United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that influence Korean
teens’ athletic footwear purchase. Four hundred and fifty-six teens
participated in the study. Throughout the review of related literature
and the conduction of a pilot study, seven characteristics were considered;
price, color, style, brand name, comfort, quality, and celebrity endorsement.
ANOVA procedures indicated that gender played a significant role in the
purchasing behavior of Korean teens. Male teens stated that comfort and
quality are the most important factors while female teens revealed that
style and color are more important factors than any other factor. Marketers
and advertising managers of athletic shoes companies should utilize the
findings of this study to communicate with teen consumers more effectively.

Key Words: Korean teens, Consumer behavior, Athletic Footwear,

In recent years, the buying power of the teenage Korean market has significantly
increased. According to Park (2002), in 2003, there were approximately
11.3 million (23.9% of total population) teens in Korea, with an estimated
10 billion dollars in buying power. The Korean Institute for Youth Development
projected that teen spending will significantly increase over the next
ten years. Lee (2003) also pointed that due to the one child policy, which
limits parents to having only one child to curb overpopulation, teens
in Korea assume a greater role as consumers in the household and justify
where funds are allocated. According to a report by Korea Institute for
Youth Development (2004), Korean teens exert an influence on more than
$36 billion in family purchases. The report also stated that most Korean
teens make purchases with money that is provided by their family. Further,
they ask their parents to buy a variety of products that are not teen
products such as food, furniture, electronics, and other household products.
New trends have developed within the Korean teen subculture. As a result,
consumer behavior will change (Kim, 2002; Lee, 2003; Lim 2001). Lee (2003)
stated that unlike previous generations, today’s Korean teens have
different consumption behavior. They are very concerned about the conspicuousness
of the products. In other words, they are very conscious about how they
look from others viewpoints or the image they reflect upon others. As
a result, they will place a higher value on aesthetics over quality. Woo
(2001) also stated that approximately 50% of teens expressed design as
the most important factor when they purchase teen-related products. Design
and styles are viewed as more relevant characteristics among female teens
in Korea. Consequently, parents consider secondary factors such as design
and style over quality and comfort. Today’s teens are easily influenced
by various advertising which presents role models such as sport entertainers
(Lee, 2003). Lee (2003) found that 80% of teens are somewhat influenced
by advertisements and believe the products advertised by celebrities have
better conspicuousness than products that were not endorsed by celebrities.
Korean teens are very sensitive to current fashion trends and have impulsive
purchasing behavior (Kwon, 2000; Lim, 2002). Lim (2002) found that almost
50% of Korean teens have purchased products impulsively. They place a
greater emphasis on the style and color of a product over the quality
aspect (Kim 2000). Korean teens identify with certain brand products that
help express their identity and characteristics. This consumer behavior
is the most important factor that leads to a purchase (Lee, 2003; Lim
2002). Lee (2003) found that 79% of Korean teens care about product brands
and have a strong brand loyalty to a certain brand of athletic shoes.
Wearing a certain brand of footwear is very important for a teenager because
it is a way of fitting in and gaining acceptance by the peer group (Forney
& Forney, 1995; Miller, 1994). Among the teen products, athletic shoes
are one of the highest brand loyalty items among Korean teens (Lee, 2003).

Apart from this, the teenage period is the life stage in which an individual’s
consumption leverage increases dramatically in terms of financial resources
and decision-making discretion (Shim & Gehrt, 1996). Hence, with the
strong marketing impact that teens create, marketers and consumer researchers
become increasingly interested in exploring the shopping behavior of teens
(Kamaruddin & Mokhlis, 2003). Often such teen shopping behaviors are
influenced by their demographic background. Among the different demographic
variables, gender has been considered as one of the most influential variables
due to the following reasons: (1) gender is easily identifiable, (2) gender
segments are accessible (since most media provide this information), and
(3) gender segments are large enough to be profitable, gender is still
a frequently used variable to implement segmentation strategies. ( Stevens,
Lathrop, & Bradish, 2005; Belk, 2003 ; Cleveland, Babin, Laroche,
Ward , Bergeron, 2003; Darley & Smith, 1995; Meyers-Levy & Sternthal,
1991). In the sport product segment, some research investigated gender
differences on athletic shoes purchasing (Belk, 2003; Lyons & Jackson,
2001). However, previous research showed inconsistent results. Belk’s
(2003) study found a gender difference on athletic shoes purchasing, but
Lyons & Jackson (2001) found that African-American teens did not show
gender differences on athletic shoe selection. Moreover, although there
is the practical importance of gender differences in the field of consumer
behavior and a growing interest in the consumer behavior of teens in Korea,
a meager amount of research has been conducted to investigate the gender
differences on the factors that influence teens purchasing athletic shoes
in Korea.

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that
influence Korean teens purchasing athletics shoes with association of
gender.

Method

Participants

Participants for this study were five hundred twenty-five randomly selected
teens from 6 schools in a metropolitan area of Korea. Self-administered
surveys were given to participants. Of the 525 returned survey questionnaires,
456 were usable. Female teens represented 46% (211) and 54% (245) were
represented by male teens.

Instrumentation

A survey was developed through literature reviews and discussions with
teenagers in Korea. A pretest was conducted for 37 Korean teens and the
survey questions were revised to make them more appropriate for the population
tested in this study. The survey consisted of two parts with 18 questions.
The first part included demographics of gender and age. The second part
of the survey consisted of questions about the factors that influence
Korean teens to purchase athletic shoes. From the review of relevant literature,
seven most important factors were identified: style, price, brand name
(recognition), color, quality, comfort, and celebrity endorsement. For
this section, a five-point Likert-type scale (5-Strongly agree 1-strongly
disagree) was used to rate the agreement of each factor. The following
is a sample statement for each information source:

• Style: When I purchase athletic shoes the style of shoes is very
important

• Comfort: When it comes to deciding to buy athletic shoes, comfort
is the most

important factor.

• Quality: I often purchase athletic shoes which are very durable

• Price: I'm very concerned about the price of shoes

• Brand name: I am very concerned about the brand name of shoes

• Color: When purchase athletic shoes, color of the shoes is one
of the major concerns

• Celebrity endorsement: I often purchase same athletic shoes that
a celebrity whom I

admire wore.

The data collection process was completed in five weeks. Data were entered
and statistics calculated by SPSS 12.0 for Windows program. Descriptive
statistics of mean and

standard deviation were acquired to analyze the data. Analysis of Variance
procedures were conducted with factor scores, with independent variable
of gender. Alpha values were set at 0.05 to determine significant differences
between genders.

Results

Descriptive statistics generated from the questionnaire indicated that
for male teens comfort of shoes (M = 4.4, SD = 0.72) is the most important
factor. The second most important factor is quality (M = 4.2, SD = 0.83).
(See Table 1).

Table 1

Means and Standard Deviations for Factors by Korean Male Teens

Factors	Mean	SD
Comfort	4.4	0.72
Quality	4.2	0.83
Style	3.9	0.98
Color	3.9	0.86
Price	3.8	0.91
Brand name	3.2	1.08
Endorsement	1.89	0.96

For female teens style (M = 4.4, SD = 0.67) and color (M=4.3, SD=0.75)
are two most important factors. (See Table 2).

Table 2

Means and Standard Deviations for Factors by Korean Female Teens

Factors	Mean	SD
Style	4.4	0.67
Color	4.3	0.75
Comfort	4.1	0.74
Quality	4.0	0.61
Price	3.7	0.75
Brand name	3.7	0.98
Endorsement	1.86	0.82

ANOVA for gender are represented in Table 3.

Table 3

Means and ANOVA tests for the Factors with Gender

	Gender
	Male	Female	F-ratio
Comfort	4.4	4.1	7.421*
Quality	4.2	4.0	2.09
Style	3.9	4.4	24.913**
Color	3.9	4.3	13.984**
Price	3.8	3.7	0.678
Brand name	3.2	3.7	17.279**
Endorsement	1.89	1.86	0.153

*p< 0.05

** p<0.001

ANOVA found that there is a significant difference between genders on
style (F=24.913, p = 0.001). Style is the most important factor for female
teens (M=4.4) while the third most important factor for male teens (M=3.9).
There is a gender difference on the importance of comfort (F=7.421, p=
.007). Comfort is more important factor for male teens (M=4.4) than for
females (M=4.1). The importance of brand name differs between genders
(F=17.279, p= .001). Brand name of the shoes is more important factor
for female teens (M=3.7) than for males (M=3.2). The data revealed that
there is no significant difference between genders on quality, price,
and endorsement of athletic shoes.

Discussion and Managerial Implications

The results of this study provide empirical evidence regarding factors
that influence Korean teens purchasing athletic footwear in relation to
demographics.

The influence of factors differs between genders. This study found that
for male teens, the comfort and quality are the two most important factors
while female teens ranked the style and color as the most important factors.
There were significant differences between genders on style, comfort,
and brand name. Interestingly, female teens showed higher scores for some
physical factors of the products, style and brand name, than male teens
while male teens consider internal factors such as comfort as a more important
consideration. This finding is consistent with a previous study (Park
2002; Solomon & Schopler, 1982; Taylor & Cosenza , 2002). Females
are more sensible about the appearance of the product such as style, design,
and brand name while males tend to consider internal factors such as comfort
and quality as more important factors. Belk (2003) also found a gender
difference on perception toward athletic shoes, with women being more
alert to the symbolic implications of shoes than men. Women strongly feel
that their footwear is an expansion and expression of themselves. They
also feel that shoes affect their perceptions of others and their perceptions
of self. Compared to male consumers, female consumers see shoes as highly
significant articles of clothing that are regarded as expressing the wearer's
personality. Furthermore, for adolescents especially females, shoes are
a key signifier of their identity (Belk, 2003; Park, 2002). Male consumers,
on the other hand, see shoes as a utilitarian thing. As a consequence,
the style that they identify with most is the critical purchase decision-making
factor for Korean female teens while comfort is the most important consideration
for male teens in Korea. Some researchers applied socio-cultural perspective
to explain the fact that physical appearance is greater for women than
for men ( Burton & Netemeyer, 1995; Jackson 1992; Kim, 2002; Lee 2003;
Striegel-Moore, Silberstein, & Rodin, 1986). In Korea, women are generally
viewed as having less social power than men (Kim, 2002; Lee, 2003). Lee
(2003) stated that in Korea, traditional perceptions of the male role
have centered on the man as the worker and financial provider, whereas
the traditional female role has been outside of the workforce such as
raising children. As a consequence, often the physical attractiveness
is used as a more important evaluative cue for women because of the less
"objective" criteria available for judging their successful
role fulfillment. This perspective is supported from other research (
Burton & Netemeyer, 1995; Jackson 1992; Buss & Barnes 1986). Buss
and Barnes (1986) revealed that women select their spouse on the basis
of their social power (as a means of elevating social position), whereas
men, as the sex with greater social power, choose their spouse more on
the basis of beauty and physical attractiveness. This perspective implies
that women use their appearance as a means to enhance social power (Burton
& Netemeyer, 1995). Thus, the women's concern about their physical
appearance is far greater than that of men. Such a perception and orientation
certainly impacts on their purchasing behavior (Brownmiller 1984).

This study provides critical information to marketers and advertising
directors of athletic shoe companies which target Korean teens. This study
found that Korean male and female students are affected by different factors
when they purchased athletic shoes. Male teens seek comfortable and quality
shoes while female teens consider the appearance of the product, such
as style, color and brand names, as the more important factor. Therefore,
marketers and advertising directors should pay emphasis on the comfort
and quality for male athletic shoes advertising. For female teens, they
should create more the eye-appealing advertisements. The finding of this
study should be interpreted in light of some limitations. First, although
the sample size was not small, the samples were drawn from schools in
a metropolitan area. Therefore, it is recommended for future studies to
have samples from a wider geographical distribution to provide more generalized
findings. Second, demographic characteristics other than gender should
be considered in future studies. For example, future studies on this topic
should examine demographic characteristics such as age, education, race,
and socio-economic status. Different demographic characteristics may have
a significant impact on consumption behavior.

Dr. Taeho Yon is an assistant professor in the Department of Physical
Education at Southern Illinois University. He received a bachelor’s
degree from Hongik University in South Korea, a master’s degree
in recreation and sport management from Indiana State University and a
Ph.D. in Sport Management from Florida State University.

Brian Gordon is a graduate student in sport management at Southern
Illinois University. His area of interest includes legal aspects, sport
marketing, and administration of intercollegiate athletics.

Mike Mohr is a graduate student in sport management at Southern Illinois
University. His area of interest includes sport marketing (consumer behavior)
and issues of people with disabilities in sport.

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