivedasbeingthepolaroppositesofmass-production,m a s s - c o n s u m p t i o n brands,providesfurthersupportforthisargument.
(2012)say,allelsebeingequal,brandswithidentitiesthatsett h e m apartfromtheirrivalswillbemorelikel ytobeidentifiedwith,provided,ofcourse,thatthebasisofthisdistinctivenessisnotperceivedasent irelyundesirableornegative.Hence,b r a n d d i s t i n c t i v e n e s s c a n b e d e f i n e d a s t h e p e r c e i v e d u n i q u e n e s s ofa brand'si d e n t i t y inr e l a t i o n toitscompetitors.Itmeansthemoreaco nsumerperceivesabrandtobedistinctive,t h e morethepersonwillidentifywiththatbrand.
Brandwarmth
Researchintheperson'sperceptionareaprovidesasimilardichotomybytheorizingt h a t thecontentofpeople'sstereotypescanbeorganizedwithtwokeyperceptualdimensions,“warmth”and“co mpetence”(Fiske,Cuddy,Glick,&Xu,2002).
Research indicates that brands can be categorized as warm or cold based on their product category, marketing positioning, and differentiating attributes A brand's personality is perceived in emotional terms, with warm brands fostering stronger consumer identification compared to cold brands This distinction is largely independent of brand quality or functionality perceptions Additionally, the concept of brand love highlights the passionate attachments consumers form with hedonic brands, suggesting that warmer brands elicit more intense emotional responses and play a more significant role in consumers' lives Consequently, warm brands are more meaningful for consumer-brand identification than their colder counterparts.
Memorablebrandexperiences
Brandsvaryi nt h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h theyp ro vi de t h e i r c o n s u m e r s w i t h memorab leexperiences( S t o k b u r g e r - S a u e r eta l , 2 0 1 2 ) P a r k e t a l ,
( 2 0 1 0 ) say,s o m e b r a n d s don o t o c c u p y asalientpositioninmemoryinspiteoffrequentusage,while otherbrands,evenwheni n f r e q u e n t l y u s e d , c a n l e a v e a n i n d e l i b l e , a f f e c t i v e l y c h a r g e d marko n t h e c o n s u m e r ' s c o n s c i o u s n e s s H e n c e , t h e s e b r a n d s m aket h e consumerp e r i o d i c a l l y r e l i v e s thep o s i t i v e experience.
E s c a l a s (2004),Sujanetal. (1993)alsogivefurthersupportedfortheroleofmemorablebrande x p e r i e n c e s isbyconsumerresearcho nautobiographicalmemoriesandnarrativeprocessing.Accordingly,memorableb r a n d e x p e r i e n c e s isana n t e c e d e n t ofconsumer- brandi d e n t i f i c a t i o n , w h i c h d e f i n e d a s t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h c o n s u m e r s h a v e p o s i t i v e , a f f e c t i v e l y c h a r g e d memoriesofpriorbrandexperiences.Suchbrandsaremorelikelytopl ayadefiningr o l e inaperson'ssenseofselfduetoincreasedco-minglingofbrand- relatedthoughtswith self- relatedthoughts(Davis,1979;Moore&Wilkie,2005).Additionally,suchexperiencesa r e ofte nlikelytoresultfromnarrativeratherthandiscursiveprocessing,astheformerhasb ee n f o u n d t o b u i l d s t r o n g e r c o n n e c t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e c o n s u m e r a n d t h e b r a n d ( E s c a l a s , 2 0 0 4 ).
OUTCOME OFCBI:BRANDADVOCACY
Advocacy,i n o t h e r w o r d s , t h e p r o m o t i o n ofthei d e n t i f i e d - w i t h o r g a n i z a t i o n o r c o m p a n y iso n e o f t h e keyconsequences o f i d e n t i f i c a t i o n ( e g , A s h f o r t h & M a e l , 1 9 8 9 ; Bhattacharya& S e n , 2 0 0 3 ) a n d c a n t a k e p l a c e b o t h s o c i a l l y a n d physically.Socially,a d v o c a c y includestherecommendationt oothersorthedefenseofthecompanywhenitisa t t a c k e d byothers(Stokburger-Sauer etal., 2012).Physically,advocacycan involvebuyinga n d usingcompanymerchandisethatdisplaysthecompanylogoorname,collecti ngm e m o r a b i l i a , apparel,orevenacquiringtattoos(Katz,1994).
(2012)suggestthatCBIpr od uce brand advocacy,atleastinthesocialsenseofthebrand's promotiontosocialothers.Parketal.
( 2 0 0 5 ) s h o w s t h a t c u s t o m e r - c o m p a n y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a f f e c t s customere x t r a - r o l e b e h a v i o r s , w h i c h w a s measuredi n p a r t t h r o u g h c o m p a n y recommendation.Ther efore,thisstudyexpectsCBIhaspositivelyrelatedtobrandadvocacy.
PRODUCTCATEGORYINVOLVEMENTASA MODERATOR
Productcategoryinvolvement(PCI)isgenerallyunderstoodastheperceivedrelevanceo f aproductcateg orytoanindividualconsumerbasedonhisorherinherentvalues,needs,andinterests(Zaichk owsky,1985).TherearetworeasonforexpectingPCIasamoderate factorintherelationshipbetweenthevariousantecedentsandCBI.
First,asBloch&Richins(1983) suggests, productcategoriesaremoreenticin gtopeoplewhentheyassociatet he mwithimportant h i g h e r - o r d e r g o a l s, suchas v a l u e s at i s f a ct i on Second,peoplearemoremotivatedtosystematic ally processinformationpertainingtocategorieswithwhichtheyaremoreinvolved(Chen&Chaiken,19 99).
(2012)document:“Allelsebeingequal,consumers'knowledgestructuresregardinghigh(vs.low)involvement productcategoriesaremorelikelytocontaind e e p l y p r o c e s s e d a n d h i g h l y e l a b o r a t e d b e l i e f s r e g a r d i n g b r a n d s ' a b i l i t i e s t o meetself-d e f i n i t i o n a l n e e d s Totheextentthatjudgmentsofa brand'sstandingwithregardtoeachofthesixpositedantecedentvariables,andanassessment oftheimplicationsoftheseperceptionsf o r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , r e q u i r e c o g n i t i v e r e s o u r c e s a n d e f f o r t , t h e s e i n f l u e n c e s a r e morelikelytomaterializeinproductcategorieswherethe consumerishighlyinvolved.Thati s , high(vs.low)PCIshouldenhancenotonlyabrand'sperceivedabilitytom eetaconsumer'ss e l f - d e f i n i t i o n a l needsbutalsoaperson'smotivationtoprocessrelevantinformationinthatr eg ar d ”.
H5.Thehigheraconsumer'sinvolvementintheproductcategoryinwhichabrandb el on gs, thestrongertherelationshipbetween(a)branddistinctivenessandconsumer-brandidentification, (b)b r a n d w a r m t h a n d c o n s u m e r - b r a n d i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , a n d ( c ) m e m o r a b l e b r a n d experiencesandconsumer- brandidentification.
THECONCEPTUALMODEL
H 2 (+) Consumer- Brand Identification Brand Advocacy Brand Warmth
Insummary,thischaptermentionsaboutdefinitionandtheoreticalbackgroundofeachc o n c e p t inthe model.Frompreviousliterature, therearethreeantecedents affectconsumer- brandidentification:branddistinctiveness,brandwarmth,andmemorablebrandexperiences.Besid es, bra ndadvocacyistheoutcomeof consumer- brandidentification.Theresearchalsoc o n s i d e r s Productcategoryinvolvementasamoderatorfactor. Therearesevenhypothesesinthisresearchasfollowing:
H2:Thereisapositiverelationshipbetweenbranddistinctivenessandconsumer-brandid en ti fi cat i on;
H5a:Thehigheraconsumer'sinvolvementintheproductcategoryinwhichabrandb el o n g s , thestrongertherelationshipbetweenbranddistinctivenessandconsum er-b r a n d identification;
H5b:The highera consumer'sinvolvement intheproductcategoryinwhichabrandbelo ng s, t h e s t r o n g e r t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n b r a n d w a r m t h a n d c o n s u m e r - b r a n d id en tif i cat i on ;
Thisc h a p t e r mentionst h e r e s e a r c h m e t h o d o l o g y a p p l i e d t o e x a m i n e t h e r e s e a r c h frameworkd e v e l o p e d i n p r i o r c h a p t e r A t f i r s t , t h e a u t h o r i n t r o d u c e s r e s e a r c h p r o c e s s , p r e s e n t measurements c a l e , a n d g e n e r a t e s s u r v e y e d q u e s t i o n n a i r e s N e x t , d a t a c o l l e c t i o n methodsa n d s a m p l i n g d e s i g n a r e d i s c u s s e d Finally,t h e a u t h o r p r e s e n t s d a t a a n a l y s i s methodsusingforreporttheresearch data.
RESEARCH PROCESS
Afterd e t e r m i n i n g t h e r e s e a r c h p r o b l e m , i n o r d e r t o f i n d t h e a n s w e r f o r r e s e a r c h q uest ion s, th e authorreviewed previousliteraturestofindoutrelevantconstructsassociatedw i t h theresearchobjectiveas.Basedon thefoundationofthesenotions,theauthorproposedther e s e a r c h modela n d hypotheses.T h e p r i o r c h a p t e r s p r e s e n t e d t h e s e s t e p s i n d e t a i l s Continuously,t h e authordresseda d e s i g n f o r r e s e a r c h t o d e f i n e u n i t o f o b s e r v a t i o n a n d analysis,resourcesofdata,d atacollectingmethods,measurementscale,sample,anddataanalysismethods.
Accordingt o r e s e a r c h d e s i g n , t h i s r e s e a r c h u s e d p r i m a r y datat h a t c o l l e c t e d f r o m consumershaveexperiencedusinghighinvolvementproducts.InVietnamcontext,thehigh- t e c h devices andeducationserviceare highinvolvementproducts.AsChapter1mentioned,wi th t h e e x p l o s i v e g r o w t h i n i n t e r n e t u s e , i n f o r m a t i o n t e n d s t o d i g i t a l a n d o n l i n e fromu n i v e r s i t i e s tooffices.
Asaresult,theneedofusinghigh- techdevicesincreasingrapidly,l a p t o p becomesoneofimportantandpopulardevicesforbothbu sinessandprivatepurposes.Besides, foradaptingtheintegrationtrend,needtolearnandimprove foreignlanguagesespeciallyinEnglishisrisingdramatically.Thelanguagecenters,especiallyinbigc i t y asHoChiMinhCityracetocatchupthegrowinguptrend.Consequently,thecustomershavemorechoi ces,andthroughthesupportofinternet,customersbecamewiserinmaking decisions,whichcenterarethemostsuitablewiththeirneed.
The authors selected laptops as a high-involvement tangible product and English courses from a language center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, as a representative high-involvement service for their survey They designed a questionnaire survey for data collection, incorporating measurement scales from previous studies, which were then translated into Vietnamese After revising the draft questionnaire based on feedback from the research supervisor, it was distributed to respondents Each participant was asked if they had used the product before answering, and panel members received the questionnaire via email or in hard copy.
Theresearchprocesscomprisedtwophases:apilotsurveyandamainstudy.Thepilots t u d y wasco nductedbyqualitativemethodandamainsurveybyquantitativemethod.Inthep i l o t study,thein- depthinterviewwasconductedtoadjustthemeasurementscales.Continuously,inthemainst udy,thefinalquestionnairewasusedintocollectdatafordataanalysisprocess
(reliabilityanalysis,validityanalysisandhypothesestesting).Basedontheanalysisresults,conclusi onsandrecommendationswerediscussedtocompletetheresearch.F i g u r e 3.1illustratedthewholep rocessoftheresearch.
Qualitative research In-depth interview Qualify the scale Final questionnaire
(Main research) Deliver the questionnaire Data collecting and cleaning Data set preparation
Data analysis Reliability analysis Validity analysis Hypothesis testing
Report the results and conclusion
MEASURESOF THECONSTRUCTS
Consumer-brandidentification
S au er , S R a t n e s h w a r , a n d S a n k a r S e n ( 2 0 1 2 ) C o n s u m e r - b r a n d i d e n t i f i c a t i o n scaleitemsforthisstudyaresymbolizedbyCBI,includedfiveitemsasinTa ble3.1.
BrandX is like apartofme CBI4
Branddistinctiveness
Formeasuringb r a n d d i s t i n c t i v e n e s s , t h i s r e s e a r c h u s e d t h r e e itemsfrome x i s t i n g scales(e.g.,Bhattacharya&Sen,2003).Table3.2showedthecodingoftheseitems.
Brandwarmth
Froms c a l e s o f M o o r e , R a t n e s h w a r , a n d M o o r e ( 2 0 1 2 ) , b r a n d warmth w a s o per at io nal ized withthreeitems.Thecodingoftheseitemswassummarizedinbelowtable.
Memorablebrandexperiences
Table3 4 p r e s e n t e d t h e c o d i n g o f threei t e m s u s e d f o r m e a s u r e m e n t t h e c o n s t r u c t memorableb r a n d e x p e r i e n c e s T h e s e itemsw e r e t a k e n froms c a l e o f G l a d d e n a n d F u n k ( 2 0 0 1 )
Productcategoryinvolvement
Productcategoryinvolvementwasassessedwithfouritemsbasedonpriorresearch( e g , Mittal&Lee,1988).Thecodingandcontentofeachitemwereshownintable3.5.Inthequesti onnaire,theword“productcategory”wasreplacedbythenameofparticularproducto fservice.Thisstudycond uctedforonetangibleproductandoneservice;therefore,therearetwoquestionnaireswiththedifferentinth enameofproductcategory.
Iamveryinterestedinanythingrelatedto[productcategory,e g , l aptops/Englishcourse] PCI1
Whichbrandof[laptop/Englishcourse]Ibuymattersalot PCI2
Brandadvocacy
Brandadvocacywasmeasuredbythreeitemsfrompreviousresearch(e.g.,Brown,Ba rry,Dacin,&Gunst,2005).
(2012)thentranslatedintoVietnameseandfinallytranslatedbackintoEnglishtoverifyvocabular y,idiomatic,grammatical,andsyntacticalequivalence(Steenkamp,terHofstede,
&Wedel,1 9 9 9 ) B a s e d o n f e e d b ac k s a f t e r in- depthi n t e r v i e w w i t h e i g h t p a r t i c i p a n t , t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e isadjustedsomeminorchan gesinthewordingoftheitems.
QUESTIONNAIREDESIGN
Qualitativeresearch
Whenfinishingthepreliminaryquestionnaire,theresearcherconductedthein- depthinterviewswithe i g h t p e o p l e i n H o C h i M i n h City,fromd if fe re nt m a j o r s w i t h e x c e l l e n t E n g l i s h skills,andhadexperiencesusinglaptopandEnglishcourse.Whenundertookthein- depthinterview,eachmemberwas asktoanswerthequestionnaires andcommentto ther e s e a r c h e r tomakethequestionnaireappropriatedandmoreunderstandableinthecontextofstud ying.T h e r e s e a r c h e r r e c o r d e d s i g n i f i c a n t f e e d b a c k s a n d s u g g e s t i o n s fr omt h e intervieweestorevisethecontentoftheseitemsinthecontextofVietnameseconsumers,r e v i e w thecontentformeaningofwordsusedintheinitialmeasurementscales,andmodifyt h e m tob e mores u i t a b l e a n d c o m p r e h e n s i b l e A f t e r f i n i s h e d t h e i n - d e p t h i n t e r v i e w , t h e a u t h o r a d j u s t t h e measurements c a l e s , a n d i m p r o v e f o r t h e o f f i c i a l q u e s t i o n n a i r e (seeA p p e n d i x A).
Quantitative research
Afterthequalitativeresearch,theauthorrevisedthequestionnaireformoresuitable with V i e t n a m c o n t e x t a n d morec o m p r e h e n s i b l e Whent h e a u t h o r c o n s i d e r e d t h a t t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e w a s d e s i g n e d properly,t h e m a i n s u r v e y w a s c o n d u c t e d w i d e l y byu s i n g c o n v e n i e n c e sample,whichcollectedfromconsum ersinHoChiMinhCity.Theprocessofthequantitativeresearchfollowedbelowsteps:
Accordingt o D e C o s t e r ( 2 0 0 4 ) , a g e n e r a l r u l e , t h e m i n i m u m s a m p l e f o r appropriateu s e f o r statisticala n a l y s i s i s e q u a l t o o r g r e a t e r t h a n fi vetimeso f t h e numberofindependentvariables,and not lessthan 100for generating reliableresult.Theformulafor sample size calculationis:n≥(5÷10)*k(N: the samplesize;k: thenumberofvariable)
Fora p p l y i n g s t a n d a r d multipler e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s , t h e r e q u i r e d samplei s r e c o m m e n d e d byGreen(1991),TabachnickandFidell(1991)shouldben>50+8 m( w h e r em = numberofi n d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s ) T h i s s t u d y h a d t h r e e i n d e p e n d e n t variables Thus,theminimumsamplerequiredisn>50+8*3tobservations.
Theauthorusedthesamplesizeat523observations.Therefore,thesamp lesize w a s a p p r o p r i a t e f o r b o t h E F A a n d m u l t i p l e r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s A f t e r t h a t , samplingwasconductedbasedonconveniencesampling.Allrespondents wereaskedi f theyhadexperiencesinusinglaptop/
Theresearcherissued questionnairestorespondentswholiveinHoChiMinhCitya t t h e timet h e r e s e a r c h w a s d e p l o y e d byd e l i v e r i n g directlyhardc o p y tor e s p o n d e n t s B e s i d e s , t o f a c i l i t a t e r e s p o n d e n t s , t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e s w e r e a l s o b ro ad caste dv i a t h e i n t e r n e t byGoogled o c s Bythisc h a n n e l , t h e a u t h o r s e n t t h e surv e ylinkdirectlytorespondentsviaemailandsocialnetworksuchasFacebook.
Ther e s p o n d e n t s a n s w e r t h e s u r v e y byc l i c k i n g t h e l i n k , e n t e r t h e i r a n s w e r s a n d s u b m i t t i n g thelinktotheresearcher.Datacollectionwasconductedfort woweeks.T heauthordelivered500questionnairesfromonlinechannelandoutof5 80quest io nn air es inhardcopies.Therespondentsrejected277onlinequestionnairesandr etu r ned235hardcopies.Intotal,theauthorcollected568answers.
- Step3:Theresearcher receivedthequestionnaire andcheckedagainforsu itableresults.
Fromr e c e i v e d q u e s t i o n n a i r e s , 4 2 q u e s t i o n n a i r e s w e r e s t o p p e d b e c a u s e t h e r e s p o n d e n t s didnothavesmartphone,threequestionnairewereinvalidb ecauselacko f informationorinsufficientanswer.Therewere523validresponsesan dsatisfiedf o r dataanalysis.Table3.7summarizedcollecteddatafromthesurvey.
DATAANALYSISMETHOD
Testsforreliability
Accordingt o P a l l a n t ( 2 0 0 5 ) ,C r o n b a c h ’ s a l p h a i s u s e d a s onlyo n e c r i t e r i o n f o r judginginstrumentsorscales.Itonlyindicatesiftheitems“hangtogether”;itd o e s n o t de termineiftheyaremeasuringtheattributetheysupposedtomeasure.Therefore,scalesalsoshouldbejudgedo ntheircontentandconstructvalidity.
( 2 0 0 5 ) , th e a cc e p t a b le v a l u e o f C r o n b a c h ’s a lp ha f o r r el ia bi li ty isabove0.7.How ever,itcanreduceto0.60–
0.69range,especiallyifthereisonlyahandfulo f itemsinthescale.WhentheCronbach’salphaisveryh igh(greaterthan0.90),itprobablymeansthattheitemsarerepetitiousortherearemoreitemsinthes calethanarenecessaryf o r areliablemeasureoftheconcept(Leechetal.,2005).
TotalC o r r el a t i o n isalsoimportanttoconsider.Accordingto(Leechetal.,2005),ifthiscorrelationisquit ehighorhigh(equal0.40orabove),theitemisprobablycorrelatedwithmostoftheo t h e r itemsan dmakeagoodcomponentofthissummatedratingscale.Iftheitem– totalcorrelationisnegativeortoolow(lessthan0.30),itisnecessarytoconsidertheite mforw o r d i n g problemsandconceptualfitbymodifyingordeletingsuchitems.
Testsforvalidity
NorrisandLecavalier(2010,p.9)declaredthat“EFAisbaseduponatestablemodelan dcanb eevaluatedintermsofitsfittothehypothesizedpopulationmodel;itindicescanb e ge ne ra ted t o h e l p w i t h modeli n t e r p r e t a t i o n” On o t h e r h a n d , E F A methodisus e d t oi d e n t i f y whi chofalargesetofitemsgotogetherasagroup,orareansweredmostsimilarlybyrespondents(Leechetal.,2005).
Testsformaineffects
Firstly,themultipleregressionanalysisisusedtotestthehypothesesandpredictoneoutcomeme asuref r o m s e ve r a l i n d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s ( L e e c h e t a l , 2 0 0 5 ) A c c o r d i n g toL e e c h etal.
Secondly,theSimpleLinerRegressionisappliedtoexaminetheeffectofmediatingv a r i a b l e CBItodependentvariableBrandAdvocacy.Thirdly,theHierarchicalRegression ModelisusedtotestthemoderateroleofProductcategoryinvolvement.
Hierarchicalmultipleregressioniseffectivelythecomparisonofmultipleregressionmo delsinconditionthatalltheassumptionsarequalified.Hierarchicalmultipleregressiona l l o w s toaddsetsofvariablestoaregressionequationanddeterminehowmucheach setofvariables uniquelyaddstothepredictionof thedependentvariable, usuallyexpressedas theincreaseinR 2(the varianceexplainedinthedependentvariable).Thus,theresearchwillmaket h e comparison abouttheeffectofdependentvariablestocustomer- brandidentificationaftera n d beforeproductcategoryinvolvemententertomodel.
This chapter outlines the research design, measurement scales, research process, and methods used for data analysis The author clearly described a two-phase research process consisting of qualitative and quantitative research In the qualitative phase, in-depth interviews with six respondents were conducted to ensure the clarity and appropriateness of the language used in the scales for the research context Following this, the questionnaire was revised for comprehensiveness The quantitative phase involved five steps: composing the questionnaire, defining the sample size, delivering the questionnaire to respondents, cleaning the collected data for analysis, and coding data for input into SPSS software Both paper and online questionnaires were utilized for distribution via Google Docs, resulting in a final sample size of 523 completed questionnaires Finally, the author introduced the methods applied for analyzing the collected data, with the next chapter presenting the results of the main survey analysis.
Inthischapter,theauthorreportedtheresultoftheresearch.Firstly,thedescriptiveo f th ecollecteddatawaspresented.Nextstep,theauthortestedthereliabilityandvalidityo f thescale sbyCronbach’salphareliabilityandExploratoryfactoranalysis(EFA).Afterc h e c k i n g t h e v a l i d i t y o f t h e s c a l e s m e a s u r e m e n t , t h e m o d e l w a s e v a l u a t e d bym u l t i p l e r egression analysis.
SAMPLECHARACTERISTICS
The survey included 523 respondents, comprising 186 men (36%) and 337 women (64%), predominantly aged 18 to 25 years (84% or 438 respondents) Most participants held a college or bachelor's degree, representing 49% of the sample, followed by high school graduates Additionally, 61% of respondents reported experience with laptops, while 39% had participated in English courses, with each respondent indicating experience with only one product Table 4.1 summarizes the characteristics of the sample.
Variance if ItemD el eted
THERELIABILITYTEST:THECRONBACH’SALPHATEST
TheCronbachalphahelpstodeleteunreliablescaleorunsuitablescales.Astheory,t h e v a l u e o f C r o n b a c h ’ s A l p h a s h o u l d b e a b o v e o r a t l e a s t e q u a l 0 6 t o q u a l i f y i n t e r n a l reliability(Nunnally&Burnstein,1994).Moreover,ifthecorrelationofeachspecificite mw i t h totaloftheotheritemsinthescale(CorrectedItem-
Totalcorrelation)ismoderatelyhigho rh i g h e r 0 3 ( N u n n a l l y & B u r n s t e i n , 1 9 9 4 ) , t h e i t e m i s p r o b a b l y a t leastm o d e r a t e l y c o r r e l a t e d withthemostoftheotheritemand willmakeagoodcomponentofthissummatedrating rate.Ontheotherhand,iftheitemoftotalcorrelation isnegativeortoolow(lessthan0.3),itisrequiredtocheckagainthewordsusedinquestionnaire,takealooko nthemeaningb e t w e e n eachitemandmodifytheitemifitisnecessaryforconceptualfit.
TheresultsinTable4.2performedthatallscaleshadtheresultofCronbach’salphaa b o v e 0.6,thehighestwas0.901(MBE) andthelowestwas0.751(BW).Moreover,thec o r r e c t e d item- totalcorrelationofeachitemisabove0.3.Thisindicatesthatallscalesfittherequirementforreliability.A saresult,thesemeasureswereusedinestablishingthemains u r v e y totestthestudyhypothe ses.
EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS (EFA)
Resultsof EFAforindependentvariables
ApplyingExploratoryFactorAnalysis(EFA),principalaxisfactoringwithvarima xr o t a t i o n method,theresultshowedthattwofactorswereextractedfrom11itemsmeasuring:Bra ndDistinctiveness(BD),BrandWarmth(BW),andMemorablebrandexperiences(MBE).From Tables4.4,KMOvaluewas0.878,exceedingstandardvalueof0.50(Field,2 0 0 0 ) andev enhigherthan0.7(Pallant, 2005).Besidesthat,ChisquaredofBartlettwas
2867.402andSig.valuewas0.000,lessthanthestatisticallysignificantatp