In Jin & Bennur's (2014) empirical survey-based study, the authors applied Kano's theory of attractive quality to four countries based on their level of development. India, China, Korea, and the United States were chosen - listed in order from least to most developed - in order to test three hypotheses related to Kano's theory. In its essence, Kano's theory describes product attributes in relation to the amount of satisfaction they engender over time, meaning that there are descriptive and temporal elements to the theory. The five categories in order are indifference, attractive, performance, must-be, and at times reverse. Each lifecycle can also be considered flavor of the month, whereupon the cycle is quickened to the point of indifference or stable, meaning it lives in the must-be category. The importance of each attribute can differ by country for a wide array of products, and according to the authors this theory as applied to apparel is lacking in the literature despite its potential value to international marketers and product development teams. The authors set out to investigate three hypotheses, quoted below:

1. The classification of apparel attributes into Kano's categories will differ by country.

2. Regardless of country, attributes classified in the performance and attractive categories will contribute to satisfaction more than attributes classified in the must-be category.

3. Each attribute will have a different lifecycle.

The authors devised a study around jeans, given that they are a very common item of clothing. Eight aspects of jeans such as workmanship, quality, fitting, price, design, brand, fashionability, and versatility were examined with three questions related to each component. The questions gauged the functional and dysfunctional aspects of the jeans. When the data were analyzed, all three hypotheses were accepted, and the results gave fascinating insights into how levels of a country's development play a role in what factors are important to consumers when purchasing and using apparel items.

The authors mentioned several practical implications of the findings of this study, including the importance of global retailers determining the must-be attributes for products in each market, as consumers will not purchase products when a must-be attribute is not present regardless of market. They also mentioned that as performance and attractive categories contribute more to customer satisfaction more than must-be categories - regardless of country - it is very important for retailers to identify these attributes when looking to enter a new market.

Here are some discussion questions that will help us to think critically about the article's findings and implications. It might be easiest for you to note the number of the question you are answering to ensure the smoothest first Moodle Discussion possible...

1. Are there any other practical implications of the findings in this study that you can think of that were not mentioned?

2. Why do you think that performance and attractive categories contribute most to satisfaction? Furthermore, why do you think that this is the same for all four countries?

3. How does this article relate to "Evolution patterns of apparel brands in Asian countries: propositions from an analysis of the apparel industry in Korea and India," which we read in class?

4. How would you describe the relationship between the level of a country's development, and the clothing attributes it values? (Remember the aspects of jeans.)

5. If you were starting a denim company, how could you utilize the findings of this study to your advantage?