ABSTRACT

Marketing concept starts with consumers needs and their behavior in meeting their needs. In order to
satisfy their needs consumers make many buying decisions every day. And marketers need to study
these consumer purchase decisions in order to find answers to questions about what, why, where and
how much they buy and align their marketing program to that effect.
For making a successful marketing program it is necessary for marketers to study the consumer
behavior so that they would know the psychology of consumers. Consumer psychology has various
components such as perceptions, knowledge, attitude, intention, motive and the like. This research
paper is done particularly on the two components of consumer psychology namely perception and
attitude.
The purpose of this study is to survey the perception and attitude of Ethiopian consumers towards St.
George Beer. St. George Beer is the pioneer and still the dominant beer brand in Ethiopia. And in
recent days the Brands market share has significantly increased and it is becoming a synonym of beer
in some areas especially in Addis Ababa. This wide acceptance and dominance in Ethiopians beer
industry, indirectly signifies a positive consumer attitude towards the brand. But the actual attitude of
beer consumers towards St. George beer, the reason behind the attitude and its implication on the
behavior or consumption of the beer is the rationale of this research.
The study based itself on the information collected from primary source by taking a sample of 80 beer
consumers from bars and restaurants around Mexico and Stadium areas in Addis Ababa and
distributing self administered questionnaires. Secondary sources such as books, journals and research
papers written on similar topic are also reviewed. Appropriate statistical analysis such as frequency,
ANOVA and correlation analysis are used according to respective objective and descriptors.
Based on the findings of this research, it can be concluded that most beer consumers have positive
attitude towards the beer St. George Beer and this is resulted due to its product quality and
promotional activities. The St. George Beers taste, aroma, foam and thirst quenching attributes are
found to be very satisfactory. And the advertisements are also different from the other competing beer
brands in a way that they are creative, seasonal, cultural (Ethiopian) and entertaining. With regard to
other promotional mix, the public relation efforts such as participating and sponsoring sports and
supporting other programs and festivals are positively perceived by the respondents which in turn
contribute to the increase in sales volume and market share of the Brand.
One important point pointed out is the intention to switch, even though most of the respondents like
and consume St. Gorge Beer, still 50% of them want to switch to other brand only half of them are
loyal, and this is an assignment for St. Gorge Beer because it requires it more work not only to attract
but also maintain its consumers. In other words it should catch the hearts of its consumers and create
loyalty.
1

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
1. Attitude:

a learned predisposition to behave in a consistently favorable or unfavorable

way with respect to a given product, product category, brand, service,
people, advertisement, internet site, price, medium or retailer.

2. Beer:

alcoholic beverage made from cereal grains, usually barley, but also corn,
rice, wheat, and oats.

3. Beer foam:

a mass of bubbles of gas or air on the surface of the beer.

4. Consumer:

is one who buys good or uses a service.

5. Hangover:

illness after drinking with a set symptoms including headache, nausea, thirst,
and sickness that result from drinking too much alcohol

6. Marketing stimuli: any communications or physical stimuli that are designed to influence
consumers.
7. Perception:

process of receiving, organizing and assigning meaning to information or

stimuli detected by our five senses.

8. Stimulus:

any physical, visual or verbal communication that can influence an

individual's response.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
In order to stay profitable and competitive in todays market, satisfying customers is vital. So as to
meet this goal, understanding the customers behaviors should be given a top priority.
These days, organizations are expected to perform more than producing products and delivering
services. Before producing products or delivering services, there is a need to do customer research.
The customer research enables to answer questions like what the market buys, why the market
buys, who participate in the buying, how the market buys, when the market buys, where the market
buys and the like. But learning about the whys of consumer buying behavior is not so easy the
answers are often locked deep within the consumers head.
Marketing is the art of creating, attracting and keeping profitable customers, in order to convert
occasional purchasers into brand loyalists; habits must be reinforced by appealing to the factors
that shape consumer behaviors which include the cultural, social, personal and psychological
characteristics; because they hold the key to success or failure of any product.
Among the aforementioned factors which influence consumer purchases, this research focuses on the
psychological factors particularly attitude and perception. Consumers attitude towards a product
according to Kotler and Armstrong (2006) is being shaped and influenced by psychological factors
such as motivation, perception, learning, personality, attitude and belief.
Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organizes and interprets stimuli into a
meaningful and coherent picture of the world. Two individuals may be exposed to the same stimuli
under the same apparent conditions, but how each person recognizes, selects, organizes and
interprets these stimuli is a highly individual process based on each persons own needs, values and
expectations. (Schiffman and Kanuk: 2000)
Attitude is a learned predisposition to behave in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way with
respect to a given object (specific consumption or marketing related concepts, such as product,
product category, brand, service, possessions, product use, causes or issues, people, advertisement,
internet site, price, medium or retailer). Attitudes have motivational quality that propel a consumer
toward a particular behavior or repel the consumer away from a particular behavior. (ibid)

This research paper analyzes the consumers perception and attitude taking the case of St.
George Beer.
Beer is an alcoholic beverage made using a process called fermentation, in which microscopic
fungi called yeast consume sugars in the grain, converting them to alcohol and carbon dioxide gas.
This chemical process typically produces beer with an alcohol content of 2 to 6 percent. Over 70
styles of beer are available today. Each style derives its unique characteristics from its ingredients
and subtle differences in its brewing process. (Encarta: 2008)
Beer is believed to be over 10,000 years old. Although no one knows its exact origins, some
agricultural historians believe that the first beer may have been produced accidentally when a stash
of grain was soaked by rain and then warmed by the sun. If this mixture were spontaneously
fermented by wild, airborne yeast, which thrives in just these warm, moist conditions beer would
have been produced.
Early beer makers used a very simplistic brewing process and fermented beer for only a brief
period, one to two days at most. By around 1100

AD,

brewing techniques had become more

sophisticated. In Europe brewers banded together to form guilds societies that protected their trade
while setting standards for beer making. Hops were introduced to the brewing process around
1300. While many European brewers embraced the use of hops in making beer, English beer
makers refused to add the bitter tasting plant to their brews until the 16 th century. The first beer
brewed with hops in England was bitter ale.
For centuries brewers heated grain over open fires, resulting in dark, smoky malt that produced
equally dark beer. With the advent of the industrial revolution in the mid-1800s, brewers invented a
way to dry malt in large rotating heated drums that left the grain light in color and produced a pale,
golden beer. The next major technological development occurred in the late 19 th century with the
invention of compressed gas refrigeration. Brewers no longer had to schedule the various heating
and cooling phases of the brewing process according to seasonal outdoor temperatures.
Refrigeration also meant that beer could be shipped greater distances without spoiling. This
innovation

paved

the

way

for

the

proliferation

of

todays

large

brand

beers.

With technological developments, some breweries turned to mass production, employing largescale, and state-of-the-art brewing equipment to produce large quantities of beer. (ibid)
In Ethiopia, the introduction of capitalist economy system brings enormous investment opportunity
to different economic sector of the economy in the form of private and foreign direct investment.
The brewery factory is not an exception. There were three beer factory owned by the state during
the Derge regime; St. George Brewery, Harare Brewery and Meta Abo Brewery. But currently the
4

Ethiopia beer industry is comprised of five major breweries which include three state owned
enterprises, foreign investor and local private producers. These are BGI Ethiopia, Dashen, Harar,
Meta Abo and Bedele. The other brewery; Habesha brewery, Raya Brewery and Kangaroo Brewery
are underway to join the industry soon.
Beer consumption in developing countries is often seen as one revealing (if crude) proxy for
gauging the strength of economic activity. Economic growth, rising incomes and a growing share
of disposable income all tend to drive the consumption of beer in a country. (Access Capital: 2010)
According to News Business Ethiopia report (2010), even though beer consumption in Ethiopia has
grown fast over the past few years, Ethiopian still consume less as compared to the neighboring
counties. With estimated consumption of 3.1 million hectoliters and a population of nearly 80
million, annual beer consumption per head is only around 4 liters, which is a third of that in
neighboring countries and roughly one twentieth of the consumption levels seen in South Africa.
In addition to economic factors, marketing activities like promotion, product innovation and
consumer preference has contributed for the growth of market share of major breweries.
Consumers have got lots of brand to choose. Report from the sector revealed that the market is
currently dominated by BGI Ethiopia Castel Group, which is owned by French investor and
produces St. George (Giorgis) brand with a share around 50 percent nation-wide and even higher in
Addis Ababa. Its current production level is around 1.5 million hectoliters, having two large plants
in Addis Ababa and Kombolcha. (Access Capital, 2010) It goes without saying that consumer has
developed positive attitude towards the brand, which is reflected by the company dominancy of the
market over the last ten years.
Ethiopia's oldest brewery Saint George, founded in 1922 is located in central Addis Ababa. The
brewery was set up with modest premises to produce the countrys first bottled beer. It is situated
near the Mexico Square, Addis Ababa, and occupies an area of 20,000 Sq. meters of land.
The founder of St. George Brewery, according to some sources, is Mussie Dawit Hale who is a
Belgian and later he sold it to German company. When the brewery began operation, the
machineries were manually operated and not more than 200 bottles (half liter size) were produced
daily. Transporting of the raw material to the silo, fermenting of the malt, boiling the barely,
filtering the beer, filling the materials, etc. were done manually. Basic raw materials like barely and
hops were imported from Europe. The management staff of the factory and the leading technicians
who controlled the Brewerys activities were all foreigners.
In those, days liquor houses were not many and people had no choice apart from drinking the
traditional tella and tejj. At that time, going bars, in the manner that people are doing now, was
not practiced by most people.
5

Some unauthentic sources say that the Brewery was closed during the five years of Italian
occupation. The factory resumed its work after the occupation and according to some reports there
arose problems of ownership. The exact nature of the argument stood unclear. Eventually, however,
an Ethiopian company took over the Brewery in 1952/53. This company was said to have been
organized as a share holding entity, the larger share of which was owned by Emperor Haile
Sellassie.
Generally, St George Brewery could be said as having scored good results in the 1940s and 1950s.
Towards the end of the 1950s the annual production of the Brewery had reached 50,000
Hectoliters.
In the years of the 1970s the Brewery was in good shape in terms of its machineries, physical
buildings, vehicles, marketing network, etc. It even had a plan to open a new plant for the
production of soft drinks. In 1974 the Brewery was nationalized. Even though this created some
obstacles the improvements particularly with some manpower development and betterment in
workers management, it also started to produce draught beer that enjoyed popularity and big sales.
On the other hand the Brewery was lacking the finance it needed to introduce new technologies
that came in the 1970s. The name of the Brewery was also changed as Pilsner Brewery and later
as Addis Ababa Brewery.
Most of all, the workers showed great commitment and dedication to keep the Brewery and its
product popular. The role played by the Brewery was significant in supporting and promoting other
social activities including St. George Sport club.
St. George Brewery is once again privatized. The factory is now owned by BGI, an internationally
acclaimed Brewing Company that operates in many countries. It has excellent reputation in
producing quality beer and brought St. George to the same standard.
Today, St. George is the oldest beer in Ethiopia and is certainly also the youngest with fresh
dynamism. (Adey Public Relations Consultancy for BGI Ethiopia: 2010)
Ever since it became privatized, and along with the opening of a sister company in Kombolcha, St.
George Brewery bas played an important role to improve the supply of the beer and promote
modern marketing in the country.
In this connection, St. George Brewery has done a lot with regards to marketing its products. These
includes: the improvement of the type, quality and quantity of the product; advertising the product
by erecting artistic notice boards in towns, at main public squares, sight-catching places, major
outlets and inlets, public service stations and on vehicles; contributing to popular events by means
of sponsoring various exhibitions, music festivals, public gatherings, religious events, research
6

forums, sport events, mass media programs; using modern distribution network to sufficiently
supply its products to all parts of the country at an affordable price; providing training in the
country and abroad, to production, technical and marketing personnel and thus importing their
capability and capacity; supporting retailers by providing refrigerators , Co 2 gas for draught beer,
signboards and maintenance and cleaning services without charge.
In addition, the Company carries out social responsibilities with regard to health, sport, art, urban
sanitation, road construction and supporting war victims. (ibid)
These improvements in the Companys production as well as marketing activities are paying off,
since the Companys market share has grown significantly in the past few years.
According to the Current market share of Ethiopian Breweries, BGI Ethiopia has 48%, Meta 16 %,
Dashen 13%, Harar 11% and Bedele 10 % of the national market share of beer. BGI claims almost
half of the Countrys market share and has a particularly dominant share (of nearly two thirds) in
Addis Ababa. (Access Capital: 2010)
Until 2004/2005, Meta was the leading brewery having the lions share of the market, followed by
Dashen and BGI Ethiopia respectively. However due to promotional activities, production
innovations and consumer preferences; market shares have shifted markedly in the recent years.
The point that the St. George has gained wide acceptance and preference become the leading brand
in the Ethiopian beer market, induced the researchers to survey on the underlying factors that
resulted in this positive attitude among the Ethiopian beer consumers.

1.2 Statement of the problem

In todays highly competitive, dynamic and challenging business environment, the level of
consumer product acceptance and preference are critical to survival of business. Each day
consumers are becoming more rational and speculative in their spending, willing to spend their
hard earned money on product they believe will give them value and maximize their utility. This
dynamic nature of consumers attitudes towards a product or a brand is clearly exhibited in
Ethiopian beer industry for the past ten years. According to Access Capital research (2010) until
2004/2005, Meta was the leading brewery having the lions share of the beer market in Ethiopia,
followed by Dashen and BGI Ethiopia respectively. However, market shares have shifted markedly
in recent years, in which BGI claims almost half of the countrys market share and has a
particularly dominant share (of nearly two-thirds) in Addis Ababa.
And this consumers attitude and preference shift towards St. George beer which is the dominate
product of BGI Ethiopia in the past few years, is the rationale for undertaking this research. The
study reveals the underlying factors which helped this brand to overtake its competitors market
share and win the mind and hearts of the majority of the Ethiopian beer consumers.
1.3. Objectives
1.3.1 General objectives
Broadly, this study plans to examine current consumers attitude and perception towards St.
George beer. And, hence, draw a significant and feasible suggestion based on the findings.
1.3.2 Specific objectives

To identify the reasons for consumers wide acceptance and preference of St. George beer
against other competing brands in the past few years

To identify the specific marketing factors that contributed for in the formation, change
and maintenance of these acceptance and preference of St. George beer

To point out the opportunities and challenges of St. George beer with regard to the
psychology of its consumers

1.4 Research Questions

The research intends to give answers to the following questions:

Why consumers choose St. George beer over the other brands?

Does the quality and taste of St. George beer contribute for the building positive attitude?

Do the Companys promotional activities contribute for the building positive attitude?

What are the other factors that helped the brand to get wide acceptance in Ethiopian beer
market?

1.5 Scope of the Study

This research covers the issue of consumer perception and attitude taking the case of St. George
beer in Addis Ababa with particular emphasis on consumer around Mexico and Stadium areas.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The research provides a clear picture of the consumers attitudes towards St. George beer, factors
that contributed in the formation of these attitudes, the opportunities and challenges to the brand
with respect to understanding, improving and preserving its image. And the study apparently
presents how St. George beer could improve or maintain its consumers attitudes and get the
maximum out of it.
The study enhanced the knowledge of the researchers with regard to the concept of consumer
perception and attitude, and their importance for the success of a business.
The research also benefits new companies who are under formation to join the beer industry by
providing information pertinent to attitude of beer consumers.
Furthermore, the research lays a ground for further studies on similar topics.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
The major constraint in the course of the study was time which prevented the researchers from
undertaking in depth study and analysis on the topic as planned.

1.8 Organization of the Study

This paper has five chapters, in which the first is the introduction part containing background of the
study, the statement of the problem, research questions, objective, significance, scope and
limitation, budget, research schedule and organization of the study. The second chapter is all about
reviewing literatures written on consumer perception and attitude. In chapter three the research
methodology used to gather, analyze, interpret and present the data are discussed. In chapter four,
the data gathered and analyzed on the perception and attitude of consumers of St. George beer is
presented. And finally, conclusion and recommendations are given based on the findings of the
research. References used for the study are listed at the end of the research report. In addition
supplementary documents are attached to the report as appendices.

10

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
The theoretical framework of this study focuses on customer attitude and perception with regard to
the meanings of core concepts, their importance for the success of a business and the challenges for
marketers to set marketing plans and programs inline with these concepts.
First, this chapter discusses the concepts of attitude and perception. And in the subsequent section
the researches previously done on similar topics are reviewed.
2.2 Perception and Attitude
Perception
One of the key elements of a successful marketing strategy is the development of product and
promotional stimuli that consumers will perceive as relevant to their needs. (Henry Assael: 2001)
Perception is the process of sensing, selecting and interpreting the stimuli of the external world into
an internal (mental) world. In other word, perception is the process by which the brain attempts to
describe objects and events in the external world based on sensory inputs and knowledge.
(Schiffman and Kanuk: 2000)
Kotler (2005) states that the process of perception formation passes through four steps: in the first
step, consumer receives information from outside; in the second step, he/she selects the
information; in the third step information is organized and in the last step the information is
interpret. Perception is regarded as the keystone of building knowledge, not just about products but
about everything else in the world. People have their own perception of products and everything
else. The way people select and interpret products will be very different from the way someone
else selects and interprets them.
Perception plays a major role in the stage of buying decision making where alternatives are
identified. What we perceive depends on the object and our experiences. Every day we come in
contact with an enormous number of marketing stimuli. The product and its components (package,
contents, and physical properties) are primary (intrinsic) stimuli. Communications designed to
influence consumer behavior are secondary (extrinsic) stimuli that represent the product either
through words, pictures and symbolism or through other stimuli associated with the product (price,
store in which purchased, effect of salesperson). (Henry Assael: 2001)

11

Two key factors determine which stimuli consumers will perceive and how they will interpret
them: the characteristics of stimulus and the consumers ability to perceive the stimulus. These two
influences interact in determining consumer perceptions. Stimulus characteristics affecting
perception can be divided into sensory elements and structural elements. Both have implications
for product development and advertising. Sensory elements are composed of color, smell, taste,
sound and feel. The structural elements applied primarily to print advertising, such as size,
position, contrast, novelty of the ad.
Consumer characteristics affecting perception are ability to discriminate between stimuli and
propensity to generalize from one stimulus to another.
One of the basic questions regarding the effect of marketing stimuli on perceptions is whether
consumers can discriminate among differences in stimuli. Do consumers perceive differences
between brands in taste, feel, price and shape of the package?
The ability to discriminate among stimuli is learned. Generally, frequent users of a product are
better able to notice small differences in product characteristics between brands. However, in many
cases, the consumers ability to discriminate sensory characteristics such as taste and feel is small.
As a result marketers rely on advertising to convey brand differences that physical characteristics
alone would not impart. They attempt to create a brand image that will convince consumers that
one brand is better than another.
Consumers develop not only a capacity to discriminate between stimuli but also capacity to
generalize from one similar stimulus to another. The process of stimulus generalization occurs
when two stimuli are seen as similar (contiguous), and the effects of one, therefore, can be
substituted for the effect of another.
Brand loyalty is a form of stimulus generalization. The consumer assumes that positive past
experiences with the brand will be repeated. Therefore, a consumer does not need to make a
separate judgment with each purchase.
Perceptual categorization is also a form of stimulus generalization. As new products are introduced,
consumers generalize from past experience to categorize them. (ibid)
When the individual constructs a perception, he or she assembles information to map what is happening
in the outside world. This mapping will be affected by the following factors (Blythe: 2008):

Subjectivity: This is the existing world view within the individual, and it is unique to that
individual. For example, the information is subjective in that the consumer will base
decisions on the selected information. Each of us selects differently from environment and
each of us has differing views.
12

Categorization: This is the pigeonholing of information, and the prejudging of events and
products.

Selectivity: This is the degree to which the brain is selecting from the environment. It is a
function of how much is going on around the individual, and also of how selective
(concentrated) the individual is on the current task. It will depend on the individuals interest
and motivation regarding the subject area.

Expectations: It leads individuals to interpret information in a specific way later.

Past experience: Sometimes sights, smells or sounds from our past will trigger appropriate
response. If the consumer has had bad experiences of purchasing products, this might lead to
a general perception that these products are of poor quality.

Attitude
After consumers perceive and process information, they develop beliefs about and preferences for the
brands based on the information they have processed. These beliefs and preferences define consumer
attitudes toward a brand. In turn, their attitudes toward a brand often directly influence whether they
will buy it or not. (Henry Assael: 2001)
Attitudes are not directly observable but must be inferred from what people say or what they do.
Consistency of purchases, recommendations to others, top rankings, beliefs, evaluations and
intentions are related to attitudes. (Schiffman and Kanuk: 2000)
Attitudes may be positive, negative, or neutral (valence); may vary in intensity (extremity); can be
more or less resistant to change; and may be believed with differing levels of confidence or
conviction. (Keith Walley et al.: 2009)
According to Schiffman and Kanuk (2000), attitude consists of three major components: a cognitive
component (belief), an affective component (feelings or emotions) and a conation component
(behavioral intention).
The cognitive component is related to knowledge and perceptions that are acquired by a
combination of direct experience with the attitude object and related information from various
sources. This knowledge and resulting perceptions commonly take the form of beliefs, i.e. the
consumer believes that the attitude object possesses various attributes and that specific will lead to
specific outcomes. And affective component of an attitude constitute the emotions and feeling of a
consumer about a product or brand. And this component indicates the extent to which the
individual rates the attitude object as favorable or unfavorable, good or bad. The conation
13

component is concerned with likelihood or tendency that an individual will undertake a specific
action or behave in a particular way with regard to the attitude object.

Cognitive Component
Brand beliefs

Affective Component
Brand evaluation

Conative Component
Intention to buy

Behavior

Figure 1: Three components of attitude

Source: Henry Assael (2001)

The formation of consumer attitudes is strongly influenced by personal experience, the influence of
family and friends, direct marketing, mass media and internet. (Schiffman and Kanuk: 2000)
A primary means by which attitudes toward goods and services are formed is through the
consumers direct experience, marketers frequently attempt to stimulate trial of new products by
offering cents-off coupons or even free samples.
The family is an extremely important source of influence on the formation of attitudes, for it is the
family that provides us with many of our basic values and a wide range of less central beliefs.
Impact of advertising messages on attitude formation is the level of realism that is provided.
Attitudes that develop through direct experience (e.g. product usage) tend to be more confidently
held and more enduring.
Attitudes are relatively consistent with behavior they reflect. However, despite their consistency,
attitudes are not necessarily permanent they do change. One method for changing motivation is
known as functional approach. According to this approach, attitudes can be classified in terms of four

14

functions: the utilitarian function, the ego defensive function, the value expressive function and the
knowledge function. (ibid)

The utilitarian function

When a product has been useful or helped us in the pat, our attitude toward it tends to be
favorable. One way of changing attitudes in favor of a product is by showing people that it can
serve a utilitarian purpose that they may not have considered.

The ego defensive function

Most people want to protect their self images from inner feelings of doubt. They want to replace
their uncertainty with a sense of security and personal confidence.

The value expressive function

Attitudes are an expression or reflection of consumers general values, lifestyle and outlook.

The knowledge function

Individuals generally have a strong need to know and understand the people and things they
encounter. The consumers need to know, a cognitive need, is important to marketers concerned
with product positioning. Indeed, many product and brand positioning are attempts to satisfy the
need to know and improve the consumers attitudes toward the brand by emphasizing its
advantages over competitive brands.

An attitude can serve more than one function, but in many cases a particular one will be dominant.
By identifying the dominant function a product serves for consumers (i.e. what benefits it
provides); marketers can emphasize these benefits in their communications and packaging. Ads
relevant to the function prompt more favorable thoughts about what is being marketed and can
result in a heightened preference for both the ad and the product. (Michael Solomon et. al.:2006)
The Fishbein model
The most influential multi-attribute model of attitude is the Fishbein model, named after its
primary developer. The model measures three components of attitude:
1. Salient beliefs: people have about an attitude object (those beliefs about the object that are
considered during evaluation).
2. Object-attribute linkages: or the probability that a particular object has an important attribute.
3. Evaluation: of each of the important attributes.

15

Note, however, that the model makes some assumptions that may not always be warranted. It
assumes that we have been able to specify adequately all the relevant attributes that, for example, a
student will use in evaluating his or her choice about which college to attend. The model also
assumes that he or she will go through the process (formally or informally) of identifying a set of
relevant attributes, weighing them and summing them.
Although this particular decision is likely to be highly involving, it is still possible that his or her
attitude will be formed by an overall affective response (a process known as affect-referral).
The extended Fishbein model
The original Fishbein model, which focused on measuring a consumers attitude towards a product,
has been extended in a number of ways to improve its predictive ability.
The revised version is called the theory of reasoned action. The model is still not perfect, but its
ability to predict relevant behavior has been improved. Some of the modifications to this model are
considered here.
Intentions vs. behavior
Many factors might interfere with actual behavior, even if the consumers intentions are sincere.
He or she might save up with the intention of buying a stereo system. In the interim, though, any
number of things being made redundant or finding that the desired model is out of stock could
happen. It is not surprising, then, that in some instances past purchase behavior has been found to
be a better predictor of future behavior than is a consumers behavioral intention.49 The theory of
reasoned action aims to measure behavioral intentions, recognizing that certain uncontrollable
factors inhibit prediction of actual behavior.
Social pressure
The theory acknowledges the power of other people in influencing behavior. Many of our
behaviors are not determined in isolation. Much as we may hate to admit it, what we think others
would like us to do may be more relevant than our own individual preferences. (ibid)

16

2.3 Review of previous researches

Behavior is determined by intentions, which are in turn determined by attitudes and subjective
norms (Ajzen and Fishbein et. al, 1980 cited in Huang, Lee and Ho: 2003). Most behavioral
models trace causal links from attitude, through intentions, to actual behavior, implying that
behavioral intentions must be understood to predict behavior from attitudes. (Kim and Hunter,
et.al, 1993 cited in Huang, Lee and Ho, 2003). And according to Fishbein model, an attitude is a
function of strength of belief that an object has an attribute, evaluation of the product on the
attribute, and the number of attributes valued by the consumer. (Keith Walley et. al: 2009)
Implicit in most attitudinal research in both social psychology and consumer behavior is the notion
that individual attitudes are significant determinants of both behavioral intentions and specific
behaviors (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1973; Norman, 1975). Overall affect toward a multi-attribute object
as a measure of attitude is posited to reflect the individual's belief structure as to the degree to
which individual brands possess certain attributes weighted by the evaluation of each attribute
(Wilkie and Pessemier, 1973). (Cited in Woodside and Bearden: 1977)
A research developed by Karjaluoto, Mattila and Pento (2002) attempted to explore the factors that
influence consumer attitude formation and affect towards online banking. The authors gave major
emphasis for three factors that affect attitude: consumer demographics and personality treat, prior
experience and reference group influence. The study hypothesized that consumer attitude explains
consumer behavior. The more favorable attitude a person has towards a product/ service, the more
likely that person is to buy that product/service. The overall attitude towards an object is expected
to be related to behaviors towards an object.
The researchers developed questionnaire that was mailed to 2000 - 3000 individual bank customers
in Finland. The demographic characteristics of the respondent were analyzed separately to see their
relationship with attitude and behavior. Correlation and factor analysis is used to explain the
relationship between reference group and experience.
Result from the study showed that prior experience of a product influences both attitude towards a
product and actual behavior. Demographic factors, specifically house hold income and occupation
were significant variable that affect behavior towards online banking.
Another longitudinal research conducted by Woodside and Bearden (1977), investigated the attitude,
behavioral intention, and reported behavior of brand choice among 105 beer consumers.
In the study consumer beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and reported behavior for four brands of beer
were collected from male household heads of a regional consumer panel in the southeastern United
States in February 1975. A second mailing to the 172 respondents answering all questions for each
17

brand was made in February 1976. The results of the study were based on the response of the 105
consumers of beer answering all questions in both mailings. Panel members were selected on a
quota basis and were representative of the population characteristics of the regional area.
Budweiser, Pabst, Old Milwaukee, and Schlitz were the beer brands examined in this survey. The
combined sales volume of these brands accounted for over 60% of all beer sold in the consumer
panel area during the periods of the study.
Product attributes were selected on the basis of previous in depth interviews and taste studies of
informal consumer groups conducted by an independent marketing research firm. Beliefs and
evaluations were obtained for 11 product attributes. The summated belief score was based on 7 of
these attributes selected on the basis of factor analysis.
The results of the longitudinal survey showed that previous attitudes, previous behaviors and
current attitudes influence the behaviors and beer brand choices of the consumers of the four
brands under study.
It also indicated the relationship between the level of involvement of consumers with the products
and brands; when individuals are highly involved with a particular choice object, attitude change
may precede behavior change. However, when low involvement is characteristic of the purchase
situation; behavior change may precede attitude change. This may be particularly relevant when a
low-priced convenience brand is purchased on the basis of limited information search, e.g., such as
a purchase on the advice of a friend or an individual impulse purchase.
Situational factors may also intervene between attitudes and behavior in an unexpected sense.
These may include factors such as temporary economic conditions, organizational changes, and
changes in the market place (e.g., promotional efforts, new product introductions, and price
changes) may also intervene and affect industrial and durable good buying processes.
The research underscored the ability of previous behavior to predict both subsequent individual
affective tendencies and behavioral intentions. Post-choice attitude change may be attributed to
either additional information or cognitive dissonance. However, for low-priced convenience
products, modifications in existing attitudinal structure are likely to occur in the form of either
changes in existing attitudes or further refinement of less developed currently held beliefs on the
basis of additional information acquired from trial usage.
Previous brand choice behavior is directly influencing the formation of intentions and ensuing
brand choice decisions. The purchase of many convenience items may not involve decision
processes which are based upon well-founded belief systems and attitudes of high centrality. The

18

perspective of "low-commitment" consumer behavior suggests that consumers for many products
may not be particularly committed in their brand selection processes.
When commitment is low and beliefs are not strongly held, brand purchase may reflect only the
convenience inherent in repeat purchases rather than commitment to the brand purchased based on
a well-developed attitudinal structure (Robertson, 1976 Cited in Woodside and Bearden: 1977).
When individuals engage in purchase situations characterized by low-involvement (e.g. the
purchase of many low-priced convenience goods), behavior may take precedence over attitudinal
influences. Consequently, the initial behavioral measure is depicted as influencing current
intentions and subsequent attitudes and brand selections.
A study by Nattakarn Ramasut and Suteera Saranpattranon (2009), tried to identify the different
demographic features which affect consumers attitudes towards beer products. Since attitudes are
opinions or feeling and evaluation of knowledge towards the products; demographic features play
an important role in understanding the consumers need and influences to the consumers thinking.
The result of this research should that marketers need to adapt their strategy to response
consumers need in different target group suitably.
The study was conducted on attitudes of different consumer groups towards beer products taking
395 sample size in Bangkok. And using different statistical methods the researchers come up with a
conclusion that the diversifications of gender and income levels have different attitudes towards
beer product. But at different age, occupation, and education have no different attitudes towards
beer product. Manufacturers should focus on female as new target group and also adapt the product
to the right requirement of consumer to persuade people to consume the product.
Similarly, this paper undertakes a cross sectional survey on the consumers perception and attitude
towards St. George Beer by taking 80 beer consumers from Addis Ababa. The study investigates
the current consumers attitudes towards the brand and factors that contribute to the formation of
these attitudes.

19

CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY / RESEARCH DESIGN
3.1. Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to describe the methodology used to achieve the research objectives
of this study. This includes the type of the research, target population, the sampling techniques, the
data collection and data analysis procedures.
3.2 Type of Research
In order to identify the consumer perception and attitude towards St. George beer, the researchers
used descriptive study through cross sectional survey method of data collection.
3.3 Population of the Study
The targeted population for the purpose of this study comprised of Bars and Restaurants which are
mainly St. George Beer dealers. And individual consumers of St. George beer were randomly taken
from the sampled bars and restaurants. Considering the time and resources available, the targeted
population was only limited to Mexico and Stadium areas in Addis Ababa.
3.4 Sampling Designs and Sampling Procedures
The researchers used both probability and non-probability sampling techniques. From the nonprobability sampling technique, convenience sampling is used to select the locations for the study,
which are Mexico and Stadium due to their accessibility to the researchers. And a simple random
method is used from the probability sampling technique to select the bars and restaurants from
these areas and also to pick the individual beer consumers from each sampled bars and restaurants.
3.5 Sources of Data
Information is gathered from both primary and secondary data sources. From the primary data
sources survey questionnaires; and from the secondary sources books, journals, and research
papers are used.
3.6 Data Collection Method
Self administered questionnaires are distributed to 80 final beer consumers in order to find out the
beer consumers perception and attitude towards St. George Beer and the factors that positively
contributed for the formation, change and maintenance of these attitudes.

20

3.7 Data Analysis and Interpretation Plan

After collecting and sorting the questionnaires, data are coded, computed, and analyzed using the
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software.
Appropriate statistical analyses such as frequencies, descriptive, correlation analysis and Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) are used according to respective objectives and descriptors.
The analyzed data is presented using tables, graphs and pie-charts.

21

CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Introduction
This chapter is divided into three major sections. The first section provides the demographic
characteristics and of the respondents. The second section presents results on the respondents
perception, attitude and preference of the different Ethiopian beer brands. Finally, the last section
addresses the results of correlation analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) on the factors
contributing for choosing St. George Beer.
4.2 Respondents
Out of the 80 questionnaires distributed 65 of them were filled out and returned of which all were
usable. Therefore, the data from 65 respondents were analyzed in this study. As stated in Chapter
Three, the respondents were beer consumers selected from the bars and restaurants in the area
around Stadium up to Mexico square in Addis Ababa.
4.2.1. Demographic characteristics of the respondents
The demographic characteristics of the respondents are shown in Table 1. The gender
distribution of the respondents was not proportional, with 12.3% female respondents and
87.7% male respondents. With regard to martial status, 58.5% were single, 38.5% married
and 3.1% divorced. The dominant age group of the respondents was 25-30 years (41.5%),
followed by 31-36 years (27.7%), 36 and older years (20%), and 18-24 years (10.8%) made
up the smallest group of the respondents.
In terms of level of education, 38.5% of the respondents had a Bachelor Degree; 27.7% of
the respondents had a secondary school education, and 26.2% of the respondents had a
College Diploma.4.6% of the respondents were above Bachelor Degree and 3.1% were
primary school complete. The result shows the relatively high educational attainment of the
respondents.
With regard to respondents' monthly income, the largest group included those with an
annual household income of ETB 3551 and above (41.5%), followed by ETB 2351-3550
(21.5%), ETB 1401-2350 (20%), and ETB 651-1400 (12.3%). Only 4.6% of the
respondents had a monthly income of ETB 150-650 (See Table 1).

22

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the respondents

Frequency
Gender
Male
Female
Martial Status
Single
Married
Divorced
Age
18-24
25-30
31-36
>36
Occupation
Government employee
Private employee
Business person
Other
Educational Background
Primary school complete
Secondary school complete
College Diploma
Bachelor Degree
Above Bachelor Degree
Monthly income (in Ethiopian Birr)
150-650
651-1400
1401-2350
2351-3550
>3551

Percent

57
8

87.7
12.3

38
25
2

58.5
38.5
3.1

7
27
18
13

10.8
41.5
27.7
20.0

19
40
5
1

29.2
61.5
7.7
1.5

2
18
17
25
3

3.1
27.7
26.2
38.5
4.6

3
8
13
14
27

4.6
12.3
20.0
21.5
41.5

4.2.2 Consuming habits of respondents

Beer consuming characteristics of respondents includes the brand choice and the frequency
of drinking which is summarized in Table 2 below.
Table 2. Beer consuming characteristics of respondents
Frequency
Frequency of drinking beer
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Sometimes
Occasionally
Beer brand Choice
Bedle
Dashen
Harar
St. George
Meta

Percent

16
18
2
24
5

24.6
27.7
3.1
36.9
7.7

6
9
3
45
2

9.2
13.8
4.6
69.2
3.1
23

In the frequency of drinking category, 36.9% of the respondents drink Sometimes, 27.7%
Weekly, 24.6% drink Daily, 7.7% Occasionally and the rest 3.1% Monthly.
With regard to the beer brand choice 69.2% of the respondents prefer to drink St. George
beer, followed by Dashen beer of which 13.8% of the respondents selected it as their number
one choice. Where as, 9.2% prefer to drink Bedle beer, 4.6% choose Harar and only 3.1% of
the respondents prefer Meta. It can be concluded that St. George beer has dominated the
majority of the respondents heart and mind constituting around 70%.
4.3 Attitudes of respondents towards St. George Beer
The respondents attitude towards St. George beer is evaluated using the three attitude components;
cognitive, affective and conation. With regard to the cognitive part respondents were asked about
the specific product attributes of St. George Beer so they rated the product attributes using a
semantic differential scale ranging from 5 on the positive side to 1 on the negative side.
Accordingly, it can be summarized that 42 of the respondents believe that St. George has a Very
Good Taste (Mean = 4.11) and 5 respondents rated the taste of St. George Beer as Very Bad (1.20).
The same goes to color, aroma and foam product attributes. In the case of hangover, 25
respondents rate St. George Beer as a Very low hangover beer (Positive beer attribute) with
(Mean=4.24) and 17 rate it as low hangover beer. Whereas, 5 of the respondents believe that St.
George Beer has a higher hangover (Mean=3.20). In Alcoholic percentage, St. George is rated as
an average alcoholic beverage by 27 of the respondents (Mean=4.11) and 16 respondents believe
that it has a higher alcoholic content. In the contrary 8 respondents believe that St. Georges
alcoholic content is lower (Mean =3.88) and 9 respondents rated it with a Very low alcoholic
(2.89). With respect to thirst quenching attribute, St. George is rated as Very high thirst quenching
beer by 37 respondents (4.65) and 13 respondents said High thirst quenching beer with 4.46 mean.
(See Table 3)
From this analysis it can be concluded that, the respondents believe that St. George beer is has
premium or good qualities in attributes taste, color, aroma, foam, and thirst quenching. But there is
a lesser grading with regard to the attributes hangover and alcoholic content which needs a due
attention since these types of signals are helpful to identify the potentials for improvement.

24

Table 3. Relationship of attitude and product attributes

Attitude towards St. George Beer * St. George Beer: Taste
St. George Beer: Taste
Mean
N
Std. Deviation
Very bad
1.20
5
.447
Bad
2.00
4
1.414
Fair
2.80
5
.447
Good
4.00
9
.866
Very Good
4.83
42
.437
Total
4.11
65
1.324
Attitude towards St. George Beer * St. George Beer: Color
St. George Beer: Color
Mean
N
Std. Deviation
Very bad
1.20
5
.447
Bad
2.50
2
2.121
Fair
2.33
6
.816
Good
4.10
10
.876
Very Good
4.79
42
.520
Total
4.11
65
1.324
Attitude towards St. George Beer * St George Beer: Aroma
St George Beer: Aroma
Mean
N
Std. Deviation
Very bad
1.20
5
.447
Bad
2.50
2
2.121
Fair
2.78
9
1.093
Good
4.22
9
.833
Very Good
4.83
40
.446
Total
4.11
65
1.324
Attitude towards St. George Beer * St. George Beer: Foam
St. George Beer: Foam
Mean
N
Std. Deviation
Very Low
1.20
5
.447
Low
2.00
3
1.732
Fair
3.00
8
.926
High
4.09
11
.831
Very High
4.89
38
.311
Total
4.11
65
1.324
Attitude towards St. George Beer * St. George Beer: Hangover
St. George Beer: Hangover
Mean
N
Std. Deviation
Very High
3.20
5
1.483
High
4.75
4
.500
Fair
3.50
14
1.401
Low
4.53
17
1.068
Very Low
4.24
25
1.363
Total
4.11
65
1.324
Attitude towards St. George Beer * St. George Beer: Alcoholic percentage
St. George Beer: Alcoholic percentage
Mean
N
Std. Deviation
Very Low
2.89
9
1.764
Low
3.88
8
1.553
Fair
4.11
27
1.121
High
4.63
16
1.025
Very High
5.00
5
.000
Total
4.11
65
1.324
Attitude towards St. George Beer * St. George Beer: Thirst quenching
St. George Beer: Thirst quenching
Mean
N
Std. Deviation
Very Low
2.00
9
1.500
Low
3.67
3
1.155
Fair
2.67
3
.577
High
4.46
13
.660
Very High
4.65
37
.857
Total
4.11
65
1.324

25

While reviewing other marketing stimulus that trigger consumers to choose St. George Beer
among others, it is found that out of the 61 respondents who drink St. George 43 of them (66.2%)
choose taste as a major marketing stimulus for choosing St. George Beer. 7 of the respondents
(11.5%) said promotion and another 7 respondents (11.5%) said availability and 4 of the
respondents choose St. George because of the influence of other such as friends and families. Out
of the total 65 respondents 4 of them (6.2%) dont want to drink St. George Beer unless and other
wise there is no other option or beer brand alternative. They believe that St. George Beer has less
alcoholic content, sour taste, watery, lesser quality in general.
Table 4. Marketing stimuli for choosing St. George Beer

Missing
Total

Taste
Promotion
Influence of others
Availability
Total
No Response

Frequency
43
7
4
7
61
4
65

Percent
66.2
10.8
6.2
10.8
93.8
6.2
100.0

Valid Percent
70.5
11.5
6.6
11.5
100.0

B
a
r
C
h
a
r
t
1
A
t
i
u
d
e
t
o
w
a
r
d
s
S
t
.
G
e
o
r
g
e
B
e
r
4
0
3
0
2
0

In order to identify the other components of attitude which is affective; respondents were asked
to evaluate St. George Beer in general by rating their liking and attitude towards St. George Beer
using a semantic differential scale. As per the result of this analysis output, 60% of the
respondents have Very good attitude towards St. George Beer, 13.8% have Good and 12.3% have

N
u
m
b
e
ro
fe
s
p
o
n
d
ets

and average attitude towards this beer brand. 6 respondents have Very bad and 3 respondents
have Bad attitude towards St. George Beer which requires further study by taking larger and
more representative sample.

1
0
0V
e
ryb
a
dA
B
a
d
F
a
i
r
G
o
d
V
e
r
y
G
o
d
tiu
d
e
to
w
a
rd
s
S
t.G
e
o
rg
e
B
e
r
26

N
u
m
b
e
ro
fe
s
p
o
n
d
ets N
u
m
b
e
ro
fe
s
p
o
n
d
ets

B
a
r
C
h
a
r
t
2
L
i
k
e
a
b
i
l
t
y
o
f
S
t
.
G
e
o
r
g
e
B
e
r
3
0
2
0
1
0

On the same token, the likeability of the respondents was measured which resulted in 47.7% of
respondents Very good, 24.6% Good, 15.4% Fair, 3.1% Bad and 9.2% Very bad.

0V
e
ryb
a
dL
B
a
d
F
a
i
r
G
o
d
V
e
r
y
G
o
d
ik
e
a
b
ilty
o
fS
t.G
e
o
rg
e
B
e
r

B
a
r
C
h
a
r
t
3
I
n
t
e
i
o
n
t
b
u
y
S
t
.
G
e
o
r
g
e
B
e
r
4
0
3
0
2
0

The percentage of both attitude and likeability is higher on the positive side, even though there
are extreme negatives which needs a special attention to find out their reasons for their dislike or
unfavorable attitude towards St. George Beer.

In the case of the third attitude component which is conation, respondents were asked about their
intention to buy or choose St. George Beer, by which 50.8% of respondents answered definitely
will buy, 24.6% probably will buy, and 10.8% said might buy. Whereas 9 respondents said will
not buy of which 6 of them (9.2%) said definitely will not buy and the rest 4.6% said probably
will not buy.

1
0
0D
e
fin
tlb
e
yw
ilIn
P
rte
o
b
a
yn
w
iltb
M
iu
ty
g
h
b
u
y
P
r
o
b
a
l
y
w
i
l
D
e
f
i
n
t
e
l
y
w
i
l
o
u
n
tilo
u
u
b
u
S
t.G
e
o
rg
e
B
e
r

27

In order to determine the function of attitude the respondents towards St. George beer, they
were also asked about their feeling when they drink St. George beer. Out of the 65 respondents
13 of them either could not explain their feeling or don not drink St. George beer at all.
Considering the rest 52 respondents, 24 of them feel satisfied, 25 respondents said relaxation, 2
respondents said acceptance from others and 1 respondent said confidence. From this it can be
concluded that St. George consumers drink the Beer for utilitarian function by they try to achieve
the desired benefits of relaxation and satisfaction from the beer.
Table 5. Feeling when drinking St. George beer

Valid

Missing

Frequency
24
25

Percent
36.9
38.5

Valid Percent
46.2
48.1

Acceptance from others

3.1

3.8

Confidence

1.5

1.9

Total

52

80.0

100.0

No response

13

20.0

65

100.0

Satisfaction
Relaxation

Total

In connection to the probability of switching to another brand, respondents were asked if they
want switch from St. George to another and if so the reason behind their intention for switching.
Surprisingly, 50% of the respondents want to switch to another brand, this is what makes it
difficult to understand the consumer black box and their reason behind every action they made.
Even though, most of the respondents expressed their attitudes and consuming habits in favor of
St. George in the first few questions, they still want something better.
Out of the 65 respondents 32 wants to switch and the rest 32 are loyal consumers of the brand
and 1 respondent said that he has recently switched to another due to decline of the St. George
Beer quality. This is one major red light for St. George Beer in the future. The major reasons for
switching stated by the respondents are recently declining quality with regard to taste, lower
alcoholic content of the beer and if a new better beer brand is introduced to the market
respondents are very willing to switch.

28

4.4 Influence of advertisement towards attitude formation using Pearson correlation

A correlation coefficient measured the strength of a linear between two variables. In the study, a
correlation coefficient measured the strength of a linear between five advertisement attributes
(Seasonal, Entertaining, Influential, Repetitive, and Attractive) and attitude towards St. George
Beer.
The correlation between attitude towards St. George Beer and Seasonal advertisement is positive
and is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). The correlation is 0.371 (p=0.02). Entertaining
advertisement is also positively correlated and is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). The
correlation is 0.307 (p=0.13). Creativity of the ad is also positively related- Correlation is
significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) with 0.257 (p=0.039). Attractiveness of the ad has a week
positive correlation with attitude towards St. George Beer, whereas repetitive and influential
advertisements have a weak negative correlation with attitude towards St. George Beer.
Table 6 Pearson correlation of advertisement attributes and attitude
Advertisement attributes
Entertaining

Creative

Attractive

Repetitive

Influential

.371(**)

.307(*)

.257(*)

.188

-.050

-.098

.002

.013

.039

.135

.691

.435

65

65

65

65

65

65

Seasonal

Attitude

Pearson
Correlation

towards St.

Sig (2-tailed)

George Beer

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

In addition, respondents have indicated that ST. George Beer advertisements have a unique or
differentiated characteristics from the other competitor beer brands in a way that;

The advertisements of St. George are entertaining

Seasonal ads in relation to Ethiopian cultural and religious festivals

Creativity

Ethiopian the creative is done based on the real Ethiopian culture in return makes the
audience feel closer and attracted to message

Simple and to the point advertisement message.

Sponsoring sports and participating and supporting other special programs and festivals

29

With regard to the regard to the repetition of advertisement 53.8% of the respondents believe that
St. Georges advertisements are repetitive and the rest 46.2% do not agree with.
Table 7 St. George beer advertisement repetition

Valid

Yes
No

Frequency
35
30

Percent
53.8
46.2

Valid Percent
53.8
46.2

65

100.0

100.0

Total

Cumulative
Percent
53.8
100.0

The repetition of the ads of St. George Beer resulted in sensory adaptation which is clearly
presented by the person correlation result presented below in Table 9, by which the correlation of
advertisement repetition of St. George beer is positively correlated and is significant at the 0.01
level (2-tailed). The correlation is 0.418 (p=0.007). This requires the company to review the
number and frequency of advertisement repetition so that it can transmit its message with limited
number in an efficient and effective timing.
Table 8 Advertisement repetition and sensory adaptation
St. George beer
advertisement repetition
St. George beer advertisement
repetition

St. George beer advertisement

sensory adaptation

Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N

St. George beer advertisement

sensory adaptation
1

.418(**)

65

.007
40

.418(**)

.007
40

40

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

4.5

Demographic factors and consumer attitude towards St. George

The difference among various demographic groups with regard to their attitudes towards St.
George beer is analyzed using cross tabulation and ANOVA statistical methods.
Table 9 presents the cross tabulation of demographic factors and attitude towards St. George beer.
And Table 10 presents the ANOVA analysis of demographic factors and attitude towards St.
George beer.

30

Table 9 Demographic factors and attitude towards St. George Beer -Cross tabulation
Gender * Attitude towards St. George Beer Cross tabulation
Attitude towards St. George Beer
Gender

Very bad
6
0

male
female

Total

Bad

Fair

Total

Good

3
0

8
0

8
1

Very Good
32
7

39

7
27

57
8
65

Age * Attitude towards St. George Beer Cross tabulation

Attitude towards St. George Beer
Age

18-24
25-30

Very bad
0
0

31-36
>36
Total

Bad

Fair

Total

Good

0
0

0
3

2
5

Very Good
5
19

11

18

13

39

65

Marital Status * Attitude towards St. George Beer Cross tabulation

Attitude towards St. George Beer
Marital Status

Very bad
1
5

Single
Married
Divorced

Total

Bad

Fair

Total

Good

0
3

3
4

6
2

Very Good
28
11

39

65

38
25

Monthly Income * Attitude towards St. George Beer Cross tabulation

Attitude towards St. George Beer
Monthly Income

150-650
651-1400

Very bad
0
0

Bad

Fair

Total

Good

0
0

0
0

1
1

Very Good
2
7
9

13

3
8

1401-2350

2351-3550

14

>3551

14

27

39

65

Total

Educational Background * Attitude towards St. George Beer Cross tabulation

Attitude towards St. George Beer
Very bad
Educational
Background

Primary school complete

Bad

Fair

Total

Good

Very Good

11

18

College Diploma

17

Bachelor Degree

15

25

Above Bachelor Degree

39

65

Secondary school complete

Total

Occupation * Attitude towards St. George Beer Cross tabulation

Attitude towards St. George Beer
Occupation

Total

Government employee
Private employee

Very bad
1
5

Bad

Fair

Total

Good

0
3

2
3

1
7

Very Good
15
22

19
40

Business person

Other

39

65

31

From Table 9, it can be concluded that in the gender category even if the female respondents are few
compared to that of males all of them have a positive attitude towards St. George beer. In the age
category age group 25-30 have good and very good attitude towards St. George beer. With respect to
martial status, the single respondents have better attitude towards St. George beer. In the case of
monthly income level group most of the respondents with income level 651-1400 and 150-650 have
positive attitude towards St. George beer. In the educational background, respondents with bachelor
degree have good and very good attitudes, the same goes to private employees in the occupation
demographic group.
In order to explain the difference among and between groups, ANOVA analysis is done which is
presented below In Table 10 below.
Table 10 Demography and attitude towards St. George Beer - ANOVA

Between Groups
Within Groups
Total

Attitude towards St. George Beer Gender

Sum of
Squares
df
Mean Square
5.371
1
5.371
106.875
63
1.696
112.246
64

F
3.166

Sig.
.080

Between Groups
Within Groups
Total

Attitude towards St. George Beer Age

Sum of
Squares
df
Mean Square
32.214
3
10.738
80.033
61
1.312
112.246
64

F
8.184

Sig.
.000

Attitude towards St. George Beer Martial status

Sum of
Squares
df
Mean Square
F
20.637
2
10.318
6.983
91.609
62
1.478
112.246
64

Sig.
.002

Between Groups
Within Groups
Total

Between Groups
Within Groups
Total

Attitude towards St. George Beer Income

Sum of
Squares
df
Mean Square
9.839
4
2.460
102.407
60
1.707
112.246
64

F
1.441

Attitude towards St. George Beer Educational background

Sum of
Squares
df
Mean Square
F
Between Groups
2.870
4
.718
.394
Within Groups
109.376
60
1.823
Total
112.246
64
Attitude towards St. George Beer -Occupation
Sum of
Squares
df
Mean Square
F
Between Groups
6.409
3
2.136
1.231
Within Groups
105.837
61
1.735
Total
112.246
64

Sig.
.232

Sig.
.812

Sig.
.306

32

According to the one-way ANOVA results of the mean difference of attitude towards St. George
Beer by the demographic characteristics, no significant difference in the attitude towards St.
George Beer of the respondents was found by gender, educational background, monthly income
and occupation. Significant difference in the overall satisfaction of the respondents was found only
by age (F=8.184 and p=.000) and martial status (F=6.983 and p=.002). Since the F ratio value of
age and martial status is significant, there is a difference between groups on age and martial status
demographic variables.
After determining the existence of the mean difference the Post Hoc Tests was done in order to
determine which means differ for the age and martial status demographic characteristics.
Table 11 Post Hoc Tests for Age
Multiple Comparisons
Dependent Variable: Attitude towards St. George Beer
LSD

(I) Age
18-24

25-30

31-36

>36

(J) Age
25-30
31-36
>36
18-24
31-36
>36
18-24
25-30
>36
18-24
25-30
31-36

Mean
Difference
(I-J)
.122
.603
1.945*
-.122
.481
1.823*
-.603
-.481
1.342*
-1.945*
-1.823*
-1.342*

Std. Error
.486
.510
.537
.486
.349
.387
.510
.349
.417
.537
.387
.417

Sig.
.803
.242
.001
.803
.172
.000
.242
.172
.002
.001
.000
.002

95% Confidence Interval

Lower Bound
Upper Bound
-.85
1.09
-.42
1.62
.87
3.02
-1.09
.85
-.22
1.18
1.05
2.60
-1.62
.42
-1.18
.22
.51
2.18
-3.02
-.87
-2.60
-1.05
-2.18
-.51

*. The mean difference is significant at the .05 level.

From the multi comparison of mean differences of the attitude towards St. George Beer by age
respondents, the age group 36 and above has difference with all the rest of the age groups in the
attitude towards St. George Beer which indicates that this age group of respondents has a lesser
attitude towards this Brand.

33

Table 12 Post Hoc Tests for Martial status

Multiple Comparisons
Dependent Variable: Attitude towards St. George Beer
LSD

(I) Marital Status

Single
Married
Divorced

(J) Marital Status

Married
Divorced
Single
Divorced
Single
Married

Mean
Difference
(I-J)
Std. Error
1.139*
.314
1.079
.883
-1.139*
.314
-.060
.895
-1.079
.883
.060
.895

Sig.
.001
.227
.001
.947
.227
.947

95% Confidence Interval

Lower Bound
Upper Bound
.51
1.77
-.69
2.84
-1.77
-.51
-1.85
1.73
-2.84
.69
-1.73
1.85

*. The mean difference is significant at the .05 level.

From the multi comparison of means of marital status of respondents, the difference in the attitude
towards St. George Beer lies in the married respondents which indicate that this group of
respondents has a lesser attitude towards the Brand.
4.6 Comparison of St George Vs Dashen and Meta
The product attributes of major competitor beer brands of Ethiopia which are St. George, Dashen
and Meta Abo are compared using mean and standard deviation. Accordingly, St. George Beer has
above average means for taste, color, aroma, foam and thirst quenching attributes and average
mean for hangover and alcoholic percentage. While Dashen scored average means for all the
attributes by which it exceeds St. George in alcoholic content (Mean St. George=3.00 and Mean
Dashen=3.44). Whereas, Meta Abo is below average for all the attributes except for thirst
quenching and alcoholic percentage which have average means.
This shows that the quality of St. George Beers attribute helped it to win the consumers mind and
larger market share in the Ethiopian Beer industry.

34

Table 13 Product attributes comparison among various Ethiopian beer brands

Product attributes means- Dashen Beer
Dashen Beer: Taste
Dashen Beer: Color
Dashen Beer: Aroma
Dashen Beer: Foam

N
52
52
52
52

Minimum
1
1
1
1

Maximum
5
5
5
5

Mean
3.48
3.44
3.44
3.44

Std. Deviation
1.163
1.018
.978
.978

Dashen Beer: Alcohol percentage

52

3.44

1.018

Dashen Beer: Hangover

52

3.77

1.366

Dashen Beer: Thirst quenching

51

3.20

1.184

Valid N (listwise)

51

Product attributes means -Meta Abo Beer

Meta Abo: Taste
Meta Abo: Color
Meta Abo: Aroma

N
51
51
51

Minimum
1
1
1

Maximum
5
5
5

Mean
2.92
2.88
2.98

Std. Deviation
1.163
.931
.860

Meta Abo: Foam

51

2.96

.871

Meta Abo: Alcohol percentage

51

3.10

1.153

Meta Abo: Hangover

Meta Abo: Thirst quenching
Valid N (listwise)

51
51
51

1
1

5
5

2.92
3.04

1.369
1.113

Product attributes means -St. George Beer

St. George Beer: Taste
St. George Beer: Color
St George Beer: Aroma

N
65
65
65

Minimum
1
1
1

Maximum
5
5
5

Mean
4.22
4.26
4.18

Std. Deviation
1.281
1.228
1.249

St. George Beer: Foam

65

4.14

1.261

St. George Beer: Alcoholic percentage

65

3.00

1.118

St. George Beer: Hangover

65

3.82

1.236

St. George Beer: Thirst quenching

Valid N (listwise)

65
65

4.02

1.441

4.7 Beer brand choice of respondents

The respondents were asked to rank the five Ethiopian beer brands; Bedle, Dashen, Harar, Meta
Abo and St. George, with respect to their preference. Accordingly, St. George is the leading brand
in which 44 respondents choose it as their number one choice, followed by Dashen with 9
respondents, Bedele with 7 respondents, Meta Abo with 3 respondents and Harar 2 respondents
choosing them as their first choice.

Table 14 Bedele Beer rank

35

Valid

B
a
r
C
h
a
r
t
4
B
e
d
l
B
e
r
R
a
n
k
210550
01stchoie2nd3rdchoie4thcoie5thcoie
Frequency
7
12

Percent
10.8
18.5

Valid Percent
11.9
20.3

3rd choice

13

20.0

22.0

4th choice

17

26.2

28.8

5th choice

10

15.4

16.9

Total

59

90.8

100.0

9.2

No response

N
o
.fR
e
s
p
o
n
d
e
ts

Missing

1st choice
2nd choice

Total

choieB
edlB
er
65

100.0

B
a
r
C
h
a
r
t
5
D
a
s
h
e
n
B
e
r
R
a
n
k
2
0
1
5
0
5
0
Table 15 Dashen Beer rank
Frequency

Valid

N
o
.fR
e
s
p
o
n
d
ets

Missing
Total

1st choice
2nd choice
3rd choice
4th choice
5th choice
Total
No response

9
17
12
10
14
62
3
65

Percent
13.8
26.2
18.5
15.4
21.5
95.4
4.6
100.0

Valid Percent
14.5
27.4
19.4
16.1
22.6
100.0

Cumulative
Percent
14.5
41.9
61.3
77.4
100.0

1
stch
o
ie2
n
d
ch
o
iD
e
ra
is
3
d
c
h
o
e
4
t
h
c
o
i
e
5
t
h
c
o
i
e
h
e
n
B
e
r
Table 16 Harar Beer

36

Valid

Missing

B
a
r
C
h
a
r
t
6
H
a
r
B
e
r
R
a
n
k
2
0
1
5
0
5
Percent
3.1
10.8

Valid Percent
3.3
11.5

Cumulative
Percent
3.3
14.8

3rd choice

17

26.2

27.9

42.6

4th choice

17

26.2

27.9

70.5

5th choice

18

27.7

29.5

100.0

Total

61

93.8

100.0

6.2

65

100.0

No response

N
o
.fR
e
s
p
o
n
d
ets

Total

1st choice
2nd choice

Frequency
2
7

01
stch
o
ie2
n
d
ch
o
ie
rH
ia
3
d
c
h
o
e
4
t
h
c
o
i
e
5
t
h
c
o
i
e
rB
e
r

B
a
r
C
h
a
r
t
7
M
e
t
a
A
b
o
B
e
r
R
a
n
k
2
0
1
5
0
5
01
stch
o
ie2
n
d
ch
o
ie3
rd
ch
o
ie4
th
co
ie5
th
co
ie
Table 17 Meta Abo Beer

Frequency

1st choice
2nd choice
3rd choice
4th choice
5th choice
Total
No Response

N
o
.fR
e
s
p
o
n
d
ets

Valid

Missing
Total

3
19
14
12
12
60
5
65

Percent
4.6
29.2
21.5
18.5
18.5
92.3
7.7
100.0

Valid Percent
5.0
31.7
23.3
20.0
20.0
100.0

Cumulative
Percent
5.0
36.7
60.0
80.0
100.0

M
e
ta
A
b
o
B
e
r

37

B
a
r
C
h
a
r
t
8
S
t
.
G
e
o
r
g
e
B
e
r
R
a
n
k
5
0
4
3
0
2
1
0
Table 18 St. George Beer

1st choice
2nd choice

Percent
67.7
13.8

Valid Percent
67.7
13.8

Cumulative
Percent
67.7
81.5

3rd choice

87.7

6.2

6.2

4th choice

4.6

4.6

92.3

5th choice

7.7

7.7

100.0

65

100.0

100.0

N
o
.fR
e
s
p
o
n
d
ets

Valid

Frequency
44
9

Total

01
stch
o
ie2
n
d
ch
o
iS
e
rt.G
3
ie
d
c
h
o
e
4
t
h
c
o
i
e
5
t
h
c
o
i
e
o
rg
e
B
e
r

Even though it is difficult to draw conclusion from this small survey, this is a great success for St.
George Beer but it is also an assignment for the Company to maintain and increase its number one
preference rank.

38

CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Conclusion
In the preceding sections of this paper, the issue of consumer perception and attitude is thoroughly
discussed taking the case of St. George beer
This study is undertaken by reviewing secondary data written on related topics and collecting and
analyzing primary data through a survey questionnaire distributed to 80 beer consumers around
Mexico and Stadium area in Addis Ababa; of which 65 were filled out and returned.
The objective of the research is to determine the current perception and attitude of consumer St.
George beer. To this end the study surveyed the perception and attitude towards this Brand, and
also assessed the factors contributing to the current level of attitude and the resulted behavior.
Accordingly, the data analysis performed in frequencies, ANOVA, and correlation analysis
methods show that most respondents have a positive attitude towards St. George beer and most of
them prefer it as their first choice. This is resulted due to the product attributes especially taste,
aroma, color, foam, and thirst quenching ability of the Beer. With regard to the perception of the
marketing efforts in promotion, the St. George Beer advertisements are perceived positively by
most of the respondents due to their creativity, entertaining ability, cultural perspective, and
seasonality. The repetition of the ads created a sensory adaptation in one third of the respondents.
The public relation aspects such as supporting and sponsoring sports and other programs are also
positive perceived by the respondents.
The demographic characteristics such as gender, age, martial status, educational back ground,
monthly income, and occupation were analyzed with regard to their difference in attitude towards
St. George Beer. But only age and martial status have significance difference among the groups.
The age group of 36 and above (from the age demographic characteristics) and married (from
martial status demographic characteristics) respondents have lesser attitude towards St. George
Beer.
The intention to switch result was surprising that out of the current St. George beer consumer
respondents half of them have the intention switch to other brands.

39

5.2 Recommendation
Companies depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer
needs, meet these needs and strive to exceed customer expectations. For any business, which
depends for its ultimate survival on satisfying a market, meeting customer requirements is clearly
vital.
The company that really understands how consumers will respond to different product features,
prices, and advertising appeals has a great advantage over competitors. So as to understand
consumers responses or behaviors, the consumer psychology which results these responses need to
be identified.
Among others perception and attitudes are important components of the consumer psychology in
which this research paper has fully focused on.
St. Gorge Beer is the pioneer and still the dominant beer brand in Ethiopia. The Brand increased its
market share significant in the past few years. The Company of this Beer Brand has given a due
attention to the marketing mixes especially the product and the promotion which resulted in
positive attitudes of beer consumers which in return resulted in positive behavior or preference of
the Brand. The researchers believe that this point should also be shared by other competitive
brands since the market share of the rest of competing brands is way below average.
With regard to St. George, it has to maintain and improve its current positive perception and
attitudes by Ethiopian beer consumers. It has to always strive to exceed the consumers expectation
by offering better quality products, addition product lines which could meet the needs of different
group of consumers, continue to improve its promotional activities and diversify its distribution
channel not only in Ethiopia but also to the international market.
The question about the intention to switch is answered yes by half of the respondents, which is a
red light to the Brand and requires it not to be fully confident by its current huge market share in
Ethiopian beer industry. Since todays market is very dynamic, St. George beer should undertake a
continual improvement, because new beer brands are going to enter the market from domestic as
well as international beer manufacturers. There is a saying that the largest room in the world is the
room for improvement.
It is difficult to generalize the perception and attitude of the beer consumers towards St. George
Beer in Ethiopia based on the findings of this very small scaled research, this study only gives the
insight of the current situation with regard to this issue. So a better in depth study need to be
undertaken on this topic in the future.
40

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41

APPENDICES

42