LICENTIATE T H E S I S
Luleå University of Technology Department of Human Work Sciences
Division of Industrial Design
2007:22|: 02-757|: -c -- 07⁄22--
2007:22
Design Preferences Concerning example Products in the USA,
South Korea and Germany
Milla Haarakoski
LICENTIATE THESIS
DESIGN PREFERENCES
CONCERNING EXAMPLE PRODUCTS IN THE USA, SOUTH KOREA AND GERMANY
Milla Haarakoski
Division of Industrial Design Department of Human Work Sciences
Luleå University of Technology SE-97187 Luleå, Sweden
2007
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PREFACE
The work for this licentiate thesis was started during a joint international project among the University of Lapland, Luleå University of Technology and seven companies from Northern Finland and Sweden from 2004 to 2007. The project was founded by the European Regional Development Fund, the State Provincial Office of Lapland, Luleå University of Technology and the participating companies. The work was carried out at the Industrial Design Department of the University of Lapland in close collaboration with the Division of Industrial Design of Luleå University of Technology. The two last months were funded by Luleå University of Technology, and office space and equipment were provided by the University of Lapland.
This thesis is the result of support, inspiration and assistance from a number of people. Therefore, I want to express my gratitude to all contributing colleagues, co- workers and associates. Special thanks are due to Maria Johansson for supportive, flexible and fluent cooperation in multiple languages, English, Swedish, Finnish and sometimes Swfinglish. I gratefully acknowledge the cooperation with my supervisor Jan Lundberg, who has always been available for long telephone meetings and supported me with positive encouragement throughout this work. I want to express my gratitude to Dennis Pettersson for valuable comments on the work. I would also like to thank members of the design research seminars at the University of Lapland for discussions and stimulating ideas.
I would like to thank my parents, brother, grandparents, family and friends for all their loving support and confidence in the work I have done. Finally, I would like to thank my love, Markus, for caring, understanding and supporting me throughout the process.
Rovaniemi, Finland 2007
Milla Haarakoski
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ABSTRACT
Companies are currently being encountered with increasing competition in the international markets, since products are exported more easily to a variety of countries. In order to succeed in export countries, product preferences should correspond to customer needs, since similarities and differences are found concerning product attribute preferences. However, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) might not have the resources to conduct vast studies to discover what the preferences are. In order to present the SMEs with information and possible explanations of what the various preferences are, a group of respondents´ product design preferences were investigated in three example countries, the USA, South Korea and Germany. The purpose is to demonstrate how SMEs can benefit from using quantitative and qualitative methods to develop products to better suit the intended target market, by providing knowledge of applicable methods and approaches when culture-related product design preferences are studied. Furthermore, the study provides knowledge of product design preferences in the three target countries with regard to example products, with supportive material concerning general design preferences. Based on the results, it is possible to draw conclusions about what product attribute categories should be emphasized when exporting to the example countries. The studied Americans rated economic attributes, especially good value for money, significantly more important than the other target countries concerning the example products.
Then again, the Koreans and Germans emphasized usability, especially safe to use, higher than the Americans for specific products. Overall, the aesthetic attributes were not considered important, although the Koreans preferred a trendy and exclusive look significantly more than the Americans. To demonstrate how the acquired knowledge can be implemented in practice, a design concept with examples of function, design, materials, colours and other visual attributes is presented. The results are presented in four papers based on the acquired material.
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LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
This thesis is based on the work reported in the following list of papers. All publications are listed in the order they were written throughout the project. This thesis includes the following appended publications:
Paper A Haarakoski, M., Johansson, M. E.. and Lundberg, J. (2006).
A Guide to Methods for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Designing for New Markets, Based on Cultural Research Experiences. In Friedman, K., Love, T. and Corte-Real, E., Eds. Proceedings Design Research Society - Wonderground International Conference 2006, Lisbon, Portugal.
Paper B Johansson, M. E., Haarakoski, M. and Lundberg, J. (2007).
Product Design Preferences – A Comparison of Preferences in the USA, South Korea and Germany.
To be submitted.
Paper C Haarakoski, M., Johansson, M. E. and Lundberg, J. (2007).
Attribute preferences of example products in the USA, South Korea and Germany.
To be submitted.
Paper D Haarakoski, M. (2007).
Design concept generation – hunting knife preferences in the USA.
To be submitted.
VIII Distribution of work
The distribution of work is presented here for all appended papers. The content of this section has been accepted by all contributing authors. The main idea for the project was developed by Lundberg. Lundberg also contributed by commenting on all of the following papers and by providing ideas for conclusions.
Paper A The work was equally divided between Haarakoski and Johansson in the study. Johansson mainly developed the Swedish, and Haarakoski mainly developed the Finnish questionnaires and interviews used in the study.
The work of gathering answered questionnaires, interviews, observations, analyzes of material and writing of paper was divided equally by Haarakoski and Johansson.
Paper B The research material was collected by Haarakoski and Johansson.
Analyses of material were conducted by Johansson and commented by Haarakoski. Johansson planned and wrote the paper. Haarakoski contributed with feedback on the paper regarding content and with co- writing some parts for the paper.
Paper C The research material was collected by Haarakoski and Johansson.
Analyses of material were conducted by Haarakoski and commented by Johansson. Haarakoski planned and wrote the paper. Johansson contributed with feedback on the paper regarding content and with co- writing some parts for the paper.
Paper D The main idea for the paper was initiated by Lundberg and developed by Haarakoski. Analyses of material and writing of paper were conducted by Haarakoski. The first brainstorming was conducted by Haarakoski and Johansson from which some illustrations are presented in the paper. The final design concept was developed by Haarakoski. Dennis Pettersson also contributed by commenting on the paper.
IX Additional contributions
In addition to the research material acquired for this thesis, also some other deliveries were accomplished within the duration of the international project CulPRO (Cultural Adaptation via Product Design).
Comprehensive questionnaires with a general part and 7 case specific parts concerning product design questions of the participated SMEs, were designed to acquire information about culture related design preferences for the study. A total of 35 interviews and 533 questionnaires were collected mainly by Haarakoski and Johansson at the three target countries. More than 600 pictures were taken during the field studies in the USA, South Korea and Germany concerning the studied cases;
activities, environments, cultural phenomena, products, target groups and interaction between them.
Total of five scientific papers have been written during the project. Three scientific papers were written by Haarakoski, Johansson and Lundberg from which one (paper A) has been presented at Design Research Society - Wonderground International Conference at Lisbon, Portugal. Total of four design concepts were developed based on the research findings. Design concepts were developed for two Finnish cases (B and F) from which one is presented in the fourth paper D. In addition, design concepts are presented in a fifth paper for two Swedish cases (D and G) in a licentiate thesis by Maria E. Johansson.
There have been 18 presentations or workshops with the participating SMEs. There have also been two open presentations at the University of Lapland, Finland and Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Three seminars were also held during the project for all regional Finnish and Swedish SMEs and the participating SMEs.
Two licentiate theses, one by Haarakoski and the other by Johansson, were produced based on the material gathered during the project. The theses can be treated as a handbook for all SMEs who are interested to develop their product design to better suit the target groups´ preferences.
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CulPRO Cultural adaptation via product design SME Small and medium sized enterprises
ICSID International Council of Societies of Industrial Design
SVID Svensk Industridesign
IDSA Industrial designers’ society of America R&D research and development
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CONTENTS
PREFACE... III ABSTRACT ... V LIST OF PUBLICATIONS...VII Distribution of work... VIII Additional contributions... IX LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ... XI CONTENTS ... XIII
1. INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.1 Background of research ... 4
1.2 Purpose and aim ... 6
1.3 Research questions ... 6
1.4 Definitions ... 7
1.4.1 Design, industrial design and product design... 7
1.4.2 Product attributes ... 8
1.4.3 Product design concept... 9
3. METHOD ... 10
3.1 Subjects of participants... 10
3.2 Locations... 12
3.3 Procedure ... 12
3.3.1 Questionnaires... 13
3.3.2 Interviews ... 14
3.3.3 Observations... 15
3.3.4 Product design concepts ... 15
3.4 Analysis ... 16
3.4.1 Statistical significance ... 16
3.4.2 Limitations... 17
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ... 18
4.1 Acquiring knowledge on product design preferences ... 18
4.2 Product design preferences ... 20
4.3 Product design concept ... 24
4.3.1 Case B as an example of implementing results ... 24
4.4 Future research ... 26
5. CONCLUSIONS... 27
REFERENCES ... 28
APPENDIX ... 33
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1. INTRODUCTION
According to the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, 99.8% of Finnish enterprises (excluding farming) are small and medium-sized enterprises 1(SMEs) producing 52.3% of the combined turnover of all Finnish companies in 2004 (table 1). The SMEs bring more than 15% to the export revenue, and according to a business register by Statistics Finland (2005), a steady employment growth is predicted.
Therefore, the geographical situation of a company is not a restriction for the spread of products anymore and even small companies can export their products to different parts of the world.
Products can be designed equivalent to a large number of people with the aim of reducing production expenses, but end-users with diverse preferences may be left unsatisfied, since the same design is not necessarily appealing to all. Both similarities and differences have been found in earlier studies in various countries; China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, UK and the USA, concerning product design preferences and cultures (Dawson, Larsen, Cawood &
Lewis, 2005, Dawar & Parker, 1994 and Keillor & Hult, 1999). However, the Dawar et al. only studied a small sample of design professionals, while over 400 end-users and professionals in the USA, South Korea and Germany were studied in this thesis.
American and Korean cultures were compared in a study by Park (1998), however, the characteristics were not tested statistically, which is thus suggested. In a study of Korean and American consumer reactions to foreign products (Ulgado, Lee 1998), the effects of intrinsic product attributes were found to vary across different countries. For instance Korean consumers seem to rely more on intrinsic values and
1 The definition of an SME (used when evaluating funding) is an enterprise with fewer than 250 persons employed, annual turnover of up to EUR 50 million, and a balance sheet total of no more than EUR 43 million. Based on a business economy overview of European business (2006).
Table 1. Micro- small-, medium- and large enterprises in Finland. Amount, personnel and turnover of enterprises in different sized groups. Federation of Finnish Enterprises in 2004.
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less on “image” factors associated with products, while for Americans there are product differences in the influence of intrinsic product attributes. Their study was conducted by using only two product categories, and therefore a more extensive research project was suggested. Thus, the present study was conducted with seven participating SMEs providing example products to study the target countries’ design preferences. In addition to the products provided by the SMEs, numerous other types of products were also used as examples in this study.
Exporting products to other countries requires knowledge of local customer preferences, since they might differ from the accustomed ones. In many places local brands of different product categories do well because they satisfy local needs (Oosthuizen, 2004). It is central to conduct cultural research, according to Roberts (2001), in order to design more suitable products. In addition to benchmarking competitors’ products, investigating technologies, taking ergonomic measures or testing usability, design research also involves studying daily life and culture to ensure a match of design solutions to people’s needs, abilities and desires (Roberts, 2001). Cultural preferences and biases have an effect on the end-user, according to Barber and Badre (1998), which is why they should be considered when creating products for different cultures. According to Wilenius (2004), products should also be designed to be different for different end-users. Creusen & Schoomans (2005) recommend designers to find out whether aesthetics, ease of use, technical quality or features are most important for the target group. Hsu, Chuang and Chang (2000) also suggest that the designers should identify the characteristics of the end-users and study their needs and preferences.
Since there are cultural, social and personal influences on design taste (Bloch 1995), it may be assumed to be important to acquire information from target groups in the target country concerned. However, companies might feel that funds invested in research are unnecessary even though reducing risk and maximizing the potential for innovation is desired (Arnold (2005). According to Knight (2001), resource-limited SMEs are advised to get close to consumers for example via product adaptation, since research and development (R&D) is crucial to pursuing foreign markets, because it facilitates understanding of buyers and adaptation of products best suited to local buyer needs. Furthermore, it is suggested by Järvinen and Koskinen (2001) to use the designers ability to transfer culture into design when manufacturing products.
Knowledge of how to acquire the required culture-related design preference information from the target groups efficiently is therefore needed. As a result, the present study provides SMEs with guidance on applicable methods and approaches, based on the experiences gained from field studies in the USA, Germany and South Korea.
According to Krippendorff (1989), there are no perfect tests for whether an artefact works other than if it succeeds to go thru a complete production-consumption cycle.
Nevertheless, acquiring preferences from the target groups and implementing them into the product development process, might enhance the product’s possibilities for
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success. Essential adjustments must be made to the products to accommodate the behaviours, beliefs and aspirations of target cultures in order to succeed in the new markets (Whitney 2006). Unsuccessful design can result in loss of market shares and layoffs in a given company (Cross 2000). Thus, one important requirement is to consider culture-related product design preferences when exporting to other countries in order to increase the market share instead of diminishing it.
There are several factors affecting the product’s success when it is exported to new markets. Some factors affecting the success of products are customer preferences and criteria regarding the design of the products (Korvenmaa 1998). Cultural issues are especially important to designers when product characteristics, functionality and form are developed for an unfamiliar customer group. Furthermore, according to a study by Romeo and Roth (1992), design (appearance, style, colours, variety) is found to be one of the dimensions affecting country image, together with innovativeness (use of new technology and engineering advances), prestige (exclusivity, status, brand name reputation) and workmanship (reliability, durability, craftsmanship, manufacturing quality). All these product attributes might have an impact on whether the product is preferred or not. Therefore, design may be said to have an important role in perceiving imported products, which is why adjustments should be made according to the target group’s product attribute preferences. Consequently, this study provides knowledge of preferred example products’ attributes; economy, aesthetics, technical functions, usability and ecology.
Even if the needed culture-related design information is acquired, the material is of no use if it cannot be applied to the actual design of a product. Therefore, a design concept generation process is presented in this study as an inspirational example for SMEs of how to apply the gathered information.
There are numerous cross-cultural studies conducted to understand the different orientations among cultures for instance by comparing Chinese, Korean and American cultures (Kim, Pan & Park 1998). However, based on the authors´
literature study, not a lot of research has been published concerning guidance for SMEs on how to conduct culture-related design studies effectively, what the preferences of different target groups are concerning product design in the USA, South Korea and Germany, and how the acquired information can be implemented in the design of products. Results and conclusions from this study might help SMEs to build a more solid base when acquiring the needed information from the target groups and applying the gathered information to the design of products. Therefore, SMEs might succeed better in the target markets’ competition with a product better fulfilling the target groups’ preferences.
4 1.1 Background of research
A need for researching culture related design preferences to increase northern Swedish and Finnish SMEs’ success in increasing their marketability in desired export countries initiated the project CulPRO. The study was started in 2004 together with personnel from the University of Lapland in Finland, Luleå University of Technology in Sweden, three SMEs in Finland and four SMEs in Sweden. The research team consisted of a project manager from Finland, an academic supervisor from Sweden and one postgraduate student from each country. The project was funded by the European Regional Development Fund (EU), the State Provincial Office of Lapland (Finnish national counter funding), Luleå University of Technology (Swedish national counter funding) and by the participating companies (private funding). The project duration was from 1 August 2004 to 28 February 2007.
These seven contributing companies provided the study with example products in order to explore design preferences in three target countries, the USA, Germany and South Korea. Each participating SME has an interest in exporting its products, or increasing its market share in one of the chosen target countries, where each case was studied for two weeks at a time during approximately 15 weeks of field research.
The SMEs provided the study with a range of culture-related product design problems to solve, and expertise on the studied products. The SMEs are all from different industry sectors dealing with hospital equipment and hunting knives in the USA, playgrounds and entrance doors in South Korea and boats, log houses and trailer covers in Germany. Hence, the studied products differ greatly contributing the study with an extensive ground to draw conclusions from.
This study was conducted with two types of subjects; experts with professional knowledge of the researched products in the target countries and end users with experiences of the products. Furthermore, the studied countries differ not only in their geographical locations but also in their cultures, traditions, values and history, giving several contrary views to the study. The compositions of the cases (table 2, next page) differ in terms of design questions, target groups and target countries but also in how much experience and what kind of contacts the SME has to the chosen target country.
These differences provided opportunities to test different methods of operating when gathering information about culture-related design preferences, and moreover, what the actual preferences are and how they can be implemented in the design of the chosen example cases. All of the participating SMEs were interested to find out how their product design can be improved to increase sales at the target country.
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Table 2. Description of the seven cases in the study. Information about design question, studied product, target country and groups, number of employees and annual turnover are presented.
In terms of the research question, the broadest possible formulation is presented by Järvinen and Koskinen (2001) to present the basic structure of research design (table 3). The organization of design in companies is an intervening variable that may either assist the transformation of cultural values into products, or temper the process.
Therefore, different aspects of design research were taken into consideration in this thesis.
CULTURE applied science
art and elite culture popular culture
DESIGNERS
ORGANIZATION management other professions
PRODUCTS material products
services
Table 3. The basic structure of research design according to Järvinen and Koskinen (2001).
6 1.2 Purpose and aim
This study aims to discover whether there are cultural differences concerning product design preferences in three different countries, what the preferences are and how the knowledge can be used to improve future designs.
The present research was guided by the assumption that useful methods to acquire culture-related information concerning product design would be tested and found. It was also predicted that some differences would be found among the target countries’
product design preferences. Furthermore, it was presumed that, based on the acquired information, a design concept suggestion could be made for at least one SME.
The purpose of the study is to provide knowledge of applicable methods aimed for SMEs when culture-related product design preferences are studied (paper A), since SMEs might have limited resources for conducting extensive research on their own.
The study also aims at acquiring knowledge of what the product design preferences are like in three target countries concerning example products (paper C), with supportive material about general design preferences (paper B), and how the acquired knowledge can be applied to the design of an example product (paper D).
1.3 Research questions
The main research question of this study is formulated as follows: What are American, German and South Korean target groups’ product design preferences and in what ways do they vary or resemble one another, with possible explanations of the differences and similarities?
The main research question is supplemented with sub research questions:
1) What are suitable methods and approaches for SMEs with limited resources for acquiring knowledge about culture related design preferences?
2) What are the target groups’ design preferences concerning example product attributes in the USA, Germany and South Korea? How do the target countries rate different product attributes such as economy, ergonomics, aesthetics, technical function and ecology and what are the possible explanations of the cultural design preferences?
3) How can culture-related design preference information gained in the study be implemented in the design of one example product in a concept development process?
The research presented in this thesis is based on the work presented in four appended papers. Paper A deals with the first research sub question by presenting knowledge based on experiences acquired during the field study. The second research sub questions is answered in paper C with additional explanations and comparisons acquired from paper B. Paper D deals with the third sub research question by presenting one case as an example of a concept design process.
7 1.4 Definitions
1.4.1 Design, industrial design and product design
There are several adequate descriptions of how design, industrial design and product design can be defined. However, my intention is not to concentrate on finding the most descriptive explanations, but instead to ensure that the terminology used in the study is understood as it is meant to be.
According to the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), design is seen as a central factor of innovative humanization of technologies and as a crucial factor of cultural and economic exchange. ICSID describes design as “a creative activity whose aim is to establish the multi-faceted qualities of objects, processes, services and their systems in whole life-cycles”. A Swedish foundation, Svensk Industridesign (SVID), defines design as a work process developing creative and conscious solutions, where both functional and aesthetic demands are fulfilled by focusing on the user (http://www.svid.se/). In the present study, design can be described by combining the presented definitions.
According to the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), industrial design is the professional service of creating and developing concepts and specifications that optimize the function, value and appearance of products and systems for the mutual benefit of both user and manufacturer.
(http://www.idsa.org/webmodules/articles/) According to Ulrich and Eppinger (1995), IDSA’s definition is broad enough to include the activities of the entire product development team who focus their attention upon the form and user interaction of products.
The design process can be divided roughly into three parts from the designers’ point of view, according to Kettunen (2001): product search, concept design and product design. In the first phase, goals and scenarios are set and a need for the new product is explored. An idea for the product is acquired as an outcome of product search and can be presented in a design brief. The principles of product function, target group and materials are examples of what is described in a design brief. Concept design can be based on the design brief in order to acquire applicable knowledge of the subject.
After collecting the needed material, idea construction can be started to create as many solutions to the design problem as possible. In order to choose the most suitable concept for product design, various methods can be used. The final product is then generated as a result of the product design. The designer co-operates with the product development staff by refining the attributes of the product.
Product design can be defined as the idea generation, concept development, testing and manufacturing or implementation of a physical object or service.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_design) In the present study, it is concentrated on physical objects. Aesthetics is considered important in product design, but designers also deal with important aspects including technology, ergonomics,
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usability, human factors and material technology. The values and the accompanying aspects that product design is based on vary, both among different schools of thought and among practising designers (Holm 2006). Therefore, product design is not regarded in this study merely as the surface of product. On the contrary, product design is described to cover areas from the physical structure of the product to aesthetic quality, which can be achieved by solving material, technical and ergonomic problems in an efficient and economic manner (Vihma 1995) without too much restriction of the product range.
1.4.2 Product attributes
Due to the approach of the study, the seven studied products provided by the SMEs were presented as entities and divided into components to make it possible to ask the respondents various design-related questions in a form of questionnaire. To acquire applicable and more general information, different product attributes were also studied.
Monö (1997) describes how a product can be seen as a triad of technical, ergonomic and communicative wholes, within the limits of economic and ecological circumstances. Vihma (1995) also describes how subjective assessments are included in the design phase in addition to technical and economic factors, and factors in relation to the environment and users. Dawson, Larsen, Cawood and Lewis (2005) have defined attributes which differentiate products from one another; design style, degree of decoration, features, attention to detail, functionality, construction, material, colour, texture, originality and the selling price to a customer. In the present study, five product attributes were concentrated on, economy, aesthetics, technical functions, ecology and usability, to acquire product attribute preferences comprehensively. Based on the acquired information the whole of the product, a
“gestalt”; “an arrangement of parts which appears and functions as a whole that is more than the sum of its parts” (Monö 1997), was also taken into account when presenting the results in an example product design concept.
Economy can be described as a set of human and social activities and institutions related to the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of goods and services (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/economy). In this study, economy is defined as the financial part of the consumption of goods and services. Based on Roberts (2001), the aesthetics of design comprises functionality, hierarchy, degree of innovation, quality, and countless other qualities that people value. Aesthetics is described in this study mainly as the external attributes of the product observed visually, and therefore it is differentiated from the description of “product design” which in addition refers also to product parts that cannot be seen (Creusen, Schoormans 2005). Technical function is described in the present study as the way in which a product performs practically and the way its structure is designed due to engineering. Furthermore, ecology is described in this study as the attributes a product has to take environmental issues into consideration, hence being environmentally friendly. The combination of
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things that constitute usability is a complex set of factors that different people perceive differently (Srinivasan, Lovejoy, Beach 1997). Usability can also be defined as “the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability). The term “usability” is applied in this study to denote the ease with which people can employ a product in order to achieve a particular goal.
1.4.3 Product design concept
Concept design process can be divided roughly into two parts; in the first creative phase, many different concepts are developed, while in the second, critical phase the best one is chosen for further product development. (Baxter 1996) The aim of the concept development phase is to identify the needs of the target market, generate and evaluate alternative product concepts and select one concept for further development.
Ulrich and Eppinger (1995) present a five-step concept generation methodology, where the first step is to clarify the problem. Ideal inputs for a concept generation process are a mission statement for the product, a list of customer needs and a preliminary product specification. In step two, external search is conducted to find existing solutions for the defined problem and sub problems by interviewing lead users, consulting experts, searching patents, exploring literature and benchmarking.
The third step, internal search, includes using personal and team knowledge and creativity to generate new concepts with varying methods. Systematic exploration is the fourth step, which is aimed at organizing and synthesizing the collected concept solutions. Finally, the fifth step is reflecting on the solutions and process to identify opportunities for improvement in subsequent iterations or future projects.
A concept may be defined as a description of the form, function and features of a product usually accompanied by a set of specifications, an analysis of competitive products and an economic justification of the project (Ulrich, Eppinger 1995).
Therefore, a product design concept is described in the present study as a draft of a product with unsolved details, often presented with sketches or a rough three- dimensional model accompanied by a brief textual description. In the present study, it is concentrated on idea creation based on the acquired knowledge and selection of the most adequate design concept. In the final design concept, the function, shape and style, colour and material structure are not considered as isolated factors, but instead a whole product design concept is presented.
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3. METHOD
The research problem is mainly directing the chosen methods and dependent from the overall circumstances of the study. The main structure of this study may be explained with Hirsijärvi, Remes and Sajavaara’s (1998) five-step description supplemented with Hakala’s (1999) intertwining research process descriptions. In order to do realistic research, the subjects of the study were chosen and limited to a sufficient theme. A literature review and other ways to gather knowledge of the theme made it possible to determine accurate research questions for the study. Assessing collected material is necessary to define the direction of the research and clarify where more information is needed. The required material was then collected and analyzed to obtain results. Critical assessments of the research process were made when the results were written to ensure valid knowledge of the chosen subject.
In this study, field research was carried out in three countries using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Questionnaires provided quantitative information while qualitative information was obtained to provide possible explanations through interviews and observations as well as to acquire knowledge and first-hand experiences of the target cultures.
3.1 Subjects of participants
Different types of subjects bring diversity to the research by providing the studies issues with a wider range of aspects, and therefore this study was conducted with two types of subjects. Designers and end-users have been found to have significant differences in product form perception, which is why it is suggested that the end- users’ preferences be studied (Hsu, Chuang, Chang 2000). Furthermore, collaboration with experts has been recommended in order to increase the knowledge of the studied culture (Johnson 1998). Experts with professional knowledge and end-users with experiences of the studied products were chosen for this study as subjects in the target countries.
The subjects of the present study were defined as target groups of participating SMEs when the different elements of the seven cases were assembled. The target groups concerning hospital equipment and hunting knives in the USA, playgrounds and entrance doors in South Korea and boats and log houses and trailer covers in Germany are referred to as “Americans”, “Koreans” and “Germans” in the study.
Subjects who were not otherwise occupied were approached randomly by the research personnel at the designated target sites and asked to answer the questionnaire and/or take part in an interview. Subjects were also contacted by e-mail and through contact persons in the target countries to acquire additional research material. On these occasions, the research personnel were not in personal contact with the respondents. The subjects are assumed to be of normal distribution and therefore the results from the study are considered comparable.
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Table 5. Table of analysed questionnaires and interviews and the distribution of respondents for the study presented in paper B.
Table 6. Table of analysed questionnaires and interviews and the distribution of respondents for the study presented in paper C.
A total of 533 questionnaires and 35 interviews were obtained during the field studies (table 4). However, a few questionnaires had to be discarded. Due to technical problems 30 questionnaires in case C were reported twice, hence the identical duplicates were discarded. If more than 50 percent of the analyzed questions were not answered or if answers were not analyzable in paper B, they were discarded.
Questionnaires were disqualified if the analyzed question was either blank or invalid in the study presented in paper C. Furthermore, one set of web questionnaires had to be discarded due to differences compared to the original printed questionnaire. In papers B (table 5) and C (table 6) the numbers of analysed questionnaires differ due to analyzing different questions. Paper A is mostly based on the experiences acquired before, during and after the field study, therefore genders and age groups are not essential to presented here.
A nearly equal number of women and men participated in the studies presented in papers B and C. The mean ages for paper B and C are: USA 38 years, South Korea 36 years and Germany 45 years. Ages ranged from 12 to 83 in paper B and from 14 to 83 in paper C. 67% of the respondents for case B in paper D were male with a mean age of 38. More than half of the subjects in the USA, South Korea and Germany were between 20 to 44 years old. The age grouping is based on the United States Census Bureau classification. As the majority of respondents are from the same age groups and genders are also quite evenly divided in all target countries, the results in the present study are assumed to be comparable.
Table 4. Table of total amount of obtained questionnaires and interviews during the field studies.
12 3.2 Locations
Based on the SMEs requests and the study’s available resources, the USA, Germany and South Korea were selected as target countries for this study. Cross-national experiments are known as the strongest methodology in examining fundamental relationships among variables (Ulgado, Lee 1998). To enable examination of cross- cultural design questions, the target countries were selected from different continents, allowing specific investigation of product design preferences. The target groups were located in various target sites based on the available knowledge. Most SMEs provided a contact person in the target country, with whom the practicalities of the field study were planned. The target sites were chosen on the basis of the target group’s location according to the contact person. Some of the contacts also provided the study with practical information about further contacts and target sites to visit.
The selection of locations affected the selection of the subjects.
The goal for the selected target sites was to reach a maximum number of relevant respondents. For example Denver was chosen as a target district for case B, since the target groups could be contacted there due to the tradition of hunting in the area. The target sites in the USA were chosen to be public areas in or close to hospitals and shopping malls or hunting-related shops. The Korean target sites were parks, playground areas and local universities or construction areas. The German target sites were located around harbours, housing areas, show-house areas, department stores and in car-related companies.
After the field research, additional material was gathered with web questionnaires, which were directed to the same target groups as when using the printed questionnaires at the actual target sites.
3.3 Procedure
The process of acquiring knowledge for the study was started by obtaining background information about the participating SMEs through visits to the companies. Accurate goals must be set for the research in order to limit the theme to suit the studied case. As suggested by Trost (2001), the aim of the study must be clear in order to conduct it with correct methods. Therefore, meetings where the goals for the study were set together with the SMEs were held in an early phase of the project.
The purpose of gathering research material was set in order to limit the subject and conduct the study with proper methods. The cases were planned together with the SMEs by defining the studied product, target groups, target countries, target sites, main goals and expectations in a design brief, to ensure that all important issues were considered before the actual collection of research material. It is important to formulate the design brief properly, since it provides a full understanding of the design questions and brings clarity to important issues before any critical work is done (Kettunen 2001). In a study with multiple participants who are also from different countries, it is necessary and helpful to write down the descriptions, and to
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check the conducted decisions at a later time when the direction for the study is being corrected.
Once defining the aims and research questions, suitable methods for obtaining the needed information were selected. Proper research families, approaches and techniques (Blaxter, Huges, Tight 2001) were considered to ensure an effective research. Available methods for addressing similarity in cross-cultural survey research are presented by Johnson (1998) concerning question development, questionnaire pre-testing, data collection and data analysis. Familiar and accessible methods were chosen to provide all interested SMEs with an opportunity to conduct culture-related design research by applying similar methods. In order to receive generalised results, it was decided to use mainly quantitative methods, such as questionnaires, to reach multiple respondents with different backgrounds, cultures and languages efficiently. Supplementary qualitative methods, such as interviews and observations, were also chosen to acquire possible explanations of the target groups’
preferences.
3.3.1 Questionnaires
Preliminary questions were designed together with the SMEs to acquire information on the product design preferences of the target groups. It was decided to design a questionnaire containing two parts, one which would include general questions about product preferences asked of respondents in all countries to be able to compare the results, and another, which would include case specific questions asked separately only from the selected target groups of participating SMEs. An example questionnaire with 5 questions in the main part and a specific part with questions for case B can be found as an appendix. The goal was to receive a minimum of 50 answered questionnaires per case and at least 150 answered questionnaires per target country.
There is a risk of perceiving questions differently due to cultural background differences in multicultural studies, which may affect the way of answering questions (Cheung 2000; Johnson 1998; Lee 2002; Douglas 2003; Van de Vijver; 1996). Since the study deals with many product design-related issues, different types of descriptive pictures of products and product parts were chosen to be used. Various picture types, such as colour-photos, black and white line drawings and picture-collages, were applied to enable explanations of design and aesthetics related issues to target groups with different language and cultural backgrounds. Pictures with short written explanations were designed to ensure that the issue was comprehended in the same way as was intended, despite cultural differences. Pictures also allow asking more precise design questions, and hence the form of the questionnaire helped to explain the issues.
There are several question types to apply in a questionnaire (Blaxter et al. 2001), from which the most suitable ones should be selected. Four question types were
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selected in this study for the questionnaire to have a clear and controlled structure.
Likert-scales with 7 categories (Huotari 2003; Langerak, Peelen, Commandeur 1997) were chosen as one question type, number 1 being the most negative and number 7 the most positive answer option. Other types of questions were category questions, multiple-choice questions and open-ended questions where the respondents could write their answers freely.
Possible mistakes in a questionnaire can be discovered by conducting a pilot study.
With the help of a pilot test, corrections can be made before conducting the actual field research (Carpenter 1993). Suitable methods and approaches are suggested in paper A for SMEs. Once the first draft of a questionnaire was finished, it was pilot tested with one case (F) to attain reliability and to ensure that the questionnaire works as it is meant to. The pilot test was conducted during three days at the BAU 2005 fair in Munich, Germany by testing the questionnaire and different approaches to acquire answered questionnaires. 23 answered questionnaires were received during the pilot test, however, they are not used in this study, since questionnaires and strategies for conducting the field research were refined on the basis of the experiences acquired during the pilot test.
In addition to printed questionnaires, web-questionnaires were also used to supplement the ones collected at the target sites. The questions in the web questionnaire were identical to the printed ones. Thus the main difference was the way of answering, which was through the Internet. However, one disadvantage of using web-based questionnaires is the lack of respondent control.
Care must be taken to guarantee that apparent cross-cultural differences do not stem from poor translation of questions (Lee, Jones, Mineyama, Zhang 2002). Since different languages were used in the questionnaire, the questions were translated into the respondents’ native language, and could hence be analyzed and compared to discover cultural preferences.
3.3.2 Interviews
In order to provide the study with supplementary information and explanations of why respondents have specific preferences, interviews were used as a qualitative method. The interviews were prepared beforehand in order to conduct the field studies more efficiently in the target country in question. Interviews were conducted with both experts on the subjects and with end-users with experiences of the studied products. All subjects were first asked to answer a questionnaire and told that it was used as a structure for the interview. Some subjects agreed to be interviewed after answering a questionnaire, other interviewees were selected because of their expertise in the subject and appointments were made in advance. The interviews were conducted in a structured manner by using the outline of the questionnaires, thus enabling explanations of the answers in the questionnaires, allowing subsequent
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questions to be asked and covering unpredictable answer options of the questionnaire.
Since the study contains respondents with different languages, the interviews were inter-cultural and partly conducted with a translator. The interviews were performed in English with English speaking respondents, but German was also used to provide some respondents with German as a native language with additional explanations.
The interviews were conducted in English and translated by a Korean interpreter for Korean respondents who did not master English. No intra-cultural (American/American, German/German, Korean/Korean) interviews were conducted, since the research personnel’s native languages were Swedish and Finnish, and therefore the collected information is comparable (Li 1999). However, there is always a possibility for misunderstanding when the interviewer and the interviewee do not share a native language.
3.3.3 Observations
Information acquired from interviews can be verified by observing (Järvinen 2000) the interaction between end-user and product (Ulrich, Eppinger 1995) to acquire authentic information about the activity. Since objects are always seen in a context (Krippendorff 1989), observations to acquire information about activities, environments and cultural phenomena concerning the studied design problems were made in the target countries. Activities surrounding the case’s products were noted and photographed to provide additional explanations of, insights into and verifications of information gained from the questionnaires and interviews. The observations were made passively (Ulrich, Eppinger 1995) at the target site to acquire authentic information about the activity. The environment was observed in order to acquire a general understanding of the culture.
3.3.4 Product design concepts
Product design concepts for two of the cases, B and F, were created to demonstrate to SMEs how information acquired by means of questionnaires, interviews and observations can be used to develop products for the intended target groups. The design concept generation process for case B is described in paper D. The concept development process is mainly based on methods described by Ulrich and Eppinger (1995).
Solutions to the design problems started to be developed after analyzing the collected material. The aim was to create as many solutions as possible by implementing the results of the study to the design concept, by using various idea-construction methods. The plan was to sketch ideas by drawing or creating fast 3D models of the solutions (Kettunen 2001). All available knowledge within the research team and related SME’s personnel was used to find solutions to design problems through simplified brainstorming alone and in small groups of two people. The design
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concepts were evaluated throughout the whole concept development process. After searching for solutions to the design concept internally by using the participants’
knowledge, and externally by benchmarking, the created material was explored and evaluated. Suitable ideas for a possible concept were worked on when unsuitable ideas had been discarded. Results and ideas for design concepts were consulted with the SME’s experts, since they have knowledge of the subject. As a result of the critical evaluations, one concept was chosen since it represented most of the required attributes emerging from the design study, covering areas from the product’s function, shape, materials, colours and visual attributes.
3.4 Analysis
All the acquired quantitative material was inserted and analyzed in the statistical program SPSS (versions 12.0.1 and 14.0 for Windows) to receive results. Raw data was presented to the SME’s personnel and the direction of the analysis was negotiated. The analysis methods were adjusted to the format of the questions and the purpose of use of the information. Interviews and observations were made to find possible explanations of the quantitative material. Since the study contains multiple target sites as well as a complex situation of obtaining answered questionnaires from numerous respondents simultaneously, the response frequency cannot be calculated.
3.4.1 Statistical significance
Paper A is mainly based on experiences acquired during the field studies in the three target countries. In paper B normal distribution is assumed and the mean values and standard deviations (s) are calculated in SPSS. Margins of error (yP) are calculated by the equation given by Montgomery (2001):
if y1,y2,....,yn is a random sample from N(P,V2)distribution, then the quantity is:
s n
t (yP) (1)
where n is the number of respondents, which is distributed as t (random variable) with n-1 degree of freedom. Therefore (1) gives:
n s
y t
P (2)
which corresponds to the error bars in figures E, F and Ha-f. Į is chosen at 0,10 which results in a degree of confidence1D = 90%.
In paper C the results from the three target countries is assumed to be comparable by applying simplified statistical calculations of confidence intervals, which provide margins of errors. The confidence intervals, which provide the margin of errors for the present study, were calculated with an 80% confidence level to compare significant differences for the results, assuming normal distribution. Usually no
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confidence levels are used with comparing percentages between groups, however, in order to present significant differences in this study, it was decided to use 80%
confidence level instead of 95%, which is more common to apply. The formula (3) for calculating confidence intervals is presented (Mellin 1996): where p is percent and n is the number of subjects:
The results in paper D were analyzed by applying different SPSS tools. Frequencies, mean values and percentages were mainly used to analyze the acquired material.
3.4.2 Limitations
The field studies presented in this thesis were limited to the target countries of USA, South Korea and Germany at the target sites in these countries. This study is furthermore limited to the duration of the study. During March to September in 2005 two weeks of field studies were conducted for each case, which gives an insight into the respondents’ preferences and opinions solely at that time. In order to obtain comparable results from the USA, Germany and South Korea, it has been assumed that they belong to the same normal distribution. The normal distribution is furthermore assumed to be the same in all countries. Therefore, to draw conclusions concerning the studied issues, it is assumed that the participating respondents represent their target groups in their country at that time.
A random selection among the people found at the target sites were approached and asked to participate in the study. Furthermore, the study was limited to the Boston and Denver areas in the USA, the Seoul and Daejon areas in South Korea and the Kiel and Frankfurt areas in Germany. In addition, anonymous web questionnaires were sent to respondents in the USA and Germany in which the location inside the country is not specified. Moreover, the different languages used in the study together with subjects and research personnel with different cultural backgrounds might create some unpredictable limitations to the study.
(3)
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4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Suggestions for suitable methods and approaches are presented in chapter 4.1 for SMEs who have limited resources and a need for information concerning the target group’s preferences in a foreign culture. The advice is based on experiences gathered in three target countries, the USA, Germany and South Korea (paper A). Since the research was carried out with seven cases with diverse design problems, products and target groups, various ways of operating were taken into consideration. Because of the diversity of the cases, direction and suitable methods can be suggested for several SMEs´ design research to find out the target groups´ preferences. However, there is always a risk when examining specific target groups in a target country in order to predict opinions of a larger population, since the respondents found at a particular location at a particular time might not be representative of a larger population, when limited numbers of persons are used to represent them.
In chapter 4.2 some results and possible explanations are presented mainly based on paper C with supplementary information from paper B, to demonstrate what the target groups’ preferences are and how the example products’ attributes are rated in different target countries concerning specific and general results. Some products might suit the intended target group as they are, but cultural differences in preferences are also found. The presented information can be used to help emphasize proper product attributes when exporting to the USA, Germany or South Korea in order to succeed better in the target markets.
Chapter 4.3 presents how the acquired information can be applied in product design creation concerning one example, case B. Various knife parts, a blade, handle and sheath, were studied concerning different attributes, such as knife styles, knife sizes, blade and handle types and materials, sheath functions and styles. The product was divided into components to be able to ask various design-related questions about hunting knives in a form of questionnaire. Based on the acquired information, the
“gestalt” of the product was taken into account when creating the final design concept.
4.1 Acquiring knowledge on product design preferences
Preparations for acquiring knowledge of product preferences during a field study should be conducted thoroughly to minimize costs and time loss abroad. The used methods should be adjusted according to the type of material needed. All available information concerning the target country’s culture should be gathered before the field phase in order to accomplish it successfully, for example by examining earlier studies such as statistics, market research and general knowledge about the target country concerning the case. The chosen methods should be tested with a pilot test before the field study to find any problems with the questions, the structure of the questionnaire, the interview or the approach techniques. As a result of a pilot test, the methods can be adjusted and improved.
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When product design-related questions are explained in a different culture, risks of misunderstandings can be minimized by using pictures, especially in cases where the language might be a problem. In the same way as an idea that is unthinkable cannot be sketched, a product that is unknown to potential users cannot be sold (Krippendorff, 1989). Descriptive pictures together with written explanations can ensure that the issue is understood in the intended way. However, the pictures should suit the theme: brand identifiers, colours and framing of the picture should be tuned to the purpose of the question. Also, the level of complexity of the pictures should be adjusted to suit the matter.
The contact person or an expert in the target country should also be consulted regarding the functionality and cultural aspects of the methods. The SME should find proper contacts in the target country, since the contact person’s level of involvement affects the outcome directly (table 7). In this study, highly involved contacts had a positive affect on the outcome, and a contact with little involvement resulted in fewer answered questionnaires and conducted interviews. Therefore, the contacts should be motivated and benefits should be emphasized. The greatest contribution by contacts was pre-booked meetings in the target country, which maximized the use of time abroad. It is also beneficial for the SME to conduct the researchers themselves to acquire unfiltered information in the desired target country. Note that in table 7 the level of involvement is a subjective assessment by the author, not an exact measurement.
During the field study differences among the cultures became apparent at different stages; prominent differences were observed instantly, while more subtle differences were noted later on. Therefore, the time abroad should be adjusted depending on what type of information the SME needs. The most productive target site was found to be a Table 7. The level of involvement of contact persons and the affect on number of acquired questionnaires for cases A-G displayed in chart. Levels range from 1-4. *Two contact persons (level of involvement is a mean value of the two contacts).
A B
C
D E F*
G*
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
0 1 2 3 4
Level of involvement
Answered Questionnaires
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place where the subject has available time, nothing more important to do, no distractions, a place to fill out the questionnaire at and a high level of interest in helping the study. After gaining access and convincing the subject to answer the questionnaire, the most effective approach to receiving the information was when the researchers personally collected the answered questionnaires. Observations of product, user, environment and interaction among them are essential for understanding cultural and design preferences, and therefore observations were made throughout the study. As a result of a member of an SME’s team performing the observations and interviews, first hand experience will be acquired, which the future design work can be based on.
In addition to the observations made and the useful experiences achieved during the field research, the qualitative and quantitative material is of great value and will provide the SME with the necessary knowledge. If the acquired material is found insufficient to draw conclusions from, additional supplementing material can however also be obtained after the field research by means of for example web surveys, if the subjects can be reached through the Internet. Thus, the intended number of respondents can be reached without big additional expenses. After gathering the material, it must be analyzed in order to draw conclusions and to be able to implement results in future designs.
4.2 Product design preferences
Categories defined on the basis of product attribute qualities, economy, aesthetics, technical function, ecology and usability, enabled comparisons among the target countries on a general level. In the present study, economic factors are considered to be different in the three target countries. The American respondents rated economy significantly higher than the Germans and Koreans when enquired about 24 specific products. In the USA, “good value for the price” was regarded as the most important factor for 20 out of 24 products, whilst the Koreans did not rate it significantly important for any products, indicating a difference in the cultural preference concerning economy. In the USA “good value for the price” was chosen by most respondents for house (32%), refrigerator (31%), car (31%) and lawn mover (30%), and was significantly rated highest among other economic attributes. Thus, value for money and a product’s positive economic attributes should be emphasized when exporting products to the USA.
Furthermore, the Americans also found “good value for the price” important concerning products in general, whilst the price and the usage costs of the product were less important. The Germans, on the other hand, considered low usage costs more important than good value or low price when no specific products were presented. To the Koreans, the usage costs and value were slightly more important than low price concerning general opinions. However, the Koreans rated “low price”
considerably higher than both the Americans and Germans, indicating a greater concern about the actual price of the product. A “low price” was valued by all target
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countries for already typically inexpensive example products such as pens, toilet paper and toothbrushes, which might indicate an economic impact on buying necessary but disposable products, which are used daily in private homes.
Nevertheless, “cheap to use” was not rated as the most important attribute for any products by any of the target countries.
A possible explanation of the importance of receiving value for money among the Americans is the history of availability of a vast number of consumer products. Jin and Sternquist (2003) state that discount retailing is new in Korea, and since Americans have greater discounting experience, they are more careful about the value. The importance of economic attributes might also be due to USA´s culture of consuming, where purchasing products is encouraged by the government and considered good for the country, according to an interview.
The Germans preferred ecology as the second most important attribute after usability, while for the Americans and Koreans ecology was the third when grouping 24 products and 16 attributes into categories. The German respondents rated “long life”
as the most important attribute when the 16 attributes were compared together. When asked about purchase preferences concerning products in general, long life was also rated as one of the most important for all target countries. Moreover, there were two products for which all the countries rated having a long life important: battery and refrigerator, which might be due to their difficult recycling process. In addition to battery and refrigerator, “has a long lifetime” and “environmentally safe” were valued for products containing environmentally harmful substances (house, car), indicating the importance of ecology when purchasing polluting products.
“Environmentally safe” was rated more than 6% high for example products by the German respondents for more products than by other target groups, which might indicate that the Germans are more aware environmentally. Furthermore, the Germans and Koreans were observed to be concerned about the environment and nature in the target countries. “Environmentally safe” was rated on average by 10%
more Germans and Korean respondents than the American respondents for house, tooth brush, battery and toilet paper. Most of the listed products are disposable, in private use and usually inexpensive. The Americans also rated “environmentally safe” clearly lower than the other target countries when asked about products in general.
In both papers B and C the technical functions seem to be more important to the Koreans than to the Americans or Germans. The Koreans rated “many technical functions” clearly higher than the Americans and Germans when asked about purchase preferences without specifying any products. Technicality might be closely associated with the Korean products because of the strong built-in technical appliances observed in the country. Since South Korea’s production is mainly based on technological and electronic equipment, the Koreans might be more aware and focused on technical properties of the products. On the other hand, Koreans have developed technical appliances to solve some practical problems of daily life;
