An Empirical Analysis of Consumer Product Evaluation from an Ethnic Subcultural Perspective

Abstract

One of the most significant cultural manifestations in buyer behavior may be the way in which a product is evaluated as a function of its various attributes. People from different cultures have different experiences and value structures which may cause them to view products differently. This purpose of this study was to examine variation in product evaluation across three consumer ethnic subcultures in Malaysia: Malay, Chinese, and Indian. Mobile phone was chosen as the target product in this study. Exploratory factor analysis, comparison of means, and analysis of variance were employed to analyze the data collected through a questionnaire survey. The results indicate that image, reference group influence, media, and post-sale services best distinguish the three ethnic groups in their evaluation of mobile phone attributes. Theoretical and managerial implications were discussed.

Islamic banking selection criteria: a multi-ethnic perspective

“…The use of ethnicity as a predictor in consumption patterns could be seen across various research contexts (Hirschman, 1981;Joy et al, 1991;Mokhlis et al, 2010).Therefore, recognising the needs, similarities and differences of multi-ethnic customers is imperative particularly within customer-oriented industry. Furthermore, the nature of the Malaysian domestic market is highly characterised by the ethnically segmented consumer market which reflect cultural differences (Butt and de Run, 2011;Mokhlis, 2012). In relation to the potential of ethnicity as a significant factor in determining customer behaviour, this article aims to examine the selection factors among Malay, Chinese and Indian customers in Malaysian Islamic banking industry to gain insights of their preferences.…”

Fuzzy Simple Additive Weighting Based, Decision Support System Application for Alternative Confusion Reduction Strategy in Smartphone Purchases

“…There were many aspects can be used as the criteria weighting measurement in smartphone selection case. Aspects such as innovative features, product image, product price, recommendation among consumers, durability and portability products (Mokhlis and Yaakop, 2012); influence of advertising and after sales service (Mokhlis, 2012) and features (product quality aspects) (Pranastiti, 2012). The criterion for the smartphone selection aspects is a combination from the review on literature and the experienced smartphone user perspectives.…”

“…There is no restriction relating to the number of samples use in a qualitative survey interview (Creswell, 2009;Fidel, 2008), then the professional opinion of ten respondents can be used for criteria weighting references. Based on the literature point of view, weighting criteria aspects such as: Smartphones display/resolution, weight, dimension, processor speed, built-in memory and built-in storage were adapted from previous researches done by (Mokhlis and Yaakop, 2012;Mokhlis, 2012) and the comparison of smartphone hardware specs adapted from GSMA 2013 and HWM Singapore magazine (Wong, 2013). Visual Studio 2012 Professional edition with the Visual Basic .NET programming language is used as a designer and apps.coding tool.…”

Design of single user decision support system model based on fuzzy simple additive weighting algorithm to reduce consumer confusion problems in smartphone purchases

“…Finally, the ranking of smartphone recommendations based on Fuzzy SAW algorithm will be ( Table 4): In the smartphone selection criteria, there were many aspects can be considered as a measurement indicator on criteria weighting process. The aspects are such as: inovative feature, brand image, product price, product recommendation among consumers (like product review), durability, and product portability [11]; advertising and after sales service [10]; product design (quality aspect) [4]. In This study choose ten criteria as a fundamental weighting process; those criteria are based on the combination of literature review and direct interview (survey) from ten smartphone experienced users.…”

“…Meanwhile from literature review the other six criteria were display/resolution, weight, dimension, processor speed, built in memory, and built in storage Mokhlis & Yaakop [11], Mokhlis [10]. The DSS application workflow is reviewed from the perspective of an administrator, then the phase is: (1) the administrator has had a comparative values between smartphones.…”