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Repurchase Intention of Brand Automobile - TPB
Repurchase Intention of Brand Automobile - TPB
The Factors Affecting on Consumers Repurchase Intention Toward an Automobile Brand: An Application of Reasoned Action Theory
Bahram Ranjbarian Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Isfahan, Hezarjerib Street, Isfahan, Iran E-mail: [email protected] Saeed Fathi Assistant Professor of Management, University of Isfahan, Hezarjerib Street, Isfahan, Iran E-mail: [email protected] Abdolnabi Kamali M.A. Candidate for Marketing, University of Isfahan, Hezarjerib Street, Isfahan, Iran E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Today automotive industry is a driving force for economy of most developed and developing countries. So the present study has been carried on to analyze the influencing factors on consumers repurchase intention toward a brand of automobile. Theory of reasoned action has been used in this study to measure consumer repurchase intention. The theory consider consumer attitude towards action and subjective norms as influencing factors on consumer purchase intention. In this study, consumer's involvement to product class and the amount of his/her attention to social comparison information, also added to the model to measure consumers' repurchase intention. This is a descriptive research which conducted in a survey method. Statistical population of the study was 482 faculty members of University of Isfahan. The sample size was 86 that was chosen by a classified random sampling method. The data gathering instrument was a questionnaire which its reliability coefficient calculated by cronbach alpha was 0.751. The results showed that in studied population, subjective norm was the most influencing factor on repurchase intention.
1. Introduction
Investigating and analyzing consumers behavior has been emphasized with a great importance in microeconomic topics. In this regard, the automotive industry as an essential economic sector of every developing country is not an exception. The automotive industry is one of the most important driving forces for economic growths of every developing country. Historical study of auto industry in the world shows that, majority of the automakers of the world, followed mass production philosophy at beginning of their work, which helped them to reduce their cost and to focus more on their product quality. But they had paid less attention to customers demographic characteristics and the aspects which considered important for customers and may predict their purchase intention. This information could help the producer to plan better strategies for their products and put them in a better position in comparison to their competitors. 352
European Journal of Social Sciences Volume 16, Number 3 (2010) The local market of auto industry in Iran has encountered a sharp increase in demand and supply in recent years. Nowadays, the increased number of competitors in this market, caused not only more alternative choices for consumers, but also competition become much intense than before. Capturing and maintaining market share in this market requires a different marketing strategy for every product brand which must be based on proper targeting with the appropriate marketing mix. In order to attract more customers, marketers must consider the influencing factors on the consumers decision. Consumers perceive brands as providing both emotional benefits (e.g. display of status, wealth and prestige) and utilitarian (e.g. quality and low price) benefits (lee et al, 2008). Customer decisions and behavior stems from their attitude, values, belief with regard to problem in the context. Consumer behavior is a complex phenomenon and different factors involved in peoples purchase intention, and never should be taken as a simple matter (Kottler et al, 1999). The extent, to which different criteria such as price, quality, durability and opinions of others incorporated by consumers in her/his decision process, must be taken in to consideration by marketers (Kottler and Keller, 2006). They should identify what factors forming the individuals attitude towards the product, and how far they comply with others opinions. Effectively predicting consumers purchase behaviors could be beneficial for marketers. The present study aims to determine the factors affecting on consumers repurchase intention toward a brand of automobile. Faculty members of University of Isfahan in Iran have been the statistical population of the study. Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) has been successfully used to predict behavioral intention with many different products, behaviors, and services (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). However, no studies were found in a review of the literature in which the model was applied specifically to predicting change or repurchase intention of a brand from a product class. Thus, the researchers decided to use the TRA to measure consumers change or repurchase intention toward an automobile brand. Moreover, most BI models have been developed within a Western culture. This study can be considered a test of the model in non-western society.
European Journal of Social Sciences Volume 16, Number 3 (2010) explicitly constructed to explain relationships between attitude and behavior by using the variables of belief, attitude, behavioral intention, and behavior. Although the ultimate goal is to predict and understand an individuals behavior, the theory focuses on the influences of relevant factors on the behavioral intention, and the intention to perform or not perform a behavior is viewed as the immediate determinant of the action. Since attitude mandatorily dont predict actual consumer behavior, therefore the model of behavioral intention or the theory of reasoned action has been developed for predicting purchase behavior (Ajzen & fishbein, 1980). So this model measures consumer purchase intention. In some markets, the attractiveness of brands is not enough to entice consumers. Anholt (2000) warns against using a simple and robust approach like buy this, Understanding what consumers want and developing targeted strategies may be one of the biggest challenges to retailers in entering the international market (Hyllegard et al., 2005). Consumers perceive brands as providing both emotional benefits (e.g. display of status, wealth and prestige) and utilitarian benefits (e.g. quality and low price) (Batra et al., 2000). Their brand perception may influence their intention to purchase the brand. Automobile, a vehicle through which people express their unique views and their self concept (Goldsmith et al., 1996), is an important product category that illustrates the relationship among individuals interests, their perceptions, and their behavior in consumption. Shim et al. (1989, p. 9) noted that in marketing-related studies centered on specific purchase and use situations. In TRA, attitude is referred as the evaluative effect of positive or negative feeling of individuals in performing a particular behavior (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). The two components of attitude are attitude towards physical object (repurchase, product) and attitude towards behavior or performing particular action (Ajzen and Fishbein, 2005). In the field of product repurchase the more positive the attitude an individual has towards the object and behavior, the more likely is the behavioral intention and performance of the behavior. Many studies have shown the significant effect of attitude towards intention (Lu et al., 2003). Hypothesis 1: The attitude of faculty members of University of Isfahan about their current automobile affects its repurchase intention. Bearden, et al. (1989) reports the development of an interpersonal influence scale consisting of two dimensions: an informational and normative dimension. The authors defines the informational influence as the tendency to learn about products and services by observing others or seeking information from others and the normative influence as the need to identify with or enhance ones image in the opinion of significant others through the acquisition and use of products and brands, the willingness to conform to the expectations of others regarding repurchase decisions (Bearden et al., 1989, p. 474).Because consumers are likely to buy automobile to display their image or social status to others and thus conform to the expectations of others (OCass and McEwen, 2004), the present study will focus on the normative component. Susceptibility to normative group influence relates to an individuals status consumption and conspicuous consumption tendencies. This applies automobile that is a publicly visible product. Automobile brands that serve to communicate social distinctions (e.g. status) reflect consumers social life, aspirations, and their affiliation (Solomon, 1986). The social role of Automobile is even more important in developing countries, where interpersonal relationships are of prime importance (Ger et al., 1993). Ajzen and Fishbein (1969) originally included the subjective personal norm variable in the TRA but later discarded it. Researchers have since found that the subjective personal norm variable helps predict intentions (Becker and Gibson, 1998). In addressing the role of personal obligation as a variable for predicting intentions in the TRA, Becker and Gibson (1998) concluded that some personal obligation helps predict intentions and merits more research.
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European Journal of Social Sciences Volume 16, Number 3 (2010) Hypothesis 2: Subjective norms affects repurchase intention of same brand of automobile that faculty members of University of Isfahan currently own. The concept of involvement has gained recognition for the important role it plays in the operation of almost every major concept used to explain consumer behavior including attitude formation, consumer satisfaction, and brand loyalty (Foxall et al., 1998). Involvement was defined by Zaichkowsky (1985, p. 342) as: A persons perceived relevance of the object based on inherent needs, values, and interests. Like many other researchers, she also noted that different involvement levels may lead to different consumer responses. Consumer involvement can be defined perceived personal importance or interest related to inception, consumption and shelves of product or service (Mowen and Minor. 2007, p.77). Because the product of consideration in this study was caused high involvement for consumer, we included a measure of automobile involvement as one of our external variables. Shim et al. (1989) included a similar measure in their study of consumer attitudes toward domestic and imported cars. They found that attitude toward performing a behavior was strongly influenced by the level of involvement and recommended that involvement be included as an external variable in future studies utilizing the Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) model. In spite of that, whatever a product or service become more expensive and purchase are perceived as perilous action, more likely will increase consumer involvement in purchase (Mowen and Minor. 2007). Hypothesis 3: The involvement level of faculty members of University of Isfahan toward automobile affects their repurchase intention toward the same brand of automobile that they currently own. Consumers are status-oriented and want to exhibit their social standing through their possessions (Frastaci, 1999). These characteristics heighten their awareness of and attraction to brands in the market. This increases their brand consciousness, defined as the degree to which a consumer is oriented towards buying well-known branded products (Shim and Gehrt, 1996). In collectivist societies, compared to individualist societies, consumers rely more on interpersonal relationships for information search or exchange. This information search or exchange is especially important regarding brand choice because, in a collectivist society, the positive experience with the brand could enhance belongingness to the group (Money et al., 1998). Since interpersonal influences play an important role in a consumers conformity in Product choices, it is important to identify the key indicator of these. Attention to social Comparison information (ATSCI) is a significant predictor of susceptibility to normative influences: utilitarian and value expressive influences, which directly foster the ability to assess the tendency of an individual toward conformity and to capture the degree to which an individual is aware of the reactions of others to an individuals own behaviors. The concept of social comparison is an essential component in the formation of the self, in that, consumers take into consideration the appraisal of others in order to evaluate their own use of symbolic consumption as a means of conveying their identities (Bearden et al., 1989). One of the important sources of social comparison information is behavior cues from important referents or members of aspirant groups (Miniard and Cohen, 1983). Other social comparison information utilized includes reactions of group members in the individuals social milieu, which consumers use in order to determine the relative appropriateness of their consumption of certain products and; thereby, avoid negative social evaluation (Miniard and Cohen, 1983) as well as the social rewards and sanctions within the group (Allen, 1965). Measuring the propensity in consumers sensitivity to this social cue enables prediction of interpersonal factors affecting consumers purchase intentions (Bearden and Rose, 1990). Hypothesis 4: The attention level of faculty members of University of Isfahan toward social information affects their repurchase intention toward the same brand of automobile that they currently own. Behavior in the intention-based model is referred as a manifestation which is observable, single-act criterion which is performed (not-performed) with respect to a specific target in a given situation at a given point of time (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). How hard individuals are willing to try, 355
European Journal of Social Sciences Volume 16, Number 3 (2010) the effort the individuals are planning to exert to perform the particular behavior is the motivational factor captured in intention that subsequently influence behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Behaviors leading up to the attainment of goal are made up of intermediate goals with their own problem of executions (Ajzen, 2002). As stated earlier the accuracy of behavior prediction will usually decline with the increase in time that intervenes between measurement of intention and observation of behavior (Ajzen, 1985). Ajzen and Fishbein (2005) has identified four factors that leads to poor correlation between intention and behavior or the factors that influence the strength of behavior: a) low intention-behavior relation; b) stability of intention; c) intention-behavior compatibility; and d) Literal inconsistency There would be very low correlation between intention and behavior, if the time interval (stability of intention) between intention and behavior is high, there is lack of compatibility between measures of intention and behavior (intention-behavior compatibility), when individuals do not act on their stated intention (literal inconsistency) and there is low intention-behavior relation (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980, 2005). Hypothesis 5: There is a significant behavioral difference between those who have and those who have not repurchase intention toward the same automobile brand that they currently own.
3. Methodology
This is a descriptive surveying research that examines factors affecting on the repurchase intention of an automobile brand. The statistical population of the study is 482 faculty members of University of Isfahan. With consideration of calculated standard deviation of 30 initial samples and a confidence level of 0.95 and 0.05estimation error the sample size was estimated to be 86 which is 17.8% population size. The correspondent has been chosen by a classified random sampling method. The data gathering instrument was a questionnaire with 30 items based on 5-point Likert scale which its validity nominally tested. The reliability of the questionnaire has been assessed by Cronbach's alpha, which was equal to 0/715. The first part of the questionnaire measure attitude toward behavior. Attitude toward the behavior (Ab) was determined as a function of the strength of beliefs about the product bi and evaluations of these beliefs ei .
n
Ab = bi ei
i =1
The next part of the questionnaire examined the subjective norms. The subjective norm (SN) was defined as the consumers perception of social pressures placed on her/him by others regarding the purchase of the product. The subjective norm is a function of normative belief NBJ which reflecting the consumers perception of what a specific referent j thinks about whether she or he should or should not purchase the product and her motivation to comply with referent j ( MC J ).Referents identified to measure the consumers normative belief included significant other/husband, friends, colleagues, social status, and media. The overall subjective norm was derived as the sum of products of the score of NBJ and the score of MC J for all the referents:
n
SN = NBJ MC J
J =1
The next part of the questionnaire measures the level of consumer involvement to the product class and it is consisting of six questions. The next six questions measure individuals attention to social comparison information (ATSCI). Finally, a single question measures respondents repurchase intention to the same brand of automobile which he/she currently own.
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European Journal of Social Sciences Volume 16, Number 3 (2010) Data analysis has been done by means of logistic regression (LR) analysis and two tailed t-test. LR is used in order to identify the factors affecting on auto repurchase intention among studied population. In the second stage, two tailed t-test has been used for identifying the effect of repurchase intention on individuals actual behavior. In order to identify the influencing factors on repurchase intention toward an automobile brand among faculty members of University of Isfahan, logistic regression has been used. Logistic regression usually is used when the dependent variable is binary (0, 1). Where, 0 indicates the reject category and 1 indicates select category (Al Nageim et al, 2007). In our study dependent variable of the research (autos repurchase intention) can only take one of the two values of zero or one, the value of one stands for occurrence (autos repurchase intention) and zero stands for no repurchase intention. The research model for the study is presented in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Conceptual model of the research
Subjective norm
Repurchase intention
Actual behavior
Actual behavior
A TS C I
The logistic regression equation for the above model without considering actual behavior can be represented a follow: Logit ( pi ) = + 1 ATTi + 2 SN i + 3 INVi + 4 ATSCI i Whereas; ATT is attitude toward action; SN is subjective norm; INV is individual's involvement level to the product brand; and ATSC is individual's attention level to social comparison information. This function covers the hypothesis 1 until 4. The second part of the model shows the effect of repurchase intention on actual behavior. Hypothesis 5 examines this relationship with in the studied population which has been tested by means of two tailed T-test.
4. Findings
In this research respondents divided in two groups based on their intention to repurchase the same brand of automobile which they currently own, namely those who didnt have any intention to change their present car and are satisfied with their present car and the second group includes those who had intention to change their car and are not satisfied with their present car. In the studied sample, 41.8% 357
European Journal of Social Sciences Volume 16, Number 3 (2010) didnt have any intention to change their present car. In other hand 58.2% were not satisfied with their present car and had intention to change it. The results of analyzing of the model are shown in Table 1. According to the results; the model has been finalized in four steps. In the second step, the model was significant based on Chi-squared test (Chi-square =17.327; df = 3; p < 0.05) which suggest that the model fits well to the data; the goodnessof-fit of the model is determined from the deviance and Chi-squared test.
Table 1: Chi-squared test for intention to repurchase
2
Step1 Step error model Step error model (Chi-square) 7.801 17.805 17.805 7.389 17.327 17.327 Standard Deviation error = 0.219 p-value = 0.033 ; Chi-square =17.327 ; df = 3
Step2
On the other hand, the value of Nagelkerke R Square is relatively high; Nagelkerke R Square is equivalent with R Square in linear regression, meaning that 94.4 percent of variance of dependent variable "automobile repurchase intention is explained by independent variables(Attitude toward action, Subjective norms, involvement, ATSCI). In other words, Attitude toward action, Subjective norms, involvement, ATSCI affects the repurchase intention of an automobile brand. Table II shows the summary of the model. Since, the value of 2 log likelihood decreases and Cox&Snell R Square and Nagelkerke R Square increase as the regression process progresses. This shows that the model is improving with every step. This is further established by percent classification which increases from 74.4 percent in Step 1 to 94.5 percent in Step 4(Table 2).
Table 2: Model summary of logistic regression
step 1 2 3 4 -2 Log likelihood 130.655 93.730 68.466 35.257 Cox & Snell R Square 554 619 658 703 Nagelkerke R Square 744 831 833 945
Table 3 shows the results of the logistic regression. The table shows stepwise change in coefficients as the logistic regression proceeds. Where, B is the estimated logit coefficient, SE is the standard error of the coefficient and Wald = [B/SE], and sig. is the significance level of the coefficient. The results of regression analysis show that in Step 4, the first variable (Attitude), and third variable (involvement) has been eliminated from the final equation. These variables have been considered insignificant in the final decision making. The second variable (Subjective norms) and the forth (ATSCI) are considered as the most important parameters in decision making.
358
1 1 1 1
1 1 1
0.063 0.378
6.248 0.365
1 1
0.012 0.082
0.060 0.352
3.15 0.485
1 1
0.012 0.042
Variable 1 (Attitude), and variable 3 (involvement) are excluded from the model, because their effect are not significant. Therefore, the logistic model can be presented as follows: P = - 2.538 + 0.189 SN+ 0.171 ATSCI The non-significant relations of attitude towards action and involvement with intention to repurchase the same auto brand, means that individual attitude towards action and also his involvement level to the product had no impact on individuals intention. Those who are highly involved with a product, usually pay more attention on selecting the right choice. So the highly involved individuals seldom doubt about what they have bought. Therefore they have less desire to change it, because they have invested a lot of time to make the right choice. The involvement level usually influence on individual's attitude toward an action. But in this study the effect of attitude toward product on intention to repurchase the same auto brand was not significant. The significant effects of variables such as subjective norms and attention to social comparison information on the intention to repurchase their current auto brand, means that intention to change or to retain the same auto brand highly depends to individual's social situation. It is the most important measure of ones social worth. In Asians culture, a persons reputation and social standing depend on saving face, a notion similar to Western concepts of dignity and prestige (Yau, 1994). Therefore, individuals are always under strong pressure to act to meet the expectations of others so as to maintain face (Byoungho and Kang, 2010). Therefore, the results of the study hypotheses (Table 4) at significant levels of = 5% are as follow:
Table 4:
Variable
1 2 3 4
359
T-test -3.813
df 84 73
34.303
-4.249
The importance of each attitude components about auto brand repurchase intention was also measured. For this purpose the calculated average score for each component has been used. As the results indicate, among faculty members of University of Isfahan from 14 salient beliefs that has been investigated, attractiveness of investment to purchase the car in comparison to do other investments, brand prestige, furniture and interior decoration, exterior design, accordingly had the highest average score and beliefs such as braking and safety systems, strength of auto body, fuel consumption level, and being comfortable, had the lowest average score.
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