Purpose - This study investigates the purchase pattern relating to soybean products in Korea. Specifically, the effect of branding based on a regional name was analyzed in terms of consumer purchase frequencies. The primary purpose of this study is to understand why family characteristics affect product selection for a regional brand in the soybean food category. Research design, data, and methodology - We used data collected by the Rural Development Administration (RDA) of Korea. The RDA has monitored agricultural food consumers for years in order to obtain purchase records. Panel participants live in regions near the capital city of Seoul, Korea. Examining data from January 2010 to May 2016, 667 families were selected for analysis. The final data set was 1,335,402. Each purchase item by each individual family was aggregated to a countable weekly observation. To analyze the data set quantitatively, zero-inflation regression was adopted, which was appropriate to avoid biases from overly dispersed observations. Results - We hypothesized the effects of regional branding from the viewpoint of the family characteristics. The first hypothesis was that the number of children would be positively associated with the purchase of a regional brand of soybean products. The result strongly supported this hypothesis. The second hypothesis was that the number of family members would be negatively associated with the purchase of the soybean products of a regional brand. Based on empirical analysis, we concluded that this hypothesis was partially supported. The third hypothesis was the presence of an interaction effect between the number of children and the family size, which was supported by the results. As a supplementary analysis, we also tested mean-variance differences in terms of categories and regional branding with corporate branding. Conclusion - The results of this study provide insights for regional branding strategies in agricultural food management. This study appears to be one of the seminal studies trying to analyze purchase patterns from longitudinal observations. In addition, this study adopted variables characterizing family lifestyle. This study confirmed that children and family size should be considered when soybean product brands are introduced.
Aaker, D. A. (2007). Innovation: brand it or lose it. California Management Review, 50(1), 8-24.
Ahn, G. H., Han, S. M., & Cheon, J. Y. (2009). Strategic brand management. Seoul, Korea: Hakhyunsa.
Anselmsson, J., & Johansson, U. (2009). Retailer brands and the impact on innovativeness in the grocery market. Journal of Marketing Management, 25(1-2), 75-95.
Anselmsson, J., Bondesson, V., & Johansson, U. (2014). Brand image and customers’ willingness to pay a price premium for food brands. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 23(2), 90-102.
Bandyopadhyay, S., & Banerjee, B. (2003). A country of origin analysis of foreign products by Indian consumers. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 15(2), 85-109.
Chang, H. J. (2008). Studies on the agricultural brand mark reflects the local identity. Busan, Korea: Thesis for Master in Donga University.
Cho, H., Lee, S., Kim, O., Lee, K, Lee, Y., & Han, Y. (2011). Family meal time and the related factors. Korean Family Resource Management Association, 15(1), 1-28.
Cordell, V. V. (1992). Effects of consumer preferences for foreign sourced products. Journal of International Business Studies, 23(2), 251-269.
Davies, A., Titterington, A. J., & Cochrane, C. (1995). Who buys organic food? A profile of the purchasers of organic food in Northern Ireland. British Food Journal, 97(10), 17-23.
Gelperowic, R., & Beharrell, B. (1994). Healthy food products for children: packaging and mothers' purchase decisions. British Food Journal, 96(11), 4-8.
Hoyer, W. D. (1984). An examination of consumer decision making for a common repeat purchase product. Journal of Consumer Research, 11(3), 822-829.
Huang, J., Qiu, H., Bai, J., & Pray, C. (2006). Awareness, acceptance of and willingness to buy genetically modified foods in urban China. Appetite, 46(2), 144-151.
Huber, J., & McCann, J. (1982). The impact of inferential beliefs on product evaluations. Journal of Marketing Research, 19(3), 324-333.
Jeon, C. G. (2003). Agricultural co-branded status and outlook. Seoul, Korea: Korea Rural Economic Institute.
Jung, G. H. (2014). (A)study on agriculture co-brand design of Cheonan Keobong. Cheongju, Korea: Thesis for Master in Chungbuk National University.
Kang, C. W. (2009). A Study on a plan to increase produce and agricultural foods export. Journal of Distribution Science, 7(4), 27-36.
Kim, D. H. (2006). Improvement of marketing strategies exercised by Korean traditional soy sauce and paste products. Social Science Studies, 12, 65-86.
Kim, D. R. (2003). A scheme for sales promotion of traditional soybean sauce by improving production and distribution system. Journal of Food Service Management, 6(1), 129-146.
Kim, M. A., Kim, K., & Ahn, D. (2011). An analysis of factors influencing the food consumption pattern. Korean Journal of Food Marketing Economics, 28(3), 37-55.
Kim, M. G., Kim, P. J., & Chung, G. Y. (2016a). A study on consumers’ recognition and satisfaction to the brand agricultural products. Journal of Distribution Science, 14(6), 45-52.
Kim, N. Y, Han, M, J. (2007), Recognition and consumption patterns of traditional Doenjang and soy sauce housewives according to age in Seoul. Korean Journal of Food and Cookery Science, 23(6), 867-876.
Kim, R., Park, S., & Park, J. (2016b). Effects of countryof-origin image on brand equity model: focused on mediating effects of brand assessment and perceived quality. Korean Journal of Business Administration, 29(6), 981-999.
Kotler, P., & Gertner, D. (2002). Country as brand, product, and beyond: A place marketing and brand management perspective. Journal of Brand Management, 9(4), 249-261.
Krishnamurthi, L., & Raj, S. P. (1991). An empirical analysis of the relationship between brand loyalty and consumer price elasticity. Marketing Science, 10(2), 172-183.
Lee, H. L. (2010). A study on the effects of whether the country of origin of brand is accordant with the country of origin of product on product evaluation :focused on a comparison of Korean with Chinese consumers. Seoul, Korea. Thesis for PhD, Hansyung University.
Lee, J. H. (2003). Improvement of brand strategy and policy for agricultural and meat products. Agricultural Business Policy Research, 30(1), 54-76.
Lee, S. (2014). The effect of household demographic trend on food expenditure pattern. Consumption Culture Study, 17(3), 85-104.
Lee, Y. G., Park, S., & Park, J. H. (2010). A study on relationship between local agricultural products brand and consumer purchasing intention: the case of Andong City. Agricultural Scientific Research, 3(2), 55-60.
Li, Z. G., & Dant, R. P. (1998). Dimensions of product quality and country-of-origin effects research. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 10(1-2), 93-114.
Mak, T. N., Prynne, C. J., Cole, D., Fitt, E., Bates, B., & Stephen, A. M. (2013). Patterns of socio demographic and food practice characteristics in relation to fruit and vegetable consumption in children: results from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme (2008~2010). Public Health Nutrition, 16(11), 1912-1923.
Manchanda, P. Ansari, A., & Gupta, S. (1999). The “shopping basket”: A model for multicategory purchase incidence decisions. Marketing Science, 18(2), 95-114.
Nagashima, A. (1970). A comparison of Japanese and US attitudes toward foreign products. The Journal of Marketing, 34, 68-74.
Park, J. E. (2006). Government policies and the current state of the Korea brand agricultural products: all brands produce. Naju, Korea: Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Coporation. Retrieved May 11, 2011, from http://www.at.or.kr/ebook/apko365000/list.action?at.condit ion.currentPage=6.
Park, S., & Cho, C. (2008). The impact of brand and store satisfaction on customer loyalty in eco-friendly agricultural products setting. Korea International Agricultural Development Institute. 20(1), 36-45.
Park, S. (2012). The influence of Agricultural Brands on Consumer’s Attitude: A Comparison between Functional Brand and Storytelling Brand. Seoul, Korea:Thesis for Master in Hanyang Cyber University.
Percy, L., & Rossiter, J. R. (1992). A model of brand awareness and brand attitude advertising strategies. Psychology & Marketing, 9(4), 263-274.
Rho, C., & Ahn, B. Y. (2005). Comparison of satisfaction levels to environmental friendly agricultural products by lifestyle. Rural Economics, 28(3), 57-68.
Rho, H., & Kim, S. (2009). Observing changes in demand for food diversity over time based on household data. Agricultural Economics Study, 50(2), 27-44.
Schooler, R. D. (1965). Product bias in the Central American common market. Journal of Marketing Research, 2(4), 394-397.
Shin, D. H. (2006). Current situation of Korean fermented soy products and product development guidelines. Food Preservation and Processing Industry, 2006, 5(1), 31-46.
Shin, M. S. (2001). Trend and growth about fermented soy products. Korean Journal of Food and Cookery Science, 17(3), 298-308.
Shin, S, K., Kim, H., Choi, B., & Lee, S. S. (2012). A comparison of food frequency for the elderly regarding different family types: based on community health survey for 2008. Journal of Nutrition and Health, 45(3), 264-273.
Xie, J., Gao, Z., Swisher, M., & Zhao, X. (2015). Consumers’ preferences for fresh broccolis: interactive effects between country of origin and organic labels. Agricultural Economics, 47(2), 181-191.
Yao, Q., & Wang, L. (2012). Consumer purchase intention towards genetically modified food: beneficial, price, socio-demographic and label determinants. International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, 3(3), 176.
Zeileis, A., Kleiber, C., & Jackman, S. (2008). Regression models for count data in R. Journal of Statistical Software, 27(8), 1-25.