This indicated that the large population of the female workforce is able to buy a car. This chapter outlines the foundation and overview of the research that enables readers to gain a clearer picture of the factors that influence the car purchase decision among Generation Y women.
Aesthetic
The elements of an aesthetic product have the meaning of creating an object that could increase relevance in symbolic consumer interaction (Bunnak, 2009). The given choices of color, design and shape of the car should be in harmony with her personality, color and clothes.
Feature
Each functionality and feature of a product provides the customer with another reason to buy the product (Brown. & Carpenter, 2000). A company that is able to produce and offer distinctive goods filled with features and functionality that the competition does not yet have is a competitive advantage winner (Goldenberg et al., 2003).
Price
This is logical and yet simply because women are often responsible for managing the household budget and are more likely to look for bargains and value for money products (Arink et al., 2010). According to their research and study, it shows that female dominated categories are more price elastic compared to male dominated categories.
Interpersonal Influence
There are three types of influential buyers namely the innovator, opinion leader and market shaper (Feick et al., 1987). This indicates and suggests that women may be more susceptible to interpersonal influences (Rose et al., 1994).
Purchasing Decision
There are two models that can be used to explain the purchase decision process: a rational and an emotional model (Herlina, 2012). In this model, consumers can be influenced by five types of incentives provided by the manufacturers through marketing strategies that consist of feeling, feeling, thinking, acting, and relating (Consoli, 2009).
Review of Relevant Theoretical Model
Theoretical Framework
Referring to Figure 2.1, the framework adopted by Shaharudin, Mansor, Hassan, Omar and Harun (2011) on “The Relationship between Product Quality and Purchase Intention: The Case of a Malaysian National Motorcycle/Scooter Manufacturer” is used to create our own proposed framework for this research. Therefore, the proposed framework that would be used throughout the research would also include a direct link between the independent variable and the dependent variable.
Conceptual Framework
Buying a car can be considered a big investment and the interpersonal influence and the price play an important role in influencing the choice of car among all other options. Therefore, in our research we will test the relationship between characteristics, aesthetics, price and interpersonal influence that can influence the purchase decision of generation Y women on cars.
Hypotheses Development
- The relationship between aesthetic and car purchasing decision among Generation Y females
- The relationship between feature and car purchasing decision among Generation Y females
- The relationship between price and car purchasing decision among Generation Y females
- The relationship between interpersonal influence and car purchasing decision among Generation Y females
Seeking information from others or making inferences based on observing others (Park et al., 1977) helps in the purchase decision. The information provided through personal contact influences customers' purchase decision and product/brand choices (Derussy, 2004; Park et al., 1977).
Conclusion
METHODOLOGY
- Introduction
- Research Design
- Data Collection Methods
- Primary Data
- Secondary Data
- Sampling Design
- Target Population
- Sampling Frame and Sampling Location
- Sampling Elements
- Sampling Technique
- Sampling Size
- Research Instrument
- Questionnaire Design
- Pilot Testing
- Construct Measurement
- Scale Measurement
- Origins of Construct
- Data Processing
- Questionnaire Checking
- Data Editing and Coding
- Data Cleaning
- Data Analysis
- Descriptive Analysis
- Scale Measurement
- Inferential Analysis
- Conclusion
Most of the respondents will be from the immediate area of the Klang Valley as it is convenient to be focused on. In the research study, it is important to have a precise description of the population of elements (persons, organizations and objects) that previously formed the focus of the study (Ross, 2012). Convenience sampling is used in this research which is one of the non-probability sampling techniques.
In this research, printed questionnaires were distributed to the target respondents, each of the respondents gets a printed copy and later it is collected again by the researcher. In Section A, nominal and ordinal scales are used to examine the demographic profile of the respondent. Scale measurement is being used to verify the reliability and validity of the data collected in this research.
DATA ANALYSIS
- Introduction
- Descriptive Analyses
- Demographic Profile of Respondents
- Scale Measurement
- Internal Reliability Test
- Inferential Analysis
- Pearson Correlation Analysis
- Multiple Regression Analysis
Referring to figure 4.2, the majority of the respondents are in the age group of 22 to 24 years old, which amounts to 31.65%. As shown in Figure 4.3, most respondents are single, without children or dependent, with a total of 55.70%, followed by married with children or dependent, at 27.85%. Finally, 6.96% of the female respondents are unemployed and 3.80% of the female respondents hold a position at management level.
The closer Cronbach's Alpha is to 1, the greater the internal consistency of the items. It clearly reflects that 58.7% of the car buying decision among Generation Y females is influenced by the factors of aesthetics, price, features and interpersonal influence. It shows that the interpersonal influence of the car is positively related to the purchase decision.
DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS
Introduction
Summary of Statistical Analyses
- Descriptive Analysis
- Inferential Analysis
Apart from that, the majority of the respondents earned RM2001 to RM3000, consisting of 43 respondents, and there are only 12 respondents who earned RM4001 and above. In a sense, most of the respondents hold a bachelor's degree/professional qualification, consisting of 63 respondents. In conclusion, we can say that the female respondents in this study have at least an academic qualification in secondary education.
In Pearson's correlation analysis, among the four independent variables, aesthetics has the strongest correlation with purchase decision (0.605). However, in the multiple regression analysis, price is the strongest factor in the car purchase decision among Gen Y women (0.254). But in multiple regression analysis, it summarizes all the independent variables to be analyzed with the dependent variable.
Discussion of Major Findings
- Result of Hypotheses Testing
- Aesthetic
- Feature
- Price
- Interpersonal Influence
Research objective 1: To determine the relationship between aesthetics and car purchase decisions in Generation Y women. Research question 1: What is the significant relationship between aesthetics and car purchase decisions in Generation Y women. Research objective 2: To determine the relationship between characteristics and car purchase decisions in women from Generation Y.
Research Objective 3: To determine the relationship between price and car purchase decision among Generation Y females Research Question 3: What is the significant relationship between price and car purchase decision among Generation Y females Research Objective 4 : To determine the relationship between interpersonal influence and car purchase decision among Generation Y females.
Implication of the Study
Therefore, it shows a significant relationship between interpersonal influence and car purchase decision among Gen Y women. In conclusion, interpersonal influence is positively related to car purchase decision among Gen Y women. Through the framework, marketers could determine the extent of influence of factors such as aesthetics, price , traits and interpersonal influence that would affect car purchase decision among Gen Y women.
Through the research, companies could be able to make better decisions by understanding the increasing purchasing power and preference of Generation Y women in buying their own preferred car. Based on the research results, we found that aesthetics play quite a significant role in determining the purchase decisions of generation Y women. In addition, the characteristics of the car cannot be neglected because it has the greatest influence on the purchase decision of Generation Y women.
Limitations of the Study
On the other hand, price is an important factor in influencing the purchasing decision as purchasing power varies from person to person. By targeting only female gender, we cannot make a comparison between the difference between male and female buyers. While we are trying to understand the buying behavior of Generation Y women, the opinions of men should also be taken into account.
We have also limited our search age range to only Generation Y where they are aged between 19 and 36 years old. Furthermore, the variables we are testing on are mostly external factors such as aesthetics, features, interpersonal influence, and price. Internal factors such as customer loyalty, after-sales service and customer satisfaction may also be the factors influencing the car buying decision of Gen Y females.
Recommendations for Future Research
The reason is that the limitation can lay a foundation for future research to better understand the same topic. To fully understand the buying behavior of Generation Y, researchers are therefore advised to study Generation Y as a whole. This research covers factors such as aesthetics, characteristics, interpersonal influence and price, which are considered as external factors.
A thorough research should also include internal factors such as customer loyalty, after-sales service and customer satisfaction. By including both internal and external factors in the study, we strongly believe that future research would have a better coverage of the final result. This is because a research with opinions from the same Generation Y of different countries would give a better understanding of the buying behavior of Generation Y.
Conclusion
Retrieved October 30, 2013, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/my.html. Buying behavior: differences between genders and socioeconomic classes on the sensitivity to interpersonal influence Journal of Business and Social Science. Men are spendthrifts and women are bargain hunters. http://media.ebay.com.au/NewsArtikel.aspx?pid=819.
Retrieved December 28, 2012, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article- 2242074/More-women-driving-seat-Number-female-drivers-accelerates-two-rate-male-motorists.html. The Effect of Product Price and Quality on Consumer Buying Behavior: Evidence from Pakistan, Journal of Contemporary Research in Business.
Section A: Demographic Profile
We are conducting a survey on "Factors Influencing Car Buying Decisions Among Gen Y Females" as part of our degree requirements. The purpose of this survey is to understand the factors that influence the car buying decision of Generation Y females. This questionnaire consists of three sections and completing this questionnaire will take about 10-15 minutes of your time.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this study, please contact any of our team members.
Section B: Factors That Would Affect Purchase Decision
If there are similar cars with similar features in the market, I will buy the one with the latest design. I would not buy the latest car model if there is no major difference in design compared to the previous model. I would buy a car if the car dealers manage to give me extra benefits or discount.
I would go for the car model that resembles the person I look up to.
Section C: Purchase Decision
