VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL STUDENT RESEARCH REPORT < The consumer behavior among followers of the Mother Goddess belief in purchasing jewelry KT.23_03 > Team Leader: Le Vu Trung ID: 21070773 Class: IB2021B Hanoi, …………2024 TEAM LEADER INFORMATION I. Student profile - Full name: Le Vu Trung - Date of birth: 23/11/2003 - Place of birth: Ha Noi Picture 4x6 - Class: IB2021B - Program: International Business - Address: Tay Ho – Ha Noi - Phone no. Academic Results (from the first year to now) Academic year Overall score 1st year 3.91 1st semester, 3rd year 3. Other achievements: Hanoi, April 15th 2024 Advisor Team Leader (Sign and write full name) (Sign and write full name) 2 TEAM MEMBERS INFORMATION No Full Name ID Class Phone Email 1 Phạm Sơn Tùng 21070217 IB2021B 0366347265 21070217@vnu.vn 2 Nguyễn Đức Mai Anh 21070711 IB2021C 0395673203 21070711@vnu.vn 3 Hoàng Minh Hà 21070032 IB2021A 0384837780 21070032@vnu.vn 4 Phạm Nam Anh 21070025 IB2021B 0902120015 21070025@vnu.vn 3 Tables of content List Of Figures.
5 List Of Tables. 6 List Of Exhibits. 8 Letter of Declaration. 11 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Overview of the field study .1 Overview of Mother Goddess belief. Overview of Customer behavior. Overview of jewelry. Brief look at Hầu Đồng and its jewelry.2 Previous studies and findings related to the topic.
Gaps and the need for the proposed research. Data Collection and Application. Proposal of Collective Data. Comprehensive Analysis Methodology.
29 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS. 44 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION. Limitations and future research. Interview with Mr.
Interview with Thanh Đồng Lục Bảo Ngọc .3 Interview with Ms. Phương Thanh .4 Interview with Thanh Đồng Thúy Trâm. 87 List Of Figures Figure 1: Gender profile of interviewees (in %). 32 Figure 2: Age of the participants.
32 Figure 3: Number of Thanh Dong in comparison with normal followers. 33 Figure 4: Buying frequency. 34 Figure 5: Money spent on purchasing jewelry. 34 Figure 6: Place to buy jewelry.
35 Figure 7: Type of payment method. 36 Figure 8: Correlation between Age and the money spent buying jewelry in a single purchase. 37 Figure 9: Correlation of a follower’s devotion and the need for spiritual value. 38 Figure 10:Comparison the correlation of devotion level and need for spiritual value of most devoted followers.
38 Figure 11:Comparison the correlation of devotion level and need for spiritual value of Thanh Dong. 38 Figure 12: The correlation between devotion level and style. 39 5 Figure 13: Comparison the correlation between style and devotion level of top follower. 40 Figure 14: Comparison the correlation between style and devotion level of Thanh Đồng.
40 Figure 15: Usage of neck jewelry. 49 Figure 16: Usage of neck jewelry (Female). 49 Figure 17: Usage of jewelry (Male). 49 Figure 18: Usage of wrist jewelry.
50 Figure 19: Usage of wrist jewelry (Female). 50 Figure 20: Usage of wrist jewelry (Male). 50 Figure 21: Usage of ring. 51 Figure 22: Usage of ring (Female).
51 Figure 23: Usage of ring (Male). 51 Figure 24: Usage of earrings. 52 Figure 25: Usage of earring (Female). 52 Figure 26: Usage of earrings (Male).
52 Figure 27: Usage of hair jewelry. 53 Figure 28: Usage of hair jewelry (Female). 53 Figure 29: Usage of hair jewelry (Male). 53 Figure 30: Favorite metal.
54 Figure 31: Favorite material. 54 Figure 32: Need for rarity. 55 Figure 33: Need for investment value. 55 Figure 34: Need for spiritual value.
55 Figure 35: Need for craftsmanship. 56 Figure 36: Need to be suitable with an owned jewelry set (Style). 56 List Of Tables Tables 1: Variables Naming. 31 Tables 2: Correlation analysis result.
36 Tables 3: Regression between Devotion and Style overall. 42 Tables 4: Regression between Age and Price overall. 43 Tables 5: Hypothesis Decision. 45 6 List Of Exhibits Exhibit 1: The Holy Council Altar.
14 Exhibit 2: The Lady of Mountatinous and Local Lady Altar. 14 Exhibit 3: The methodological framework. 17 Exhibit 4: Neck jewelry of Thanh Đồng. 18 Exhibit 5: Rings of a Thanh Đồng.
19 Exhibit 6: Earing of Thanh Đồng. 20 Exhibit 7: Hair accessory of Thanh Đồng. 20 Exhibit 8: A Thanh Đồng golden jewelry. 21 Exhibit 9: Jewelry made out of organic material.
22 Exhibit 10: A Thanh Đồng change costume to serve the holy reflection of the Fourth Courtier. 23 Exhibit 11:String Of Golden Beads. 24 Exhibit 12:Conceptual framework. 27 Exhibit 13: Jade Jewelry.
39 Exhibit 14: Ivory Jewelry. 42 Exhibit 15: Mr Đức Anh praying at Đống Nước Temple. 57 Exhibit 16: Thanh Đồng Bảo Ngọc performing the enlighten ritual, serving the holy reflection of The First Lady of the Mountainous Villages. 67 Exhibit 17: Interview with Ms.
Phương Thanh. 74 Exhibit 18: Mrs Thúy Trâm serving the holy reflection of The Master of Đồi Ngang 81 7 Acknowledgement “Cây có gốc, nở cành xanh ngọn Nước có nguồn, bể cả sông sâu” “The tree couldn’t be green without its root The ocean couldn’t be large without the underflow” Firstly, we would like to express our gratitude to all of the lecturers and researchers of VNU-IS in general and of the department of Economics and Management in specific for their support and encouragement. Secondly, we would like to thank the managers of many temples and shrines in Ha Noi for creating a favorable condition for our study to take place. Moreover, thanks every follower who have spent time to take part in our survey and share with us a significant amount of knowledge that is impossible to find on paper.
Most importantly, we would like to thank Dr. Le Van Son for his passionate guidance and support. Without his help, this study could not be complete. 8 Letter of Declaration We hereby declare that the Project entitled: “The consumer behavior among followers of the Mother Goddess belief in purchase jewelry” at the International School, Vietnam National University Hanoi is our own research.
We have taken research ethics seriously and findings of this study were drawn from our own data. The research findings have not been published elsewhere. We take full responsibility for the fidelity of the number and data and other contents of this research. Hanoi, 15/04/2024 Student (Signature and Full Name) 9 ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to examine the jewelry purchase behavior of followers who practice the Mother Goddess beliefs, a native Vietnamese faith that worships multiple gods and goddesses.
This group of followers are a small but influential group of consumers who have specific religious and cultural needs for jewelry. They use jewelry as a way to express their devotion, identity, and status within their religious community. However, they have been largely ignored by the jewelry industry, which creates a potential market niche for small and medium-sized enterprises that can cater to their needs. This study focuses on the followers based in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, where the Mother Goddess religion is most prevalent.
The study explores their preferences, motivations, and decision-making processes regarding jewelry purchases, using a mixed-methods approach that combines surveys, interviews, and observations. The findings of this research can help businesses design effective marketing strategies to target this unique consumer segment and gain a competitive edge in the crowded jewelry market. Keywords: The Mother Goddess beliefs, jewelry, customer behavior, 10 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Jewelry plays a significant role in various aspects of mundane life, often exchanged as tokens of affection and commitment, enhancing romantic gestures and expressing emotional connections. It also has an impact in cultural identity and personal expression, being able to convey personal narratives and cultural heritage (Bol, M.
Moreover, as a form of personal adornment, jewelry is often associated with reflection of the wearer’s value, taste, and/or social standing. However, studies have shown that it can be imbued with much deeper meanings as a key material attribute for religious practices (Guthrie, S. In fact, jewelry has close ties to culture as well as religions and beliefs, particularly in Asia where spiritual activities usually thrive (Gregorietti, G. Enter the Mother Goddess belief, indigenous to culture-rich Vietnam, is a belief system deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture and spirituality, with origins dating back centuries (Taylor, P.
The unique ritual of Serving Ceremony (Hầu Đồng), with its intricate blend of music, costumes, and theatrical performances accompanied by the mystique of spiritualism, is considered the most iconic activity of the Mother Goddess. Exquisite jewelry heavily contributes to creating an aura of holiness, making participants in the ritual feel more excited and enthusiastic. (Nguyễn Viết Hiển, n. These material objects are often perceived as sacred artifacts with various ritualistic uses (Diana Scarisbrick, 2007), though they are also involved with the role of transactional items in the market (Maclaran & Scott, 2009; Johnson, 2016).
Trade activities for religious jewelry although prevalent, they have yet to be common market knowledge. According to some notable studies, religious beliefs and spirituality significantly influence the purchase decisions of followers, demonstrated by the positive and negative influences of religion (Mohammad, M., 2018) and contrasting shopping behavior of different religious groups (Essoo, N. Others have pointed out that owning and wearing religious jewelry may confer social status or signal affiliation with a particular religious or social group (Wuthnow, R. In Vietnam, religious jewelry holds cultural significance beyond its religious connotations as individuals purchase and use these artifacts to express their cultural identity (Kendall, L.
Despite collective efforts, the general understanding of the factors driving, enabling, or restricting purchases of spiritual products remains limited. As a result, further research is essential to promote the market environment of spiritual jewelry, with regards to the Mother Goddess belief. 11 The purpose of this research is to examine and assess the aspects that promote and restrain the consumer behavior among Mother Goddess belief’s followers in purchasing jewelry. The following research questions are established in order to better grasp the situation: (1) What kind of jewelry do they buy? (2) Where do they choose to buy their jewelry from? (3) When do they often buy jewelry? (4) What are the contributing factors that impact their buying decision? Suppose the exploratory nature of the report, we ultimately decide to employ ethnography and netnography research methodologies.
Finally, this study aims to augment the existing knowledge base concerning the motivational factors driving the acquisition of religious jewelry, catering to the interests of scholars, marketers, and the local populace. This endeavor is anticipated to yield insights with practical implications for the strategic management of the spiritual jewelry market in subsequent periods. The literature review for a study on consumer behavior among followers of Mother Goddess beliefs in purchasing jewelry encompasses three critical aspects. Firstly, the Mother Goddess beliefs, which are diverse and rich in cultural significance, often influence purchasing decisions and consumer behavior.
Secondly, customer behavior in the jewelry market is multifaceted, with factors such as special occasions, personal rewards, and self-purchasing motivations playing significant roles. Lastly, the jewelry itself, its symbolism, and the values it represents can vary greatly among different groups, potentially reflecting the intricate relationship between spirituality and consumerism. Understanding these interconnected parts provides a comprehensive background for the field study. 12 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.
Overview of the field study The literature review for a study on consumer behavior among followers of Mother Goddess beliefs in purchasing jewelry encompasses three critical aspects. Firstly, the Mother Goddess beliefs, which are diverse and rich in cultural significance, often influence purchasing decisions and consumer behavior. Secondly, customer behavior in the jewelry market is multifaceted, with factors such as special occasions, personal rewards, and self-purchasing motivations playing significant roles.