Summary of the thesis Doctor of Business Administration: A study the factors affecting customers entertaining shopping experience in shopping centers

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Search context With a population of 93.7 million people, the majority are young people who have a high demand for individual shopping and international integration. The retail market in Vietnam is considered one of the attractive emerging markets for multinational retail investors in the world. the factors of shopping centres affecting customer’s entertaining shopping experiences has received attention from a few scientists around the world. Whilst this research direction in Vietnam seems to be untapped. Therefore, against the backdrop of Vietnam's economy (considered an emerging market in Asia), retailing in shopping centres is in need of having more studies with a view to contributing more "new points" to the retail field around the world-The typical case studies for an emerging market as Vietnam.

Retail revenue in 2017 experienced a good growth, estimated at VND 2,937.3 trillion and accounted for 74.7% of the total and experienced an increase of 10.9% compared to 2016, according to General Statistics Office of Vietnam. In addition, there has been a surge in the number of traditional retail systems. The country has had 8539 traditional markets concentrated mainly in rural areas (accounting for 75%) and the number of wholesale markets is 83 markets (accounting for 0.97%) by the end of December 2017. Regarding modern retail channels, the whole country has 957 supermarkets at 62 out of 63 provinces and cities (Ha Giang is the only province which has not owned any supermarkets) and 189 shopping centres at 51 out of 63 provinces and cities, concentrating mainly at big cities such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh, Can Tho. The number of supermarkets and shopping centres in these big cities constitutes 47% and 50% respectively of the total number of the country's supermarkets and shopping centres.

Practically, Vietnam is experiencing a period of the golden population with a vast amount of individual spending and the integration demand which has changed the consumer awareness and had a remarkable effect on Vietnamese people's consumption habits and trends, especially the young. Shopping at modern retail channels such as supermarkets, convenience stores, and shopping centres is now becoming a habit and a trend for Vietnamese people. Nowadays, shopping centres are standardized in terms of design, merchandise, and services, therefore, the competition via the quality of merchandise or price is no longer an effective tool of retailers, but they have to resort to using the customer experience as a tool. Successful retailers are the ones that create the entertaining shopping experience for customers (Shaw and Ivens, 2002). In fact, besides the recent emergence of new shopping centres of domestic and international retail corporations such as Vingroup and Aeon Japan at many big cities in Vietnam, there have been a lot of shopping centres that need restructuring (Trang Tien Plaza in Hanoi) or even are closed due to prolonged absence of customers, namely, Thuan Kieu Plaza in Ho Chi Minh City, Hang Da, Grand Plaza in Hanoi or Parkson Plaza in big cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, etc. This is because they do not catch up with the demand and new consumption trends of Vietnamese people, especially do not generate the entertaining shopping experience for customers when they go shopping at shopping centres. Therefore, in order to attract and build loyalty among this new generation's customers, general managers of shopping centres need to base on the foundation of the entertaining shopping experience, thereby building right business strategies that align with changes in the retail model and Vietnamese people's consumer trends today.

1.2. The reason for choosing topic Academically, the enjoyment of shopping in retail has been an enticing subject for researchers around the world since the 1950s (Store, 1954; Martineau, 1958). The enjoyment of shopping is approached in many perspectives with different topics such as clarifying the opinion that shopping is a form of entertainment (Moss, 2007); Customer segmentation based on their feelings and perspectives on shopping (El-Aldy, 2007); Learning about the factors influencing customer’s entertaining shopping experience (Ibrahim et al., 2002; Mirela Mihić & Ivana Kursan Milaković, 2017); The studies on entertaining customer experiences are chosen to conduct various types of retailing around the world such as stores, supermarkets, online retail, shopping malls, and shopping centres, etc. However, the factors influencing the customer's entertaining shopping experiences will be different and depend on the characteristics of the study context, the subjects and the types of retail. These factors are critical and valuable in this research but may not in the other ones. Regarding retailing in shopping centre, the specific research direction of Derived from the theory and practices in Vietnam, that the topic “A study on factors affecting customer’s entertaining shopping experiences in shopping centres” is chosen is necessary and has academic and practical values towards Vietnam retail market in particular and the world retail market in general.

merchandise, atmospherics, accessibility, personal service, amenity, food, entertainment, and security.

1.3. Research objectives and research questions of the dissertation Research objectives The overall objective is to determine the attributes that influence the entertaining shopping experience of the customers who buy merchandise and services at shopping centres in Vietnam. The dissertation builds a new scale for entertaining shopping experiences scale which is “experiencing behaviour" scale with 3 assessment criteria. This scale has not been verified in previous studies. The dissertation completes the 7-element scale of shopping centres in Research questions - How is the entertaining shopping experience understood and measured accordance with the actual conditions of Vietnam market. under the perspective of customers about merchandise and services? - What are the attributes influencing the customer’s' entertaining shopping experiences at shopping centres in Vietnam? Based on customer’s' perspectives on shopping, the dissertation segments customers into two groups, including relaxed shopper segment and practical shopper segment. - How does each attribute affect customers’ entertaining shopping

experiences at shopping centres in Vietnam? 1.4. Subject and scope of the study Subject - The customer's entertaining shopping experience at shopping centres in Vietnam. - The factors affecting customers’ entertaining shopping experiences in New practical contributions The dissertation aids general managers of shopping centres in Vietnam to identify attributes in shopping centres affecting the customer’s entertaining shopping experiences and also to determine the impact level of each attribute on the customer’s entertaining shopping experiences. This is the basis for general managers of shopping centres to focus on improving the critical factors in order to create a right model of retailing in shopping centres for the era and consumption trends of Vietnamese people today.

shopping centres in Vietnam. Scope of the study - Regarding respondents: people who buy merchandise and services in shopping centres. The results of customer segmentation in this dissertation are the basis for general managers in shopping centres to choose the target customer segment and thereby build the right business strategies. Finally, the dissertation is a useful reference in research, teaching and learning. - Regarding the content: the dissertation focuses on conducting research on shopping centre’s attributes affecting customer’s entertaining shopping experiences.

1.4. Research methodology Qualitative research is the research to discover scientific theories which are based on previous studies. The research aims to identify attributes of shopping centres that have the effect on customer’s' entertaining shopping experience in Vietnam. Quantitative research is a traditional method in scientific research to verify models and research hypotheses on the basis of market data collection. 1.6. Dissertation structure The main thesis structure encompasses 5 chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature review Chapter 3: Research methodology Chapter 4: Research results Chapter 5: Conclusions and implications for business administration CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.5. New research results New academic contributions The dissertation builds and verifies the model of attributes of shopping centres that affect the customer’s entertaining shopping experience in Vietnam, a country with an emerging market. The model includes 7 attributes, namely,

2.1. Theoretical Background 2.1.1. Customer experience Experience is a broad concept which is the emotions, feelings and knowledge that a person acquires when customers engage in a certain activity, according to Gupta and Vajic in 2000 and they get the experience in most of the time whether they want it or not. Experience is characterized by the proactive

participation, people's full integration into a certain event and their state of mind (Pine and Gilmore, 1998).

Customer experiences can be understood as follows when interacting with any product, service or organization, customers will have the experience and each customer will have the different experience even though they experience the same context. This experience will generate a state of positive or negative emotions for customers, which depends on the specific circumstances and is derived from the comparison between the customer's wishes and the experience that customers get.

from

Within the scope of this study, the researcher uses the term “shopping centre” to refer to modern shopping places under the "N in 1" model throughout the dissertation and applies the concept of "shopping centre" according to Regulation on supermarkets and shopping centres issued together with Decision No.1371/2004/QĐ-BTM of the Ministry of Trade (now the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam) on 24 September 2004. This Decision defines the concept of shopping centre as follows: “A shopping centre is a modern and multifunctional business organization which encompasses a complex of shops and service-providing outlets, halls, meeting rooms, offices for rent, etc. It is arranged in a centralized and continuous way in one or some adjacent architectural works; meets the standards of business area, technical equipment and business management and business organization; has civilized and convenient service methods to meet the development needs in private business activities and also to meet the customer's needs regarding merchandise, services.”

2.2. Literature review Due to the special appeal of this field, retail research has always attracted researchers from all over the world. In chronological order, we can list some researchers such as Martineau (1958), Lindquist (1974), Bell (1999), Oppewal & Timmermans (1999), Jones (1999), Leo & Phillippe (2002), Sit et al., 2003, Hart et al., 2007, Yeu Teng Wong et al., 2012, Mohamad Saad & Madiha Metawie (2015) Mirela Mihić & Ivana Kursan Milaković (2017), etc.

These studies focus on numerous topics. Firstly, they focus on understanding the factors of retailers (stores or shopping centres) and their effects on shopping pleasure and customer behaviour. Secondly, customer factors have an impact on shopping pleasure and customer behaviour (including customer psychology such as shopping motivation, shopping orientation or some other personal factors such as financial ability, attitude towards advertisement, personal demand, price sensitivity, etc). Thirdly, these studies do research and generalize the retailer factors and customer factors that have an effect on shopping pleasure and customer behaviour. On the other hand, the results of these studies also segment customers into groups, according to their behaviours and feelings on the retailer's image when shopping.

2.1.2. Entertaining Shopping According to Guiry and Lutz, Entertaining shopping is understood as a shopping activity characterized by customer’s enjoyment and satisfaction resulting the shopping process without necessarily purchasing merchandise or services (2000). The entertainment of shopping activities is considered the same as when people engage in other recreational activities or even some people assume that shopping is more enticing and can entertain them more than participating in other recreational activities. 2.1.3. Entertaining shopping experiences Entertaining shopping experiences can be defined as a whole experience that brings a positive emotional state, creates enjoyment and satisfaction for customers when they go shopping. This emotional state is similar to the emotional state customers get when they engage in leisure or other recreational activities. This emotional state is characterized by satisfaction, perceived freedom and psychological state of customers (Jones, 1999). With this viewpoint, entertaining shopping experiences are measured through the ability to achieve customer's "entertainment" and are measured by comfort, fun, stress reduction, relaxation and entertainment. However, under the perspective of the results, as customers get a sense of entertainment in shopping, they often increase the time they spend in stores, boost spending or impulsive buying and their interest for the stores (Babin et al., 1994; Donovan et al., 1994; Jones, 1999). The sense of entertainment also has an effect on the intention of the consumer to return to the shops (Sit et al., 2003; Hart et al., 2007). Hence, within the scope of this study, Researcher desires to take the customer's entertaining shopping experiences into consideration not only from the perspective on emotions but also from the perspective on customer behaviour in shopping centres. 2.1.4. Shopping centres General results of scientific researches related to Shopping Enjoyment and Entertaining Shopping Experience published in other countries and in Vietnam have reached the following conclusion:

(1) Customer satisfaction no longer plays as a decisive factor to keep them, whilst customer experience does strengthen and retain the loyalty of a new generation of customers. (2) Shopping is a form of entertainment being chosen by more people, compared to other entertaining activities. perspectives of results, customers who are pleased with the entertainment they gain during the process of shopping tend to stay much longer, to pay much more, and to be impulse buys. For that reason, via this research, the researcher expects to develop the scale of Entertaining Shopping Experiences based on the behaviours, with an aim to contribute to building new theories in practical research sources related to this field in the world.

(3) There exist many customer segments in retailing, however, amongst them are two typical customer segments encompassing: first, those who go shopping for entertainment (so called relaxed shoppers), second, those who consider shopping as a compulsory or a responsibility (so called practical shoppers)

(4) Researches about Shopping Enjoyment and the factors influencing Entertainment Shopping Experience concentrate on 3 points: first, independent research on retail-related issues (in grocery and Shopping centre), second, independent research on customer-related issues, third, mixed research (on both retailers and customers) 2.3 Research Framework 2.3.1. Expected Research Model Due to the consumer trend of “n in 1”, Shopping Centres has become an ideal destination for Vietnamese consumers, in which they and all members in their family can buy from daily necessities to fashion items, and join services of entertainment, food, education, etc. This illustrates that 7 initial attributes in shopping centres of Sit et al. (2003) are relatively adequate and appropriate to ones in Vietnam currently. Thus, researcher has learnt from the study of Sit et al. (2003) in order to erect the initial research model of this dissertation. Initial Research Method is depicted as follows:

Merchandise

Accessibility

Atmospherics

Entertaining Shopping Experiences

Services

Food

Entertainment

Security

Image 2.11: Initial Research Model Source: Researcher’s proposal

2.3.2 Research Scale Draft 1 Table 2.1. An Overview of Concepts and Scales of Image attributes in Shopping centres of Sit et al. (2003) Scale

Attributes Merchandising Merchandising, a core attribute of Branded merchandise Stores stock my preferred brands Hence, such general results highlight that the researches about types of retailing in Shopping Centres and Entertainment Shopping Experience of customers have been conducted mainly in Western countries, which has gained developed economy, has implemented retailing for a long time, and has attained remarkable success. In term of emerging markets in Asia and in other nations, related studies have been carried out mostly in Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, etc. In Vietnam, there is a mere number of researches related to this topic, but only surrounding supermarket retailing. Meanwhile, other modern types of retailing in Vietnam is having developed considerably in both quality and quantity; however, the retail in shopping centres which is being on the strong growth momentum with the multifunctional orientation to satisfy the demand of customers is neglected. Moreover, customers’ feelings depend much on their impressions once they experience the factors of shopping centres.Therefore, it is essential for general managers of shopping centres to create a modern shopping centre model meeting demands of Vietnamese consumers, providing them with entertaining shopping experiences. Depriving from the theory and practice, the researcher has chosen to independently study factors of Shopping Centres that influence Entertaining Shopping Experiences of customers, thus erasing the inappropriate ones as well as adding ones that are appropriate to market data. Also, general results demonstrate that Entertaining Shopping Experiences of customers are based on the perspectives of feelings; however, according to the

Attributes Scale Scale Good range of products Overall cleanliness of the centre Food court

Attributes shopping centres, is illustrated via the diversity of merchandise, the presence of branded merchandise, and favourite one.

Food Food is an entertainment attribute of it supplies a shopping centres, needed break for customers during or after the process of their shopping, it is represented via food courts.

in Specialty entertainment (movie theatres) Many occasional or seasonal entertainments (shows) Close to home Ease of access/navigation Adequate parking space Easily find the entrances and exits to the centre Easy to get around within the centre

Opening hours are appropriate for me

and Entertainment Entertainment is a distinct attribute of shopping centres term of creating an entertaining environment within the centre, hence exciting shopping experiences. Entertainment attribute consists of special event entertainment specialty entertainment. Security Accessibility Accessibility of shopping centres encompasses both micro-accessibility and macro-accessibility. Micro- accessibility concerns parking facilities and easy access within the shopping centre. Meanwhile, macro- accessibility indicates good condition of access roads to shopping centres. Atmospherics Atmospherics of shopping centres involves the atmosphere quality such as music, light, temperature, décor, colour of shopping centres. is generalized via

Security the security of customers when shopping in the centre such as the safety in parking lot, restrooms and the safety of lift or escalator systems and the presence of security guards. Safety of my vehicle in car park Personal safety in car park Personal safety within the centre Safety of escalators Safety of lifts Security guards on duty Safety in restrooms Source: Sit et al. (2003)

Table 2.2: Scale on Entertainment Shopping Experiences Scale Author(s)/Year

services are

Le Van Huy (2011)

Service Service of shopping centres is divided in personal service and communal one. Specifically, personal service is expressed through behaviours and knowledge of staff. Communal service provides customers with advantages related to ambulances or restrooms within shopping centres. Both considered “augment products” which support the merchandising (core products) of shopping centres. Comfortable Excited Stressful Relaxing Entertained Source: Le Van Huy (2011) 2.3.3. Research hypothesis Pleasant background music Fashionable colour scheme Modern décor Well-lit Air-conditioned Assistance at information desk Courtesy at information desk Prompt service at information desk Knowledge of employees at information desk Neat uniform of employees at information desk Helpfulness of centre management Positive attitude of centre management Adequate escalators Adequate lifts Directory sign boards Centre brochures Clean restrooms Easy to find the restrooms Restrooms are conveniently located H1: Merchandising exerts positive impacts on Entertainment Shopping

Experiences of customers H2: Accessibility exerts positive impacts on Entertainment Shopping Vincom Plaza, and Me Tri The Garden Shopping Centre. Regarding the location, these 9 centres are located in different districts and offer ease access for customers. Experiences of customers 3.2. Research design H3: Atmospheric exerts positive impacts on Entertainment Shopping 3.2.1. Research procedure Experiences of customers H4: Services exert positive impacts on Entertainment Shopping Experiences of customers H5: Food exerts positive impacts on Entertainment Shopping Experiences of The research procedure consists of 4 steps: first, document research phase; second, quantitative research phase (in-depth individual interviewing and group discussion); third, preliminary quantitative research phase; and fourth, formal quantitative research phase. customers 3.2.2. Data collection methods and analysis tools H6: Entertainment exerts positive impacts on Entertainment Shopping In this dissertation, Researcher uses two types of data: secondary and Experiences of customers primary data. H7: Security exerts positive impacts on Entertainment Shopping Experiences Secondary data is data from published scientific works related to the of customer focus of research in the dissertation and information on the research market. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN

Primary data is new data collected first-hand to serve the dissertation, including the attributes in shopping centres, and the opinion of the research subject on customers' entertaining shopping experiences in shopping centres. Secondary data collection methodology:

Published scientific works: Researcher uses keywords to look up on search engines such as Google, Google Scholar, Science Direct, ProQuest, Emerald, etc.

3.1. Introduction of Research Areas According to researcher’s synthesis, there have been 3 shopping centres (appendix 3A) being fit for the scale of Supermarket regulations in Hanoi by the end of December 2017. Shopping centres have also issued together with Decision No. 1371/2004 / QD-BTM by the Minister of Trade (the Ministry of Industry and Trade at present), including 3 centres meeting the standard of class I, 6 centres with class II and 9 ones with class III.

Features of Shopping centres class I:

Market data: Researcher acquires data from Statistical Yearbook of Vietnam, professional journals, market research firms, and internal reports of shopping centres. Primary data collection methodology: Two of shopping centres class I belong to Vingroup (Vincom Mega Mall - Times City and Vincom Mega Mall - Royal City) and the other is Long Bien Aeon Mall of Japan’s Retailing Group Aeon. Features of Shopping Centres Class II:

There are 6 shopping centres class II, encompassing 3 centres from Vingroup (Ba Trieu Vincom, Nguyen Chi Thanh Vincom, Long Bien Plaza Vincom) and 3 others namely Tay Son Mipec Centre, Long Bien Savio Mega Mall, Lotte Shopping Centre. Primary data collection: observation technique is implemented for shopping centres; techniques of in-depth individual interviewing, group discussion, direct interviewing via questionnaires distributed in shopping centres, and online interviewing via Google+ are implemented in both qualitative and quantitative research to gather ideas and opinions of experts, managers, store owners, staff, and customers of shopping centres. Features of Shopping Centre class III: Data analysis tools: Researcher uses SPSS Statistics V.22 to analyse primary data collected from questionnaires. There are 9 shopping centres such as Ruby Plaza, Artemis, Pham Ngoc Thach Vincom centre, Long Bien Mipec Centre, Trang Tien Plaza Shopping Centre, Thang Long Big C, Xuan Thuy IPH Shopping Centre, Bac Tu Liem

3.3. Qualitative research Entertainment, and Security, are considered as having an impact on customers' entertaining shopping experiences. 3.3.1. Qualitative research design

Findings from in-depth interviewing and group discussion show that the concept of entertaining shopping experiences is properly understood. Customers' entertaining shopping experiences must be viewed not only from the emotional perspective but also from the behavioural perspective. Therefore, Researcher adds the behavioural scale to the research model to measure customers' entertaining shopping experiences in shopping centres. Qualitative research: the next important phase during the research process to detect the attributes in shopping centres which are appropriate for the research context of Vietnamese market. Researcher also adjusts and adds other attributes in line with Vietnamese market to the scale. Findings from the qualitative research serve to build the research model and to determine the second draft scale for the dissertation. Data collection and sampling methods in qualitative research

Findings from group discussion show that there are 2 perspectives on shopping. One regards shopping as a recreational activity while the other views it as a mandatory task. Formal research model and research hypothesis In this research, observation technique, in-depth individual interviewing and group discussion techniques are implemented to gather data for the qualitative research. Research sample description

Based on findings from the qualitative research, the model of the attributes in shopping centres influencing customers' entertaining shopping experiences is demonstrated in figure 3.2.

Merchandising

In-depth individual interviewing is conducted with 06 experts (03 marketing specialists in the training field, 03 experts in the retail sector); 10 different subjects working in shopping centres (general managers of shopping centres, store owners, and staff of shopping centres). Demographic characteristics of the research subject are described in Appendix 1B.

Atmospherics

Accessibility

Personal service

Entertaining shopping experiences

Amenity

Group discussion is conducted with 2 groups of regular customers of shopping centres. The first group consists of 8 office workers, both male and female, aged between 25 and 40, with high purchasing power and mutual interest in shopping in shopping centres. The second group consists of 8 students.

- Emotion - Behaviour

3.3.2. Findings of qualitative research

Food

Findings of observation in shopping centres

Entertainment

Shopping centres: Findings from observing 18 shopping centres show that they

Security

all have essential attributes which satisfy "N in 1" customers' needs.

Figure 3.2: Formal research model of the dissertation

(Source: Researcher's proposal)

Accordingly, the research hypothesis is proposed as follows: Customers: relatively diverse groups of customers, including students, working people, and retirees. They go to shopping centres for shopping, for supermarkets, for a stroll, for deal hunting, for events, for dining, and for entertainment services such as movies or games, etc. Table 3.1: Formal research hypothesis "Emotion" scale "Behaviour" scale Findings from in-depth interviewing and group discussion on the attributes in shopping centres have revealed that 8 attributes, namely Merchandising, Atmospherics, Accessibility, Personal service, Amenity, Food, H1a: Merchandising has positive H1b: Merchandising has positive

"Emotion" scale "Behaviour" scale influence on customers' emotion influence on customers' behaviour The questionnaire is designed based on the Likert scale of 5 levels, Level 1- Strongly disagree; Level 2- Disagree; Level 3– Neutral; Level 4- Agree; Level 5- Strongly agree.

H2a: Atmospherics has positive influence on customers' emotion H2b: Atmospherics has positive influence on customers' behaviour

H3a: Accessibility has positive influence on customers' emotion H3b: Accessibility has positive influence on customers' behaviour

H4a: Personal service has positive influence on customers' emotion H4b: Personal service has positive influence on customers' behaviour Data collection methodology in quantitative research In this dissertation, Researcher uses two primary data collection methods for the quantitative research in both preliminary and formal phases: direct data collection in shopping centres via direct interviewing with questionnaires, and indirect data collection via the Internet. The preliminary phase takes place on April 2017. The formal phase takes place on May and June 2017.

H5a: Amenity has positive influence on customers' emotion H5b: Amenity has positive influence on customers' behaviour

H6a: Food has positive influence on customers' emotion H6b: Food has positive influence on customers' behaviour Data analysis in quantitative research The data in this research is analysed by SPSS Statistics. The sequence of data analysis is conducted corresponding to each research period: from the preliminary to the formal phase.

H7a: Entertainment has positive influence on customers' emotion H7b: Entertainment has positive influence on customers' behaviour

H8a: Security has positive influence on customers' emotion H8b: Security has positive influence on customers' behaviour Source: Researcher's proposal

The preliminary quantitative research phase only performs the Cronbach's alpha analysis to assess the reliability of the scale. The formal phase is conducted to test the model and the statistical hypothesis. The data is analysed in the following sequence: Descriptive statistics analysis; Reliability test of the scale with Cronbach's alpha; Exploratory factor analysis EFA; Statistical inference. The dissertation measures the difference and the relationship between independent variables and dependent variables and conducts multiple linear regression.

Define the sample size

Set the framework

Select the sample

3.4. Quantitative Research 3.4.1. Quantitative research design Sampling procedure in quantitative research Determine the overall research

Determine the sampling method

Figure 3.2: Sampling procedure in the quantitative research Source: Researcher's self-design

3.4.2. Results of preliminary quantitative research The adjusted scale after the qualitative research is applied in the questionnaire to serve the preliminary quantitative research. After running Cronbach's alpha test, the reliability of the scales will be tested. The results of the analysis show that all component variables of the independent variables (Merchandising, Atmospherics, Accessibility, Personal service, Amenity, Food, Entertainment, Security) have the item-total correlation > 0.3 and the Cronbach’s alpha if item deleted is > 0.6. Therefore, the scales all reach reliability. The results of the formal quantitative research are presented in Chapter 4.

CHAPTER 4. RESEARCH RESULTS towards entertaining (iii) Customers' Questionnaire design The questionnaire is designed based on the findings from the qualitative research. The main contents of the questionnaire in both preliminary and formal phases are: (i) Customers' behaviour in shopping centres, (ii) Customers' opinion on the attributes that influence customers' entertaining shopping experiences; shopping feelings experiences; (iv) Personal information. 4.1. Research sample characteristics To achieve the desired sample size of 500 subjects, Researcher performs the data collection in two ways: from direct investigation in 18 shopping centres

in Hanoi, and from online questionnaires via the Internet. The official data is gathered from 495 subjects, with 381 direct respondents in shopping centres and 114 indirect respondents via the Internet. The demographic characteristics of the research subject (appendix 5) are described in Table 4.1: 4.2.1. Assessing reliability of the scale (Cronbach’s Alpha) The scale reliability assessment results of 7 independent variables: 2 observed variables excluded are AC5 and AC6 (belonging to the variable “Accessibility”) Table 4.1: Demographic characteristics of the research subject The scale reliability assessment results of dependent variables: 1 observed variable is excluded is EM5 (belonging to the variable “Emotion”) Demographics Gender Male 4.2.3. Assessing the scale values (EFA analysis) Results of independent variables scale value assessment Age

Marital status Results of EFA assessment of shopping centres’ attributes show that 7 factors extracted with total variance explained of 70.767, which reflects exploratory factor analysis of 70.767%. On the other hand, when it comes to rotation matrix, that observed variables have loadings smaller than 0.5 and converge on many factors; thus, according to EFA testing principles, these variables can be excluded; only the observed variables that converge on one factor and have loadings bigger than 0.5 are kept.

Education level

Female 18-25 years old 26-35 years old 36-45 years old 45-55 years old > 55 years old Single Married Others (Divorced/separated/widowed) Under high school High school College University Graduate school Factor 1: According to EFA factor analysis (appendix 8A), there are 8 observed variables attributed to Factor 1 including ME1, ME2, ME3, ME4, ME5, ME6, ME8, ME9. The observed variable ME7 converges on the seventh factor. In terms of content, it is shown that these 8 variables still describe shopping centres’ merchandising; therefore, the first factor will include 8 observed variables and remain the name “Merchandising”. Occupation Student

Income Factor 2: Appendix 8A shows that 7 observed variables all attribute to factor 2, including: 04 observed variables CS1, CS2, CS3, CS4 of the factor “Customer Services”; 01 observed variable ME7 of the factor “Merchandising”; 01 observed variable AM9 of the factor “Amenity” and 01 observed variable EN4 of the factor “Entertainment”. Regarding the content, these observed variables reflect the shopping centres’ operation. Therefore, factor 2 includes 7 observed variables reflecting the operation of the shopping centres and is named “Operation”.

Office worker (in business enterprise) Direct labourer (in business enterprise) Public official (administration) Business manager/owner House person/Retiree Others (freelancer) Lower than 5 million VND 5-10 million VND 10-15 million VND 15-20 million VND Higher than 20 million VND Frequency Rate (%) 38.99% 61.01% 34.55% 28.08% 19.60% 15.15% 2.63% 42.42% 35.96% 21.62% 1.41% 18.59% 26.87% 37.98% 15.15% 17.98% 23.03% 17.17% 16.36% 14.95% 6.67% 3.84% 23.03% 33.33% 24.24% 11.52% 7.88% 193 302 171 139 97 75 13 210 178 107 7 92 133 188 75 89 114 85 81 74 33 19 114 165 120 57 39 Source: Researcher's SPSS Statistics data analysis result 4.2. Official scale assessing results Factor 3: Appendix 8A shows that 8 observed variables attributing to factor 3 are AM1, AM2, AM3, AM4, AM5, AM6, AM7, AM8 (AM9 converges on factor 7). In terms of contents, these 8 variables still describe amenities that shopping centres provide for customers during their shopping experience there. Thus, factor 3 includes 8 observed variables and remains on the initial scale as “Amenity”.

keep being called “Behaviour”. From EFA analysis implications, the research model is modified as follows

Merchandising

Atmospherics

Location

Amenity

Factor 4: 6 observed variables attributing to factor 4 are FO1, FO2, FO3, EN1, EN2, EN3, in which 3 observed variables belonging to Food scale are FO1, FO2, FO3 and the other three variables of Entertainment scale including EN1, EN2, EN3 (EN4 converges on the seventh factor). Three observed variables of initial Food scale converge on 3 observed variables of the activity Entertainment, which can be interpreted from market perspective as that types of food and entertainment all serve the needs of relaxation for customers. Therefore, factor 4 comprises 6 observed variables and is named Food and Entertainment.

Food - Entertainment

Entertaining Shopping Experiences - Emotion - Behaviour

Security

Factor 5: Appendix 8A shows that 6 observed variables attributing to factor 2 are AT1, AT2, AT3, AT4, AT5, AT6. Thus, the scale “Atmospherics” do not undergo any changes.

Operation

Image 4.1: Formal research model of the dissertation

(Source: Researcher’s proposal)

The research hypothesis proposed in Table 4.5 is as follows: Table 4.2: Formal research hypothesis “Emotion” scale “Behaviour” scale

Factor 6: Converged by 4 observed variables: AC1, AC2, AC3, AC4, which are four observed variables of the scale “Accessibility”. Regarding contents, all these 4 observed variables reflect shopping centres’ location; therefore, factor 6 is composed of 4 observed variables and named “Location”. Factor 7: Is the convergence of 4 observed variables: SE1, SE2, SE3, SE4. In terms of content, these 4 variables still indicate the issue of customers’ security during their stay in shopping centres. Thus, factor 7 includes 4 observed variables and remains its name as Security.

Results of dependent variables scale value assessment The EFA factor analysis results for customers’ entertainment shopping experiences show that 2 factors are extracted with total variance explained of 63.045, which reflects explained explanatory factor analysis of 63.045%. On the other hand, according to rotation matrix results (appendix 8B), all observed variables of these two factors have factor loadings that are greater than 0.5; therefore, observed variables are kept. H1a: Merchandising has positive influence on customers’ emotion H2a: Atmospherics has positive influence on customers’ emotion H3a: Location has positive influence on customers’ emotion H4a: Amenity has positive influence on customers’ emotion H5a: Food and Entertainment has positive influence on customers’ emotion

Factor 1: The EFA factor analysis results indicate that 5 observed variables attributing to factor 1 are EM1, EM2, EM3, EM4, EM6. In terms of content, these 5 variables still reflect customers’ feelings when they go to shopping centres. Thus, the first factor will include 5 observed variables and still be known as “Emotion”. H6a: Security has positive influence on customers’ emotion H7a: Operation has positive influence on customers’ emotion H1b: Merchandising has positive influence on customers’ behaviour H2b: Atmospherics has positive influence on customers’ behaviour H3b: Location has positive influence on customers’ behaviour H4b: Amenity has positive influence on customers’ behaviour H5b: Food and Entertainment has positive influence on customers’ behaviour H6b: Security has positive influence on customers’ behaviour H7b: Operation has positive influence on customers’ behaviour

4.2.3. Assessing reliability of (Source: Researcher’s proposal) the scale after analysing EFA Factor 2: According to the EFA factor analysis results, there are 3 observed variables converging on factor 2 including BE1, BE2, BE3. Therefore, factor 2 will be composed of 3 observed variables of initial behaviour scale and (Cronbach’s Alpha)

After analysing EFA, 43 observed variables of 7 coded independent variable scales are included in Cronbach’s Alpha analysis. The results of reliability assessment of official independent variable scale (Appendix 9) are summarized as follows: component variables have corrected item-total correlation that are all < 0.3 and Cronbach’s alpha if item deleted that are all > 0.6; therefore, all scales prove reliable to carry out next analysis.

Similarly, 8 observed variables of 2 dependent variable scales are included in Cronbach’s Alpha analysis. The results show that component variables have corrected item-total correlation that are all > 0.3 and Cronbach’s alpha if item deleted that are all > 0.6; therefore, the scales prove reliable to carry out next analysis.

4.2.4. Assessing the average value of the scales The scales’ average value assessment results show that the 7 independent and 2 dependent scales in the model are eligible for next testing and analysis. 4.3. Analysing the relationship between attributes of shopping centres that influence customers’ entertainment shopping experience 4.3.1. Analysing the relationship between attributes of shopping centres and customers’ emotions The adjusted R2 of model 1 with the dependent variable “emotion” of customers reaches 0.420, which proves that the independent variable can explain 42% of fluctuations of the dependent variable “emotion” of customers. The significance level of testing F is smaller than 0.05, which means that the multiple linear regression model is appropriate. The significance level t-, testing regression coefficients and intercept coefficients are all smaller than 0.05, reflecting that the model’s regression coefficients and intercept coefficients are of statistical importance. The value VIF of independent variables, which are all smaller than 10, show that independent variables witness multicollinearity but at an acceptable level. On the other hand, customers’ emotion on their entertaining shopping experiences is influenced by 7 factors: Merchandising, Atmospherics, Location, Amenity, Food and Entertainment, Security and Operation. In particular, the variable Merchandising has the most considerable influence on the Emotion of customers due to its regression coefficient of 0.321. The other independent variables’ levels of influence respectively are: Food and Entertainment (regression coefficient of 0.303); Atmospherics (regression coefficient of 0.283); Location (regression coefficient of 0.265); Operation (regression coefficient of 0.219); Amenity (regression coefficient of 0.202) and the Security has the least influence level (regression coefficient of 0.114). 4.3.2. Analysing the relationship between attributes of shopping centres Testing the research hypothesis on the relationship between attributes of and customers’ behaviour shopping centres and emotions of customers Testing the research hypothesis on the relationship between attributes of shopping centres and behaviour of customers

Simultaneously, the The analysis results indicate that the correlation coefficients of attributes of shopping centres (Merchandising, Atmospherics, Location, Amenity, Food and Entertainment, Security and Operation) with customers’ emotions are all greater than 0, which means that these attributes have linear relationships with customers’ emotions. At the same time, the significance levels of testing are all smaller than 0.05, demonstrating that the relationship between attributes of shopping centres and emotions H1a; H2a; H3a; H4a; H5a; H6a; H7a are acceptable in this research. Analysing the influence level of shopping centres’ attributes and customers’ emotions The analysis results show that the correlation coefficient between attributes of shopping centres (Merchandising, Atmospherics, Location, Amenity, Food and Entertainment, Security and Operation) and customers’ behaviour are all greater than 0, showing that these factors enjoy linear relationship with customers’ emotion. testings’ significance levels are smaller than 0.05, which can prove that the relationship between attributes of shopping centres and customers’ emotion H1b; H2b; H3b; H4b; H5b; H6b; H7b are accepted in this research. Analysing influence levels of attributes of shopping centres on customers’ behaviour

To analyse the level of influence of shopping centres’ attributes on customers’ entertaining shopping experiences from behavioural perspective, the researcher makes use of the multiple linear regression model with 7 independent To analyse the level of influence of shopping centres’ attributes on customers’ entertaining shopping experiences from emotional perspective, the researcher utilizes multiple linear regression model with 7 independent variables (7 factors) influencing the dependent variable that is emotion (model 1). The analysis results are as follows:

variables (7 factors) influencing the dependent variable that is behaviour (model 2). The analysis results are as follows: labours, managers/business owners or schools or post-graduate schools; they are older than 35-year-old, married, and work retired direct as men/househusbands.

The adjusted R2 of model 2 with the dependent variable “behaviour” of customers reaches 0.482, which proves that the independent variable can explain 48.2% of fluctuations of the dependent variable “behaviour” of customers. The significance level of testing F is smaller than 0.05, which means that the multiple linear regression model is appropriate. The significance level t-, testing regression coefficients and intercept coefficients are all smaller than 0.05, reflecting that the model’s regression coefficients and intercept coefficients have statistical importance. The value VIF of independent variables, which are all smaller than 10, show that independent variables witness multicollinearity but at an acceptable level.

4.4.2. Characteristics of shopping behaviour Customers from relaxed shopper segment usually choose shopping centres to shop, hang out, eat, drink, watch films or entertain. They tend to go the shopping centres with friends on average 3 to 4 times a month; even, 10.47% of them go there more than 4 times a month. They are willing to travel a longer distance in longer time for shopping centres and to stay there for 2 to 3 hours or even more. For each time at shopping centres, they normally spend less than 1 million VND. Their major interest is fashion, specifically clothes, shoes, purses, cosmetic products, jewellery or accessories. Besides buying products, relaxed shoppers also spend on services including food and beverage, cinema, and entertainment. Their behaviours reflect profoundly their demographic characteristics as they are unmarried, young students and office workers.

In addition, the results indicate that entertaining shopping experiences from behavioural perspective are influenced by 7 independent variables: Merchandising, Atmospherics, Location, Amenity, Food and Entertainment, Security, and Operation. Specifically, Merchandising has the biggest influence on behaviour with the regression coefficient of 0.297. It is respectively followed by Location (regression coefficient is 0.281), Food and Entertainment (regression coefficient is 0.244), Atmospherics (regression coefficient is 0.242), Amenity (regression coefficient is 0.236), Operation (regression coefficient is 0.220), and Security (regression coefficient is 0.170), as the variable with the least influence.

4.4. Customer segmentation The findings of the quantitative research have proven the existence of two customer segments, the first one is customers that consider shopping as a relaxation (named as segment 1, or relaxed shopper segment) with n=296, the second one is customers that consider shopping as a compulsory task (named as segment 2, or practical shopper segment) with n=199. Practical shoppers in segment 2 choose shopping centres to shop, eat, watch films or entertain. Different from the relaxed shopper segment, they go to shopping centres with family members. They go there only for shopping or family bonding about once or twice a month, less than relaxed shoppers. Since they go to shopping centres less, they tend to spend more time and money once they do, particularly 2 to 3 hours and 1 million to 2 million VND. In terms of merchandising, customers in this segment concern about goods for family such as toys, books, supermarkets’ merchandise, and household goods. They also hold interest of other services in shopping centres, including food and beverage, entertainment, or cinema. This segment’s behaviours accord with their demographic characteristics of people who are older than 35 years old and married. 4.4.3. Regression analysis results of the two customer segments 4.4.3.1. Regression analysis results of attributes of shopping centres that influence the emotions of the two customer segments (model 1). ENTER method is applied for the analysis of multiple linear regression model 1 of each segment.

Relaxed shopper segment: Attributes of shopping centres that influence the emotions of customers in this segment, respectively from the one that has

4.4.1. Demographic characteristics The demographic statistics of the two customer segments show the differences in demographic characteristics between the two segments. In relaxed shopper segment, females take up to 73.65%, the majority of whom are single and under 35 years old, are students or office workers with a bachelor's degree and salary ranging from 10 million VND to 15 million VND. Following them are people with monthly income less than 5 million VND, most of whom are students, making up 28.04% of this segment. The majority of practical shopper segment (57.79%), however, are males, most of whom graduated from high

influence, are: Merchandising; Food and Entertainment, the strongest Atmospherics; Location; Amenity, Operation, Security.

Practical shopper segment: Attributes of shopping centres that influence the emotions of customers in this segment, respectively from the one that has the strongest influence, are: Merchandising; Location; Food and Entertainment; Amenity, Atmospherics; Operation; Security. 4.4.3.2. Regression analysis results of attributes of shopping centres that entertaining shopping experiences in shopping centres in Vietnam, including independent variables Merchandising, Atmospherics, Accessibility, eight Personal Service, Amenity, Food, Entertainment, Security, and a dependent variable known as Entertaining Shopping Experience scaled under emotional perspective and behavioural perspective. The findings of the qualitative research indicate that Merchandising, Atmospherics, Location, Amenity, Food and Entertainment, Operation, and Security are 7 attributes of shopping centres that influence customers’ entertaining experiences. influence the behaviours of the two customer segments (model 2)

Relaxed shopper segment: Attributes of shopping centres that influence the behaviours of customers in this segment, respectively from the one that has the strongest influence, are: Merchandising; Atmospherics; Food and Entertainment; Location; Operation; Amenity; Security.

5.2. Implications for Business Administration Analysing the research results and current consumption tendency, the research proposes some administration implications for managers of shopping centres in Vietnam to increase and improve customers’ entertaining shopping experiences, attract more customers and more product or service providers to rent business premises. First, enhance attributes of

Practical shopper segment: Attributes of shopping centres that influence the behaviours of customers in this segment, respectively from the one that has the strongest influence, are: Merchandising; Location; Amenity; Food and Entertainment; Operation; Security; Atmospherics. shopping centres: Merchandising, Atmospherics, Location, Amenity, Food and Entertainment, Security, and Operation. 4.4.4. Verifying the differences related to image attributes of shopping Second, other implementing implications include centres between the two customer segments

e-commerce, establishing flexible price policy, identifying target customer segment, building entertaining business strategies. 5.3. Limitations of the dissertation and suggestions for future research Besides its pragmatic and theoretical contributions, the dissertation still poses the following limitations:

First, this paper only focuses on scaling attributes of shopping centres while, in fact, many others factors also affect customers’ entertaining shopping experiences that are not mentioned in the dissertation. Those factors can be the subject for future research into the market of Vietnam.

To verify the differences related to the attributes of shopping centres between the two customer segments, the researcher uses the Independent Samples T-test with the significance level sig. = 0.05 and hypothesis H0 without a variance in the two segments. The sig. of Merchandising, Atmospherics, Food and Entertainment; Management respectively are 0.006; 0.000; 0.003; 0.030 < 0.05, which indicate the two segments do not have differences in feelings related to the following attributes of shopping centres: Merchandising, Atmospherics, Food and Entertainment; Operation. Furthermore, the sig. of Location, Amenity, Security are greater than 0.05 and respectively are 0.220; 0.066; 0.754; therefore, the two segments do not have differences in feelings related to those attributes.

Second, the scope of this paper is limited to the market of Hanoi. Further findings and research in other cities and provinces are crucial to gain more comprehensive insights about retailing market in Vietnam. CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

5.1. Primary conclusion of the dissertation Third, as the dissertation studies retail stores in shopping centres, retail stores in other contexts can be the primary focus of further studies into the customers’ entertaining shopping experiences. Fourth, other non-entertaining aspect of shopping experiences can be Based on overview research and qualitative research, the author has formed a model of attributes in shopping centres the influence customers’ studied besides from entertaining shopping experiences as in this paper.

Fifth, to verify the hypothesis and assess the influences of attributes of shopping centres on customers’ entertaining shopping experiences, multiple linear regression model is employed while SEM model is also applicable to similar future studies.

Sixth, non-probability sampling, or to be specific, convenience sampling, was applied to choose the samples of this study. Calculating measurement uncertainty when using this sampling is difficult; therefore, it is proposed that future studies employ other sampling methods. CONCLUSION

Although many enterprises compete in one customer segment and provide similar products and services, they reach different position in the market. Businesspeople have discovered that the concentrating on pricing or on products and services is no longer the sustainable strategy for enterprises. It is the “customer experiences” that is identified as a new scheme to “make a difference” (Shaw and Ivens, 2002).

In a modern society, shopping centres are not only for shopping but they also are socially interactive entertainment centres where people search for information or price and network with others to cater for the demand to “go to shopping centres” without any intentions of purchasing products. To attract more customers, besides competing in merchandise and price, shopping centres are embracing additional services, entertaining services, gorgeous shopping areas for taking photos and organising events, etc. to elevate customers’ entertaining shopping experiences to the highest level.

By employing both qualitative research and quantitative research and with the sample scope of 495 consumers in the inner city of Hanoi, this paper has come to new and significant conclusions. The results of the research indicate that in Vietnam’s market, particularly the market of Hanoi, entertaining shopping experiences are assessed under both “emotional” perspective and “behavioural” perspective, which is a new crucial contribution to finalising the scale of entertaining shopping experiences. Furthermore, the dissertation has verified attributes of shopping centres that influence customers’ entertaining shopping experiences (Merchandising, Atmospherics, Location, Amenity, Entertainment, Security, and Management) and established a scale for them. Also, customers in shopping centres are segmented into two segments (relaxed shopper segment and practical shopper segment) based on their views on going to shopping centres.