2 Comparative Analysis of the Users’ Kansei …
19
analytical study. First, the subjective issues of mobile phone are more considerable than other kinds of products due to the users’ very close/personal relationship
with it despite it being a short-lived product (Zafarmand et al. 2006a, b). A user’s
emotional attachment to a mobile phone—rather than other kinds of products—has
been reflected in numerous scholarly works (Vincent 2005, 2006; Wehmeyer 2007,
2008). Second, there is a considerable level of attachment between a user and his/her
own car (Govers and Mugge 2004). Private passenger car is an approximately longlived product. As a private passenger car registers its owner’s individual character
and social class, a user may have a personal relation with his/her car. Third, the
traditional handicraft is definitely a long-lived product, which is very valuable and
respectable for its owner considering its rich cultural aspects. Nevertheless, these
three kinds of product completely vary when considering their function, technology,
mobility, status, background and scale beside the user. Within the author’s previous
research, the patterns of three groups of Japanese users’ Kansei evolution over the
lifecycle stages of their mobile phone, car and handicraft/furniture were extracted
separately and compared between these products (Zafarmand et al. 2010, 2012).
Furthermore, to comparatively show the trends of PSjS between the short/long-lived
products, the responds of these three groups of Japanese subjects were analyzed
all together (Zafarmand et al. 2011). In this research, the trends of PSjS would be
compared between the short/long-lived products, but on the basis of the responds of
three groups of Iranian subjects, as the owners/users of the above-mentioned three
product types, within the same way as the last one, in which the subjects’ responds
regarding the product types are analyzed all together. Finally, the findings and the
trends of PSjS would be compared between these two countries, Iran and Japan, to
show the possible effects of contextual differences on PSjS.
2.3 Method
The required data for this research were gathered through the definite and descriptive
questionnaires filled by three groups of Iranian subjects, as the user/owner of mobile
phone, passenger car and handicraft. The subjects were asked to write down their
feelings, emotions, images and/or attitudes—namely, their Kansei—regarding their
products (mobile phones, cars or handicrafts) in each of the three lifecycle stages (P,
KU and R) separately into three different questions.
The first group of subjects, users of mobile phone, were 71 persons ranged from
16 to 28 years old, were 77% female and 23% male and consisted of 50 university
students at University of Tehran, Iran University of Science and Technology and
Shiraz University and 21 high school students living in the city of Shiraz. The second
group of subjects, owners of private car, ranged from 25 to 73 years old, were 30%
female and 70% male and consisted of 30 users of private car living in the city of
Tehran or Shiraz. And the third group of subjects, owners of handicraft, ranged from
20 to 70 years old, were 65% female and 35% male and consisted of 26 users/owners
of handicrafts living in the city of Tehran or Shiraz.
19
analytical study. First, the subjective issues of mobile phone are more considerable than other kinds of products due to the users’ very close/personal relationship
with it despite it being a short-lived product (Zafarmand et al. 2006a, b). A user’s
emotional attachment to a mobile phone—rather than other kinds of products—has
been reflected in numerous scholarly works (Vincent 2005, 2006; Wehmeyer 2007,
2008). Second, there is a considerable level of attachment between a user and his/her
own car (Govers and Mugge 2004). Private passenger car is an approximately longlived product. As a private passenger car registers its owner’s individual character
and social class, a user may have a personal relation with his/her car. Third, the
traditional handicraft is definitely a long-lived product, which is very valuable and
respectable for its owner considering its rich cultural aspects. Nevertheless, these
three kinds of product completely vary when considering their function, technology,
mobility, status, background and scale beside the user. Within the author’s previous
research, the patterns of three groups of Japanese users’ Kansei evolution over the
lifecycle stages of their mobile phone, car and handicraft/furniture were extracted
separately and compared between these products (Zafarmand et al. 2010, 2012).
Furthermore, to comparatively show the trends of PSjS between the short/long-lived
products, the responds of these three groups of Japanese subjects were analyzed
all together (Zafarmand et al. 2011). In this research, the trends of PSjS would be
compared between the short/long-lived products, but on the basis of the responds of
three groups of Iranian subjects, as the owners/users of the above-mentioned three
product types, within the same way as the last one, in which the subjects’ responds
regarding the product types are analyzed all together. Finally, the findings and the
trends of PSjS would be compared between these two countries, Iran and Japan, to
show the possible effects of contextual differences on PSjS.
2.3 Method
The required data for this research were gathered through the definite and descriptive
questionnaires filled by three groups of Iranian subjects, as the user/owner of mobile
phone, passenger car and handicraft. The subjects were asked to write down their
feelings, emotions, images and/or attitudes—namely, their Kansei—regarding their
products (mobile phones, cars or handicrafts) in each of the three lifecycle stages (P,
KU and R) separately into three different questions.
The first group of subjects, users of mobile phone, were 71 persons ranged from
16 to 28 years old, were 77% female and 23% male and consisted of 50 university
students at University of Tehran, Iran University of Science and Technology and
Shiraz University and 21 high school students living in the city of Shiraz. The second
group of subjects, owners of private car, ranged from 25 to 73 years old, were 30%
female and 70% male and consisted of 30 users of private car living in the city of
Tehran or Shiraz. And the third group of subjects, owners of handicraft, ranged from
20 to 70 years old, were 65% female and 35% male and consisted of 26 users/owners
of handicrafts living in the city of Tehran or Shiraz.