VIETNAMESE CONSUMERS’ BRAND PERCEPTION OF LUXURY SCOOTERS:

COMPARISON BETWEEN ITALIAN BRANDS AND JAPANESE BRANDS

A Thesis

by

LUONG THI BICH THUY

Submitted to Department of Business Administration of

Southern Taiwan University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

INTERNATIONAL MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Advisor: Tang Chu Chun

July 2008

Major Subject: Consumer behavior

ii

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate Vietnamese consumers’ perception of

Italian and Japanese luxury scooter brands. Data was collected from a convenience

sample of 180 young Vietnamese. The consumers’ general brand perception and

perceived values of luxury scooter brands are examined in this study. Data analysis was

set to find differences in perceptions of the two brands selected for the study. T-test and

repeated measures ANOVA were used to examine similarity within consumer perception

questions between the two brands. Repeated measures ANOVA also was used to analyze

the relationship between demographic and Vietnamese consumers’ brand perception of

luxury scooters. Finally, stepwise multiple regression was used to find out which values

of luxury brand scooters impact on buying consideration of consumers.

The results indicated that Vietnamese consumers considered Italian brands’

conspicuous value and hedonic value higher than those of Japanese brands. Even

consumers got more familiar with Japanese brands than Italian brands, they still preferred

Italian brands to Japanese brands. Another interesting result was that the richer

Vietnamese consumers were, the less they cared about conspicuous value and the more

they cared about hedonic value and quality value. Naturally, people who intended to buy

a luxury scooter would perceive most of value of luxury scooter brands, compared to who

did not.

iii

DEDICATION

To my mother and father, for all their support and guidance.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the

contributions of a number of people.

My particular thanks go to my advisor Professor Tang Chu Chun. His great

guidance, patience and understanding enable the completion of this thesis supported me

through the learning process with its results.

I also to give my thanks to Le Cam Tu (graduate student in Shute University,

Taiwan, Le Vu Khanh (teacher in FPT University, Vietnam) for their contributions during

the earlier stages of this work. Furthermore, I thank the people who kindly agreed to

participate in the focus group session and thus contributed a great deal to the further parts

of my research.

Finally, most importantly, I extend my thanks to my family for their love and

supports. I could never be where I am today without them. Their encouragement, beliefs

and guidance are a reflection of my achievements. For everything they have done for me,

I am truly thankful. I love them all very much.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................. ii

DEDICATION.............................................................................................................. iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................... iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................. v

LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................iiix

LIST OF FIGURE ........................................................................................................ x

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1

1.1 Background ............................................................................................................ 1

1.2 Essence of research ................................................................................................. 3

1.3 Research purpose ................................................................................................... 4

1.4 Justification and contribution of the research ......................................................... 4

1.5 Scooter definition.................................................................................................... 5

1.6 Outline of the research ........................................................................................... 7

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEWS..................................................................... 8

2.1 Luxury goods .......................................................................................................... 8

2.2 Perceived values of luxury ..................................................................................... 12

2.2.1 Conspicuous value .................................................................................. 13

2.2.2 Unique value ............................................................................................ 16

2.2.3 Social value .............................................................................................. 17

2.2.4 Hedonic value .......................................................................................... 18

2.2.5 Quality value ............................................................................................ 20

2.3 Country of Origin ................................................................................................... 22

2.4 Brands ..................................................................................................................... 25

vi

2.5 The Vietnamese consumer behavior....................................................................... 29

2.5.1 The Asian consumer behavior.................................................................. 29

2.5.2 The Vietnamese consumer behavior ........................................................ 32

2.6 The Vietnamese luxury scooter market .................................................................. 34

2.6.1 Economic, political and social analysis................................................... 34

2.6.2 The scooter market segmentation ............................................................ 37

2.7 Research questions and hypotheses ........................................................................ 39

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................ 41

3.1 Pretest...................................................................................................................... 41

3.1.1 Pretest for selecting brand....................................................................... 42

3.1.2 Pretest for evaluation criteria.................................................................. 44

3.2 Survey ..................................................................................................................... 46

3.2.1 Sample and procedure ............................................................................. 46

3.2.2 Survey Development................................................................................. 46

3.2.3 Variables .................................................................................................. 55

3.2.4. Data Analysis ......................................................................................... 56

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS............................................................................................... 58

4.1 Overview of the Statistical Analysis ...................................................................... 58

4.2 Profile of the sample ............................................................................................... 58

4.3 Results summaries ................................................................................................. 61

CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................... 91

5.1 Review of the Present study.................................................................................... 91

5.2 Implications............................................................................................................. 93

5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further researches ................................................ 95

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 97

vii

APPENDIX A............................................................................................................... 108

APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................... 114

viii

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE Page

Table 1 Statistic of Vietnam vehicles (1995-2006) .................................. 1

Table 2 Vietnam: Medium-term scenario, 2004-12..................................35

Table 3 Luxury scooter frequency ............................................................43

Table 4 Evaluation criteria frequency.......................................................45

Table 5 Percevied values from luxury product .........................................48

Table 6 Independent sample t-test ............................................................50

Table 7 The correlation between the score of each item and the whole

Scale.............................................................................................52

Table 8 Factor analysis .............................................................................54

Table 9 Cronbach’s alpha .........................................................................55

Table 10 Items measuring variables............................................................55

Table 11 Analysis methods .........................................................................56

Table 12 Demographic of the participants..................................................59

Table 13 Owning brand...............................................................................60

Table 14 Mean values summarized.............................................................65

Table 15 Age frequency..............................................................................71

Table 16 Marriage status frequency............................................................76

Table 17 Family monthly income frequency ..............................................78

Table 18 Multiple comparison for conspicuous value ................................79

Table 19 Multiple comparison for hedonic value .......................................78

Table 20 Multiple comparision for quality value........................................82

Table 21: Correlation matrix for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio buying

consideration ................................................................................85

ix

Table 22: Excluded variables for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio

buying4consideration...................................................................85

Table 23: Model summary for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio buying

consideration ................................................................................85

Table 24: Variable entered/removed for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio

buying consideration....................................................................86

Table 25: ANOVA for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio buying

consideration ................................................................................86

Table 26: Coefficients for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio buying

consideration ................................................................................86

Table 27: Correlation matrix for Japanese luxury scooter Honda buying

consideration ................................................................................88

Table 28: Excluded variables for Japanese luxury scooter Honda buying

consideration ................................................................................89

Table 29: Model summary for Japanese luxury scooter Honda buying

consideration ................................................................................89

Table 30: Variable entered/removed for Japanese luxury scooter Honda

buying consideration....................................................................89

Table 31: ANOVA for Japanese luxury scooter Honda buying

consideration ................................................................................90

Table 32: Coefficients for Japanese luxury scooter Honda buying

consideration ................................................................................90

x

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE Page

Figure 1 Sales of Motorcycles in Vietnam................................................. 2

Figure 2 The sample of 24 types of scooters.............................................. 6

Figure 3 Defining Three Levels of Prestige ............................................... 9

Figure 4 Methodology................................................................................41

Figure 5 SH and Spacy are products of Honda from Japan .......................44

Figure 6 Vespa LX is product of Piaggio from Italy..................................44

1

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Nowadays, demands on powered two-wheel vehicles are growing sharply because

they offer a variety of options in speed, comfort and economy to both genders in all the

social categories (Barker, 2002). They are used for work, commuting, and recreation.

Addionally, in Asian countries such as Vietnam where heavy traffic becomes a problem,

powered two-wheel vehicles, including scooters and mopes, have ability to manoeuvre

and ease of parking at riders’ destination.

Besides, since 1995, Vietnam has been developing with a high growth rate (over

8% for many years). With a higher income, Vietnamese’s demands of owning private

vehicles such as motorcycle and car have been increasing year by year (Table 1).

Table 1 Statistic of Vietnam vehicles (1995-2006)

Car Motorcycle Vehicle Year Volume Change* Volume Change Volume Change*

1995 340,779 11,00% 3,578,156 17,20% 3,918,935 14,50%

1996 386,976 13,60% 4,208,247 17,60% 4,595,223 17,30%

1997 417,768 8,00% 4,827,218 14,7% 5,244,986 14,10%

1998 443,000 6,00% 5,200,000 7,70% 5,643,000 7,60%

1999 465,000 2,90% 5,600,000 7,70% 5,920,000 4,90%

2000 486,608 6,60% 6,478,954 15,70% 6,964,000 17,60%

2001 557,092 9,60% 8,359,042 29,60% 8,928,716 28,20%

2002 607,401 9,00% 10,273,000 22,80% 10,880,400 21,80%

2003 675,000 11,20% 11,379,000 10,70% 12,054,000 10,80%

2004 774,824 14,70% 13,375,992 17,50% 14,150,816 17,40%

2005 891,104 15,10% 16,086,644 20,20% 16,977,748 19,90%

2006 972,912 9,18% 18,615,960 15,72% 19,588,872 15,38% * Compared to the previous year

Source: Ministry of transportation of Vietnam

2

However, the development of infrastructure in Vietnam, especially in the big

cities such as Hanoi, Saigon, and Danang, has been not caught up with the demand of

transportation. Hence, motorcycles with two main kinds, mope and scooter, still have

been the most popular transportation means in Vietnam. In these recent years, the

demands as well as sales of scooters have been increasing gradually, compared to that of

mopes (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Sales of Motorcycles in Vietnam

Source: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Sekai Nirinsha Gaikyo (World Motorcycle Facts

& Figures), 2006.

Representing nearly half of the world’s population, Asian markets are not only

dynamic but also powerful (Phau & Chan, 2003). Asian consumers have been the major

contributor to the growth of the luxury markets for the past ten years (WWD staff, 2004).

According to AC Nielsen’s report (2007), among all Asian countries, Vietnam is one of

the most booming and profitable luxury markets because Vietnamese are willing to pay a

big amount of money for well-known brand equipments and luxury vehicles. Due to the

strong purchasing power of Vietnamese consumers, luxury scooters have their potential

markets in Vietnam.

3

1.2 Essence of research

The luxury industry is unique and different from other industries in many fields,

such as marketing and promoting strategies, the consumption patterns and consumer

behaviors, brand image management, and so on. However, research related to Vietnamese

consumer behavior of luxury items are somewhat scarce, especially in luxury scooters.

Therefore, due to the uniqueness of Vietnam market, the need to increase understanding

and knowledge of consumer behavior of luxury scooters is particularly important.

Recently, Vietnam as well as other Asian countries have become a major

consumer market area, as important as North American countries and European countries

in the long-term marketing strategies of many brands. Understanding how Vietnamese

respond to brand and country of origin will be useful to marketing practice building

brands，as it builds a loyal customer base.

Peterson and Jolibert (1995) noted that the vast majority of country of origin

research has been done in North America or Europe but just few in Asia. With the

exception of studies on Japanese (e.g. Erickson et al., 1984; Johansson, 1989; Sadafumi,

1990), studies on how other East Asian consumers view country of origin are relatively

recent, and not yet very extensive. There have been a few studies on Chinese (e.g. Zhang,

1996; Li et al., 1997), Taiwanese (e.g. Lin & Sternquist, 1994), Korean (e.g. Hong & Yi,

1992; Speece et al., 1996), Hong Kong (e.g. Speece et al., 1994; Tse et al., 1996) and

Vietnamese (e.g. Nguyen, 2005). Nevertheless, our knowledge of how Asians treat

country of origin is still relatively poor compared to Western consumers. Moreover,

because of the difference among cultural contexts, consumer response might not be the

same among countries, even in the same area as Asia (e.g. Malhotra et al., 1996).

Therefore, increasing studying in this issue is necessary.

4

1.3 Research purpose

The purpose of this study is to address how country of origin effect influences

people’s evaluations on luxury scooter and purchase intention since people have different

perceptions towards different countries and products. This is because each country has its

own political, technological, cultural, and economical environment. Due to the

availability, Italy and Japan was chosen as countries of origin for luxury scooters in

Vietnamese market.

Another purpose of this study is to investigate Vietnamese consumers’ perception

about luxury scooter brands in order to find out what influences their intention of

purchasing luxury scooter.

1.4 Justification and contribution of the research

The research is important for a number of reasons. These include the paucity of

current study and the contribution to both theory and management in luxury brand

management，especially in two-wheel vehicle industry, which results from this study.

In the last ten years the research on customer perception and behaviour in the

luxury transportation means has been driven by Asian researchers (e.g. Anurit, Newman,

& Chansarkar, 1998). However, most of them focused on luxury cars and very few

researchers have investigated customer perception of luxury motorcycles. Hence, the

limited volume of previous research enables this study to make a contribution to

knowledge and to theory development. The study can demonstrate the perception of

luxury scooter brands of Vietnamese consumers and their attitude toward country of

origin when they intent to buy a luxury scooter.

5

This study will also make a practical contribution to the management in luxury

industry. In the international market, the expansion of luxuries not only presents new

business opportunities but also poses enormous challenges for finding effective strategies

to maximize purchases out of these opportunities. The opportunities are different across

countries and regions, partly up to consumer perception.

The study also provides deeper understanding of why consumers intend to buy

luxury scooters. Therefore, luxury-brand marketing managers may utilize the results of

this study to elicit more purchase from their target consumers.

1.5 Scooter definition

A vehicle is defined as “any mechanical device on wheels, designed primarily for

use or used on highways” but excluding motorized bicycles, vehicles propelled, drawn by

horses or human power, trains, cotton trailers or motorized wheelchairs operated by

handicapped persons (Nickolaus, 2004).

A motor vehicle is defined as a self propelled vehicle which is not either on tracks

or a motorized bicycle. This category also includes some devices referred to as scooters

(Nickolaus, 2004).

A motorcycle is defined as a two-wheeled motor vehicle (Nickolaus, 2004).

A motor scooter is a motorcycle with a step-through frame in which the rider sits

without straddling any part of the engine. Most modern motor scooters have continuously

variable transmissions and have wheels smaller in diameter, between 8 and 14 inches (20-

35 cm), than other motorcycles. The engine is usually found under the seat near the rear

wheel or axle. It is typically smaller than engines on other motorcycles (between 30cc and

125cc), although some makers produce quite powerful scooters, such as the Suzuki

6

Burgman 650 which has a 650cc engine (Minnesota House of Representatives，Research

Department). Motor scooters could be called briefly as scooters in most countries.

Figure 2 The sample of 24 types of scooters

Source: Jui-Chen Kao, Mitsuo Kamaike and Toru Nagao, 2001

The definition of luxury automobile or luxury car was defined in some literatures

but the definition of luxury motorcycle or luxury scooter is rare. It is probable that no

strict financial criterion can be applied for the definition and the definition also is varied

from countries. In UK, large engine capacity (500cc) motorcycles have become

fashionable for wealthier classes (Barker, 2002), so they are considered as luxury

motorcycles. However, this perception could not be fitted into other countries, like

Vietnam, due to the differences of culture, income and other factors.

7

1.6 Outline of the research

The study was conducted through two stages that included both qualitative and

quantitative approaches.

The first stage comprised two pretests about selecting luxury scooter brands and

evaluation criteria.

The second stage comprised a survey using the scales developed from the pretests,

together with additional scales from other studies. The questionnaires were distributed

through companies and universities in Vietnam.The data was then analyzed by using

SPSS.

8

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEWS

The study into consumer behavior in vehicle in general is not a new topic, but

most of the previous studies are focused on automobile field (e.g. Haubl, 1996; Iacobucci,

et al. 1996; McCarthy et al., 1992; Purohit, 1992; Sullivan, 1998; Rosecky & King, 1996).

Very few researches have investigated customer perception of other popular

transportation means, such as scooters, especially luxury scooters. Because of some

similar features in usage and design between automobiles and scooters, the studies about

luxury automobile were used as preferences for this study.

2.1 Luxury goods

The concept of prestige has intensely been investigated in sociology, referring to

the social position conferred to an individual by other members of a group (Shils, 1968;

Coleman, 1990; Wegener, 1992). Although theories tend to differ in the explanation of

social positions, there seems to be an empirical consensus that: (1) prestige is a

cornerstone of social stratification; (2) it is a product of both subjective and objective

social reality; and (3) there is considerable heterogeneity in the subjective perception of

prestige across members of a society (Wegener, 1992).

The term “prestige goods” was more broadly defined as it includes consumer

motivations for pursuing uniqueness, technical superiority, and aesthetic appeal as well as

signaling status and wealth (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999). In marketing, the term “prestige

pricing” is used when a higher price is used to indicate high quality or status (McCarthy

& Perreault, 1987). Veblen (1899) observed that consumers often use price as a surrogate

indicator of prestige, because high prices often have a positive role in determining the

perception of product value (Lichtenstein et al. 1993; Vigneron & Johnson, 1999).

9

Horiuchi (1984) categorized three types of prestige brands as: upmarket brands,

premium brands, and luxury brands, respectively in an increasing order of prestige.

Therefore, in this study, “luxury” is used when relating to the extreme-end of the prestige

category. Hence, it was expected that people would have different perceptions of the level

of prestige for the same brands, and that the overall prestige level of a brand would

consider the prestige perceptions from different people.

Figure 3 Defining Three Levels of Prestige

Source: Vigneron, Franck, and Lester Johnson (1999). “A Review and a

Conceptual Framework of Prestige-Seeking Consumer Behavior.” Academy of Market

Science Review.

According to Dubois and Laurent (1994), showed in their attempt to capture

attitudinal components of luxury, that spontaneous word association (with terms such as

upscale, quality, good taste, class, but also flashiness or bad taste) shows the ambivalence

of respondents’ feelings towards the term luxury. Thus, luxury is personal, relative and

idiosyncratic (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2001).

Berry (1994), in his book “The idea of luxury” started from the premise that

luxuries were refinements of basic human needs such as those for food, shelter and health

care. Although caviar is a luxury food, it is still a food and will satisfy hunger if eaten in

sufficient quantity. Thus, the status of a good as luxury is partially determined by its

natural desirability, and not simply by whether it is an object for conspicuous

consumption. In this way, he suggested that some goods may often, like sugar in Western

10

Europe, begin as luxuries, but then lost their luxury status and become goods for mass

consumption. It is, he claimed, a characteristic of luxuries that they pleased people rather

than simplified alleviate a state of discomfort.

This basic premise is complicated by other considerations. Needs may not be

absolute but can also be instrumental. “Hence a Rolls-Royce can be an instrumental

necessity; it is a means of demonstrating municipal dignity or company prosperity or

personal status” (Berry, 1994). The perception of what is necessity and what is luxury

does vary from society to society despite the apparently constant nature of basic human

needs. Moreover, although the status of goods as luxuries is partly determined by social

perception, it is possible for deferent people to disagree as to whether particular

commodities are luxuries or necessities (Kemp, 1998).

Maslow's theory (1970) points to a possible way in which deferent activities, or

deferent goods that are used in deferent activities, could be ordered on a necessity-luxury

continuum. The theory also suggests a rationale for the existence of such a continuum. In

contrast, economists have usually preferred to concentrate on the concept of demand

elasticity, which is behaviorally defined. The basic principle of elasticity is that demand

for some (elastic) goods may be quite heavily affected by price or income changes, while

that for other (inelastic) goods are relatively little affected. A distinction between a luxury

and a necessity can be defined in terms of these elasticities. According to Varian (1996), a

luxury good is a good for which demand increases in disproportional pace as income rises,

in contrast with an inferior good and a normal good. Luxury goods have high income

elasticity of demand: as people become wealthier, they buy more and more of these goods

at an increasing rate. In fact, some luxury products are considered to be examples of

goods for gift, with a positive price elasticity of demand (Varian, 1996). For example,

11

making a perfume of a certain brand more expensive may increase its perceived value as

a luxury good; as a result, sales may go up rather than down (Tervydyte & Jančiauskas,

2006).

Grossman and Shapiro (1988) defined luxury goods as goods for which the mere

use or display of a particular branded product brings prestige on the owner, apart from

any functional utility. The luxury market can be divided in two segments: “one of

authenticity and the quest for absolute quality, where brands act as standards of

excellence; the other of models and social codes in which the brands represent symbols”

(Dubois & Duquesne, 1993).

Naturally, the public understanding of luxury is less scientific: these are expensive

goods beyond the plain necessities, almost always associated with the wealthy part of

society. Certain goods or brands have become symbols of luxury. Examples might

include caviar, high-end cars, and Dolce & Gabbana apparel. Although in economic terms

luxury good is unrelated with quality, generally it is considered to be superior in terms of

both price and quality (Tervydyte & Jančiauskas, 2006).

However, the more expensive product does not automatically assume a luxury

identity. For example, a top of the range battery-powered Seiko quartz watch is still a

non-luxury watch brand, while a bottom line Patek Philippe watches will always be a

luxury watch brand. What makes it so? Not functionality, since both tell the time. Rather,

the exceptional workmanship and materials culminating in a design that is enveloped by

the exclusivity of the brand name ascribe to the Patek Philippe watch the status of luxury

(Seringhaus, 2002).

12

In conclusion, the definition of luxury may vary for different people, depending

on their socioeconomic background. Perception of luxury is influenced by demographics,

lifestyle, habit, social environment, and of course, the purveyors of luxuries, and the

marketers. That means drastic cultural influences are reflected in the perception of luxury

(Dubois & Laurent 1994; Tidwell & Dubois, 1996). That also means consumers develop

luxury meanings for brands based upon interactions with people (e.g., aspired and/or peer

reference group), object properties (e.g., best quality), and hedonic values (e.g., sensory

beauty). Such interactions occur at personal and societal levels.

2.2 Perceived values of luxury

Following the distinction between prestige brands and non-prestige brands

(Vigneron & Johnson, 1999), the distinction between luxury brands and non-luxury brands

has been operationally defined as the distinction between brands exhibiting five perceived

values, contingent on a particular socioeconomic framework.

- Conspicuous value: the consumption of luxury brands serves as a

signal of status and wealth. The higher price of the brands enhances the value of

such a signal.

- Unique value: if virtually everyone owns a particular brand, it is

considered to be non-luxury.

- Social value: the role-playing aspects and social value of a brand can

affect the decision to buy.

- Hedonic value: a product’s subjective intangible benefits clearly

determine the brand selection.

- Quality value: luxury is partly derived from technical superiority.

13

2.2.1 Conspicuous value

Lots of researchers demonstrated that luxury goods are expensive (e.g. Dubois ,

Laurent, & Czellar, 2001). However, the expensive product does not automatically

assume a luxury identity. For example, a top of the range battery-powered Seiko quartz

watch is still a non-luxury watch brand, while a bottom line Patek Philippe watches will

always be a luxury watch brand. What makes it so? Not functionality, since both tell the

time. Rather, the exceptional workmanship and materials culminating in a design that is

enveloped by the exclusivity of the brand name ascribe to the Patek Philippe watch the

status of luxury (Seringhaus, 2002).

Groth and McDaniel (1993) supported the assumption that exclusive or unique

perception of a brand was also related to its cost. They stated that “brand exclusivity is

the positioning of a brand such that it can command a high price relative to similar

products”. They suggested applying a prestige-pricing strategy to support the marketing

of luxury or high-quality goods. Bearden and Etzel (1982) concluded that publicly

consumed luxury goods were more likely to be conspicuous goods than privately

consumed luxury goods.

In addition, Lichtenstein, Ridgway, and Netemeyer (1993) addressed that

consumers perceived high prices as a positive indicator suggesting a certain degree of

prestige. Thus, consumers would use a price cue as a surrogate indicator of prestige. This

statement is further supported by the marketing literature which recommend the use of

“prestige-pricing strategy” when appealing to status-conscious consumers (Berkowitz,

Kerin, Hartley, & Rudelius, 1992; Groth & McDaniel, 1993).

14

In practice, “high prices may even make certain products or services more

desirable” (Groth & McDaniel, 1993) because people perceive higher prices as evidence

of greater quality (Rao & Monroe, 1989).

Further studies suggested that products may be used to communicate information

about their owner’s identity (Belk, Bahn, & Mayer, 1982; Shavitt, 1990), as Veblen (1899)

suggested that conspicuous consumption was used by people to signal wealth and, by

inference power and status. Thus, the utility of luxury products may be to display wealth

and power and one could consider that luxury brands would dominate the conspicuous

segment of the consumers.

In the early 1980s, several researchers conducted studies based on the original

work of Bourne (1957), which focused on the influence of reference groups on the

consumption of prestige brands (Mason, 1981, 1992; Bearden & Etzel, 1982). These

authors found that the conspicuousness of a product was positively related to its

susceptibility to reference-group influence.

Social class has a pronounced impact on consumption choices of individuals and

the individual’s position in society that these choices reflect. Consumer behaviour theory

uses the term “status symbols” to refer to products that are purchased and demonstrated as

signals of desirable social class (Solomon, 2004). Weber (1946) defined status as the

degree of social honor, prestige, and respect attributed to an individual by others. Weber

(1946) contended that status value beliefs developed from perceptions of one’s material

resources. Resources include possessions and the symbolic meanings they represent.

Luxury goods involve symbolic (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2001). Roux and Floch

(1996) stated that luxury brands, beyond being premium-priced, ephemeral status

15

symbols, or a smart investment, shared a host of characteristics, which attempt to be all-

encompassing and descriptive.

According to Twitchell (2002), luxury is a sign of status and class in modern

societies and the two reasons that consumers buy luxury goods are to show that they

belong to the higher class and to discriminate themselves from those of the lower class. In

Nia’s study (2000), the results also indicated that consumers believe that ownership of

original luxury brand products gives them personal satisfaction and helps them be

admired, recognized and accepted by others.

Fan and Burton (2002) addressed one more time that when goods were purchased

for social display rather than solely for their actual utility and are accepted as status

symbols, the goods become defined as “status conveying goods”.

Some class systems have a more significant influence on buying behavior, while

others are not that easily noticeable. In most Western countries, the “lower” classes may

engage in buying behavior similar to that of the “upper” classes. However, in other

cultures, where a caste system gives people a more distinctive role, consumer behavior is

more firmly linked to social classes. Upper classes in almost all societies are often more

similar to each other than they are to the rest of their own society. When selecting

products and services, they make choices that are less culture-bound than those of lower

class consumers (Jobber, 1995).

According to Veblen (Stanley, 1989; Hirschman, 1990; LaBarbera, 1988; Mason,

1981), the affluent classes of a given society express their economic superiority over the

less well-off by the purchase, and, above all, the show-off of these goods which serve as

status symbols.

16

2.2.2 Unique value

Dubois cooperated with Laurent and Czellar (2001) found out luxury features also

included scarcity and uniqueness. It is said that a perceived limited supply of products

enhances the consumers’ value and preference for a brand (Verhallen, 1982; Lynn, 1991;

Pantzalis, 1995). “Items that are in limited supply have high value, while those readily

available are less desirable. Rare items command respect and prestige” (Solomon, 1994).

In addition, the scarcity of products has an even greater effect on demand if people also

perceive the product as unique, popular and expensive (Verhallen & Robben, 1994).

In a research in 1999, Vigneron and Johnson used “snob effects” to mention

“unique values”. These effects may occur during two circumstances: (1) when a new

prestige product is launched, the snob will adopt the product first to take advantage of the

limited number of consumers at that moment, and (2) “snob effect is in evidence when

status sensitive consumers come to reject a particular product as and when it is seen to be

consumed by the general mass of people” (Mason, 1981).

These arguments are consistent with psychologists who observe situations through

which individuals express a “need for uniqueness” (Snyder & Fromkin, 1977). This need

is the outcome of a social comparison process (Festinger, 1954), where an individual’s

desire is to be perceived as different from other individuals. This hypothesis would

support the idea that the inherent scarcity and exclusivity of luxury goods would satisfy a

need for uniqueness.

Pantzalis (1995) not only demonstrated that brand exclusivity was a factor

positively affecting the demand for prestige brands, but he also recognized that a limited

17

supply for the high-end brand resulted in a transfer of status symbolism and a higher

preference for the lower-end brand extension.

2.2.3 Social value

Luxury goods are goods which their demand is increased because other people are

also purchasing it. This type of behavior corresponds to “the desire not to be identified

with the poor and the desire to be identified with the rich” (Corneo & Jeanne, 1997). Then,

the value they receive named social value or extended self value.

Belk’s (1988) notion of extended self may be useful to interpret the prestige value.

People’s desire to possess prestige brands may serve as a symbolic marker of group

membership. We propose that the bandwagon effect influences an individual to conform

with prestige groups and/or to be distinguished from non-prestige reference groups

(French & Raven, 1959; Sirgy, 1982; Midgley, 1983; Solomon, 1983; Mick, 1986;

McCracken, 1986; Belk, 1988; Dittmar, 1994). The contribution of reference theory in the

analysis of prestige consumer behavior appears to be the central motivation underlining

prestige consumption. Multiple reference groups refer to the problem of being under

pressures and demands of one’s own membership group, and attracted by the standard

dictated by another reference group (Hyman, 1942; Holt, 1995).

Festinger (1954) pointed out that people tended to conform with the majority

opinion of their membership groups when forming attitudes. Hence, a person may use a

luxury brand during the week, to conform with their professional position, and use a

modest brand during the weekend, to match social standards of his/her neighborhood.

Thus, bandwagon consumers may use the perceived extended-self value of prestige

brands to enhance their self-concept.

18

Another research demonstrated that consumers often use television to learn about

affluent lifestyles (O’Guinn & Shrum, 1997), and then try to imitate stereotypes of

affluence by consuming similar prestige products (Dittmar, 1994). O’Guinn and Shrum

(1997) examined the consumers’ use of television to construct social reality. Their study

identified that the prevalence of products and activities associated with an affluent

lifestyle were positively related to the level of exposure to television. In addition,

Hirschman (1988) analyzed the impact of television shows on consumers’ orientation and

ideology. The results revealed that viewers used the information on affluent lifestyle

portrayed in these programs to project their own ideology and orientation.

2.2.4 Hedonic value

Luxury goods involve hedonic needs (Hoyer & MacInnis, 2001). When

consumers purchase and using luxury goods, they could perceive hedonic value (Dubois,

Laurent, & Czellar, 2001). Roux and Floch (1996) defined that a luxury brand was a

specific sensory world of an “...indissoluble interplay of ethics _ and aesthetics...”. This

synthesis or consistency within all senses communicates and shares an emotion with the

customer. This idea is unified with the idea of Wong and Zaichkowsky (1999). They

concluded that luxury brands interacted with and fulfill the buyer's emotional needs.

Vigneron and Johnson (1999) referred to the hedonic effect when consumers

valued the perceived utility acquired from a prestige brand to arouse feelings and

affective states. Therefore, people could perceive personal values that depend upon the

individual alone for fulfillment, such as self-respect (e.g., role-relaxed consumers, Kahle,

1995, or inner-directed consumers, Riesman, Denney, & Glazer, 1950) when purchasing

and using prestige brands.

19

In 1984, Bourdieu analyzed differences between social classes and their

understanding of aesthetics and tastefulness and found that Particular opinions and

choices were less important than an overall aesthetic mindset. In addition, this aesthetic

mindset not only supports upper-class prestige but helps keep them at arm’s length from

the lower classes. Thus, luxurious and artistic items not only serve as instruments of

demonstrating status but carry a certain power.

Besides, luxury features include not only aesthetics and polysensuality but also

ancestral heritage and personal history (Dubois, Laurent, & Czellar, 2001). The

reassurance consumers derive from luxury brands (e.g., of tradition, of authenticity)

actually enhances the value they derive from the use of the product. They may feel a

heightened pleasure of anticipation long before they use them. For instance consumers

may purchase and wear prestigious clothes because they are confident in the judgment of

style from the designer (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999).

Recent studies in luxury consumption have identified that luxury products are

likely to provide subjective intangible benefits such as the emotional value was an

essential characteristic of the perceived utility acquired from luxury products: “... a vast

majority subscribes to the hedonic motive (“One buys luxury goods primary for one's

pleasure”)” (Dubois & Laurent, 1994).

Research discussing the semiotics of luxury have repeatedly identified the

emotional responses associated with the consumption, such as sensory pleasure, aesthetic

beauty, or excitement (Alleres, 1990; Benarrosh, 1991; Fauchois & Krieg, 1991; Roux &

Floch, 1996). It is a fact that for the concept of luxury brands to exist it must remain elitist,

distinctive, exclusive and rare. In other words luxury brand evokes an aura of the

20

extraordinary, the unattainable or dream for most who remain outside the target market

segment (Seringhaus, 2002).

In the other study, Dubois and Paternault (1995) developed a dream formula

linking awareness, purchase and dream value to explain luxury brands. Their notion is

that luxury goods are bought for “…what they mean, beyond what they are”. They

suggested that, paradoxically, that purchase (acquisition, ownership) destroys the dream

value, making the luxury object less desirable since it has become real. While it may be

correct to associate dream qualities to brands, it is inappropriate to conclude that dream

attainment, i.e. a dream becoming reality, renders such reality undesirable and behavior of

true luxury segments attest to the fact that either the dream dimension is an incorrect

metaphor.

In addition, the willingness to pay more for the luxury goods was highlighted in

the preface of the Russian edition of Silverstein and Fiske’s book (2004) by Oleg Tinkov.

Tinkov argued that people from the former Soviet block countries were even more willing

to save on basics in order to buy at least some luxury because luxurious Western goods

had been dreamed about but not available. As soon as the possibility to acquire these

commodities became real, people got motivated to save and buy them. Acquiring them

not only means the same as for the Western people in terms of the four emotional areas

mentioned above, but also makes their protractedly mature wishes come true.

2.2.5 Quality value

Some studies explored issues related to luxury consumption often underline the

specific function of quality. “Excellent quality is a sine qua non, and it is important that

the premium marketer maintains and develops leadership in quality” (Quelch, 1987).

21

Luxury brands are expected to show evidence of greater quality, and luxury or premium

brands should display even greater levels of quality (Garfein, 1989; Roux, 1995). Based

on these studies and on the available literature on luxury products, it is proposed that the

quality cue might also be used by consumers to evaluate the level of prestige of brands. A

low level of quality would play a negative role over the perception of prestige. In contrast,

if the buyer or the consumer perceives the brand as having an excellent level of quality,

his or her quality perception would play a positive role over his or her perception of

prestige on the same brand.

Accordingly, Vigneron and Johnson (1999) refered to the quality effect when

consumers valued the perceived utility acquired from a prestige brand to suggest superior

product characteristics and performance. Therefore, people who relate to personal values

and who assess the value of prestige brands according to the value of reassurance

expected from prestige brands (e.g., comfort and speed for a prestige car, or precision for

a prestige watch), may represent perfectionist types of consumers.

Consumers might own prestige goods because they are likely to be of higher

quality (Vigneron & Johnson, 1999). Thus, a consumer who owns a luxury vehicle such

as scooter is likely to believe that it has high durability and reliability. Intuitively, this

could mean that prestigious scooter owners have a long-term planning horizon for

spending. Also, the likelihood of owning a luxury scooter might increase if people have a

propensity to increase spending when stimulated by some psychological trigger.

In conclusion, it is said that despite a rapid growth of the luxury goods market and

rich accumulated knowledge on the subject, there is no clear consensus of what

constitutes a luxury brand (Vigneron & Johnson, 2004; Vickers & Ronand, 2003; Dubois

& Duquesne, 1993). While economic theory deals with the modeling of demand-level

22

effects of luxury goods, marketing studies focus heavily on the characteristics of luxury

consumers in terms of culture and sociodemographics (e.g. Dubois & Laurent, 1993;

Dubois & Duquesne, 1993), buying motives (e.g. Kapferer, 1998) and life values (e.g.

Sukhdial, Chakraborty & Steger, 1995). All of these studies have relied upon standard

deterministic segmentation analyses. Other investigators have provided normative

frameworks for the management of the affluent consumers of luxury brands (e.g. Dubois,

1992; Kapferer, 1996; Stanley, 1989).

2.3 Country of Origin

There are several definitions for country of origin effect in literature. At first, the

concept of country of origin was considered as the made-in country (Nebenzahl et al.,

1997), or the country of manufacture (Samiee, 1994); in other words, it was the country

which appeared on the ‘made-in’ label, generally the country where final assembly of the

good took place. Other concepts have progressively emerged in the country of origin

literature, such as country of design (Nebenzahl et al., 1997; Jaffé & Nebenzahl, 2001),

referring to the country where the product was designed and developed.

Nigashima defined country of origin effect as “the picture, the reputation, and the

stereotype that businessmen and consumers attach to products of a specific country”. This

image is created by such variables as representative products, national characteristics,

economic and political background, history, and traditions” (Nagashima, 1970).

According to Roth and Romeo (1992), the image of a country arises from a series

of dimensions that positively qualify a nation in terms of its production profile. Such

dimensions include the following aspects: innovative approach (superiority, cutting-edge

technology), design (style, elegance, and balance), prestige (exclusiveness and status of

the national brands), and workmanship (reliability, durability, and quality of national

23

manufacts). Usunier (1993) provides a broader and more detailed account of this concept,

defining it as a multidimensional construct whose main dimensions encompass: a) factors

pertaining to the image of national versus imported products; b) categories of

merchandise known to derive from a specific country or provenance; c) the image evoked

by the geographic origin of the brand; d) the influence of the ‘made in’ concept in product

perception; e) the national image of the producers. In Usunier’s interpretation the

perception of the country’s image is also influenced by cognitive components (referring

to social, economic, cultural and political characteristics), affective components (feelings

towards the country) and additionally by stereotypes (ingrained preconceptions) (Usunier

& Lee, 2005).

Most published studies on country of origin discover that country stereotypes have

some impact on product evaluations and purchase decisions (Haubl, 1996; Piron, 2000).

The objective of Piron’s study in 2000 was to measure and analyze the impact of country

of origin on consumers’ purchasing intention of products which are consumed

conspicuously. Although the results indicated that a product’s country of origin may not

be a strong determinant in purchasing products, it appeared that country of origin would

affect consumers’ buying decisions more when buying luxuries rather than necessities

(Piron, 2000).

The country of origin effect has also become an indicator of quality and it would

affect consumers when evaluating products (Lin & Sternquist, 1994), especially when it is

difficult to assess by other objective (Huber & McCann, 1982). Wall et al., (1991) also

noted that for luxury items the country of origin tended to have a stronger effect than

price in product quality assessment. In Lin and Sternquist’s study (1994), the results

24

indicated that products from more developed countries usually gain more positive

evaluations than products from less developed countries.

Because of the country of origin effect and country stereotyping, consumers are

more inclined to buy products which are made in specific developed countries such as

Japan, Germany, France, and Italy. Consumers often purchase Japanese electronics,

Japanese and German cars, French perfumes, and French and Italian designer fashions

(Lin & Sternquist, 1994; Piron, 2000). Those more developed countries are not only given

credit for the excellent design and quality of their products, but because they project an

image of a privileged lifestyle on the products which attracts consumers.

According to the Far Eastern Economic Review’s (FEER) Asia Lifestyles study,

the majority of respondents from Asian countries voted Sony Corporation of Japan for

their favorite brand of technology products, and also they look to Europe for their luxury

products (“Despite crunch”, 2002). The country of origin phenomenon is especially

prevalent in the developing Asian countries where people aspire to European culture and

lifestyle. The major European luxury markets currently are Great Britain, France,

Germany, Italy, and Spain. Because the consumers truly identify themselves with the

European lifestyle, they feel that they would become closer to the same lifestyle if they

purchase and use the luxury products from those countries (Dubois & Duquesne, 1993).

Some studies focus on the relationship between country of origin and consumer

product evaluation. Bilkey and Nes (1982) showed that consumers’ attitude toward

foreign products or foreign brands could be influenced by consumers’ image or

knowledge about that country. Johansson, Douglas and Nonaka (1985) provided the

evidence to support that stereotypes related to specific country of origin will affect the

consumers’ perceptions of attributes for some products. It means that a country image

25

becomes a bias and will influence the purchase decision. Han (1989) pointed out that the

image from a particular country would indirectly affect consumers’ attitudes toward the

brand if consumers are not familiar with the country’s products. Verlegh and Steenkamp

(1999) showed that consumers’ evaluation on product’s quality could be influenced by

the product’s country of origin.

Since the trend of business is globalization, some companies may move their

manufacturing operations to other low production cost countries. Besides, to satisfy some

special demands, some products can be imported into the local market that can not

manufacture those products. However, the country of production does not always

influence the image of a product, on which the country of origin has a strong effect. For

example, Honda is a Japanese brand (country of origin) but its scooters are made in UK,

China or Indonesia (country of production). However, because of the strong country of

origin, the purchase intentions of consumers have not been affected by the “made-in” sign

(Haubl & Elrod, 1999).

Phau and Prendergast (1998) also said that the country of production has not so

much effect on the consumer behavior, consumers concern more on the brand personality

and brand name rather than the country of production. Country of origin should not

change with a change in manufacturing location.

2.4 Brands

It is important to differentiate between a brand and a product. A brand is

something that comes from the consumers’ perceptions and ideas regarding the product

(Blackston, 1992). The product is the actual good or service with functional purposes.

26

Therefore, the brand offers something in addition to this functional purpose. “Products are

what the company makes; what the customer buys is a brand” (Kapferer, 1992).

According to Kotler (1980), a product is defined as anything that can be offered to

a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that may satisfy a need or want. A

brand is a product, but one that adds other dimensions to differentiate it in some way from

other products designed to satisfy the same need (Keller, 1998). Achenbaum (1993)

differentiated a brand from a product. What distinguishes a brand from its unbranded

commodity counterpart is the sum of consumers’ perceptions and feelings about the

product’s attributes and how it performs, about the brand name and what it stands for, and

about the company associated with the brand.

Because the brand offers more than a product, it can be viewed as a product that

provides functional benefits plus added values that consumers value enough to buy (Jones,

1986). The crucial part of this definition is that the brand offers “added value”, which is

something invisible, intangible, and non-functional.

Much of the doctrine holds that the brand represents “the memory” of a firm,

which encompasses all the investments, research activities, process technologies and

innovations carried out by the firm over time; it thus effectively embodies the firm’s

history (Deichmann, 1991; Collesei, 2000). But, at the same time, the brand is a tool

available to customers as a means of expressing their own individuality and attitudes, as

well as manifesting the needs they are experiencing (Keegan, Moriarty & Duncan, 1992).

Brands become symbolic of the consumers’ social status, self-expression, personal

characteristics, and perception of good taste. O’Cass and Frost’s (2002) provided

information about consumer’s motivations and behaviors in the conspicuous consumption

27

of status products and brands. “Brands are seen as important in creating individual

identity, a sense of achievement and individuality for consumers” (O' Cass & Frost, 2002).

Vehicles are not the exception. To some riders, they are prestige symbols, so the name of

the marque is an important consideration when buying machine (Barker, 2002).

The brand has a significant impact on customers’ perceptions and purchasing

decisions. This analysis of brand influence can be further illuminated by examining the

specific functions performed by the brand itself (Kapferer & Thoenig, 1991; Lambin,

1991). In terms of benefits offered to the customer, the brand is generally recognized as

performing the following functions: a) orientation – the brand communicates the presence

of a given set of attributes (tangible and intangible) and thereby provide orientation for

customers on the basis of their preferences; b) guarantee – since the brand is a “signature”,

it identifies a firm and requires the latter to assume an unequivocal and enduring

responsibility, with a commitment to guarantee a specific and constant quality level; c)

personalization – the brand allows customers to express their originality and personality

through their purchasing choices and manner of utilization; the brand thus communicates

the customer’s value system; d) practicality – the brand is a cognitive shortcut, enabling

the customer to easily memorize the characteristics of a product associated with a specific

name (the brand); and finally, e) ludic functions – once basic needs have been satisfied,

the brand fulfils the need for novelty, surprise, risk, complexity.

Some people may believe that a brand name is equally good as a quality guarantee,

while others may believe that brand name is important because of prestige (Shim &

Bickle, 1994). Consumers use brand names to assess the quality of products, and to

determine a willingness to pay a higher price for a product (Huddleston, Cassill, &

Hamilton, 1993). A well-known brand name can not only improve the quality of the

28

products, but also enhance the consumer’s perceptions of prestige and quality of design

(Davis, 1987).

In a large-scale study, Gentry (2001) found that consumers did not necessarily buy

luxury brands just for the conspicuousness of the brand name, but much more because of

the superior quality reflected by that name. There are cases in which consumers refuse to

buy counterfeit luxury brands, fearing that the counterfeits are of inferior quality. This -

known as the quality assurance effect - is related to the utilitarian but not symbolic

superiority of the brand that some consumers priorities in their shopping consideration.

Experiential marketing is an important trend in marketing thinking. Through

several books and articles, Schmitt (1999, 2003) has developed the concept of Customer

Experience Management (CEM), which he defined as the process of strategically

managing a customer’s entire experience with a product or company. According to

Schmitt, brands can help to create five different types of experiences:

- Relate experiences that result from connecting with a reference group

or culture.

- Sense experiences involving sensory perception,

- Feel experiences involving affect and emotions,

- Think experiences which are creative and cognitive;

- Act experiences involving physical behavior and incorporating

individual actions and lifestyles, and

According to Keller (1993), retail customers are amateur purchasers who spend

their own money for non-routine consumption. Thus, they seek to gain “experiential” or

“symbolic” benefits from the vehicle brands instead, for example car brands. This

29

demonstrates that there exist differences in specificity among individual customers about

perception of brand. When having to select among alternatives, customers are interested

in differences across brands in the same product segment and even models (Oliver, 1997).

These results could be implied to consumer behavior of luxury scooter.

2.5 The Vietnamese consumer behavior

Phau and Prendergast (1998) indicated that different cultures have different attitudes

towards the same products or different products, and luxury products are not an exception.

However, Kaiser (1997) noted that signifiers (luxury goods) can float freely from one cultural

context to another, and in the process, what is signified is lost or altered.

2.5.1 The Asian consumer behavior

Asian consumers are clearly the world’s most optimistic at the moment, while the

vast majority of Europeans and Americans remain firmly in the doldrums, according to the

latest global online consumer confidence survey from AC Nielsen (2007).

According to Phau and Prendergast (1998), “The Asian taste for branded name

luxury goods reflects the interdependence of group norms and hence a greater conformity

in consumption behavior. Therefore, Asians pay particular attention to possessions which

are both public and visible that reflects conformity of an ostentatious culture. It is no

exaggeration that Asian prove to be brand ambassadors of the highest order”.

As each country or city has its own culture, consumers in different countries are

not the same. Wong and Ahuvia (1998) pointed out that Asian and Western consumers

buy the same luxury brand products for different reasons and motivations, and also that

the products have different social functions in each society. The difference stems from the

30

opposition of individualism and collectivism. Asian societies share a Confucian

collectivist cultural tradition, and conversely Western societies are culturally more

individualist oriented (Manasian, 1985).

James (1992) noted that in the individualist cultures which prevailed in many of

the Western countries, personal goals were considered to be more important than group

goals, and independence and personal achievement are particularly stressed. By contrast,

in collectivist cultures which deeply influence East Asian societies, groups goals are

weighed more than personal goals, and duty, harmony, equality, politeness, modesty, and

discipline are highly valued.

Opposed to the independent construct of self, the interdependent construct of self

which is common in Asian cultures, puts great emphasis on the fundamental

connectedness of human beings to each other (Wong & Ahuvia, 1998). Based on that

perspective, Asians are taught to conceal personal opinions and preferences if they differ

from others, and to conform to group norms and act socially appropriate in order to

achieve social harmony in society. Accordingly, pressure to conform is common in Asian

societies. In addition, because the interpersonal relationships in Asian societies is deeply

influenced by the collectivist orientation, it is essential for individuals to pursue social

harmony, empathy, belongingness, commitment to group, and dependency together

(Schutte & Ciarlante, 1998).

The needs for power, affiliation, and achievement are the three most significant

human needs (trio of needs). In the collectivist Asian cultures, social needs including

affiliation, admiration, and status are weighed much more heavily than the individualistic

needs for achievement and power (Schutte & Ciarlante, 1998). Wong and Ahuvia (1998)

noted that Asian consumers focused more on publicly visible possessions that have public

31

meanings. Schutte and Ciarlante (1998) defined public meanings as the meanings

attributed to the product which the individual believes are held by others. In Asian

societies, the public display of possessions and wealth will help individuals fit in with the

major groups or higher class, and it is the public meaning of the products which propel

consumers to make purchases.

In the research on consuming luxury goods done by Wong and Ahuvia (1998), it

was found that the majority of their subjects agreed that luxury products were socially

appropriate in collectivist societies. A good member in these cultures is expected to

conform to such public display of wealth in order to fit in. In Asian societies, the intention

of consuming luxury goods is conformity to the social norms (Wong & Ahuvia, 1998). It

is important for Asian consumers to maintain homogeneity in the society and to feel

compliant to societal norms.

The education system has greatly contributed to the formation of the collectivist

orientation in Asian societies. Since kindergarten, students have been encouraged to

comply to uniformity and rigidity and are taught to digest and retain enormous amounts

of information, so their creativity, independent judgment, and self-expression of

individuality are all restrained. Influenced by the collectivist Confucian tradition, the

concept of interdependence and restriction, the Asian consumers purchase luxury goods

which they feel are in accordance with group norms and will be recognized and approved

by their group (Schutte & Ciarlante, 1998).

In conclusion, luxury products can bring perceived status to the owners, Asian

consumers purchase luxury products in order to fit in with peers, and consumers usually

care about the visibility of logos more than the quality of luxury products.

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2.5.2 The Vietnamese consumer behavior

Like other Asian cultures governed by Confucianism and Buddhism, Vietnamese

culture is characterized by a strong collectivism, family-orientation and emphasis on

interpersonal relationships. For the Vietnamese, age and hierarchy, which reflect status

and rank, should be respected, and conformity to a group's norms and values is critical.

These cultural values have significant impacts on Vietnamese consumer behavior (e.g.

information seeking behavior, purchasing decision process, attitudes towards products

and satisfaction/dissatisfaction) (Michon & Gruere, 1996; Le & Jolibert, 2001). With the

implementation of DOI MOI, some of these traditional values have had a tendency to

change (Shultz & Pecotich, 1994; Michon & Gruere, 1996; Swierczek, Hirsh & Le, 1998;

Le & Jolibert, 2001). After the reform policies were adopted, orienting the country

towards economic development and modernization. The opening up of the market helps

Vietnamese consumers can now choose between foreign products and local products,

especially imported luxury products such as luxury scooters.

Economic liberalization policies have introduced a flood of foreign products to

Vietnam. Increases in income and improved living standards of Vietnamese consumers

have created a strong demand for all kinds of goods and have led to an important change

in the spending structure. Approximately twelve years ago, the spending of Vietnam

consumers was still very limited, focusing mainly on basic products such as food,

clothing, while very little was spent on luxury products. Nowadays, they allocate a great

proportion of their revenue towards housing, entertainment activities, transportation

means, and household appliances. The demand for high quality, branded products by an

expanding wealthy, educated middle-class is also increasing (Le & Jolibert, 2000).

33

A qualitative research conducted by AC Nielsen Vietnam showed that Vietnamese

young generation is fashion and brand conscious. This generation prefers to wear famous

foreign brands such as Calvin Klein, Levi's, Nike, Versace, and Gucci to luxury

motorbikes, scooters ... in order to express their willingness to catch up with other modem

cultures (Vietnam Economic Times, 2000).

For the white-collar class and rich entrepreneurs, Vietnamese consumers of

highest income, the first criterion of purchasing decision is not product price or utility, but

product image which is associated with high prestige or important status. They prefer

famous and expensive foreign brands because “a well-known brand name is a guarantee

of high quality”. The foreign country of origin products are so important for them that

wearing something of French, English or American affluent lifestyle even seems to be a

necessity (Le & Jolibert, 2000).

Speece (2002) indicated that country of origin affected Vietnamese consumers’

buying behavior. Johansson, Ronkainen and Czinkota (1994) stated that products from

developed countries generally received more positive evaluations than products from less

developed ones. Besides, people’s images towards a country are affected by the country’s

economic, social and cultural systems, the relative stages of economic development,

political and historical events.

In developing economies such as Vietnam, the motorcycle (including scooter and

mope) buyers often have dual purposed in mind for both transportation and recreation,

then they are willing to invest more. Additionally, luxury, functional, easy to control are

the main reasons of Vietnamese consumers when choosing luxury scooter, even they cost

eight to ten times than popular one. Luxury scooters have become a kind of jewelry

displaying prestige, wealth, style and characteristic of rider (VnEconomy, 2008).

34

2.6 The Vietnamese luxury scooter market

Vietnam as a market of motorcycles has a long history dating back to the 1960s.

During the Vietnam War, tens of thousands of mopeds were imported into South Vietnam

each year, mainly from Japan and the US (Fujita, 2006). After the end of the war these

secondhand motorcycles remained, while motorcycles continued to be imported from

Eastern Europe (Beresford & Dang, 2000). It was under the severe road conditions and

the shortage of fuel and replacement parts during the central planning period that the

Vietnamese formed a strong preference for secondhand motorcycles made in Japan,

which were known to be extremely durable, economical, and practical. In the Southern of

Vietnam, people even use “Hondas” to call motorcycles, even that motorcycle belongs to

other brand. After market-oriented economic reforms called DOI MOI started in 1986,

demands for motorcycles started to increase gradually. Since 2000, the demand of

scooters in general and luxury scooters in particular has been increase gradually.

2.6.1 Economic, political and social analysis

The high two-wheel vehicle volume is a unique traffic situation of Vietnam. This

kind vehicle’s ownership and usage may be influenced by factors different from those for

the Western countries. Factors may include the weather, the economy, the population

density and the cultural background that are satisfied by the advantages of scooters.

- A scooter needs less space for parking; it can be put anywhere in front

of the house.

- A scooter usage is convenient and provides door-to-door access.

- A scooter may get through congested queue through its weaving

maneuver, has a good acceleration rate and may cruise (especially in urban areas),

35

as fast as a car. In Vietnam, the street system was designed and constructed with

respect to car traffic and was much influenced by technology and construction

techniques originating from western countries (Hsu, Ahmad, & Nguyen, 2003).

The design concept in Vietnam was mainly French. The mixed traffic causes

conflict among vehicles driving on links and when at intersections.

- A scooter is suitable for Vietnam’s seasonal tropical climate with a lot

of rainy days. Scooter could help driver not be wet on feet while driving.

- A luxury scooter is much cheaper than a car.

Additionally, there are some other special reasons make scooters become the

“most wanted” vehicles in these year. They are economic factors, political factors, and

social factors.

Economic factors

Vietnam has recorded impressive economic performance in recent years. GDP has

recorded the second-highest growth rate in Asia over the last decade (Table 4).

Table 2 Vietnam: Medium-term scenario, 2004-12

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2004 2005 2006 2007 Projection

Real GDP (annual percentage change)

7.8 8.4 8.2 8.3 8.2 8.0 8.0 7.8 7.8

Source: International Monetary Fund, 2007

The income of the higher-income classes is constantly rising. This implies that

wealthy people have more money available to spend on more exquisite purchases.

Besides, the development of Vietnamese stock market in these current years made lots of

people became richer in a short time, especially the young officer class. Hence, they have

36

more opportunities to choose for themselves a better scooter that could be match the trend

as well as display their wealth.

Political factors

Two years ago, Vietnamese government launched a regulation about limitation of

registered motorcycle: each person can register for only one motorcycle. Therefore, part

of motorcycle consumers chose luxury scooter as the best choice, even the price of a SH

Honda at that time was around USD 8,000, because they think that “for one time of

buying and registering, luxury scooter is worthier than others”. However, in the beginning

of 2007, Vietnamese government abolished that regulation due to the increase in

purchasing of luxury scooters, hence the consumer could have more chance to change

their motorcycles. In addition, after the resolution 32/2007/NQ-CP of Vietnamese

government about motorcyclists must wear safety helmet was launched; the demand of

scooters with a big storage under seat for two helmets has been increased sharply. These

factors have pushed the demand as well as the price of luxury scooter higher and higher.

Social factors

According to JAMA (2005), one of the major characteristics of Vietnamese

motorcycle users is, the extremely high share of female purchasers (at about 47 percent of

the total). Ownership is particularly high among woman in their 20s. Many people have

undoubtedly seen image on TV of Vietnamese woman, clad in the “ao dai” – traditional

dress, zipping around town astride motorcycles. While neighboring Thailand is also well

known for its heavy use of motorcycles by woman, the Vietnamese appear to top even the

Thais in this category. In that sense, Vietnam may be the world’s leading country for female

use and ownership of motorcycles. Since 2000, some companies have imported and

37

manufactured scooters, launched in market, hence give Vietnamese consumers, especially

female consumers have more choices.

With the improved working condition, the more women could wear fashionable

clothes such as dress, skirt daily. However, the finance condition does not allow them buy

car or use taxi everyday. Hence, scooters become the best choice for women.

2.6.2 The scooter market segmentation

It was distinguished between three brand types: prestige brands, volume brands

and price or economy brands (Desarbo & Manrai 1992; Edmonson 2003; Kirmani, Sood,

& Bridges 1999; Park, Milberg, & Lawson 1991) for Vietnamese scooter market.

Prestige brands, such as Honda SH, Honda PS, Piaggio Vespa LX, Piaggio Vespa

ET8, Yamaha Majesty, Suzuki Avenis are premium priced and have high status, ranging

from VND 80,000,000 to VND 170,000,000 (USD 5000 to USD 10,500) (VnEconomy,

2008). These brands usually have a relatively small market share. Prestige brands are

purchased to communicate wealth, status and exclusivity (Bagwell & Bernheim, 1996;

Park, Millberg, & Lawson, 1991). These recently years, the market for luxury scooters is

dominated by imports from Japan and Italy. They are considered luxury brands by the

public majority.

In 2000-2001, Honda @, Honda Spacy and Suzuki Avenis were the most famous

luxury scooters in market. In 2002, Honda Dylan, Honda SH joined the market with a

new trend of luxury scooters. In 2004, the young consumer called Honda @ as “the

princess”, Honda Dylan as “the prince” and Honda SH as “the king”. Since 2005, Honda

PS came to market as a new luxury scooter brand. Since then, Honda @, Suzuki Avenis

became old fashion in the segmentation of luxury scooter. All of the above brands are of

38

Japanese origin. However, most of the retail shops of these luxury scooters are not belong

to the branch of Honda, Yamaha or Suzuki in Vietnam. They are private companies that

imported and sell luxury scooters on the shop and the warranty service is not the

responsibility of the Japanese company’s branches in Vietnam.

Piaggio with Vespa brand also is a famous scooter brand in Vietnam for decades.

It is known as a romantic and classical European style. Since 2005, the biggest dealer of

Piaggio in Vietnam invested a lot of showrooms as well as guaranty centers, to satisfy the

demand of customer. This investment let customer has more satisfaction in choosing

Piaggio luxury scooter. The total turnover of Piaggio Vietnam was increased 50%

compared to 2005 is in evidence.

Volume brands, like Yamaha Force, Yamaha Cygnus, and Piaggio Fly are usually

priced near the market average and have relatively high market shares. These brands

serve the majority of the market. They are not purchased for their status or exclusivity,

but for reasons such as value-for-money, ranging from VND 40,000,000 to VND

70,000,000 (USD 2,500 to USD 4,500) (VnEconomy, 2008).

Finally, economy brands, such as SYM Attila, Yamaha Nouvo, Honda Click, and

Piaggio Zip are sold in the low-end segment of the market. These brands are priced below

the market average. Not surprisingly, the most important reason for consumers to

purchase this type of brand is price ranging from VND 25,000,000 to VND 40,000,000

(USD 1,500 to USD 2,500) (VnEconomy, 2008).

2.7 Research questions and hypotheses

The purposes of this study were to investigate Vietnamese consumers’ perception

about luxury scooter brands and how country of origin influences their evaluation on

39

luxury scooters and purchase intention. Five research questions and 10 hypotheses were

developed.

H1: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ familiarity of Italian

luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

H2: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ preference of Italian

luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

H3: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ consideration of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

RQ1: What is the difference between the Vietnamese consumers’ brand

perception of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda?

H4: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ brand perception of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

RQ2: What is the impact of luxury scooter owning status on Vietnamese

consumers’ brand perception of luxury scooter?

H5: Vietnamese consumers who own luxury scooter and who do not own luxury

scooter have no difference in brand perception of luxury scooter.

RQ3: What is the impact of luxury scooter buying intention on Vietnamese

consumers’ brand perception of luxury scooter?

H6: Vietnamese consumers who intend to buy luxury scooter and who do not

intend to buy luxury scooter have no difference brand perception of luxury scooter.

40

RQ4: How is the demographic related to Vietnamese consumers’ perception of

luxury scooter?

H7: Vietnamese consumers from different age have no difference in brand

perception of luxury scooter.

H8: Female Vietnamese consumers and male Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in brand perception of luxury scooter.

H9: Vietnamese consumers from different marriage status have no difference in

brand perception of luxury scooter.

H10: Vietnamese consumers who have different family monthly income have no

difference brand perception of luxury scooter.

RQ5: How are the 5 perceived values of luxury scooter related to Vietnamese

consumers’ buying consideration?

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CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

A blend of qualitative and quantitative market research techniques: focus group

and survey was used as methodology of the study. The focus group was organized in

order to get an insight into what different opinions a fairly homogeneous group of people

might have about luxury scooters and what attributes they associate with luxury scooters.

The results of the session were later used to construct a questionnaire survey, which was

needed to show wider tendencies as well as to provide statistical significance. Figure 3

clearly shows the successive stages of the thesis-writing process.

Literature reviews

Pretests

Survey

Analysis and conclusions

Figure 4 Methodology

3.1 Pretest

Firstly, two pretests was conducted to get an insight into what Vietnamese

consumers think a luxury scooter is, what brands in particular they associate with luxury

scooter, and what attributes they consider make brands luxurious. This method gave the

opportunity to study the ways in which people collectively think what luxury scooter is,

42

then construct its attributes, and give examples. The face-to-face interview was also

chosen because it could enable and encourage interaction between participants and author.

The sample for the pretest session was drawn using convenience sampling and

consisted of 24 members. Krueger (1994) suggested that the people selected should be as

homogeneous as possible in terms of race, ethnicity, language, literacy level, and income.

Thus, students who are studying in well-known universities and officers who have

recently graduated from universities and who occupy job positions of a fairly similar level

in several different fields: foreign language, business administration, bank, information

technology and telecommunications were chosen. Hence, the opportunity of capturing

different opinions about both current consumption of the respondents and perception they

have about “luxury scooter” could be possible.

3.1.1 Pretest for selecting brand

When examining consumer perceptions of luxury products, it is important to

consider the differences among brands, because it is related to symbol status. Within

many product classes, brands differ in the degree of status associated with them. For

example, a Chrysler LeBaron and a Rolls Royce Phantom may both be considered luxury

cars; however, the Rolls Royce is generally considered to be relatively higher in status

than the Chrysler. Different brands represent different reference points on a status

continuum for each product type. However, consumers have different schemas and pre-

existing impressions of established brands that go beyond perceptions of status (James

Arthur Wright, 2005). Therefore, the first pretest was conducted to reveal the most

familiar luxury scooter brands in market.

43

Following Sirgy (1997), subjects were asked to list all brands of scooter they

could think of. From the lists, the most frequently mentioned brand was chosen as the

most familiar brand from the target population. Based on the results of the brand

elicitation pretest, “Honda” and “Piaggio” were selected as the most familiar luxury

scooter. The open-ended questionnaire and the results are reported the following table:

“This survey is designed to elicit the most familiar brands of luxury scooter you

think of. Please, write down as many as possible. Please list all the brands you can think

for luxury scooters.”

Table 3 Luxury scooter frequency

Model Company Country Frequency SH Honda Japanese 14

Spacy Honda Japanese 12 LX Piaggio Italian 9

Dylan Honda Japanese 8 ET8 Piaggio Italian 6 @ Honda Japanese 3 PS Honda Japanese 2

44

Figure 5 SH and Spacy are products of Honda from Japan

Source: Source: www.bikez.com

Figure 6 Vespa LX is product of Piaggio from Italy

Source:www.bikez.com

3.1.2 Pretest for evaluation criteria

Fishbein (1963) maintained that an individual’s attitude toward an object was a

function of his/her salient beliefs that the object has certain attributes and his/her

evaluations of specific attributes. However, in the context of consumer behavior,

Fishbein’s expectancy-value model has been modified as follows. Salient beliefs were

replaced by evaluative criteria and beliefs and attribute evaluations were replaced by

measures of attribute satisfaction and importance. Then, the participants in the focus

group were asked to perform the following tasks.

45

First, the subjects were asked to list what criteria they have about luxury scooters.

Second, following Ajzen and Fishbein’s (1980) suggestion that five to nine beliefs are

appropriate to indicate a subject’s cognitive reactions toward an object, and those selected

beliefs need to explain a certain amount of percentage, which is usually at least 75% of all

beliefs, the six most frequently mentioned evaluative criteria were selected from the list

of all criteria for scooters: design, price, brand, symbolism were selected as six evaluative

criteria. The open-ended questionnaire and the results are reported in the following table:

“This survey is designed to elicit your evaluative criteria about luxury scooters.

Please, write down as many as possible. What features do you consider when choosing a

luxury scooter to buy?”

Table 4 Evaluation criteria frequency

Evaluation Criteria Frequency Design 19 Price 13 Brand 12

Symbolism 6 Color 6

Scarcity 6 Quality 6

Warranty 5 Size of under-the-seat storage 3

Size 3 Fashion 3 Weight 2 Trend 2

Ease of control 1

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3.2 Survey

3.2.1 Sample and procedure

This study employed the non-experimental survey method to gather data, which

was necessary to test the hypotheses listed in the Review of the Literature section. A

survey research design was considered for several reasons: (1) surveys are useful in

identifying characteristics of a population from a small group of individuals; (2)

standardized questions make measurement more precise by enforcing uniform definitions

on the participants, thereby obtaining high reliability more easily; and (3) survey data are

easily quantifiable and are responsive to structural equation modeling (SEM). SEM is a

very general, chiefly linear, chiefly cross-sectional statistical modeling technique. Factor

analysis, path analysis, and regression all represent special cases of SEM. Several

measures employed in this study were developed by previous studies for the survey

design. With the survey method, it was hoped that the findings from the sample customers

could be generalized into a large target population of Vietnamese.

The research collected consumer information through email by delivering survey to

Universities and companies in Vietnam. Universities and companies were selected based on a

small investigation by author. Respondents were selected from population who have interests

in luxury scooter and were willing to complete a questionnaire.

3.2.2 Survey Development

The survey questions are divided into two parts: Italian brand and Japanese brand

with the same questions and scales. Piaggio is used to represent an Italian brand, and

Honda is used to represent a Japanese brand, because they both have the similar design

style and image and have the highest frequency in the pretest of choosing brands.

As discussed in the pretest section, pretest was used to avoid possible ambiguity in

the wording of the scale’s items that could arise from different cultural interpretations of

certain phrases during translation.

The questionnaire designed for this study was originally drafted in English,

translated into Vietnamese, then back-translated into English. To ensure the correct

meaning of the translated version, two native Vietnamese-speaking graduate students

from a Southern Taiwan University of Technology and Shute University, Taiwan were

asked to review the transcribed copies in English and Vietnamese. Their suggestions,

along with feedback from the pretest, were incorporated into the final version of the

questionnaire.

The last section collected participants’ demographic information: age, gender,

household size, marital status, and monthly income of household.

The second section profiled product attributes as values of luxury scooter according to

literature and pretest’s results.

The first section contained three questions and was used to examine the participants’

overall preference and awareness of each brand.

The survey containing four sections totaling 22 questions on a 10-point Likert scale

are used to measure Vietnamese consumers’ general perception in preference, value of luxury

scooter; and other 3 questions are used to profile owning status and purchasing intention of

consumers.

The third section profiled participants’ owning status and purchasing intention.

47

48

Table 5 Perceived values from luxury product

Authors Conspicuousness Uniqueness Social Hedonism Quality Others Veblen (1988) Conspicuous

consumption Pecuniary emulation Status and Wealth

Invidious comparison Distinction

Bourgeois Upper-class

Leisure class Pleasure

Fashion

Leibenstein (1950) Veblen effect Snob effect Bandwagon effect Mason (1981 & 1992)

Conspicuous consumption Status seeking

Scarcity value Distinction Conformity Achievement

Aesthetic quality

Bearden & Etzel (1982)

Conspicuous Exclusivity Publicly consumed Privately consumed

Horiuchi (1984) Most expensive of their category

Limited production Infrequently purchased

Show who you are Provide intrinsic enjoyment and satisfaction

Best functional or stylistic values Often hand made

Unnecessary to life and health Old brands

Rossiter & Percy (1987)

High involvement Conspicuous brand

Social approval Search audience Personal recognition

Happiness Hedonic potential Pleasure

Pantzalis (1996) Setting high prices Status symbol

Exclusivity Uniqueness Selectively Accessible Limited supply Scare for all of others

Aspirational groups Imitation

Dubois & Laurent (1994 & 1996)

Very expensive Elitism

Few people Distinguish Snob

Imitate rich Reveal who you are Refined people

Hedonic motives Life more beautiful For one’s pleasure

Better quality Not mass-produced

To be offered as a gift & usefulness

Dubois & Paternault (1997)

Expensiveness Exclusive clientele Scarcity

Hedonic experience Aesthetic appeal

Extreme quality Craftsmanship

Rituals Usefulness

Wong & Ahuvia (1998)

Conspicuous Wealth & social class Expensive & ostentatious Materialism

Conformity versus distinction

Public appearances Self-concept Personal success Reputation of family

Hedonic value Pleasure experience

Brand manufacturer Country of origin

Gift giving

Dubois, Laurent & Czellar (2001)

Conspicuous Elitist Very high price Differentiate from others

Scarcity Uniqueness

Refined people Reveal who you are Pleasing Few people own

Pleasure Aesthetics and polysensuality Makes life beautiful

Not mass-produced Rather like luxury Excellent quality Good taste

Ancestral heritage and personal history Superfluous and non-functional Makes dream

Kapfere (1998) Belonging to a minority Its price

Exclusiveness Its uniqueness

Knowing that fee have one

Its great creativity Its sensuality Its magic

Craftsman Its quality Beauty of object Excellence of product

Savoir faire and tradition International reputation Long history Grown out of a creative genius Never out of fashion Forefront of fashion

Tervydyte & Jančiauskas (2006)

Conspicuous Elitist Extremely expensive For wealthy

Very exclusive Precious Rare Unique

Leading Very powerful Rewarding Successful

Exquisite Glamorous Stunning

Crafted Luxurious Best quality Sophisticated Superior

Items developed in this study

Very expensive Displaying wealth Displaying social class Conspicuous

Unique Scarcity Distinctive

Because others have Imitation

Aesthetic appeal Fashionable Personal history Making life beautiful Dream

Not mass-produced Excellent quality Functional Perfect service Perfect warranty

49

50

After collecting data, the items analyses were performed, including:

- T-test: measuring the discriminatory power.

- The correlation: the correlation between each score of the item and the

total score of each perceived value.

- Factor analysis: exploring the possible dimensions with each item’s

loading.

- Reliability: using Chronbach’s alpha with a resulting alpha of .70

(Kline, 1998), a relatively high acceptable that indicates that respondents are clear

on the questions and consistent in their responses.

T-test

A T-test was conducted as a separate analysis for measuring the “discriminatory

power” for each item. Hence, compared with the high score group (the highest 25% of

total score) and low score group (the lowest 25% of total score) using a two-tailed,

independent sample t-test, each of the items shows a significant difference (p < .05), and

all t values are from 2.018 to 25.644 (Cohen & Holliday, 1996). In short, it clearly shows

that each item reaches the reasonable discriminatory power. In this case, no item needs to

be discarded.

Table 6 Independent sample t-test

t-test

Italian scooters Japanese scooters Construct Item

t Sig.(2-tailed) t Sig.(2-tailed)

This luxury scooter inevitably is very expensive. -3.607 .001 -2.018 .047 Conspicuous

value

Owning this luxury scooter -12.147 .000 -12.370 .000

51

displays wealth.

Owning this luxury scooter displays social class. -15.224 .000 -16.171 .000

Owning this luxury scooter make you conspicuous. -15.587 .000 -16.257 .000

This luxury scooter is unique. -14.911 .000 -19.802 .000

This luxury scooter is scarcity. -12.714 .000 -17.446 .000 Unique value This luxury scooter is

distinctive. -11.218 .000 -9.938 .000

Because others have this luxury scooter, hence I would like to

own one.

-15.340 .000 -25.644 .000

Social value Seeking to imitate the rich and

stars. -19.039 .000 -19.553 .000

This luxury scooter has aesthetic appeal.

-11.948 .000 -11.316 .000

This luxury scooter is fashionable.

-14.989 .000 -18.210 .000

This luxury scooter has personal history.

-17.981 .000 -13.389 .000

This luxury scooter makes life beautiful.

-17.993 .000 -20.160 .000

Hedonic value

This luxury scooter is your dream..

-8.131 .000 -5.911 .000

This luxury scooter is not mass-produced.

-12.083 .000 -13.946 .000

This luxury scooter has excellent quality.

-9.340 .000 -7.762 .000

This luxury scooter is functional. -12.022 .000 -11.184 .000

This luxury scooter has perfect shopping service.

-11.143 .000 -13.013 .000

Quality value

This luxury scooter has perfect warranty.

-12.137 .000 -8.264 .000

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The correlation

Using the SPSS 13.0, it clearly shows that the correlation between the score of

each item and the whole scale was significant (p < .05).

Table 7 The correlation between the score of each item and the whole scale

Italian scooters Japanese scooters Construct Item

r-value p-value r-value p-value

Luxury scooters inevitably are

very expensive. .242 .001 .237 .001

Owning this luxury scooter

displays wealth. .786 .000 .794 .000

Owning this luxury scooter displays social

class.

.893 .000 .859 .000

Conspicuous value

Owning this luxury scooter

make you conspicuous.

.917 .000 .900 .000

This luxury scooter is unique. .834 .000 .208 .005

This luxury scooter is scarcity.

.813 .000 .186 .012 Unique value

This luxury scooter is

distinctive. .764 .000 .126 .041

Because others have this luxury scooter, hence I

would like to own one.

.899 .000 .925 .000

Social value

Seeking to imitate the rich and stars.

.906 .000 .919 .000

Hedonic value This luxury scooter has

aesthetic appeal.

.833 .000 .774 .000

53

This luxury scooter is

fashionable.

.826 .000 .865 .000

This luxury scooter has

personal history.

.831 .000 .780 .000

This luxury scooter makes life

beautiful.

.833 .000 .848 .000

This luxury scooter is your

dream..

.599 .000 .475 .000

This luxury scooter is not

mass-produced.

.783 .000 .777 .000

This luxury scooter has

excellent quality.

.635 .000 .558 .000

This luxury scooter is

functional.

.734 .000 .731 .000

This luxury scooter has

perfect shopping service.

.719 .000 .738 .000

Quality value

This luxury scooter has

perfect warranty.

.748 .000 .654 .000

Factor analysis

Based on the principal component analyses (PCA) with direct oblimin rotation, of

these 19 items, 2 were eliminated because the one item reflected low loading in the

rotated five constructs (“This luxury scooter is not mass-produced” - MSA value < .05)

and one item formed a factor by itself (“This luxury scooter is too expensive”).

54

Table 8 Factor analysis

Item Conspicuous Unique Social Hedonic Quality

This luxury scooter inevitably is very expensive. .296 .357 -.238 .458 -.037

Owning this luxury scooter displays wealth. .080 .316 .811 .085 -.087

Owning this luxury scooter displays social class. .201 .205 .749 .130 .334

Owning this luxury scooter make you conspicuous. .110 .351 .775 .057 .319

This luxury scooter is unique. .306 .800 .207 .037 .148

This luxury scooter is scarcity. .046 .849 .290 .075 .066

This luxury scooter is distinctive. .146 .659 .159 .135 .045

Because others have this luxury scooter, hence I would like to own one. .272 .150 .109 -.012 .829

Seeking to imitate the rich and stars. .012 .101 .182 -.018 .891

This luxury scooter has aesthetic appeal. .757 -.022 .468 .023 .215

This luxury scooter is fashionable. .724 .055 .460 .257 .194

This luxury scooter has personal history. .677 .449 .020 .068 .248

This luxury scooter makes life beautiful. .724 .287 .258 .282 .217

This luxury scooter is your dream. .656 .204 -.150 -.050 -.081

This luxury scooter is not mass-produced. .193 .512 .181 .290 .350

This luxury scooter has excellent quality. .283 .119 -.141 .783 .246

This luxury scooter is functional. .375 .199 .022 .718 .272

This luxury scooter has perfect shopping service. -.136 .066 .274 .811 -.140

This luxury scooter has perfect warranty. -.141 .007 .327 .706 -.285

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. a Rotation converged in 9 iterations.

There fore the five constructs with 17 items was the final version.

55

The reliability

Reliability checks were carried out to test the inter-item correlations of the

measurement scales. The acceptance level of Cronbach's coefficient alpha should be at

least equal to .7 (Kline, 1998), in order to prove the measurement scales were internally

consistent. The overall Cronbach's alpha of conspicuous, unique, social, hedonic and

quality value towards the Italian luxury scooters and to these values toward Japanese

luxury scooters were over .7. Therefore, all the data collected were reliable.

Table 9 Cronbach’s alpha

Cronbach’s alpha Construct Italian scooters Japanese scooters Conspicuous value .752 .720

Unique value .762 .797 Social value .772 .824

Hedonic value .847 .806 Quality value .773 .725

3.2.3 Variables

In summary, Vietnamese consumers’ brand perception of luxury scooter is

measured through 5 constructs that defined in chapter 2, including conspicuous value,

unique value, social value, hedonic value and quality value. The table below will show

the items are used to measure each variable.

Table 10 Items measuring variables

Construct Item (10-item scale)

Displaying wealth Displaying social class Conspicuous value

Conspicuous Unique Scarcity Unique value

Distinctive Because others have Social value

Imitation

Hedonic value Aesthetic appeal

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Fashionable Personal history

Making life beautiful Pleasure

Excellent quality Functional

Perfect service Quality value

Perfect warranty

3.2.4 Data Analysis

The research is designed to profile the Vietnamese consumers’ luxury scooter

perceptions related to brands. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 13.0 (SPSS)

was used to find out the result for each research question and hypothesis. These methods

are summarized as following.

Table 11 Analysis methods

No. Research question & hypothesis Analysis

method

H1 There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ familiarity of Italian

luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

H2 There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ preference of Italian

luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

H3 There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ consideration of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

T-test

RQ1 What is the difference between the Vietnamese consumers’ brand perception

of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda?

H4 There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ brand perception of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

RQ2 What is the impact of luxury scooter owning status on Vietnamese consumers’

brand perception of luxury scooter?

H5 Vietnamese consumers who own luxury scooter and who do not own luxury

scooter have no difference in brand perception of luxury scooter.

RQ3 What is the impact of luxury scooter buying intention on Vietnamese

consumers’ brand perception of luxury scooter?

H6

Vietnamese consumers who intend to buy luxury scooter and who do not

intend to buy luxury scooter have no difference brand perception of luxury

scooter.

One-way

repeated

measures

ANOVA

57

RQ4 How is the demographic related to Vietnamese consumers’ perception of

luxury scooter?

H7 Vietnamese consumers from different age have no difference in brand

perception of luxury scooter.

H8 Female Vietnamese consumers and male Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in brand perception of luxury scooter.

H9 Vietnamese consumers from different marriage status have no difference in

brand perception of luxury scooter.

H10 Vietnamese consumers who have different family monthly income have no difference brand perception of luxury scooter.

RQ5 How are the 5 perceived values of luxury scooter related to Vietnamese consumers’ buying consideration?

Stepwise

multiple

regression

The general purpose of multiple regression analysis is to analyze the relationship

between a dependent or criterion variable and several independent or predictor variables

(Hair, Anderson, Tatham & Black, 1998; Pedhazur, 1982; Shavelson, 1996). The

advantage of stepwise multiple regression analysis is that it could identify variables that

account for the variance in buying consideration when other variables are held constant.

The most appropriate variables will be selected to enter the regression equation.

58

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS

4.1 Overview of the Statistical Analysis

In order to analyze the data collected for the present study, the SPSS program was

used. The data set contained a total of 180 cases. This chapter consists of three sections.

First, descriptive statistics about the present study respondents are discussed. Second, the

items analysis is performed using T-test, correlation and reliability analysis. Finally, the

research questions and hypotheses are addressed, using T-test, one-way repeated

measures ANOVA and stepwise multiple regression.

4.2 Profile of the sample

All participants used for analysis in the present study were undergraduate students

at Hanoi University, FPT University; and officers in FPT company, Vietnam Panasonic

office and Military bank in Vietnam. One hundred eighty participants produced complete

data for all 2 different luxury scooter brands. General demographic information was

reported by participants. Of the 180 total respondents, 74 (41.1%) were males and 106

(58.9%) were females. Most of them were single (89.4%), and the remainder were

married (10.6%). Most of respondents’ age ranged from 18 to 40, just 3.3% over 40 years

old. However, nearly a half (48.9%) of respondents were in the 24-27 age group. More

than half of them came from four-member family, which is considered as the family

model in Vietnam, including parents and 2 children. In terms of family monthly income,

it could be said that most participants not come from poor family. Most of their family

had total income ranging from 6 to 20 million VND, even over 20 million VND per

month (just 3.9% of participants had family income below 6 million VND per month),

59

compared to GDP per capita: 13.4 million in 2007 (Industrial Policies and Strategies

Institute, 2008).

Table 12 Demographic of the participants

Frequency Valid Percent Gender

Males 74 41.1 Females 106 58.9 Total 180 100

Age 18 - 23 53 29.4 24 - 27 88 48.9 27 - 35 26 14.4 35 - 40 7 3.9 > 40 6 3.3 Total 180 100

Marriage status Single 161 89.4 Married 19 10.6 Others 0 0 Total 180 100

Family size > 6 15 8.3 6 11 6.1 5 37 20.6 4 99 55.0 < 4 18 10.0 Total 180 100

Family monthly income < 6 million VND (375 USD)* 7 3.9 6 - 10 million VND (375-625 USD)* 43 23.9 10 - 14 million VND (625-875 USD)* 53 29.4 14 - 20 million VND (875-1,250USD)* 46 25.6 > 20 million VND (1,250 USD)* 31 17.2 Total 180 100

* Exchange rate: 1 USD = 16,000 VND

In the survey, participants were asked how familiar they were with the Italian

luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda. To make sure that they are

potential customers of, and could establish relationships with these two brands, the

participant should be at least somewhat familiar with the brands.

The results showed that 47.2% and 63.9% of participants were familiar with both

of brand Piaggio and Honda, respectively. Only 0.6% and 1.1% of them were very

unfamiliar with brand Piaggio and brand Honda, respectively.

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Participants were also asked whether they like the brands or not, and the results

were accepted with 45.6% and 18.9% of them strongly liked brand Piaggio and brand

Honda respectively.

In terms of buying consideration these luxury scooter in the near future, 40.6% of

them were strongly agree that they would consider brand Piaggio, and this proportion for

brand Honda is 32.2%. Just few of them did not consider these brands (3.9% for both of

two brands) if they would like to buy luxury scooter.

Participants were also asked whether they or their family owned a luxury scooter

or not. Among those who owning luxury scooters, Piaggio (54.1%) and Honda (33.8%)

were the most popular luxury scooter brands they owned (Table 13).

Table 13 Owning brand

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Valid Honda 40 22.2 54.1 Piaggio 25 13.9 33.8 Yamaha 5 2.8 6.8 Suzuki 2 1.1 2.7 Others 2 1.1 2.7 Total 74 41.1 100.0 Missing System 106 58.9

Total 180 100.0

Finally, in term of buying intention, only 32.2% of participants intended to buy a

luxury scooter in the near future, the rest had no intention.

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4.3 Results summaries

H1: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ familiarity of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

A paired samples t-test was conducted to analyze which of the two brands was

more familiar. Results indicated that there was a significant higher familiarity in Japanese

luxury scooter Honda (M = 9.03, SD = 1.772) than in Italian luxury scooter Piaggio (M =

8.49, SD = 1.959), t(179) = -3.651, p < .0005. Hypothesis 1 was rejected.

H2: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ preference of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

A paired samples t-test was conducted to analyze which of the two brands was

more preferable. Results indicated that there was a significant higher preference in Italian

luxury scooter Piaggio (M = 8.31, SD = 2.112) than in Japanese luxury scooter Honda (M

= 7.48, SD = 1.996), t(179) = 4.786, p < .0005. Hypothesis 2 was rejected.

H3: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ consideration of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

A paired samples t-test was conducted to analyze which of the two brands was

considered more by Vietnamese. Results indicated that there was no significant difference

in consideration between Italian luxury scooter Piaggio (M = 7.73, SD = 2.571) and

Japanese luxury scooter Honda (M = 7.51, SD = 2.398), t(179) = 0.988, p = .325.

Hypothesis 3 was failed to be rejected.

RQ1: What is the difference between the Vietnamese consumers’ brand

perception of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda?

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H4: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ brand perception of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

According to the means of all the items (Table 13), it could be said that most of

participants agreed that luxury scooters can bring both external and internal values to

owners. Because the perception of luxury scooter was measured through 5 perceived

values, including conspicuous, unique, social, hedonic and quality value, a set of one-way

repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to compare total scores on each value with

statistics test for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda as

following.

H4a: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ conspicuous value of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

Conspicuous value of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter

Honda versus conspicuous value of Japanese luxury scooter Honda were significantly

different from each other, Wilks’ Lambda = .893, F(1,179) = 21.551, p < .0005,

multivariate eta squared = .107. Hypothesis 4a was rejected.

Moreover, for conspicuous value, the mean score of Piaggio brand (M = 23.23,

SD = 5.052) was higher than that of Honda brand (M = 21.24, SD = 4.918). This result

shows that in general, participants perceived conspicuous value from Italian luxury

scooter Piaggio higher than from Japanese luxury scooter Honda, for most of the values:

“displaying wealth”, “displaying social class” and “conspicuous” (Table 14).

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H4b: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ unique value of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

Unique value of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda

versus unique value of Japanese luxury scooter Honda were not significantly different

from each other, Wilks’ Lambda = .999, F(1,179) = .137, p = .712, multivariate eta

squared = .001. Hypothesis 4b was failed to be rejected.

However, participants somewhat rated the uniqueness and scarcity of Italian

luxury scooter Piaggio were higher than those of Japanese luxury scooter Honda, while

they rated the distinctiveness of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio were lower than those of

Japanese luxury scooter Honda (Table 14).

H4c: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ social value of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

Social value of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda

versus social value of Japanese luxury scooter Honda were not significantly different

from each other, Wilks’ Lambda = .984, F(1,179) = 2.632, p = .106, multivariate eta

squared = .014. Hypothesis 4c was failed to be rejected.

However, participants somewhat rated for all items of social value of Italian

luxury scooter Piaggio were higher than those of Japanese luxury scooter Honda

(insignificant) (Table 14).

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H4d: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ hedonic value of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

Hedonic value of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter

Honda versus hedonic value of Japanese luxury scooter Honda were significantly

different from each other, Wilks’ Lambda = 0.853, F(1,179) = 30.874, p < .0005,

multivariate eta squared = .147. Hypothesis 4d was rejected.

Moreover, for hedonic value, the mean score of Piaggio brand (M = 40.51, SD =

7.037) was higher than that of Honda brand (M = 36.88, SD = 7.190). This result shows

that in general, participants perceived hedonic value from Italian luxury scooter Piaggio

higher than from Japanese luxury scooter Honda, for all the values: “aesthesis appeal”,

“fashionable”, “personal history”, “make life beautiful” and “dream” (Table 14).

H4e: There is no difference between Vietnamese consumers’ quality value of

Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

Quality value of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda

versus quality value of Japanese luxury scooter Honda were significantly different from

each other, Wilks’ Lambda = .946, F(1,179) = 10.276, p = .002, multivariate eta

squared = 0.052. Hypothesis 4e was rejected.

Moreover, for quality value, the mean score of Piaggio brand (M = 28.72, SD =

5.926) was lower than that of Honda brand (M = 29.77, SD = 5.261). This result shows

that in general, participants perceived quality value from Italian luxury scooter Piaggio

lower than from Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

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Furthermore, participants somewhat commented that Japanese luxury scooter

Honda was more “not mass-produced”, “excellent quality” and functional than Italian

luxury scooter Piaggio, while they commented Italian luxury scooter Piaggio had more

perfect service and warranty than those of Japanese luxury scooter Honda (Table 14).

Table 14 Mean values summarized

Italian brand Japanese brand Perceived values M SD M SD Conspicuous value

Displaying wealth 8.43 1.797 7.35 1.866 Displaying social

status 7.18 2.080

6.8 1.990 Conspicuous 7.62 1.879 7.09 1.801

Unique value Unique 7.63 2.061 7.32 1.605 Scarcity 6.38 2.174 6.22 1.659

Distinctive 8.39 1.829 8.71 .912 Social value

Because others have it 5.78 2.312 5.39 2.367 Imitate 5.04 2.387 4.85 2.281

Aethetics value Aesthetic appeal 8.17 1.866 7.56 1.841

Fashionable 8.19 1.744 7.41 1.914 Personal history 7.88 1.850 6.87 1.963

Making life beautiful 7.41 2.134 6.97 1.993 Dream 8.86 1.215 8.07 1.870

Quality value Excellent quality 7.72 1.659 8.41 1.417

Functional 7.08 2.152 7.89 1.790 Perfect service 7.00 1.983 6.81 1.999

Perfect warranty 6.92 1.933 6.67 1.852

Inconclusion, Vietnamese consumers’ brand perception about luxury scooters is

different in conspicuous, hedonic, and quality value and not different in unique and social

value between Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and Japanese luxury scooter Honda.

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RQ2: What is the impact of luxury scooter owning status on Vietnamese

consumers’ brand perception of luxury scooter?

H5: Vietnamese consumers who own luxury scooter and who do not own luxury

scooter have no difference in brand perception of luxury scooter.

A set repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the impacts of

owning luxury scooter status to each of five values of luxury scooter. Two dependent

variables were used: total score of each value of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and total

score of each perceived value of Japanese luxury scooter Honda. The independent

variable was “owning status”. Effect sizes were calculated as Cohen’s d. Statistical

significance was set at p = .05.

H5a: Vietnamese consumers who own luxury scooter and who do not own luxury

scooter have no difference conspicuous value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between participants who owned

luxury scooter and who did not own luxury scooter in conspicuous value, p = .066.

Hypothesis 5a was failed to be rejected. Participants were not affected by owning status

on perceiving conspicuous value from luxury scooter.

H5b: Vietnamese consumers who own luxury scooter and who do not own luxury

scooter have no difference in unique value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between participants who owned

luxury scooter and who did not own luxury scooter in unique value, p = .138. Hypothesis

5b was failed to be rejected. Participants were not affected by owning status on

perceiving unique value from luxury scooter.

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H5c: Vietnamese consumers who own luxury scooter and who do not own luxury

scooter have no difference in social value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between participants who owned

luxury scooter and who did not own luxury scooter in social value, p = .897. Hypothesis

5c was failed to be rejected. Participants were not affected by owning status on perceiving

social value from luxury scooter.

H5d: Vietnamese consumers who own luxury scooter and who do not own luxury

scooter have no difference in hedonic value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between participants who owned

luxury scooter and who did not own luxury scooter in hedonic value, p = .192. Hypothesis

5d was failed to be rejected. Participants were not affected by owning status on

perceiving hedonic value from luxury scooter.

H5e: Vietnamese consumers who own luxury scooter and who do not own luxury

scooter have no difference in quality value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between participants who owned

luxury scooter and who did not own luxury scooter in quality value, p = .108. Hypothesis

5e was failed to be rejected. Participants were not affected by owning status on perceiving

quality value from luxury scooter.

In conclusion, Vietnamese consumers who own luxury scooter and who do not

own luxury scooter have no difference in brand perception of luxury scooter.

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RQ3: What is the impact of luxury scooter buying intention on Vietnamese

consumers’ brand perception of luxury scooter?

H6: Vietnamese consumers who intend to buy luxury scooter and who do not

intend to buy luxury scooter have no difference brand perception of luxury scooter.

A set repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the impact of

owning luxury scooter status to each of five values of luxury scooter. Two dependent

variables were used: total score of each perceived value of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio

and total score of each perceived value of Japanese luxury scooter Honda. The

independent variable was “buying intention”. Effect sizes were calculated as Cohen’s d.

Statistical significance was set at p = .05.

H6a: Vietnamese consumers who intend to buy luxury scooter and who do not

intend to buy luxury scooter have no difference in conspicuous value of luxury scooter.

There was a statistically significant difference between participants who intended

to buy luxury scooter and who did not intend to buy luxury scooter in conspicuous value,

p < .0005. Hypothesis 6a was rejected. Participants were affected by buying intention on

perceiving conspicuous value from luxury scooter. Participants who intended to buy

luxury scooters (M = 24.93, SD = 4.065 for brand Piaggio, M = 22.62, SD = 4.830 for

brand Honda) in the near future have higher perceived conspicuous value than who did

not (M = 22.43, SD = 5.285 for brand Piaggio, M = 20.58, SD = 4.841 for brand Honda).

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H6b: Vietnamese consumers who intend to buy luxury scooter and who do not

intend to buy luxury scooter have no difference in unique value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between participants who

intended to buy luxury scooter and who did not intend to buy luxury scooter in unique

value, p = .097. Hypothesis 6b was failed to be rejected. Participants were not affected by

buying intention on perceiving unique value from luxury scooter.

H6c: Vietnamese consumers who intend to buy luxury scooter and who do not

intend to buy luxury scooter have no difference in social value of luxury scooter.

There was a statistically significant difference between participants who intended

to buy luxury scooter and who did not intend to buy luxury scooter in social value,

p = .020. Hypothesis 6c was rejected. Participants were affected by buying intention on

perceiving social value from luxury scooter. Participants who intended to buy luxury

scooters (M = 12.28, SD = 4.420 for brand Piaggio, M = 11.19, SD = 43.855 for brand

Honda) in the near future have higher perceived social value than who did not (M = 10.13,

SD = 3.987 for brand Piaggio, M = 9.80, SD = 4.420 for brand Honda).

H6d: Vietnamese consumers who intend to buy luxury scooter and who do not

intend to buy luxury scooter have no difference in hedonic value of luxury scooter.

There was a statistically significant difference between participants who intended

to buy luxury scooter and who did not intend to buy luxury scooter in hedonic value,

p < .0005. Hypothesis 6d was rejected. Participants were affected by buying intention on

perceiving hedonic value from luxury scooter. Participants who intended to buy luxury

scooters (M = 43.26, SD = 6.231 for brand Piaggio, M = 38.66, SD = 6.334 for brand

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Honda) in the near future have higher perceived hedonic value than who did not (M =

39.20, SD = 7.043 for brand Piaggio, M = 36.04, SD = 7.441 for brand Honda).

H6e: Vietnamese consumers who intend to buy luxury scooter and who do not

intend to buy luxury scooter have no difference in quality value of luxury scooter.

There was a statistically significant difference between participants who intended

to buy luxury scooter and who did not intend to buy luxury scooter in quality value,

p = .001. Hypothesis 6e was rejected. Participants were affected by buying intention on

perceiving quality value from luxury scooter. Participants who intended to buy luxury

scooters (M = 31.47, SD = 6.108 for brand Piaggio, M = 30.66, SD = 5.875 for brand

Honda) in the near future have higher perceived quality value than who did not

(M = 27.41, SD = 5.389 for brand Piaggio, M = 29.35, SD = 49.12 for brand Honda).

In summary, within 5 perceived values from luxury scooters of Vietnamese

consumers, buying intention has impact on conspicuous, social, hedonic, and quality

value and has not impact on unique value.

RQ4: How is the demographic related to Vietnamese consumers’ perception of

luxury scooter?

H7: Vietnamese consumers from different age have no difference in brand

perception of luxury scooter.

According to frequency of age, a subset of sample was selected (only groups 18 -

23, 24 - 27, 28 - 35) for the analyses.

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Table 15 Age frequency

Age Frequency Percent 18 - 23 53 29.4 24 - 27 88 48.9 28 - 35 26 14.4 35 - 40 7 3.9

>40 6 3.3 Total 180 100.0

A set of repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the impact of age

to each of five values of luxury scooter. Two dependent variables were used: total score

of each value of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and total score of each value of Japanese

luxury scooter Honda. The independent variable was “age”. Effect sizes were calculated

as Cohen’s d. Statistical significance was set at p = .05.

H7a: Vietnamese consumers from different age have no difference in conspicuous

value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between participants from

different age group in conspicuous value, p = .339. Hypothesis 7a was failed to be

rejected. Participants were not affected by age on perceiving conspicuous value from

luxury scooter.

In detail, participants from all age group somewhat perceived conspicuous value

from Italian luxury scooter Piaggio higher (significant, Wilks’ Lamda = .928, p < .0005)

than that from Japanese luxury scooter Honda. Participants ranging from 24 to 27 years

old likely perceived conspicuous value the lowest (insignificant).

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H7b: Vietnamese consumers from different age have no difference in unique value

of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between participants from

different age group in unique value, p = .907. Hypothesis 7b was failed to be rejected.

Participants were not affected by age on perceiving unique value from luxury scooter.

In detail, group 18 - 23 year-old participants somewhat perceived unique value

from Italian luxury scooter Piaggio higher (insignificant) than group 28 - 35 year-old

participants perceived; while group 28 - 35 year-old participants somewhat perceived

unique value from Japanese luxury scooter Honda higher (insignificant) than group 18 -

23 year-old participants did.

H7c: Vietnamese consumers from different age have no difference in social value

of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between participants from

different age group in social value, p = .166. Hypothesis 7c was failed to be rejected.

Participants were not affected by age on perceiving social value from luxury scooter.

H7d: Vietnamese consumers from different age have no difference in hedonic

value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between participants from

different age group in hedonic value, p = .163. Hypothesis 7d was failed to be rejected.

Participants were not affected by age on perceiving hedonic value from luxury scooter.

Somewhat, the participants perceived hedonic value from Italian luxury scooter

Piaggio higher than that from Japanese luxury scooter Honda (Wilks’ Lambda = .910,

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p < .0005), especially in group 24 - 17 year-old participants (insignificant, M = 40.36, SD

= 6.779 for brand Piaggio and M = 35.30, SD = 6.744 for brand Honda).

H7e: Vietnamese consumers from different age have no difference in quality value

of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between participants from

different age group in quality value, p = .217. Hypothesis 7e was failed to be rejected.

Participants were not affected by age on perceiving quality value from luxury scooter.

In summary, Vietnamese consumers are not affected by age on brand perception

of luxury scooter.

H8: Female Vietnamese consumers and male Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in brand perception of luxury scooter.

A set of repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the impact of

gender to each of five values of luxury scooter. Two dependent variables were used: total

score of each value of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and total score of each value of

Japanese luxury scooter Honda. The independent variable was “gender”. Effect sizes were

calculated as Cohen’s d. Statistical significance was set at p = .05.

There was no violation for all the measures as summarized in table 19. Box’s test

of the equality of covariance matrices with no value was below .001 Levene’s test for

homeogeneity of variance across groups with all values were over .005.

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H8a: Female Vietnamese consumers and male Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in conspicuous value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between participants female and

male participants in conspicuous value, p = .403. Hypothesis 8a was failed to be rejected.

Participants were not affected by gender on perceiving conspicuous value from luxury

scooter.

However, both of female and male participants somewhat perceived conspicuous

value from Italian luxury scooter Piaggio higher than that from Japanese luxury scooter

Honda (significant, Wilks’ Lambda = 0.884, p < .0005).

H8b: Female Vietnamese consumers and male Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in unique value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between female and male

participants in unique value, p = .051. Hypothesis 8b was failed to be rejected.

Participants were not affected by gender on perceiving unique value from luxury scooter.

However, female participants somewhat perceived unique value from Italian

luxury scooter Piaggio higher (insignificant) than that from Japanese luxury scooter

Honda; while male participants perceived unique value from Japanese luxury scooter

Honda higher (insignificant) than that from Italian luxury scooter Piaggio.

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H8c: Female Vietnamese consumers and male Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in social value of luxury scooter.

There was a statistically significant difference between female and male

participants who in social value, p = .024. Hypothesis 8c was rejected. Participants were

affected by gender on perceiving social value from luxury scooter.

H8d: Female Vietnamese consumers and male Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in hedonic value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between female and male

participants in hedonic value, p = .453. Hypothesis 8d was failed to be rejected.

Participants were not affected by gender on perceiving hedonic value from luxury scooter.

H8e: Female Vietnamese consumers and male Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in quality value of luxury scooter.

There was a statistically significant difference between female and male

participants who in quality value, p = .0010. Hypothesis 8e was rejected. Participants

were affected by gender on perceiving quality value from luxury scooter.

In detail, both of female and male participants perceived quality value from

Japanese luxury scooter Honda higher (significant, Wilks’ Lambda = .934, p < .0005) than

that from Italian luxury scooter Piaggio. Female participants perceived quality value from

luxury scooter lower than male participants did.

In summary, within five perceived values from luxury scooters of Vietnamese

consumers, gender has impact on social and quality value and has not impact on

conspicuous, unique, and hedonic value.

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H9: Vietnamese consumers from different marriage status have no difference in

brand perception of luxury scooter.

According to frequency of marriage status, a subset of sample was selected (only

single and married) for the analyses.

Table 16 Marriage status frequency

Marriage status Frequency Percent Single 161 89.4

Married 19 10.6 Total 180 100.0

A set of repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the impact of

marriage status to each of five values of luxury scooter. Two dependent variables were

used: total score of each value of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and total score of each

value of Japanese luxury scooter Honda. The independent variable was “marriage status”.

Effect sizes were calculated as Cohen’s d. Statistical significance was set at p = .05.

H9a: Single Vietnamese consumers and married Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in conspicuous value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between single and married

participants in conspicuous value, p = .494. Hypothesis 9a was failed to be rejected.

Participants were not affected by marriage status on perceiving conspicuous value from

luxury scooter.

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H9b: Single Vietnamese consumers and married Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in unique value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between single and married

participants in unique value, p = .552. Hypothesis 9a was failed to be rejected.

Participants were not affected by marriage status on perceiving unique value from luxury

scooter.

H9c: Single Vietnamese consumers and married Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in social value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between single and married

participants in social value, p = .227. Hypothesis 9c was failed to be rejected. Participants

were not affected by marriage status on perceiving social value from luxury scooter.

H9d: Single Vietnamese consumers and married Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in hedonic value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between single and married

participants in hedonic value, p = .887. Hypothesis 9d was failed to be rejected. Participants

were not affected by marriage status on perceiving hedonic value from luxury scooter.

H9e: Single Vietnamese consumers and married Vietnamese consumers have no

difference in quality value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference between single and married

participants in quality value, p = .610. Hypothesis 9e was failed to be rejected. Participants

were not affected by marriage status on perceiving quality value from luxury scooter.

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In summary, participants were not affected by marriage status on brand perception

of luxury scooter.

H10: Vietnamese consumers who have different family monthly income have no

difference brand perception of luxury scooter.

According to frequency of family monthly income, a subset of sample was

selected (except < 6 million VND) for the analyses.

Table 17 Family monthly income frequency

Family monthly income Frequency Percent <6 7 3.9

6 – 10 43 23.9 10 – 14 53 29.4 14 – 20 46 25.6

>20 31 17.2 Total 180 100.0

A set of repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to compare the impact of

family monthly income to each of five values of luxury scooter. Two dependent variables

were used: total score of each value of Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and total score of

each value of Japanese luxury scooter Honda. The independent variable was “family

monthly income”. Effect sizes were calculated as Cohen’s d. Statistical significance was

set at p = .05.

H10a: Vietnamese consumers who have different family monthly income have no

difference in conspicuous value of luxury scooter.

There was a statistically significant difference among participants who had

different family monthly income in conspicuous value, p = .010. Hypothesis 10a was

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rejected. Participants were affected by family monthly income on perceiving conspicuous

value from luxury scooter.

Multiple comparison showed that participants who have family monthly income

from 14 to 20 million VND perceived the highest conspicuous value from luxury scooter

(M = 24.37, SD = 40.46 for brand Piaggio, M = 22.78, SD = 46.42 for brand Honda);

while participants who have family monthly income from 6 to 10 million VND perceived

the lowest conspicuous value from luxury scooter (M = 22.14, SD = 5.780 for brand

Piaggio, M = 19.56, SD = 42.44 for brand Honda). The difference was significant at

the .05 level (Table 18).

Table 18 Multiple comparison for conspicuous value

H10b: Vietnamese consumers who have different family monthly income have no

difference in unique value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference among participants who had

different family monthly income in unique value, p = .228. Hypothesis 10b was failed to

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be rejected. Participants were not affected by family monthly income on perceiving

unique value from luxury scooter.

H10c: Vietnamese consumers who have different family monthly income have no

difference in social value of luxury scooter.

There was no statistically significant difference among participants who had

different family monthly income in social value, p = .467. Hypothesis 10c was failed to

be rejected. Participants were not affected by family monthly income on perceiving social

value from luxury scooter.

H10d: Vietnamese consumers who have different family monthly income have no

difference in hedonic value of luxury scooter.

There was a statistically significant difference among participants who had

different family monthly income in hedonic value, p < .0005. Hypothesis 10d was

rejected. Participants were affected by family monthly income on perceiving hedonic

value from luxury scooter.

In detail, participants who have family monthly income over 20 million VND

perceived the highest hedonic value from luxury scooter (M = 42.81, SD = 6.052 for

brand Piaggio, M = 40.29, SD = 6.689 for brand Honda); while participants who have

family monthly income from 6 to 10 million VND perceived the lowest hedonic value

from luxury scooter (M = 38.44, SD = 7.059 for brand Piaggio, M = 34.49, SD = 6.112 for

brand Honda).

Furthermore, table 25 showed that people with the income above 14 million VND

thought significantly differently from the one with the income below 14 million VND.

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There were significant differences between participants who had family monthly income

from 6 to 10 million VND and 14 to 20 million VND (p = .003), from 6 to 10 million

VND and over 20 million VND (p < .0005), from 10 to 14 million VND and from 14 to

20 million VND (p = .026), and from 10 to 14 million VND and over 20 million VND

(p = .004) in perceiving hedonic value from luxury scooters.

Table 19 Multiple comparison for hedonic value

H10e: Vietnamese consumers who have different family monthly income have no

difference in quality value of luxury scooter.

There was a statistically significant difference among participants who had

different family monthly income in quality value, p < .0005. Hypothesis 10e was rejected.

Participants were affected by family monthly income on perceiving quality value from

luxury scooter.

In detail, participants who have family monthly income over 20 million VND

perceived the highest quality value from luxury scooter (M = 32.55, SD = 6.303 for brand

Piaggio, M = 32.55, SD = 6.347 for brand Honda); while participants who have family

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monthly income from 6 to 10 million VND perceived the lowest quality value from

luxury scooter (M = 26.23, SD = 6.019 for brand Piaggio, M = 26.53, SD = 5.234 for

brand Honda).

Furthermore, there were significant differences between participants for the

following family monthly income group in perceiving quality value from luxury scooters:

6 to 10 million VND and 10 to 14 million VND (p = .012), 6 to 10 million VND and 14

to 20 million VND (p < .0005), 6 to 10 million VND and over 20 million VND

(p < .0005), and 10 to 14 million VND and over 20 million VND (p = .017).

Table 20 Multiple comparision for quality value

In conclusion, within 5 perceived values from luxury scooters of Vietnamese

consumers, family monthly income has impact on conspicuous, hedonic, and quality

value and has not impact on unique and social value.

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RQ5: How are the 5 perceived values of luxury scooter related to Vietnamese

consumers’ buying consideration?

The aim of this part is to examine whether Vietnamese consumers’ brand

perception of luxury scooter, including 5 perceived values of each brand are related to

their buying consideration or not. In order to investigate these relationships, stepwise

multiple regression analyses were applied at the .05 level of significance. Separate

stepwise regression was conducted for both brands, Italian luxury scooter Piaggio and

Japanese luxury scooter Honda. The criterion variable used for the stepwise multiple

regression model was buying consideration of each brand. The predictors were

conspicuous, unique, social, hedonic, and quality value of each brand.

RQ5a: How are the 5 perceived values of luxury scooter related to Italian

luxury scooter Piaggio buying consideration?

Firstly, the cross correlation among 5 values and buying consideration of Italian

luxury scooter Piaggio was examined. Hedonic value had the largest correlation with the

buying consideration, r = .417, p < .0005 (Table 21). Therefore, hedonic value was used

to predict buying consideration in the first step. The other values were excluded from

model 1.

Because the predictor variable conspicuous value had the second largest partial

correlation, r = .402, p < .0005 (Table 27) and the observed significance level associated

with conspicuous value was significant (p = .014) (Table 22), the second predictor

variable would entered into the equation was conspicuous value. About 19.8% (Adjusted

R Square) of the variation in the criterion variable buying consideration can be explained

by the regression model with two predictors, hedonic and conspicuous value (Table 23).

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It also means that 80.2% of the variance in Italian luxury scooter buying consideration

was being accounted for by something other than the variables included in this study.

The next step of the stepwise regression in which two predictors, hedonic and

conspicuous value, was used to predict buying consideration and the other predictor

variables excluded from model 2. Because the observed significance level associated with

unique, social, and quality value were .870, .434, and .419 respectively (Table 22), which

is too large for entry (p > .05). They were not included. Besides, no variable met the

removal criterion (Table 24).

The regression model with two predictors (hedonic and conspicuous value) was

significantly related to the criterion variable buying consideration, F(3,176) = 22.232, p

< .0005 (Table 25).

In conclusion, the best regression equation will be the equation that contains two

predictor variables, hedonic and conspicuous quality value. Regression equation in

obtained scores (Table 26):

“Italian luxury scooters buying consideration = .098 Hedonic value + .113 Conspicuous value + 1.125”

The variable accounting for the most variance was hedonic value, followed by

conspicuous value. All of the values had positive relationship with Italian luxury scooters

buying consideration.

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Table 21: Correlation matrix for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio buying

consideration

Table 22: Excluded variables for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio buying

consideration

Table 23: Model summary for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio buying consideration

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Table 24: Variable entered/removed for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio buying

consideration

Table 25: ANOVA for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio buying consideration

Table 26: Coefficients for Italian luxury scooter Piaggio buying consideration

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RQ5b: How are the 5 perceived values of luxury scooter related to Japanese

luxury scooter Honda buying consideration?

Firstly, the cross correlation among 5 values and buying consideration of Japanese

luxury scooter Honda was examined. Hedonic value had the largest correlation with the

buying consideration, r = .470, p < .0005 (Table 21). Therefore, hedonic value was used

to predict buying consideration in the first step. The other values were excluded from

model 1.

Because the predictor variable conspicuous value had the second largest partial

correlation, r = .402, p < .0005 (Table 27) and the observed significance level associated

with conspicuous value was significant (p = .008) (Table 28), the second predictor

variable would entered into the equation was conspicuous value. About 24.3% (Adjusted

R Square) of the variation in the criterion variable buying consideration can be explained

by the regression model with two predictors, hedonic and conspicuous value (Table 29).

It also means that 75.7% of the variance in Italian luxury scooter buying consideration

was being accounted for by something other than the variables included in this study.

The next step of the stepwise regression in which two predictors, hedonic and

conspicuous value, was used to predict buying consideration and the other predictor

variables excluded from model 2. Because the observed significance level associated with

unique, social, and quality value were .164, .473, and .058 respectively (Table 28), which

is too large for entry (p > .05). They were not included. Besides, no variable met the

removal criterion (Table 30).

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The regression model with two predictors (hedonic and conspicuous value) was

significantly related to the criterion variable buying consideration, F(3,176) = 29.758, p

< .0005 (Table 31).

In conclusion, the best regression equation will be the equation that contains two

predictor variables, hedonic and conspicuous quality value. Regression equation in

obtained scores (Table 32):

“Japanese luxury scooters buying consideration = .119 Hedonic value + .101 Conspicuous value + .969”

The variable accounting for the most variance was hedonic value, followed by

conspicuous value. All of the values had positive relationship with Italian luxury scooters

buying consideration.

Table 27: Correlation matrix for Japanese luxury scooter Honda buying

consideration

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Table 28: Excluded variables for Japanese luxury scooter Honda buying

consideration

Table 29: Model summary for Japanese luxury scooter Honda buying

consideration

Table 30: Variable entered/removed for Japanese luxury scooter Honda buying

consideration

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Table 31: ANOVA for Japanese luxury scooter Honda buying consideration

Table 32: Coefficients for Japanese luxury scooter Honda buying consideration

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CHAPTER5 DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

This study brings out several interesting results, either from a conceptual or an

operational perspective that are outlined in the following sections.

5.1 Review of the Present study

The main purpose of this study was to investigate Vietnamese consumers’

perception about luxury scooter brands, compared between Italian luxury scooter Piaggio

and Japanese luxury scooter Honda. Most of participants in the study were familiar with

and like these two luxury scooter brands. However, Italian brand was more preferred

while Japanese brand was more familiar. After the first part of the field work, it could be

concluded that the perception of luxury scooters significantly different from different

brands, especially approaching conspicuous and hedonic value. Italian brand was

considered higher in both values than Japanese brand. In term of conspicuous value, there

was a interesting results, that even Italian brand was considered lower price than Japanese

brands, participants still thought that Italian brand could help them display wealth, social

status and conspicuousness more than Japanese brand could do. This result supports for

idea that the more expensive product does not automatically assume a luxury identity

(Seringhaus, 2002).

Additionally, brand perception of luxury scooters heavily depends on buying

intention, gender, and family monthly income levels. Participants who intended to buy a

luxury scooter in the near future considered conspicuous, social, hedonic, and quality

value significantly higher than who did not intend to buy. It is so natural, because

consumers before using a big amount of money to buy a luxury scooter might think

carefully and consider which value of this product they could perceive.

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The participants in 14-20 million VND family monthly income group see luxury

scooter brands differently than richer individuals, who can afford much more. They

considered conspicuous value of luxury scooter brands significantly higher than other

income-group consumers, because luxury scooter brands could help them displaying

social status and wealth. In contrast, the wealthier consumers who had family monthly

income over 20 million VND considered hedonic value and quality value significantly

higher than others. The richer consumers were, the more they cared about fashion,

aesthetics, personal history of brands, and other features that could make their life more

beautiful. They cared less about imitating others.

Considering the attributes attached to luxury scooters, a significant difference

between genders also was noticed. While females tended to focus on social value, such as

seeking to imitate the stars or the riches, males perceived more quality value form luxury

scooters, considered luxury scooters to be not mass-produced, excellent quality,

functional, and perfect service and warranty. Naturally, males could have more

knowledge about technology, something related to quality than females; while females

could read more magazines and watch more televisions, so they are more impressed about

style of movies stars.

On the other hand, the results of this study suggested that luxury scooter status,

marriage status, and age had no effect on participants’ brand perception of luxury scooters.

Finally, the impacts of luxury scooter brands to Vietnamese consumers’ buying

consideration were divided into two models according to brands. The values that the best

predicted buying consideration for both Italian brand and Japanese brand were hedonic

and conspicuous value. When these two variables are taken into account, the others

variables, unique, social, and quality value, are no longer significant factors.

93

For both country of origin, hedonic and conspicuous value had positive

contribution to prediction of buying consideration. It means that Vietnamese consumers

could consider country of origin more when making buying decision because they could

perceive more these values such as displaying social and weathy status, fashion,

aesthetics, and so on. They think about hedonic value more than conspicuous value of

luxury scooters.

5.2. Implications

The luxury brands industry is unique and different from other industries. In order

to succeed, it is important for marketers to understand their target market and how their

customers evaluate products and make buying decisions. From this study, a vehicle

company can stimulate consumer purchase behavior of its luxury scooters through careful

management of its marketing communication mix by addressing specific factors and

dimensions relevant for modern Vietnamese. The five perceived values of luxury scooters

can be used as guidelines for salesmen to sell successfully scooters to customers in

Vietnam. They can indicate the key selling points of luxury scooters relevant for

consumers.

In addition, this study can help managers to understand that luxury scooters

possess certain dimensions and attributes of high relevance to consumers that differentiate

them from standard or non-luxury scooters, and from different luxury scooter brands. The

study reveals that despite some differences in Italian luxury scooter and Japanese luxury

scooter brand perception, consumers have a conspicuous approach for luxury scooter

brand derived from very high price, conspicuous and displaying wealth and social status;

and hedonic approach derived from aesthetic appeal, fashionable, personal history, make

life beautiful and dream. Therefore, any marketing communication mix should emphasize

94

these aspects. By examining these differences managers of each company can create a

more valued image of their luxury scooters that could enhance their competitive positions

versus their competitors.

Besides, sales, after-sales and warranty service derived from quality value are also

essential. Personalized contacts, customized gifts, selected invitations can do more to

reassure occasional buyers than offering rebates or special purchase terms. Moreover, as

consumers expect to have a unique value when purchasing a luxury brand scooter, it is

recommended that companies get organized to fight the spreading of fake luxury scooters

on the market, such as fake luxury scooters come from China. Such practices harm luxury

scooter industry through low quality level, low prices and rendering common place of

luxury scooters.

In term of familiarity with brands, lots of Japanese motorcycle companies such as

Honda have successfully launched their luxury scooter brands within the Vietnam market.

Results of this study indicate that a majority of the Vietnamese consumers got more

familiarity with Japanese luxury scooter brands than Italian ones. It is an advantage of

Japanese brands. However, consumers thought that Japanese brands gave them

conspicuous and hedonic value less than Italian brands, even most of Honda luxury

scooters have higher price than Italian ones. These two values also contribute mainly in

buying consideration of the customers. Hence, for Japanese companies, they could

provide promotion in improve the image of brand in aesthetics and heritage features, and

then bring more hedonic value to consumers. The advantage of Japanese technology

could be shown to increase the competitiveness in the market.

Participants in this study also considered service and warranty policy of Japanese

brands was not perfect enough, compared to Italian brands. The results suggest that the

95

show-rooms or retail companies of Japanese luxury scooters could do more research on

the improvement of service policy. The competition in service and warranty policy could

successfully earn consumers’ loyalty. Besides, the quality and function of Italian luxury

scooters were considered less than of Japanese luxury scooters. Therefore, Italian

companies could have more research on this field to improve

5.3. Limitations and suggestions for further studies

While the SPSS demonstrates evidences of the scale reliability, there are

limitations in this research. Since the research only focused on one Italian luxury scooter

brand and one Japanese luxury scooter brand, it may not represent the overall Vietnamese

consumers’ perceptions of all Italian and Japanese luxury scooter brands. Moreover, the

research only included a limited number of product type (luxury scooters) and country of

origin (Italy and Japan) in Vietnam. Further studies should examine other products and

country of origin relating to luxury consumption and replicate the findings in this study.

Another limitation is that the research utilized undergraduate student and young

professional officers sample that can not be generalizable to all Vietnamese. Calder,

Phillips, and Tybout (1981) supported the use of student samples in scale development

studies; however, in light of the limited direct experience that students typically have in

purchasing luxury scooters, they often use/will use luxury scooters that belong to their

parents instead of purchasing directly. Further researches on this kind of luxury product

should be conducted with samples that have more purchasing experience such as middle

age people because the important differences in perception of luxury may exist across

generations (Dubois, Laurent & Czellar, 2001).

96

The paradoxical nature of luxury consumption was pointed out more than 2,000

years ago by Greek philosophers. Despite this fact, research on a systematic, consumer-

based definition of luxury has remained surprisingly scarce (Dubois, Laurent & Czellar,

2001). Till now, as almost no social research has so far been implemented in Vietnam

with regard to perceptions and consumption of luxury transportation means, especially

scooters, substantial room exists for further research.

This research’s results support several new directions for substantive enquiry on

specific dimensions of luxury products, specified on luxury scooters such as personal

history. The role of personal history in shaping a consumer's attitude towards luxury

seems essential (Dubois, Laurent & Czellar, 2001). However, the research could not go

beyond the level of intuitive suggestions, since the questionnaire comprised very few

questions on the consumer's individual characteristics. It would be extremely interesting

to collect more detailed data on the socio-cultural variables such as parents' social class

and education and psychological variables such as self-monitoring (Gangestad & Snyder,

2000). This could allow for a better understanding of the role of social norms and

expectations on the dynamics of a person's attitudes towards luxury scooters.

Although there are still some limitations in this study, this study still reveals the

Vietnamese consumers’ perception in luxury scooter brands. The study not only shows

the consumers’ perception on luxury scooter brands, but also implies Vietnamese

consumer criteria for purchasing luxury scooter.

97

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APPENDIX A

Survey instrument (English version)

109

Survey Cover Letter

Dear participants,

My name is Luong Thi Bich Thuy. I am a graduate student for master degree in

Southern Taiwan University of Technology, Department of Business Administration.

Thank you for sparing your valuable time to help me compare your perception of luxury

scooter in Vietnam market, between products from Italian and Japan.

The luxury scooter population in Vietnam has tremendously increased since 2006,

corresponding to its economic growth and increase in people’s interest luxury vehicle.

Since the beginning of 2000’s, the most famous luxury scooter in the market belongs to

Honda, a Japanese brand and Piaggio, an Italian one. Therefore, I am conducting this

study to examine Vietnamese consumers’ perception of these two countries’ luxury

scooter brands.

Source: www.bikez.com

Your name will not be placed on the questionnaire. Your response will be kept

confidential and will be anonymous. No attempt will be made to identify you. Thus,

please answer as honestly and sincerely as possible. There are no correct answers to these

questions. Please read carefully all of the questions before answering and follow the

instructions given for each part.

If you have any questions, please ask the person who gave you the survey or

contact bichthuygreen@yahoo.com.

Thank you for your cooperation!

One of the most famous Piaggio luxury

scooter in Vietnam: Vespa LX

One of the most famous Honda luxury

scooter in Vietnam: Honda SH

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Direction: Filling blank by using positive whole number from 1 to 10 to express

your comment. For each blank, you can use only one number. Thank you!

Example:

Content Italian luxury

scooter, Piaggio as an example

Japanese luxury scooter, Honda as

an example Do you like this luxury scooter brand?

10 is strongly like, 5 is neutral, 1 is strongly dislike

10 8

CONSUMER SURVEY:

Content Italian luxury

scooter, Piaggio as an example

Japanese luxury scooter, Honda as

an example

LUXURY SCOOTER BRANDS’ FAMILIARITY Please rate your comments with the general perception for each luxury scooter brand:

Are you familiar with this luxury scooter brand?

10 is very familiar, 5 is neutral, 1 is very unfamiliar

Do you like this luxury scooter brand?

10 is strongly like, 5 is neutral, 1 is strongly dislike

If you like to buy a luxury scooter, will you take this scooter into consideration?

10 is absolutely yes, 5 is neutral, 1 is absolutely no

PERCEIVED VALUES FROM LUXURY SCOOTER BRANDS Please rate your comments with the values for each luxury scooter brand:

10 is strongly agree, 5 is neutral, 1 is strongly disagree

Luxury scooters inevitably are very expensive.

Owning this luxury scooter displays wealth.

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Owning this luxury scooter displays social class.

Owning this luxury scooter make you conspicuous.

This luxury scooter is unique.

This luxury scooter is scarcity.

This luxury scooter is distinctive.

Because others have this luxury scooter, hence I would like to own one.

Seeking to imitate the rich and stars.

This luxury scooter has aesthetic appeal.

This luxury scooter is fashionable.

This luxury scooter has personal history.

This luxury scooter makes life beautiful.

This luxury scooter is your dream..

This luxury scooter has excellent quality.

This luxury scooter is functional.

This luxury scooter is not mass-produced.

This luxury scooter has perfect shopping service.

This luxury scooter has perfect warranty.

112

SURVEY OF CONSUMER’S BACKGROUND: Please circle correct category!

You (or your family) own a luxury scooter.

Right Wrong

If it is right, the luxury scooter brand is:

Honda Suzuki

Piaggio Other

Yamaha

You (or your family) intend to buy a luxury scooter in the near future.

Right Wrong

Age Household Size

18-23 > 6 people

24-27 6 people

28-31 5 people

32-35 4 people

> 35 < 4 people

Gender Marital Status

Male Single

Female Married

Others

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Monthly family Income

< VND 6,000,000

VND 6,000,000-10,000,000

VND 10,000,000-14,000,000

VND 14,000,000-20,000,000

> VND20, 000,000

Thank you for your cooperation!

114

APPENDIX B

Survey instrument (Vietnamese version)

115

Phiếu điều tra về xe ga cao cấp

Chào bạn,

Cám ơn bạn đã giành thời gian quý báu để giúp tôi tìm hiểu nhận xét của bạn về

hai dòng xe ga cao cấp tại thị trường Việt Nam, bao gồm xe nhập khẩu từ Nhật Bản và xe

nhập khẩu từ Italia.

Số lượng xe ga cao cấp (hay còn gọi là xe đẹp, xe sang) tại thị trường Việt Nam

đã tăng mạnh kể từ năm 2006, do sự thay đổi trong thu nhập cũng như sở thích về phương

tiện giao thông của người dân. Kể từ đầu những năm 2000, những dòng xe ga cao cấp nổi

tiếng nhất trên thị trường đều thuộc về hai hãng chính là Honda của Nhật và Piaggio của

Italia. Do đó tôi quyết định làm nghiên cứu này để tìm hiểu khách hàng Việt Nam nhận

xét như thế nào về xe ga cao cấp có xuất xứ từ hai quốc gia nêu trên.

Nguồn: www.bikez.com

Tôi rất mong nhận được ý kiến của riêng của bạn và đảm bảo rằng ý kiến của bạn

sẽ chỉ được dành cho mục đích nghiên cứu trong phạm vi đề cập ở trên.

Nếu bạn có bất kỳ câu hỏi gì, xin liên hệ trực tiếp với tôi theo địa chỉ mail

bichthuygreen@yahoo.com hoặc hỏi trực tiếp người gửi bạn bản câu hỏi.

Xin chân thành cảm ơn vì đã giúp đỡ và đóng góp hoàn thành nghiên cứu này!

Một trong những xe ga cao cấp nổi tiếng

nhất của Piaggio tại Việt Nam: Vespa LX

Một trong những xe ga cao cấp nổi tiếng

nhất của Honda tại Việt Nam: Honda SH

116

Hướng dẫn: Các câu hỏi được chia thành 10 cấp độ đánh giá theo thứ tự từ cao

xuống thấp, tương ứng từ 10 tới 1. Bạn hãy chọn cấp độ nào phù hợp nhất với ý kiến của

mình. Bạn chỉ có thể chọn một cấp độ duy nhất cho mỗi câu trả lời, bằng cách đánh chữ

số thể hiện ý kiến của bạn vào ô trống cạnh câu hỏi.

Chỉ dùng chữ số nguyên từ 1 tới 10, bao gồm: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 7, 8, 9, 10.

Ví dụ:

Nội dung câu hỏi

Xe ga cao cấp của

Italia, ví dụ của hãng

Piaggio

Xe ga cao cấp của Nhật

Bản, ví dụ của hãng

Honda

10 = rất thích, 5 = bình thường, 1 = rất không

thích Bạn có thích thương hiệu xe ga cao

cấp này không? 10 8

Số 10 thể hiện bạn rất thích xe của Italia, điển hình như xe của Piaggio. Số 8 thể

hiện bạn có thích xe của Nhật Bản, điển hình như xe của Honda, nhưng ở mức độ thấp

hơn.

117

BẢNG CÂU HỎI:

Nội dung câu hỏi Xe ga cao cấp

của Piaggio

Xe ga cao cấp

của Honda

NHỮNG ĐÁNH GIÁ CHUNG

10 = rất quen thuộc, 5 = bình

thường, 1 = rất không quen thuộc Bạn có thấy quen thuộc với thương hiệu xe ga

cao cấp này không?

10 = rất thích, 5 = bình thường, 1 =

rất không thích Bạn có thích thương hiệu xe ga cao cấp này

không?

10 = tất nhiên có, 5 = bình thường, 1

= tất nhiên không Nếu bạn mua một chiếc xe ga cao cấp, bạn có

cho rằng bạn sẽ cân nhắc xe của hãng này

không?

ĐÁNH GIÁ SẢN PHẨM

Mong bạn đưa ra các đánh giá của mình về xe ga cao cấp của từng hãng.

10 = rất đồng ý, 5 = bình thường, 1 = rất không đồng ý

Những chiếc xe ga cao cấp vẫn thường rất đắt.

Sự sở hữu chiếc xe ga cao cấp này thể hiện sự

giàu có.

Sự sở hữu chiếc xe ga cao cấp này thể hiện

đẳng cấp xã hội.

Sự sở hữu chiếc xe ga cao cấp này khiến bạn

nổi bật.

Không nhiều người sở hữu được chiếc xe ga

cao cấp này.

Chiếc xe ga cao cấp này là rất hiếm.

Chiếc xe ga cao cấp này rất độc đáo.

Vì người khác sở hữu một chiếc xe ga cao cấp

này nên bạn cũng muốn sở hữu một chiếc tương

tự.

Đi trên chiếc xe ga cao cấp này giúp người sở

118

hữu hướng đến phong cách của các ngôi sao

hoặc giới sành điệu.

Chiếc xe ga cao cấp này có tính thẩm mỹ cao.

Chiếc xe ga cao cấp này rất thời trang.

Chiếc xe ga cao cấp này mang theo mình một

lịch sử (ví dụ nhiều người gọi xe máy là xe

Honda, hay nhắc tới xe Vespa là người ta nghĩ

tới một phong cách rất cổ điển, sang trọng…).

Chiếc xe ga cao cấp này khiến cuộc sống của

bạn thêm tươi đẹp.

Chiếc xe ga cao cấp này là mơ uớc của bạn.

Chất lượng xe ga cao cấp này thật hoàn hảo.

Chiếc xe ga cao cấp này thật đa năng và tiện

dụng.

Đây không phải là các loại xe ga sản xuất đại

trà.

Dịch vụ tại cửa hàng bán xe ga cao cấp thật

hoàn hảo.

Chế độ bảo hành xe ga cao cấp của hãng này

thật hoàn hảo.

119

Thông tin cá nhân: Bạn có thể đánh số 0 cạnh ô bạn lựa chọn!

Bạn hoặc gia đình bạn đang sở hữu một chiếc xe ga cao cấp:

Đúng Sai

Nếu đúng, đó là xe của hãng:

Honda Suzuki

Piaggio Khác

Yamaha

Bạn hoặc gia đình bạn có định mua một chiếc xe ga cao cấp trong tương lai:

Có Không

Tuổi Số thành viên trong gia đình

18-23 > 6 người

24-27 6 người

28-35 5 người

35-40 4 người

> 40 <4 người

120

Giới tính Tình trạng hôn nhân

Nam Độc thân

Nữ Có gia đình

Khác

Thu nhập của gia đình bạn hàng tháng

< VND 6,000,000

VND 6,000,000-10,000,000

VND 10,000,000-14,000,000

VND 14,000,000-20,000,000

> VND20, 000,000

Chân thành cám ơn bạn đã giúp tôi hoàn thành bản điều tra này!