Year: 2016 Volume: 22 Issue: a

Abstract: Examining Korean American consumers’ shopping orientation with demographic variables is a critical step toward identifying and understanding the distinctive characteristics of their consumer decision-making styles (CDMS). A principal components analysis was applied to identify how the consumer styles inventory (CSI) can be generalized to the case of Korean American consumers making purchases in the sport product category of golf clubs. Of the surveys collected through purposive sampling techniques, 306 completed responses were usable. The analysis clearly identified six out of the eight original CSI factors; these six were identified and found to be optimal for adequately representing characteristics of Korean American consumers: (1) Perfectionistic/High-Quality Consciousness; (2) Brand Consciousness/Price Equals Quality; (3) Confusion by Overchoice; (4) Novelty/High-Tech Consciousness; (5) Recreational/Hedonic Consciousness; and (6) Habit/Brand Loyalty. Novelty/High-Tech Consciousness was newly captured due to the innovative features of modern golf clubs. Two other factors from the original CSI, Price Consciousness/Value for the Money and Impulsiveness/Carelessness, were found to be unreliable. This six-factor model was derived from 28 of the original 39 items of the CSI scale; the 28-item scale was thus considered more parsimonious and stable for use with Korean American consumers.