Consumer perceived value of salon hair coloring : a cross-cultural comparison of Gen Y cohorts in China and the United States

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Xin Zhao (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Barbara Dyer

Abstract: "The primary objective of this study was to examine how Generation Y (Gen Y) consumers perceive the value of salon hair coloring in China versus in the United States. An in-depth literature review of consumer perceived value (CPV) suggested a paucity of existing research on this topic. A preliminary qualitative study using in-depth interviews was used to explore the potential similarities and differences between Gen Y consumers in China and in the United States in terms of perceived value relative to salon hair coloring. Based on the findings from the qualitative study and the intensive literature review, a survey was developed to measure Gen Y consumers' perceptions of quality value, emotional value, epistemic value, social value, monetary cost, time/effort cost, and health risk cost of salon hair coloring in China and the United States. One thousand four hundred surveys were disseminated, 700 in China and 700 in the United States, resulting in 449 usable surveys, an overall 32.1% response rate. Statistical results indicated that Gen Y consumers in the two countries demonstrated different levels of the value dimensions investigated. When comparing the two samples, quality value, emotional value, and social value appeared to have a stronger influence on US Gen Y consumers, while epistemic value, monetary cost, and health risk cost appeared to have a stronger influence on Chinese Gen Y consumers. In addition, time/effort costs turned out to have the same level of influence on the two samples. When looking at how consumer perceived value was influenced in the two countries individually, quality value and monetary cost appeared to be the most important dimensions for Chinese Gen Y consumers, while emotional value and monetary cost appeared to be the most important dimensions for US Gen Y consumers. The study results imply that retailers targeting China and the United States may need to use different marketing strategies to ensure that the perceived value dimensions most salient to their specific consumers can be emphasized. Although the findings of this research are market specific, they have important implications for general consumer perceived value research. For example, the results suggested that the proposed model for CPV in this study may be useful to apply in CPV studies looking at other product categories and other age demographics in other cultural settings."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2006
Keywords
Generation Y(Gen Y), consumers, value, salon, hair coloring, China, United States, consumer perceived value (CPV)
Subjects
Generation Y--China--Attitudes
Generation Y--United States--Attitudes
Consumers' preferences--Cross-cultural studies
Hair--Dyeing and bleaching

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