VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Doan Thi Huong Giang
INFLUENCED FACTORS ON HANOI CONSUMER’S SATISFACTION
FOR FOOD SAFETY AND HYGIENE
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION THESIS
Hanoi – 2010
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Doan Thi Huong Giang
INFLUENCED FACTORS ON HANOI CONSUMER’S SATISFACTION
FOR FOOD SAFETY AND HYGIENE
Major: Business Administration
Code
: 60 34 05
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION THESIS
Supervisors:
1. Dr. Pham Quy Long
2. Dr. Nguyen Thi Phi Nga
Hanoi – 2010
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i
ABSTRACT ii
TÓM T
ẮT iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
LIST OF FIGURES viii
LIST OF TABLES ix
Introduction 1
1. Necessity of the research 1

3.4. Sample selection 55
3.5. Data collection 57
3.6. Data analysis 59
3.6.1. Validity 59
3.6.2. Reliability 60
Chapter 4: Data presentation and results 62
4.1. Data presentation 62
4.2. Some results 76
4.2.1. The most important factors of Hanoi consumer’s satisfaction regarding food
safety and hygiene 76
4.2.2. Consumer’s satisfaction regarding food safety and hygiene by influenced factors
79
4.2.3. Hypothesis tested 81
CONCLUSION 85
REFERENCES 87
APPENDICES 101
Appendix A: Survey questionnaire for Chinsu sauce product 101
Appendix B: Survey questionnaire for Dr. Thanh product 104
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Loyalty in different situation of satisfaction and attitude 8
Figure 1.2: Interpretations of consumer’s satisfaction/dissatisfaction 12
Figure 1.3: Consumer surplus 18
Figure 1.4: Hypothetical utility curves 21
Figure 1.5: Classification of consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction research 26
Figure 2.1: The structural model of influenced factors on consumer’s satisfaction on
food safety and hygiene 32
Figure 2.2: Pricing strategies matrix 39
Figure 4.1: Gender in Dr. Thanh and Chinsu sauce survey samples 63
Figure 4.2: Frequency of using products in the recent two surveys 67

Table 4.16: Significance of influenced factors in Dr. Thanh survey 83
1
Introduction
1. Necessity of the research
With annual growth rate of 1.2%, Hanoi population reaches
approximately 6.7 million people in 2010, the demand for food is increasing
more than ever before despite the fact that land for agriculture is getting
smaller due to urbanization. Therefore, food consumption situation becomes
more complex and hard to control.
Nowadays, many cases of un-safety and in-hygiene food have been
revealed and punished by food management authorities including Ministry of
Health, Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
development. As the result, Hanoi consumer’s satisfaction has been affected
and their confidence in food safety and hygiene has been being lost.
However, there are still some foods brands that take care of consumers’
health and commit to provide only safe and qualified products would be
awarded consumers’ trust.
In such context, I decide to choose the topic: “Influenced factors on
Hanoi consumer’s satisfaction for food safety and hygiene”, to identify key
factors influencing consumer’s satisfaction and to propose solutions for
marketers in enhancing Hanoi consumer’s satisfaction with food industry.
2. Research Objectives
 Study definition and theory of consumer’s satisfaction
 Study factors influencing consumer’s satisfaction in Hanoi
regarding food safety and hygiene
2
 Propose some solutions for enhancing Hanoi consumer’s
satisfaction regarding food safety and hygiene.
3. Research questions
In order to achieve the objectives of the thesis, the author of thesis will

on only two products, not covering all kind of foods in the
market.
 The second one is the research methodology using quantitative
by survey, with limited observations in the sample. Due to
limited time and budget, the author only conduct the survey in
small scale of approximately 200 observations each survey,
which target to sample of officers, students, housewives, etc. 189
respondents joined Dr. Thanh survey and 198 respondents joined
Chinsu sauce survey. Therefore, the result will be relatively
precisely estimated.
7. Contributions of the research
This thesis presents the updated theory of consumer’s satisfaction. This
theory is good references for researchers, marketers, and leaders for their
business.
4
On the practice side, some influencing factors on Hanoi consumer’s
satisfaction their impacts to consumer’s satisfaction regarding food safety and
hygiene will be discovered as a good source for marketers and leaders in
order to accelerate consumer’s satisfaction regarding food safety and hygiene.
8. Expected results
The study expects to show the following findings:
 Bring systematic knowledge and theory of consumer’s
satisfaction.
 Provide a thorough analysis the research result through
qualitative and quantitative methodology conducted for two
selected products in Hanoi regarding on food safety and hygiene.
 Propose the lessons for marketers in enhancing Hanoi
consumer’s satisfaction regarding food safety and hygiene.
9. Suggestions for future research
Further study can also be carried out to consumer’s satisfaction on food

“attitude”. This section first considers this issue, followed by a discussion of
the terms “consumer’s satisfaction” and “consumer dissatisfaction”, and
concludes with the definition that is used in this research.
Consumer’s satisfaction and consumer attitude
In order to reach a satisfactory definition of consumer’s satisfaction, it
is necessary to distinguish between consumer’s satisfaction and attitude.
There are quite a number of definitions of the term “consumer’s satisfaction”;
amongst the earliest, Howard and Sheth (1969) define consumer’s
satisfaction as “the buyer’s cognitive state of being adequately or
inadequately rewarded in a buying situation for the sacrifice he has
undergone’. From the marketing aspect, Andreasen (1977) stated:
“Business, government, and other nonprofit organizations need
measures of how well products and services (performance) are meeting client
needs and wants so that they can enhance their own and/or society’s well-
being. The extent to which these needs and wants are met has come to be
called consumer’s satisfaction/dissatisfaction…”
Though being different, these definitions implicitly contain four
common elements (Day 1975):
1- The performance of the product or service as perceived by the
consumer
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2- The expectations of performance which the consumer has
3- The perceived costs or “sacrifices” involved in making the purchase
and using the product/service.
4- The time at which the satisfaction with the product/service is
assessed.
Triandis (1971), summarizing central ideas used by other attitude
theorists, defined attitude as “an idea charged with emotion which
predisposes a class of actions to a particular class of social situations”. His
definition suggests the three principle components of attitudes:

where the consumer does not like the product, but is still satisfied with it only
9
because it meets certain basic demands, for example low price. In this
situation, the consumer has equitable loyalty, no alternative available and is
receptive towards advertisements and sales promotions.
Cell 4 represents the situation where the consumer neither likes the
product/service nor is satisfied with it. This situation is probably caused by
market imperfections such as lack of competition, and time pressure. In this
situation, the consumer has to continue using the product until market
imperfections are relaxed. Therefore, by studying attitude alone, we cannot
account for more detailed differences in the consumer’s loyalty towards
brands.
Consumer’s satisfaction/dissatisfaction is a complex concept.
Throughout this research, it is defined as:
a measurable evaluative attitude
which is derived from the disconfirmation of expectations and perceived
performance of the product consumed or experienced by the consumer. The
level of the expectations and perceived performance are determined by every
aspect of the purchase-consumption process.
1.2. Theories of consumer’s satisfaction interpretations
Since 1976, the term “consumer’s satisfaction/dissatisfaction” has
frequently appeared in the marketing literature. However, as mentioned in the
last section, no consensus on a definition of it has been reached. Hunt (1977)
attributed this situation to one simple reason: many researchers plunged
ahead with measurement problems in consumer’s satisfaction/dissatisfaction
when they had not understood the basic conceptual problems. These
pioneering researchers, who were involved in public-policy affairs inside and
outside government in the United States, could afford only minimal effort to
conceptualize consumer’s satisfaction/dissatisfaction before getting started on
10

4- By making relevant elements irrelevant,
The two cognitive elements may be viewed as the perceived
expectation towards the product before use or consumption, and the
performance of the product. The disconfirmation, if it occurs, will be reduced
(assimilated) by the consumer, who adjusts his perception of the product to be
more consistent with his expectations.
12
Figure 1.2: Interpretations of consumer’s satisfaction/dissatisfaction
Contrast theory The contrast theory of consumer’s satisfaction predicts
consumer reaction in just the opposite way. Instead of reducing dissonance,
the consumer will magnify the difference between expectation and the
performance of the product/service. If the product’s performance exceeds
expectation, he will be highly satisfied, but if the product’s performance falls
below expectation, he will be highly dissatisfied (Day 1977). This implies
that the consumer is very sensitive to unmatched expectations and may react
in an exaggerated way.
Assimilation-contrast theory This theory was introduced by Anderson
(1973) in the context of post-exposure product performance, based on Sherif
and Hovland’s (1961) discussion of assimilation and contrast effect, in
studies of communication effects on attitude change. It has been used to
explain consumer’s satisfaction by applying one or both of the two theories
discussed above. In the case of a moderate level of disconfirmation of
expectation and performance, the consumer will behave according to the
theory of cognitive dissonance. That is, the consumer will try to reduce the
discrepancy by adjusting his perception. In the case of a high level of
disconfirmation which is beyond some “latitude of acceptance”, the
consumer will behave in accordance with the contrast theory, that is, will
magnify the difference between expectation and performance of the product
(Day 1975).
Adaptation-level theory Adaptation-level theory is another theory which is

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Several properties differentiate primary and opponent processes. First, most
emotional events will elicit primary processes. Only the more intense events
will elicit opponent processes. Specifically, when the intensity or magnitude
of the primary processes exceeds some threshold, opponent processes are
evoked. Second, the primary process is elicited rapidly but also declines
quickly. The opponent process, in contrast, is evoked more slowly but also
wanes gradually. As a consequence, in response to aversive events,
individuals often experience unpleasant emotions initially that gradually
decline. Indeed, at some point in the trajectory, the opponent processes often
overrides the primary process, and a pleasant emotion is experienced called
an overshoot effect. Positive events can elicit the converse trajectory of
emotions. Third, frequent exposure to a specific event, such as examinations
or meditation, does not significantly affect the magnitude or trajectory of
primary processes. After regular exposure to these events, however, the
opponent process is evoked more rapidly and diminishes more slowly.
Equity theory An early recognition of this theory first came out of research
by Stouffer and his colleagues (1949) in military administration. They
referred to “relative deprivation” (equity) as the reaction to an imbalance or
disparity between what an individual perceives to be the actuality and what
he believes should be the case, especially where his own situation is
concerned. This imbalance or disparity will induce an attitude of satisfaction
or dissatisfaction in him. This led to Homans’ concept of “distributive
justice”, which refers to a condition where an individual’s investments are
balanced by his rewards.
Among other psychologists (Spector 1956; Patchen 1961) who worked
along similar lines, Adams (1963) was the first to adopt the term “equity” to
15
explain his work on the amount of effort expended by production workers.
He stated that “equity exists for a person whenever his perceived job inputs

measure of equity or inequity which represents consumer’s
satisfaction/dissatisfaction. In such a way Huppertz successfully
discriminated between satisfied and dissatisfied consumers. He used the
ratios to make the concept of equity or inequity (satisfaction or
dissatisfaction) more operationalized. This was indeed a contribution to the
application of equity theory to both the conceptualization and the
measurement of consumer’s satisfaction; however, what is needed is the
development of better measures of inputs and outcomes for specific
situations.
1.2.2. Economic interpretations
Consumer’s satisfaction/dissatisfaction can also be conceptualized in
terms of economic theory. Two branches of economic theory are discussed
here.
Consumer surplus In economic theory, a rational consumer will
allocate his scarce resources in such a way that the ratio of marginal utilities
to the prices of the products will be equal. Hence, the total utility which he
derives from all products is at its maximum. If there are any changes in the
prices of the products, his resources have to be reallocated in order to reach a
new equilibrium. Furthermore, in a given market under perfect competition,
the market price is determined by the interaction of consumers and firms in
such a way that, when at equilibrium, the price required by the firm is exactly
17
the price the consumer wishes to pay for a given quantity. Therefore, all
consumers in a given market are assumed to be prepared to pay the same
market price. However, there is a gap between total utility and the total
amount of money the consumer pays to obtain the products. This gap is in the
nature of a surplus to the consumer. The reason why this consumer surplus
occurs is simply the fact that market price is determined by marginal rather
than total utility. Each unit of a product is bought at the same price as the last
unit. But according to the law of diminishing marginal utility, the earlier units

the market price and the consumer’s hypothetical price. Using this definition,
it would be very difficult to conclude which consumer is more satisfied with
the product, when consumers have the same hypothetical price, and those
who do not buy are dissatisfied with the product.
Utility theory A variety of theories of utility have been developed
primarily in different disciplines, such as economics, psychology, statistics
and management science. Since economics is the father of utility theory
(Fishburn 1968: 340), this section is deliberately placed under the umbrella of
the economic theory interpretation of consumer’s satisfaction. This section
will only give an account of some of the basic notions in utility theory in
order to explain how utility of products/services can reflect consumer’s
satisfaction.
On the practical level, utility theory is concerned with how the
consumer chooses and makes his decision according to his preferences and
judgments of value (Fishburn 1968). The basic ingredient of utility theory is
an individual’s preference//indifference relations applied to a set of
alternatives under a set of internally consistent assumptions. There are three
fundamental assumptions of utility theory:
1.
Connectivity. All the alternatives in the set are connected. This
implies that alternatives should be related to each other the
preference/indifference relations.
2.
Consistency. The preference relation between two alternatives
can not be reversed at some point in time. This implies that if the
consumer prefers A to B, he cannot prefer B to A or be indifferent
between A and B.