Factors Affecting Indonesian Muslim Women In Using Korean Cosmetic Products
The use of cosmetics by women for aesthetic enhancement is a visibly prominent practice in the world as has been true in many cultures for centurie. Cosmetics use has been traditionally used by women to control their physical appearance and, presumably, their physical attractiveness. It is common that people judge the first impression by outward appearance. Hence, people are willing to spend money on appearance-related products, which will enhance their self-concept and make them feel, look, and smell good. People’s concern with their appearance is not anything new, the history of cosmetics products spans at least 6,000 years of human history. That were the reason of why global beauty market has been growing stably and has ability to be continuously growing even in some unfavorable economic conditions. Although having being affected by the global economy crisis in 2008-2009, beauty product industry easily booms again in 2011.
According to William Reed Business Media, the market researchers predict that the market will reach $630 billion in 2017 [5]. Since late 1900, Korean culture becomes popular among Asian countries, including Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia and Japan. Popularity of Korean culture starts from several TV dramas, such as Winter Sonata, Daejanggeum and Autumn in my heart, which consider as the pioneer of Korean cultural products. This culture movement is known as the “Korean Wave”, “Hallyu” or “Hanryu”, this culture also booming in Indonesia, especially in adolescence. Since the last five years, Korean cosmetic products had attracted the attention of Indonesian Muslim women and are easily found in many places across Indonesian country in both an online store and offline store. These phenomena indicate that Korean cosmetic products experience fast growth and interests among the Indonesian population.
Data from the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), suggest that Korean domestic production of cosmetics reached 7280 million dollars in 2013. The major export destinations of Korean cosmetics are Southeast Asian countries. According to Park many factors make Korean cosmetic products popular among Asian people rather than people from other countries. Among those reasons are Korean companies’ efforts in fulfilling consumers’ satisfaction not only in the domestic market but also in the international market. Asian women have a similar concept of beauty and skin color. Finally, increasing advertisement on product brand image.
A study by Wulandari indicated specific cosmetic product brands that become popular and best seller in Indonesia. Based on her survey with 274 respondents, there are five cosmetics products brands regarded as a favorite product, namely Etude (71. 7 %), Faceshop (39. 05%), Nature Republic (14. 96%), Mischa (12. 77%), and Innisfree (9. 12%) In addition to product brands, the above study also indicated that halal aspect of the product is seen as a critical dimension for Indonesia Muslim women to consider before they use the products. About 40,36% of respondents surveyed felt that most of the Korean cosmetic products do not have the halal product label. This finding clearly shows that halal aspect of the product is critical for Indonesian Muslim women. Another study done by Mustofa showed that according to Institute for Food and Drug Administration Assessment of Cosmetics, Indonesian Council of Ulama (LPPOM MUI) halal cosmetics is a recognition for certified halal product which done based on standard operating procedure (SOP) including the ingredients, processing, tool and utilities, and venue of the products. Although a study on Indonesian Muslim women’s attitudes toward Korean cosmetic product had been done, the finding is still inconclusive as information on what factors affecting hedonic intentions of students from higher Islamic institutions are not revealed. For this reason, there is an urgent need to conduct a study involving Indonesian Muslim women across the country.
Theoretically, Indonesian Muslim women’s attitude toward specific cosmetic products can be studied through the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). According to Azjen “TPB predicts an individual’s intention to engage in behavior at a specific time and place. It posits that individual behavior is driven by behavior intentions, where behavior intentions are a function of three determinations: an individual’s attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control”. An attitude toward a behavior is a positive or negative evaluation of performing that behavior. Attitudes are informed by beliefs, norms are informed by normative beliefs and motivation to comply, and perceived behavioral control is informed by beliefs about the individual’s possession of the opportunities and resources needed to engage in the behavior. TPB also includes a direct link between perceived behavioral control and behavioral achievement. Given two individuals with the same level of intention to engage in a behavior, the one with more confidence in his or her abilities is more likely to succeed than the one who has doubts. The present study is aimed to explore the factors that contribute to Indonesian Muslim women in using Korean cosmetic products. More specifically, this study aimed at identifying the reasons for Indonesian Muslim women from State Islamic University (UIN) for using the Korean cosmetic products. The findings of this study have practical implications for both customers of Korean cosmetic products and producers of the products.
METHODS
Research Design
This study used a descriptive quantitative research design. The primary purpose of using this design was to define better attitudes, opinions, and intentions held by a group of Indonesian Muslim women studying at State Islamic University (UIN) across the country. The critical point in the descriptive study is to measure and record variable accurately.
