기업 간 경쟁 심화와 소비자들의 교체구매가 높은 비중을 차지하는 성숙기 하이테크 제품 시장은 소비자의 사용경험이 교체구매의향을 형성하는 영향관계의 규명을 통한 대고객 전략의 제안이 중요한 시기이다. 본 연구는 하이테크 제품에 대한 소비자의 교체구매의향이 소비자의 지각된 제품사용상황(perceived product-usage situation)에서 발현되어 제품속성 중요도 및 소비자 추구편익간의 조절적 관계를 통해 형성됨을 검증하였다. Fennell(1978)의제안을 토대로, 첫째 소비자에게 지각된 제품사용상황을 제품관련 문제점이 지각된 사용상황(perceived situation of the product-related problems)과 심리적 욕구불만이 지각된 사용상황(perceived situation of the psychological frustration)의 두 차원으로 구성하고, 둘째 각각의 문제 상황이 특정 제품속성 중요도 평가에 미치는 영향관계를검증하였으며, 셋째 소비자의 교체구매의향 유발에 영향을 미치는 제품 속성이 무엇인지를 구조방정식 모형에 근거하여 규명하였다.
연구 결과 하이테크 제품에 있어 소비자가 지각하는 제품사용상황 중, 첫째 제품관련 문제를 지각한 상황은 디자인, 브랜드, 주기능, 부가기능의 제품속성 중요도 평가를 증가시키며, 특히 주기능과 디자인, 브랜드 중요도는 교체구매의향으로 연계됨을 확인하였다. 둘째, 심리적 욕구불만을 지각한 상황은 제품의 디자인과 브랜드 속성중요도를각각 증가시키며, 이중 브랜드 속성중요도가 교체구매의향을 증가시킴을 규명하였다. 또한 지각한 제품사용상황이제품속성 중요도 평가에 미치는 영향은 소비자가 추구하는 편익에 따라 차이를 보이는 것으로 확인되었다.
본 연구의 시사점은 기존의 사용상황 연구에서 다루어지지 않았던 제품관련 문제 상황과 심리적 욕구 불만 지각상황이 소비자의 교체구매의향 형성에 미치는 영향관계를 규명함으로써 향후 교체구매 행동 연구의 토대를 마련하는 탐색적 연구로서 의의를 지닌다. 또한 기업의 하이테크 신제품 개발 전략 수립시, 소비자의 교체구매의향 발현을위한 제품 컨셉 설정 및 마케팅 전략방향을 제시하고 있다.
Intense competition among companies and replacement purchasing for consumers are features of a mature high-tech product market. Currently, suggestions for consumer strategy from investigations of the relationship between consumer experience and the formation of replacement purchase intention has become increasingly important. Consumers’ perception of product-usage situation illicits a desire to purchase products and creates buying motives. It is important since it decides the direction in choosing a product(Fennell 1978).
In the maturity phase of the hi-tech product market, the required time for consumers to understand products and to determine purchase intention becomes shorter. Amid the severe competition in the market, companies are required to establish consumer-attracting strategies by understanding perceived product-usage situations and by investigating how perceived product-usage situations lead to the formation of replacement purchase intentions.
Consumers will make after-use evaluation of products. Then, the product-usage situation is expected to serve as a constraint, helping consumers to find countermeasures and narrowing down the criteria of the consumer’s decision(Bransford and McCarrell 1974; Ratneshwar and Shocker 1991). Moreover, consumers assess future choice alternatives based on the consumption cycle from purchase to use. The perception of product-usage situation assists consumers to select appropriate alternative products by inducing the retrieval process and reminding consumers of the measures they already know of. The perception of product-usage situation defines the range of alternatives and thus, serves as a frame for problem solving, which help consumers to find the benefits of a product they seek(Warlop and Ratneshwar 1993).
In this respect, consumers’ after-use product evaluation can be one of the important motives for the formation of replacement purchase intention along with the product-usage situation (Gardial, Clemons, Woodruff, Schumann, and Burns 1994).
Especially, the situations subjectively perceived by consumers can be major factors affecting decision-making and other consumer behaviors(Kakkar and Lutz 1975). In this regard, the problems and complaints that consumers have during the use of hi-tech products will definitely influence after-use evaluation and the formation of replacement of purchase intentions.
Therefore, verification of the aforementioned relationship is expected to bring to light new strategic points for further discussion. In addition, based on the means-ends chain model that explains the relationship between the results of product use and buying intention(Woodruff 1997), replacement purchase intention is assumed to be derived from the product-usage situation where consumers constantly try to perceive the results from the use of the product and from the process of re-evaluating the features of the product.
This study verifies that consumer purchasing intention for product replacement of high-tech products is manifested by the perceived product usage and formed by moderating the relationship between the important product attributes and the benefits sought by the consumer. This study investigated the formation process of the replacement purchase intention based on the meansends chain model, a mechanism that explains how consumers’ after-use evaluation of product features is connected to the replacement purchase intention in consecutive buying decisions.
An empirical analysis verified that, in perceived product-usage situations, replacement purchase intention is formed by the customers’ evaluation with much importance placed on the features that they particularly hope to acquire from the product. Fennell(1978) suggested that, first, two perceived product use situations were created as the perceived situation of product related problems and the perceived situation of psychological frustration. Second, the affect of the problem situation on the evaluation of importance of product attributes was conducted. Third, the product attributes that affect intention for replacement purchase were investigated based on structural equation models.
Our results showed that for high-tech products, from the perceived product use situations that are perceived with product related problems increased the importance of design, brand,main function, and additional functions in product attribute evaluation. It was confirmed that main function, design, and brand importance led to replacement purchase intention. In perceived situations of psychological frustration, the importance of design and brand attributes increased,and identified with brand attribute importance was increased by intentions of replacement purchase. In addition, the influence of perceived usage situation on product attribute importance evaluation indicated a difference from the benefits pursued by consumers.
The implications of this study are the identification of the affective relationship between product related problems and those psychologically frustrating situations caused by replacement purchase intention of consumers. This has not been addressed by existing product usage research.
An empirical analysis verified that, in perceived product-usage situations, replacement purchase intention is formed by the customers’ evaluation with much importance placed on the features that they particularly hope to acquire from the product. The significance of this research is that it sheds new light on the importance of considering product features when analyzing replacement purchase intentions. Re-evaluation of the importance level of the product features was confirmed to be one of the factors explaining the motive behind the replacement purchase intention. In addition, the perceived product-usage situation was confirmed to be an influential variable in the evaluation of the importance level of the product features. Product features were the main motive in the process of making a replacement purchase decision, which has not been studied to date.
This study examined perceived product-usage situations where consumers used high-tech products and perceived the results from the use of the product. The situations were broken down into a functional one and psychological one. It was also confirmed that the discrepancy in the psychological part of a situation had a significant influence on the evaluation of the importance of the product features just as the functional part also did.
Of note, it was also confirmed that there is a significant influence from the strengthened moderating effect, which is one of the sought variables for the subjective benefits that is caused by the individual differences between consumers. The moderating effect was observed to influence the perceived situation of psychological frustration about brand image for products.
The moderating effect was also found to influence the perceived situation of product-related problems on the importance of the main function of products.
The results of this study confirmed that the interaction effect of the sought variables for the subjective benefits, which is caused by differences between situations and consumers, have more influence on a consumer’s behavior than the independent influence of the situation. The reason is that the consumers’ behaviors constantly change according to the situations(Belk 1974; Dickson 1982; Quester and Smart 1998).
Our research is meaningful as an explorative study to provide foundation for future research on consumer replacement purchase behavior. In addition, our study suggests better product concepts and marketing strategy directions to induce consumer replacement purchase intentions and for companies seeking to establish development strategies for new high-tech products.
