THE EXTERNAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE TAIWANESE COLLEGE STUDENTS' ATHLETIC SHOE PURCHASE INTENTION

Author

Yen-Tin Chen, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

5-1-2012

Degree Name

Master of Science in Education

Department

Kinesiology

First Advisor

Yoh, Taeho

Abstract

Understanding consumer behavior is one of the pivotal elements for success in any business. Among the various concepts in consumer behavior, the consumer decision-making process has gained much attention from both academics and practitioners. In Taiwan, scholars and practitioners have paid significant attention to external factors that influence consumer decision-making in various industries. However, few such studies have focused on external factors regarding purchases of products and services in the Taiwanese sport industry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the external factors that influence Taiwanese college students' shoe purchase intention. Data were collected to examine do external factors differed between genders and grade levels. Six external factors were identified from the literature review. The external factors were brand, price, style, durability, comfort, and athletic ndorsement/ promotion. This study utilized a 5-point Likert scale survey to examine the external factors influence Taiwanese college students' shoe purchase intention. A total of 416 Taiwanese college students from Southern Taiwan University were surveyed. Descriptive analysis, multiple regressions analysis, and one-way ANOVA were employed in this study. First of all, descriptive statistic analysis is used to categorize the participants based on their gender, age, grade, favorite athletic shoe brand, and how often did they purchase athletic shoes. Second, multiple regression analysis was used to predict which external factors had the most influence in Taiwanese college students' athletic shoe purchase intention. The results of multiple regression analysis demonstrated that comfort and style were the most influential factors in Taiwanese college students. Third, one-way ANOVA were used to measure the difference between gender and grade level for Taiwanese college students shoe purchase.