Consumer Attitudes towards Marketingshodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/9052/9/09...of...
Transcript of Consumer Attitudes towards Marketingshodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/9052/9/09...of...
75
CHAPTER4
Consumer Attitudes towards Marketing
The present chapter discusses the results of the survey that was
carried out to measure consumer attitudes about 4 P‟s of marketing
(i.e., product quality, price, advertising and distribution) as well as
consumers‟ overall attitude towards marketing and operating
philosophy of business firms. In total, the chapter has three sections
namely, consumers attitudes towards various elements of marketing,
consumers overall attitude towards marketing and attitudes towards
operating philosophy of business.
4.1 Consumers Attitudes towards Various Elements of Marketing
Gaski and Etzel (1986) scale has proposed a total of twenty eight
statements to measure consumer attitudes. These statements have
been categorized into four groups, viz., product quality, price,
advertisement and retailing (Gaski and Etzel, 1986; Wee and Chan,
1989; Chan, Yau and Chan, 1990; Chan and Cui, 2004, Gaski and
76
Etzel, 2005; Peterson and Ekici, 2007; Ferdous and Towfique, 2008
and Orel and Zeren, 2011), and in substance roughly correspond to 4
P‟s of marketing i.e., product, price, promotion and distribution
respectively (Gaski and Etzel, 1986). The present study is using four
categories as proposed by Gaski and Eetzel and 4 P‟s of marketing
interchangeably viz., product quality, price, promotion
(advertisement) and distribution (retailing).
For each element of marketing, seven statements were used.
Responses for each of the statements were received on a five-point
Likert scale, where -2 stands for „Strongly Disagree‟ and 2 stands for
„Strongly Agree‟. Negative statements were also used, but these were
reverse coded for computing the dimension mean score. A positive
score characterizes favorable attitude, while negative mean score
represents unfavorable attitude.
In this section, results relating to consumer perceptions for each of
the four elements are discussed. First, the aggregative results for the
sample as a whole are examined in Section 4.1.1, and the results
across demographic variables (gender, age, educational qualification,
occupation, family income, marital status and residential area) are
analyzed in Section 4.1.2.
4.1.1 Aggregative Results
Consumers attitudes in respect of various elements of marketing mix
77
i.e., product quality, price, advertisement and distribution, are
discussed here on an aggregative basis. Item wise mean scores are
presented in Table 4.1.
It can be observed that consumer‟ attitudes towards various elements
of marketing range from .43 to 1.10, thus indicating respondents
positive attitudes for all the elements of marketing. Consumers have
displayed the most favorable attitudes towards distribution element
with a mean score of 1.10 and least favorable attitude towards price
with a score of .43. It, furthermore, can be seen from the Table 4.1
that mean scores of product quality and advertising are .75 and .78
respectively which are higher than that for price but lower than that
for distribution.
Indian consumers have displayed positive views about product
quality with a score of .75. This may be because that after a long
period of sellers‟ market, the people have now access to variety of
quality products and they are happy with the range of products they
are getting right now.
Lysonski and Zotos (1989), Wee and Chan (1989), Bhuian et al.,
(2001), Gaski and Etzel (2005), Peterson and Ekici (2007), Ferdous
and Towfique (2008), Orel and Zeren (2011) and Jain (2011) also in
their studies have reported positive attitudes prevalent among
consumers in respect of product quality, while the studies conducted
by Chan, Yau and Chan (1990) in Australia and Chan and Cui (2004)
in China have documented negative views about quality of product.
78
4.1: Consumer Attitudes toward Various Elements of Marketing Mix
Scale/item
Aggregative
Mean Score
Product Quality
1. The quality of most products conforms to my expectations. .66
2. I am satisfied with most of the products I buy. .89
3. Most products I buy wear out too quickly.(R) .78
4. Products are not made as well these days as they used to be
earlier.(R) .72
5. Too many of the products I buy are defective in some way.(R) .70
6. Once the products are sold, companies do not bother as to
how the products are performing. (R) .75
7. The quality of products I buy has consistently improved over
years. .71
Mean Score .75
Price
1. Most products I buy are overpriced.(R)
.36
2. Firms can charge lower price and still be profitable.(R) .45
3. Keeping in view prevailing wage and income levels, most
consumer products are priced fairly. .46
4. Competition between companies keeps prices reasonable. .39
5. Companies are unjustified in charging the prices they charge.(R)
.47
6. Most prices are fair. .58
7. In general, I am satisfied with the prices I pay. .32
Mean Score .43
Advertisement
1. Most advertising provides consumers with essential
information. .71
2. Most advertising is very annoying.(R) .85
3. Most advertising makes false claims.(R) .92
4. If most advertising was eliminated, consumers would be better
off.(R) .76
5. I enjoy most advertisements. .69
6. Most advertising is intended to deceive rather than to inform
consumers.(R) .73
7. Generally, advertised products are more dependable than unadvertised ones.
.80
Mean Score .78
Distribution/retailing
1. Most retail stores serve their customers well. .94
2. Because of the way retailers treat me, most of my shopping is
unpleasant.(R) 1.23
79
3. I find most retail salespeople to be very helpful. 1.13
4. Most retail stores provide an adequate selection of
merchandise. 1.02
5. Prices of consumer goods are high primarily because
wholesalers and retailers (middlemen) are making excessive profits.(R)
1.19
6. When I need assistance in a store, I am usually not able to get
it.(R) 1.15
7. Most retailers provide adequate service. 1.15
Mean Score 1.10
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 = Strongly Disagree
and 2 = Strongly Agree.
2. Mean score for each element of marketing range from -2 to 2.
3. Items with (R) were reverse coded for computing the mean score.
A low mean score of .43 in respect of price suggests that consumers
are least satisfied with respect to price fairness and consider that
prices are not sufficiently just and reasonable which is not very
surprising as they have never experienced such a high rate of
inflation. Wee and Chan (1989), Chan, Yau and Chan (1990) and
Chan and Cui (2004), Ferdous and Towfique (2008), Jain (2011) and
Orel and Zeren (2011) also in their studies revealed negative score
regarding price. In a similar vein, Gaski and Etzel (2005) and
Peterson and Ekici (2007) also indicated the pessimistic opinions in
respect of price.
Mean score of advertisement is .77, which represents a favorable
attitude towards advertising. Indian consumers view advertising
favorably as for them advertisement is a source of entertainment and
thus have favorable opinions. Wee and Chan (1989), Chan, Yau and
Chan (1990), Chan and Cui (2004), Gaski and Etzel (2005), Peterson
80
and Ekici (2007) and Ferdous and Towfique (2008) in their studies
have reported unenthusiastic attitudes of consumers in respect of
advertising.
A mean score of 1.11 in respect of distribution represents overall
consumers have quite favorable opinion regarding distribution. Wee
and Chan (1989), Chan, Yau and Chan (1990), Chan and Cui (2004),
Gaski and Etzel (2005), Ferdous and Towfique (2008) and Jain (2011)
also in their studies have shown positive attitudes towards
distribution. Indian respondents have shown favorable attitudes for
distribution which is not beyond belief as in the last decade there is
an invasion of departmental stores, chain stores and malls leading to
easy availability of various products. Indian consumers now have
more alternatives and can find goods quite easily.
4.1.2 Disaggregative Results
Past studies reveal differences to be existing among different groups
of consumers in their attitudes toward various elements of marketing
mix (Wee and Chan, 1989; Chan, Yau and Chan, 1990; Chan and
Cui, 2004 and Jain, 2011). So an endeavor is made in the present
study to analyze consumer attitudes towards different elements of
marketing mix across demographic variables (gender, age,
educational qualifications, occupations, income, marital status and
residential area).
81
In this section, we discuss the results on a disaggregative basis
across the above mentioned seven demographic variables. It may,
however, be pointed out that the discussion in the following sub-
sections is based on marketing mix element mean scores rather than
item mean score for the reason that each of the scales for marketing
mix elements in the previous chapter has been found to be having
high reliability, the cronbach alpha values being .966, .957, .962 and
.948 for the four elements, viz., product quality, price, advertising
and distribution.
In order to ascertain whether the attitudes of consumers towards the
four elements of marketing are different across demographic
variables, the following null hypothesis is put to test.
H4.1: There are no significant differences in the attitudes of consumers
regarding four elements of marketing across demographic variables,
i.e., gender, age, educational qualifications, occupations, income,
marital status and residential area.
Gender: Independent samples t-test reveal significant differences in
the attitudes of men and women with respect to elements of
marketing. It can be inferred from the results reported in Table 4.2
that males have significantly more optimistic attitudes towards all the
four elements of marketing mix, viz., product quality, price,
advertisement and distribution, with mean scores of 1.1, .75, 1.1 and
1.3 respectively. Corresponding mean scores for the female
respondents are comparatively low, viz., .32, .06, .39 and .87. It
82
indicates that females have less favorable attitudes for all the four
elements of the marketing mix than males.
The results of this study are in agreement with the studies of Wee
and Chan (1989), Chan, Yau and Chan (1990), Ferdous and Towfique
(2008) and Jain (2011) who found women to be having less favorable
attitudes than men. However, Gaski and Etzel (1986), Chan and Cui
(2004) studies reported opposite results.
4.2: Consumers Attitudes towards Various Elements of Marketing across Gender
N Mean Std.
Deviation P
value
Product Quality
Male
222 1.1133 0.9470 .000**
Female
195 0.3194 1.4015
Price
Male
222 0.7548 1.0299 .000**
Female
195 0.0564 1.4220
Advertisement
Male
222 1.1165 0.9100 .000**
Female
195 0.3868 1.4205
Distribution/retailing
Male
222 1.3230 0.8407 .000**
Female 195 0.8733 1.0682
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 = Strongly
Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score for each element of marketing range from -2 to 2. 3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
83
Age: It can be inferred from Table 4.3 that respondents‟ attitudes
towards product quality across age groups range from -.06 to 1.2.
Respondents in the age group of under 25 exhibits most favorable
attitudes towards product quality with a score of 1.2. One of the
possible reasons for this may be that respondents of this age group
have more disposable income and few responsibilities. So, many of
the higher–quality products are within their reach and means, and
hence they have more favorable attitudes towards product quality.
Respondents in the age group of above 65 exhibit the most negative
attitude for product quality. A mean score of -.06 corroborates this.
While comparing consumer attitudes towards price across age, mean
scores of -.18 and -.41 shows that respondents of 45-64 and above
65 years age groups respectively have negative attitudes for price.
One of the possible reasons for this may be that being in later stage
of their life cycle they have more responsibilities towards their
children, family and more pressing need to save for their old age, and
thus they are more price sensitive. Respondents in the age group
under 25 displayed the most positive attitudes towards price with a
mean score of .87. This can be attributed to the fact that they are at
the start of their career and their income is much more in
comparison to their responsibilities.
While comparing mean scores for advertising element across age, it
has been found that older people do not like advertisement and view
them with suspicion, while younger people enjoy the advertisements.
A negative mean score of -.03 for the age group of above 65 in
84
opposition to a mean score of 1.4 for the age group under 25
substantiates this.
Respondents across all age groups have shown positive attitudes
towards retailing and distribution. All respondents across different
age groups confirm the affirmative attitude towards retailing. Mean
scores of 1.5, 1.2, .92 and .36 for the age groups under 25, 25–44
and 45–64 and above 65 respectively corroborates this.
4.3: Consumers Attitudes toward Various Elements of Marketing across Age
N Mean Std.
Deviation P value
Product Quality
Under 25
155 1.2129 0.8820
25-44
112 0.9209 1.1957 .000**
45-64
94 0.2629 1.3692
Above 65
58 -0.0616 1.3008
Price
Under 25
155 0.8728 1.0969
25-44
112 0.7793 1.2299 .000**
45-64
94 -0.1839 1.0991
Above 65
58 -0.4113 1.2800
Advertisement
Under 25
155 1.3604 0.8210
25-44
112 0.8520 1.1436 .000**
45-64
94 0.2340 1.2813
Above 65
58 -0.0320 1.3913
Distribution/retailing
Under 25
155 1.4793 0.6558
25-44
112 1.1684 1.1145 .000**
45-64
94 0.9164 0.8370
Above 65 58 0.3571 1.1221
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 = Strongly
Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score for each element of marketing range from -2 to 2. 3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
85
Overall, we find that consumers‟ attitudes differ significantly across
different age groups; younger people have more favorable opinions
about all the four elements of marketing than older people. The
results of this study are in contrast with the earlier studies of French
et al. (1982), Barker (1987), Wee and Chan (1989), Chan and Yau
(1990) and Roberts and Manolis (2000). They found that the older
consumers had more favorable attitudes towards product, price and
advertising.
Education: In terms of age, it has been noticed that the level of
educational attainment is positively related to the respondents‟
attitudes towards various elements of marketing mix (see Table 4.4).
Post graduate respondents have significantly more favorable attitudes
than graduate respondents. Mean scores of .48, .22, .57 and .86 for
under graduate respondents compared to mean scores of 1.5, 1.1, 1.4
and 1.7 for post graduate respondents‟ regarding product quality,
price, advertisement and distribution respectively validates this.
Thus, higher the level of educational attainment, the more flattering
the attitude towards product quality, price, advertising and retailing.
The finding of this study is in accordance with the results of Barker
(1987), Wee and Chan (1989), Chan, Yau and Chan (1990), Bhuian et
al. (2001), Chan and Cui (2004) and Jain (2011) studies in this
respect. They documented in their studies that highly educated
86
consumers held more positive views about various elements of
marketing.
4.4: Consumers Attitudes toward Various Elements of Marketing across Educational Qualifications
N Mean Std.
Deviation P value
Product Quality
Under-Graduate 197 0.4764 1.2206
Graduate 119 0.4862 1.4365 .000**
Post-Graduate 78 1.5495 0.3423
Others 23 1.7205 0.2042
Price
Under-Graduate 197 0.2183 1.2759
Graduate 119 0.2353 1.4110 .000**
Post-Graduate 78 1.1044 0.8552
Others 23 1.1553 0.3653
Advertisement
Under-Graduate 197 0.5729 1.2451
Graduate 119 0.5858 1.4492 .000**
Post-Graduate 78 1.4231 0.4508
Others 23 1.4224 0.5123
Distribution/retailing
Under-Graduate 197 0.8600 0.9638
Graduate 119 0.9772 1.1258 .000**
Post-Graduate 78 1.7454 0.3357
Others 23 1.8137 0.1636
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 = Strongly
Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score for each element of marketing range from -2 to 2. 3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
87
Occupation: Consumers attitudes towards four elements of
marketing, i.e., product, price, advertising and distribution, are
compared across occupation through one-way ANOVA and results are
summarized in Table 4.5. It has been found that housewives‟ with
mean score of -.25 have the most unfavorable attitudes towards
product quality and professionals with mean score of 1.6 have most
favorable attitudes towards product quality.
While comparing consumer attitudes towards price, it has been
established that housewives have the most negative attitude about
the price with a mean score of -.43 and professionals have the most
positive attitude towards price a mean score of 1.4 corroborates this.
Housewives also exhibited the most negative attitudes toward
advertisement. A mean score of -.17 confirms this. Students and
professionals, on the other hand, have sanguine attitudes exhibited
by mean scores of 1.3 and 1.5 respectively.
Respondents across all occupations have revealed positive attitudes
towards distribution, but professionals have most favorable attitude
with a mean score of 1.8 and housewives have least favorable
attitude with a mean score of .46.
Thus, for all the four elements of marketing mix, significant
differences are registered among different occupational groups.
Housewives expressed the most unfavorable attitudes and
88
professionals displayed the most favorable attitudes for all the
elements of marketing.
4.5: Consumers Attitudes toward Various Elements of Marketing across Occupations
N Mean Std.
Deviation P
value
Product Quality
Students 108 1.2579 0.8926
Housewives 107 -0.2523 1.3959
Service 54 0.9021 1.1381 .000**
Business 49 0.7055 1.0520
Professionals 60 1.6048 0.2886
Others 37 0.5637 1.1218
Price
Students 108 0.9947 1.0353
Housewives 107 -0.4339 1.3096
Service 54 0.0873 1.1970 .000**
Business 49 0.4694 1.1399
Professionals 60 1.3571 0.5164
Others 37 0.2201 1.2287
Advertisement
Students 108 1.3201 0.8854
Housewives 107 -0.1656 1.4517
Service 54 0.9471 0.9694 .000**
Business 49 0.6939 1.0017
Professionals 60 1.4667 0.4652
Others 37 0.6139 1.2093
Distribution/retailing
Students 108 1.4153 0.7418
Housewives 107 0.4566 1.1072
Service 54 1.2460 0.8760 .000**
Business 49 1.0729 0.9050
Professionals 60 1.8071 0.1965
Others 37 0.8726 1.0464
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 = Strongly
Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score for each element of marketing range from -2 to 2. 3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
89
The results of this study are in compliance with the results of the
earlier studies. French et al. (1982), Wee and Chan (1989), Chan, Yau
and Chan (1990) and Jain (2011) found that the occupation and
attitudes towards marketing were positively related. Also, Chan and
Cui (2004) reported in their study that blue collar workers were more
positive about retailing, but less satisfied with advertising than were
white collar workers, students and others.
Income: Findings for the sample exhibit a positive relationship in
monthly family income and consumer attitudes towards product,
price, advertising and retailing (see Table 4.6). Consumers in the
lower income groups are generally more skeptical about marketing
tools while those in higher income groups tends to held more
favorable attitudes.
A mean score of .31 regarding product quality for the respondents
belonging to below Rs 20,000 against a score of 1.6 for respondents
having more than Rs 60,000 per month family income substantiates
that higher the earnings, more favorable the attitudes are. This may
be because higher income groups may have access to better quality
products, and thus have more positive attitude about product
quality.
Similarly, respondents of low income groups have more
unenthusiastic views about the prices. Their mean attitude towards
price is significantly lower than those of all other income groups. A
mean score of -.03 for below Rs 20,000 family income group in
90
contrast to 1.1 for above Rs 60,000 per month group provides
testimony to that the higher the income, the more favorable feelings
about price.
4.6: Consumers Attitudes toward Various Elements of Marketing across Monthly Family Income
N Mean Std.
Deviation P value
Product Quality
Below Rs 20,000 162 0.3148 1.2464
Rs 20,000 – Rs 40,000 69 0.3768 1.4874 .000**
Rs 40,001 – Rs 60,000 90 0.8794 1.1250
Above Rs 60,000 91 1.6028 0.4703
Price
Below Rs 20,000 162 -0.0344 1.2414
Rs 20,000 – Rs 40,000 69 0.4865 1.4575 .000**
Rs 40,001 – Rs 60,000 90 0.5413 1.3025
Above Rs 60,000 91 1.0722 0.7878
Advertisement
Below Rs 20,000 162 0.3959 1.2671
Rs 20,000 – Rs 40,000 69 0.5176 1.5117 .000**
Rs 40,001 – Rs 60,000 90 0.9143 1.1007
Above Rs 60,000 91 1.5086 0.5388
Distribution/retailing
Below Rs 20,000 162 0.6349 1.0853
Rs 20,000 – Rs 40,000 69 1.0994 0.9314 .000**
Rs 40,001 – Rs 60,000 90 1.3905 0.7871
Above Rs 60,000 91 1.7002 0.4227
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 = Strongly
Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score for each element of marketing range from -2 to 2. 3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
91
Respondents in the income category of below Rs 20,000 family
income have least favorable attitude towards advertising. A mean
score of .40 in contrast to 1.5 for the respondents belonging to more
than Rs 60,000 per month income group supports this.
Similar results are found in respect of distribution with a low mean
score of .63 for below Rs 20,000 income category respondents and a
high mean score of 1.7 for the respondents having above Rs 60,000
per month.
From Table 4.6, it can be observed that respondents of lower income
groups have displayed less favorable attitudes than respondents
belonging to higher income group towards each area of marketing
practice. The findings of this study are in accordance with the results
of earlier studies of Barker (1987), Wee and chan (1989) and Chan,
Yau and Chan (1990).
Marital Status: It can be gauged from Table 4.7 that married
respondents have significantly less favorable attitudes toward various
elements of marketing than unmarried. This may be because married
couples have a combined income that often permits a lifestyle that
provides them the opportunities of more indulgent purchasing of
possessions and complex purchases evoke more consumer
dissonance. The evidence for this is provided in Table 4.7 where
married respondents have a mean score of .48 and unmarried
respondent have a mean score of 1.2 in respect of product quality.
92
Significant differences are found for price between two groups.
Married respondents have less favorable attitudes towards the price
as it is obvious that people who are married have much more
responsibilities than the people who are single; so price is a
constraining factor for married respondents. A mean score of .27 for
married in contrast to .69 for unmarried respondents substantiates
this.
4.7 Consumers Attitudes toward Various Elements of Marketing across Marital Status
N Mean Std.
Deviation P value
Product Quality
Married 253 0.4794 1.2745 .000**
Unmarried 166 1.1506 1.0781
Price
Married 253 0.2671 1.2826 .001**
Unmarried 166 0.6859 1.2243
Advertisement
Married 253 0.5409 1.2792 .000**
Unmarried 166 1.1420 1.0517
Distribution/retailing
Married 253 0.9266 0.9669 .000**
Unmarried 166 1.4010 0.9238
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 = Strongly
Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score for each element of marketing range from -2 to 2. 3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
93
For advertising, a low mean score of .54 for married respondents in
comparison to a high mean score of 1.1 for unmarried respondents
signifies that married respondents view advertising with suspicion.
Both married and unmarried respondents have optimistic attitudes
towards retailing but unmarried respondents have more favorable
response in this regard. A mean score of 1.4 for unmarried
respondents against a score of .93 for married respondents
authenticates this statement.
Significant differences are found in the attitudes of married and
unmarried respondents and unmarried respondents have more
favorable opinions than unmarried respondents for all the elements.
However, result of this study is in contrast to Wee and Chan (1989)
study where they found that married people tended to have a more
favorable attitude towards marketing than single people.
Residential Area: It can be seen from Table 4.8 that urban and rural
consumers have more or less similar opinions regarding product
quality with a mean score of .74.
However, urban consumers exhibit less favorable attitudes towards
price with a mean score of .39 than rural consumers with a mean
score of .51 this may be because cost of living in cities is very high.
The high income one earns is partly or fully utilized to provide the
barest necessities in the urban area.
For the advertisement, rural consumers have expressed more
94
optimistic views with a score of .89 than urban consumers with a
mean score of .73. This may be because for the rural consumers
advertisement is the major source of entertainment while for urban
consumers there are many other options available.
Both urban and rural consumers have expressed sanguine attitudes
towards retailing and distribution with mean scores of 1.1 and 1.0
respectively.
In sum, rural consumers have more positive attitudes towards price
and advertising; and less favorable opinion in respect of distribution
than urban consumers. The result here is in partial agreement with
the findings of Wee and Chan (1989) study they have reported that
consumers living in developed areas having access to quality
products and better facilities have more favorable attitudes towards
various elements of marketing.
95
4.8: Consumers Attitudes toward Various Elements of Marketing across
Residential Area
N Mean
Std. Deviation
P value
Product Quality
Urban 280 0.7474 1.3532 .960
Rural 139 0.7410 0.9906
Price
Urban 280 0.3939 1.3517 .373
Rural 139 0.5118 1.1048
Advertisement
Urban 280 0.7260 1.3529 .210
Rural 139 0.8859 0.9247
Distribution/retailing
Urban 280 1.1495 1.0708 .299
Rural 139 1.0442 0.7520
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score for each element of marketing range from -2 to 2.
On the basis of discussion made for seven demographic variables, it
can be concluded from Tables 4.2 to 4.8 that significant differences
exist across gender, age, educational qualification, occupational
categories, income groups, marital status for all marketing mix scales
i.e., product quality, price, advertising and retailing. The results of
Independent samples t–test, however, fail to reveal any significant
differences for four scales across residential area. Hence, null
hypothesis may be partially accepted.
96
4.2 Consumer Overall Attitude towards Marketing
In the previous section, consumer attitudes towards four elements of
marketing mix were analyzed with the help of statements proposed by
Gaski and Etzel (1986). This section discusses the findings relating to
consumers‟ overall attitude towards marketing. Consumer overall
attitudes towards marketing can be ascertained through summation
of the attitudes toward the four major elements of marketing practice
(Gaski and Etzel, 1986; Wee and Chan, 1989; Chan, Yau and Chan,
1990; Chan and Cui, 2004; Gaski and Etzel, 2005; Ferdous and
Towfique, 2008).
Overall attitude towards marketing can be calculated as a simple
mean of the product quality, price, advertisement or distribution; but
importance of these elements of marketing may vary from individual
to individual. Keeping in view this, Gaski and Etzel (1986) suggested
a measure known as overall consumer sentiment towards marketing
which takes into consideration the importance weights assigned by
an individual to each element of marketing.
The formula to calculate consumer sentiment towards marketing
(CSM) as proposed by Gaski and Etzel (1986) in their study is:
CSM =
Where,
CSM = Consumer Sentiment towards Marketing
97
xij = scale item response i in category j,
wj= importance weight for the marketing mix category j,
m = number of items in category (here it is seven in each category)
n = number of categories viz., product, price, advertisement and
retailing
Seven items in each category are summed and then weighted along a
five point importance scale. For collecting the data in respect of
attitudes, a five point Likert scale (-2 to 2) has been employed, where
-2 stands for „Strongly Disagree‟ and 2 stands for „Strongly Agree‟.
Importance of four elements of marketing is expressed by
respondents on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 stands for „Not at all
Important‟ and 5 stands for „Extremely Important‟. Overall attitude
towards marketing will lie in the range of -280 to 280.
Results for consumers overall attitude towards marketing are
discussed on aggregative as well as disaggregative bases in Tables 4.9
to 4.16.
4.2.1 Aggregative Results
In this section, consumers‟ overall attitude toward marketing is
discussed on an aggregative basis. Table 4.9 displays mean score of
96.20 for the Indian consumers, indicating that consumers on an
overall basis have favorable opinions about marketing.
98
4.9: Overall Attitude towards Marketing
N Mean Std.
Deviation
Overall Attitude towards Marketing
418 96.2010 136.1053
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean scores of overall attitude towards marketing range from -280 to
280. Overall attitude measurement involves summation of item scores
within each component, then weighing each of these four components
by an importance measure and summing the weighted component
composites across the four dimensions.
The results findings are consistent with the life cycle concept of
consumerism development in that consumer attitudes toward
marketing tend to be less critical in those countries in which
consumerism is a recent phenomenon (Kayank and Wilkstrom, 1985;
Thorelli, 1990).
4.2.2 Disaggregative Results
In order to examine whether the consumers‟ overall attitudes towards
marketing are different across demographic variables, the following
null hypothesis is formulated and put to test.
H4.2: Consumers‟ overall attitudes towards marketing do not differ
significantly across demographic variables (gender, age, educational
qualification, occupation, family income, marital status and
residential area).
99
Gender: Data presented in Table 4.10 show that females have
significantly less favorable attitudes towards marketing than males,
thus providing support to the findings of previous section in which
men have been found to be having more favorable attitudes towards
all the four elements of marketing than women. Mean score of 134.8
for men and corresponding score of 51.3 for women corroborates this.
The result in respect of overall attitude is in conformity with the
studies of Wee and Chan (1989) and Chan, Yau and Chan (1990) in
which women were found to be unfavorably inclined towards overall
marketing than men. However, Gaski and Etzel (1986) and Chan and
Cui (2004) found women to be having more favorable opinions than
men.
4.10: Overall Attitude towards Marketing across Gender
N Mean
Std.
Deviation P value
Overall Attitude towards Marketing
Male
222 134.8378 106.3620 .000**
Female
194 51.3144 152.5357
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean scores of overall attitude towards marketing range from -280 to
280. Overall attitude measurement involves summation of item scores
within each component, then weighing each of these four components
by an importance measure and summing the weighted component
composites across the four dimensions.
3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
Age: In terms of age, one–way ANOVA reveals significant differences
for overall attitude towards marketing. Table 4.11 shows that
100
consumers‟ overall attitude towards marketing are negatively related
with age. Older respondents displayed less favorable attitudes than
younger respondents giving support to the results of the earlier
section where younger respondents have displayed more favorable
attitudes towards the four elements of marketing mix. Score of 154.5
for under 25 respondents and corresponding score of -1.2 for above
65 respondents regarding overall attitude towards marketing
validates this.
4.11: Overall Attitude towards Marketing across Age
N Mean Std. Deviation P value
Overall Attitude towards Marketing
Under 25
155 154.5161 97.5698
25-44
112 115.6786 142.6946 .000**
45-64
94 35.8723 123.6007
Above 65
57 -1.1579 141.7870
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean scores of overall attitude towards marketing range from -280 to
280. Overall attitude measurement involves summation of item scores
within each component, then weighing each of these four components
by a importance measure and summing the weighted component
composites across the four dimensions.
3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
Education: Significant differences are displayed by the respondents of
different education groups. Education and consumers‟ overall
attitude towards marketing are found to be positively related (see
Table 4.12). Post graduates with score of 184.8 have reported more
101
favorable attitudes towards overall marketing as compared to under
graduates with score of 65.3. Thus, marketing is perceived favorably
by the better educated consumers. The results of this study are very
much in accordance with the studies of Barker (1987), Wee and Chan
(1989), Chan, Yau and Chan (1990), Bhuian et al. (2001) and Chan
and Cui (2004) as they established that the level of educational
attainment was positively related to respondents‟ attitudes towards
marketing.
4.12: Overall Attitude towards Marketing across Educational
Qualifications
N Mean Std. Deviation P value
Overall Attitude towards Marketing
Under-Graduate 196 65.3010 133.9106
Graduate 119 71.6975 156.7072 .000**
Post-Graduate 78 184.7821 51.0156
Others 23 192.4783 25.9473
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean scores of overall attitude towards marketing range from -280 to
280. Overall attitude measurement involves summation of item scores
within each component, then weighing each of these four components
by a importance measure and summing the weighted component
composites across the four dimensions.
3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
Occupation: In terms of occupation, one–way ANOVA reveals
significant differences among different occupational groups.
Housewives‟ overall attitude towards marketing is least favorable with
102
a mean score of -11.9, while professionals have most favorable
attitude towards marketing mean score of 200.6 substantiates this.
In their studies, French et al. (1982), Wee and Chan (1989) and
Chan, Yau and Chan (1990) found that the occupation and attitudes
towards marketing were highly related. That is, the more prestigious
the occupation, the more positive was the attitude towards
marketing. Thus, in this respect present study complements the
earlier findings.
4.13: Overall Attitude towards Marketing across Occupations
N Mean Std. Deviation P
value
Overall Attitude towards Marketing
Students 108 151.3611 102.7473
Housewives 106 -11.9245 147.5033
Service 54 100.8704 110.0343 .000**
Business 49 90.8980 116.9447
Professionals 60 200.6667 40.0121
Others 37 72.4324 135.6410
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean scores of overall attitude towards marketing range from -280 to
280. Overall attitude measurement involves summation of item scores
within each component, then weighing each of these four components
by a importance measure and summing the weighted component
composites across the four dimensions.
3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
103
Income: Respondents of higher income groups have exhibited
significantly more favorable overall attitude towards marketing than
lower income groups. A mean score of 179.6 for respondents
belonging to above Rs 60,000 per month family income group in
comparison to a mean score of 40.1 for below Rs 20,000 per month
family income group sustains this. The results here are in accordance
with the results of Barker (1987), Wee and Chan (1989) and Chan,
Yau and Chan (1990) studies.
4.14: Overall Attitude towards Marketing across Monthly Family Income
N Mean Std. Deviation P value
Overall Attitude towards Marketing
Below Rs 20,000 161 40.1056 136.7088
Rs 20,000 – Rs 40,000 69 82.8986 161.0234 .000**
Rs 40,001 – Rs 60,000 90 118.5556 126.8427
Above Rs 60,000 91 179.6374 56.2979
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean scores of overall attitude towards marketing range from -280 to
280. Overall attitude measurement involves summation of item scores
within each component, then weighing each of these four components
by a importance measure and summing the weighted component
composites across the four dimensions.
3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
Marital Status: Marital status reveals significant differences in the
overall attitude towards marketing; a mean score of 70.3 in Table
4.15 for married respondents in contrast to 135.6 for unmarried
respondents reveals that married consumers have less favorable
104
opinions about overall marketing. The result here is in contrast to the
findings of Wee and Chan (1989); they had found in their study that
married people tended to have a more favorable attitude towards
marketing than single people.
4.15: Overall Attitude towards Marketing across Marital Status
N Mean Std.
Deviation P
value
Overall Attitude towards Marketing
Married 252 70.2778 139.0724 .000**
Unmarried 166 135.5542 121.6985
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean scores of overall attitude towards marketing range from -280 to
280. Overall attitude measurement involves summation of item scores
within each component, then weighing each of these four components
by a importance measure and summing the weighted component
composites across the four dimensions.
3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
Residential Area: It can be seen in Table 4.16 that rural consumers
have more favorable attitudes than urban consumers. Score of 101.1
for rural consumers against score of 93.8 for urban consumers
regarding overall attitude towards marketing confirms this. Rural
consumers are less critical of marketing. One of the possible reasons
for this may be that rural society in India is predominantly collectivist
society and in collectivist society members mainly focus on
maintaining the relationships and are less critical, resulting in more
favorable attitudes towards overall marketing than urban consumers.
105
4.16: Overall Attitude towards Marketing across Residential Area
N Mean Std.
Deviation P
value
Overall Attitude towards Marketing
Urban 280 93.7964 149.0437 .607
Rural 138 101.0797 105.4075
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean scores of overall attitude towards marketing range from -280 to
280. Overall attitude measurement involves summation of item scores
within each component, then weighing each of these four components
by a importance measure and summing the weighted component
composites across the four dimensions.
Thus across demographic variables, Tables 4.10 to 4.16 exhibit
significant differences across gender, age, education, occupation,
income and marital status for consumers‟ overall attitudes towards
marketing. But findings are statistically insignificant for urban and
rural consumers‟ overall attitudes towards marketing. Hence, null
hypothesis may be partially accepted.
4.3 Consumer Attitudes towards Operating
Philosophy of Business Firms
Consumer attitudes towards operating philosophy of business firms
have been measured with the help of statements proposed by Gaski
and Etzel (1986) to measure „marketing in general‟ or „global
impression of marketing‟. Modifications are made in the scale under
the guidance of supervisor keeping in view the context of Indian
106
consumers.
Consumer attitudes towards operating philosophy of business firms
is measured through a scale comprising five statements „Most firms
operate on the philosophy that consumer is always right‟, „Most firms
are guided by the philosophy that Let the buyer beware‟, „Most firms
behave responsibly to their consumers‟, „Most firms usually fail to
fulfill their responsibility to their consumers‟, „Most firms are more
interested in making profits than in serving consumers‟.
Responses have been received on the five point Likert scale (-2 to 2)
where -2 stands for „Strongly Disagree‟ and 2 stands for „Strongly
Agree‟. Negative statements were reverse coded at the time of
analysis. Positive mean score depicts favorable attitude and negative
value shows unfavorable attitudes towards operating philosophy of
business firms.
In section 4.3.1, aggregative results are discussed and in section
4.3.2 consumers attitudes towards operating philosophy of business
firms are analyzed on disaggregative basis, i.e., across seven
demographic variables (gender, age, educational qualification,
occupation, family income, marital status and residential area).
4.3.1 Aggregative Results
In this section itemwise analysis to measure operating philosophy of
business firms is presented in Table 4.17. Mean score of .93 suggests
107
that consumers have favorable opinions towards operating
philosophy adopted by firms. They do feel that firms are behaving
responsibly in their dealings with customers and want to serve the
consumers efficiently and effectively. This is definitely a positive
signal for the marketers.
4.17: Consumer Attitudes toward Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
Scale/item Aggregative Mean Score
Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
1. Most firms operate on the philosophy that consumer is always right.
.77
2. Most firms are guided by the philosophy that “Let the buyer beware”.(R)
1.02
3. Most firms behave responsibly to their consumers.
1.01
4. Most firms usually fail to fulfill their responsibility to their consumers.(R)
.95
5. Most firms are more interested in making profits than in serving consumers.(R)
.89
Mean Score .93
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 = Strongly
Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score of marketing philosophy of business firms lie in the range of -2
to 2. 3. Items with (R) were reverse coded for computing the overall mean score.
4.3.2 Disaggregative Results
In this section, consumers‟ attitudes towards operating philosophy of
business firms are discussed for seven demographic variables viz.,
gender, age, marital status, income, occupation, residential area and
educational qualification. Since reliability of the scale measuring
108
operating philosophy of business firms is found to be high with
cronbach alpha value of .971, so instead of taking item wise analysis;
mean score has been used for disaggregative analysis. To find out the
differences in consumer attitudes towards operating philosophy of
business firms across demographic variables the following hypothesis
is formulated and put to test.
H4.3: There are no significant differences in consumer attitudes
towards operating philosophy of business firms across demographic
variables (gender, age, educational qualification, occupation, family
income, marital status and residential area).
Gender: Females have displayed significantly less favorable attitudes
towards operating philosophy of business firms than males and thus
provide support to the findings of previous sections in which men
have reported more favorable attitude towards all four elements of
marketing and overall marketing than women. Mean score of 1.3 for
men and corresponding score of .45 for women corroborates this.
4.18: Consumer Attitudes toward Operating Philosophy of Business Firms across Gender
N Mean Std.
Deviation P value
Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
Male
222 1.3459 0.9621 .000**
Female
195 0.4462 1.5199
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score of operating philosophy of business firms lie in the range of
-2 to 2.
3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
109
Age: Significant differences are found among the four age groups
through one-way ANOVA. Table 4.19 reveals that consumers‟
attitudes towards operating philosophy of business firms and age are
inversely related. High mean score of 1.4 for under 25 respondents
and corresponding low mean score of .08 for above 65 respondents
regarding philosophy of firms confirms this. The findings here are
supporting the results of earlier sections where older respondents
displayed less favorable attitudes than younger respondents towards
elements of marketing and overall marketing.
4.19: Consumer Attitudes toward Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
across Age
N Mean Std. Deviation P value
Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
Under 25
155 1.4271 0.9559
25-44
112 1.1036 1.3064 .000**
45-64
94 0.4170 1.3899
Above 65
58 0.0828 1.4495
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score of operating philosophy of business firms lie in the range of
-2 to 2.
3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
Education: In terms of education, significant differences are noted
among different groups (see Table 4.20) regarding attitude towards
operating philosophy of business firms. Consumer attitudes towards
the philosophy adopted by firms are positively related to education;
post graduate respondents with a high score of 1.8 as compared to
110
low score of .66 for under graduate respondents confirm this. Thus,
better educated consumers are found to perceive operating
philosophy of business firms more favorably. In preceding sections
also, better educated consumers have been found more favorably
inclined towards elements of marketing and overall marketing.
4.20: Consumer Attitudes toward Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
across Educational Qualifications
N Mean Std.
Deviation P value
Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
Under-Graduate 197 0.6579 1.3314
Graduate 119 0.6605 1.5399 .000**
Post-Graduate 78 1.7974 0.2268
Others 23 1.7565 0.1590
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score of operating philosophy of business firms lie in the range of
-2 to 2.
3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
Occupation: Consumers of all groups have expressed positive attitude
towards marketing philosophy of business firms except housewives.
It can be seen in Table 4.21 that housewives have the least favorable
attitude with a mean score of -.12 and professionals have the most
favorable attitude with a mean score of 1.8 among the various groups
towards operating philosophy. Thus, the more prestigious the
occupation the more positive is the attitude towards operating
behavior of firms. The results shown here is in conformity with the
111
findings of earlier sections regarding four elements of marketing and
overall marketing.
4.21: Consumer Attitudes toward Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
across Occupations
N Mean Std. Deviation P
value
Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
Students 108 1.3648 1.0303
Housewives 107 -0.1234 1.5141
Service 54 1.2333 1.0800 .000**
Business 49 0.8980 1.1762
Professionals 60 1.8367 0.1707
Others 37 0.8162 1.2160
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score of operating philosophy of business firms lie in the range of
-2 to 2.
3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
Income: Consumer attitudes towards operating philosophy of
business firms are significantly different among the four income
groups. Table 4.22 shows consumer attitudes towards philosophy of
business are found to be related with income, that is, higher the
income, more favorable the attitude towards operating philosophy of
firms. Below Rs 20,000 income group with a mean score of .51
against a mean score of 1.7 for above Rs 60,000 income group
confirms this. This is in accordance with the results of earlier
sections where respondents belonging to higher income groups have
112
opined more favorable attitudes towards elements of marketing and
overall marketing.
4.22: Consumer Attitudes toward Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
across Monthly Family Income
N Mean Std. Deviation P value
Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
Below Rs 20,000 162 0.5136 1.3663
Rs 20,000 – Rs 40,000 69 0.6406 1.6002 .000**
Rs 40,001 – Rs 60,000 90 1.0689 1.2906
Above Rs 60,000 91 1.7165 0.4512
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score of operating philosophy of business firms lie in the range of
-2 to 2.
3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
Marital Status: Although in terms of marital status respondents of
both groups encompass positive attitudes towards operating
philosophy of business firms, but significant differences are found
between two groups. Married respondents have less favorable
attitudes towards operating philosophy of firms than unmarried
respondents. Mean score of .66 for married respondents in contrast
to a score of 1.3 for unmarried respondents upholds this. Thus, for
marital status attitudes towards overall marketing and operating
philosophy of business firms are moving in tandem.
113
4.23: Consumer Attitudes toward Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
across Marital Status
N Mean Std.
Deviation P
value
Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
Married 253 0.6648 1.3623 .000**
Unmarried 166 1.3289 1.1697
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score of operating philosophy of business firms lie in the range of
-2 to 2.
3. ** signify that difference is significant at 1% since p < .01.
Residential Area: It can be seen in Table 4.24 that rural consumers
have more favorable attitudes than urban consumers; mean score of
1.0 for rural consumers in contrast to .88 for urban consumers
authenticate this. Rural consumers are less critical of marketing
because consumerism and consumer protection are at the beginning
stage in rural areas and moreover, people in rural areas place greater
emphasis on harmony and relationships and thus, tend to be less
critical of operating philosophy adopted by firms.
4.24: Consumer Attitudes toward Operating Philosophy of Business Firms across Residential Area
N Mean Std.
Deviation P
value
Operating Philosophy of Business Firms
Urban 280 0.8786 1.4502 .281
Rural 139 1.0273 1.0385
NOTES: 1. Responses were obtained on a Likert scale of -2 to 2 where -2 =
Strongly Disagree and 2 = Strongly Agree. 2. Mean score of operating philosophy of business firms lie in the range of
-2 to 2.
114
On the basis of discussion made across demographic variables,
Tables 4.18 to 4.24 displayed that significant differences are found
across gender, age, education, occupation, income and marital status
for consumer attitudes towards operating philosophy adopted by
business firms. But independent samples t–test has failed to reveal
any significant differences for urban and rural consumers‟ regarding
philosophy of business firms. Hence, null hypothesis may be partially
accepted.
Concluding Observations
Thus, it can be concluded that surveyed Indian consumers have
displayed positive attitudes towards each element of marketing mix,
overall marketing and operating philosophy of business firms.
Significant differences are found among consumers across all the
seven demographic variables except residential area with respect to
their attitudes towards various elements of marketing mix (product,
price, advertisement and distribution), overall marketing and
operating philosophy adopted by business firms.
In terms of gender, women are found to be critical of all elements of
marketing, overall marketing and operating philosophy of business
firms. For the age, younger respondents are more optimistic
regarding four elements of marketing, overall marketing and
operating philosophy of business firms than older respondents.
115
As far as education is concerned, post graduates have more favorable
opinions than under graduates with respect to the various issues viz.,
elements of marketing, overall marketing and operating philosophy of
business firms. Across occupational categories, professionals have
displayed the most favorable attitudes for all the aspects. Higher
income group respondents expressed more favorable attitudes
towards four elements of marketing, overall marketing and operating
philosophy of business firms than lower income group.
Unmarried respondents have expressed more positive attitudes than
married respondents for elements of marketing, overall marketing
and operating philosophy of business firms. In terms of residential
area, rural people have more favorable opinions with respect to only
price, advertisement, overall marketing and operating philosophy of
firms.
116