S As Muan Thesisas

FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR OF SASMUAN
DELICACIES

A Business Research Proposal
Presented to the Faculty of the College of Business and Accountancy
Holy Angel University
Angeles City

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Major in Marketing Management

Absalon, Diane Paula D.
Amurao, Alexis M.
Batac, Eric Cristopher C.
Buco, Richard Mari S.
Vestil, Martin Adrian S.

March 2014

FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR OF SASMUAN DELICACIES
2

Approval Sheet

This business research proposal entitled Factors Influencing Consumer Buying
Behavior of SasmuanDelicacies, prepared and submitted by Absalon, Diane Paula; Amurao,
Alexis; Batac, Eric Cristopher; Buco, Richard Mari; Vestil Martin Adrian.In partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in
Marketing Management is hereby RECOMMENDED and ACCEPTED for ORAL DEFENSE.

________________________
Ma. Antonette Guintu
Adviser

Approval
ACCEPTED and APPROVED in the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in Marketing Management.
Panel for Oral Examiners

Mr. Robert Quizon Mrs. Carmelita Lao Mrs. Ma. Fernabel Punsalan

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
Approval Sheet
Table of Contents
Introduction
Company Background
Review of Related Literature
Statement of the Problem
Conceptual Framework
Significance of the Study 17
Scope and Limitation 17
Methodology 18
Research Design 18
Respondents of the Study 18
Data Collection 19
Data Analysis 19
Appendix
References 21
Sample Survey Questionnaire to Customers 24

4

Sasmuan Delicacies started their business selling polvorons in schools and sari sari
stores. In 1991, when Pinatubo erupted businesses in Pampanga went downhill. The
government held a market fair and it paved way for Sasmuan to rise up again. Through SM,
which they became, partners with. Their first store was launched in SM Cebu. Mrs. Del Rosario
made sure that quality comes first before profit. Up to present they are one of the known
leading delicacies manufacturer in the country.
Delicacies vary from ones personal taste to another. It is highly desirable in various
cultures often because of its special, uncommon flavors, appearances, and characteristics or
because it is rare compared to the availability of other foodstuffs. Because of this, various
forms of foodstuffs like baked items, delicacies, sweets and pastries have emerged as a new
trend in the market. Today, many innovative products and ingredients are now being
demanded by a lot of customers in different regions stimulated by changing lifestyle and eating
habits. Emerging markets now represent a good market potential for Sasmuan to venture into
the food industry.
In our globalizing world where economic crisis deepen and competition gets fiercer,
consumers are becoming more and more important. Every individual is a consumer. There are
rapid changes in demands and desires of the consumers who are considered to be center of
the modern marketing. Companies need to increase the rate of their research and
development activities in order to be able to learn these changes and improvements.
Consumer satisfaction, which is widely accepted is gaining importance day by day and can
only be achieved by perceiving the consumers and consumer behaviors (Shah,2012)
5

Consumer behavior research enables better understanding and forecasting not only of
the subject of purchases but also of purchasing motives and purchasing frequency (Schiffman
& Kanuk, 2004).
One of the present fundamental presumptions for the consumer behavior research is
the fact that, people often buy products not because of their main function but for their
subjectively perceived value. It does not mean that products basic function is not important,
but that the todays role of product exceeds its service limits(Salomon, 2004). Even more often
consumers do not rate products according to their cores (it means the main utility provided) but
above all according to so-called real product (it means the particular products qualities) and
the extended product, which represents the set of intangible factors bringing the demanded
perceived advantage to consumer (Prochzka, 2007).
Trommsdorff (2002) however warns that there are no activities more important for the
consumer behaviour research, connected with consumption, than the personal characteristics.
According to him the term consumer is being used instead of a more accurate one target
customer, and also the term consumer behaviour. This conception causes problems
afterwards because it must comprehend more personal roles decision maker, buyer and
consumer.
In a study by Esteban (2009) according to him, Filipinos were able to overcome the
crisis. Its not that bad actually a Pinoys seem to be coping forever, Esteban said. He even
said during crisis periods there were changes in consumer behavior and attitudes that need to
look upon in the development in their campaign plans and mixes.
Therefore, understanding the consumer attitudes and behavior is one of the key factors
for an organization to successfully tap business opportunities in the Philippines. This aspect is
6

crucial especially during crisis periods when there are a number of changes in consumer
attitudes and behaviors. The marketing managers and advertisers need to know and consider
these changes while developing their promotional plans and media-mixes. In the short term,
behavioral dimensions maybe even more important than lifestyle or brand attitudes (Krishnan,
2012). More so, understanding consumer buying behavior allows a company to more easily
provide for consumers needs and more easily promote the companys products and services.
Understanding consumer behavior leads to marketing success (Bennett, 2010).
The field of consumer behavior covers a lot of ground: to the selection, and
consumption of goods and services for the satisfaction of their wants. There are different
processes involved in the consumer behavior. Initially the consumer tries to find what
commodities he would like to consume, and then he selects only those commodities that
promise greater utility. After selecting the commodities, the consumer makes an estimate of
the available money, which he can spend. Lastly, the consumer analyzes the prevailing prices
of commodities and takes the decision about the commodities he should consume. Meanwhile,
there are various other factors influencing the purchases of consumer such as social, cultural,
personal and psychological (Gajjar, 2012).
(Kotler & Amstrong 2008) define the characteristic that strongly influence the consumer
behavior, these are cultural, social, personal and psychological. Markets have to be
understood before marketing strategies can be developed. People using consumer markets
buy goods and services for personal consumption. Consumers vary tremendously in age,
income, education, tastes, and other factors. Consumer behavior is influenced by the buyer's
characteristics and by the buyer's decision process. Buyer characteristics include four major
7

factors: cultural, social, personal, and psychological. (Yakup & Jablonsk, 2012). We can say
that following factors can influence a Consumers buying behavior:
Literature and the explanation of these factors is given below:

Fig. 1 Factors Influencing the Consumer Purchase Behavior
Source: Buying Customer Factors,
http://iitmaverick.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/consumer-buying-behavior-3/

Psychological factors include motivation, perception, skills and knowledge,
positions, personality, style of life (Brown 2006).In addition, he further stated that Perception
means the adaption of reality. It is the process of selection, processing and interpretation of
input data from the environment to make them purposeful. This is supported in a study by
Purwanto (2013) stating that a persons buying behavior choices are further influenced by four
major psychological factors: Motivation, Perception, Learning, and Beliefs. Motivation is when
a person has many needs at a given time. A motive or a drive is a need that is sufficiently
pressing to direct the person to seek satisfaction of need. Freuds theory suggest that a person
8

buying decisions are influenced by subconscious motives that even the buyer may not fully
understand. A person tries to satisfy the most important need first. When that need is satisfied,
it will stop being a motivator and the person will then try to satisfy the next most important
need. Perception is when people can form different perceptions of the same stimulus because
of three perceptual process; selective attention, selective distortion, and selective retention.
Each person fits incoming information into an existing mind-set. Selective distortion describes
the tendency of people to interpret information in a way that will support what they already
believe. Selective distortions means that marketers must try to understand the mind sets of
consumers and how these will influence interpretations of advertising and sales information.
Furthermore, selective retention describes that consumers are likely to remember good points
made about brand they favor and to forget good points made about competing brands.
Learning, a drive is a strong internal stimulus that calls for action. A drive becomes a motive
when it is directed toward a particular stimulus effect. When consumers tend to decide which
product they shall buy, they might respond to cues, cues are minor stimuli that determine
when, where, and how the person responds. Beliefs and Attitudes is through doing and
learning that people acquire beliefs and attitudes. Beliefs are a descriptive taught that a person
has about something. Beliefs may be based on real knowledge, opinion, or faith and may or
may not carry an emotional change. Attitude describes a persons relatively consistent
evaluations, feelings and tendencies toward an object or idea. Attitudes put people into a
frame of mind of liking or disliking things or moving toward or away from them. Attitudes are
difficult to change, a persons attitudes fit into a pattern and change one attitude may require
difficult adjustments in many others. The forces of beliefs and attitudes push a company to fit
its products into existing attitudes rather than attempt to change attitudes.
9

Personal factors, are the ones unique for each consumer. Above all data like
age, sex, place of domicile, occupational and economic conditions, personality and self
consciousness can be found here (Horsk & Sparke, 2007). In Purwantos study it was stated
that consumers decisions also are influenced by personal characteristics as the buyers age
and life cycle stage, occupation, economic situation, lifestyle, and personality and self-concept.
Age and life-cycle stage,tastes in food, clothes, furniture, and recreation are often age related.
Buying is also shaped by the stage of the family life cycle - the stages through which families
might pass as they mature over time. Traditional family life cycle stage includes young singles
and married couples with children. A persons occupation affects the goods and services
bought. Marketers try to identify the occupational groups that have an above-average interest
in their products and services. A company can even specialize in making products needed by
a given occupational group ("Consumer Markets: Influences on Consumer Behavior," 2012).
Economic Situation will influence product choice, marketers of income-sensitive goods watch
trends in personal income, savings, and interest rates. It is obvious that an economic level of a
consumer will determine their choice of buying as they adjust their purchase power with the
goods and services. Lifestyle was also defined by him as a persons pattern of living as
expressed in this or her psychographics. This involves measuring of consumers interest which
leads to buying behavior. Lifestyle profiles a persons whole pattern of acting and
interchanging consumer values and how they influence buying behavior. Personality and Self-
Concept refers to the unique psychological characteristic that leads to relatively consistent and
lasting responses to ones own environment. Personality is usually described in terms of trait
such as self-confidence, dominance, etc. An idea that brands also have personalities and that
10

consumers are likely to choose brands with personalities that match their own. A brand
personality is the specific mix o human traits that may be attributed to a particular brand.
A consumers buying behavior is also influenced by social factors, such as the
(i) Groups (ii) Family (iii) Roles and Status (Yakup & Jablonsk 2013). Reference Groups have
potential in forming a person attitude or behavior. The impact of reference groups varies
across products and brands. For example if the product is visible such as dress, shoes, car etc
then the influence of reference groups will be high. (Shah, 2012). A Family is two or more
people living together who are related by blood or marriage. It is a part of a household which
consists of individuals living singly or together with others in a residential unit. Consumer
behavior is influenced not only by consumer personalities and motivations, but also by the
relationships within families. In a family, members must satisfy their individual and shared
needs by drawing on a common and shared, relatively fixed supply of sources. The individual
family is a strong, most immediate and most pervasive influence on decision-making. The
husband, wife and children influence each other and are influenced by others (Yakup and
Sevil, 2011).A person belongs to many groupsfamily, clubs, organizations. The person's
position in each group can be defined in terms of both role and status. Furthermore, A role
consists of the activities people are expected to perform according to the person around them.
Each role carries status reflecting the general esteem given to it by society. People usually
choose products appropriate to their roles and status (Purwanto, 2013).
In a study conducted by Yakup & Jablonsk (2012),researchers stated that
cultural factors have a significant impact on customer behavior. They stated that Culture is
the complex of beliefs of human societies, their roles, their behavior, their values, traditions,
customs and traditions. Culture represents the behavior, beliefsand, in many cases, the way
11

we act learned by interacting or observing other members of society. In this way much of what
we do is shared behavior,passed along from one member of society to another.
On Sub-culture, each culture contains sub-cultures groups of people with
share values. Sub-cultures can include nationalities, religions, racial groups, or groups of
people sharing the same geographical location. Sometimes a sub-culture will create a
substantial and distinctive market segment of its own. For example, the youth culture or club
culture has quite distinct values and buying characteristics from the much older gray
generation(Yakup & Jablonsk, 2012).
On social class, it is stated that every society possesses some form of
socialclass which is important to the marketers because thebuying behavior of people in a
given social class issimilar. In this way marketing activities could be tailoredaccording to
different social classes. Here we shouldnote that social class is not only determined by
incomebut there are various other factors as well such as:wealth, education, occupation etc.
(Shah, 2012).
Today because of the presence of many new and innovative retail shops offering
wide and variety of products, even this new market competition where price is important and
product awareness and communication so fast, the researchers are interested to know how a
firm like Sasmuan Delicacies has made it into this tight and intensive rivalry among its existing
competitors. The group is also interestedin knowing deeper the possible strategies of surviving
and developing the strategy of promoting the product which leads a customer to purchase
products because of the factors that will greatly influence a customer to buy Sasmuan
Delicacies.

12

How will you identify the factors influencing consumer buying behavior of Sasmuan
Delicacies?
Specifically; it aims to answer the following question:
1. How may the characteristics of the respondents be described in terms of:
1.1 Age
1.2 Gender
1.3 Income
1.4 Family Size
2. How may the following factors influencing consumer buying behavior be
assessed by the respondents? The factors are:
2.1 Psychological
2.2 Personal
2.3 Social
2.4 Cultural
3. Is there a significant relationship between factors influencing consumer-buying
behavior that are: (Psychological, Personal, Social, Cultural) and buying
behavior?
4. What are the possible recommendations?
Ho : There is no influence by the factors like psychological, personal, social and cultural
factors on the Sasmuans consumer behavior on their willingness to buy.

The framework of this study offers rationale and fundamental basis how the
entire research will go about. As a basis, it represents the interrelationship of theories,
13

principles and beliefs that are essential to the investigation of the present problem. The
framework should logically explain and orderly present the dynamics of the concepts
supporting the study.
By adapting the theory of Kotler and Armstrong (2008) it will define the
characteristics influencing consumer behavior in four (4) specific variables: a.)
Psychological b) Personal c) Social d) Cultural.
By defining the variables of consumer behavior and relating them to the object of
research (respondents) of Sasmuan Delicacies, the researchers would like to see
whether the buying behavior of consumers at Sasmuan would be influenced by these
factors of consumer behavior. The four variables will be the object of investigation
during the research.
The quantitative methods are significant in order to show the relationship of the
different variables. It can give relevant meaning and interpret the answers of the
correspondence. The researchers will make use of frequency tabulation, mean rating
and correlation.
The output of the study will indicate as to which consumer behavior factors will
influence their buying behavior. It will also indicate which among the variables will
greatly be influential for a consumer to willingly buy Sasmuan products.

14

Figure 2. Conceptual Framework

I
n
p
u
t

Factors
Influencing
Consumer
Buying
Behavior
Psychological
Personal
Social
Cultural

P
r
o
c
e
s
s

Simple
Frequency
Mean rating
Correlation
O
u
t
p
u
t

Buying
Behavior
15

This study may benefit the following sectors:
The owner of Sasmuan will have an idea about factors that influence consumer
buying behavior. This will give them an alternative on how to please their consumers by
possibly providing identified needs on their product offerings. They could now introduce
new and better products that will make Sasmuan stay competitively in the market. By
identifying strategies, they will help increase their market and venture into related
products.
The Food Industry may venture into awareness of providing more environmental
and healthy ingredients and products making customers more delighted with the
offering of innovative products in a growing and competitive market.
Future Researchers may venture in a different area not covered in this study like
focusing on factors of purchase decisions on brand selection or specifically on
advertising factor.
The coverage of the study entails the perception of the customers of Sasmuan
who are currently buyers of Sasmuan which may have different outlets/kiosks in malls
or supermarkets. The participants will be taken out from the total population with the use
of sampling.
However, limitations may be seen from this study since some respondents may
be hesitant or may not have the time to participate in filling up the survey form. They
may also not properly answer the questionnaire which may cause the questionnaire to
be invalid or void. However, the researchers will assist in the answering of some queries
from the respondents should there be a necessity for it. More so, very few studies on
consumer behavior have been identified when gathering secondary data as additional
16

information. Many of the studies were lifted from foreign sources since there were very
few studies conducted locally.
Method
Research Design
The study uses the descriptive research design. Descriptive research answers the
questions who, what, where, when and how. It is used to obtain information concerning the
current status of the phenomena to describe "what exists" with respect to variables or
conditions in a situation. In this case the factors on consumer buying behavior shall be
described. Correlation Research Design will be used for this research.

Respondents of the Study
The respondents of the study shall be the customers at Sasmuan Delicacies, which are
located at different malls, and also customers from supermarkets and grocery stores. Since the
total population is unknown, the Group will just take about 80 customers using convenience
sampling method. We used the sample size table in determining the required sample size with
confidence level of 95% and 5.0% margin of error.
Sources of Data
For primary data collection a questionnaire shall be administered to customers of
Sasmuan Delicacies in SM City Clark. Data shall be given to customers and may need to
conduct personal and interviews to assist customers in coming up with fast and reliable and
accurate answers. Our survey questionnaire is adapted from another study entitled, Factors
Affecting Impulse Buying Behavior of Consumers at Superstores in Bangladesh.
17

The researchers will collect secondary data from the different books and related studies.
The books and studies that the researchers will use are those that are related to consumer
buying behavior.
Data Analysis & Procedure
The researchers will use the Mean rating and Correlation as statistical tools in
determining which factors among consumer behavior will influence consumers to buy
Sasmuan products.
To further analyze results, the study will use both qualitative and quantitative methods.
For qualitative we will be using the mean rating and for quantitative method we will be using
correlation.
Table
1 2 3 4
Discount Offer
Various Scheme
Promotional Activities
Superstore Offer
Popularity of Product
Reference Group
Income Level
Festival Season

18

REFERENCES

Bennett, A.(2010). Big Book of Marketing, Lessons and Best Practices From The
Worlds Greatest Companies, MC Graw Hill, 112p.
Brown, A. (2006). Chapter 6 Class Notes
Retrieved from
http://www.udel.edu/alex/chapt6.html [quoted 2006-07-05].
Esteban, R. (2009). Storm clouds over us: Understanding the Filipino consumer in times
of Crisis. Retrieved from
http://outspinning.blogspot.com/2009/03/consumer-behaviorduring- crisis-
tall.html
Gajjar, N. (2012). Factors Affecting Consumer Behavior,
Vol. 1, Issue:2, April 2013. Retrieved from:
http://raijmr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2_10-15-Dr.-Nilesh- B.-Gajjar.pdf
Horsk E., & Sparke K., (2007): Marketing attitudes towards the functional food and
implications for market segmentation. Agricultural Economics Czech, 53 (7):
349353.
Kotler, P. & Amstrong, G. (2008). Principle of Marketing, 12
th
edition. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Krishnan (2012) Consumer Behavior in the Philippines, Retrieved from
http://www.studymode.com/essays/Consumer-Behavior-In-The- Philippines-
Krishnan-1100472.html

19

Prochzka, F. (2007). Buying behaviour of households in the Czech Republic.
Agricultural Economics Czech, 53 (7): p.318324.
Purwanto, G. (2013). Analysis of Consumer Behavior Affecting Consumer Willingness
to Buy in 7-Eleven Convenience Store. Retrieved from
http://www.hrpub.org/download/201310/ujm.2013.010205.pdf
Schiffman G., & Kanuk L. (2004). Nkupnchovn(Purchasing behaviour).
Computer Press, Brno.
Shah A., (2012). Factors Affecting Consumer Behavior.
Retrieved from
http://ezinearticles.com/?Factors-Affecting-Consumer- Behavior&id=4602848,
16.01.2012.
Solomon, M. (2004). Consumer Behavior. Buying, Having, and Being.Pearson
Prenctice Hall. Saddle River.
Stvkov, J., Stejskal, L., & Toufarov, Z., (2008). Factors influencing consumer
behaviour. Retrieved from
http://www.agriculturejournals.cz/publicFiles/01585.pdf
Trommsdorff, V. (2002): Konsumentenverhalten.Kohlhammer, Stuttgart, 4th edition;
Yakup, D., & Jablonsk, S. (2012). Integrated Approach to Factors
Affecting Consumers Purchase Behavior in Poland and an
Empirical Study. Retrieved from
http://www.zainbooks.com/books/marketing/principles-of-
marketing_15_consumer-buying-behavior.html, 16.01.2012.

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Yakup D., & Sevil Z., (2011). An Impirical Study on the Effect of Family Factor on
Consumer Buying Behaviors, Retrieved from
http://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/12453,16.01.20 12.

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Consumer Buying Behavior Survey Questionnaire for Sasmuan Delicacies

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are 3
rd
Year Marketing Management students of Holy Angel University under the
College of Business and Accountancy Program and currently doing a research on
Consumer Buying Behavior. Our group is conducting a survey on what influences
consumers to buy at Sasmuan Delicacies. May we request you to kindly spare a few
minutes and help us in the survey. Your co-operation will be highly appreciated. Please
put a tick (/) on the corresponding statements.

Name (Optional):

Age: 1. (18 - 25) 2. (26 - 35) 3. (36 - 45) 4. (45 - Above)
Gender: 1. Male 2. Female
Occupation: 1. Business 2. Service 3. Others
Todays Spending Shopping Hours: 1. Long 2. Medium 3. Short

In the following scale, SA defines Strongly Agree, A defines Agree, D
defines Disagree and SD defines Strongly Disagree. Please put one mark
for each statement.

SA

A

D

SD
5 4 3 2
1. Discount price of product affects unplanned
buying behavior.

2. Various schemes (like buy 1 get 1 free) affect
your buying behavior positively.

3. Various promotional activities motivate you to buy
products.

4. Any offer organized by superstores affects your
buying behavior.

5. Display of product in store attracts your attention.
6. Behavior of sales person affects your buying
behavior.

7. Popularity of products increases recall value and
help in unplanned buying.

22

8. Comments of reference group influence your
buying behavior.

9. Your income status affects unplanned buying
behavior.

10. Requirements of product in festival seasons
prompt you to buy.

Write down the products name which you bought today as unplanned
purchase (if any):

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