HARDING UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION

Study of Harding Students on Their Awareness of South Korean Brands

COMM 401: Media Research
Chanhee Song
5/10/2013

The purpose of this study was to find out how many Harding students know about South Korean brands and its products and how many of them actually own the products. The study also examined whether the students were able to associate products of Samsung, Hyundai, LG and Kia with South Korea.

Chapter I INTRODUCTION This chapter introduces the purpose of the study, states the rationale for the study, describes the assumptions and delimitations, and defines the terms used in the study. Also included in Chapter 1 is a brief outline of the five research paper chapters. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to find out how many Harding students know about South Korean brands and its products and how many of them actually own the South Korean products. This was done by surveying the Harding students on campus. Rationale According to a global branding consultancy specialized in brand valuation, Interbrand, its annual report Best Global Brands 2012 said Samsung was ranked 9th with the brand value of $32,893 (million) dollars and that with 19.1% market share, Samsung became the global leader for smartphone shipments in 2011 ahead of Apple (ranked 2nd with $76,568 brand value) and Nokia (19th). Also, Hyundai and Kia motor companies were ranked 53rd and 87th respectively while LG Electronics was not ranked in the list. With that in mind, this study will provide information which will give an accurate picture of Harding students on their awareness of these four South Korean brands. This information will help determine to what degree the Interbrand annual report can be regarded as trustworthy for the Harding student body, which presents all 50 states and 53 foreign countries. Delimitations of the Study The target population of the study was limited to individuals who took Wellness, Energy Pollution & Society, and Student Publication-Newspaper writing classes in the Spring 2013

semester at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. The convenience sampling process was used for this study. Definition of Terms Some terms are consistently used throughout the study and these terms need to be properly defined to assure their use in the appropriate text. The terms are defined as follows: Hyundai This term only refers to Hyundai motor company and excludes many other divisions of Hyundai Corporation. International This term only encompasses China, Bahamas, Honduras and Liberia. Kia The term only represents Kia motor company. Korean Brands This term only refers to Samsung, Hyundai, Kia and LG. LG This term specifically refers to LG Electronics. Midwestern States This term only refers to Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Northeastern States This term only includes Maine and New Jersey. Samsung The term only refers to Samsung Electronics and excludes many other divisions of Samsung Corporation. Southern States This term is limited to Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Western States Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii and Washington represent this term. Outline of the Research Chapter One provided the introduction to the study. The introduction includes the purpose and rationale of the study, the delimitations of the study and the definition of terms.

Chapter Two contains a review of the related literature. The chapter has sections on the scope of the review of the literature, research on the branding strategies of international corporations, and an assessment of the current state of South Korean brands. Chapter Three discusses the methods and procedures used in the study. The chapter has sections on research design and methodology, sampling technique, data collection, and analysis of the data. Chapter Four reports the findings associated with the survey carried out in this study. The findings are presented through statistical analysis of the survey data for each question. Chapter Five presents the summary, findings, and conclusions from the study. An overview, a summary of the results of the study, limitations of the study, and conclusions are included in this chapter. Chapter II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Scope of the Review of Literature The review of literature related to this study was conducted in two areas. First, research was conducted to find information on the methodology of the survey. This information demonstrated how to select and use the most appropriate sampling methods for this particular survey used in the study (Fink, 1995). And it covered sampling techniques such as convenience sampling (Fink 1998), which was exclusively utilized in this research. Second, the literature associated with the international branding strategy was examined. According to a 2005 Cheng study, firms begin with the development of a strong brand in home markets, and then utilize original equipment manufacturer (OEM) brands to expand and become familiar with international markets. A gradual decrease in OEM contracts and more

concentration on international branding in the USA, Japan, and the EU follow (Cheng, 2005). The 2001 Douglas, Craig and Nijssen study said building a coherent international brand architecture is a key component of the firms overall international marketing strategy, because it provides a structure to leverage strong brands into other markets, assimilate acquired brands, and integrate strategy across markets. Another research suggests that both globalization and the use of global strategy is a myth and that most business activity by large firms takes place within regional blocks instead of taking place in a single global market (Rugman, 2005). In terms of brand awareness concept, results of a controlled experiment on the role of brand awareness in the consumer choice process showed that brand awareness was a dominant choice heuristic among awareness-group subjects (Hoyer and Brown, 1990). A replication of the 1990 Hoyer and Brown study also said subjects choosing from a set of brands with marked awareness differentials showed an overwhelming preference for the high awareness brand, despite quality and price differentials (Macdonald and Sharp, 2000). Third, the assessment of current state of South Korean brands was conducted. In 2010, Beyrouti said South Korean brand names became so popular in the Lebanese market such as Samsung, LG, Kia, Daewoo and Hyundai. However quality is still associated with European, American and Japanese products. Ebert and Montoney (2007) said the South Korean automobile industry underwent significant restructuring in the decade of the 1990s. That restructuring and consolidation has resulted in the Hyundai-Kia combination and a resurgent GM Daewoo combination emerging as dominant producers in Korea that are better able to exploit economies of scale and respond to growing demand in domestic and global markets. Along with Hyundai and Kia, Samsung Electronics is also one of the worlds largest suppliers of electronic components, and a top supplier of Sony, Apple, Dell and Hewlet-Packard (Kim, 2010).

Chapter III METHODS AND PROCEDURES Research Design and Methodology This research has employed a quantitative survey questionnaire which allowed Harding students to answer thirteen questions about South Korean brands such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai and Kia. On top of the survey was an IRB statement that ones participation indicated ones consent, that the participation posed no known risks and everything in this survey stayed confidential and that the benefit of this study was to help mass communication students understand the research process. The instructions asked the participants to leave no name and to circle everything that applied to them as they went through the 13 questions. Questions from one to five included identification of variables such as gender, country of origin, major, classification and a question whether the participants were able to name any South Korean brand. Questions 6 and 7 asked if they own a Samsung product and know the companys country of origin. Questions 8 and 9 asked if they own a LG product and know the LGs country of origin. Questions 10 and 11 asked if they own a Hyundai vehicle and know the motor companys country of origin. Lastly, questions 12 and 13 asked if they own a Kia car and know the Kias country of origin. Sub-category questions were also asked for each four brand. Upon circling Yes to the ownership of a product, the participants were asked if they could name the products model and how they would rate their satisfaction with the product on the choices of Excellent, Good, Average, Poor and Bad. Sampling Techniques To attain a variety of participants for this survey, a random class was selected out of each building of all 29 different departments on campus. Upon an approval from a professor, the

survey was conducted at either beginning or end of the class. When the number of participants reached one hundred, the survey was stopped. Data Collection The first series of the survey was conducted at Wellness class in kinesiology department with the class size of eighty students. The second series of the survey was conducted at Energy Pollution and Society class in science department with the size of twenty nine students. The third series of the survey was conducted at Student Publication-Newspaper writing class in communication department with the size of nineteen students. As a result, 104 students participated in the survey. Data Analysis For each question and variable, the number of corresponding students were counted and recorded on a 100 percent scale. The counting and recording process was all manual and handwritten. Chapter IV ANALYSIS OF THE DATA Student Responses to the Questionnaire For question 1, there were 47 male students (45.2%) and 57 female students (54.8%).

Gender

Male 45%

Female 55%

For question 2, there were 56 freshmen (53.8%), 18 sophomore (17.3%), 20 junior (19.2%) and 10 senior (9.6%) students.

Classification
60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Classification Freshman 56 Sophomore 18 Junior 20 Senior 10

For question 3, 73 students were from Southern states (70.2%). 17 students were from Midwestern states (16.3%), 7 students were from Western states (6.7%), 2 students were from Northeastern states (1.9%) and 5 students were outside the United States (4.8%).

Northeastern 2% West 7%

Country of Origin
International 5%

Midwestern 16%

South 70%

For question 4, five students were with College of Allied Health (4.8%) and 30 students were from Arts and Humanities (28.84%). Six students were Bible majors (5.77%). 15 students were Business majors (14.42%). Two students were Education majors (1.92%). Three students were Nursing majors (2.88%), so were pre-Pharmacy students (2.88%). 30 students were with College of Sciences (28.84%) while 10 students were undeclared majors (9.6%).

Major
Major

30
15 5 6 2 3 3

30

10

For question 5, 91 students said they could not name any South Korean brand (87.5%) while 13 students said yes (12.5%). Out of those who said yes, Samsung and Kia were mentioned eight times respectively. Also Hyundai and LG were mentioned four times respectively.

Can you name any South Korean brand?

Yes 13%

No 87%

For question 6, 38 students said they own a Samsung product (36.5%) whereas 66 students said they do not (63.5%). Out of those who own the product, 14 students were able to name the products model. 9 students rated their product as excellent. 19 students said good. 5 students said average. One student said poor. For question 7, only 11 students were able to say Samsung was a South Korean brand (10.6%) whereas 93 students (89.4%) said they did not know the country of origin for Samsung Electronics. For question 8, 33 students said they own a LG product (31.7%) while 71 students said they do not (68.3%). Out of those who said yes, only 4 students were able to name the products model. 5 students rated their product as excellent and 17 students said good. 7 students said their products were average. For question 9, only 6 students knew that LG Electronics was from South Korea (5.8%) while 98 students did not know the country of origin of LG (94.2%). For question 10, only 5 students said they own a Hyundai vehicle (4.8%) whereas 99 students said they do not (95.2%). Out of those who said yes, all 5 students were able to name their vehicles. 4 students rated their Hyundai vehicles as good. For question 11, 12 students knew that Hyundai motor company was a South Korean brand (8.3%) while 92 students did not know its country of origin (88.5%). For question 12, only 4 students said they own a Kia car (3.8%) whereas 100 students said they do not (96.2%). Out of those who said yes, all 4 students were able to name their vehicles. One student said excellent. Two students said good. One student said average. For question 13, 12 students were able to say Kia motor company was a South Korean brand (11.5%) while 92 students did not associate the brand with South Korea (88.5%).

Chapter V SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSION Summary of the Study The purpose of this study was to find out how many Harding students know about South Korean brands and its products and how many of them actually own the South Korean products. The study also wanted to answer whether Harding students were able to associate products of Samsung, Hyundai, LG and Kia with South Korea. A few other questions addressed in the research are as follows, Can they name their models? Are they satisfied with their products? Did they know that these brands were from South Korea before the research? Findings Associated with the Research Questions Out of 73 students who said they were from the Southern states, this number included Arkansas (26), Alabama (1), Florida (6), Georgia (3), Louisiana (1), Mississippi (2), Oklahoma (2), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (10), Texas (19) and Virginia (2). The Northeastern states included Maine (1) and New Jersey (1). The Midwestern states included Illinois (2), Kansas (2), Michigan (1), Missouri (5), Ohio (4), South Dakota (2) and Wisconsin (1). The Western states included Arizona (1), California (1), Colorado (3), Hawaii (1) and Washington (1). The international students were from China (2), Bahamas (1), Honduras (1) and Liberia (1). Compared with only 12.5 percent (13 students) of the participants who could name the South Korean brands, it was to my surprise that 36.5 percent and 31.7 percent of the population each owned Samsung and LG products respectively. While the majority of the products were cellphones, Samsung and LG products also ranged from a TV, refrigerator, washing machine, and laptop. Also, unlike the 36.5 percent and 31.7 percent with the Samsung and LG ownerships,

only 11 students was able to associate Samsung with South Korea and 6 students with LG Electronics. Limitations of the Study Because two of the classes (Wellness and Energy Pollution) that were surveyed were general requirement which tends to have more incoming freshman students than any other classifications, the dominating number of freshman students in this research may not have reflected well of the schools population. Also with the size of 104 participants, this study is not thorough and large enough to represent the approximately 7,000 Harding student body. Therefore this study may not be able to say specifically to the Korean companies based in the Sates about their presence and the potential niche market within the Harding student body and its families. Conclusions Based on the results of the survey, especially question 5, with only 13 percent of South Korean brand awareness it can be concluded that the brand awareness of South Korea is very subtle on Harding campus. Despite the 30 percent of ownership of Samsung and LG products, it can also be drawn that Samsung and LG Electronics may not necessarily want their consumers to associate them with South Korea. Otherwise, the figures should be higher than 10.6 percent and 5.8 percent for questions 7 and 9 respectively. As a result, the Interbrand annual report on Samsung, LG, Hyundai and Kia does not prove much of its legitimacy in the case of Harding community.

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