Description
The Documentation is about the research is to understand the importance and impact of ethnic subcultures in India on aggregate buying patterns.
MARKET RESEARCH
ON
THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING IMPACT OF ETHNIC SUBCULTURES IN INDIA ON AGGREGATE BUYING PATTERNS
ABHISHEK SRIRAM ASWIN C. ROSHAN REBELLO Dr. VISHAL BHATIA ABHISHEK KAMLE Dr. HARSH CHOPRA
2008A02 2008A18 2008A31 2008A44 2008A45 2008A49
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 3 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................... 3 SECONDARY DATA......................................................................................................................................... 4 OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................................... 7 Primary Research Objective ...................................................................................................................... 7 Secondary Research objective ................................................................................................................... 7 RESEARCH APPROACH .................................................................................................................................. 7 FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS ........................................................................................................................ 9 Factors affecting choice of instant foods – an ethnographic study .............................................................. 9 Methodology:.......................................................................................................................................... 10 Demographic Profile of the respondents............................................................................................ 11 Findings: .............................................................................................................................................. 11 Demographic Profile of the respondents:........................................................................................... 12 Findings: .............................................................................................................................................. 12 Demographic profile of respondents: ................................................................................................. 12 Findings ............................................................................................................................................... 13 Moderators: ........................................................................................................................................ 13 Demographic Profile of the respondents............................................................................................ 13 Findings: .............................................................................................................................................. 13 Conclusions: ............................................................................................................................................ 14 FACTOR ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................................... 15 CORRELATION ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................. 18 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................... 18 ANNEXURES ................................................................................................................................................ 19 ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS .......................................................................................................... 19 QUESTIONNAIRE ..................................................................................................................................... 19 SPSS OUTPUT .......................................................................................................................................... 22 FACTOR ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................... 22 CORRELATION ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................... 25 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................ 26
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The objective of this research is to understand the importance and impact of ethnic subcultures in India on aggregate buying patterns. An exploratory research will be conducted to uncover all possible attributes responsible for the buying pattern of instant food and then understanding the impact of ethnic subculture of our country on this pattern. This would be followed by secondary data analysis and the survey research with the help of detailed questionnaire. The sample size would be restricted to 30 and would constitute the respondents from different subculture or ethnic origins. Focus group Discussions would be conducted to arrive at independent factors which govern the choice of food in the instant foods category. Data Analysis would be done using the following techniques on SPSS tool: Factor Analysis, Correlation Analysis.
BACKGROUND
Ethnic identity has been defined as the shared identity of a group of people based on a common historical background, ancestry and knowledge of identifying symbolic elements such as nationality, religious affiliation and language. Numerous studies that have investigated the impact of ethnic identity on consumer behaviour have operationally defined ethnic identity as an individual's strength of ethnic identification. Consumer research conducted among varied ethnic subcultures has found that the construct of strength of ethnic identification significantly impacts the consumption of varied products such as: ethnic and ethnic-inspired apparel, traditional foods, ethnic soft drinks and ethnic entertainment such as movies, music, and cultural performances. Specifically, studies have found that higher levels of ethnic identification positively affect the consumption of ethnic products such as ethnic/traditional foods. Other studies have also found that the construct of strength of ethnic identification has significant effects on service consumption and brand loyalty. Ethnic consumer's internal motivations and attributions related to the consumption of cultural products is a topic that has received little attention in past consumer research. Self-perception theory developed by Bem has been applied in this study to propose the mechanism through which consumers' strength of ethnic identification affects their internal attributions associated with the consumption of culturally related products. The theory postulates that individuals infer their internal states including their attitudes and emotions by observing their own overt behaviour and/or the context of their behaviour. The theory also posits that individuals make inferences about themselves, just as they would make inferences about other individuals, through external cues such as behaviour. This second postulate connects self-perception and interpersonal perception, and generally applies when the internal cues of the individual are ambivalent or not inferable. Although, behaviourist theories SYMBIOSIS CENTRE FOR MANAGEMENT & HRD Page 3
have been criticized for their limited view of inferences based on overt behaviour only, Bem argues that self-perception theory goes beyond these inferences and includes self-attributions based on circumstances in which the behaviour occurs. Another point that Bem emphasizes is that individuals make self-attributions based on their own behaviour if and only if their behaviour is freely chosen. Based on self-perception theory, participants' internal attributions regarding their emotions and meanings related to traditional food consumption will be a function of their self-reported behaviour. Hence, based on the propositions of self-perception theory, the following hypotheses can be proposed to explain the effect of consumers' strength of ethnic identification on their attribution of emotions and meanings associated with the consumption of culturally related products.
SECONDARY DATA
To identify and determine the broad ethnic subcultures in proposed sample population
The oldest way to categorise or define subcultures was on the basis of religion. For our research we also took religion based sub cultures as the starting point. Religion Based Subcultures Advantages – ? ? People share similar beliefs. Would be having similar eating habits.
Disadvantages – ? ? ? Very crude method to segment. People with same religion may belong to varying social classes. Religions are too broad to be categorized under sub cultures.
Caste Based Subcultures Advantages – ? ? Would be sharing almost similar values. Higher association with in a subculture.
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Disadvantages – ? ? ? ? There are too many castes in India therefore it is beyond the scope of this research. Many people do not associate very much with their caste. To justify a research based on different castes a very large sample size is required. Due to the urbanization and dissemination of population people from similar castes do not necessarily show similar characteristics Language Based Subcultures – Advantages – ? ? ? People speaking the same language usually share similar values. People speaking the same language mostly belong to the same region. Celebrate same festivals usually.
Disadvantage – ? ? There are so many languages in India that to do a research on them is out of scope for this research. Usually in a single region more than one language is spoken and many times in different areas there are communities speaking similar languages. Region Based Subcultures Finally we arrived at Region Based Subcultures as appropriate for our research. This was not due to the reason that its not based on either religion, caste and language but because we have found out with our primary and secondary research that people belonging to same region have the same Family Value, Celebrate Same Festivals and respond to similar cultural issues. Advantages – People in these subcultures have same family values. They celebrate the same festivals. They respond to similar cultural issues and thus show same preferences.
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This base for dividing subcultures is neither too limited as for religion not too vast as for languages.
Zones
States
J&k, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Northern India Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, UP, New Delhi.
Western India
Goa, Maharashtara, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa,
Eastern India
Sikkim, West Bengal,Tripura
Southern India
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu
Central India
Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh
To determine different Instant foods consumption pattern
For this SRO primary research was done among the respondents to tabulate the instant snack foods of each region and their consumption pattern.
NORTH JALEBI PARANTHAS SOOJI HALWA CHATS PAKORAS SAMOSAS
SOUTH IDLI RAVA IDLI MUNG DAL VADAS UPMA DOSAS UTTAPAM
EAST POORI BHAJI MOMOS NOODLES KHICHRI
WEST DHOKLA VADA PAV THEPLA BHAJJIS RAGDA PETTIS
Consumption Pattern of Instant Foods
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? ? ?
Usually at Breakfast. During the evening, usually 3-4 hours after lunch. Sometimes the respondents go for evening snacks twice in a day. Evening snacks are usually accompanies by tea or coffee during breakfast and with cold drink or tea during evening snacks.
OBJECTIVES
Primary Research Objective
To determine the effect of ethnic subcultures on aggregated buying patterns for instant foods and to investigate whether ethnic consumers’ consumption of instant foods is predicted by their strength of ethnic identification.
Secondary Research objective
??To identify and determine the broad ethnic subcultures in proposed sample population ??To determine different Instant foods consumption pattern ??To identify the critical factors affecting choice of instant foods ??To determine the strength of ethnic subculture association with consumption of instant foods.
Arrival on the Final product for purpose of research- Instant foods.
RESEARCH APPROACH
? Research Problem
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The ethnic origin of consumers has some impact on the buying pattern of instant foods in our country. With this research we will try to the impact of ethnic subcultures on aggregated buying patterns for instant foods. ? Estimated Value of Information: The value of this research is enormous as it can help a company understand the instant food preferences culture and region wise, which will help them to serve their customers better. Apart from this the research shall be of tremendous benefit to the academia.
? Data collection method: ? ? Secondary research – Internet, Marketing Journals, Magazines, Books, News papers etc. Primary Research - Structured Direct Personal questionnaires (35), In Depth Interviews (5), Focus group discussion – 2 Focus group discussions of 5-8 members each. ? Measurement Techniques Various attitude measurement scales will be used in the questionnaire like Likert scale, Stapel scale etc.
? Sampling Process: Sample size will be of 30 respondents. Stratified sampling will be done to select our sampling group.
? Data Analysis techniques:
Data analysis will be done using Regression Analysis, Cross tabs with chi square and Factor Analysis.
? Ethics Of The Research Proper care would be taken not to offend any respondent by asking offensive questions and no differentiation would be made on basis of caste, region and class. No leading questions will be asked.
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? Time and Cost Analysis The project has an over all duration of 6 weeks. Initial 3 weeks would be used for Secondary and Exploratory research. Next 2 weeks would be used for Primary Research. And the last 1 week would be used for Data Reduction and Analysis.
An exploratory research was conducted to uncover the possible attributes and the variables that affect the buying behaviour of the instant food. Secondary data was collected from the online resources. With the help of the attributes uncovered a detailed questionnaire was designed and the survey research was carried out. An exploratory research was conducted to uncover all possible attributes responsible for the buying pattern of instant food and then understanding the impact of ethnic subculture of our country on this pattern. The variables affecting the consumers’ buying behaviour were subjected to chi-square test and only those that have a significant impact on the buying behaviour have been considered for further research. The respondents will be asked the questions pertaining to these variables and their responses will be collected for the data analysis. The sample size of the respondents will be 30. After the exploratory research, the survey research that includes the personal interviews and questionnaire is planned. Likert scale along with the other direct response attitude scales would be used to determine the response for the questions put forth to the respondents. Regression and Chi-square cross-tabulation would help in determining the variables significant in the purchasing behaviour. Factor Analysis would help in grouping the related variables into several factors. A data reduction technique was applied to reduce these attributes into distinct factors to gain insights into the preferences for Food items.
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS
Factors affecting choice of instant foods – an ethnographic study From the previous studies conducted, it was hypothesised that sub cultural differentiation according to caste, language or religion did not give conclusive results about the aggregate buying patterns. A more stable buying pattern was established when aggregate demand was determined at the zone level. 4 clear zones were established , these zones though not explicitly expressed by the respondents, a simple probe interview revealed inter zone similarities. The similarities included similarities in celebrating festivals, identification with family values and responses to cultural issues. To get a deeper understanding to understand
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the key parameters affecting the choice of instant foods, focus group discussions were conducted for each of the identified subcultures. The details of the FGDs are discussed below Methodology:
1. Define the objective of the focus group:
The primary objective of the FGD was to arrive at independent factors which govern the choice of food in the instant foods category. The objective was not explicitly mentioned at the beginning of the group discussion to prevent influence of the topic on the respondents mind, the only cues given were instant foods and their role in routine food consumption
2. Define the method of conducting the FGD
The technique used to conduct the GD was the Dual Moderator Technique proposed by Ernst Dichter [1]. In this technique two moderators conduct the GD wherein one moderator guides the direction of the GD while the other moderator ensures the coverage of all topics
3. Define the scope and duration of the GD
The scope of the GD is to identify zonal cues arising from each focus group and correspondingly determine what cultural factors drive instant foods. This would enable us to conduct a factor analysis to finally arrive at clearcut clusters of interdependent clauses which govern regional buying patterns. To optimise on the attention span of the individuals, FGDs of group size 9 were conducted. The duration of the GD was limited to 20 minutes with an additional 5 minutes of de briefing and objection handling.
4. Findings
As mentioned previously 4 focus groups each with strength of 9 members were observed. The discussion proceeded with identifying the various activities associated with the buying of instant food articles in their homes, the key decision makers and their say in the same. The discussion then moved towards the changing trends in consumption of instant foods with the advent of the burgers and the pizzas. The discussion then proceeded towards the cultural fit of the food they consume and their awareness of the same. Stimulants to buying specific types of foods on different occasions and aversions or undesirable cues towards the
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same at other times were also discussed. Finally each individual in the GD was asked to speak for 30 seconds about their perception of instant foods, its role in their daily life and the trend they possibly observe in times to come.
Group 1: Moderators:
Dr Harsh Chopra and Dr Vishal Bhatia Demographic Profile of the respondents: 5 males and 4 females in the age group 23-28 from the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, East UP, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Findings: The respondents [7 out of 9] claimed to enjoy a fairly amount of freedom when it came to consumption of instant foods. In all obviousness they claimed to be fairly influenced by the impact of the western snacks on their traditional snacks. The parathas, chats, sweet meats, kachoris and batores were being replaced by rolls, pizzas and the mc chickens (8 out of 9). Some even showed a preference towards such foods [4 out of 9] over the traditional foods in most times of their snacking. A majority of them agreed that the influencer of instant foods and snackers were no more their family members, but were friends in peer groups and what their favourite film star ate [8 out of 9]. Most claimed to prefer vegetarian food without admitting to being vegetarian. The following factors were established which determined the choice of the instant foods a. Peer groups [7 out of 9] b. Sensory Appeal [6 out of 9] c. Familiarity [6 out of 9] d. Health concern [4 out of 9] e. Personal choice [2 out of 9]
Group 2: Moderators:
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Abhishek Kamle and Aswin C. Demographic Profile of the respondents: 6 males and 3 females of the age group 21-26 from the states of Maharashtra [Marathwada, Saurashtra, Vidharba and Konkan regions], Gujrat [Saurashtra bordering, Kutch hinterland and Surat] and South MP [Jabalpur]. No respondents from Mumbai were included as their consumption patterns caused distortions in trends Findings: The respondents had lower degrees of freedom when it came to choosing instant foods and snacks at home [8 out of 9], people displayed considerable liking to home made delicacies like Themlas, Missal Pav and Kandha Poha [7 out of 9] and ate pizzas occasionally. The occasion generally meant hanging out with friends from other cultures who had very few similar tastes with each other [5 out 9]. Most of the respondents [7 out 9] believed that their choice of instant foods was due to their up bringing and the tastes they acquired when they were children. The tastes also included aversion towards certain items which they had felt when they were young. Respondents also strongly believed in the social acceptance associated with the choice of the food they ate and also religious beliefs strongly governing the choice of food [Eg. Some foods were not eaten on particular days of the week]. The main factors established for this group of respondents were: a. Upbringing and acquired taste [8 out of 9] b. Familiarity [6 out of 9] c. Personal ideology [5 out of 9] d. Religious Beliefs [6 out of 9]
Group 3 Moderators:
Roshan Rebello and Abhishek Sriram Demographic profile of respondents: The respondents consisted of 4 males and 5 females in the age group of 24 - 29 from the states of Tamil Nadu [South Central Arcot and Kovai], Karnataka [Malnadu], Andhra Pradesh [Rayalseema, Godavari Doab, Krishna Doab and Telangana] and Kerala. Only indigenious
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people from these states were considered as the sample from this state consisted of people with acquired cultures. Findings The respondents felt that personal ideology about foods played a major role in their choosing of instant foods. The personal preferences ranged from spicy flavoured foods to sweetened instant foods. Another trend observed amongst people of this region [7 out of 9] was the preference given to health. Most respondents claimed to ask themselves the question “Is it healthy?” before buying any food. This explains the high sales of health beverages in this region. The other main perceptions included the tendency to try out new things [5 out of 9]. The main factors established were: a. Health Concern [7 out of 9] b. Sensory Appeal [7 out of 9] c. Occasion [6 out of 9] d. What ever is available [6 out 9] e. Ease of preparation [5 out of 9] f. Personal ideology [5 out of 9]
Group 4:
Moderators: Aswin C and Dr Vishal Bhatia Demographic Profile of the respondents: The group contained 8 respondents 5 males and 3 females in the age group 21-27 from the states of Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Kolkata and Jharkhand. Findings: The respondents [5 out of 8] claimed to enjoy a fairly amount of freedom when it came to consumption of instant foods. But this freedom decreases when they are at their homes [only 2 out of 8] Respondents in these groups were fairly influenced by North Indian snacks. They were very much addicted to north indian snacks like chats, sweet meats, parathas, kachoris and batores and had developed a taste for them (6 out of 8). Since they have now
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been living in western India for a few years, a few of them had now adjusted to taste and spices of western India [3 out of 8] Few of them even showed a preference towards such foods [2 out of 8] over the traditional foods in most times of their snacking. A majority of them agreed that the influencer of instant foods and snackes was also effected by the health benefits or rather ill effects in case of packed snacks.[6 out of 8] They usually see the calorific content on packed snacks but don’t care much in case of open snacks. Social acceptability was also a factor in selecting their snacks [5 out of 8]. The following factors were established which determined the choice of the instant foods a. Peer groups [6 out of 8] b. Social Acceptability [5 out of 8] c. Health concern [6 out of 8] d. Ease Of Preparation [5 out of 8] e. Sensory Appeal [5 out of 8]
Conclusions:
From the Focused Discussions conducted, it was found that the Aggregated buying patterns were governed by the following parameters: 1. Upbringing and acquired taste 2. Health concern 3. Religious beliefs 4. Whatever is available 5. Occasion 6. Price 7. Ease of preparation 8. Family preferences 9. Sensory appeal 10. Familiarity 11. Personal ideology 12. Social acceptability These attributes are generally independent of each other. The main dichotomy of the situation at hand is that consumer evaluation is not governed by a set of independent
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attributes but rather by a set of interdependent variables which are in complex interaction with each other. These are determined through Factor Analysis by conducting a quantitative research on a matched sample. The SPSS outputs shall be used as governing factors which influence aggregate buying patterns.
FACTOR ANALYSIS
The attributes arrived after the exploratory research was converted into a questionnaire. Respondents were asked to provide their response on a 5 point Likert scale. The data collected was subjected to Factor Analysis. A data reduction technique was applied to reduce these attributes into distinct factors to gain insights into the preferences for Food items. This test has resulted in the following findings and conclusions: ? To determine the factors affecting the choice of Food item.
These results have been analysed separately on the basis of the four different zones. The attributes that have been considered were obtained on the basis of focus group discussion North: Five major factors for consumer preference were identified amongst the respondents from North zone
Traditional
Health conscious
Conservative
Family Associated
Modern
The different component Attributes along with the identified Factors are: Religion/occasion/social acceptability: Traditional Healthy/sensory appeal: Health conscious Personal/prefer familiar food: Conservatives Price/family/Upbringing: Family associated SYMBIOSIS CENTRE FOR MANAGEMENT & HRD Page 15
Available/easy to prepare: Modern East: Five major factors for consumer preference were identified amongst the respondents from East zone:
Traditional
Health conscious
Decisive
Economical
Family Related
The different component Attributes along with the identified Factors are: Religion/prefer familiar food/social acceptability: Traditional Healthy: Health conscious Personal/occasion: Decisive Price/ Available: Economical Family/upbringing /sensory appeal/easy to prepare: Family related West: Five major factors for consumer preference were identified amongst the respondents from West zone:
Traditional
Health related
Conservative
Family Related
Modern
The different component Attributes along with the identified Factors are: Religion/occasion/social acceptability: Traditional
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Healthy/sensory appeal: Health related Personal/prefer familiar food: Conservatives Price/family/Upbringing: Family associated Available/easy to prepare: Modern South: Five major factors for consumer preference were identified amongst the respondents from South zone:
Traditional
Health conscious
Decisive
Family Associated
Experiment Averse
The different component Attributes along with the identified Factors are: Religion/social acceptability: Traditional Healthy/sensory appeal: Health conscious Personal/ easy to prepare: Decisive Price/family/Upbringing/Occasion: Family associated Available/ prefer familiar food: Experiment averse Perceptual maps are drawn with the factors and the attribute components as the axes. There are 5 factors identified for each zone and hence 40 perceptual maps are drawn taking the combination of the factors and the attribute components are plotted on those maps with the values of correlation coefficient. Sample perceptual maps between 2 factors for the respective zones are attached in the Annexure below.
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CORRELATION ANALYSIS
A correlation study was carried out to analyze the influence of sub-culture on the shopping behaviour, consumption of instant foods and festive season consumption of instant foods. The results of the correlation analysis are as follows: 1) Association with a specific sub-culture bears little bearing with the aggregate shopping behavior of the target group ( Correlation Value 0.465) 2) Association with a specific sub-culture bears little bearing with the aggregate consumption behavior of instant food amongst the target group ( Correlation Value -0.013) 3) Association with a specific sub-culture bears little bearing with the festive season consumption of instant foods amongst the target group. ( Correlation Value 0.200) The SPSS output for the Correlation Analysis is given in the Annexure attached at the end of the report.
CONCLUSION
From the Primary and the Secondary Research, it can be inferred that there is a significant impact of ethnic subculture on the buying and consumption patterns of instant foods in India. Most of the respondents who were asked to fill up the questionnaire, interviewed and the participants of the focus group discussions identified and distinguished their sub cultures based on zones. Hence, the Factor Analysis was conducted based on the zonal data and different attribute components that were identified from the Exploratory Research were grouped into several factors. These factors were significant enough to impact the buying patterns of the consumers. As it has already been explained, factors such as Tradition, Conservative, Family Association and Health Conscious were common to all the zones and these factors are the major influencers for the consumer to buy the Instant food. However, some factors such as Economical, Modern and Experiment Averse were prominent in few zones and these factors can be deemed critical in concluding that the ethnic subculture has a significant impact on the buying pattern of instant foods.
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Also, the results and findings of Correlation Analysis has shown that association with a specific subculture bears little bearing with the aggregate consumption behaviour of instant food amongst the target group.
The results obtained from both the analysis have synchronised with each other, proving that there is a little significance of ethnic sub-culture on the buying and consumption pattern of Instant food.
ANNEXURES
ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS
1. Consumers' strength of ethnic sub culture identification will predict their consumption of Instant foods 2. Consumers' strength of ethnic identification will predict the extent to which they attribute positively/negatively valanced internal emotions to the consumption of Instant foods. 3. A sample of 30 respondents does not represent the actual market situation with respect to consumer segments, usage and perception about brands within each segment, attributes of importance, buying decision influencing factors, brand evaluating attributes etc. 4. The sample of respondents aged 20 and above may not give a representative sample of actual consumers of instant foods. 5. The sample unit limited to Hinjewadi, Pune may not give a representative picture of the whole country though we will try to map them with respect to regions they come from and do the analysis accordingly.
QUESTIONNAIRE
India is made up of people of various ethnicities. Ethnicity& subculture refers to cultural traditions, beliefs, and behaviours that are passed down through generations. Some examples of the ethnicities that people in India may easily identify with are north, south, west and east. When you are answering the following questions, we’d like you to think about what YOU consider your ethnicity & sub culture to be. Please write what you consider to be your subculture here _____ and refer to this as you answer the questions below.
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1. I am a vivid reader of books, magazines& their sources that have taught me about my subculture and ethnicity [ ] [ ] [ ] Neither Agree nor Disagree [ ] [ ] Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
2. I have a liking for my sub culture [ ] [ ] [ ] Neither Agree nor Disagree [ ] [ ] Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
3. My family teaches me about our family’s ethnic /cultural background [ ] [ ] [ ] Neither Agree nor Disagree [ ] [ ] Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
4. Our home is decorated with things that reflect my ethnic/cultural background [ ] [ ] [ ] Neither Agree nor Disagree [ ] [ ] Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
5. My subculture preference is reflected in the way I shop for general use [ ] [ ] [ ] Neither Agree nor Disagree [ ] [ ] Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
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S A Upbringing and acquired taste has a significant role to play in my 1 choice of food 2 I prefer to have Healthy food 3 I do not consume a food which is contradictory to my religious beliefs 4 I choose any food item which is available 5 I eat food according to the occasion 6 Price of food item governs my food choice 7 Foods which are easy to prepare are generally good in taste 8 Family preferences govern what food is prepared at home 9 Sensory appeal of a food item is very important 10 I do not eat food which is not familiar to me 11 My personal ideology governs food item preference 12 Food items that we have should have social acceptability A NAND D SD
6. How often do you consume instant foods a. Once a day b. Twice a day c. Thrice a day [ ] [ ] [ ]
7. How often do you consume instant foods which are inspired by your subculture
a. Sometimes b. Never c. Always
[ ] [ ] [ ]
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8. How often do you prefer consuming Traditional instant foods on special occasions/festivals. a. Once a day b. Twice a day c. Thrice a day [ ] [ ] [ ]
Age: ________________________________
Gender:
M
F
SPSS OUTPUT
FACTOR ANALYSIS
NORTH
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1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 -0.10 -0.2
Occasion Easy to prepare Availability
Modern
Social Acceptability
Religion
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
-0.4
Traditional
EAST
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1
Occasion
0.8
Personal
0.6
Price
Decisive
0.4 0.2 0 -0.40 -0.20 -0.2 -0.4 0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00
Availability
Economical
WEST
Sensory Appeal
1 0.8 0.6 0.4
Healthy Prefer familiar food
Health related
-0.40 -0.20
0.2 0 -0.2 -0.4 -0.6 -0.8 -1 0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60
0.80
1.00
Personal
Conservative SOUTH
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1
Available
0.8 0.6
Prefer familiar food
Family
0.4
Upbringing Occasion
Experiment Averse
-0.20
0.2 0 0.00 -0.2 -0.4
Price
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
Family Associated
CORRELATION ANALYSIS
A)
Correlations Cultural Influence Shopping attitude Cultural Influence Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) Sum of Squares and Crossproducts Covariance N Shopping attitude Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) Sum of Squares and Crossproducts Covariance N .316 30 1.816 30 .254 30 .465 .010 9.167 52.667 .316 30 1 7.367 1 .465 .010 9.167
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B)
Correlations Consumption_Subc Cultural_Influence Cultural_Influence Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Consumption_Subculture Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N 30 -.013 .948 30 30 1 ulture -.013 .948 30 1
C)
Correlations High amount of instant food consumer during Cultural Influence Cultural Influence Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N High amount of instant food consumer during festive season Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N 30 .200 .289 30 30 1 festive season .200 .289 30 1
REFERENCES
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? ? ?
Ethnic identity and self-perception of ethnic consumers By Veena Chattaraman and Sharron J.Lennon Role of culture in Consumer Behaviour By Ashish Sharma Subcultures and Consumer Behaviour
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doc_847781194.docx
The Documentation is about the research is to understand the importance and impact of ethnic subcultures in India on aggregate buying patterns.
MARKET RESEARCH
ON
THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING IMPACT OF ETHNIC SUBCULTURES IN INDIA ON AGGREGATE BUYING PATTERNS
ABHISHEK SRIRAM ASWIN C. ROSHAN REBELLO Dr. VISHAL BHATIA ABHISHEK KAMLE Dr. HARSH CHOPRA
2008A02 2008A18 2008A31 2008A44 2008A45 2008A49
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 3 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................... 3 SECONDARY DATA......................................................................................................................................... 4 OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................................... 7 Primary Research Objective ...................................................................................................................... 7 Secondary Research objective ................................................................................................................... 7 RESEARCH APPROACH .................................................................................................................................. 7 FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS ........................................................................................................................ 9 Factors affecting choice of instant foods – an ethnographic study .............................................................. 9 Methodology:.......................................................................................................................................... 10 Demographic Profile of the respondents............................................................................................ 11 Findings: .............................................................................................................................................. 11 Demographic Profile of the respondents:........................................................................................... 12 Findings: .............................................................................................................................................. 12 Demographic profile of respondents: ................................................................................................. 12 Findings ............................................................................................................................................... 13 Moderators: ........................................................................................................................................ 13 Demographic Profile of the respondents............................................................................................ 13 Findings: .............................................................................................................................................. 13 Conclusions: ............................................................................................................................................ 14 FACTOR ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................................... 15 CORRELATION ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................. 18 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................... 18 ANNEXURES ................................................................................................................................................ 19 ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS .......................................................................................................... 19 QUESTIONNAIRE ..................................................................................................................................... 19 SPSS OUTPUT .......................................................................................................................................... 22 FACTOR ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................... 22 CORRELATION ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................... 25 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................ 26
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The objective of this research is to understand the importance and impact of ethnic subcultures in India on aggregate buying patterns. An exploratory research will be conducted to uncover all possible attributes responsible for the buying pattern of instant food and then understanding the impact of ethnic subculture of our country on this pattern. This would be followed by secondary data analysis and the survey research with the help of detailed questionnaire. The sample size would be restricted to 30 and would constitute the respondents from different subculture or ethnic origins. Focus group Discussions would be conducted to arrive at independent factors which govern the choice of food in the instant foods category. Data Analysis would be done using the following techniques on SPSS tool: Factor Analysis, Correlation Analysis.
BACKGROUND
Ethnic identity has been defined as the shared identity of a group of people based on a common historical background, ancestry and knowledge of identifying symbolic elements such as nationality, religious affiliation and language. Numerous studies that have investigated the impact of ethnic identity on consumer behaviour have operationally defined ethnic identity as an individual's strength of ethnic identification. Consumer research conducted among varied ethnic subcultures has found that the construct of strength of ethnic identification significantly impacts the consumption of varied products such as: ethnic and ethnic-inspired apparel, traditional foods, ethnic soft drinks and ethnic entertainment such as movies, music, and cultural performances. Specifically, studies have found that higher levels of ethnic identification positively affect the consumption of ethnic products such as ethnic/traditional foods. Other studies have also found that the construct of strength of ethnic identification has significant effects on service consumption and brand loyalty. Ethnic consumer's internal motivations and attributions related to the consumption of cultural products is a topic that has received little attention in past consumer research. Self-perception theory developed by Bem has been applied in this study to propose the mechanism through which consumers' strength of ethnic identification affects their internal attributions associated with the consumption of culturally related products. The theory postulates that individuals infer their internal states including their attitudes and emotions by observing their own overt behaviour and/or the context of their behaviour. The theory also posits that individuals make inferences about themselves, just as they would make inferences about other individuals, through external cues such as behaviour. This second postulate connects self-perception and interpersonal perception, and generally applies when the internal cues of the individual are ambivalent or not inferable. Although, behaviourist theories SYMBIOSIS CENTRE FOR MANAGEMENT & HRD Page 3
have been criticized for their limited view of inferences based on overt behaviour only, Bem argues that self-perception theory goes beyond these inferences and includes self-attributions based on circumstances in which the behaviour occurs. Another point that Bem emphasizes is that individuals make self-attributions based on their own behaviour if and only if their behaviour is freely chosen. Based on self-perception theory, participants' internal attributions regarding their emotions and meanings related to traditional food consumption will be a function of their self-reported behaviour. Hence, based on the propositions of self-perception theory, the following hypotheses can be proposed to explain the effect of consumers' strength of ethnic identification on their attribution of emotions and meanings associated with the consumption of culturally related products.
SECONDARY DATA
To identify and determine the broad ethnic subcultures in proposed sample population
The oldest way to categorise or define subcultures was on the basis of religion. For our research we also took religion based sub cultures as the starting point. Religion Based Subcultures Advantages – ? ? People share similar beliefs. Would be having similar eating habits.
Disadvantages – ? ? ? Very crude method to segment. People with same religion may belong to varying social classes. Religions are too broad to be categorized under sub cultures.
Caste Based Subcultures Advantages – ? ? Would be sharing almost similar values. Higher association with in a subculture.
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Disadvantages – ? ? ? ? There are too many castes in India therefore it is beyond the scope of this research. Many people do not associate very much with their caste. To justify a research based on different castes a very large sample size is required. Due to the urbanization and dissemination of population people from similar castes do not necessarily show similar characteristics Language Based Subcultures – Advantages – ? ? ? People speaking the same language usually share similar values. People speaking the same language mostly belong to the same region. Celebrate same festivals usually.
Disadvantage – ? ? There are so many languages in India that to do a research on them is out of scope for this research. Usually in a single region more than one language is spoken and many times in different areas there are communities speaking similar languages. Region Based Subcultures Finally we arrived at Region Based Subcultures as appropriate for our research. This was not due to the reason that its not based on either religion, caste and language but because we have found out with our primary and secondary research that people belonging to same region have the same Family Value, Celebrate Same Festivals and respond to similar cultural issues. Advantages – People in these subcultures have same family values. They celebrate the same festivals. They respond to similar cultural issues and thus show same preferences.
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This base for dividing subcultures is neither too limited as for religion not too vast as for languages.
Zones
States
J&k, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Northern India Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, UP, New Delhi.
Western India
Goa, Maharashtara, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa,
Eastern India
Sikkim, West Bengal,Tripura
Southern India
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu
Central India
Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh
To determine different Instant foods consumption pattern
For this SRO primary research was done among the respondents to tabulate the instant snack foods of each region and their consumption pattern.
NORTH JALEBI PARANTHAS SOOJI HALWA CHATS PAKORAS SAMOSAS
SOUTH IDLI RAVA IDLI MUNG DAL VADAS UPMA DOSAS UTTAPAM
EAST POORI BHAJI MOMOS NOODLES KHICHRI
WEST DHOKLA VADA PAV THEPLA BHAJJIS RAGDA PETTIS
Consumption Pattern of Instant Foods
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? ? ?
Usually at Breakfast. During the evening, usually 3-4 hours after lunch. Sometimes the respondents go for evening snacks twice in a day. Evening snacks are usually accompanies by tea or coffee during breakfast and with cold drink or tea during evening snacks.
OBJECTIVES
Primary Research Objective
To determine the effect of ethnic subcultures on aggregated buying patterns for instant foods and to investigate whether ethnic consumers’ consumption of instant foods is predicted by their strength of ethnic identification.
Secondary Research objective
??To identify and determine the broad ethnic subcultures in proposed sample population ??To determine different Instant foods consumption pattern ??To identify the critical factors affecting choice of instant foods ??To determine the strength of ethnic subculture association with consumption of instant foods.
Arrival on the Final product for purpose of research- Instant foods.
RESEARCH APPROACH
? Research Problem
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The ethnic origin of consumers has some impact on the buying pattern of instant foods in our country. With this research we will try to the impact of ethnic subcultures on aggregated buying patterns for instant foods. ? Estimated Value of Information: The value of this research is enormous as it can help a company understand the instant food preferences culture and region wise, which will help them to serve their customers better. Apart from this the research shall be of tremendous benefit to the academia.
? Data collection method: ? ? Secondary research – Internet, Marketing Journals, Magazines, Books, News papers etc. Primary Research - Structured Direct Personal questionnaires (35), In Depth Interviews (5), Focus group discussion – 2 Focus group discussions of 5-8 members each. ? Measurement Techniques Various attitude measurement scales will be used in the questionnaire like Likert scale, Stapel scale etc.
? Sampling Process: Sample size will be of 30 respondents. Stratified sampling will be done to select our sampling group.
? Data Analysis techniques:
Data analysis will be done using Regression Analysis, Cross tabs with chi square and Factor Analysis.
? Ethics Of The Research Proper care would be taken not to offend any respondent by asking offensive questions and no differentiation would be made on basis of caste, region and class. No leading questions will be asked.
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? Time and Cost Analysis The project has an over all duration of 6 weeks. Initial 3 weeks would be used for Secondary and Exploratory research. Next 2 weeks would be used for Primary Research. And the last 1 week would be used for Data Reduction and Analysis.
An exploratory research was conducted to uncover the possible attributes and the variables that affect the buying behaviour of the instant food. Secondary data was collected from the online resources. With the help of the attributes uncovered a detailed questionnaire was designed and the survey research was carried out. An exploratory research was conducted to uncover all possible attributes responsible for the buying pattern of instant food and then understanding the impact of ethnic subculture of our country on this pattern. The variables affecting the consumers’ buying behaviour were subjected to chi-square test and only those that have a significant impact on the buying behaviour have been considered for further research. The respondents will be asked the questions pertaining to these variables and their responses will be collected for the data analysis. The sample size of the respondents will be 30. After the exploratory research, the survey research that includes the personal interviews and questionnaire is planned. Likert scale along with the other direct response attitude scales would be used to determine the response for the questions put forth to the respondents. Regression and Chi-square cross-tabulation would help in determining the variables significant in the purchasing behaviour. Factor Analysis would help in grouping the related variables into several factors. A data reduction technique was applied to reduce these attributes into distinct factors to gain insights into the preferences for Food items.
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS
Factors affecting choice of instant foods – an ethnographic study From the previous studies conducted, it was hypothesised that sub cultural differentiation according to caste, language or religion did not give conclusive results about the aggregate buying patterns. A more stable buying pattern was established when aggregate demand was determined at the zone level. 4 clear zones were established , these zones though not explicitly expressed by the respondents, a simple probe interview revealed inter zone similarities. The similarities included similarities in celebrating festivals, identification with family values and responses to cultural issues. To get a deeper understanding to understand
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the key parameters affecting the choice of instant foods, focus group discussions were conducted for each of the identified subcultures. The details of the FGDs are discussed below Methodology:
1. Define the objective of the focus group:
The primary objective of the FGD was to arrive at independent factors which govern the choice of food in the instant foods category. The objective was not explicitly mentioned at the beginning of the group discussion to prevent influence of the topic on the respondents mind, the only cues given were instant foods and their role in routine food consumption
2. Define the method of conducting the FGD
The technique used to conduct the GD was the Dual Moderator Technique proposed by Ernst Dichter [1]. In this technique two moderators conduct the GD wherein one moderator guides the direction of the GD while the other moderator ensures the coverage of all topics
3. Define the scope and duration of the GD
The scope of the GD is to identify zonal cues arising from each focus group and correspondingly determine what cultural factors drive instant foods. This would enable us to conduct a factor analysis to finally arrive at clearcut clusters of interdependent clauses which govern regional buying patterns. To optimise on the attention span of the individuals, FGDs of group size 9 were conducted. The duration of the GD was limited to 20 minutes with an additional 5 minutes of de briefing and objection handling.
4. Findings
As mentioned previously 4 focus groups each with strength of 9 members were observed. The discussion proceeded with identifying the various activities associated with the buying of instant food articles in their homes, the key decision makers and their say in the same. The discussion then moved towards the changing trends in consumption of instant foods with the advent of the burgers and the pizzas. The discussion then proceeded towards the cultural fit of the food they consume and their awareness of the same. Stimulants to buying specific types of foods on different occasions and aversions or undesirable cues towards the
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same at other times were also discussed. Finally each individual in the GD was asked to speak for 30 seconds about their perception of instant foods, its role in their daily life and the trend they possibly observe in times to come.
Group 1: Moderators:
Dr Harsh Chopra and Dr Vishal Bhatia Demographic Profile of the respondents: 5 males and 4 females in the age group 23-28 from the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, East UP, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Findings: The respondents [7 out of 9] claimed to enjoy a fairly amount of freedom when it came to consumption of instant foods. In all obviousness they claimed to be fairly influenced by the impact of the western snacks on their traditional snacks. The parathas, chats, sweet meats, kachoris and batores were being replaced by rolls, pizzas and the mc chickens (8 out of 9). Some even showed a preference towards such foods [4 out of 9] over the traditional foods in most times of their snacking. A majority of them agreed that the influencer of instant foods and snackers were no more their family members, but were friends in peer groups and what their favourite film star ate [8 out of 9]. Most claimed to prefer vegetarian food without admitting to being vegetarian. The following factors were established which determined the choice of the instant foods a. Peer groups [7 out of 9] b. Sensory Appeal [6 out of 9] c. Familiarity [6 out of 9] d. Health concern [4 out of 9] e. Personal choice [2 out of 9]
Group 2: Moderators:
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Abhishek Kamle and Aswin C. Demographic Profile of the respondents: 6 males and 3 females of the age group 21-26 from the states of Maharashtra [Marathwada, Saurashtra, Vidharba and Konkan regions], Gujrat [Saurashtra bordering, Kutch hinterland and Surat] and South MP [Jabalpur]. No respondents from Mumbai were included as their consumption patterns caused distortions in trends Findings: The respondents had lower degrees of freedom when it came to choosing instant foods and snacks at home [8 out of 9], people displayed considerable liking to home made delicacies like Themlas, Missal Pav and Kandha Poha [7 out of 9] and ate pizzas occasionally. The occasion generally meant hanging out with friends from other cultures who had very few similar tastes with each other [5 out 9]. Most of the respondents [7 out 9] believed that their choice of instant foods was due to their up bringing and the tastes they acquired when they were children. The tastes also included aversion towards certain items which they had felt when they were young. Respondents also strongly believed in the social acceptance associated with the choice of the food they ate and also religious beliefs strongly governing the choice of food [Eg. Some foods were not eaten on particular days of the week]. The main factors established for this group of respondents were: a. Upbringing and acquired taste [8 out of 9] b. Familiarity [6 out of 9] c. Personal ideology [5 out of 9] d. Religious Beliefs [6 out of 9]
Group 3 Moderators:
Roshan Rebello and Abhishek Sriram Demographic profile of respondents: The respondents consisted of 4 males and 5 females in the age group of 24 - 29 from the states of Tamil Nadu [South Central Arcot and Kovai], Karnataka [Malnadu], Andhra Pradesh [Rayalseema, Godavari Doab, Krishna Doab and Telangana] and Kerala. Only indigenious
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people from these states were considered as the sample from this state consisted of people with acquired cultures. Findings The respondents felt that personal ideology about foods played a major role in their choosing of instant foods. The personal preferences ranged from spicy flavoured foods to sweetened instant foods. Another trend observed amongst people of this region [7 out of 9] was the preference given to health. Most respondents claimed to ask themselves the question “Is it healthy?” before buying any food. This explains the high sales of health beverages in this region. The other main perceptions included the tendency to try out new things [5 out of 9]. The main factors established were: a. Health Concern [7 out of 9] b. Sensory Appeal [7 out of 9] c. Occasion [6 out of 9] d. What ever is available [6 out 9] e. Ease of preparation [5 out of 9] f. Personal ideology [5 out of 9]
Group 4:
Moderators: Aswin C and Dr Vishal Bhatia Demographic Profile of the respondents: The group contained 8 respondents 5 males and 3 females in the age group 21-27 from the states of Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Kolkata and Jharkhand. Findings: The respondents [5 out of 8] claimed to enjoy a fairly amount of freedom when it came to consumption of instant foods. But this freedom decreases when they are at their homes [only 2 out of 8] Respondents in these groups were fairly influenced by North Indian snacks. They were very much addicted to north indian snacks like chats, sweet meats, parathas, kachoris and batores and had developed a taste for them (6 out of 8). Since they have now
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been living in western India for a few years, a few of them had now adjusted to taste and spices of western India [3 out of 8] Few of them even showed a preference towards such foods [2 out of 8] over the traditional foods in most times of their snacking. A majority of them agreed that the influencer of instant foods and snackes was also effected by the health benefits or rather ill effects in case of packed snacks.[6 out of 8] They usually see the calorific content on packed snacks but don’t care much in case of open snacks. Social acceptability was also a factor in selecting their snacks [5 out of 8]. The following factors were established which determined the choice of the instant foods a. Peer groups [6 out of 8] b. Social Acceptability [5 out of 8] c. Health concern [6 out of 8] d. Ease Of Preparation [5 out of 8] e. Sensory Appeal [5 out of 8]
Conclusions:
From the Focused Discussions conducted, it was found that the Aggregated buying patterns were governed by the following parameters: 1. Upbringing and acquired taste 2. Health concern 3. Religious beliefs 4. Whatever is available 5. Occasion 6. Price 7. Ease of preparation 8. Family preferences 9. Sensory appeal 10. Familiarity 11. Personal ideology 12. Social acceptability These attributes are generally independent of each other. The main dichotomy of the situation at hand is that consumer evaluation is not governed by a set of independent
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attributes but rather by a set of interdependent variables which are in complex interaction with each other. These are determined through Factor Analysis by conducting a quantitative research on a matched sample. The SPSS outputs shall be used as governing factors which influence aggregate buying patterns.
FACTOR ANALYSIS
The attributes arrived after the exploratory research was converted into a questionnaire. Respondents were asked to provide their response on a 5 point Likert scale. The data collected was subjected to Factor Analysis. A data reduction technique was applied to reduce these attributes into distinct factors to gain insights into the preferences for Food items. This test has resulted in the following findings and conclusions: ? To determine the factors affecting the choice of Food item.
These results have been analysed separately on the basis of the four different zones. The attributes that have been considered were obtained on the basis of focus group discussion North: Five major factors for consumer preference were identified amongst the respondents from North zone
Traditional
Health conscious
Conservative
Family Associated
Modern
The different component Attributes along with the identified Factors are: Religion/occasion/social acceptability: Traditional Healthy/sensory appeal: Health conscious Personal/prefer familiar food: Conservatives Price/family/Upbringing: Family associated SYMBIOSIS CENTRE FOR MANAGEMENT & HRD Page 15
Available/easy to prepare: Modern East: Five major factors for consumer preference were identified amongst the respondents from East zone:
Traditional
Health conscious
Decisive
Economical
Family Related
The different component Attributes along with the identified Factors are: Religion/prefer familiar food/social acceptability: Traditional Healthy: Health conscious Personal/occasion: Decisive Price/ Available: Economical Family/upbringing /sensory appeal/easy to prepare: Family related West: Five major factors for consumer preference were identified amongst the respondents from West zone:
Traditional
Health related
Conservative
Family Related
Modern
The different component Attributes along with the identified Factors are: Religion/occasion/social acceptability: Traditional
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Healthy/sensory appeal: Health related Personal/prefer familiar food: Conservatives Price/family/Upbringing: Family associated Available/easy to prepare: Modern South: Five major factors for consumer preference were identified amongst the respondents from South zone:
Traditional
Health conscious
Decisive
Family Associated
Experiment Averse
The different component Attributes along with the identified Factors are: Religion/social acceptability: Traditional Healthy/sensory appeal: Health conscious Personal/ easy to prepare: Decisive Price/family/Upbringing/Occasion: Family associated Available/ prefer familiar food: Experiment averse Perceptual maps are drawn with the factors and the attribute components as the axes. There are 5 factors identified for each zone and hence 40 perceptual maps are drawn taking the combination of the factors and the attribute components are plotted on those maps with the values of correlation coefficient. Sample perceptual maps between 2 factors for the respective zones are attached in the Annexure below.
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CORRELATION ANALYSIS
A correlation study was carried out to analyze the influence of sub-culture on the shopping behaviour, consumption of instant foods and festive season consumption of instant foods. The results of the correlation analysis are as follows: 1) Association with a specific sub-culture bears little bearing with the aggregate shopping behavior of the target group ( Correlation Value 0.465) 2) Association with a specific sub-culture bears little bearing with the aggregate consumption behavior of instant food amongst the target group ( Correlation Value -0.013) 3) Association with a specific sub-culture bears little bearing with the festive season consumption of instant foods amongst the target group. ( Correlation Value 0.200) The SPSS output for the Correlation Analysis is given in the Annexure attached at the end of the report.
CONCLUSION
From the Primary and the Secondary Research, it can be inferred that there is a significant impact of ethnic subculture on the buying and consumption patterns of instant foods in India. Most of the respondents who were asked to fill up the questionnaire, interviewed and the participants of the focus group discussions identified and distinguished their sub cultures based on zones. Hence, the Factor Analysis was conducted based on the zonal data and different attribute components that were identified from the Exploratory Research were grouped into several factors. These factors were significant enough to impact the buying patterns of the consumers. As it has already been explained, factors such as Tradition, Conservative, Family Association and Health Conscious were common to all the zones and these factors are the major influencers for the consumer to buy the Instant food. However, some factors such as Economical, Modern and Experiment Averse were prominent in few zones and these factors can be deemed critical in concluding that the ethnic subculture has a significant impact on the buying pattern of instant foods.
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Also, the results and findings of Correlation Analysis has shown that association with a specific subculture bears little bearing with the aggregate consumption behaviour of instant food amongst the target group.
The results obtained from both the analysis have synchronised with each other, proving that there is a little significance of ethnic sub-culture on the buying and consumption pattern of Instant food.
ANNEXURES
ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS
1. Consumers' strength of ethnic sub culture identification will predict their consumption of Instant foods 2. Consumers' strength of ethnic identification will predict the extent to which they attribute positively/negatively valanced internal emotions to the consumption of Instant foods. 3. A sample of 30 respondents does not represent the actual market situation with respect to consumer segments, usage and perception about brands within each segment, attributes of importance, buying decision influencing factors, brand evaluating attributes etc. 4. The sample of respondents aged 20 and above may not give a representative sample of actual consumers of instant foods. 5. The sample unit limited to Hinjewadi, Pune may not give a representative picture of the whole country though we will try to map them with respect to regions they come from and do the analysis accordingly.
QUESTIONNAIRE
India is made up of people of various ethnicities. Ethnicity& subculture refers to cultural traditions, beliefs, and behaviours that are passed down through generations. Some examples of the ethnicities that people in India may easily identify with are north, south, west and east. When you are answering the following questions, we’d like you to think about what YOU consider your ethnicity & sub culture to be. Please write what you consider to be your subculture here _____ and refer to this as you answer the questions below.
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1. I am a vivid reader of books, magazines& their sources that have taught me about my subculture and ethnicity [ ] [ ] [ ] Neither Agree nor Disagree [ ] [ ] Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
2. I have a liking for my sub culture [ ] [ ] [ ] Neither Agree nor Disagree [ ] [ ] Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
3. My family teaches me about our family’s ethnic /cultural background [ ] [ ] [ ] Neither Agree nor Disagree [ ] [ ] Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
4. Our home is decorated with things that reflect my ethnic/cultural background [ ] [ ] [ ] Neither Agree nor Disagree [ ] [ ] Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
5. My subculture preference is reflected in the way I shop for general use [ ] [ ] [ ] Neither Agree nor Disagree [ ] [ ] Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
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S A Upbringing and acquired taste has a significant role to play in my 1 choice of food 2 I prefer to have Healthy food 3 I do not consume a food which is contradictory to my religious beliefs 4 I choose any food item which is available 5 I eat food according to the occasion 6 Price of food item governs my food choice 7 Foods which are easy to prepare are generally good in taste 8 Family preferences govern what food is prepared at home 9 Sensory appeal of a food item is very important 10 I do not eat food which is not familiar to me 11 My personal ideology governs food item preference 12 Food items that we have should have social acceptability A NAND D SD
6. How often do you consume instant foods a. Once a day b. Twice a day c. Thrice a day [ ] [ ] [ ]
7. How often do you consume instant foods which are inspired by your subculture
a. Sometimes b. Never c. Always
[ ] [ ] [ ]
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8. How often do you prefer consuming Traditional instant foods on special occasions/festivals. a. Once a day b. Twice a day c. Thrice a day [ ] [ ] [ ]
Age: ________________________________
Gender:
M
F
SPSS OUTPUT
FACTOR ANALYSIS
NORTH
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1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 -0.10 -0.2
Occasion Easy to prepare Availability
Modern
Social Acceptability
Religion
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
-0.4
Traditional
EAST
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1
Occasion
0.8
Personal
0.6
Price
Decisive
0.4 0.2 0 -0.40 -0.20 -0.2 -0.4 0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00
Availability
Economical
WEST
Sensory Appeal
1 0.8 0.6 0.4
Healthy Prefer familiar food
Health related
-0.40 -0.20
0.2 0 -0.2 -0.4 -0.6 -0.8 -1 0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60
0.80
1.00
Personal
Conservative SOUTH
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1
Available
0.8 0.6
Prefer familiar food
Family
0.4
Upbringing Occasion
Experiment Averse
-0.20
0.2 0 0.00 -0.2 -0.4
Price
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
Family Associated
CORRELATION ANALYSIS
A)
Correlations Cultural Influence Shopping attitude Cultural Influence Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) Sum of Squares and Crossproducts Covariance N Shopping attitude Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) Sum of Squares and Crossproducts Covariance N .316 30 1.816 30 .254 30 .465 .010 9.167 52.667 .316 30 1 7.367 1 .465 .010 9.167
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B)
Correlations Consumption_Subc Cultural_Influence Cultural_Influence Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Consumption_Subculture Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N 30 -.013 .948 30 30 1 ulture -.013 .948 30 1
C)
Correlations High amount of instant food consumer during Cultural Influence Cultural Influence Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N High amount of instant food consumer during festive season Pearson Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N 30 .200 .289 30 30 1 festive season .200 .289 30 1
REFERENCES
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Ethnic identity and self-perception of ethnic consumers By Veena Chattaraman and Sharron J.Lennon Role of culture in Consumer Behaviour By Ashish Sharma Subcultures and Consumer Behaviour
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doc_847781194.docx