Vincent Wee Eng Kim

Research

The Beauty of Green Branding: Way to the Future

Article June 11, 2013

Purpose – This paper aims to explore how green branding towards beauty products can influence brand effect from the perspective Malaysian customers. The paper also aims to examine the components impact of green brand awareness, brand image, brand credibility, brand community and brand engagement and their positive relationship between them. This research study focuses on environmentally friendly beauty products available in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – This study employyed both quantitative and qualitative approach. A total of 30 respondents made up the focus groups and 200 respondents who had the experience of purchasing environmentally friendly products.were selected for the survey. Findings – The results of the study demonstrated that green brand awareness, brand image, brand credibility, brand community and brand engagement are positively related to branding of a business entity for beauty related product. Therefore, investing on resources to increase green brand awareness, brand image, brand credibility, brand community and brand engagement are helpful to enhance companies. Research limitations/implications – While the results are clear and have strong salience towards environmental beauty products industry in Malaysia, applications of the findings beyond Malaysia should take into account other factors such as the nature of industry, the perception, behavior and demographics of these customers. Practical implications – The study provides a set of findings relating to green branding initiatives that could be readily incorporated into a business plan. Originality/value – The study will be significant towards managers, researchers, and governments agencies, and provide useful contribution to relevant studies and future researches as reference.

Empowering Social Marketing Media towards Genration Y Buying Behaviour

Article June 11, 2013

The intention of this study is to determine the influence of social media towards generation Y purchasing behaviour. It is also to explore the important role social media play as a medium to communicate a message. The findings of this research are, intended to provide accurate and useful information so as to facilitate further research in similar fields of study. Permission was granted by the Directors of the IHLs to deliver and collect the questionnaires. Questionnaires were given to 200 students of ten selected institutions of higher learning in the Klang Valley. The respondents involved were students enrolled in the institute of higher learning. The respondents were asked about their perception with regards to its current social media website and how does it play a role in influencing their buying behaviour so as to gain their true interpretation and understanding of social media. Responses from the respondents have shown that, generally social media were used to gain information, prefer group buying and as a community platform to express and share their views. The respondents agreed that social media was more effective in finding information as compared to the use of the traditional mass media. Viral advertising and video are very appealing to them. Furthermore, social media also improve customers’ service and business networking.