A Study on the Consumer's Leisure Activities Choice

By Kim, Chul-Ho(Dep't Int'l Trade & Business Graduate School of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies)

INTRODUCTION

The our leisure industry has enjoyed phenomenal growth since 1970', and demographic, social, and industrial developments promise its continued expansion. Particularly in Korea it is published that adults consume over 6 hours in one day to enjoy a leisure. Though leisure market must be profitable, leisure has not been recognized as the product. The efficient marketing strategies about leisure domain have not been developed. In this study I try to study leisure choices behavior on the basis of consumer, behavior, as follows;

First, to study consumer's leisure choice process through the product choice model.

Second, to study the determinants of consumer's leisure choice.

Third, to derive the cognitive dimensions of leisure choice criteria through the empirical study and make a product space map.

Fourth, to present leisure marketing strategies.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Definition of leisure-of which there are literally thousand-may be categorized as sociology view or psychological concept. In sociology view, Dumazedier defined leisure as the activities oriented towards self-fulfillment. By a psychological concept Neulinger defined leisure as a state of mind or an experience (figurel-l). Also Unger and Kernan(1983) find intrinsic satisfaction, perceived freedom, and involvement as the determinants of subjective leisure experience.

In its brief history, the study of consumer behavior has evolved from an early emphasis a rational choice(micro-economics) to a focus an apparently irrational buying needs to the use of logical flow models of bounded rationality. The latter approach has deepened into what is often called the "information processing model"(figurel-5) and sociopsychological model(EKB model; figure 1-7, 1-8). Recently, However researchers have begun to question the hegemony of the two approaches on the grounds that it may neglect important consumption phenomena. Ignored phenomena include various playful leisure activities, sensory pleasure, daydreams, esthetic enjoyment, and emotional responses. Holbrook and Hirschman (1982) regard consumption as a primarily subjective state of consciousness with a variety of symbolic meaning, hedonic responses, and esthetic criteria. Recognition of these important aspect of consumption as strengthened by Holbrook's contrasting the information processing and experiential view(figure 1-11).

Bergier(1981) presents an attempt to develope a conceptual model of leisure choice behavior(figure 1-14). It is base on the promise that choice behavior in the marketable is primarily a function of individual perception and preference. In the element of the Bergier model, demographic and socioeconomic variable could be primarily used to identify and describable groups or respondents who exhibit similar behavior(Settle 1979, London and Locander 1979, Jih-Min Yu 1980). Motivation presented in Berfier model can be used the important element that determine the evaluation criteria in consumer behavior perspectives. As the one of the study about motivation to leisure Crandall(1980) presents motivational items as the concept of evaluation criteria of leisure choice; meeting a friend, for the healthy, for the fun and pleasure, for the self-fulfillment, for cost, time passing, getting the new experience, getting the knowledge, relaxation.

EMPIRICAL STUDY

Previous researches are limited to the product related to leisure or activities segmentation by the frequency of praticipation. But focus on this empirical study puts in not consume segmentation by frequency, but deriving the cognitive dimension of leisure choice and presenting marketing implication through the product (leisure) space map. Part two(empirical study) consists of two chapter, (1) research outline (2) research analysis and results.

(1) research outline

Pretest was done to select leisure activities that people preferred among 32 leisure activities (appendix 1-1). Subjects of pretest were total 42(male 21, female 21). In the results of the pretest 19 activities were selected(appendix 2-1). Nine leisure attributes were used in pretest and main-test. In the pretest subjects rated nine attributes as the degree of importance. In main-test 9 points scale was used(0; never important, 8; most important). The respondents of mail-test were total 175, male 70, female 105. Respondents checked the degree of importance of evaluative criteria, considering when they enjoy the leisure activities.

(2) research analysis and results

Research was analyzed by the factor analysis and multidiscriminant analysis. The results of factor analysis were shown table 2-2 to table 2-7, as follow;

Factor 1 : self-development attribute

Factor 2 : healthy-recreational attribute

Factor 3 : time passing attribute

Also the results of multidiscriminant analysis were shown from table 2-9 to table 2-12. Discriminating ability of variable "for the healthy" among nine variables was very high. Using these three cognitive dimensions of leisure activities choice, factor score(group centroids), and 19 leisure activities, product space maps were made(figure 2-4 to 2-9).

CONCLUSION

Leisure must be considered as products and an efficient marketing strategies should be developed by marketer on the basis of the results of this study. But this paper has some limitations, as follows :

First, because subjects' the degree of education is very high, it may be baised in population estimation.

Second, because questionnare is very complex, subjects' involvement to it may be decreased.