Wine Purchase Behavior And Personal Value Based Consumer Segmentation

Agnes Hofmeister Tóth 1

Budapest Universtiy of Economic Sciences and Public Administration

Gedeon Totth

Budapest Business School

Abstract

This paper investigates some of the key factors that effect the wine decision making

process and explores the personal values and emotions of the Hungarian consumers and

reports the result of the personal value based consumer segmentation. The empirical results of

this exploratory research suggest that the personal values are a good tool to segment the

market and they serve for better understanding the consumers, and help to design better

marketing messages matching values of the target market segments. The personal value-based

segmentation generated four consumer segments: Safety Seekers, Self-fulfillers, Hedonists

and Indifferent. The value-based segmentation could play an important role in the Hungarian

wine marketing in the future.

Introduction

Hungary’s tradition of fine wine production was somewhat neglected during the

communist years. The fall of the Eastern block has meant that it has had to rethink its whole

wine business. The last ten years has seen a modernization to keep up with Western standards.

Hungary is also reestablishing its own style of wines. A new pride is emerging among

winemakers unhappy living with the communist legacy.

Recent legislation attempts to increase control over wine production and therefore

increasing overall quality. For too long Hungary has been plaqued by substandard bulk wines

and unscrupulous winemakers. This has affected even the reputation of those that produce

quality wines.

The factors that made Hungary a great wine making country historically are now

attracting many foreign investors keen to continue and expand the Hungarian Wine culture,

either at the budget end or at top class auctions.

E mail: agnes.hofmeister@bkae.hu

In wine producing countries research on wine consumers’ behavior is of increasing

significance. In Hungary consumer research in this business is only in its initial stages, except

for some undertaken by a few research institutes and universities in recent years.

The competitive environment increasingly requires deep analysis of the consumers’

behavior. The wine market is becoming more and more sophisticated and the possibilities for

market segmentation are good.

A central marketing strategy has already been created for the Hungarian wine industry.

This targets mainly foreign markets and consumers. Small and middle size companies have

done almost nothing on the marketing front. Most of them don’t make marketing plans, and

have no knowledge of what their consumers really want.

Unfortunately, there are only two studies on the wine consumers’ behavior and

consumers’ decision-making process available, done by market research institutes.

Gfk Hungaria institute has conducted research regarding Hungarian wine

consumption, they defined market segments only based upon demographic factors. Lifestyle

researches by companies like Young and Rubicam, Mareco and GfK have hardly ever

contained questions regarding wine consumption or the wine buying decision-making process.

Winemaking companies in Hungary, when carrying out such researches for

competitive purposes, usually do not disclose their findings. We would also note, that while

beer advertisements are quite common in Hungary, there are no wine advertisements in the

media. We found it interesting to look at the factors, which have effect on wine buying

decision-making in Hungary. We wanted to know, how could we segment consumers based

upon their value systems. That is to say, whether there are clear-cut clusters with distinctive

value systems, attitude and consumer behavior.

Research Aims and Objectives

The current research was financially supported by the Hungarian National Scientific

Research Fund (its Hungarian abbreviation is OTKA).

The objective of this research was to further examine purchasing behavior within the

Hungarian wine industry, focusing in particular on the purchase decision making process,

with the aim of investigating:

The effect of product cues and particular brand, on the purchase decision

making process

The effect of product information and packaging on the purchase decision

making process

The effect of purchase location and consumption occasion on the purchase

decision making process

The values and emotions of the consumers

Consumer segmentation on the basis of values.

The Research

The research had two phases. In the first phase we conducted qualitative research with

six focus groups. These sessions focused on the decision making process of wine purchases.

The respondents were selected using a convenience sampling. A wide range of ages and

socioeconomic classes were sought. We reviewed the literature on factors effecting the wine

purchase decision-making process, eg. the effect of product cues such as price, label, brand

and the effect of purchase location and consumption location.

The focus group research therefore leveraged the existing knowledge base and applied

the leranings to the wine category. The results of the qualitative research on the factors that

effect the purchase decision making process in the wine category helped to design the

questionnaire for the quantitative research. In the second phase we conducted a questionnaire

survey, and defined consumer segments based upon their value systems.

This paper focuses on some of the relevant literature regarding personal values and

presents the analysis of the key findings from the quantitative research that was conducted in

November 2002.

Literature Review

The role of values in buying decision-making

Consumers’ value system has important role among factors, which effect the buying

decisions. Familiarity with value systems provides important background information for

marketing experts on the field. This information can directly be used in marketing

communication messages. They help us create suitable content for our target market. Change

in value systems may signify a need for new products or services. For example, increasing

interest in values like health or healthy lifestyle signifies a need for low-calorie food products,

as well as to accompany light meals, light wines made with reductive technology.

Advertising and marketing communication regularly use information about

consumers’ value systems in order to create efficient marketing strategies. Traditionally wine-

related values (friendship, community, fun, happiness, cosyness, joy) are unfortunately widely

used in marketing of other products, especially beer marketing, which product is one of the

strongest competitors of wine in Hungary.

Figure 1.: Values found in advertisements

Product

Value

Slogan

Kaiser „A ser” (“The beer”)

-tradition, highg quality,

-uniqueness, sensual pleasures

„Kaiser. A Ser” (“Kaiser, the Beer”)

„Vízb ő l jöv ő frissesség….” (“Freshness

from water…”)

Margitszigeti

Kristályvíz (mineral water from

Margaret Island)

-health, freshness,

-natural, sensual pleasures

Soproni Ászok (beer)

-happiness, socialization, fun

„Egy jópofa sör” (“A funny beer / a

good pint of beer.” Word game, which

cannot be translated.)

Zwack Unicum (special Hungarian

herb spirit)

- tradition, excellent quality

-exclusiveness

„Nyaralni mentem.” (“I went for a

summer holiday.”

Rama Harmónia (margarine)

-health, sensual pleasures,

„Könny ű nyári viselet” (“Light summer

wear”)

Milka (chocolate)

-natural

-tradition, quality, joy

„A leggyengédebb kísértés” (“The most

tender temptation.”)

Chokitó (chocolate bar)

- uniqueness, humor

„Szebb nem lett, csak nagyobb.” (“It

didn’t become better looking, only

bigger.”)

Source: Szonda Ipsos Bilboard research, Kreatív 1999/2000

Personal Values

The impact of a person’s values on attitudes and behavior can be evaluated more

effectively and reliably with information on the person’s whole value system, rather than a

single value. (Kamakura and Novak, 1992. p. 119).

In recent years, one of the most dynamic areas of research in social science disciplines

has been the measurement and functions of personal values. (Kamakura and Mazzon, 1991).

Values provide potentially powerful explanation of human behavior because they serve as the

standards or criteria of conduct (William, 1968), tend to be limited in number and are

remarkably stable over time (Rokeach, 1974 Rokeach and Ball-Rokeach, 1989).

Consequently, behavioral scientists have applied the concepts of values and value systems as

predictors of consumer behavior (Henry, 1976, Vinson and Munson, 1976, Bekker and

Connor, 1981, Munson and McIntyre, 1979, Schwartz and Bilsky, 1987).

The writings of Milton Rokeach (1973, 1976) are a major theoretical foundation for

psychological research on consumer value systems (Kahle, Rose and Shoham, 2000).

Rokeach defines a value first and foremost as „an enduring belief that a specific mode of

conduct or end – state is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of

conduct or end state” (Rokeach 1973, p.5). Values are not beliefs that can be proven in any

conventional sense instead, they are „abstract ideals” that represent a person’s „conception of

the desirable” (Rokeach 1973, p. 10).

Rokeach argues that values are separately organized into relatively enduring

hierarchical structures of terminal and instrumental values. Terminal values are defined as a

person’s beliefs concerning desirable end-states of existence while instrumental values refer

to a person’s beliefs regarding desirable modes of conduct (means to achieve the ends). The

Rokeach Value Survey (RVS), was developed by selecting 18 terminal and 18 instrumental

values from a larger pool of several hundred values descriptors (Rokeach, 1973). Earlier

studies have provided some empirical evidence in support of the structure of terminal versus

instrumental values (Feather and Peay 1975), Vinson et al. 1977)

From a Rokeachean perspective, an individual’s attitudes and behaviors are better

explained by his or her entire value system, rather than by their single, most dominant value

(Kamakura and Novak 1992). While this thesis sounds quite holistic, its underlying

assumptions mitigate any strong imperative to incorporate the background of cultural

meanings directly into conventional analyses of consumer value systems. The values being

ranked are assumed to correspond in a fairly isomorphic fashion to universal psychological

needs. (Kahle 1983, Kamakura and Novak, 1992), Schwartz and Bilsky, 1987.) For example,

cross cultural differences among consumer preferences and consumption patterns among a

universal set of human values (Kahle 1983, Kahle, Rose and Shoham, 2000).

Among consumer researchers there is a growing consensous that cultural meanings

play a fundamental, but a largely understudied role in mediating a relationship between

abstract values and specific consumer attitudes, goals and behaviors (Aaker, 2000,

Kamakura and Novak, 1992, Richins, 1994).

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