Analytical Review on Korean Lifestyle Studies and Field Research

- for better directions on Korean lifestyle studies-

Kang, Hong-Seok(Department of Business Administration Graduate School of Seoul National University)

1. Preface

Recent years in Korea, many social science scholars have been interested in Lifestyle studies, and moreover they have been active in the researches as well. We can say these "rush on lifestyle" is somewhat an encouraging phenomenon for social analysis, but we have to know that the expansion in the number of studies does not mean the developments in their quality. However, it can be accepted affirmatively that a lot of lifestyle researches are supporting the successive and scientific marketing performance in Korea.

The object of this research can be divided into three parts. First object is the determination of what is more efficient and effective between one consisted with general items, and the other consisted with the product related items. Second object is to verify problems of reliability and validity. As the result of the reviewing the recent studies on lifestyle, I can learn that most of Korean researches have mode little efforts to solve the problems, while foreign researchers suggested many questions related to measurement problems and try to solve them.

II. General Review on Lifestyle Research

According to the object, it is essential to consider two aspects simultaneously: one is the consideration of methodological approaches covering lifestyle items and the theoretical consideration on the measuring problems in lifestyle researches.

Since the lifestyle studies applied to marketing as market segmentation tool (the lifestyle study was originated in the field of psychology) lifestyle study and market segmentation have advanced mutually with maintaining close relationship. It is because demographic segmentation which used as dominant segmentation criterion before lifestyle was considered very unproductive segmentation tool.

In the perspective of marketing research, lifestyle study has two different approaches: one is the study based on the general items and the other is one based on the product related items. These two approaches exist on far different bases. Between these two approaches, the study based on the product related items is considered better approach than the study based on the general items because of its ability to gather marketing informations about consumers, market and product.

Lifestyle studies have lot of controversies concering its measurement: reliability and validity. Recent years, most of foreign marketing literatures have focused on measurement problems than any other topics in lifestyle studies. But even with its overwhelming controversy and attention in other countries, it is merely studies and discussed in Korea. So in this thesis, reliability and validity is defined in good numbers, especially in areas which concerns lifestyle researches.

III. Critical Review on Korean Lifestyle Research

In this section, I examine seven lifestyle studies which conducted in Korea since 1983. Here I tried to see the reliability and validity of studies and verify the lifestyle items if its possible.

After through literature review, the followings are the results. First, the general lifestyle times is not a good tool to segment Korean consumers. Second, most of the general items used in Korean lifestyle studies are using foreign-mode items - mostly U.S. and Japan. So it isn't very effective to segment Korean consumers. Third, Korean researchers don't make any effort to review earlier literatures enough. So they sue the unsignificant items repeatedly. Fourth, lack of significance and validity in Korean lifestyle researches, which has importance of avalanche. Fifth, some researchers lack statistical mind, and sometimes its very basic things, it can be very crucial.

IV. Research on Korean Male College Students Alcohol Related Lifestyle

As the result of literature review. "Research on Korean Male College Students Alcohol Related Lifestyle" is tried to correct mistakes found from earlier studies. So, all of lifestyle items is about specific product (here of course, it is the alcohol) to confirm its superiority over the general items. And to assure research's reliability and validity. I used the split-half method to reduce measurement problems after the initial factor analysis and cluster anlnysis was done.

The results concerning lifestyle items was very good. All of 33 items used in research came out very singnicantly, which means it is very good tool to segment Korean consumers than the general items. The results of split-half method was also very valuable. This work not only increase reliability and validity of the research but also helpful to marketing implications and later studies such as marketing strategy.

V. Conclusion

The conlusion of the study can be summarized as follows:

Fist, it is better to sued the product related times than the general items to segment Korean consumers. But if your are going to used the general times, it is suggested that you choose items very carefully, and consequently Korean lifestyle researchers must develop the items that is suited to segment Korean consumers properly.

Second, the researchers have to get reliability and validity using the split-half method or the test-retest method. Of course these two method aren't most sophisticated method in the world, but it is very easy to apply and very useful.

Third, we need lifestyle studies which can explain Korean lifestyles. So we need researches of our own. We need our lifestyle items, we need our methodology and we need our own frameworks for lifestyles. So in 90's more efforts should be concerntrated on Korean way of lifestyle studies.

Key Words: lifestyle, the product related life sytle item, the general lifestyle item