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Japanese consumers need foruniqueness

Effects on brand perceptions andpurchase intention

Dee K. Knight and Eun Young KimUniversity of North Texas, Denton, Texas, USA

AbstractPurpose This study sets out to examine the causal relationships among consumers need foruniqueness, brand perceptions, and purchase intention of a US apparel brand among Japanese

Generation Y consumers.Design/methodology/approach A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from175 students enrolled at two Japanese metropolitan universities. A structural equation model usingcorrelation matrix with maximum likelihood was estimated using LISREL 8.53.Findings Japanese consumers need for uniqueness consisted of avoidance of similarity, unpopularchoice and creative choice. The consumers need for uniqueness was negatively related to theperceived quality, whereas the creative choice was positively related to the emotional value inperceptions of the US apparel brand. The perceived quality decreased purchase intention, while theemotional value increased purchase intention.Research limitations/implications This study was limited to students at two Japanesemetropolitan universities and to one US apparel brand.Practical implications Consumer need for uniqueness may be considered when developingmerchandising and marketing strategies for the Generation Y consumer cohort in domestic and

international markets. A focus on emotional values can be successful in creating and maintaining abrand relationship with the focal consumer market.Originality/value Few, if any, studies exist that investigate Japanese Generation Y consumersneed for uniqueness and its relationship to brand perceptions. This study addresses perception of aforeign brand and purchase intention related to consumers need for uniqueness.Keywords Consumer behaviour, Clothing, Brand image, Perception, JapanPaper type Research paper

IntroductionWith accelerating globalization, rapidly changing retail environments are fueledby increasing global competition and higher consumer expectations. Internationalexpansion is a strategy pursued by some companies to offset a maturingdomestic retail environment and an aging consumer market in the USA.Economic growth and emerging young consumers who are brand and fashionconscious (Morton, 2002; Bryck, 2003) in Asian markets, such as China, India, Japan, and South Korea have attracted attention from US apparel retailers.Consequently, of the 100 largest international retailers in terms of sales, 36 areUS-based companies ( Stores , 2005).

Given the rapid growth and optimistic outlook for international retailing,researchers and practitioners are interested in the process of building strong brands

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available atwww.emeraldinsight.com/1361-2026.htm

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Received October 2005Revised July 2006Accepted July 2006

Journal of Fashion Marketing andManagementVol. 11 No. 2, 2007pp. 270-280q Emerald Group Publishing Limited1361-2026DOI 10.1108/13612020710751428

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in foreign market environments, but it is not an easy process. Consumers, in someinstances, have stereotyped products and brands based on their country of origin(Andaleeb, 1995). Many researchers agree that the power of brand perception is in thecognitive and affective responses it elicits from consumers, marketing activities,sources of information, purchasing frequency and volume, and loyalty (Keller, 2001;Yoo et al., 2000; Morris et al., 2002).

Consumers brand perceptions may be driven by their unique needs and brandknowledge derived from personal experience (Keller, 2001). Young consumers,especially, have a need to bolster their self-images through having cool looks.Generation Y consumers, born from 1977 to 1994 (Morton, 2002), generally preferbrands with an identity based on values with which they can identify and throughwhich they can express their individuality (Azuma, 2002; Parker et al., 2004). To besuccessful in international retailing, therefore, retailers and apparel companies mustconsider how Generation Y consumers respond to their brands. Nevertheless, nostudies have been identied that examine how the consumers need for uniquenessaffects their brand perceptions and purchase intention. Therefore, the purpose of thisstudy was to examine the relationships between consumers need for uniqueness,brand perceptions, and purchase intention for a US apparel brand by focusing onGeneration Y consumers in Japan.

Literature review Japanese Generation Y as global consumersGeneration Y consumers tend to be well educated, internet savvy, and eager to shop(Morton, 2002). In fact, they often are viewed as the rst global consumer segment dueto their exposure to worldwide communications via the internet (Walker, 1996). Theyhave developed a diversity of perspectives and created a patchwork culture that is notindigenous to any one country.

Japanese Generation Y consumers particularly are fashion conscious and prefername brands (Martin and Herbig, 2002). Fueling this market is a new generation of female consumers that is redening traditional life by joining the professional ranks of their male counterparts. These consumers are often part of dual-income families withincreased purchasing power (Moore and Smith, 2004; Rabon and Evans, 1998). Theirimportance is evident by decisions at companies producing luxury goods such asBurberry to launch new divisions targeting this focal market. At the opposite end of the continuum are US apparel brands (e.g. Calvin Klein, The Gap, Polo) that haveattracted young Japanese consumers (Rabon and Evans, 1998) and Benetton, an Italianapparel company that distributes 40 percent of its products solely in Japan (Moore andSmith, 2004). Domestic companies such as Uniglo, Japans answer to Gap and Limitedare also competing for the Japanese Generation Y consumer (Dawson, 2000). To besuccessful with these consumers, companies must cater to their faddish nature, offertrend-right, brand-name products with innovative designs and quality workmanship(Moore and Smith, 2004; Rabon and Evans, 1998).

Consumers need for uniqueness theoryConsumers need for uniqueness is grounded in Snyder and Fromkins (1980)uniqueness theory, which manifests itself in the individuals pursuit of material goodsto differentiate themselves from others (Tian et al., 2001). Consumers need foruniqueness is demonstrated in three types of consumer behaviour:

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(1) creative choice counter-conformity;(2) unpopular choice counter-conformity; and(3) avoidance of similarity.

In the rst type of behaviour, creative choice counter-conformity, consumers purchasegoods that express their uniqueness and also are acceptable to others. Consumersidentied as market mavens (Solomon and Rabolt, 2004, p. 419) are part of this group.Thus, brand names that can offer some distinguishing attribute (e.g. unique features,exclusivity, prestige) appeal to consumers who demonstrate this type of consumerbehaviour.

Other consumers willingly risk social disapproval to establish their uniqueness byselecting products that deviate from group norms though unpopular choicecounter-conformity consumer behaviour (Tian et al., 2001). Interestingly, their riskybehaviour may ultimately increase their self-image. These consumers are notconcerned about criticism from others; in fact, they tend to make purchase decisionsthat others might consider to be bizarre (Simonson and Nowlis, 2000) in contrast toconsumers who make purchase decisions to conform to peer pressure (Rose et al., 1992).

The nal group of consumers is intent on the avoidance of similarity to goods thatare part of the mainstream (Tian et al., 2001). Consumers in this group tend to selectproducts or brands that are not likely to become too popular, but that will distinguishthem from others. To avoid similarity with others, consumers may develop a variety of strategies. For instance, they may purchase discontinued styles, shop in vintage stores,or combine apparel in unusual ways. The need for uniqueness can have a signicanteffect on a consumers purchase decisions (Simonson and Nowlis, 2000).

Researchers have concluded that consumers with a high need for uniquenesstended to adopt new products or brands more quickly than those with a low need foruniqueness (Amaldoss and Jain, 2005; Zimmer et al., 1999). Moreover, Zimmer et al.(1999) found that perceived quality and brand image perceptions (e.g. excitement)toward nostalgic brands were inuenced by the consumers need for uniqueness. In astudy of the effects of social needs on conspicuous consumption, Amaldoss and Jain(2005) found that consumers tended to purchase high-quality products not because of their desire for uniqueness but despite it. The results of those studies support the ideathat consumers brand perceptions are related to their need for uniqueness. A review of the relevant literature led us to the following hypotheses:

H1a. Japanese consumers need for uniqueness is positively related to perceivedquality of a US apparel brand.

H1b. Japanese consumers need for uniqueness is positively related to emotionalvalue of a US apparel brand.

Consumers brand perceptions and purchase intentionsBrands strive to elicit strong, positive relationships with their target consumers.Previous studies found that consumers respond to brands during the decision makingprocess in two ways cognitive and emotional (Keller, 2001; Morris et al., 2002) thathave been referred to as the thinking and feeling aspects (Sweeney and Soutar, 2001).

Perceived quality is dened as the consumers subjective judgment about abrands overall excellence or superiority (Yoo et al., 2000). Consumers use numerouscues to determine brand quality including price, country-of origin, performance, and

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image (Andaleeb, 1995; Dodds et al., 1991; Keller, 2001; Yoo et al., 2000). Similarly,Keller (2001) dened brand judgment as consumers personal opinions about brandsbased on how they combined performance and image associations including perceivedquality, credibility, consideration, and superiority. Although consumers may have avariety of attitudes toward brands, the most important in terms of purchase intentionrelates to perceived quality, particularly for unfamiliar brands (Hoyer and Brown,1990). Yoo et al. (2000) also found that the perceived quality of a brand positivelyrelated to the level of brand equity, supporting Zeithamls (1988) contention thatperceived high quality drives consumers to choose a particular brand over competingbrands.

Consumers perceived emotional value refers to their affective reactions to a brand(Supphellen, 2000). General feelings for brands are often reported in elicitation sessions(e.g. this brand makes me feel good). The feelings about brands can be mild, intenseand negative or positive in nature (Keller, 2001). Importantly, emotional response to abrand is a strong predictor of purchase intention (Morris et al., 2002) and accounts formore than twice the variance of cognition. Consumers are inundated with commercialmessages relative to brands, and advertisements that evoke emotional responses cansignicantly affect purchase intention (Morris et al., 2002). After a review of therelevant literature the following hypotheses were developed:

H2a. Japanese consumers brand perceptions of quality will increase purchaseintentions for a US apparel brand.

H2b. Japanese consumers brand perceptions of emotional value will increasepurchase intentions for a US apparel brand.

Methods Measures

Existing scales were used to measure the three main constructs on a six-point ratingscale (1 strongly disagree, 6 strongly agree). Eleven items measured consumersneed for uniqueness (Tian et al., 2001), six items measured brand perceptions,including perceived quality (Dodds et al., 1991) and emotional value (Yoo andDonthu, 2002), and two items measured purchase intention. Demographic variables(e.g. gender and age), retail channel preference (e.g. retail store, internet, catalogue) andclothing expenditure also were included. Polo was selected as the US brand because of its wide distribution in the Japanese market. Translation from English to Japanese andback-translation techniques were used to ensure the equivalence of the two versions of the questionnaire.

Sampling and data collectionThe sample was students enrolled at two universities in major Japanese cities. A totalof 175 participants completed self-administered questionnaires during scheduledclasses. The average age of the respondents was 21 years old, and the majority (82.4percent) ranged from 19 to 22 years old. Most (74.3 percent) of the respondents weremale. Levenes test for gender equality of variances indicated there were no signicantdifferences in means and variances of variables (e.g. consumers need for uniqueness,brand perception, and purchase intention). It ensured that gender did not frameimportant distinctions for this cohort of Generation Y consumers.

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Respondents made most of their clothing purchases in traditional brick-and-mortarstores (M US$704:38), followed by online sites (M US$58:73), and catalogues(M US$28:90) during the previous 12 months. For purchasing casual clothing,department stores were the preferred retail format (M 3:30), followed by locallyowned shops (M 3:25), specialty shops (M 2:92), discount stores (M 2:78), USretailers in Japan (M 2:35), internet sites (M 1:87), sources outside Japan(M 1:81), and tailors or seamstresses (M 1:66).

Data analysisPreliminarily, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine underlyingdimensions of consumers need for uniqueness. A validity of measures was assessed bya conrmatory factor analysis and Cronbachs a established inter-item reliability. Totest the research hypotheses, a structural equation model using a correlation matrixwith the maximum likelihood was estimated using LISREL 8.53 (Jo reskog and So rbom,2002). Overall t of the model was assessed by statistic indexes: Chi-square ( x 2 ),goodness-of-t index (GFI), adjusted goodness-of-t index (AGFI), and root meansquare estimated approximation (RMSEA).

Results and discussion Japanese consumers need for uniquenessAn exploratory factor analysis using principal components factor analysis withVarimax rotation was employed to identify underlying dimensions of need foruniqueness. Nine items had factor loadings higher than 0.55, resulting in three factorswith eigenvalues of 1.0 or higher, accounting for 66.4 percent of the total variance. Oneitem in the avoidance of similarity factor was removed because it loaded highly on theunpopular choice factor. The x 2 value was 18.08 with 14 degrees of freedom ( p 0:20),which is within an acceptable model t of the factor structure. Other t indexes alsoindicated an acceptable range (GFI 0:96; AGFI 0:91; RMSEA 0:049). Therefore,the factor structure of need for uniqueness was deemed valid to test the structuralequation model.

As presented in Table I, Japanese consumers needs for uniqueness consisted of three dimensions. Factor 1, avoidance of similarity, included three items related tothe avoidance of products or brands perceived to be in the mainstream. Factor 2,unpopular choice, included three items of need for choosing unusual brands (orproducts) to establish ones personal image. This supports the notion that unpopularchoice can result in an enhanced self-image, suggesting that an innovator withhigher needs for uniqueness may involve unpopular choices (Tian et al., 2001).Factor 3, creative choice, included two items that reect needs for seeking andbuying brands that communicate uniqueness and individuality. Of all factors, themean of creative choice was the highest (M 3:44), indicating that JapaneseGeneration Y consumers tend to buy and use brands or products to fulll theirneeds for uniqueness or individuality (Azuma, 2002; Moore and Smith, 2004; Parkeret al., 2004).

Structural equation modeling A single-stage analysis with simultaneous estimation of both measurement andstructural models was selected because the model is theoretically based, and theconstructs of consumers need for uniqueness were preliminarily veried to be reliable

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and valid. In the structural equation model presented in Figure 1, there are threeexogenous latent constructs for consumers need for uniqueness avoidance of similarity ( j 1 ), unpopular choice ( j 2 ), and creative choice ( j 3 ) and three endogenouslatent constructs perceived quality ( j 1 ) and emotional value ( j 2 ) for brandperceptions and purchase intention ( j 3 ).

Factors and itemsFactor loading

( l ij ) Reliability M (SD)

Avoidance of similarity 0.70 3.14 (0.98)I stop wearing fashions when they become popular withthe general public 0.72 3.04 (1.22)I dislike brands bought by everyone 0.67 3.15 (1.21)When a clothing brand becomes too popular, I wear it less 0.56 3.23 (1.21)

Unpopular choice 0.62 3.24 (0.85)I look for one-of-a-kind products to create my own style 0.59 3.49 (1.20)The thing that I buy shapes a more unusual personalimage 0.55 3.23 (1.08)I buy unusual brands to create a more distinctive personalimage 0.55 3.03 (1.14)

Creative choice 0.71 3.44 (1.15)An important goal is to nd a brand that communicates

my uniqueness 0.86 3.56 (1.27)The brands that I like best are the ones that express myindividuality 0.61 3.31 (1.34)

Goodness-of-t statisticsx 2 18:06 (df 14, p 0:20)GFI 0.96AGFI 0:91RMSEA 0:049

Table I.Conrmatory factoranalysis of Japaneseconsumers need for

uniqueness

Figure 1.Structural equation model

result

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Measurement model result . The measurement model presented in Table II illustratesthat the factor loadings for each construct were statistically signicant (i.e. rangingfrom 0.51 to 0.99, p , 0:001) and sufciently high to demonstrate that the indicatorsand their underlying constructs were acceptable. Reliabilities ranged from 0.62 to 0.88,and the variances extracted are above the threshold value of 0.50 (Hair et al., 1998)except for the factor of unpopular choice. These results indicate that the measurementmodel is highly reliable and reasonably valid.

Structural equation model result . In the structural equation model, we considered apartial covariance between the perceived quality and emotional value ( c 21 0:25, p , 0:01). This consideration conrmed the previous ndings that cognitive andaffective responses to brands were not independent for determining purchase intention(Brown and Stayman, 1992; Morris et al., 2002). The overall model t indicated a x 2 of 102.65 with 80 degrees of freedom ( p 0:05), which is within the accepted level (Hairet al., 1998). Other t indices (GFI 0:90, CFI 0:97, NFI 0:91, RMSEA 0:05)demonstrated a relatively good t (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988; Hair et al., 1998). Thus, the

Latent variables and observed indicatorsFactor loading

( l ij ) ReliabilityVariance a

extracted

Consumer need for uniquenessAvoidance of similarity ( j 1 ) 0.70 0.52

X1: I stop wearing fashions when they become popular withthe general public 0.70

X2: I dislike brands bought by everyone 0.64X3: When a clothing brand becomes too popular, I wear it

less 0.61Unpopular choice ( j 2 ) 0.62 0.47

X4: I look for one-of-a-kind products to create my own style 0.66X5: The things that I buy shape a more unusual personal

image 0.58X6: I buy unusual brands to create a more distinctive

personal image 0.51Creative choice ( j 3 ) 0.71 0.61

X7: An important goal is to nd a brand that communicatesmy uniqueness 0.78

X8: The brands that I like best are the ones that express myindividuality 0.67

Brand perceptionsPerceived quality ( h 1 ) 0.88 0.68

Y1: Be high quality 0.88Y2: Be durable 0.85Y3: Have a good reputation 0.82

Y4: Be prestigious brand 0.77Emotional value ( h 2 ) 0.80 0.65Y5: Give me pleasure 0.83Y6: Make me feel good 0.79

Purchase intentions ( h 3 ) 0.87 0.85Y7: I intend to buy this brand frequently 0.99Y8: I plan to buy this brand more often 0.86

Note: Variance extracted Sumof squared standardized loadingsSum of squared standardized loadings sumof indicator measurement error

Table II.Measurement modelresults

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estimated structural model illustrated in Figure 1 was deemed to be a good t fortesting the hypotheses.

Hypotheses testing Hypothesis 1. H1 tested whether consumers need for uniqueness was signicantlyrelated to consumers brand perceptions including perceived quality and emotional valueof the US apparel brand among Japanese Generation Y consumers. As shown in Figure 1,all factors of consumers need for uniqueness were signicantly related to perceivedquality, while only the unpopular choice was signicantly related to emotional value.

Avoidance of similarity had a negative effect on perceived brand quality( g 11 2 0:49, p , 0:01). That is, respondents with a high need for avoiding similarityhad negative perceptions in terms of product quality toward the US apparel brand.Unpopular choice also had a negative effect on perceived quality ( g 12 2 0:52, p , 0:01). That is, Japanese consumers who need an unpopular brand for their ownpersonal image are less likely to perceive the US brand as high quality, reputable, andprestigious. These ndings may result from the fact that the selected brand (i.e. Polo)has a wide distribution in Japan ( Wall Street Journal , 2002). However, creative choicehad a positive effect on perceived quality ( g 13 0:49, p , 0:01), suggesting thatconsumers with a high need to express their individuality and also to be consideredarbiters of good taste are more likely to perceive the US apparel brand as high quality,reputable, and prestigious. This nding implies that brands with a superior image playan important role in expressing uniqueness and individuality, especially for JapaneseGeneration Y consumers. Thus, H1a is supported, suggesting that perception of brandquality differs by the type of consumers need for uniqueness.

The need for unpopular choice signicantly affected the perceived emotional value

( g 22 0:48, p,

0:01), while the other consumer need for uniqueness factors were notsignicantly related to emotional value. This supports previous ndings that brandimage perceptions were inuenced by consumers need for uniqueness (Zimmer et al.,1999), leading to unconventional decision-making (Simonson and Nowlis, 2000). Thus, H1b is partially supported.

Conclusively, for Generation Y consumers, the three dimensions of needs foruniqueness avoidance of similarity, unpopular choice, and creative choice playimportant roles as antecedents of apparel brand perceptions, such as perceived qualityand emotional value. The effects of unpopular choice and creative choice on brandperceptions were opposite in direction, that is positive and negative, respectively.

Hypothesis 2 . In the relationship between brand perceptions and purchase intention,perceived quality had a negative effect on purchase intention ( b 31 2 0:54, p , 0:001). That is, consumers who perceived the brand to be of higher quality hadless intention to purchase the brand. This nding is not consistent with the literaturethat perceived high quality or superiority led to building strong brand relationshipsthrough purchase behaviour (Keller, 2001; Yoo et al., 2000; Zeithaml, 1988). Thus, H2ais not supported. The emotional value had a signicant, positive effect on purchaseintention b 32 0:97, p , 0:001). This nding lends support to other researchers whofound that the emotional factor encourages purchase intention (Babin and Babin, 2001;Morris et al., 2002). Thus, H2b is supported.

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Conclusions and implicationsThis study examined relationships among consumers need for uniqueness, brandperceptions, and purchase intention by focusing on Japanese Generation Y consumers.Findings indicated that Japanese consumers need for uniqueness consisted of threetypes i.e. avoidance of similarity, unpopular choice, and creative choice supportingTian et al.s (2001) consumers need for uniqueness dimensions.

Respondents needing to express their individuality through creative choice desired aUS brand described as high-quality, reputable, and prestigious. While these consumerswant to express their individuality, they also want to maintain social norms. Thisnding supports the idea that some consumers prefer expensive and high-quality brandsthat are considered prestigious (Amaldoss and Jain, 2005). Generation Y consumergroups extend beyond national borders (Allen, 2004; Nurko, 2003); therefore, retailersand apparel companies should consider consumers need for uniqueness whendeveloping global merchandising strategies for this consumer cohort.

Based on the degree of consumers need for uniqueness relative to brand perceptions,

several implications for apparel market segmentation can be drawn. Emotional value iscritical for Generation Y consumers when making choices among brands. The US apparelbrand was favorably perceived on emotional value by consumers with a high need forunpopular choice and encouraged purchase intention to create their own styles. Thisnding supports the notion that emotional attitude toward a brand is an importantantecedent in predicting consumers purchase behaviour (Kamp and MacInnis, 1995;Morris et al., 2002; Sweeney and Soutar, 2001). Also, this nding can be used as a basis fordeveloping a brands unique identity (or image), which can elicit positive emotions (e.g.feelings of pleasure). Brands can build emotional images through their retail environments(e.g. background music, decor) and exotic locations. Creating and maintaining the equityof US apparel brands and their relationships with Generation Y consumers requireappropriate advertising media and promotional strategies, such as using celebrityendorsements, which are particularly effective with this market (Moore and Smith, 2004).

Conversely, perceived brand quality does not attract consumers with a need foravoidance of similarity and unpopular choice. Consumers representing these twodimensions of need for uniqueness make purchase decisions that are counter tomainstream consumer purchase decisions. Consumers representing these twodimensions of consumers need for uniqueness would be more of a challenge for USapparel brands entering the Japanese market against European fashion brands, such asBenetton, Chanel, and Prada.

The nal notation to be made is that geographic distance may not be a barrier forGeneration Y consumers. It is possible to deliver promotional messages regardingapparel brands via the internet across nations. An adoption of effective e-tailing

strategies (Tian and Emery, 2002) could build strong brands with Generation Yconsumers who are internet-savvy for the internationalization of apparel retailing.

These results should be interpreted with caution due to the limitation of sampling inone geographic location with one specic apparel brand. For cross-cultural studies, wealso recommend that various agents including brand image (Hsieh, 2002) and brandresponse (Keller, 2001) should be examined to ascertain how those variables establishbrand equity across cultures. Such studies can expand a model of customer-basedbrand equity by including different retail formats (e.g. internet) and different cultures.

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Corresponding authorDee K. Knight can be contacted at: dknight3@unt.edu

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