ANALYZING THE MARKET’S OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEW PRODUCT – THE CASE OF “THREAD DEFORMED BAR STEEL” OF VINA KYOEI STEEL COMPANY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION In Marketing By Mr: Vu Duy Long ID: MBA03019 International University - Vietnam National University HCMC February 2013 ANALYZING THE MARKET’S OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEW PRODUCT – THE CASE OF “THREAD DEFORMED BAR STEEL” OF VINA KYOEI STEEL COMPANY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION In Marketing By Mr: Vu Duy Long ID: MBA03019 International University - Vietnam National University HCMC February 2013 Under the guidance and approval of the committee, and approved by all its members, this thesis has been accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree. Approved: ---------------------------------------------Chairperson ---------------------------------------Committee member ---------------------------------------------Committee member ---------------------------------------Committee member ---------------------------------------------Committee member ---------------------------------------Committee member Acknowledge To complete this thesis, I have been benefited from the following people: Dr. Ho Nhut Quang (Thesis Advisor) who has committed to instruct me to accomplish this thesis, and Mr. Tran Ngoc Tuan (General Manager of Vina Kyoei Steel Company) who helped me to test and support more opinions for my questionnaire adjusted. -i- Plagiarism Statements I would like to declare that, apart from the acknowledged references, this thesis either does not use language, ideas, or other original material from anyone; or has not been previously submitted to any other educational and research programs or institutions. I fully understand that any writings in this thesis contradicted to the above statement will automatically lead to the rejection from the MBA program at the International University – Vietnam National University Hochiminh City. - ii - Copyright Statement This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognize that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author’s prior consent. © Vu Duy Long / MBA03019 / 2013 - iii - Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 1. Research problem ..................................................................................................1 2. Significance of thesis ............................................................................................. 4 3. Scope and limitation of thesis ................................................................................ 5 4. Objectives of thesis................................................................................................ 5 5. Research methodology........................................................................................... 5 6. Thesis structure......................................................................................................6 Chapter 2 - Literature review ................................................................................. 8 1. The market’s opportunity....................................................................................... 8 2. Need ...................................................................................................................... 8 3. Want...................................................................................................................... 9 4. Industry ................................................................................................................. 9 5. Ability ................................................................................................................. 10 6. Brand................................................................................................................... 11 7. Intention .............................................................................................................. 11 8. Environment ........................................................................................................ 12 8.1. Political ............................................................................................................ 12 8.2. Economic.......................................................................................................... 13 8.3. Social................................................................................................................ 13 8.4. Technological ................................................................................................... 13 8.5. Environmental .................................................................................................. 13 8.6. Legal ................................................................................................................ 14 8.7. Hedging against the macro environment ........................................................... 14 9. Related research about the market’s opportunity .................................................. 15 - iv - 10. Research model and hypotheses ......................................................................... 17 Chapter 3 - Research methodology....................................................................... 19 1. Research process ................................................................................................. 19 2. Research methodology......................................................................................... 19 3. Quantitative approach .......................................................................................... 20 3.1. Sampling .......................................................................................................... 20 3.2. Interview with General Manager of Vina Kyoei Steel Company ....................... 21 3.3. Pilot study......................................................................................................... 22 3.4. Data collection.................................................................................................. 22 3.5. Data analysis..................................................................................................... 23 3.5.1. Descriptive statistics ...................................................................................... 23 3.5.2. Reliability statistics ........................................................................................ 24 3.5.3. Exploratory factor analysis............................................................................. 24 3.5.4. Correlation testing.......................................................................................... 25 3.5.5. Regression analysis ........................................................................................ 26 3.5.6. Crosstabs analysis .......................................................................................... 26 3.6. The measurement scale ..................................................................................... 27 Chapter 4 - Data analysis & Research result........................................................ 30 1. General outlook of economic environment in Vietnam......................................... 30 1.1 Macroeconomic environment............................................................................. 30 1.2 Industry ............................................................................................................. 32 2. Sample description .............................................................................................. 34 3. Descriptive statistics ............................................................................................ 34 3.1. Need dimension ............................................................................................... 34 3.2. Want dimension................................................................................................ 36 -v- 3.3. Industry dimension ........................................................................................... 37 3.4. Ability dimension ............................................................................................. 39 3.5. Intention dimension .......................................................................................... 40 3.6. Opportunity dimension ..................................................................................... 41 3.7. Brand dimension............................................................................................... 42 4. Reliability test...................................................................................................... 44 5. Exploratory factor statistics.................................................................................. 48 6. Correlation testing ............................................................................................... 53 7. Regression analysis.............................................................................................. 55 8. Crosstabs analysis................................................................................................ 57 9. Hypotheses testing result ..................................................................................... 60 Chapter 5 - Conclusions and Recommendations.................................................. 62 1. Conclusion........................................................................................................... 62 2. Practical implication ............................................................................................ 64 3. Limitations and recommendations for future researchers...................................... 67 List of references ..................................................................................................... 69 - vi - List of Tables Table 1: The related research about the market’s opportunity................................... 15 Table 2: List of Hypotheses ..................................................................................... 18 Table 3: The measurement scale .............................................................................. 27 Table 4: The producing and selling situation of producers in December 2012 .......... 33 Table 5: Descriptive Statistics of Need dimension ................................................... 35 Table 6: Descriptive Statistics of Want dimension ................................................... 36 Table 7: Descriptive Statistics of Industry dimension............................................... 37 Table 8: Statistics of Ability .................................................................................... 39 Table 9: Statistics of Intention ................................................................................. 40 Table 10: Descriptive Statistics of Opportunity dimension....................................... 41 Table 11: Statistics of Brand .................................................................................... 42 Table 12: Need dimension reliability test ................................................................. 44 Table 13: Want dimension reliability test................................................................. 45 Table 14: Industry dimension reliability test ............................................................ 45 Table 15: Industry dimension reliability re-test ........................................................ 46 Table 16: Opportunity dimension reliability test ...................................................... 47 Table 17: Opportunity dimension reliability re-test .................................................. 47 Table 18: KMO and Bartlett's Test........................................................................... 48 Table 19: Total Variance Explained......................................................................... 49 Table 20: Component Matrixa .................................................................................. 50 Table 21: Rotated Component Matrixa ..................................................................... 50 Table 22: Correlations ............................................................................................. 53 Table 23: Correlations re-test................................................................................... 54 Table 24: Model summary ....................................................................................... 55 - vii - Table 25: ANOVAb ................................................................................................. 55 Table 26: Coefficientsa ............................................................................................ 56 Table 27: Chi-Square Tests (Opportunity – Brand) .................................................. 57 Table 28: Correlations (Opportunity – Brand).......................................................... 58 Table 29: Chi-Square Tests (Opportunity – Intention).............................................. 59 Table 30: Correlations (Opportunity – Intention) ..................................................... 60 Table 31: Hypotheses testing result.......................................................................... 60 Table 32: The final consequences ............................................................................ 63 - viii - List of Figures Figure 1: The sales revenue of Vina Kyoei Steel Company from 2010 – 2012 ............2 Figure 2: Path of Conceptual Frame Work................................................................ 4 Figure 3: Research Methodology Framework............................................................ 6 Figure 4: The proposed research model................................................................... 17 Figure 5: Research process ..................................................................................... 19 Figure 6: Customer’s ability.................................................................................... 39 Figure 7: Customer’s intention ................................................................................ 40 Figure 8: Brand awareness...................................................................................... 43 - ix - Abstract In the current context of the integrated economy, the competition in the steel industry became increasingly fierce. This is both an opportunity and challenge for the company as Vina Kyoei to show the ability to adapt to the market’s reality, improve the technology and the management system in order to create the competitiveness to other competitors. Therefore, Vina Kyoei Steel Company has been studying the market to offer a new steel product with more advantages over traditional steel products on the market; this is the pioneer company in Vietnam to produce this new steel product as well. In this study, I will conduct the market research to understand and clarify opportunities and challenges for this new product. In addition, the results of the study will help the company has a better insight about the market and customers, and it is the basis for future studies as well. Keywords: thread deformed bar steel, new steel, opportunity, ability, brand. -x- - xi - Chapter 1 - Introduction The first chapter will provide a general introduction for the current study through 6 sections. This chapter presents the problem of this research, the significance of the thesis, the scope and limitation of the thesis, objectives of the thesis, research methodology, and thesis structure. 1. Research problem Cost, revenue and profit are three most important factors in determining the success of your business. A business can have high revenue, but if the costs are higher, it will show no profit and is destined to go out of business when the available capital runs out. Managing costs and revenue to maximize profit is the key for any entrepreneur. Many businesses are judged on the basis of revenues, not profit. For example, an Internet start-up may show high revenues even in the early stages of the business but will typically spend far more money than total revenue on business expansion and marketing. This is only possible when investors are available to provide additional capital (the term for investment money provided to the business that allows it to spend more money than it brings in). In the long run, a business that requires constant investment will fail; only a profitable business will be able to pay back its investors. Sometimes, however, an entrepreneur may be able to personally succeed if he can sell his business while it is unprofitable, if investors believe the chance of future profitability is high. In most cases, however, only profitable businesses can be sold at reasonable prices to new owners. -1- In general usage, revenue is income received by an organization in the form of cash or cash equivalents. Sales revenue or revenues are the income received from selling goods or services over a period of time. From the first half 2012, sales revenue of Vina Kyoei Steel Company started to decrease. Sales revernue from 2010 - 2012 4000 3550 Billion VND 3500 2990 3000 2600 2500 2000 1500 1200 1000 500 0 Second half 2010 First half 2011 Second half 2011 First half 2012 Figure 1: The sales revenue of Vina Kyoei Steel Company from 2010 – 2012 Nowadays, there are so many steel companies in Vietnam such as: VN Steel, Pomina Steel, Hoa Phat Steel, and so on. Therefore, the competition has been being very fierce, and especially in Ho Chi Minh City’s market. The market’s shares are narrowing down for many steel makers. The question made for each company now is how to protect and increase the sales. Vina Kyoei Steel Company is one of the leading companies in this industry. However, in order to keep its current market’s share not only stable but also bigger is always the priority. -2- One of strategies that Vina Kyoei Steel Company used is the marketing strategy (introduce the new product). On over the world and Vietnam in particular, the steel which they use for construction normally is Deformed Bar Steel; because mostly steel producers have been producing this kind of steel commonly. But, following the traditional way to connect or link two steel bars together; constructors normally use methods such as: welding, overlapping and tightening, or threading which can be costly, time consuming, labor consuming, or even not stable. Catching up that problem, Vina Kyoei Steel Company plans to launch out the new product “Thread Deformed Bar Steel” which can hopefully handle those problems above. With this new product, Vina Kyoei Steel Company promisingly can be successful and gain more market’s share. However, the success of the new product introduction still remains a question to the company because it has no market information about the customers’ behaviors toward this new steel. There should be a market research to understand more about the customer’s behavior, and that is the reason why I decide to choose the topic: ANALYZING THE MARKET’S OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEW PRODUCT – THE CASE OF “THREAD DEFORMED BAR STEEL” OF VINA KYOEI STEEL COMPANY The topic aims to answer the following question: “What is the market’s opportunity for the new product (Thread Deformed Bar Steel)?” The thesis is based on the following conceptual framework to solve the research problem: -3- Problem: Sales face the fierce competition How to protect and increase sales Marketing strategy Adjust the existing product Product Price New market for the existing product Introduce the new product Place Promotion Success Increase sales Figure 2: Path of Conceptual Frame Work 2. Significance of thesis Successfully launching a new product campaign is obviously the tentative purpose of the thesis. Besides, the topic is expected to:  Help to increase the sales for Vina Kyoei Steel Company.  Introduce the new product which is better than the existing one. -4- Furthermore, this topic is the initially significant step for Vina Kyoei Steel Company to marketing the new product to the Vietnam’s market and Ho Chi Minh City’s market especially. It will help the company having the good insight of the market, customer’s behavior, customer’s need, the properly and suitable marketing programs for the new product. 3. Scope and limitation of thesis Ho Chi Minh City was chosen to survey because the demand for steel products here is large and very potential. And we will focus mainly on recent customers (construction contractors) of Vina Kyoei Steel Company. The secondary data will be collected from year 2010 – 2012. The study will be conducted from June to December – year 2012. 4. Objectives of thesis To solve the research question mentioned above, the objectives of the thesis are to:  Review theory about customer’s demand and customer buying process.  Explore market’s opportunities for the new product “Thread Deformed Bar Steel” of Vina Kyoei Steel Company.  Suggestion and recommendation for Vina Kyoei Steel Company. 5. Research methodology This thesis was undertaken by using both qualitative and quantitative method, collect secondary data and primary data by in-depth interview and survey making. -5- Problem statement Objectives 1. Review theories Descriptive statistic and collecting secondary data 2. Explore market’s opportunities for the new product Survey on customer, Quantitative method, Using SPSS software Result of research Recommendation Figure 3: Research Methodology Framework 6. Thesis structure The structure of this thesis includes five chapters:  Chapter 1 - Introduction: This chapter contains the general background of Vina Kyoei Steel Company and the new product as well.  Chapter 2 - Literature review: This chapter introduces the related concepts and theories regarding to this thesis, and examines research studies which are made by other researchers.  Chapter 3 - Research methodology: This chapter presents an over view of the approaches used to conduct this research.  Chapter 4 - Data analysis and Research result: This chapter focuses on analyzing and discussing the results obtained from the collected data. -6-  Chapter 5 - Conclusions and Recommendations: This chapter focuses on discussing the final results of study and suggestions for the new product in the future. -7- Chapter 2 - Literature review This chapter focuses on introducing the related concepts and theories that are used in my thesis. It means this chapter will introduce the literature review of the market’s opportunity in order to give a clear idea about the research area and discuss previous studies on the market’s opportunity. 1. The market’s opportunity Nothing is more important for any enterprise than to find and exploit new market opportunities. Even when business is robust, there is always the need to hunt for new turf, to guard against the time when a strong product or service category will become static or declining. The skill in finding new market opportunities is the lifeblood of business worldwide. According to Redfern & Snedker (2002), market opportunity means newly identified needs, wants, and demand that a firm can exploit because it is not being addressed by the competitors. Therefore, in order to know what the market opportunities of any company are, we have to figure out three basic things of the market (needs, wants, and demand). 2. Need Philip Kotler (1997) stated that the most basic concept underlying marketing is that of human needs. A human need is a state of felt deprivation. Humans have many complex needs. These include basic physical needs for food, clothing, warmth and safety; social needs for belonging and affection; and individual needs for knowledge and self-expression. These needs are not invented by marketers; they are a basic part -8- of the human make-up. When a need is not satisfied, a person will do one of two things:  Look for an object that will satisfy it; or  Try to reduce the need. 3. Want Kotler (1997) also defined Human wants are the form taken by human needs as they are shaped by culture and individual personality. A hungry person in Bahrain may want a vegetable curry, mango chutney and lassi. A hungry person in Eindhoven may want a ham and cheese roll, salad and a beer. A hungry person in Hong Kong may want a bowl of noodles, char siu pork and jasmine tea. Wants are described in terms of objects that will satisfy needs. As a society evolves, the wants of its members expand. As people are exposed to more objects that arouse their interest and desire, producers try to provide more want-satisfying products and services. 4. Industry In economics, the competition is the rivalry among sellers trying to achieve such goals as increasing profits, market share, and sales volume by varying the elements of the marketing mix: price, product, distribution, and promotion. MerriamWebster defined competition in business as "the effort of two or more parties acting independently to secure the business of a third party by offering the most favorable terms". It was described by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations (1776) and later economists as allocating productive resources to their most highly-valued uses, and encouraging efficiency. Smith and other classical economists before Cournot were referring to price and non-price rivalry among producers to sell their goods on best -9- terms by bidding of buyers, not necessarily to a large number of sellers nor to a market in final equilibrium. Later microeconomic theory distinguished between perfect competition and imperfect competition, concluding that no system of resource allocation is more Pareto efficient than perfect competition. Competition, according to the theory, causes commercial firms to develop new products, services and technologies, which would give consumers greater selection and better products. The greater selection typically causes lower prices for the products, compared to what the price would be if there was no competition (monopoly) or little competition (oligopoly). 5. Ability Consumer buying power is the behavior of a consumer in regards to how he spends money on goods or services. For example, an individual might have $1,000 per month to spend on goods after he pays taxes. This sum of money is known as his consumer buying power because it is the amount he is able to contribute to the economy through purchases. This amount is then divided among actual purchases to find out how consumer buying power is allocated among different industries such as entertainment, food, housing and clothing. Philip Kotler (1997) examined stages that buyers pass through to reach a buying decision. The consumer passes through five stages: need recognition, information search, and evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and postpurchase behavior. - 10 - 6. Brand A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design which is intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. Besides, brand also is what is experienced and valued by customers in everyday social life, the culture of the product – shared taken – for granted brand stories; images; and associations, and the mental and emotional file we have for a product or service or entity. Rossiter and Percy (1987) described brand awareness as being essential for the communications process to occur as it precedes all other steps in the process. Without brand awareness occurring, no other communication effects can occur. For a consumer to buy a brand they must first be made aware of it. Brand attitude cannot be formed, and intention to buy cannot occur unless brand awareness has occurred (Rossiter & Percy 1987; Rossiter et al. 1991). In memory theory, brand awareness is positioned as a vital first step in building the “bundle” of associations which are attached to the brand in memory (Stokes, 1985). The brand is conceptualized as a node in memory which allows other information about the brand to be “anchored” to it (Aaker, 1991). The conceptualization of a network of brand associations in memory with the brand as a central core has been put forward by many others (eg. Keller 1993; Holden 1993; Holden & Lutz 1992). 7. Intention An intention has been defined as a person’s commitment, plan, or decision to carry out an action or achieve a goal (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993), and in fact has been used synonymously at times with choice, decision, and plan. All these usages more - 11 - generally fall under the label volition. Psychologist Ajzen (1991, p.181) conceives of intentions rather broadly as “indicators of how hard people are willing to try, of how much of an effort they are planning to exert”. This definition seems too broad in that it encompasses (i) motivation, which is better construed as an antecedent of intention and (ii) planning, which constitutes a mental activity or process that often occurs after one form an intention to pursue a goal or perform an action. The need for a narrower definition of intention can be seen in Lewin’s (1951, pp.95–96) specification of the role of volition in action: “A complete intentional action is conceived as follows: Its first phase is a motivational process, whether a brief or a protected vigorous struggle of motives; the second phase is an mental act of choice, decision, or intention, terminating this struggle; the third phase is the consummatory intentional action itself”. This clearly differentiates intention from motivation and action and situates it between these concepts: motivation → intention → action. 8. Environment Macro environment factors are uncontrollable external forces that affect how a business operates. They are largely out of the control of the business, and often require changes in operating, management, production, and marketing. Analysts often categorize them using the acronyms PEST or PESTEL. Broken down, PEST stands for political, economic, social, and technological concerns. PESTEL also includes environmental and legal factors. 8.1. Political: Political macro environment factors include things like tax policies, government-issued safety regulations, the availability of government - 12 - contracts, and even shifts in the controlling political party. International laws, such as trade agreements and tariffs, may affect the supply and demand chains and available markets for many different companies as well. 8.2. Economic: A market boom, recession, or growing inflation problem can all change the way an organization plans for the future and operates in the present. Economic factors are often difficult to assess, since economic forecasts and analyses vary widely between experts. Unemployment levels, comparative foreign exchange rates, and the state of the global economy can all help or hurt a business's ability to get needed components and maintain a stable profit. 8.3. Social: The mood and demographics of the population make up the social area of macro environment factors. For example, a society that places an emphasis on self-guided jobs with room for creativity may cause organizations to redefine job descriptions and adapt the model of the workplace to attract workers. Social trends, such as a preference for on-demand mobile media devices, can also influence which products a company manufacturers and where it chooses to spend advertising dollars. 8.4. Technological: Technological macro environment factors can influence how an organization does business. A new type of machinery, computer chip, or product created through research and development can help a company stay modernized and ahead of the market curve. Owners must be able to accurately identify which new developments will be truly useful, and which are just fads. - 13 - 8.5. Environmental: Environmental concerns are important to businesses both in the short and long term. In the short-term, things like natural disasters can disrupt production and supply operations; or even destroy company assets. Programs such as environmental risk assessment can help companies prepare to handle many of the most likely short-term crises. In the long view, however, businesses may have an interest in ensuring that their supply chains are not destroyed by unsustainable practices. 8.6. Legal: Legal factors can limit or change how a business operates. For example, they may have to hire additional supervisory staff or purchase safety equipment after a new health and safety law is passed. Child labor laws often limit the hours a minor can work and require set break periods. If an organization employs several minors, it may have to hire additional help to cover the hours when the minors cannot legally work. Legal factors are determined by both local legislation and regional and national laws. In some cases, companies that do business internationally are also affected by international laws. 8.7. Hedging against the macro environment: Generally, businesses have little to no control over their macro environment. They can, however, prepare for the unexpected by using a PEST or PESTEL analysis. For example, if a business has a manufacturing plant in an area prone to hurricanes, they could hedge against the possible loss by developing an action plan to relocate employees or supplies if threatened by a hurricane. Many organizations conduct regular analyses of the macro environment factors connected to them, and revise their strategies accordingly. - 14 - 9. The related research about the market’s opportunity There are some findings of the previous study concerning with the market’s opportunity as follow: Table 1: The related research about the market’s opportunity Topic Western Canada steel market opportunities Author Stantec Consulting Ltd. Year of study Year 2008 Beyond “the numbers”, feedback from various steel consumers identified a number of specific concerns requiring attention from steel stakeholders: Standardization: There are efficiency gains for major construction projects if the number of specifications can be streamlined on the basis of industry best practices. This will not only increase efficiency in completing projects; it will also cut costs currently tied up in larger Findings than required inventories. This is a particular issue of concern for fabricators, but it may require more active involvement of experts in the engineering and regulatory fields. Capacity Utilization: Governments and private industry alike in all parts of Canada have recognized additional opportunities for other regions of Canada to increase their participation in the western market. It is evident that there is available industrial capacity within Canada that can play a greater role in meeting western Canadian - 15 - development requirements. Communication: A number of steel consuming industries indicated a need and willingness for regular and more intensive dialogue with steel market participants along the supply chain. Information is a key – whether in terms of current barriers to expansion, project scheduling and sequencing, evolving customer requirements, and research and development priorities. This potentially impacts all parts of the supply chain, particularly as an issue in one component can have consequences for other participants elsewhere in the supply chain. In addition to the private sector, governments at all levels can play a key role in facilitating the required communication and coordination within the private sector to respond to this challenge. This is especially true in light of the planning challenges and “peaks” in demand sometimes associated with a significant volume of construction projects in a short period of time. A common thread throughout this analysis is the desire to maximize the benefits to Canada from the western expansion. There is a clear desire to see governments play a leadership role in bringing widely distributed industrial interests together in pursuit of this common objective. - 16 - Going forward, there is clearly substantial room for additional work in the area of steel demand for specific markets. This study has sought to provide a useful baseline of information and a starting point for more intensive examination of these opportunities. 10. Research model and hypotheses ENVIRONMENT NEED H1 BRAND H5 WANT H2 MARKET’S OPPORTUNITY INDUSTRY H3 ABILITY H4 INTENTION H6 Adapted from conceptual model by Trieu Tien Phung (2012) Figure 4: The proposed research model - 17 - Table 2: List of Hypotheses Hypothesis H1 H2 H3 H4 Description There is a positive relationship between Need and Market’s Opportunity There is a positive relationship between Want and Market’s Opportunity There is a positive relationship between Industry and Market’s Opportunity There is positive relationship between Ability and Market’s Opportunity H5 Brand does affect to Market’s Opportunity H6 Intention does affect to Market’s Opportunity - 18 - Chapter 3 - Research methodology Based on research objectives, the scope, and research methodology concerned in chapter one; and literature review presented in chapter two; this chapter particularly presents the approach used to conduct the research. 1. Research process LITERATURE REVIEW THE PILOT STUDY (n=25) THE MAIN STUDY        n = 200 Descriptive statistic Reliability analysis Exploratory factor analysis Correlation testing Regression analysis Crosstabs analysis WRITING REPORT Figure 5: Research process 2. Research methodology Qualitative method and quantitative method are used in this research. - 19 - The qualitative method was conducted by collecting secondary data. Secondary data refers to the statistical material which is not originated by the investigator himself but obtained from some one else's records, or when Primary data is utilized for any other purpose at some subsequent enquiry it is termed as Secondary data. This type of data is generally taken from newspapers, magazines, bulletins, reports, journals etc. e.g. if the data published by RBI on currency, National Income, Exports or Imports, is used in some other statistical enquiry, it will be termed as Secondary data. According to M.M. Blair, "Secondary data are those already in existence for some other purpose than the answering of the question in hand". In my research, I use secondary data such as books, articles, previous studies and data from Internet, Vina Kyoei Steel Company’s internal data, and Vietnam Steel Association’s data. I review the theory of the market’s opportunity. The quantitative method is done by surveying the questionnaires with the sample size of 200. 3. Quantitative approach 3.1. Sampling Population sampling is the process of taking a subset of subjects that is representative of the entire population. “The sample must have sufficient size to warrant statistical analysis” (Joan Joseph Castillo, 2009). Sampling is done usually because it is impossible to test every single individual in the population. It is also done to save time, money and effort while conducting the research. Still, every researcher must keep in mind that the ideal scenario is to test all the individuals to obtain reliable, valid and accurate results. If testing all the individuals is impossible, that is the only time we rely on sampling techniques. - 20 - Performing population sampling must be conducted correctly since errors can lead to inaccurate and misleading data. In this case, a sample was a good solution; sample was defined as a small percentage of a population. In this research, the population was defined that was all customers who used to use steel products in Vietnam. Sample consists of construction contractors in Ho Chi Minh City because they have certain experiences as well as the knowledge in this field. In order to estimate the sample size which was used in exploratory factor analysis, Hair et al. (1998) mentioned that at least 5 samples should be used to estimate 1 item. I had 18 observed variables in this thesis. Therefore, the sample size was at least 5 * 18 = 90. In order to well adapt with the sample size criteria of Hair (1998), the sample size research targeted in this research is 200. Object Construction contractors Place Ho Chi Minh City Amount 200 3.2. Interview with General Manager of Vina Kyoei Steel Company “The interview is the primary data collection technique for gathering data in qualitative methodology; an interview can be conducted individually or in groups” (Cooper & Schindler, 2006). My research was conducted individually. I interviewed Mr. Tran Ngoc Tuan (General Manager of Vina Kyoei Steel Company) in order to test and get more opinions for my questionnaire adjusted. - 21 - 3.3. Pilot study A pilot, or feasibility study, is a small experiment designed to test logistics and gather information prior to a larger study, in order to improve the latter’s quality and efficiency. A pilot study can reveal deficiencies in the design of a proposed experiment or procedure and these can then be addressed before time and resources are expended on large scale studies. Animal experiments are not usually carried out in isolation, but are part of a program of research. A good research strategy requires careful planning and a pilot study will often be a part of this strategy. Cavana (2001) suggested that “a questionnaire should be piloted with a reasonable sample of respondents coming from the target population. Pilot testing can help detect the weakness in questionnaire design”. Therefore, it was considered that the pilot survey would be useful in order to test the content and the meaning of words, or if necessary modify measurement scales to be suitable with the context of Ho Chi Minh City. In my study, the pilot survey was conducted at construction companies using the qualitative method through questionnaire with 25 construction contractors. It has been suggested that for most questionnaires the number of respondents for a pilot study should be at least 10 (Fink, 1995). The purpose of the pilot study is able to check the content, meaning of words and get suggestions from the customers for possible questionnaire revision of the instrument for validity assessment. 3.4. Data collection My research was conducted by quantitative research mainly. Data for my thesis is gathered at construction companies in Ho Chi Minh City and the participants who are construction contractors of those companies. This data is collected from - 22 - August 30th to November 5th 2012. I collected 200 questionnaires “the questionnaires will be reviewed and eliminated which are not satisfied: answers of questionnaire are the same for all statements; the questionnaire has 10% of all statements can not be answered (Gilbert, 2004)”. I have the list of construction companies in my company, and then I proactively contacted them and made the appointment with them to survey. They all seemed interested in this new product, so it was not difficult to do the survey and explain for them. 3.5. Data analysis SPSS software 18 was used in this research to analyze the collected data. The analyze procedure spent through six steps: the first step is Descriptive statistics, the second step is Reliability statistics, the third step is Exploratory factor analysis, the fourth step is Correlation testing, the fifth step is Regression analysis, and the final step is Crosstabs analysis. 3.5.1. Descriptive statistics "Descriptive statistics is the discipline of quantitatively describing the main features of a collection of data (Mann, Prem S., 1995)". A set of brief descriptive coefficients that summarizes a given data set, which can either be a representation of the entire population or a sample. The measures used to describe the data set are measures of central tendency and measures of variability or dispersion. Measures of central tendency include the mean, median and mode, while measures of variability include the standard deviation (or variance), the minimum and maximum variables, kurtosis and skewness. Descriptive statistics provide a useful summary of security returns when performing empirical and analytical analysis, as they provide a historical account of - 23 - return behavior. Although past information is useful in any analysis, one should always consider the expectations of future events. In my research, Descriptive statistics will present the minimum value, maximum value, Std. Deviation, and mean of all variables. 3.5.2. Reliability statistics “Reliability statistic indicates how well the items in a set are positively correlated to one another” (citied Nguyen Phan To Chan, 2012). To assess the reliability and validity of measurement scales, Cronbach’s Alpha was used in this research. Cronbach’s Alpha was used to eliminate garbage items with low item – total correlations (< .3). The measure would be chosen if Cronbach’s Alpha was from .6 (Tho et al., 2009). 3.5.3. Exploratory factor analysis Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a statistical method used to uncover the underlying structure of a relatively large set of variables. EFA is a technique within factor analysis whose overarching goal is to identify the underlying relationships between measured variables. (Norris, Megan, Lecavalier, & Luc, 2009). In my research, EFA was applied to the data of the main survey in order to conduct a primary test of the validity and reliability of the instrument. The purpose of this test is to assess the scales used to measure the constructs, i.e. to refine the measures; the refinement is based on reliability and dimensionality. “Consider the accordance of EFA: KMO coefficient (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin) is a criterion for evaluating the accordance of the data for EFA. The EFA is appropriate when 0.5≤KMO≤1” (Hoang Trong & ctg, 2005). “A value of 0 indicates that the sum - 24 - of partial of correlations is large relative to the sum of correlations, indicating diffusion in the pattern of correlations (hence, factor analysis is likely to be inappropriate). A value close to 1 indicates that patterns of correlations are relatively compact and so factor analysis should yield distinct and reliable factors” (Andy Field, 2009). The criteria to determine the number of factors are extracted: all extraction factors must have Eigen value > 1. This standard is widely accepted as the basic for adding or removing any factor (Kaiser, 1960; Rummell, 1970 – extract from Hoang Trong & ctg, 2008). We consider the hypothesis of Bartlett’s test of sphericity (H0) is variables that do not have correlation with overall (overall matrix is homogeneous). When sig. ≤ 0.05, the hypothesis of correlation between observed variables is zero in overall (Hoang Trong & ctg, 2008). This data is appropriate when the hypothesis H0 is rejected. The cumulative coefficient of variance explained criteria ≥ 0.5. After EFA, some factors and variables are unvalued will be rejected or combine with other factors to establish a new factor. 3.5.4. Correlation testing According to Hoang Trong & ctg (2008), “the correlation coefficient Pearson is used to measure the degree of close relationship between two or more variables”. “If any variables have correlation below .3 then consider excluding them from factor analysis” (Andy Field, 2009). - 25 - 3.5.5. Regression analysis In statistics, regression analysis is a statistical technique for estimating the relationships among variables. It includes many techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables, when the focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. More specifically, regression analysis helps one understand how the typical value of the dependent variable changes when any one of the independent variables is varied, while the other independent variables are held fixed. For testing the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable, Multiple Linear Regression was used in my research. Regression model (Sig. < 0.05) Y= β1* X1 + β2 * X2 + β3 * X3 + u  Y: Opportunity  β1 – β3: Regression coefficients  X1 – X3: factors affect to Opportunity  u: error rate 3.5.6. Crosstabs analysis Cross tabulation (or Crosstabs for short) is a statistical process that summarizes categorical data to create a contingency table (Create Survey, 2012). They are heavily used in survey research, business intelligence, engineering and scientific research. They provide a basic picture of the interrelation between two variables and can help find interactions between them. - 26 - 3.6. The measurement scale The literature review presented in chapter two is a theoretical guide for my study to develop the measurement statement, and the measurement scales of my thesis were measured basing on the Likert 5 point, with 1: Totally disagree; 2: Disagree; 3: Normal; 4: Agree; 5: Totally agree, as follow: Table 3: The measurement scale No Statement Scale Need 1 2 3 Our company's current difficulties are to use a lot of manpower and wasting material in connecting steel during the construction operations. Our company takes a lot of time in processing steel (threading the tops of bar steel, etc.) prior to connecting steel. Our company is looking for a new product to help the steel connections become easier. products have the ability to connect by a mechanical coupling device (coupler), and the steel connecting accessories. 5 Likert scale 5 point Likert scale 5 point Likert scale Now, our company is collecting information on the market for steel 4 5 point 5 point Likert scale Our company can not import the steel coupling device (coupler) from 5 point abroad because of high costs and inefficient due to buying small quantities. Likert scale Want 6 We want this new steel product must meet the criteria specified in the construction law of Vietnam. 7 We want the new product to minimize construction time and labor. 8 We want the new product will save costs. 9 We want the price of new product is equivalent to the old product. 5 point Likert scale 5 point Likert scale 5 point Likert scale 5 point Likert scale - 27 - 10 We prefer to purchase steel products produced by the process and technology of Japan. 5 point Likert scale Industry 11 12 13 14 15 Currently, on the market there are many companies manufacturing and trading the constructive steel and steel connecting accessories. Steel products can be differentiated to distinguish them from the other competitors via the product’s brand Competition by the discount policies and reducing the price of products is important. Likert scale 5 point Likert scale 5 point Likert scale Currently, the competition by increasing promotion campaigns and marketing activities is quite important. Nowadays, more and more companies involved in the production and sales of steel easily. 5 point Likert scale 5 point Likert scale Now, the price of new product (Thread Deformed Bar Steel) in Ho Chi 16 5 point Minh city market from 15.800 to 16.300 vnd / kg (Before VAT). We think that: a High price, we cannot afford to buy b High price, but we can consider to buy c The price is acceptable, we consider to buy d It's a reasonable price, we can buy e Price is very good, we'll buy Multiple choice Customer's intention 17 If the new steel product (Thread Deformed Bar Steel) is sold out, we will 5 point purchase them. Likert scale Market opportunity 18 We believe that this new steel product is very potential in the future. 5 point Likert scale - 28 - 19 20 21 22 This is a new product with many advantages compared to traditional steel products. 5 point Likert scale We think that this new product is suitable to the construction environment in Vietnam. We believe that this new steel product meets the technical standards of Vietnam. 5 point Likert scale 5 point Likert scale We believe that there are other better connection methods instead of the coupler's method. 18 Customer brand awareness about Vina Kyoei Steel a I totally do not know anything about the brand Vina Kyoei Steel b I seldom hear about this brand c I have heard about the brand Vina Kyoei Steel d I often hear about this brand e I know very well about brand Vina Kyoei Steel 5 point Likert scale Multiple choice - 29 - Chapter 4 - Data analysis & Research result The previous chapter presented the research methodology. Following, this chapter will explain about the general outlook of economic environment in Vietnam, the sample description, the data analysis, and discuss the findings of the research. 1. General outlook of economic environment in Vietnam 1.1 Macroeconomic environment Although there are many difficulties, but the Vietnam economic situation in 2012 has certain highlights (Source: Vietnam Economic Times):  Macroeconomic stability, controlling CPI in 2012 at 7.5%.  Interest rate was decreased, credit structure changes towards increasing agricultural credit to small and medium-sized export enterprises.  Exchange rate is stable, foreign exchange reserves increased over 11 weeks of imports.  Balance of payments estimated at over $ 8 billion surplus.  The state budget deficit in 2012 reached 4.8% of GDP.  Total capital investment in social development is estimated at 29.2% of GDP.  Total revenue 29.5% of GDP.  Exports in 2012 rose higher than planned, an estimated 16.6%.  Import turnover was estimated to be 6.8%.  Estimated trade deficit of about $ 1 billion, accounting for 0.9% of total exports (decrease imports, increase exports contribute to stabilizing the exchange rate, rising foreign exchange reserves of the state).  Economic growth (GDP) increased by 5.03%, to scale economies reached $ 136 billion, with a per capita income of about $ 1,540 / person / year. - 30 -  Social security and basic social welfare secured, the estimated 2012 jobs for 1.5 millions workers, the unemployment rate of workers aged in urban areas is 3.63%. But besides that we have not yet been overcome drawbacks such as the potential risk of high inflation and macroeconomic instability is large, targets not achieved economic development plan, market currency complicated, high bad debt, the business can remain at a high level, the property market and the stock market plummeted, yet resilient, people's lives - especially low-income people much difficult. In 2013 we continue to strive criteria adopted in the National Assembly as striving to GDP increased by 5.5%, exports 10%, imports increased by 8%, budget deficit than 4.8% of the GDP, CPI consumer price growth of about 8%, total investment of social development about 3% of GDP, employs about 1.6 million workers, the urban unemployment rate not exceed 4% (Source: Vietnam Steel Association). The world economy in 2012 was still not out of the recession had put a tremendous pressure on the global steel industry. Lending rates were even lower, but still high; the government policy support is not really effective. In the early months of the year, steel prices tended to go down. Until the fourth quarter some steels increased again, but the increase was not stable due to steel demand had not really increased. Gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012 increased by 5.03% compared with 2011, the year is lower than the rate of growth 5.89% in 2011. In 5.03% of the overall growth of the economy; agriculture, forestry and fishery 2.72%; industry and construction increased by 4.52%; service sector rose 6.42%. Industrial production this year were difficult, partly due to the influence of global economic crisis has not been - 31 - recovered, but mostly due to mistakes and subjective defects caused (Source: Vietnam Steel Association). In general, the economic situation in 2013 was rated better than this year. However, experts said that Vietnam needs to see in 2013 is a pivotal year for the next year. Therefore, the government should focus on maintaining macroeconomic stability, keeping stable growth; remove difficulties for the business community; improve employment issues, income and life of the population strata (Source: Vietnam Economic Times). "One of the issues to create a driving force for economic development in 2013 is the need to renew the growth model, improving the quality of growth, improve labor productivity, the use of technology; promote foreign direct investments and the effectiveness of corporate restructuring program" Mrs. Tue Anh said (Source: Vietnam Economic Times). 1.2 Industry According to the Vietnam Steel Association, in 2012 exports reached nearly 2 million tons of steel with revenues of nearly $ 2 billion. Meanwhile imports at nearly $ 7 billion. Apparently, with $ 5 billion deficit, the steel industry still leads the country in deficit. Steel which is considered an important industry, but instead of becoming a major contributor to the economic sector of the economy, the trade deficit is a burden for many years. Besides, so far Vietnam mainly produces constructive steel products and import billets for processing products. Vietnam still has to import about 45% of the billet and 80% scrap (Source: Vietnam Steel Association). Steel production grows, but the bigger the trade deficit. - 32 - Day 3 - 8/12/2012, Ministry of Trade and Industry sent the delegation to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand survey and learn how to manage the quality of imported steel, and administrative procedures to limit imported steel products which can be produced domestically in order to protect domestic production. Currently, Ministry of Trade and Industry is actively drafting a circular to strictly manage the quality of steel products. Table 4: The producing and selling situation of producers in December 2012 Unit: Ton Company Produced Sold 101,719 74,190 Vina Kyoei Steel 36,658 36,879 Pomina Steel 62,765 62,921 VN Steel Source: Vietnam Steel Association Currently, in the southern market in general and the market in Ho Chi Minh City in particular, the consumption of steel for construction has slowed somewhat due to many reasons such as the storage of agents have enough volume for the new year, the civil construction works have been completed and only the big construction projects still get the steels in accordance with its schedule. In this southern region, it seems to be the playground of the three big companies is Pomina Steel, VN Steel, and Vina Kyoei Steel, the fierce competition and the consumer’s habit have made the entry of newcomer is very difficult. In December 2012, the leading production company VN Steel with 101.719 tons but the consumption was only 74.190 tons, the production and consumption of Pomina Steel and Vina Kyoei Steel were nearly equal (Source: Vietnam Steel - 33 - Association). This being said, the market forecast is very important to reduce the frequency of inventory. In short, the forecast of the steel industry in 2013 will grow by about 2% compared to 2012 (Source: Vietnam Steel Association). This is a positive signal for the steelmakers due to the support of government's policy for the construction industry, and the circular about to be enacted to protect domestic steel production. In addition, the saturation of the traditional constructive steel product has encouraged steelmakers have to find out new directions; hence Vina Koei Steel Company has been studying to produce the new kind of steel with superior characteristics compared to traditional products. 2. Sample description There were 200 participants who were participated to answer the questionnaires were all construction contractors. After collecting, these questionnaires were tested. The result showed that the missing rate is 0 percent. Therefore, there were 200 useable questionnaires. The analysis reported in this chapter had been conducted on the final sample of 200 responses. The usable response rate to the research interview was therefore 100 percent. 3. Descriptive statistics Descriptive statistics for each measurement item are reported in Tables below including minimum, maximum, mean, and standard deviation. 3.1. Need dimension: Need value aspect aims to measure the practical needs of customers about the new product. - 34 - Table 5: Descriptive Statistics of Need dimension CODE ITEM LABEL N Min Max Mean Std. Deviation Our company's current difficulties are to Need1 use a lot of manpower and wasting 200 2 5 3.97 0.393 processing steel (threading the tops of bar 200 1 5 3.94 0.421 3 5 4.02 0.367 1 5 3.93 0.381 1 5 3.96 0.393 material in connecting steel during the construction operations. Our company takes a lot of time in Need2 steel, etc.) prior to connecting steel. Our company is looking for a new Need3 product to help the steel connections 200 become easier. Now, our company is collecting information on the market for steel Need4 products have the ability to connect by a 200 mechanical coupling device (coupler), and the steel connecting accessories. Our company can not import the steel Need5 coupling device (coupler) from abroad because of high costs and inefficient due 200 to buying small quantities. Valid N (listwise) Average 200 3.96 We can see that the average Mean value in the Table 5 is 3.96. Comparing with 5 - maximum value, this average point is quite high, nearly 4 – high value. It means the customers are in need of an innovative product which can help them to reduce the waste of time, manpower, materials as well as the cost of importing products steel from overseas. - 35 - 3.2. Want dimension: Want dimension refers to the various positive and negative affective states that may arise from a consumption experience. In the current context, this relates to customers’ perceptions in undertaking their workings. Table 6: Descriptive Statistics of Want dimension CODE ITEM LABEL N Min Max Mean Std. Deviation We want this new steel product must Want1 meet the criteria specified in the 200 2 5 4.27 0.582 200 2 5 4.30 0.559 200 2 5 4.29 0.554 200 2 5 4.07 0.661 Want5 produced by the process and technology 200 2 5 4.26 0.605 construction law of Vietnam. Want2 We want new products to minimize construction time and labor. Want3 We want the new product will save costs. Want4 We want the price of new product is equivalent to the old product. We prefer to purchase steel products of Japan. Valid N (listwise) 200 Average 4.24 We can see that most of customers want the new product has to reduce the time and labor of construction (mean is 4.30 – the highest one), because it is the most important factor to construction contractors when they run projects. Besides, they all also want the new product must meet the criteria specified in the construction law of Vietnam (mean is 4.27), it will save the costs for them (mean is 4.29), and the price should be the same as the existing ones (mean is 4.07). - 36 - When we talk about the Japanese products, Vietnamese customers in general are fond of it because of the best quality and the nice appearance. Therefore, it can be demonstrated partially of choosing steel products concerning Japanese technology of customers (mean is 4.26). 3.3. Industry dimension: Industry dimension aims to measure how customers judge this industry. Table 7: Descriptive Statistics of Industry dimension CODE ITEM LABEL N Min Max Mean Std. Deviation Currently, on the market there are many Indus1 companies manufacturing and trading the constructive steel and 200 2 5 3.87 0.557 other 200 2 5 3.99 0.622 2 5 4.11 0.450 2 5 3.97 0.617 1 5 2.26 0.588 steel connecting accessories. Steel products can be differentiated to Indus2 distinguish them from the competitors via the product’s brand. Competition by the discount policies Indus3 and reducing the price of products is 200 important. Currently, the competition by Indus4 increasing promotion campaigns and 200 marketing activities is quite important. Nowadays, more and more companies Indus5 involved in the production and sales of 200 steel easily. Valid N (listwise) Average 200 3.64 - 37 - We can see that customers emphasize strongly about the discount policy (mean is 4.11 – the highest one), because they are very sensitive with the price of steel (the steel cost accounts for 30 – 40 % the cost for the entire project) on the market. Another notable figure is the fierce competition in this field (mean is 3.87), this requires companies need to struggle to occupy the market share. In addition, this is apparently the playground for big companies like Pomina Steel, VN Steel, Vina Kyoei Steel only, it is not easy at all for the newcomer to join to this play (mean is 2.26). Steel producers can create the difference for their products by using the trademark (Vina Kyoei Steel with the cross mark, Pomina Steel with the apple mark…) as well as the quality of products, it will help customers recognize producers easily (mean is 3.99). Customers also can be attracted by effective marketing campaigns (mean is 3.97). At the present, Pomina Steel is very outstanding and reputable with the TV show program named “Dream house for the poor”. This can help company not only approach closer to customers but also familiarize customers with its brand. Generally speaking the results show that the steel market structure illustrates characteristics of a monopolistic competition rather than monopoly, oligopoly or other types. This means that in the context of type of market structure, competition based on cost saving and product differentiation criteria are very important. These criteria can be provided by our new product: Thread Deformed Steel Bars. - 38 - 3.4. Ability dimension Table 8: Statistics of Ability N Valid 200 Missing 13% 0 Mean 2.9000 Std. Deviation .66499 Minimum 1.00 Maximum 5.00 1% 2% 22% High price, we cannot afford to buy High price, but we can consider to buy The price is acceptable, we consider to buy It's a reasonable price, we can buy Price is very good, we'll buy 62% Figure 6: Customer’s ability As we can see, the average mean is 2.9. It means that the proposed price needs to be re-considered seriously before offering the official price to the market, because 62% customers said that the price is acceptable only, and 22% customers said that the - 39 - price is high. The price should be adjusted a bit more to fit the customer’s expectation. 3.5. Intention dimension Table 9: Statistics of Intention N Valid 200 Missing 0 Mean 3.7350 Std. Deviation .54429 Minimum 2.00 Maximum 5.00 70.0% 65% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 4.5% 0.5% 0.0% Disagree Normal Agree Totally Agree Figure 7: Customer’s intention - 40 - There are 65% customers will buy our new product when it is launched, promisingly this is the good signal for Vina Kyoei. However, 30% customers still be in the dilemma situation, probably they (construction contractors) are not familiar with the new product, they need time to get used to it and be convinced. Besides, as the Ability dimension mentioned above, customers were affected by the proposed price, hence Vina Kyoei Steel should pay more attention to the price strategy to fit the current market. 3.6. Opportunity dimension: Opportunity dimension will be used to know how is the opportunity for the new product (Thread Deformed Bar Steel) of Vina Kyoei Steel Company. Table 10: Descriptive Statistics of Opportunity dimension CODE Opp1 ITEM LABEL We believe that this new steel product N Min Max Mean Std. Deviation 200 3 5 4.12 0.369 advantages compared to traditional 200 2 5 4.06 0.362 2 5 3.99 0.413 3 5 4.00 0.388 1 5 2.19 0.555 is very potential in the future. This is a new product with many Opp2 steel products. We think that this new product is Opp3 suitable to the construction 200 environment in Vietnam. We believe that this new steel product Opp4 meets the technical standards of 200 Vietnam. We believe that there are other better Opp5 connection methods instead of the 200 coupler's method. - 41 - Valid N (listwise) 200 Average 3.67 Customers said “We believe that this new steel product is very potential in the future”, it is a very good figure (mean is 4.12 – very high one). It means we can believe that there is the demand for a new product which can satisfy all the various needs of customers. Besides, mostly customers think that the new product will be the best solution for steel connecting so far (mean is 2.19). The opportunity for the new steel product was confirmed and proved clearly more when customer thought that the new product has many advantages (mean is 4.06), it is suitable to the construction environment in Vietnam (mean is 3.99), and it meets the technical standards of Vietnam (mean 4.00). 3.7. Brand dimension Table 11: Statistics of Brand N Valid Missing 200 0 Mean 3.3900 Std. Deviation .86698 Minimum 1.00 Maximum 5.00 - 42 - 12% 1% 11% I totally do not know anything about the brand Vina Kyoei Steel I seldom hear about this brand I have heard about the brand Vina Kyoei Steel 29% I often hear about this brand 47% I know very well about brand Vina Kyoei Steel Figure 8: Brand awareness The percentage of customers “I have heard about the brand Vina Kyoei Steel” is 47%, and the percentage “I seldom hear about this brand” is 11% have raised the alert for Vina Kyoei Steel Company about the marketing activity to increase the brand’s awareness for customers. In fact, in recent years Vina Kyoei Steel Company have not concentrated much about brand advertising activities, they had only few big billboards at the national roads at Suoi Tien area, Binh Phuoc province, and Can Tho City. In my opinion, it was not enough to advertise Vina Kyoei Brand, they should take place more social activities, TV program, and student’s activities of construction’s faculty in universities. - 43 - 4. Reliability test As the Literature review I introduced in chapter two, for assessing the reliability and validity of measurement scales, Cronbach’s alpha and Exploratory factor analysis were used in this research. Cronbach’s alpha was used to eliminate garbage items with low Item - Total Correlations ( 0.6. Besides, the Corrected Item - Total Correlation of five items are greater than 0.3. So, I conclude that all of five items in the Need dimension are well – related. According the values of Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted in Table 12, it is the evident that the elimination of item will cause of the decrease in internal consistent of the Need dimension. So, all items above will be kept. - 44 - Table 13: Want dimension reliability test Item-Total Statistics Corrected Cronbach's Item-Total Alpha if Item Correlation Deleted 4.206 0.698 0.882 16.895 4.024 0.834 0.853 Want3 16.910 4.032 0.840 0.852 Want4 17.130 4.053 0.646 0.897 Want5 16.935 4.081 0.721 0.877 Scale Mean if Scale Variance Item Deleted if Item Deleted Want1 16.930 Want2 CODE Cronbach's Alpha = 0.895 Five items of the Want dimension has Cronbach’s Alpha at 0.895 > 0.6. Besides, the Corrected Item - Total Correlation of five items are greater than 0.3. So, I conclude that all of five items in the Want dimension are well – related. According the value of Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted in Table 13, it is evident that every elimination of item will cause of the decrease in internal consistent of the Want dimension. So, all items above will be kept. Table 14: Industry dimension reliability test Item-Total Statistics Corrected Cronbach's Item-Total Alpha if Item Correlation Deleted 2.308 0.650 0.572 14.225 2.095 0.688 0.543 Indus3 14.105 2.768 0.500 0.647 Indus4 14.250 2.028 0.746 0.513 Indus5 15.955 3.591 -0.097 0.857 Scale Mean if Scale Variance Item Deleted if Item Deleted Indus1 14.345 Indus2 CODE - 45 - Cronbach's Alpha = 0.703 Five items of the Industry dimension has Cronbach’s Alpha at 0.703 > 0.6. However, the Corrected Item - Total Correlation of Indus5 is smaller than 0.3. So, I exclude it to make all of four items in Industry dimension are well – related. Table 15: Industry dimension reliability re-test Item-Total Statistics Corrected Cronbach's Item-Total Alpha if Item Correlation Deleted 2.195 0.657 0.837 11.960 1.817 0.827 0.762 Indus3 11.840 2.658 0.497 0.891 Indus4 11.985 1.794 0.857 0.747 Scale Mean if Scale Variance Item Deleted if Item Deleted Indus1 12.080 Indus2 CODE Cronbach's Alpha = 0.857 After deleting Indus5, we can see four items of the Industry dimension has Cronbach’s Alpha at 0.857 > 0.6. Besides, the Corrected Item - Total Correlation of four items are greater than 0.3. So, I conclude that all of four items in the Industry dimension are well – related. According the value of Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted in Table 15, it is evident that every elimination of item will cause of the decrease in internal consistent of the Industry dimension. So, all items above will be kept. - 46 - Table 16: Opportunity dimension reliability test Item-Total Statistics Corrected Cronbach's Item-Total Alpha if Item Correlation Deleted 0.852 0.413 0.141 14.305 0.786 0.548 0.033 Opp3 14.380 0.810 0.389 0.136 Opp4 14.370 0.857 0.363 0.172 Opp5 16.175 1.401 -0.335 0.773 Scale Mean if Scale Variance Item Deleted if Item Deleted Opp1 14.250 Opp2 CODE Cronbach's Alpha = 0.366 Five items of the Opportunity dimension has Cronbach’s Alpha at 0.366 < 0.6. However, Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted of Opp5 is 0.773. So, I exclude it to make data more reliable. Table 17: Opportunity dimension reliability re-test Item-Total Statistics Corrected Cronbach's Item-Total Alpha if Item Correlation Deleted 0.876 0.562 0.725 12.110 0.802 0.721 0.644 Opp3 12.185 0.775 0.627 0.690 Opp4 12.175 0.939 0.414 0.800 Scale Mean if Scale Variance Item Deleted if Item Deleted Opp1 12.055 Opp2 CODE Cronbach's Alpha = 0.773 After deleting Opp5, we can see four items of the Opportunity dimension has Cronbach’s Alpha at 0.773 > 0.6. Besides, the Corrected Item - Total Correlation of - 47 - four items are greater than 0.3. So, I conclude that all of four items in the Opportunity dimension are well – related. According the value of Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted in Table 17, it is evident that every elimination of item will cause of the decrease in internal consistent of the Opportunity dimension. So, all items above will be kept. Conclusion:  The Corrected Item - Total Correlation of Indus5 is smaller than 0.3. So, I excluded it to make all of four items in Industry dimension are well – related.  Five items of the Opportunity dimension has Cronbach’s Alpha at 0.366 < 0.6. But, Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted of Opp5 is 0.773. So, I also eliminated it in order to make the data more reliable.  The measurement scales of Need dimension, Want dimension, Industry dimension, Opportunity dimension had Cronbach's Alpha greater than 0.6 and all Corrected Item - Total Correlations were greater than 0.3.  The others items satisfied the criteria. Therefore, they could be put into Exploratory factor analysis. 5. EXPLORATORY FACTOR STATISTICS Table 18: KMO and Bartlett's Test Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. Approx. Chi-Square Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Df Sig. .676 1832.968 91 .000 - 48 - Table 19: Total Variance Explained Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings Loadings Component Total % of Cumulative Variance % Total % of Cumulative Variance % Total % of Cumulative Variance % 1 3.808 27.198 27.198 3.808 27.198 27.198 3.630 25.926 25.926 2 3.581 25.582 52.780 3.581 25.582 52.780 2.990 21.354 47.280 3 2.017 14.410 67.190 2.017 14.410 67.190 2.787 19.911 67.190 4 0.963 6.877 74.067 5 0.725 5.177 79.245 6 0.715 5.109 84.354 7 0.505 3.608 87.962 8 0.459 3.282 91.243 9 0.401 2.866 94.109 10 0.302 2.159 96.268 11 0.199 1.420 97.688 12 0.159 1.136 98.824 13 0.104 0.745 99.569 14 0.060 0.431 100.000 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. According to Table 18 & 19, the result was that there were 3 components extracted, total variance extracted = 67.190%, it showed that the three components explain 67.190% of the data variability. In addition, the indication of Kaiser - Meyer Olkin (KMO) is .676 > .6, and the Bartlett's Test of Sphericity had Sig. = 0 (< .05), it signifies that there are the connection of three factors; they are suitable with the case of factor analysis. Therefore, the Exploratory factor analysis method seems to be useful for my research. After testing the reliability, one item Indus1 (Nowadays, more and more companies involved in the production and sales of steel easily) was deleted, so fourteen remain items are in used to the Component Matrixa, they are gathered by 3 components as table below: - 49 - Table 20: Component Matrixa Component CODE 1 2 3 Need1 0.625 0.513 Need2 0.593 Need3 0.529 Need4 0.541 Need5 Want1 0.550 -0.547 Want2 0.667 -0.607 Want3 0.670 -0.598 Want4 0.525 -0.549 Want5 0.673 Indus1 0.633 Indus2 0.606 -0.601 0.622 -0.538 Indus3 Indus4 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. a. 3 components extracted. According to Table 20, variables are gathered in components separately. Therefore, for making clear things, the component matrix was rotated. The result of first round rotation / final round is shown in Table 21. Table 21: Rotated Component Matrix a CODE Component 1 2 Need1 0.891 Need2 0.822 Need3 0.743 Need4 0.758 3 - 50 - Need5 0.554 Want1 0.797 Want2 0.911 Want3 0.914 Want4 0.753 Want5 0.830 Indus1 0.781 Indus2 0.913 Indus3 0.673 Indus4 0.906 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. a. Rotation converged in 5 iterations. With the first rotated round, fourteen items are gathered into three components. No item is removed and the final result is made.  Component 1 (H2): includes Want1, Want2, Want3, Want4, Want5. This component has five items which are: Want1 “We want this new steel product must meet the criteria specified in the construction law of Vietnam”, Want2 “We want new products to minimize construction time and labor”, Want3 “We want the new product will save costs”, Want4 “We want the price of new product is equivalent to the old product”, Want5 “We prefer to purchase steel products produced by the process and technology of Japan”. All these items refer to Want dimension. Thus, component 1 still keeps the name Want dimension. - 51 -  Component 2 (H1): includes Need1, Need2, Need3, Need4, Need5. This component has five items which are: Need1 “Our company's current difficulties are to use a lot of manpower and wasting material in connecting steel during the construction operations”, Need2 “Our company takes a lot of time in processing steel (threading the tops of bar steel, etc.) prior to connecting steel”, Need3 “Our company are looking for a new product to help the steel connections become easier”, Need4 “Now, our company is collecting information on the market for steel products have the ability to connect by a mechanical coupling device (coupler), and the steel connecting accessories” , Need5 “Our company can not import the steel coupling device (coupler) from abroad because of high costs and inefficient due to buying small quantities”. All these items refer to Need dimension. Thus, component 2 still keeps the name Need dimension.  Component 3 (H3): includes Indus1, Indus2, Indus3, Indus4. This component has four items which are: Indus1 “Currently, on the market there are many companies manufacturing and trading the constructive steel and steel connecting accessories”, Indus2 “Steel products can be differentiated to distinguish them from the other competitors”, Indus3 “Competition by the discount policies and reducing the price of products is important”, Indus4 “Currently, the competition by increasing promotion campaigns and marketing activities is quite important”. All these items refer to Industry dimension. Thus, component 3 still keeps the name Industry dimension. - 52 - 6. Correlation testing Table 22: Correlations OPPORTUNITY Pearson Correlation 1 OPPORTUNITY Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation NEED .002 N 200 .750 N 200 .463** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 200 Pearson Correlation ABILITY -0.23 Sig. (2-tailed) Pearson Correlation INDUSTRY .216** Sig. (2-tailed) Pearson Correlation WANT 200 .413** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 200 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). In my thesis, correlation analysis (Pearson) was used to test the linear relationships between the dependent variable and independent variables, and two – tailed test was used to test the positive or negative relationship of those items. As the table above, three independent variables (Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension) has the positive linear relationship with dependent variable (Opportunity dimension). It means that if the Opportunity dimension variable gets higher, the Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension also get higher, too. But, one variable Want dimension has Pearson correlation (-0.23), if we - 53 - include Want dimension into our later regression equator this may lead to the problem of Multicollinearity. Therefore, it will be eliminated in order to avoid this matter. Table 23: Correlations re-test OPPORTUNITY Pearson Correlation 1 OPPORTUNITY Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation NEED .002 N 200 .463** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 200 Pearson Correlation ABILITY .216** Sig. (2-tailed) Pearson Correlation INDUSTRY 200 .413** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 200 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). After eliminating Want dimension, in all of independent variables, Industry dimension has the strongest positive linear relationship with Opportunity dimension, because it has the biggest correlation coefficient value = .463 than other dimensions, and Need dimension has the smallest positive linear relationship with Opportunity dimension, because it has the lowest correlation coefficient value = .216 than other dimensions. As we can see in the table of Correlation, all of variables (independents and dependent) have the correlation coefficient greater than 0, it means that there is the - 54 - relationship among these variable, and they will be used to continue with next step (Regression analysis). 7. Regression analysis In order to test the hypotheses, firstly the correlation analysis was used to test if the factors could be put in the regression model, after that the Multi - Linear Regression analysis was run to test the hypotheses, or in other words, it was run to check the connection between three independent variables (Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension) and dependent value (Opportunity dimension). Table 24: Model summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .566a 0.321 0.310 0.83039018 a. Predictors: (Constant), ABILITY, NEED, INDUSTRY According to Table 24, we see that R Square of my thesis = .321, it means that there is .321 or 32.1% of Opportunity dimension is clarified by Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension; so 67.9% remained of Opportunity dimension is clarified by other dimensions. Table 25: ANOVAb Model 1 Regression Sum of Squares 63.849 df 3 Residual 135.151 196 Total 199.000 199 Mean Square F 21.283 30.865 Sig. .000 a .690 a. Predictors: (Constant), ABILITY, NEED, INDUSTRY b. Dependent Variable: OPPORTUNITY - 55 - On the Table ANOVAb above, the value of the observed significance level (Sig.) = 0, it is very smaller than .05, it means that Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension have the correlation with Opportunity dimension at significant level .05. They suggested that it was safe to reject the null hypothesis of regression model was fit to population data and usable. Table 26: Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Standardized Coefficients Coefficients B 1 (Constant) Std. Error T Sig. Beta -5.196 .000 -1.419 .273 NEEDS .125 .061 .125 2.033 .043 INDUSTRY .345 .064 .345 5.420 .000 ABILITY .489 .092 .325 5.321 .000 a. Dependent Variable: OPPORTUNITY On the Coefficient above, the Standardized Coefficients β between Opportunity dimension and Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension was positive and significant because the significance value of Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension is lower than .05, it satisfies with the statistical standard. This demonstrated that Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension were related to Opportunity dimension, or there was linear relationship between Opportunity dimension and Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension. In addition, for measuring how strongly of impact level between Opportunity dimension and Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension, we continue - 56 - with the Standardized Coefficients β in Table above. The largest value of the Standardized Coefficients β is .345; it means that Industry dimension has the strongest impact to Opportunity dimension. The Standardized Coefficients β of Need value is .125, it demonstrated that the impact of Need dimension on Opportunity dimension is smallest. The Standardized Coefficients β is .325; it means that Ability dimension has also great impact to Opportunity dimension. Therefore, Linear Regressive equation is: OPPORTUNITY = 0.125 NEED + 0.345 INDUSTRY + 0.325 ABILITY - 1.419 8. Crosstabs analysis In order to measure the relationship between Opportunity dimension and other dimension, I had conducted the Crosstabs analysis for Opportunity – Brand and Opportunity – Intention. In addition, I also used the Correlation analysis for them. Table 27: Chi-Square Tests (Opportunity – Brand) Value Pearson Chi-Square Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases Df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 100.632 a 76 .031 92.764 76 .093 4.795 1 .029 200 a. 96 cells (96.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .01. We can see that between Opportunity dimension and Brand dimension have Pearson Chi-Square with Sig. = 0.031 < 0.05  Reject H0 and Accept H5: Brand does affect to Market’s Opportunity - 57 - Table 28: Correlations (Opportunity – Brand) OPPORTUNITY Pearson Correlation OPPORTUNITY 1 Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson Correlation BRAND BRAND .155* .028 200 200 .155* 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .028 N 200 200 *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). As the table above, the independent variable (Brand dimension) has the positive linear relationship with dependent variable (Opportunity dimension). It means that if the Opportunity dimension variable gets higher, Brand dimension also gets higher too with correlation coefficient value = .155. Almost every business has a trading name, from the smallest market trader to the largest multi-national corporation. Branding is the process of creating distinctive and durable perceptions in the minds of consumers. A brand is a persistent, unique business identity intertwined with associations of personality, quality, origin, liking and more. These are the benefits of a famous brand:  Recognition and loyalty: The main benefit of branding is that customers are much more likely to remember your business. A strong brand name and logo/image helps to keep your company image in the mind of your potential customers.  Image of experience and reliability: A strong brand creates an image of an established business that has been around for long enough to become well known. A branded business is more likely to be seen as experienced in their - 58 - products or services, and will generally be seen as more reliable and trustworthy than an unbranded business.  Multiple products: If your business has a strong brand, it allows you to link together several different products or ranges. You can put your brand name on every product or service you sell, meaning that customers for one product will be more likely to buy another product from you. Famous Brand  high brand awareness and equity  increased market opportunity for launching new product. Table 29: Chi-Square Tests (Opportunity – Intention) Value Df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square 89.351a 57 .004 Likelihood Ratio 59.587 57 .382 Linear-by-Linear Association 19.339 1 .000 N of Valid Cases 200 a. 76 cells (95.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .01. We can see that between Opportunity dimension and Intention dimension have Pearson Chi-Square with Sig. = 0.004 < 0.05  Reject H0 and Accept H6: Intention does affect to Market’s Opportunity - 59 - Table 30: Correlations (Opportunity – Intention) OPPORTUNITY INTENTION Pearson Correlation OPPORTUNITY 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N Pearson Correlation INTENTION .312** 200 200 .312** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 200 200 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). As the table above, the independent variable (Intention dimension) has the positive linear relationship with dependent variable (Opportunity dimension). It means that if the Opportunity dimension variable gets higher, Intention dimension also gets higher too with correlation coefficient value = .312. 9. Hypotheses testing result After analyzing the data, all proposed hypotheses are supported, but only H2 is not supported due to the problem of Multicollinearity. Therefore, we can come up with the result as below: Table 31: Hypotheses testing result Hypothesis H1 H2 H3 Description There is a positive relationship between Need and Market’s Opportunity There is a positive relationship between Want and Market’s Opportunity There is a positive relationship between Industry and Market’s Opportunity Result Support Not support Support - 60 - H4 There is positive relationship between Ability and Market’s Opportunity Support H5 Brand does affect to Market’s Opportunity Support H6 Intention does affect to Market’s Opportunity Support - 61 - Chapter 5 - Conclusions and Recommendations The last chapter will focus on discussing the final results of the study, implications of the thesis, limitations and suggestions for future researchers. 1. Conclusion This thesis research on “Analyzing the market’s opportunity for a new product - the case of “Thread Deformed Bar Steel” of Vina Kyoei Steel Company” was conducted in order to explore the market’s opportunity for the new product “Thread Deformed Bar Steel” of Vina Kyoei Steel Company, and this thesis also has an important significance for the company to have the good insight of the market, customer’s behavior, customer’s needs, the properly and suitable marketing programs for this new steel. This thesis was conducted from June to December – year 2012 in Ho Chi Minh City. After reviewing the literature and previous studies, I decided to choose the theories of market’s opportunity, need, want, industry, customer’s ability, customer’s intention, and brand awareness as the theoretical guide for setting the measurement scale and questionnaire design. In this research, the survey was done by surveying construction contractors who have been working in this field for a long time with the sample size is 200. I used SPSS software version 18.0 in order to analyze the collected data. The analyze procedure spent through six steps: the first step is Descriptive statistics, the second step is Reliability statistics, the third step is Exploratory factor analysis, the fourth step is Correlation testing, the fifth step is Regression analysis, and the final step is Crosstabs analysis. - 62 - All of components are meaningful statistical significance excepting Want dimension because it is unpredictable and affected far much on respondent’s status and environment. With Linear Regressive equation is: OPPORTUNITY = 0.125 NEED + 0.345 INDUSTRY + 0.325 ABILITY – 1.419 Industry dimension has the strongest impact to Market’s opportunity; Ability dimension also has the great impact to Market’s opportunity, and Need dimension has the lowest impact to Market’s opportunity. Besides, Brand dimension and Intention dimension also impact to Market’s opportunity. The final consequences are showed as table below: Table 32: The final consequences Dimension Item Code Our company's current difficulties are to use a lot of manpower and wasting material in connecting steel during the construction Need1 operations. Our company takes a lot of time in processing steel (threading the tops of bar steel, etc.) prior to connecting steel. Our company is looking for a new product to help the steel NEED connections become easier. Need2 Need3 Now, our company is collecting information on the market for steel products have the ability to connect by a mechanical Need4 coupling device (coupler), and the steel connecting accessories. Our company can not import the steel coupling device (coupler) from abroad because of high costs and inefficient due to buying Need5 small quantities. INDUSTRY Currently, on the market there are many companies manufacturing and trading the constructive steel and steel connecting accessories. Steel products can be differentiated to distinguish them from the other competitors via the product’s brand Indus1 Indus2 - 63 - Competition by the discount policies and reducing the price of products is important. Currently, the competition by increasing promotion campaigns and marketing activities is quite important. Nowadays, more and more companies involved in the production and sales of steel easily. Indus3 Indus4 Indus5 Now, the price of new product (thread deformed bar steel) in Ho ABILITY Chi Minh city market from 15.800 to 16.300 vnd / kg (Before VAT). We think that: INTENTION BRAND If the new steel product (thread deformed bar steel) is sold out, we will purchase them. Customer brand awareness about Vina Kyoei Steel All of five factors (Need, Industry, Ability, Intention, and Brand) have positive connection with Market’s opportunities, and all of them will be used to predict the market’s opportunity, because their hypotheses were supported. According to the statistical result, the average Mean value of Opportunity dimension is 3.67 (this average point is pretty high). It means that generally the majority of customers agreed this new steel will be successful in the future. The opportunity for new steel product was confirmed and proved clearly more when customer thought that the new product has many advantages (mean is 4.06), it is suitable to the construction environment in Vietnam (mean is 3.99), and it meets the technical standards of Vietnam (mean 4.00). 2. Practical implication The relationship and impact between Opportunity dimension and Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension, Brand dimension, and Intention dimension is examined in this research. The important practical implications of my - 64 - thesis is that it carried out information about the measurement of Opportunity dimension and Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension, Brand dimension, and Intention dimension, and also the relationships between them. In addition, the research findings give the BOD (Board of Directors) of Vina Kyoei Steel Company the overall vision of market’s situation in Ho Chi Minh City; so that they can make the right policy and plan for the new product in the future. Furthermore, if this new steel product is successful in the Vietnam market, it will not only increase sales for Vina Kyoei Steel Company, but also customers can approach the new product which is better than the existing one. As the details, this research provides evidence to confirm that Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension, Brand dimension, and Intention dimension are positively related to Opportunity dimension. Moreover, this research is the initially significant step for Vina Kyoei Steel Company to marketing the new product to the Vietnam’s market in general and Ho Chi Minh City’s market in particular. It will help the company having the good insight of the market, customer’s behavior, customer’s needs, the properly and suitable marketing programs for this new steel. Besides, this research will be a reference for later research relating to this field. I suggest some solutions as follow:  Firstly, Vina Kyoei Steel Company should pay strongly attention to the discount policy (mean is 4.11 – the highest one), because construction contractors not only focus on the criteria specified in the construction law of Vietnam for the new steel product, but also they are very sensitive with the price of steel because the steel cost accounts for 30 – 40 % the cost for the entire project. This is the valued clue for Vina Kyoei Steel Company to make - 65 - the appropriate price policy for the new product in order to be successful on the market.  Secondly, this research showed that the proposed price of the new steel should be re-considered seriously before offering the official price to the market, because 62% customers said that the price is acceptable only, and 22% customers said that the price is high. The price should be adjusted a bit more to fit the customer’s expectation. It requires Vina Kyoei Steel Company has to re-conduct the survey about the price on the market seriously before offering the official price to the market.  Thirdly, the company should look back the marketing strategy because the percentage of customers “I have heard about the brand Vina Kyoei Steel” is 47%, and the percentage “I seldom hear about this brand” is 11% have raised the alert for Vina Kyoei Steel about the marketing activity to increase the brand’s awareness for customers. In fact, in recent years, Vina Kyoei Steel Company have not concentrated much about brand advertising activities, they had only few big billboards at the national roads at Suoi Tien area, Binh Phuoc province, and Can Tho City. In my opinion, it was not enough to advertise Vina Kyoei brand, they should take place much more social activities, TV programs, and student’s activities of construction’s faculty in universities. This task which Pomina had done was very successful with TV show “The dream house for the poor”; it helps Pomina approach closer to customers with a friendly image. Therefore, Vina Kyoei should establish a new marketing strategy in year 2013 in order to catch up the competitor. - 66 - The research results also show that following the monopolistic competition market, cost control and non-price competition strategies are very important after launching this new product. The company should develop the following non-price competition programs:  Suggestions to the distribution system for new product: Vina Kyoei Steel Company should use the existing distributors in order to advertising, convincing, and selling the new product to projects in the South of Vietnam initially. Then, they will assess the reaction of customers as well as the comments of the market before launching to the common usage.  Suggestions to the promotion strategies: Having the TVC (Television Commercial) on the HTV7, organizing seminars at Bach Khoa University, changing the existing big billboards with the new product image and information, attending Vietbuild fair exhibition. Besides, increasing the sales discount for the new product, and having the technical and sales team to support / assist customers promptly. In conclusion, this finding showed that there is the market’s opportunity for the new steel product apparently. This research has put an initial foundation of marketing survey for Vina Kyoei Steel Company; they should conduct the more detailed research before launching the new product to the market. 3. Limitations and recommendations for future researchers This research just focused on 200 respondents who are the construction contractors in Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, the future researchers should focus on - 67 - construction contractors in all other regions of Vietnam in order to make the results of new research will be more representative. Moreover, this research has 32.1% of Market’s opportunity is clarified by Need dimension, Industry dimension, Ability dimension; so 67.9% remained of Market’s opportunity is clarified by Brand dimension and Intention dimension and other dimensions. Thus, other dimensions need to be supplemented. 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Fort Worth, TX: The Dryden Press. - 70 - [...]... about the customers’ behaviors toward this new steel There should be a market research to understand more about the customer’s behavior, and that is the reason why I decide to choose the topic: ANALYZING THE MARKET’S OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEW PRODUCT – THE CASE OF THREAD DEFORMED BAR STEEL OF VINA KYOEI STEEL COMPANY The topic aims to answer the following question: “What is the market’s opportunity for. .. stable Catching up that problem, Vina Kyoei Steel Company plans to launch out the new product Thread Deformed Bar Steel which can hopefully handle those problems above With this new product, Vina Kyoei Steel Company promisingly can be successful and gain more market’s share However, the success of the new product introduction still remains a question to the company because it has no market information... hand" In my research, I use secondary data such as books, articles, previous studies and data from Internet, Vina Kyoei Steel Company s internal data, and Vietnam Steel Association’s data I review the theory of the market’s opportunity The quantitative method is done by surveying the questionnaires with the sample size of 200 3 Quantitative approach 3.1 Sampling Population sampling is the process of. .. economy can all help or hurt a business's ability to get needed components and maintain a stable profit 8.3 Social: The mood and demographics of the population make up the social area of macro environment factors For example, a society that places an emphasis on self-guided jobs with room for creativity may cause organizations to redefine job descriptions and adapt the model of the workplace to attract... opportunities for the new product Thread Deformed Bar Steel of Vina Kyoei Steel Company  Suggestion and recommendation for Vina Kyoei Steel Company 5 Research methodology This thesis was undertaken by using both qualitative and quantitative method, collect secondary data and primary data by in-depth interview and survey making -5- Problem statement Objectives 1 Review theories Descriptive statistic and collecting... for other regions of Canada to increase their participation in the western market It is evident that there is available industrial capacity within Canada that can play a greater role in meeting western Canadian - 15 - development requirements Communication: A number of steel consuming industries indicated a need and willingness for regular and more intensive dialogue with steel market participants along... a representation of the entire population or a sample The measures used to describe the data set are measures of central tendency and measures of variability or dispersion Measures of central tendency include the mean, median and mode, while measures of variability include the standard deviation (or variance), the minimum and maximum variables, kurtosis and skewness Descriptive statistics provide a. .. - Abstract In the current context of the integrated economy, the competition in the steel industry became increasingly fierce This is both an opportunity and challenge for the company as Vina Kyoei to show the ability to adapt to the market’s reality, improve the technology and the management system in order to create the competitiveness to other competitors Therefore, Vina Kyoei Steel Company has... they are a basic part -8- of the human make-up When a need is not satisfied, a person will do one of two things:  Look for an object that will satisfy it; or  Try to reduce the need 3 Want Kotler (1997) also defined Human wants are the form taken by human needs as they are shaped by culture and individual personality A hungry person in Bahrain may want a vegetable curry, mango chutney and lassi A. .. studying the market to offer a new steel product with more advantages over traditional steel products on the market; this is the pioneer company in Vietnam to produce this new steel product as well In this study, I will conduct the market research to understand and clarify opportunities and challenges for this new product In addition, the results of the study will help the company has a better insight about .. .ANALYZING THE MARKET’S OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEW PRODUCT – THE CASE OF THREAD DEFORMED BAR STEEL OF VINA KYOEI STEEL COMPANY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of MASTER OF. .. topic: ANALYZING THE MARKET’S OPPORTUNITY FOR A NEW PRODUCT – THE CASE OF THREAD DEFORMED BAR STEEL OF VINA KYOEI STEEL COMPANY The topic aims to answer the following question: “What is the market’s... Explore market’s opportunities for the new product Thread Deformed Bar Steel of Vina Kyoei Steel Company  Suggestion and recommendation for Vina Kyoei Steel Company Research methodology This thesis