Changing faces: cosmetics opinion leadership among women ......KeywordsLeadership, Products,...

Changing faces

1287

European Journal of MarketingVol 36 No 1112

2002 pp 1287-1308 MCB UP Limited 0309-0566

DOI 10110803090560210445182

Received October 2000

Changing faces cosmeticsopinion leadership among

women in the new HungaryRobin A Coulter

University of Connecticut Storrs Connecticut USA

Lawrence F FeickKatz Graduate School of Business University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania USA and

Linda L PriceUniversity of Nebraska Lincoln Lincoln Nebraska USA

Keywords Leadership Products Cosmetics Hungary Consumer behaviour

Abstract Research conducted in the early 1990s in Hungary indicated a lack of knowledgeableand influential personal sources in the cosmetics product category The purpose of this article is toexamine women cosmetics opinion leaders in Hungary approximately ten years into the countryrsquostransition to a market economy Because of the evolution of the cosmetics market over the pastdecade and Hungarian womenrsquos increased involvement with cosmetics we expected to see theemergence of opinion leadership in the product category Survey data from 340 Hungarianwomen indicate that the incidence of cosmetics opinion leadership and self-reported productknowledge is lower than what we might expect in more established market economiesNonetheless we found the relationships between cosmetics opinion leadership in Hungary andantecedent and consequent variables are similar to what we would expect in more establishedmarket economies We discuss the implications of these results for marketing managers

In the last 40 years during the socialist communist regime there wasnrsquot a choice Peoplewerenrsquot conscious about [appearance and cosmetics] The only thing that was important wasto have a work place and to meet the requirement of the socialist men and women (Personalinterview with Hungarian woman age 24 Miskolc Hungary 1998)

Even the beginnings of consumerism in the 1960s didnrsquot help much there were still nochoices no variety [in cosmetics in Eastern Europe] In fact in spite of the new propagandareal consumerism was impossible ndash except as an idea ndash because there was little to consumeTrying to be beautiful was always difficult it involved extra effort devotion perhaps Butmost women didnrsquot have the time or the imagination enough to try (Drakuli 1993 p 27)

In 1989 capitalism began to replace communism in Central and EasternEurope ushering in significant political and economic change But in the early1990s consumers still had limited choices in many product categoriesincluding little choice with regard to personal care and cosmetics products

There was no choice [in the early 1990s] There was only one cream There were nointernational companies The customers had no needs there was no choice (Personal interviewwith Promotions Manager Hungarian Promotion Service Budapest Hungary 1998)

I didnrsquot get cosmetics in Hungary in 1990 (So you couldnrsquot find that in 1990) No mycolleagues and friends brought me some cosmetics from Sweden from West country(Personal interview with Hungarian woman age 37 Budapest Hungary 1998)

T h e r e s e a r c h r e g is te r fo r th is jo u r n a l is a v a i la b le a t

httpwwwemeraldinsightcomresearchregisters

T h e c u r r e n t i s s u e a n d fu l l t e x t a r c h iv e o f t h is jo u rn a l i s a v a ila b le a t

httpwwwemeraldinsightcom0309-0566htm

EuropeanJournal ofMarketing361112

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The economic and political change in Central and Eastern Europe captured theattention of many Western firms interested in these emerging markets Overallthere was a rush of new products and increased exposure of consumers toadvertising leading consumers to greater understanding of and desire forWestern branded products (Batra 1997) In the personal care and cosmeticsproduct categories major multinational firms such as Proctor amp GambleHenkel and Johnson amp Johnson began distributing and manufacturing inCentral and Eastern Europe And by 1992 with the surge of personal care andcosmetics products and many new retail establishments (Central StatisticalOffice of Hungary 1992 CEEBIC 1998) it was ` wowrsquorsquo for everyone (Personalinterview with Brand Manager Procter amp Gamble Hungary BudapestHungary 1998) A Hungarian woman age 37 of Budapest (personal interview1998) commented ` In 1992 suddenly we [could] buy [things that we nevercould before]rsquorsquo

During the 1990s many Central European women began a period ofpersonal transition changing their lifestyles and becoming more concernedabout their appearance (Drakuli 1993 1996 Kligman 1996 Business Week1998) In Hungary from 1991 to 1995 the cosmetics and toiletries marketincreased 40 per cent and the market size for 1998 was reported at 1136 millionUSD (Vegh 1998) In Poland the demand for cosmetics has also increaseddramatically reaching an estimated 150 million USD in 1997 (CEEBIC 1997)In addition multi-level marketing firms including Avon Oriflame and Amwayestablished strong customer bases in Central Europe (Vegh 1998 CEEBIC1997)

Although personal care and cosmetic product sales continued to grow abrand manager for Procter amp Gamble Hungary (personal interview Budapest1998) reported the difficulties related to new product introductions productadoption and increasing usage in the product category

it is very very difficult to change the accepted consumer beliefs which have roots for 50years They heard it from their mother and their grandmother and everyone has done it thisway So why should I be different Why should I do it differently

We have found based on wide consumer research that [the lack of personal care andcosmetic product usage] roots in the social background or the culture of Hungary and Centraland Eastern Europe First of all people didnrsquot have the products to choose from or theproducts that gave them benefits They didnrsquot have the choice because there were no choice ofproducts there were a few local brands which performed the same They never felt this innerneed of wanting to [attend to personal care and cosmetic issues] But it is the culture women donrsquot shave Women donrsquot use antiperspirant women donrsquot wash their hair oftenenough (one and a half times per week) hair washing frequency hasnrsquot changed over thepast five years

Product and brand managers of personal care and cosmetic products in CentralEurope are faced with decisions about how to speed the diffusion and increasethe usage of their products In Hungary a brand manager for Procter ampGamble the shop manager for HigieAcircnia UAcirc zlethaAcircz (an Austrian-owned drugstore) the marketing manager for AzuAcircr (a Hungarian-owned drug store chain)and the promotions managers for Hungarian Promotional Service report that

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1289

advertising and in-store promotions are effective in generating short-termsales Nonetheless they also acknowledge that these marketing techniques areslow to change a majority of Central Europeansrsquo long-standing views andbehaviors about personal care and cosmetics products

The literature on interpersonal sources of information has documented theirsignificance in influencing marketplace choices in the USA (Feick and Price1987 Katona and Mueller 1955 Kiel and Layton 1981 AmericanDemographics 1995) and in diffusing information about new productsservices and ideas (Arndt 1968 Katz and Lazarsfeld 1955 Kelly et al 1991Lomas et al 1991) Indeed Price et al (1987) argue that market economies withgreat product innovation in product characteristics and brands can operate asefficiently as they do only because of the presence of informed interpersonalinformation sources Such sources reduce the information problem for lessinformed buyers by condensing simplifying and tailoring productinformation While Internet ` infomediariesrsquorsquo have shifted the roles of informedpersonal sources in many developed markets Internet penetration in Hungaryeven in 1998 was low (Hagel and Singer 1999)

In the early 1990s in Hungary Feick et al (1995) reported the relative dearthof knowledgeable and influential personal sources in the cosmetics productcategory The increased availability of cosmetics products and brands inHungary during the past decade the dramatic increase in product categoryexpenditures and the rising importance of womenrsquos personal appearancesuggest some Hungarian women will be involved in the category and will havedeveloped the requisite knowledge and confidence to act as important sourcesof information about cosmetics much as they do in Western marketsHungaryrsquos early transition to a market economy (Berend and Ranki 1985) andthe perception that Hungary is more market-like than other countries in theregion (Lascu et al 1996) support our expectation that some segment of womenin Hungary have taken on influential roles in the cosmetics product categoryNonetheless a caution from Braun and Barany (1999) notes that Hungary isstill early in its transition to a market economy Consequently patterns ofbehavior that are taken for granted in mature markets may not yet beestablished in Hungary

The purpose of this paper is to examine one group of Hungarian personalinfluencers opinion leaders in the cosmetics product category approximatelyten years into its transition from a command to a market economy We usesurvey data from 340 Hungarian women to examine the incidence of womencosmetics opinion leaders as well as variables included in the nomologicalnetwork (eg product category involvement usagecategory participationknowledge and preferred sources of information) and the demographic profileof opinion leaders

Opinion leadersOpinion leaders product specialists who provide other consumers withinformation about a particular product class have been studied for over


1290

five decades (Childers 1986 Price et al 1987 Katz and Lazarfeld 1955King and Summers 1967 1970 Lazarfeld et al 1948 Reynolds and Darden1971 Rogers and Cartano 1962) They are a key group for marketers totarget in that they are critical to the diffusion of product information(Rogers 1995) but in addition they are important actors in marketeconomies Opinion leaders gather use and disseminate product andmarketplace information encouraging price competition promotingquality and reducing the likelihood of monopoly power (Capon and Lutz1979 Porter 1980) Price et al (1987) argue that the diffusion of informationby influential others immediately and directly affects the choices of lessinformed consumers

Who are the Hungarian cosmetics opinion leadersAs we noted earlier many Central European women are transforming theirlifestyles and becoming more concerned about their appearance (Drakuli 19931996) Cosmetics are a ubiquitous element of womenrsquos consumer culture one ofthe imperatives of contemporary life and represent one of the most importantways women present and transform their public persona (Beausoleil 1994Bloch and Richins 1992 Cash 1988 Darden and Worden 1994 Etcoff 1999)Women use cosmetics to audition various selves (Beausoleil 1994 Thompsonand Haytko 1997) and cosmetics matter because they are a means of self-invention (Hebdige 1988)

Since the early 1990s reports indicate that Central European consumershave been exposed to an avalanche of new cosmetic products and brands aswell as more retail outlets which stock these products (see for exampleBusiness Central Europe 1997 Business Week 1998 Vegh 1998 CEEBIC1997) Additionally cosmetics are an increasingly important product intelevision advertising and in the content and advertising in the increasingnumber of womenrsquos magazines Further women are spending more on cosmeticproducts in Hungary (Vegh 1998) All of these factors suggest that someCentral European women are becoming more involved with cosmetic productsand brands

Dichter (1966) suggested that opinion leadership is a consequence of anindividualrsquos interest in a product category and that interest results in theseindividuals talking about the product Early examinations of opinionleadership supported a positive relationship between opinion leadership andproduct involvement (Reynolds and Darden 197l Summers 1970 Wright andCantor 1967) With regard to cosmetics and personal care products Myers andRobertson (1972) found a 069 correlation between product interest and opinionleadership More recently research has suggested that it is enduringinvolvement (ie ongoing and long-term in nature) not situational (or purchase)involvement that affects opinion leadership (Bloch et al 1986 Higie and Feick1989 Richins and Root-Schaffer 1988 Venkatraman 1990) Consistent withthis research we expect

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H1 A positive relationship between enduring product involvement andopinion leadership in Hungarian women

Product category and marketplace participationOpinion leaders because of the product category involvement tend to beproactive about using sampling and trying brands and products (Bloch 1981)This line of reasoning would suggest that Hungarian women who are involvedwith cosmetics would be heavier users of cosmetics and be earlier to purchasenew products than other women It is not surprising that research hasdocumented a significant relationship between opinion leadership and earlyadoption of the products of interest (Dawar et al 1996 Flynn et al 1994Summers 1970) In the cosmetics and personal care product category Myersand Robertson (1972) found a 056 correlation between opinion leadership andinnovativeness whereas Feick and Price (1987) in the healthbeautynon-prescription drug category reported a much lower 015 correlation betweenopinion leadership and early adoption Consistent with these results we expect

H2a A positive relationship between Hungarian womenrsquos cosmeticsopinion leadership and product usage and money spent on cosmetics

H2b A positive relationship between Hungarian womenrsquos cosmeticsopinion leadership and early adoption of new cosmetic products

Additionally because opinion leaders find their product category of interesthedonically pleasing and because they tend to be early triers of products wewould expect that they would engage in variety seeking among brands withinthe product category Although we have not found previous tests of thisrelationship we expect

H2c A positive relationship between Hungarian womenrsquos cosmeticsopinion leadership and variety seeking behaviors

Another aspect of opinion leadersrsquo enduring product involvement suggests thatthey enjoy shopping for their products and being attentive to finding out aboutwhere they might purchase products knowing price information and the like(Bloch 1981) A few studies have examined the relationship between opinionleadership and shopping frequency and found a positive relationship (Dawar etal 1996 Feldman 1966) Others have reported a positive relationship betweenfrequency of shopping and purchasing frequency and enjoyment of shoppingin the category (Feick and Price 1987) Thus we anticipate

H2d A positive relationship between Hungarian womenrsquos cosmeticsopinion leadership and enjoyment of shopping and frequency ofshopping for and purchasing of cosmetics products

Because they are involved in the product category and spend time shoppingopinion leaders in addition to their product category expertise may alsoacquire more general retailing and marketplace expertise In the USA Feickand Price (1987) in the healthbeautynon-prescription drug category reported


1292

a 024 correlation between opinion leadership and market mavens people whohave general marketplace expertise Recent research has documented thepresence of market mavens in Poland (Chelminski and Coulter 2000) Thisfinding is not terribly surprising given that until the early 1990s CentralEuropeans typically dealt with shortages retailers that carried a broad array ofproducts sometimes in related product categories (eg toiletries and cosmetics)others not (eg scotch and berries) for unpredictable time periods (Feick et al1995) Thus Central European consumers would take it upon themselves topay attention to the whereabouts of products and communicate thatinformation to less well informed consumers Thus we hypothesize

H2e A positive relationship between Hungarian womenrsquos cosmeticsopinion leadership and market mavens

Demographic profileResearch has profiled opinion leaders on a number of demographic variablesAlthough we would expect the profile to vary by product class in fashionSummers (1970) found that in the USA opinion leaders are younger moreeducated and have a higher income than non-leaders Since cosmetics are likefashion in the connection to the presentation of self we expect that

H3 Women cosmetics opinion leaders in Hungary are younger moreeducated have higher incomes and are more cosmopolitan than womenwho are not opinion leaders

Brand preferences and choicesAs a consequence of opinion leadersrsquo greater participation in the productcategory and higher socioeconomic more cosmopolitan status we furtherexpect that opinion leadersrsquo brand choices will be affected In particular weexpect that opinion leaders will be aware of more brands will purchase morebrands and will be more likely to purchase upscale brands and brands withless local tradition than will non-opinion leaders Therefore we propose

H4 A positive relationship between Hungarian womenrsquos cosmetics opinionleadership and the number of cosmetics brands known number ofbrands purchased and likelihood of preferring a foreign or newcosmetic brand

Opinion leadersrsquo product knowledge as a basis for influenceConsumers have been classified as opinion leaders on the basis of theirinfluence on others with regard to a particular product or product categorybecause they provide those others with useful product-related information Inother words opinion leaders have product category knowledge Indeednumerous studies have reported support for the positive relationship betweenopinion leadership and product knowledge (Dawar et al 1996 Flynn et al1994 Jacoby and Hoyer 1981 Summers 1970) In some ways having productknowledge is a necessary condition for opinion leaders to influence the choices

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of others without perceived experience or expertise others would not rely ontheir opinions In the cosmetics and personal care product categoryspecifically Myers and Robertson (1972) found a 087 correlation betweenproduct knowledge and opinion leadership Thus we expect

H5a A positive relationship between Hungarian womenrsquos cosmeticsopinion leadership and product knowledge

Research has documented that product knowledge is positively related toconfidence in choice (Alba and Hutchinson 1987 Bettman and Park 1980) Itfollows that opinion leaders because of their product knowledge would alsofeel more confident about their choices In Hungary in 1992 women indicatedthat they had a little confidence in which cosmetic products and brands to buy(Feick et al 1995) Today in Central Europe women continue to face a complexturbulent environment one in which many new cosmetic products and brandsare still being introduced And although consumers in general are stilllearning how to be consumers (James 1995 Business Week 1998) we believethat opinion leaders will be more confident in their choices than non-leadersThus we expect

H5b A positive relationship between Hungarian womenrsquos cosmeticsopinion leadership and their confidence in product category choices

Sources of opinion leadersrsquo product knowledgeIn this section we discuss the various sources from which opinion leadersderive the product category information that yields their expertise and givesrise to their confidence in choice and in influencing othersrsquo decisions First weconsider media sources used to find out about cosmetics as well as mediahabits Then we discuss personal sources of information including company-affiliated personnel healthcare representatives and other personalinfluencers including other opinion leaders in the cosmetics categoryFinally we discuss consumersrsquo personal investigation of product-relevantinformation

Media sourcesThe two-step flow model posited that opinion leaders are more likely to beattuned to media sources than those who are not opinion leaders (Lazarfeldet al 1948) Research in a variety of contexts has supported this contentionwith regard to

political issues (Anderson and Garrison 1978 Wright and Cantor 1967)

coffee (Arndt 1968)

medical information (Feldman 1966) and

cultural activities (Langeard et al 1977)

Since the early 1990s the media environment in Central Europe has flourishedwith increased satellite TV access more stations and the introduction of many


1294

domestic and foreign fashion magazines (Vegh 1998 CEEBIC 1998) Mediahave provided a great deal of product relevant and brand information ofinterest to cosmetics opinion leaders We expect that given the more intensivemedia environment and opinion leadersrsquo interest in finding out productinformation that

H6 Hungarian womenrsquos cosmetics opinion leadership is positively relatedto media exposure and usage

Personal sourcesThe two-step flow model also posited that opinion leaders influenced non-leaders (Lazarfeld et al 1948) the implication being that opinion leaders werenot influenced by other personal sources Katz and Lazarfeld (1955) in theirseminal work on personal influence however argued more for opinion leadersas information sharers not just information providers Evidence for opinionleadersrsquo sharing information was also documented by Arndt (1968) who foundthat opinion leaders (compared to non-leaders) were not only more influencedby the media but also were more influenced by other opinion leaders GivenDichterrsquos contention that opinion leadership is driven by product interest Katzand Lazarfeldrsquos and Arndtrsquos findings are not particularly surprising Andnumerous studies have provided support for opinion leaders both giving andreceiving information from other personal sources (Anderson and Garrison1978 Dawar et al 1996 Feldman 1966 Feick et al 1986 Summers 1970Wright and Cantor 1967) Other research has demonstrated that opinionleaders are connected to other opinion leaders and use them as sources ofinformation (Feick and Price 1987 Higie et al 1987) More recent conceptualwork is consistent with these findings and views opinion leaders as linksbetween groups opinion brokers who connect individuals to other individualsand groups (Burt 1999)

Research in the USA has documented the importance of personal sourcesin consumer decision making particularly with regard to products that havesymbolic or communicative value such as cosmetics (Bearden et al 1989Reingen et al 1984 Bloch et al 1986 Feick and Price 1987) And in thecosmetics and personal care product category Myers and Robertson (1972)found a 054 correlation between reciprocal influence and opinionleadership

Research in Hungary in 1992 indicated that few people relied on personalsources of information in the cosmetics product category (Feick et al 1995)Friends family and even salespeople were seen as neither knowledgeable norexperienced enough in the product category to be considered reliable sources ofinformation As noted previously since 1992 the number and variety ofproducts and brands has increased and cosmetic usage has become moreprevalent Domestic and foreign firms have take strides to train theirsalespeople to be more knowledgeable and customer friendly (personalinterviews with marketing manager for AzuAcircr shop manager for HigieAcircnia

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UAcirc zlethaAcircz Budapest Hungary 1998) Moreover Hungarians have dramaticallygreater access to others via telephone penetration now than they had in theearly 1990s (Imrik 1997 CEEBIC 1998) Taken together the increasedpersonal experience and knowledge in the product category with the increasedability to be in contact with others suggests that

H7 Hungarian womenrsquos cosmetics opinion leadership is positively relatedto information seeking from personal sources including knowing anopinion leader

Personal investigationAs we have noted research has established a strong relationship betweenopinion leadership and product knowledge some of which has come fromindividuals paying close attention to product attribute information (Alba andHutchinson 1987 Bloch 1981) Feick et al (1995) reported that in 1992 asegment of Hungarian women were intensive information seekers aboutcosmetics paying close attention to reading labels and studying productingredients Based upon the behaviors typical of opinion leaders in moredeveloped market economies we anticipate that the opinion leaders in Hungarywill pay greater attention to product and brand attribute information than non-opinion leaders Hence we expect

H8 A positive relationship between Hungarian womenrsquos cosmetics opinionleadership and intensive information seeking in the cosmetics productcategory

MethodIn October 1998 we gathered survey data using structured personal interviewswith 340 adult women in Budapest Hungary The questionnaire used in thedata collection focused on opinion leadership in the cosmetics product categoryand womenrsquos involvement with and usage of cosmetics and informationseeking and personal influence patterns related to the cosmetics productcategory The questions were written in English translated into Hungarian bya native Hungarian speaker and back translated into English by a nativeEnglish speaker Changes in translation and content were made based ondiscussions with both translators

The Hungarian office of an international market research firm designedthe sampling plan and conducted the data collection The sample includedonly women who were 18 years of age or older Our sample was selected bymultistage area sampling in which intended sample proportions matched thepopulation percentage in the major census regions of Budapest then blockgroups and households were selected at random from within the majordivisions Interviewers made at least three attempts to contact addressesincluded in the sample before substituting a replacement address Trainedwomen interviewers indicated the information would be used by universityresearchers and offered assurances of confidentiality The interviewers


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attempted 547 contacts to yield the 340 completed interviews in our data Ofthese attempted contacts 57 were ineligible (a bad address the personmoved etc) The cooperation rate for the survey was 694 per cent (340(547ndash57)) and the refusal rate was 139 per cent (68(547ndash57)) Table I providessample characteristics A comparison of our sample with Hungarianpopulation characteristics suggests that our sample matches populationcharacteristics on comparable variables (Hungarian Central StatisticalOffice 2000)

Measures of constructs included in our survey as well as their reliabilitymeasures are included in Table II The mean score on the scales were derivedfrom the average of the unweighted sum of the five-point Likert items used inthe scales Other behaviors measured in the survey are included inTables III-VI Of particular interest is the measure of opinion leadership 321 ofthe 340 respondents answered all six of the opinion leadership items and wereincluded in our analyses The results suggest the measure is reliable with aCronbachrsquos alpha = 092 Respondentsrsquo scores on the scale ranged from one tofive and the mean score was 216 (SD = 117) While the overall mean foropinion leadership might be considered low as we noted even though Hungaryis one of the leaders in Central Europersquos transition to a market economy thecountry is early in that transition (Braun and Barany 1999)

Table IDemographiccharacteristics of thesample

Characteristic

Age ()18-29 20630-39 12140-49 19450-59 17860 and older 303

Marital status ()Married 494Divorcedseparated 146Widowed 193Single 167

Currently employed () 385Education ()

Grade school 222Some to completed high school 553Some to completed college 219Graduate degree 06

Average household size 28Average years living in Budapest 391Average household income per month (HUF)a 71801

Note a HUF = Hungarian Forints At the time of the 1998 data collection 222 HUF = 1 USD

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FindingsWho is the Hungarian woman cosmetics opinion leaderTo test the propositions about the characteristics of opinion leaders we report aone-way analysis of variance based on a trichotomization of respondents on theopinion leadership scale into the lower 33 per cent (lowOL) the middle 35 percent (medOL) and the upper 32 per cent (highOL) The respective means of thegroups on the opinion leadership scale are (xlowOL ˆ 102) (xmedOL ˆ 189) and(xhighOL ˆ 363) (F2=320 ˆ 80500 p micro 0001) and the post-hoc ScheffeAcirc tests

Table IIScales and their items

and reliabilitymeasures

Opinion leadershipa not ˆ 092My family friends and neighbors often ask my advice about cosmeticsI sometimes influence the types and brands of cosmetics that my friends

and family buyMy friends come to me more often than I go to them for information about

cosmeticsI feel that I am generally regarded by my friends family and neighbors as a

good source of advice about cosmeticsI can think of at least two people whom Irsquove told about some cosmetic product

or brand in the last six monthsIn general I talk a lot about cosmetics with my friends family and neighbors

Involvement with cosmetic productsb not ˆ 092Are a part of my self-imageAre boring to mePortray an image of me to othersAre fun to meAre fascinating to meAre important to meAre exciting to meTell others about meTell me about other people

Variety seekingc not ˆ 081I switch among brands of cosmetics just to try something new once in a whileWhen Irsquom shopping for cosmetics I am likely to buy new brands just for the

fun of itI get bored with buying the same brands of cosmetics and so I often try

different brands

Knowledged not ˆ 088How much do you know about cosmetic productsHow much do you know compared to your friendsHow much do you know compared to an expertHow much do you know about the important things to consider when buying

these products

Confidence in choice of cosmeticse r ˆ 047In general I am confident that I make good choices when I buy cosmeticsIrsquom confident that I buy good cosmetics for the money I pay

Notes All items are five-point Likert-items (1) strongly disagree and (5) strongly agreeSources a Childers (1986) b Higie and Feick (1989) c Derived from Van Trijp et al (1996)Raju (1980) Moore-Shay and Lutz (1988) d Park et al (1994) e Feick et al (1995)


1298

indicate that each of the three groups is significantly different from each of theother two (p micro 005)

The overall mean for cosmetics involvement for our sample was at the mid-point of the scale (x ˆ 303 SD = 115) As H1 predicted the highOL group(x ˆ 387) was significantly more involved than either of the other groups(xlowOL ˆ 210 xmedOL ˆ 311) see Table III

Product category and marketplace participationTable III also provides the ANOVA results for H2a-e H2a concernedHungarian womenrsquos use of and money spent on cosmetics productsparticularly face cream lipstick eye make-up nail polish and rouge or facepowder On average approximately eight out of ten Hungarian women use facecream approximately six out of ten use lipstick eye make-up and nail polishand five out of ten use rouge or face powder The usage rates of face cream forour groups were 96 per cent (highOL) 89 per cent (medOL) and 61 per cent(lowOL) groups and for rouge or face powder were 65 per cent 55 per cent and25 per cent respectively For these two cosmetics both the medOL and thehighOL groups used the cosmetics more than the lowOL group but there wasno statistical difference between the usage rages for the highOL and medOLgroups For the other three cosmetics (lipstick eye-make-up and nail polish)

Table IIIMeans for opinionleadership groups andANOVA results forH1 and H2

MeansLowOL MedOL HighOL Overall ScheffeAcircn = 106 n = 111 n = 104 n = 321 F-value test

H1 Involvement 210 311 387 303 9351 abc

H2a Product usage and expendituresCosmetic usage ( using)

Face cream 061 089 096 082 2929 ab

Lipstick 032 055 085 057 3612 abc

Eye make-up 027 060 085 057 4622 abc

Nail polish 033 056 082 057 2988 abc

Rougeface powder 025 055 065 048 2098 ab

Amount spenthhd (HUF)d 897 2047 2865 2032 758 b

H2b Early adopter 151 189 265 207 2354 bc

H2c Variety seeking 147 181 224 185 1604 abc

H2d Shopping enjoyment frequencyof shopping and purchaseShopping frequency (timesyear) 570 1759 2365 1566 3165 abc

Enjoy shopping (1 = not at all) 228 310 389 312 4542 abc

Purchase frequency (timesyear) 610 1368 1812 1306 2134 abc

H2e Market maven 172 263 365 266 8419 abc

Notes a = LowOL different from MedOL at p micro 005 b = LowOL is different from HighOLat p micro 005 c = MedOL is different from HighOL at p micro 005 d= HUF (Hungarian Forints)At the time of the 1998 data collection 222 HUF = 1 USD refers to p micro 005 refers top micro 001 refers to p micro 0001

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the highOL group was significantly more likely to use the product than eitherthe medOL or the lowOL group with the highOL group using them more thantwice as frequently as the lowOL group Our findings also indicate that thehighOL group spends more than the medOL group (2865 v 2074 HUF) andmore than three times as much money on cosmetics as the lowOL group (897HUF) Thus we found support for H2a

H2b and H2c respectively posited that Hungarian opinion leaders would beearly adopters in the product category and would engage in variety seekingwithin the product category Our results overall show relatively low incidenceof early adoption (x ˆ 207) and variety seeking (x ˆ 185) We found supportfor both of our hypotheses however Opinion leaders adopt brands earlier(x ˆ 265) than either the lowOL (x ˆ 151) or medOL (x ˆ 189) group and aremore likely to switch among brands (x ˆ 224) than either the lowOL (x ˆ 147)or medOL (x ˆ 181) group

Table IVMeans for opinion

leadership groups andANOVA results for

H3-H5

Means or percentageLowOL MedOL HighOL Overall ScheffeAcircn = 106 n = 111 n = 104 n = 321 F-value test

H3 Demographic profileAge 537 446 415 466 1926 ab

Education level (in years) 112 117 121 117 309 b

Household income(Hungarian Forints) 54746 77032 86152 72304 583 ab

Currently employed () 23 41 52 39 1031 ab

Travel to the West in thelast two years 029 097 127 083 443 b

H4 Brand choicesNo of brands mentioned 148 313 337 269 3071 ab

No of brands purchased 108 227 232 191 2124 ab

Percentage preferring brandd

Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc

LrsquoOreal 1 7 10 6 385 b

Ponds 8 7 10 9 039 ndashFa 5 8 6 6 056 ndashHelia-D 4 6 7 6 051 ndash

H5 Knowledge and confidence in choiceCosmetics product

knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc

Confidence in cosmeticschoices (H5b) 335 387 410 381 1103 ab

Notes a = LowOL different from MedOL at p micro 005 b = LowOL is different from HighOLat p micro 005 c = MedOL is different from HighOL at p micro 005 d = Brands named by morethan 5 per cent of the sample refers to p micro 005 refers to p micro 001 refers top micro 0001


1300

We predicted in H2d that opinion leadership would be positively associatedwith enjoyment of shopping and the frequency of shopping for and purchasingproducts Our findings indicate support for this hypothesis The highOL group(x ˆ 389) finds shopping significantly more enjoyable than the medOL(x ˆ 310) and the lowOL (x ˆ 228) groups Additionally the highOL groupshops for cosmetics four times as frequently (2365 v 570 times per year) andbuys products from the category three times as frequently (1812 v 610 timesper year) than the lowOL group

H2e predicted that Hungarian opinion leaders were more likely than non-leaders to be market mavens Our findings indicate that the overall mean on themarket maven scale for our sample is 266 As hypothesized the highOL group(x ˆ 365) scored significantly higher than either the medOL (x ˆ 263) or thelowOL (x ˆ 172) group

Table VMeans for opinionleadership groups andANOVA results for H6

Means or percentagesLowOL MedOL HighOL Overall ScheffeAcircn = 106 n = 111 n = 104 n = 321 F-value test

Media sources used to find out aboutnew cosmeticsTV ad 282 345 356 328 694 ab

Catalogbrochure 175 288 331 264 2997 ab

Magazine article 137 198 309 214 4665 abc

Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc

Billboard ad 147 175 183 168 327 ndashAd at movie theater 101 132 161 131 1864 abc

Television profileTelevision ownership () 970 970 990 980 057 ndashVCR ownership () 510 550 760 610 770 bc

Cable for TV ownership () 460 500 740 570 1006 bc

Weekday avg hours watched 60 41 44 48 390 a

Weekend avg hours watched 42 41 39 41 047 ndash

Media habitsNo of days per week reading

newspaper29 40 44 38 787 ab

No of fashion magazines 058 106 152 105 1626 abc

Nok Lapja () 250 330 360 310 168 ndashKiskegyed () 110 180 300 200 599 b

Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b

Notes a = LowOL different from MedOL at p micro 005 b = LowOL is different from HighOLat p micro 005 c = MedOL is different from HighOL at p micro 005 refers to p micro 005 refersto p micro 001 refers to p micro 001

Changing faces

1301

Demographic profileTable IV includes a demographic comparison of the opinion leadership groupsThere is general support for H3 the highOL group includes younger bettereducated more cosmopolitan women For example the highOL groupcompared to the lowOL group was younger (415 years v 537 years) moreeducated (121 v 112 years) more likely to be employed (52 per cent v 23 percent) of higher household income (86100 HUF v 54700 HUF) and more likelyto have traveled to Western Europe or the USA in the last two years (127 v029 times)

Brand preferences and choicesAs predicted in H4 and shown in Table IV opinion leaders named more brandsand purchased more brands than non-leaders the highOL group reported morethan twice as many brands as the lowOL group (337 v 148) Additionallyopinion leaders are more likely to prefer Western high end products (eg AvonOriflame LrsquoOreal) many of which have been introduced since the opening of themarkets in 1989 They also prefer Nivea a German brand that was introduced inHungary in 1925 There are little or no differences in likelihood of preferenceacross the groups for products that are lower end (eg Fa Ponds) andor haveHungarian or local origins (eg Helia-D) Additionally the highOL group wassignificantly more likely to agree with the statement ` When choosing cosmeticsproducts I usually buy a Western brandrsquorsquo (x ˆ 376) than either the lowOL(x ˆ 240) or medOL (x ˆ 321) group (F2=296 ˆ 2198 p micro 0001)

Table VIMeans for opinion


H7 and H8

Means and percentagesLowOL MedOL HighOL Overall ScheffeAcircn = 106 n = 111 n = 104 n = 321 F-value test

H7 Personal sources used to find outabout new cosmeticsSalesperson ndash company 166 292 331 264 3198 ab

Friend or acquaintance 185 287 311 262 2321 ab

Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc

Salesperson ndash store 158 214 253 208 1555 ab

Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab

Know an opinion leader () 360 660 700 430 1561 ab

Find out about new brands 219 343 380 332 1799 ab

Evaluate different brands 217 332 353 317 1362 ab

Identify stores 167 262 297 257 1105 ab

H8 When choosing cosmetics products I usually Read labels 218 365 416 337 6055 abc

Consider ingredients 216 343 399 323 3952 abc

Try to sample the brand 133 178 242 186 2171 abc



1302

Product knowledge and confidence in choicesH5a predicted that opinion leadership was positively related to productcategory knowledge and H5b predicted that opinion leadership was positivelyrelated to confidence in choice Our results indicate that in general Hungarianwomen do not perceive themselves as being very knowledgeable aboutcosmetics (x ˆ 240) However consistent with our expectations the highOLgroup (x ˆ 306) was significantly more knowledgeable than both the medOL(x ˆ 243) and the lowOL (x ˆ 170) groups Additionally the highOL group(x ˆ 410) was more confident in their cosmetics choices than the lowOL group(x ˆ 335) These findings reported in Table IV lend support to H5a and H5b

Media sources of cosmetics informationH6 predicted that opinion leaders in Hungary would be greater informationseekers including more active users of media The results in general supportthe hypothesis (see Table V) Across media types the women in Hungary weremost likely to use TV ads catalogs or brochures and newspaper ads to find outabout new cosmetics they were least likely to use ads in movies billboards orradio ads In general opinion leaders were more likely than non-opinion leadersto use each source of information to find out about new cosmetic productsMagazines articles are of particular interest because of their greater relativeimportance to the highOL group (x ˆ 309) compared to medOL (x ˆ 198) orthe lowOL (x ˆ 137) group Similarly magazines advertisements werenoticeably more important to the highOL group (x ˆ 285dagger compared to medOL(x ˆ 231) or the lowOL (x ˆ 153) group The high OL group reads morefashion magazines (x ˆ 152) than the lowOL group (x ˆ 058) The Hungarianwomenrsquos magazine with the highest circulation Nok Lapja was equallypopular among the three OL groups This magazine is in the womenrsquos servicecategory and has articles on cooking family and fashion Two otherHungarian womenrsquos magazines Kiskegyed and Meglepetes (both of these focuson popular culture) and the Hungarian or German edition of Burda (fashion)and the Hungarian German or US edition of Cosmopolitan were more popularwith the highOL group The percentages of readers are reported in Table V

Hungarian women cosmetics opinion leaders are more plugged into mediathan non-leaders Compared to the lowOL group the highOLs read a dailypaper more days of the week (44 v 29) and are more likely to own a VCR (76per cent v 51 per cent) and to have cable TV (74 per cent v 46 per cent) Eventhough the highOL and lowOL groups are equally likely to own a TV highOLswatch fewer hours per weekday of television than lowOLs (44 hours v 60hours) the groups watch the same on the weekend days (39 v 42 respectively)

Personal sources of cosmetics informationH7 focused on personal information sources predicting that opinion leaders inHungary were likely to be active users of others for information Our findingsreported in Table VI indicate that overall use of personal sources in Hungaryto find out about cosmetics continues to be low Nonetheless we found support

Changing faces

1303

for H7 The three most important personal information sources reported by oursample were a company salesperson (eg Avon Oriflame) a friend oracquaintance and a family member The highOL group reported each of thesesources to be more important to them in finding out about new cosmetics thandid the lowOL group In general Hungarian women viewed cosmeticians astheir least important personal source (x ˆ 195) However they were the fourthmost important source for the highOL group playing a significantly moreimportant role for them (x ˆ 261) than for the medOL (x ˆ 201) or the lowOL(x ˆ 123) groups The store salesperson and pharmacist were seen as lessimportant for finding out about new cosmetics As expected our findingsindicate that members of the highOL group compared to the lowOL group weremore likely to know an opinion leader (70 per cent v 36 per cent) and to use anopinion leader to find out about and evaluate brands and to identify retailstores that carry certain products (see Table VI)

Personal investigation of cosmetics informationIn our H8 our expectation was that Hungarian women cosmetics opinionleaders would be interested in product attribute and other relevant productinformation We found that cosmetics products opinion leaders aresignificantly more likely to read labels consider cosmetics ingredients and tryto sample the brand than either the medOL or lowOL group (see Table VI)Compared to the lowOL group the highOL women were more likely to readlabels (416 v 218 on a five-point scale) consider ingredients (399 v 216) andtry to sample a cosmetic product before buying (242 v 133)

DiscussionSince 1989 the popular press has discussed the enormous change that isoccurring in media new brands and in the structure of retailing in thecountries of Central and Eastern Europe With a few exceptions (see forexample Belk 1999 Feick et al 1995 Humphreys et al 2000 James 1995)little academic research has focused on the changes occurring at the consumerlevel In this paper we have examined the incidence and characteristics ofwomen cosmetics opinion leaders ten years into Hungaryrsquos transition to amarket economy

Our study while not cross-cultural per se does use much Western literatureas a basis for considering opinion leadership in Hungary From a cross-culturalperspective then our research has examined level-oriented and structure-oriented generalizability (see van de Vijver and Leung 1997) With regard tolevel-oriented generalizability which assesses the magnitude of variablesacross cultures the mean score (on a one to five scale) for our Hungarianwomen on the opinion leadership scale is 216 and their average self-reportedknowledge is 240 These findings are low compared to what we might expectin more established market economies and likely indicative of the recency ofcosmetics product introductions in Hungary and the beginnings of opinionleadership in the product category


1304

Structure-oriented generalizability assesses whether the nomologicalnetwork of a construct is similar across cultures Our findings offer supportregarding structure-oriented generalizability for the relationships betweenopinion leadership and a set of antecedent and consequent variables ie ourfindings are consistent with research in more mature markets that we citedearlier in the article Specifically the Hungarian woman cosmetics opinionleader can be profiled as younger more cosmopolitan and upscale and moreinvolved with media These opinion leaders (compared to non-leaders) areinvolved with and more knowledgeable about the product category as well asmore confident in their cosmetics choices They are more active participants inthe cosmetics product category they spend more and buy more frequentlythey use more cosmetics they adopt new products earlier and are more likelyto be market mavens Additionally we found support for the previouslyuntested relationship between opinion leadership and variety seekingindicating that opinion leaders look for new and different brands of cosmeticsand in Hungary seek out new and Western products

Our findings have significant implications for Hungarian marketingmanagers and firms interested in introducing andor promoting the use ofcosmetics and personal care products to the Hungarian market As we havenoted the use of cosmetics is relatively new to women in Hungary and manywomen lack confidence in cosmetics use and product and brand selectionThus Hungarian women cosmetics opinion leaders (who know more aboutcosmetics who are heavier users of cosmetics and who know other cosmeticsopinion leaders) can serve as important conduits of information about not onlycosmetics products but also about how to use cosmetics Given that massiveincreases in advertising have had a relatively small impact on cosmetics usagerates for much of the population (brand manager Proctor amp Gamble Hungary1998) it would be very useful to target opinion leaders who could have a bigmultiplier effect on the dissemination of product brand and usage information

There are clear implications for reaching the opinion leaders from ourresults they are very active users of media but differ from non-leaders mostmarkedly in their attention to print They report 50 per cent more readership ofdaily papers and 300 per cent more readership of fashion magazines than thelower of the two non-leader groups In addition to the very popular Hungarianwomenrsquos magazine Nok Lapja they read other domestic (ie Kiskegyed andMeglepetes) and international magazines particularly Burda (German) andCosmopolitan (American)

Our results also have implications for marketing managers in terms offacilitating the development of manufacturer sales and retail personnel aswell as for pharmacists and cosmeticians Currently these personal sources arenot important resources to Hungarian women regardless of their opinionleadership tendencies Continued training to improve their knowledge ofcosmetics as well as improving their customer service skills could help to makethem more respected information sources Ideally marketing managers wouldlike these sales representatives to take on the role of opinion leader and

Changing faces

1305

ultimately help to speed the diffusion of new and existing cosmetics productsand brands

To summarize then our findings suggest that a small segment of Hungarianwomen have become established as opinion leaders in the cosmetics productcategory and that these womenrsquos behaviors are similar to their counterparts inmore mature markets While limited incomes and the long entrenched normsdiscouraging cosmetics use may impinge on Hungarian womenrsquos adoption anduse of cosmetics products concerted efforts to develop and target opinionleaders will likely impact on the rate at which a ` new womanrsquorsquo emerges inHungary A continued tracking of the development and importance of opinionleaders and other personal sources over time will enable us to understandbetter the evolution of the importance of personal sources in transitionaleconomies

References

Alba JW and Hutchinson JW (1987) ` Dimensions of consumer expertisersquorsquo Journal ofConsumer Research Vol 13 March pp 411-54

American Demographics (1995) `Word of mouthrsquorsquo American Demographics Vol 17 No 7pp 38-41

Anderson PA and Garrison JP (1978) `Media consumption and population characteristics ofpolitical opinion leadersrsquorsquo Communication Quarterly Vol 26 Summer pp 40-50

Arndt J (1968) À test of the two-step flow in diffusion of a new productrsquorsquo Journalism QuarterlyVol 45 August pp 457-65

Batra R (1997) ` Executive insights and challenges for transitional economiesrsquorsquo Journal ofInternational Marketing Vol 5 No 4 pp 95-114

Bearden WO Nedermeyer RG and Teel JE (1989) `Measurement of susceptibility tointerpersonal influencersquorsquo Vol 15 March pp 472-80

Beausoleil N (1994) `Makeup in everyday lifersquorsquo in Sault N (Ed) Many Mirrors RutgersUniversity Press New Brunswick Rutgers NJ pp 33-57

Belk RW (1999) ` Leaping luxuries and transitional consumersrsquorsquo in Batra R (Ed) MarketingIssues in Transitional Economies Kluwer Academic Publishers Boston MA pp 39-54

Berend IT and Ranki G (1985) The Hungarian Economy in the Twentieth Century St MartinrsquosPress New York NY

Bettman JR and Park CW (1980) ` Effects of prior knowledge and experience and phase of thechoice process on consumer decision processes a protocol analysisrsquorsquo Journal of ConsumerResearch Vol 10 May pp 184-90

Bloch PH (1981) Àn exploration into the scaling of consumersrsquo involvement with a productclassrsquorsquo in Monroe KB (Ed) Advances in Consumer Research Vol 8 Association forConsumer ResearchAnn Arbor MI pp 61-5

Bloch PH and Richins ML (1992) ` You look `mahvelousrsquo the pursuit of beauty and themarketing conceptrsquorsquo Psychology and Marketing Vol 9 January pp 3-15

Bloch PH Sherrell DL and Ridgway NM (1986) ` Consumer search an extended frameworkrsquorsquoJournal of Consumer Research Vol 13 June pp 119-26

Braun A and Barany Z (Eds) (1999) Dilemmas of Transition The Hungarian ExperienceRowman amp Littlefield Publishers Lanham MD

Burt RS (1999) ` The social capital of opinion leadersrsquorsquo Annals of the American Academy ofPolitical and Social Science Vol 566 November pp 37-54


1306

Business Central Europe (1997) À force for changersquorsquo Business Central Europe June pp 39-46

Business Week (1998) ` Ready to shop until they droprsquorsquo Business Week 22 June pp 104-16

Capon N and Lutz RJ (1979) À model and methodology for the development of consumerinformation programsrsquorsquo Journal of Marketing Vol 43 January pp 58-67

Cash TF (1988) ` The psychology of cosmetics a research bibliographyrsquorsquo Perceptual and MotorSkills Vol 66 pp 445-60

Central and Eastern Europe Business Information Center (CEEBIC) (1997) Poland IndustrySector Analysis on Beauty Care Cosmetics Market CEEBIC Washington DC

Central and Eastern Europe Business Information Center (CEEBIC) (1998) 1998 CountryCommercial Guide Hungary CEEBIC Washington DC 4 September

Central Statistical Office of Hungary (1992) Hungary 1992 Central Statistical Office of HungaryBudapest

Chelminski P and Coulter R (2000) ` The influence of market mavenism on attitudes towardadvertising in Polandrsquorsquo paper presented at the Eramus Institute for Public CommunicationConference The Transformation of Communication Culture in the Post-Socialist State ofEurope From Local to Global Culture The Hungarian Academy of Science Budapest24 May

Childers TL (1986) Àssessment of psychometric properties of an opinion leadership scalersquorsquoJournal of Marketing Research Vol 23 May pp 184-8

Darden DK and Worden SK (1994) ` Using cosmetics the social construction of a consumerobjectrsquorsquo Sociological Spectrum Vol 14 No 3 pp 273-92

Dawar N Parker PM and Price LJ (1996) À cross-cultural study of interpersonalinformation exchangersquorsquo Journal of International Business Studies Vol 27 No 3 pp 497-516

Dichter E (1966) `How word-of-mouth advertising worksrsquorsquo Harvard Business Review Vol 44November-Decemberpp 147-66

Drakuli S (1993) How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed HarperPerennial NewYork NY

Drakuli S (1996) CafeAcirc Europa Life After Communism Penguin Books New York NY

Etcoff N (1999) Survival of the Prettiest The Science of Beauty Doubleday New York NY

Feick LF and Price LL (1987) `The market maven a diffuser of marketplace informationrsquorsquoJournal of Marketing Vol 51 January pp 83-97

Feick LF Coulter RH and Price LL (1995) ` Consumers in the transition to a marketeconomy Hungary 1989-1992rsquorsquo International Marketing Review Vol 12 No 5 pp 18-34

Feick LF Price LL and Higie RA (1986) ` People who use people the other side of opinionleadershiprsquorsquo in Lutz RJ (Ed) Advances in Consumer Research Vol 13 Association forConsumer ResearchProvo UT pp 301-5

Feldman S (1966) ` Some dyadic relationships associated with consumer choicersquorsquo in Haas RM(Ed) Science Technology and Marketing American Marketing Association Chicago ILpp 758-76

Flynn LR Goldsmith RE and Eastman JK (1994) ` The King and Summers opinionleadership scale revision and refinementrsquorsquo Journal of Business Research Vol 31September pp 5-64

Hagel J III and Singer M (1999) Net Worth McKinsey and Company New York NY

Hebdige D (1988) Hiding in the Light On Images and Things Routledge London

Higie RA and Feick LF (1989) ` Enduring involvement conceptual and measurement issuesrsquorsquoin Srull TK (Ed) Advances in Consumer Research Vol 16 Association for ConsumerResearchProvo UT pp 690-6

Changing faces

1307

Higie RA Feick LF and Price LL (1987) ` Types and amount of word-of-mouthcommunications about retailersrsquorsquo Journal of Retailing Vol 63 Fall pp 260-78

Humphreys O Zinkhan GM and Day E (2000) À portrait of the Russian consumer 1990-1999rsquorsquo in Workman JP Jr and Perreault WD Jr (Eds) AMA Winter EducatorsrsquoConference 2000 Vol 11 American Marketing Association Chicago IL pp 128-32

Hungarian Central Statistical Office (2000) available at wwwkshhueng

Imrik A (1997) Mobile Telecommunications Equipment Hungary US and Foreign CommercialService and US Department of State Washington DC

Jacoby J and Hoyer WD (1981) `What if opinion leaders didnrsquot know more A question ofnomological validityrsquorsquo in Monroe KB (Ed) Advances in Consumer Research Vol 8Association for Consumer ResearchAnn Arbor MI pp 299-303

James B (1995) ` Learning to consume an ethnographic study of cultural change in HungaryrsquorsquoCritical Studies in Mass Communication Vol 2 pp 287-305

Katona G and Mueller E (1955) À study of purchase decisionsrsquorsquo in Clark LH (Ed) ConsumerBehavior The Dynamics of Consumer Reaction New York University Press New YorkNY pp 30-87

Katz E and Lazarfeld PF (1955) Personal Influence Free Press New York NY

Kelly JA St Lawrence JS Diaz YE Stevenson LY Hauth AC Brasfield TL KalichmanSC Smith JE and Andrew ME (1991) ` HIV risk behavior reduction followingintervention with key opinion leaders of population an experimental analysisrsquorsquo AmericanJournal of Public Health Vol 81 pp 168-71

Kiel GC and Layton RA (1981) ` Dimensions of consumer information seeking behaviorrsquorsquoJournal of Marketing Research Vol 18 May pp 233-9

King CW and Summers JO (1967) `Dynamics of interpersonal communications an interactiondyadrsquorsquo in Cox DF (Ed) Risk Taking and Information Handling in Consumer BehaviorHarvard University Press Boston MA pp 240-64

King CW and Summers JO (1970) ` Overlap of opinion leadership across consumer productcategoriesrsquorsquo Journal of Marketing Research Vol 7 February pp 43-50

Kligman G (1996) `Women and the negotiation of identity in post-communist Eastern Europersquorsquoin Bonnell VE (Ed) Identities in Transition University of California Berkeley CApp 68-91

Langeard E Crousillat M and Weisz R (1977) ` Exposure to cultural activities and opinionleadershiprsquorsquo in Hunt K (Ed) Advances in Consumer Research Vol 5 Association forConsumer ResearchAnn Arbor MI pp 606-10

Lascu D Manrai LA and Manrai AJ (1996) ` Environmental dimensions of emergingmarkets introducing a region-relevant market analysis matrixrsquorsquo Journal of East-WestBusiness Vol 3 No 1 pp 27-41

Lazarfeld PF Berelson B and Gaudet H (1948) The Peoplersquos Choice Columbia UniversityPress New York NY

Lomas J Enkin M Anderson GM Hanna WJ Vayda E and Singer J (1991) ` Opinionleaders vs audit feedback to implement practice guidelines delivery after previousCesarean sectionrsquorsquo Journal of the American Medical Association Vol 265 pp 2202-7

Moore-Shay E and Lutz RJ (1988) ` Intergenerational influences in the formation of consumerattitudes and beliefs about the marketplace mothers and daughtersrsquorsquo in Houston MJ(Ed) Advances in Consumer Research Vol 15 Association for Consumer Research ProvoUT pp 461-7

Myers JH and Robertson TS (1972) ` Dimensions of opinion leadershiprsquorsquo Journal of MarketingResearch Vol 9 February pp 41-6


1308

Park CW Mothersbaugh DL and Feick L (1994) ` Consumer knowledge assessment theimportance of product related experiences in judgement of self-assessed knowledgersquorsquoJournal of Consumer Research Vol 14 June pp 71-82

Porter M (1980) Competitive Strategy Techniques for Analyzing Industries and CompetitorsThe Free Press New York NY

Price LL Feick LF and Higie RA (1987) ` Information sensitive consumers and marketinformationrsquorsquo Journal of Consumer Affairs Vol 21 Winter pp 328-41

Raju PS (1980) Òptimum stimulation level its relationship to personality demographics andexploratory behaviorrsquorsquo Journal of Consumer Research Vol 7 December pp 272-82

Reingen PH Foster BL Brown JJ and Seidman SB (1984) ` Brand congruence ininterpersonal relations a social network analysisrsquorsquo Journal of Consumer Research Vol 11December pp 771-83

Reynolds FD and Darden WR (1971) `Mutually adaptive effects of interpersonalcommunicationrsquorsquo Journal of Marketing Research Vol 8 November pp 449-54

Richins ML and Root-Schaffer T (1988) ` The role of involvement and opinion leadership inconsumer word-of-mouth an implicit model made explicitrsquorsquo in Houston MJ (Ed)Advances in Consumer Research Vol 15 Association for Consumer Research Provo UTpp 32-6

Rogers EM (1995) Diffusion of Innovations Free Press New York NY

Rogers EM and Cartano DG (1962) `Methods of measuring opinion leadershiprsquorsquo PublicOpinion Quarterly Vol 62 Fall pp 435-41

Summers JO (1970) ` The identity of womenrsquos clothing fashion opinion leadersrsquorsquo Journal ofMarketing Research Vol 7 May pp 178-85

Thompson CJ and Haytko DL (1997) ` Speaking of fashion consumersrsquo uses of fashiondiscourses and the appropriation of countervailing cultural meaningsrsquorsquo Journal ofConsumer Research Vol 24 June pp 15-43

Van de Vijver F and Leung K (1997) Methods and Data Analysis for Cross-Cultural ResearchSage Publications Thousand Oaks CA

Van Trijp HCM Hoyer WD and Inman JJ (1996) `Why switch Product category-levelexplanations for true variety seeking behaviorrsquorsquo Journal of Marketing Research Vol 33August pp 281-92

Vegh C (1998) Hungary ndash Cosmetics Industry ndash ISA9412 US and Foreign Commercial Serviceand US Department of State Washington DC

Venkatraman MP (1990) ` Opinion leadership enduring involvement and characteristics ofopinion leaders a moderating or mediating relationshiprsquorsquo in Goldberg ME Gorn G andPollay RB (Eds) Advances in Consumer Research Vol 17 Association for ConsumerResearchProvo UT pp 60-7

Further reading

Cook J (1998) ` Trolley dashrsquorsquo Business Central Europe May pp 36-8

Nicholls A Kapoor M and Cook J (1998) ` Friendly invadersrsquorsquo Business Central Europe Maypp 43-54

Wright CR and Cantor M (1967) `The opinion seeker and avoider steps beyond the opinionleader conceptrsquorsquo Pacific Sociological Review Spring pp 33-43


1288

The economic and political change in Central and Eastern Europe captured theattention of many Western firms interested in these emerging markets Overallthere was a rush of new products and increased exposure of consumers toadvertising leading consumers to greater understanding of and desire forWestern branded products (Batra 1997) In the personal care and cosmeticsproduct categories major multinational firms such as Proctor amp GambleHenkel and Johnson amp Johnson began distributing and manufacturing inCentral and Eastern Europe And by 1992 with the surge of personal care andcosmetics products and many new retail establishments (Central StatisticalOffice of Hungary 1992 CEEBIC 1998) it was ` wowrsquorsquo for everyone (Personalinterview with Brand Manager Procter amp Gamble Hungary BudapestHungary 1998) A Hungarian woman age 37 of Budapest (personal interview1998) commented ` In 1992 suddenly we [could] buy [things that we nevercould before]rsquorsquo

During the 1990s many Central European women began a period ofpersonal transition changing their lifestyles and becoming more concernedabout their appearance (Drakuli 1993 1996 Kligman 1996 Business Week1998) In Hungary from 1991 to 1995 the cosmetics and toiletries marketincreased 40 per cent and the market size for 1998 was reported at 1136 millionUSD (Vegh 1998) In Poland the demand for cosmetics has also increaseddramatically reaching an estimated 150 million USD in 1997 (CEEBIC 1997)In addition multi-level marketing firms including Avon Oriflame and Amwayestablished strong customer bases in Central Europe (Vegh 1998 CEEBIC1997)

Although personal care and cosmetic product sales continued to grow abrand manager for Procter amp Gamble Hungary (personal interview Budapest1998) reported the difficulties related to new product introductions productadoption and increasing usage in the product category

it is very very difficult to change the accepted consumer beliefs which have roots for 50years They heard it from their mother and their grandmother and everyone has done it thisway So why should I be different Why should I do it differently

We have found based on wide consumer research that [the lack of personal care andcosmetic product usage] roots in the social background or the culture of Hungary and Centraland Eastern Europe First of all people didnrsquot have the products to choose from or theproducts that gave them benefits They didnrsquot have the choice because there were no choice ofproducts there were a few local brands which performed the same They never felt this innerneed of wanting to [attend to personal care and cosmetic issues] But it is the culture women donrsquot shave Women donrsquot use antiperspirant women donrsquot wash their hair oftenenough (one and a half times per week) hair washing frequency hasnrsquot changed over thepast five years

Product and brand managers of personal care and cosmetic products in CentralEurope are faced with decisions about how to speed the diffusion and increasethe usage of their products In Hungary a brand manager for Procter ampGamble the shop manager for HigieAcircnia UAcirc zlethaAcircz (an Austrian-owned drugstore) the marketing manager for AzuAcircr (a Hungarian-owned drug store chain)and the promotions managers for Hungarian Promotional Service report that

Changing faces

1289







1290





Changing faces

1291











1292








Changing faces

1293








coffee (Arndt 1968)





1294






Changing faces

1295








1296




Characteristic

Age ()18-29 20630-39 12140-49 19450-59 17860 and older 303






Changing faces

1297












different brands


these products




1298








Face cream 061 089 096 082 2929 ab

Lipstick 032 055 085 057 3612 abc

Eye make-up 027 060 085 057 4622 abc

Nail polish 033 056 082 057 2988 abc










Changing faces

1299





H3-H5










Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc




knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc




1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading




Changing faces

1289







1290





Changing faces

1291











1292








Changing faces

1293








coffee (Arndt 1968)





1294






Changing faces

1295








1296




Characteristic

Age ()18-29 20630-39 12140-49 19450-59 17860 and older 303






Changing faces

1297












different brands


these products




1298








Face cream 061 089 096 082 2929 ab

Lipstick 032 055 085 057 3612 abc

Eye make-up 027 060 085 057 4622 abc

Nail polish 033 056 082 057 2988 abc










Changing faces

1299





H3-H5










Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc




knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc




1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading





1290





Changing faces

1291











1292








Changing faces

1293








coffee (Arndt 1968)





1294






Changing faces

1295








1296




Characteristic

Age ()18-29 20630-39 12140-49 19450-59 17860 and older 303






Changing faces

1297












different brands


these products




1298








Face cream 061 089 096 082 2929 ab

Lipstick 032 055 085 057 3612 abc

Eye make-up 027 060 085 057 4622 abc

Nail polish 033 056 082 057 2988 abc










Changing faces

1299





H3-H5










Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc




knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc




1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading




Changing faces

1291











1292








Changing faces

1293








coffee (Arndt 1968)





1294






Changing faces

1295








1296




Characteristic

Age ()18-29 20630-39 12140-49 19450-59 17860 and older 303






Changing faces

1297












different brands


these products




1298








Face cream 061 089 096 082 2929 ab

Lipstick 032 055 085 057 3612 abc

Eye make-up 027 060 085 057 4622 abc

Nail polish 033 056 082 057 2988 abc










Changing faces

1299





H3-H5










Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc




knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc




1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading





1292








Changing faces

1293








coffee (Arndt 1968)





1294






Changing faces

1295








1296




Characteristic

Age ()18-29 20630-39 12140-49 19450-59 17860 and older 303






Changing faces

1297












different brands


these products




1298








Face cream 061 089 096 082 2929 ab

Lipstick 032 055 085 057 3612 abc

Eye make-up 027 060 085 057 4622 abc

Nail polish 033 056 082 057 2988 abc










Changing faces

1299





H3-H5










Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc




knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc




1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading




Changing faces

1293








coffee (Arndt 1968)





1294






Changing faces

1295








1296




Characteristic

Age ()18-29 20630-39 12140-49 19450-59 17860 and older 303






Changing faces

1297












different brands


these products




1298








Face cream 061 089 096 082 2929 ab

Lipstick 032 055 085 057 3612 abc

Eye make-up 027 060 085 057 4622 abc

Nail polish 033 056 082 057 2988 abc










Changing faces

1299





H3-H5










Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc




knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc




1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading





1294






Changing faces

1295








1296




Characteristic

Age ()18-29 20630-39 12140-49 19450-59 17860 and older 303






Changing faces

1297












different brands


these products




1298








Face cream 061 089 096 082 2929 ab

Lipstick 032 055 085 057 3612 abc

Eye make-up 027 060 085 057 4622 abc

Nail polish 033 056 082 057 2988 abc










Changing faces

1299





H3-H5










Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc




knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc




1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading




Changing faces

1295








1296




Characteristic

Age ()18-29 20630-39 12140-49 19450-59 17860 and older 303






Changing faces

1297












different brands


these products




1298








Face cream 061 089 096 082 2929 ab

Lipstick 032 055 085 057 3612 abc

Eye make-up 027 060 085 057 4622 abc

Nail polish 033 056 082 057 2988 abc










Changing faces

1299





H3-H5










Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc




knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc




1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading





1296




Characteristic

Age ()18-29 20630-39 12140-49 19450-59 17860 and older 303






Changing faces

1297












different brands


these products




1298








Face cream 061 089 096 082 2929 ab

Lipstick 032 055 085 057 3612 abc

Eye make-up 027 060 085 057 4622 abc

Nail polish 033 056 082 057 2988 abc










Changing faces

1299





H3-H5










Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc




knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc




1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading




Changing faces

1297












different brands


these products




1298








Face cream 061 089 096 082 2929 ab

Lipstick 032 055 085 057 3612 abc

Eye make-up 027 060 085 057 4622 abc

Nail polish 033 056 082 057 2988 abc










Changing faces

1299





H3-H5










Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc




knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc




1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading





1298








Face cream 061 089 096 082 2929 ab

Lipstick 032 055 085 057 3612 abc

Eye make-up 027 060 085 057 4622 abc

Nail polish 033 056 082 057 2988 abc










Changing faces

1299





H3-H5










Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc




knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc




1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading




Changing faces

1299





H3-H5










Avon 8 19 30 19 896 b

Nivea 10 20 24 18 353 b

Oriflame 4 8 15 9 448 b

Astor 1 1 13 5 1247 bc




knowledge (H5a) 170 243 306 240 7793 abc




1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading





1300








Newspaper ad 192 268 292 251 1321 ab

Magazine ad 153 231 285 223 2579 abc

Radio ad 154 182 242 192 1346 bc










Meglepetes () 20 50 130 70 595 b

Burda () 40 70 30 80 344 b

Cosmopolitan () 00 50 120 60 683 b


Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading




Changing faces

1301





H7 and H8




Family member 173 291 290 252 2430 ab

Cosmetician 123 201 261 195 2809 abc


Pharmacist 135 250 236 208 2346 ab










1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading





1302





Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading




Changing faces

1303






1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading





1304





Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading




Changing faces

1305



References

















1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading





1306
























Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading




Changing faces

1307





















1308
















Further reading





1308
















Further reading




Date post:	24-Jul-2020
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Changing faces: cosmetics opinion leadership among women ......KeywordsLeadership, Products,...

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