Product Attributes' Effects on Perceived Values and Repurchase Intention in Korea, USA, and France

Abstract The purposes of this study are 1) to understand the roles of product attributes (i.e., intrinsic cues: aesthetic and functional cues, extrinsic cues: brand image) with regard to perceptions of value and repurchase decisions and 2) to understand the moderating effects of price and consumer nationality on the relationships between product attributes (i.e., aesthetic and functional cues, brand image), perceived values (i.e., psychological value, economical value), and repurchase intention. A sampling plan was developed to ensure that the study included certain types of respondents. Data collection was conducted at three universities located in the Midwestern United States, in Seoul in the Republic of Korea, and in Paris, France. The samples consisted of undergraduate and graduate students who volunteered for the study. This study investigated cross-cultural differences in the consumption of jeans in three countries, the USA, France and Korea. Questionnaires were distributed to 1,000 respondents between January 4 and March 20, 2010. Of the 778 returned, 269 were collected from Seoul, 172 from the US Midwest, and 307 from Paris. For the data analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), path analysis for modeling test, mediation analysis, multi-group analysis were estimated using Amos 17.0. The following conclusions have been drawn from the results of this research: First, in postpurchase contexts, the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic cues on repurchase intentions is different. The intrinsic cues (i.e., aesthetics and functionality) affected repurchase intentions indirectly, mediated by perceived psychological and economic value. The extrinsic cues (e.g., brand image) influenced repurchase intentions directly. These results suggest that extrinsic cues such as brand image are more important than intrinsic cues in postpurchase contexts. Second, price plays a significant role in moderating the relationships between product attributes, perceived value and repurchase intentions. Functional cues had a greater impact on perceived economic value for products in the low-price category. Brand image had a greater impact on repurchase intentions for low-price products. These findings suggest that brand image is important to consumers in purchasing low-priced jeans, but that price may be an important determinant for consumers in deciding whether to purchase high-priced jeans. Third, consumers in Korea, the USA, and France differed with regard to the relationships between intrinsic and extrinsic cues, perceived value and repurchase intentions in their purchasing decisions. For Korean consumers, functional cues did not have a strong influence on perceived value and repurchase intentions. Korean consumers may not consider functional cues to be as important as aesthetic cues in their repurchase decision-making process. American consumers infer economic value from aesthetic and functional cues. French consumers infer economic value from functional cues, but Korean consumers infer economic value from emotional aspects such as aesthetic cues. For American consumers, functional cues played a more important role in determining perceived value than other cues, brand image had a more significant influence on perceived economic value, and perceived economic value significantly influenced repurchase intentions. This result may be because brand image influences perceived economic value and repurchase intentions directly for American consumers. This finding is consistent with the research of Chen-Yu et al. (2010), who found that American consumers tended to consider how well-known a brand was to be more important than Korean consumers did. For French consumers, aesthetic cues influenced perceived psychological value and functional cues influenced perceived economic value. They evaluated the psychological value of jeans on the basis of aesthetic cues and their economic value on the basis of functional cues. They formed their repurchase intentions on the basis of perceived psychological value and brand image. This study has suggested that aesthetic cues and brand image are the most important predictor variables in jeans-repurchase decision-making processes for French consumers. Their repurchase intentions with regard to jeans are formed only on the basis of their perceptions of the jeans' psychological value. The results of this study have a number of managerial implications for global jeans-producing companies.