The Value Structure of Korean Convenience Store Lunch Box (“Dosirak”) Consumers: An Application of the Means-End Approach
Authors:   Asia-Europe Perspective Association, Park Ji-Ho , Woo Yun-Hae , Kim Da-Bin , Lee Hye-Young , Cho Hye-Jeung 
Published: June 2018

The purpose of this study is to discover and understand Korean young consumers’ cognitive structure of product attribute-consequence-value associations concerning convenience store lunch box (dosirak) consumption. Based on the means-end chain theory and using APT survey technique, we asked 98 consumers (48 men and 50 women in their 20s) about the associations between sets of important product attributes, consequences, and life values to produce a hierarchical value map (HVM).
The results revealed that the most important product attributes consumers consider in comparing and choosing convenience store lunch box meals are taste, menu, price, and amount. These important attributes were linked to pleasure, stimulation, physical and psychological comfort, financial security, and self-direction via preference, curiosity, satisfaction, satiety, and saving money. In specific, the primary ladders were ‘taste-preference-stimulation’, ‘taste-preference-pleasure’, ‘menu-preference-stimulation’, ‘menu-pre- ference-pleasure’, ‘taste-satisfaction-comfort’, and ‘price-saving money-security’. When we developed an additional HVM for each gender group, the results further revealed a few similarities and differences between male consumers’ and female consumers’ value structure. First, the ladder of ‘price-saving money-financial security’ appeared in both men’s and women’s HVM. This indicates that the benefit of low price is very important to them because it helps them pursue and obtain economic security. However, this economy ladder occupied a more important part in men’s HVM than in women’s. The economy ladder structure involved not only the low price attribute but also the food taste attribute suggesting that, for men, the cost(price)-to-benefit(taste) ratio is very important in choosing a dosirak and pursuing economic security. In the case of women, we found that both menu and taste were very strongly associated with personal preference which then led to pleasure. Other important differences also include ‘menu-curiosity-stimulation’, ‘taste-curiosity-stimulation’, and ‘food amount-satiety-comfort’ ladders that were found only in men’s HVM. For women, satiety was not strongly associated with the food amount. Instead, menu and taste were strongly associated with satiety, indicating that women may prefer a dosirak meal that gives a satisfactory feeling of fullness which does not come from the actual food amount but rather from ingredients, cooking methods, and the kind of taste.
The results of this study help us better understand consumers’ motivational structure behind their purchase of convenience store dosirak. The study also provides important managerial insights into improving current product offerings, developing new products, and designing effective marketing communication campaigns when the firms in the rapidly developing Korean convenience store dosirak market pursue a mass market strategy or a target market strategy. For example, in the male consumer segment, improving the price-quality(taste) ratio, increasing the amount of food, and developing new tastes and menu items that can stimulate consumers’ curiosity would be an effective product development strategy. On the other hand, offering a large variety of menu items and tastes that can better satisfy consumers’ individual preferences and developing a meal that can give a satisfactory feeling of fullness through its ingredients, cooking methods, and the kind of taste (rather than the food amount) would be an effective marketing strategy in the female consumer segment. Lastly, some limitations and implications for future research are discussed.