In terms of gender, the two samples of respondents were similar in many respects and, as expected, were significantly different in weight control factor, for which female respondents gave much higher ratings than male respondents. In addition, other gender differences were discovered in factors of fiber content and natural ingredients, indicating that females could be more anxious about healthy eating.
For each of these factors that gender difference was detected, female respondents
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gave higher ratings than males except price. Apart from price factor, in fact, all of these factors were given higher ratings by women than by men, implying that with the exception of price, men may not highly involved in deciding what to eat for breakfast.
This result demonstrated that male respondents could be more practical in choosing breakfast than women. In contrast, women could attach more importance to sensitivity, e.g. appearance of breakfast food.
Table 4-17
Gender effect on the importance of breakfast choice factors
Factor 1 Health p Factor 2 Mood p
is high in fiber (1) .006* keeps me awake .483
keeps me healthy .511 cheers me up .602
contains a lot of nutrients .946
Factor 3 Convenience Factor 4 Sensory Appeal
is easy to prepare .640 tastes good .518
can be bought in shops close to where I live or work
.263 looks nice (5) .021*
Factor 5 Natural Content Factor 6 Price
contains no addictives .067 is cheap (6) .012*
contains natural ingredients (2) .023* is good value for money .293
Factor 7 Weight Control Factor 8 Familiarity
is low in calories (3) .014* is what I usually eat .562 helps me control my weight (4) .002* is familiar .938
Factor 9 Ethical Concern
is packaged in an environmentally friendly way .118
has the country of origin clearly marked (7) .033*
Table 4-18
Mean scores of the importance of breakfast choice factors by gender
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Male 3.5276 3.5906 3.0945 3.1890 3.3780 3.3780 3.4961 Female 3.8466 3.8523 3.4034 3.5795 3.6193 3.0739 3.7727
In addition to gender, two age groups (parents and young adults) acted as independent variable in ANOVA of demography. The result showed that more age
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differences were discovered than gender differences. Health, Natural Content, Price, Weight Control, and Ethical Concern were outstanding factors for which there were significant age effects. For each of these factors, the older consumers, i.e. the parent group, gave higher ratings than the young adult group. Moreover, even for those factors for which there were no significant age effects, parents still tended to give higher ratings, suggesting that older respondents could have a bias to give high scores in each factor. It is likely that as people grow old, they become more and more concerned about choice factors, especially those regarding eating, which may affect their living qualities in various respects.
Table 4-19
Age effect on the importance of breakfast choice factors
Factor 1 Health p Factor 2 Mood p
is high in fiber .000* keeps me awake .812
keeps me healthy .002* cheers me up .426
contains a lot of nutrients .000*
Factor 3 Convenience Factor 4 Sensory Appeal
is easy to prepare .837 tastes good .074
can be bought in shops close to where I live or work
.001* looks nice .010*
Factor 5 Natural Content Factor 6 Price
contains no addictives .000* is cheap .007*
contains natural ingredients .000* is good value for money .003*
Factor 7 Weight Control Factor 8 Familiarity
is low in calories .000* is what I usually eat .481
helps me control my weight .000* is familiar .947
Factor 9 Ethical Concern
is packaged in an environmentally friendly way .000*
has the country of origin clearly marked .000*
Difference analysis of preference toward RTE cereal
As summarized in Table 4-20 and 4-21, the extent of preference toward RTE cereal was also tested for possible difference by gender and age, and it turned out to be of no effects on the favorability rating.
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Table 4-20
ANOVA test for gender effect on preference toward RTE cereal
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Subjects 3.230 1 3.230 3.751 .054
Within Subjects 259.206 301 861
Sum 262.436 302
Table 4-21
ANOVA test for age effect on preference toward RTE cereal
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Subjects 1.450 1 1.450 1.673 .197
Within Subjects 260.985 301 .867
Sum 262.436 302
In addition, since RTE cereal has its origin from Western countries, it may be believed that people from Northern part of Taiwan have higher inclination for it thanks to the greater access to information related to Western culture. Based on this assumption, the extent of preference for RTE cereal was also tested for possible difference by place of residence. 276 respondents out of 303 were drawn and categorized into two independent groups:
1. Respondents inhabiting Taipei area (n=174);
2. Respondents inhabiting Middle and South of Taiwan, including Taichung, Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung area (n=102).
As summarized in Table 4-22, the place of residence of the respondents affects the preference rating. Respondents from Taipei area gave high ratings with the mean score equal to 3.3333, while the other group only 3.0980.
Table 4-22
ANOVA test for residence effect on preference toward RTE cereal
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Subjects 3.560 1 3.560 4.174 .042
Within Subjects 233.686 274 .853
Sum 237.246 275
Difference analysis of information search
There was no effect of gender on the information source. It may be important to note that most sources were rated neutral or unimportant, suggesting that due to
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nondurable and routine characteristics of breakfast food, respondents could be indifferent toward information search. This phenomenon was confirmed by the particularly low mean rating of the Internet as information source. The Internet, unlike print advertisements, TV commercial, DM, or OD, requires users to act as active information seekers instead of passive recipients. As a result, respondents tended to give lower ratings for the Internet as the source of information regarding breakfast-buying decision.
Table 4-23
Gender effect on information search
Medium p Medium p
newspaper and magazines .698 TV commercial .631
outdoor (OD) advertisements .675 the Internet .171
my relatives and friends .280 direct mail (DM) .488
As for age effect on information search, there were highest ratings relating to newspaper and magazines, and outdoor advertisements. The parent group gave a much higher ratings for print advertisements than the young adult group, suggesting that younger people could be less interested in reading newspaper and magazines. As for those sources for which there were no significant age effects, for example, the Internet was rated more important by the young adult group than by the parent group, corresponding to the fact that in average, younger people tend to spend much more time surfing the Internet. In addition, TV commercial was given higher ratings by younger people as well, confirming the general belief that younger people prefer watching TV to reading newspaper and magazines in their leisure time.
Table 4-24
Age effect on information search
Medium p Medium p
newspaper and magazines (1) .000* TV commercial .532 outdoor (OD) advertisements (2) .048* the Internet .817
my relatives and friends .344 direct mail (DM) .108
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Chapter Five Research Findings and Marketing Implications