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opinion leadership For ETHNIC PRODUCTS. Dissertation Proposal Presented to the Graduate Faculty of the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management Alliant International University. Presented By Levi Richard. Introduction.
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opinion leadership For ETHNIC PRODUCTS Dissertation Proposal Presented to the Graduate Faculty of the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management Alliant International University Presented By Levi Richard
Introduction • This study is an exploration of the characteristics of opinion leaders for ethnic products and proposes to learn how they behave and disseminate information. • Most of the prior research on this topic has focused on the opinion leaders of mainstream products.
Opinion leadership • Functions of opinion leadership • Acquire product information about product’s or product categories they are interested in. • Disseminate information throughout their social networks. Opinion Leaders Social Networks Spread Information
u.s. Population trends Source: U.S. Bureau of Census (1998)
Consumer Spending habits Source: New Strategist Publications, 2004
Importance of the study • In the United States, the demand for ethnic products will grow as the American society continues to become more diverse • Marketers of ethnic products will need to discover who the opinion leaders are and how they disseminate information to the information receivers. • A focus must be placed on discovering the characteristics of opinion leaders for ethnic products.
Objectives of the study • Compare opinion leadership across three different ethnic groups. • Compare social networking relationships, such as who the ethnic opinion leader is within the network. • Investigate how the opinion leader for ethnic products disseminates information to the information receivers.
Literature Review • Opinion Leadership • Acculturation • Ethnic Identity • Cross Cultural Studies
Opinion leadership • Original research was conducted by Lazarfeld & Berelson (1948) that measured opinion leaders impact on the election. • Rogers and Cartano (1962) defined opinion leadership as “individuals who exert an unequal amount of influence on the decisions of others…those individuals from whom others seek advice and information”.
Acculturation • Acculturation occurs when the member of one cultural group comes into contact with a larger dominant cultural group and changes in their attitudes, values, perceptions, and behaviors occur over time (Gordon, 1964; Herskovits, 1938; Triandis, Kashima, Shimada, Lisansky, & Villareal, 1986). Low High
Ethnic identity • A psychological construct reflecting various aspects of our identification with, and membership in, an ethnic group (Cuellar 1997). Low High
Ethnic Identity • Factors that impact ethnic identity • Self-identification (Phinney, 1992) • Sense of belonging (Ashmore, 2004; Phinney, 1990) • Ethnic involvement (Phinney, 1992) • Friendship (Drieger, 1975; Garcia, 1983) • Language • Religious Affiliation • Group participation • Political activities
Ethnic Identity • Factors that impact ethnic identity • Importance and Salience (Phinney & Alipuria, 1990). • Social Embeddedness (Ashmore, 2004) • Exploration (Phinney, 2007)
Opinion leadership across cultures • Cosmos & Sheth (1980) • Measured opinion leadership characteristics across five cultural groups (American White, American Black, India, Chinese, and British) • 7 dimensions were found to be significant among the five groups (opinionated, practical, self-centered, accessible, peer expert, authoritarian, general expert.
Opinion leadership across cultures • Marchall & Gitosudarmo (1995) • Measured opinion leadership characteristics in eight countries (Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, India, Indonesia, Korea, United States, and New Zealand) • Factor analysis was used to categorize 13 opinion leader characteristics into four factors (maturity, expertise, sociability, and wealth). • Findings showed differences between the countries with respect to maturity and wealth.
Opinion leadership across cultures • Coulter, Freick, and Price (2002) • Measured cosmetic opinion leadership traits among women in Hungary. • Findings show that the cosmetics opinion leader is younger, more cosmopolitan and upscale, and involved with the media. • They also show a higher degree of product involvement and product knowledge. • Also, the findings showed that these opinion leaders showed “seeking behaviors” indicating they look for new and different brands of cosmetics.
Opinion leadership across cultures • Sohn (2006) • Measured opinion leader characteristics (expertise, product involvement, domain specific innovativeness, media habits, and demographics) within digital camera online communities in Korea. • Found no correlation between product involvement and demographics, with O.L. in the online environment.
OL Characteristics Chat rooms Newsletter One-on-one conversation Ethnic Product Involvement Ethnic Media Usage Ethnic Product Knowledge H4, H6, H7 Opinion Leader For Ethnic Products Dissemination Behaviors Internet Forums Blogs Word-of-mouth H5 H9 H1 H3 Ethnic Identity H8 H2 Ethnic Social Networks Acculturation Figure 1: Broad Conceptual Model
Research Questions • RQ1 Is there a relationship between opinion leadership for ethnic products and the strength of ethnic identity? • RQ1a: Is there a relationship between opinion leadership for ethnic products and the dimensions of ethnic identity? • RQ1b: Is there a relationship between the opinion leader for ethnic products and their level of education? • RQ1c: Is there a relationship between the opinion leader for ethnic products and gender? • RQ2 Is there a correlation between the strength of acculturation and the ethnic identity of opinion leaders for ethnic products? • RQ3 Is there a correlation between the ethnicity of opinion leaders for ethnic products and the ethnicity of the information recipient?
Research Questions • RQ4 Is there a positive correlation between the use of culturally based media and the opinion leader for ethnic products? • RQ5 Is there a negative correlation between the strength of acculturation for the opinion leader for ethnic products and product knowledge? • RQ5a: Is there a negative correlation between the strength of acculturation and the use ethnic language media? • RQ6 Does a correlation exist between the opinion leaders for ethnic products and product knowledge? • RQ7 Is there a positive relationship between the level of product involvement and opinion leadership for ethnic products? • RQ8 Is there a relationship between opinion leadership for ethnic products and the strength of ethnic social networks? • RQ9 Is there a relationship between opinion leadership and the influence over the members of the social network?
hypotheses • H1: There is a relationship between opinion leaders for ethnic products and the strength of ethnic identity. • H1a: There is a relationship between opinion leadership for ethnic products and the dimensions of ethnic identity. • H1b: There is a relationship between opinion leadership for ethnic products and their level of education. • H1c: There is a relationship between the opinion leader for ethnic products and gender. • H2: There is a relationship between strength of acculturation and the ethnic identity of opinion leaders for ethnic products. • H3: There is a positive correlation between the ethnicity of opinion leaders for ethnic products and the ethnicity of the information recipient.
hypotheses • H4: There is a positive relationship between the use of culturally based media and the opinion leader for ethnic products. • H5: There is a negative correlation between the strength of acculturation for opinion leaders for ethnic products and product knowledge. • H5a: There is a negative correlation between the strength of acculturation and the use ethnic language media. • H6: A positive correlation exists between opinion leaders for ethnic products and product knowledge. • H7: There is a positive relationship between the level of product involvement for ethnic products and opinion leadership for ethnic products. • H8: There is a relationship between opinion leaders for ethnic products and the strength of ethnic social networks. • H9: There is a relationship between opinion leadership and the influence over the members of the social network.
Research design • I will utilize an online survey or a mailed questionnaire. • Sample population of 3,000 (1,000 each made up of African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Asian-Americans). • Anticipate a response rate of 10-15%
THE SURVEY • Opinion leadership • Acculturation • Ethnic Identity • Product Knowledge • Product Involvement • Purchase behaviors • Demographics
measurement • Acculturation Scale • Acculturation will be measured with a scale developed by Cuellar, Arnold & Maldonaldo (1995). 28-item, 5 point Likert scale. • Ethnic Identity • The questions used to measure the level of ethnic identity have been adapted from the Multi-group Ethnic Identity Measure, developed by Phinney (1992). 23-item, 4 point Likert scale • Ethnic Opinion Leadership • Revised opinion leadership scale (Childers, 1986). 7-item, 5 point Likert scale
measurement • Product Knowledge • The questions used to measure product knowledge have been adapted from a study conducted by Coulter, Feick, and Price (2000). 5-item, 5 point Likert scale. • Product Involvement • The questions used to measure involvement have been adapted using an involvement scale developed by Zaichkowsky (1985). 7 point Likert scale.
Data analysis • Descriptive statistics will be used to describe the demographic characteristics of the sample, and calculate the mean scores of all items on the scales. • Factor analysis will be used to uncover the underlying dimensions of opinion leadership for ethnic products. • ANOVA will be used to compare the factor mean scores for each group. • The correlations between each of the variables will be analyzed. Factor analysis will be used to retest the reliability of the established scales and re-confirm the underlying dimensions.
Timeline • Proposal Defense 3rd Week of March 08 • IRB 2 Weeks to Confirm • Mail announcement post cards 4th Week of April 08 • Mail out survey 2nd Week of May 08 • Mail follow-up post cards 4th Week of May 08 • Begin to analyze data 3rd Week of June 08 • Final defense August 08