European Journal of Marketing

Changing faces: cosmetics opinion leadership among women in the new Hungary
Robin A. Coulter Lawrence F. Feick Linda L. Price

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Robin A. Coulter Lawrence F. Feick Linda L. Price, (2002),"Changing faces: cosmetics opinion leadership
among women in the new Hungary", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 36 Iss 11/12 pp. 1287 - 1308
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Changing faces: cosmetics

opinion leadership among
women in the new Hungary

Changing faces

University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA

Received October 2000

Robin A. Coulter

Lawrence F. Feick

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Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania, USA, and

Linda L. Price

University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

Keywords Leadership, Products, Cosmetics, Hungary, Consumer behaviour
Abstract Research conducted in the early 1990s in Hungary indicated a lack of knowledgeable
and influential personal sources in the cosmetics product category. The purpose of this article is to
examine women cosmetics opinion leaders in Hungary approximately ten years into the country's
transition to a market economy. Because of the evolution of the cosmetics market over the past
decade and Hungarian women's increased involvement with cosmetics, we expected to see the
emergence of opinion leadership in the product category. Survey data from 340 Hungarian
women indicate that the incidence of cosmetics opinion leadership and self-reported product
knowledge is lower than what we might expect in more established market economies.
Nonetheless, we found the relationships between cosmetics opinion leadership in Hungary and
antecedent and consequent variables are similar to what we would expect in more established
market economies. We discuss the implications of these results for marketing managers.
In the last 40 years, during the socialist, communist regime, there wasn't a choice. People
weren't conscious about [appearance and cosmetics]. The only thing that was important was
to have a work place and to meet the requirement of the socialist men and women (Personal
interview with Hungarian woman, age 24, Miskolc, Hungary, 1998).
Even the beginnings of consumerism in the 1960s didn't help much; there were still no
choices, no variety [in cosmetics in Eastern Europe]. In fact, in spite of the new propaganda,
real consumerism was impossible except as an idea because there was little to consume.
Trying to be beautiful was always difficult; it involved extra effort, devotion perhaps. But
most women didn't have the time or the imagination enough to try (Drakuli, 1993, p. 27).

In 1989, capitalism began to replace communism in Central and Eastern

Europe, ushering in significant political and economic change. But in the early
1990s, consumers still had limited choices in many product categories,
including little choice with regard to personal care and cosmetics products:
There was no choice [in the early 1990s]. There was only one cream. There were no
international companies. The customers had no needs, there was no choice (Personal interview
with Promotions Manager, Hungarian Promotion Service, Budapest, Hungary, 1998).
I didn't get cosmetics in Hungary in 1990. (So you couldn't find that in 1990?) No, my
colleagues and friends brought me some cosmetics from Sweden, from West country
(Personal interview with Hungarian woman, age 37, Budapest, Hungary, 1998).

European Journal of Marketing,

Vol. 36 No. 11/12,
2002, pp. 1287-1308.
# MCB UP Limited, 0309-0566
DOI 10.1108/03090560210445182

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The economic and political change in Central and Eastern Europe captured the
attention of many Western firms interested in these emerging markets. Overall,
there was a rush of new products and increased exposure of consumers to
advertising, leading consumers to greater understanding of and desire for
Western branded products (Batra, 1997). In the personal care and cosmetics
product categories, major multinational firms such as Proctor & Gamble,
Henkel, and Johnson & Johnson began distributing and manufacturing in
Central and Eastern Europe. And, by 1992, with the surge of personal care and
cosmetics products and many new retail establishments (Central Statistical
Office of Hungary, 1992; CEEBIC, 1998), it was ``wow'' for everyone (Personal
interview with Brand Manager, Procter & Gamble Hungary, Budapest,
Hungary, 1998). A Hungarian woman, age 37, of Budapest (personal interview,
1998) commented, ``In 1992, suddenly we [could] buy [things that we never
could before]''.
During the 1990s, many Central European women began a period of
personal transition: changing their lifestyles and becoming more concerned
about their appearance (Drakuli, 1993; 1996; Kligman, 1996; Business Week,
1998). In Hungary, from 1991 to 1995, the cosmetics and toiletries market
increased 40 per cent, and the market size for 1998 was reported at 113.6 million
USD (Vegh, 1998). In Poland, the demand for cosmetics has also increased
dramatically, reaching an estimated 150 million USD in 1997 (CEEBIC, 1997).
In addition, multi-level marketing firms including Avon, Oriflame, and Amway
established strong customer bases in Central Europe (Vegh, 1998; CEEBIC,
1997).
Although personal care and cosmetic product sales continued to grow, a
brand manager for Procter & Gamble Hungary (personal interview, Budapest,
1998) reported the difficulties related to new product introductions, product
adoption and increasing usage in the product category:
. . . it is very, very difficult to change the accepted consumer beliefs which have roots for 50
years. They heard it from their mother and their grandmother, and everyone has done it this
way. So why should I be different? Why should I do it differently?
We have found, based on wide consumer research, that [the lack of personal care and
cosmetic product usage] roots in the social background or the culture of Hungary and Central
and Eastern Europe. First of all, people didn't have the products to choose from or the
products that gave them benefits. They didn't have the choice because there were no choice of
products, there were a few local brands which performed the same. They never felt this inner
need of wanting to [attend to personal care and cosmetic issues] . . . . But it is the culture . . .
women don't shave. Women don't use antiperspirant, women don't wash their hair often
enough (one and a half times per week) . . . hair washing frequency hasn't changed over the
past five years.

Product and brand managers of personal care and cosmetic products in Central
Europe are faced with decisions about how to speed the diffusion and increase
the usage of their products. In Hungary, a brand manager for Procter &
zlethaz (an Austrian-owned drug
Gamble, the shop manager for Higienia U
store), the marketing manager for Azur (a Hungarian-owned drug store chain),
and the promotions managers for Hungarian Promotional Service report that

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advertising and in-store promotions are effective in generating short-term

sales. Nonetheless, they also acknowledge that these marketing techniques are
slow to change a majority of Central Europeans' long-standing views and
behaviors about personal care and cosmetics products.
The literature on interpersonal sources of information has documented their
significance in influencing marketplace choices in the USA (Feick and Price,
1987; Katona and Mueller, 1955; Kiel and Layton, 1981; American
Demographics, 1995), and in diffusing information about new products,
services, and ideas (Arndt, 1968; Katz and Lazarsfeld, 1955; Kelly et al., 1991;
Lomas et al., 1991). Indeed, Price et al. (1987) argue that market economies, with
great product innovation in product characteristics and brands, can operate as
efficiently as they do only because of the presence of informed interpersonal
information sources. Such sources reduce the information problem for less
informed buyers by condensing, simplifying, and tailoring product
information. While Internet ``infomediaries'' have shifted the roles of informed
personal sources in many developed markets, Internet penetration in Hungary,
even in 1998, was low (Hagel and Singer, 1999).
In the early 1990s in Hungary, Feick et al. (1995) reported the relative dearth
of knowledgeable and influential personal sources in the cosmetics product
category. The increased availability of cosmetics products and brands in
Hungary during the past decade, the dramatic increase in product category
expenditures, and the rising importance of women's personal appearance
suggest some Hungarian women will be involved in the category and will have
developed the requisite knowledge and confidence to act as important sources
of information about cosmetics, much as they do in Western markets.
Hungary's early transition to a market economy (Berend and Ranki, 1985) and
the perception that Hungary is more market-like than other countries in the
region (Lascu et al., 1996) support our expectation that some segment of women
in Hungary have taken on influential roles in the cosmetics product category.
Nonetheless, a caution from Braun and Barany (1999) notes that Hungary is
still early in its transition to a market economy. Consequently, patterns of
behavior that are taken for granted in mature markets may not yet be
established in Hungary.
The purpose of this paper is to examine one group of Hungarian personal
influencers, opinion leaders in the cosmetics product category, approximately
ten years into its transition from a command to a market economy. We use
survey data from 340 Hungarian women to examine the incidence of women
cosmetics opinion leaders, as well as variables included in the nomological
network (e.g. product category involvement, usage/category participation,
knowledge, and preferred sources of information) and the demographic profile
of opinion leaders.
Opinion leaders
Opinion leaders, product specialists who provide other consumers with
information about a particular product class, have been studied for over

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five decades (Childers, 1986; Price et al., 1987; Katz and Lazarfeld, 1955;
King and Summers, 1967, 1970; Lazarfeld et al., 1948; Reynolds and Darden,
1971; Rogers and Cartano, 1962). They are a key group for marketers to
target in that they are critical to the diffusion of product information
(Rogers, 1995), but in addition, they are important actors in market
economies. Opinion leaders gather, use, and disseminate product and
marketplace information, encouraging price competition, promoting
quality, and reducing the likelihood of monopoly power (Capon and Lutz,
1979; Porter, 1980). Price et al. (1987) argue that the diffusion of information
by influential others immediately and directly affects the choices of less
informed consumers.
Who are the Hungarian cosmetics opinion leaders?
As we noted earlier, many Central European women are transforming their
lifestyles and becoming more concerned about their appearance (Drakuli, 1993,
1996). Cosmetics are a ubiquitous element of women's consumer culture, one of
the imperatives of contemporary life, and represent one of the most important
ways women present and transform their public persona (Beausoleil, 1994;
Bloch and Richins, 1992; Cash, 1988; Darden and Worden, 1994; Etcoff, 1999).
Women use cosmetics to audition various selves (Beausoleil, 1994; Thompson
and Haytko, 1997), and cosmetics matter because they are a means of selfinvention (Hebdige, 1988).
Since the early 1990s, reports indicate that Central European consumers
have been exposed to an avalanche of new cosmetic products and brands, as
well as more retail outlets which stock these products (see, for example,
Business Central Europe, 1997; Business Week, 1998; Vegh, 1998; CEEBIC,
1997). Additionally, cosmetics are an increasingly important product in
television advertising, and in the content and advertising in the increasing
number of women's magazines. Further, women are spending more on cosmetic
products in Hungary (Vegh, 1998). All of these factors suggest that some
Central European women are becoming more involved with cosmetic products
and brands.
Dichter (1966) suggested that opinion leadership is a consequence of an
individual's interest in a product category, and that interest results in these
individuals talking about the product. Early examinations of opinion
leadership supported a positive relationship between opinion leadership and
product involvement (Reynolds and Darden, 197l; Summers, 1970; Wright and
Cantor, 1967). With regard to cosmetics and personal care products, Myers and
Robertson (1972) found a 0.69 correlation between product interest and opinion
leadership. More recently, research has suggested that it is enduring
involvement (i.e. ongoing and long-term in nature), not situational (or purchase)
involvement that affects opinion leadership (Bloch et al., 1986; Higie and Feick,
1989; Richins and Root-Schaffer, 1988; Venkatraman, 1990). Consistent with
this research, we expect:

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H1. A positive relationship between enduring product involvement and

opinion leadership in Hungarian women.
Product category and marketplace participation
Opinion leaders, because of the product category involvement, tend to be
proactive about using, sampling and trying brands and products (Bloch, 1981).
This line of reasoning would suggest that Hungarian women who are involved
with cosmetics would be heavier users of cosmetics and be earlier to purchase
new products than other women. It is not surprising that research has
documented a significant relationship between opinion leadership and early
adoption of the products of interest (Dawar et al., 1996; Flynn et al., 1994;
Summers, 1970). In the cosmetics and personal care product category, Myers
and Robertson (1972) found a 0.56 correlation between opinion leadership and
innovativeness, whereas Feick and Price (1987), in the health/beauty/nonprescription drug category, reported a much lower 0.15 correlation between
opinion leadership and early adoption. Consistent with these results, we expect:
H2a. A positive relationship between Hungarian women's cosmetics
opinion leadership and product usage and money spent on cosmetics.
H2b. A positive relationship between Hungarian women's cosmetics
opinion leadership and early adoption of new cosmetic products.
Additionally, because opinion leaders find their product category of interest
hedonically pleasing and because they tend to be early triers of products, we
would expect that they would engage in variety seeking among brands within
the product category. Although we have not found previous tests of this
relationship, we expect:
H2c. A positive relationship between Hungarian women's cosmetics
opinion leadership and variety seeking behaviors.
Another aspect of opinion leaders' enduring product involvement suggests that
they enjoy shopping for their products, and being attentive to finding out about
where they might purchase products, knowing price information, and the like
(Bloch, 1981). A few studies have examined the relationship between opinion
leadership and shopping frequency and found a positive relationship (Dawar et
al., 1996; Feldman, 1966). Others have reported a positive relationship between
frequency of shopping and purchasing frequency, and enjoyment of shopping
in the category (Feick and Price, 1987). Thus, we anticipate:
H2d. A positive relationship between Hungarian women's cosmetics
opinion leadership and enjoyment of shopping and frequency of
shopping for and purchasing of cosmetics products.
Because they are involved in the product category and spend time shopping,
opinion leaders, in addition to their product category expertise, may also
acquire more general retailing and marketplace expertise. In the USA, Feick
and Price (1987), in the health/beauty/non-prescription drug category, reported

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a 0.24 correlation between opinion leadership and market mavens, people who
have general marketplace expertise. Recent research has documented the
presence of market mavens in Poland (Chelminski and Coulter, 2000). This
finding is not terribly surprising given that until the early 1990s, Central
Europeans typically dealt with shortages, retailers that carried a broad array of
products, sometimes in related product categories (e.g. toiletries and cosmetics),
others not (e.g. scotch and berries) for unpredictable time periods (Feick et al.,
1995). Thus, Central European consumers would take it upon themselves to
pay attention to the whereabouts of products, and communicate that
information to less well informed consumers. Thus, we hypothesize,
H2e. A positive relationship between Hungarian women's cosmetics
opinion leadership and market mavens.
Demographic profile
Research has profiled opinion leaders on a number of demographic variables.
Although we would expect the profile to vary by product class, in fashion,
Summers (1970) found that in the USA opinion leaders are younger, more
educated, and have a higher income than non-leaders. Since cosmetics are like
fashion in the connection to the presentation of self, we expect that
H3. Women cosmetics opinion leaders in Hungary are younger, more
educated, have higher incomes, and are more cosmopolitan than women
who are not opinion leaders.
Brand preferences and choices
As a consequence of opinion leaders' greater participation in the product
category, and higher socioeconomic, more cosmopolitan status, we further
expect that opinion leaders' brand choices will be affected. In particular, we
expect that opinion leaders will be aware of more brands, will purchase more
brands, and will be more likely to purchase upscale brands and brands with
less local tradition than will non-opinion leaders. Therefore, we propose:
H4. A positive relationship between Hungarian women's cosmetics opinion
leadership and the number of cosmetics brands known, number of
brands purchased, and likelihood of preferring a foreign or new
cosmetic brand.
Opinion leaders' product knowledge as a basis for influence
Consumers have been classified as opinion leaders on the basis of their
influence on others with regard to a particular product or product category
because they provide those others with useful product-related information. In
other words, opinion leaders have product category knowledge. Indeed,
numerous studies have reported support for the positive relationship between
opinion leadership and product knowledge (Dawar et al., 1996; Flynn et al.,
1994; Jacoby and Hoyer, 1981; Summers, 1970). In some ways, having product
knowledge is a necessary condition for opinion leaders to influence the choices

of others: without perceived experience or expertise, others would not rely on

their opinions. In the cosmetics and personal care product category,
specifically, Myers and Robertson (1972) found a 0.87 correlation between
product knowledge and opinion leadership. Thus, we expect:

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H5a. A positive relationship between Hungarian women's cosmetics

opinion leadership and product knowledge.
Research has documented that product knowledge is positively related to
confidence in choice (Alba and Hutchinson, 1987; Bettman and Park, 1980). It
follows that opinion leaders, because of their product knowledge, would also
feel more confident about their choices. In Hungary in 1992, women indicated
that they had a little confidence in which cosmetic products and brands to buy
(Feick et al., 1995). Today in Central Europe, women continue to face a complex,
turbulent environment, one in which many new cosmetic products and brands
are still being introduced. And, although consumers, in general, are still
learning how to be consumers (James, 1995; Business Week, 1998), we believe
that opinion leaders will be more confident in their choices than non-leaders.
Thus, we expect:
H5b. A positive relationship between Hungarian women's cosmetics
opinion leadership and their confidence in product category choices.
Sources of opinion leaders' product knowledge
In this section, we discuss the various sources from which opinion leaders
derive the product category information that yields their expertise and gives
rise to their confidence in choice and in influencing others' decisions. First, we
consider media sources used to find out about cosmetics, as well as media
habits. Then, we discuss personal sources of information, including companyaffiliated personnel, healthcare representatives, and other personal
influencers, including other opinion leaders in the cosmetics category.
Finally, we discuss consumers' personal investigation of product-relevant
information.
Media sources
The two-step flow model posited that opinion leaders are more likely to be
attuned to media sources than those who are not opinion leaders (Lazarfeld
et al., 1948). Research in a variety of contexts has supported this contention
with regard to:
.
political issues (Anderson and Garrison, 1978; Wright and Cantor, 1967);
.
coffee (Arndt, 1968);
.
medical information (Feldman, 1966); and
.
cultural activities (Langeard et al., 1977).
Since the early 1990s, the media environment in Central Europe has flourished,
with increased satellite TV access, more stations, and the introduction of many

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domestic and foreign fashion magazines (Vegh, 1998; CEEBIC, 1998). Media
have provided a great deal of product relevant and brand information of
interest to cosmetics opinion leaders. We expect that given the more intensive
media environment, and opinion leaders' interest in finding out product
information that:
H6. Hungarian women's cosmetics opinion leadership is positively related
to media exposure and usage.
Personal sources
The two-step flow model also posited that opinion leaders influenced nonleaders (Lazarfeld et al., 1948), the implication being that opinion leaders were
not influenced by other personal sources. Katz and Lazarfeld (1955) in their
seminal work on personal influence, however, argued more for opinion leaders
as information sharers, not just information providers. Evidence for opinion
leaders' sharing information was also documented by Arndt (1968), who found
that opinion leaders (compared to non-leaders) were not only more influenced
by the media, but also were more influenced by other opinion leaders. Given
Dichter's contention that opinion leadership is driven by product interest, Katz
and Lazarfeld's and Arndt's findings are not particularly surprising. And,
numerous studies have provided support for opinion leaders both giving and
receiving information from other personal sources (Anderson and Garrison,
1978; Dawar et al., 1996; Feldman, 1966; Feick et al., 1986; Summers, 1970;
Wright and Cantor, 1967). Other research has demonstrated that opinion
leaders are connected to other opinion leaders and use them as sources of
information (Feick and Price, 1987; Higie et al., 1987). More recent conceptual
work is consistent with these findings and views opinion leaders as links
between groups: opinion brokers who connect individuals to other individuals
and groups (Burt, 1999).
Research in the USA has documented the importance of personal sources
in consumer decision making particularly with regard to products that have
symbolic or communicative value, such as cosmetics (Bearden et al., 1989;
Reingen et al., 1984; Bloch et al., 1986; Feick and Price, 1987). And, in the
cosmetics and personal care product category, Myers and Robertson (1972)
found a 0.54 correlation between reciprocal influence and opinion
leadership.
Research in Hungary in 1992 indicated that few people relied on personal
sources of information in the cosmetics product category (Feick et al., 1995).
Friends, family and even salespeople were seen as neither knowledgeable nor
experienced enough in the product category to be considered reliable sources of
information. As noted previously, since 1992, the number and variety of
products and brands has increased and cosmetic usage has become more
prevalent. Domestic and foreign firms have take strides to train their
salespeople to be more knowledgeable and customer friendly (personal
interviews with marketing manager for Azur, shop manager for Higienia

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zlethaz, Budapest, Hungary, 1998). Moreover, Hungarians have dramatically

U
greater access to others via telephone penetration now than they had in the
early 1990s (Imrik, 1997; CEEBIC, 1998). Taken together, the increased
personal experience and knowledge in the product category with the increased
ability to be in contact with others suggests that:

Changing faces

H7. Hungarian women's cosmetics opinion leadership is positively related

to information seeking from personal sources, including knowing an
opinion leader.

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Personal investigation
As we have noted, research has established a strong relationship between
opinion leadership and product knowledge, some of which has come from
individuals paying close attention to product attribute information (Alba and
Hutchinson, 1987; Bloch, 1981). Feick et al. (1995) reported that in 1992, a
segment of Hungarian women were intensive information seekers about
cosmetics, paying close attention to reading labels and studying product
ingredients. Based upon the behaviors typical of opinion leaders in more
developed market economies, we anticipate that the opinion leaders in Hungary
will pay greater attention to product and brand attribute information than nonopinion leaders. Hence, we expect:
H8. A positive relationship between Hungarian women's cosmetics opinion
leadership and intensive information seeking in the cosmetics product
category.
Method
In October 1998 we gathered survey data using structured personal interviews
with 340 adult women in Budapest, Hungary. The questionnaire used in the
data collection focused on opinion leadership in the cosmetics product category,
and women's involvement with and usage of cosmetics, and information
seeking and personal influence patterns related to the cosmetics product
category. The questions were written in English, translated into Hungarian by
a native Hungarian speaker and back translated into English by a native
English speaker. Changes in translation and content were made based on
discussions with both translators.
The Hungarian office of an international market research firm designed
the sampling plan and conducted the data collection. The sample included
only women who were 18 years of age or older. Our sample was selected by
multistage area sampling in which intended sample proportions matched the
population percentage in the major census regions of Budapest; then block
groups and households were selected at random from within the major
divisions. Interviewers made at least three attempts to contact addresses
included in the sample before substituting a replacement address. Trained
women interviewers indicated the information would be used by university
researchers, and offered assurances of confidentiality. The interviewers

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attempted 547 contacts to yield the 340 completed interviews in our data. Of
these attempted contacts, 57 were ineligible (a bad address, the person
moved, etc.). The cooperation rate for the survey was 69.4 per cent (340/(547
57)) and the refusal rate was 13.9 per cent (68/(54757)). Table I provides
sample characteristics. A comparison of our sample with Hungarian
population characteristics suggests that our sample matches population
characteristics on comparable variables (Hungarian Central Statistical
Office, 2000).
Measures of constructs included in our survey, as well as their reliability
measures, are included in Table II. The mean score on the scales were derived
from the average of the unweighted sum of the five-point Likert items used in
the scales. Other behaviors measured in the survey are included in
Tables III-VI. Of particular interest is the measure of opinion leadership; 321 of
the 340 respondents answered all six of the opinion leadership items and were
included in our analyses. The results suggest the measure is reliable with a
Cronbach's alpha = 0.92. Respondents' scores on the scale ranged from one to
five, and the mean score was 2.16 (SD = 1.17). While the overall mean for
opinion leadership might be considered low, as we noted even though Hungary
is one of the leaders in Central Europe's transition to a market economy, the
country is early in that transition (Braun and Barany, 1999).
Characteristic

Table I.
Demographic
characteristics of the
sample

Age (%)
18-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60 and older

20.6
12.1
19.4
17.8
30.3

Marital status (%)

Married
Divorced/separated
Widowed
Single

49.4
14.6
19.3
16.7

Currently employed (%)

Education (%)
Grade school
Some to completed high school
Some to completed college
Graduate degree
Average household size
Average years living in Budapest
Average household income per month (HUF)a

38.5
22.2
55.3
21.9
0.6
2.8
39.1
71,801

Note: a HUF = Hungarian Forints. At the time of the 1998 data collection, 222 HUF = 1 USD

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Opinion leadershipa
My family, friends and neighbors often ask my advice about cosmetics
I sometimes influence the types and brands of cosmetics that my friends
and family buy
My friends come to me more often than I go to them for information about
cosmetics
I feel that I am generally regarded by my friends, family and neighbors as a
good source of advice about cosmetics
I can think of at least two people whom I've told about some cosmetic product
or brand in the last six months
In general I talk a lot about cosmetics with my friends, family and neighbors

 0:92

Involvement with cosmetic productsb

Are a part of my self-image
Are boring to me
Portray an image of me to others
Are fun to me
Are fascinating to me
Are important to me
Are exciting to me
Tell others about me
Tell me about other people

 0:92

Variety seekingc
I switch among brands of cosmetics just to try something new once in a while
When I'm shopping for cosmetics, I am likely to buy new brands just for the
fun of it
I get bored with buying the same brands of cosmetics, and so I often try
different brands

 0:81

Knowledged
How much do you
How much do you
How much do you
How much do you
these products?

 0:88

know
know
know
know

about cosmetic products?

compared to your friends?
compared to an expert?
about the important things to consider when buying

Confidence in choice of cosmeticse

In general, I am confident that I make good choices when I buy cosmetics
I'm confident that I buy good cosmetics for the money I pay

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r 0:47

Notes: All items are five-point Likert-items, (1) strongly disagree and (5) strongly agree
Sources: a Childers (1986); b Higie and Feick (1989); c Derived from Van Trijp et al. (1996),
Raju (1980), Moore-Shay and Lutz (1988); d Park et al. (1994); e Feick et al. (1995)

Findings
Who is the Hungarian woman cosmetics opinion leader?
To test the propositions about the characteristics of opinion leaders, we report a
one-way analysis of variance based on a trichotomization of respondents on the
opinion leadership scale into the lower 33 per cent (lowOL), the middle 35 per
cent (medOL), and the upper 32 per cent (highOL). The respective means of the
groups on the opinion leadership scale are (xlowOL 1:02), (xmedOL 1:89), and
(xhighOL 3:63), (F2=320 805:00, p  0:001), and the post-hoc Scheffe tests

Table II.
Scales and their items
and reliability
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Table III.
Means for opinion
leadership groups and
ANOVA results for
H1 and H2

LowOL
n = 106
H1. Involvement
2.10
H2a. Product usage and expenditures
Cosmetic usage (% using)
Face cream
0.61
Lipstick
0.32
Eye make-up
0.27
Nail polish
0.33
Rouge/face powder
0.25
Amount spent/hhd (HUF)d
897
H2b. Early adopter
1.51
H2c. Variety seeking
1.47
H2d. Shopping enjoyment, frequency
of shopping and purchase
Shopping frequency (times/year)
5.70
Enjoy shopping (1 = not at all)
2.28
Purchase frequency (times/year)
6.10
H2e. Market maven
1.72

Means
MedOL HighOL Overall
Scheffe
n = 111 n = 104 n = 321 F-value
test
3.11

3.87

3.03 93.51***

0.89
0.96
0.82
0.55
0.85
0.57
0.60
0.85
0.57
0.56
0.82
0.57
0.55
0.65
0.48
2,047
2,865
2,032
1.89
2.65
2.07
1.81
2.24
1.85
17.59
3.10
13.68
2.63

23.65
3.89
18.12
3.65

15.66
3.12
13.06
2.66

29.29***
36.12***
46.22***
29.88***
20.98***
7.58*
23.54***
16.04***
31.65***
45.42***
21.34***
84.19***

a,b,c

a,b
a,b,c
a,b,c
a,b,c
a,b
b
b,c
a,b,c

a,b,c
a,b,c
a,b,c
a,b,c

Notes: a = LowOL different from MedOL at p  0:05; b = LowOL is different from HighOL
at p  0:05; c = MedOL is different from HighOL at p  0:05; d = HUF (Hungarian Forints).
At the time of the 1998 data collection, 222 HUF = 1 USD. * refers to p  0:05; * refers to
p  0:01; *** refers to p  0:001

indicate that each of the three groups is significantly different from each of the
other two (p  0:05).
The overall mean for cosmetics involvement for our sample was at the midpoint of the scale (x 3:03, SD = 1.15). As H1 predicted, the highOL group
(x 3:87) was significantly more involved than either of the other groups
(xlowOL 2:10; xmedOL 3:11), see Table III.
Product category and marketplace participation
Table III also provides the ANOVA results for H2a-e. H2a concerned
Hungarian women's use of and money spent on cosmetics products,
particularly face cream, lipstick, eye make-up, nail polish and rouge or face
powder. On average, approximately eight out of ten Hungarian women use face
cream, approximately six out of ten use lipstick, eye make-up and nail polish,
and five out of ten use rouge or face powder. The usage rates of face cream for
our groups were 96 per cent (highOL), 89 per cent (medOL) and 61 per cent
(lowOL) groups; and for rouge or face powder were 65 per cent, 55 per cent, and
25 per cent respectively. For these two cosmetics, both the medOL and the
highOL groups used the cosmetics more than the lowOL group, but there was
no statistical difference between the usage rages for the highOL and medOL
groups. For the other three cosmetics (lipstick, eye-make-up and nail polish),

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LowOL
n = 106

Means or percentage
MedOL HighOL Overall
n = 111
n = 104 n = 321

H3. Demographic profile

Age
53.7
44.6
41.5
46.6
Education level (in years)
11.2
11.7
12.1
11.7
Household income
(Hungarian Forints)
54,746
77,032
86,152
72,304
Currently employed (%)
23
41
52
39
Travel to the West in the
last two years
0.29
0.97
1.27
0.83
H4. Brand choices
No. of brands mentioned
1.48
3.13
3.37
2.69
No. of brands purchased
1.08
2.27
2.32
1.91
Percentage preferring brandd
Avon
8
19
30
19
Nivea
10
20
24
18
Oriflame
4
8
15
9
Astor
1
1
13
5
L'Oreal
1
7
10
6
Ponds
8
7
10
9
Fa
5
8
6
6
Helia-D
4
6
7
6
H5. Knowledge and confidence in choice
Cosmetics product
knowledge (H5a)
1.70
2.43
3.06
2.40
Confidence in cosmetics
choices (H5b)
3.35
3.87
4.10
3.81

F-value

Scheffe
test

19.26***
3.09*

a,b

5.83**
10.31***

a,b

4.43*

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a,b
b

30.71***
21.24***

a,b

8.96***
3.53*
4.48*
12.47***
3.85*
0.39
0.56
0.51

a,b

b
b
b,c
b

77.93***

a,b,c

11.03***

a,b

Notes: a = LowOL different from MedOL at p  0:05; b = LowOL is different from HighOL
at p  0:05; c = MedOL is different from HighOL at p  0:05; d = Brands named by more
than 5 per cent of the sample; * refers to p  0:05; ** refers to p  0:01; *** refers to
p  0:001

the highOL group was significantly more likely to use the product than either
the medOL or the lowOL group, with the highOL group using them more than
twice as frequently as the lowOL group. Our findings also indicate that the
highOL group spends more than the medOL group (2,865 v. 2,074 HUF), and
more than three times as much money on cosmetics as the lowOL group (897
HUF). Thus, we found support for H2a.
H2b and H2c respectively posited that Hungarian opinion leaders would be
early adopters in the product category, and would engage in variety seeking
within the product category. Our results overall show relatively low incidence
of early adoption (x 2:07), and variety seeking (x 1:85). We found support
for both of our hypotheses, however. Opinion leaders adopt brands earlier
(x 2:65) than either the lowOL (x 1:51) or medOL (x 1:89) group, and are
more likely to switch among brands (x 2:24) than either the lowOL (x 1:47)
or medOL (x 1:81) group.

Table IV.
Means for opinion
leadership groups and
ANOVA results for
H3-H5

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Means or percentages
LowOL MedOL HighOL Overall
Scheffe
n = 106 n = 111 n = 104 n = 321 F-value test
Media sources used to find out about
new cosmetics
TV ad
Catalog/brochure
Magazine article
Newspaper ad
Magazine ad
Radio ad
Billboard ad
Ad at movie theater
Television profile
Television ownership (%)
VCR ownership (%)
Cable for TV ownership (%)
Weekday avg. hours watched
Weekend avg. hours watched
Media habits
No. of days per week reading
newspaper

Table V.
Means for opinion
leadership groups and
ANOVA results for H6

No. of fashion magazines

Nok Lapja (%)
Kiskegyed (%)
Meglepetes (%)
Burda (%)
Cosmopolitan (%)

2.82
1.75
1.37
1.92
1.53
1.54
1.47
1.01

3.45
2.88
1.98
2.68
2.31
1.82
1.75
1.32

3.56
3.31
3.09
2.92
2.85
2.42
1.83
1.61

3.28
2.64
2.14
2.51
2.23
1.92
1.68
1.31

6.94***
29.97***
46.65***
13.21***
25.79***
13.46***
3.27*
18.64***

97.0
51.0
46.0
6.0
4.2

97.0
55.0
50.0
4.1
4.1

99.0
76.0
74.0
4.4
3.9

98.0
61.0
57.0
4.8
4.1

0.57
7.70***
10.06***
3.90*
0.47

2.9

4.0

4.4

3.8

7.87***

0.58
25.0
11.0
2.0
4.0
0.0

1.06
33.0
18.0
5.0
7.0
5.0

1.52
36.0
30.0
13.0
3.0
12.0

1.05 16.26***
31.0
1.68
20.0
5.99**
7.0
5.95**
8.0
3.44*
6.0
6.83***

a,b
a,b
a,b,c
a,b
a,b,c
b,c

a,b,c

b,c
b,c
a

a,b

a,b,c

b
b
b
b

Notes: a = LowOL different from MedOL at p  0:05; b = LowOL is different from HighOL
at p  0:05; c = MedOL is different from HighOL at p  0:05; * refers to p  0:05; ** refers
to p  0:01; *** refers to p  0:01

We predicted in H2d that opinion leadership would be positively associated

with enjoyment of shopping, and the frequency of shopping for and purchasing
products. Our findings indicate support for this hypothesis. The highOL group
(x 3:89) finds shopping significantly more enjoyable than the medOL
(x 3:10) and the lowOL (x 2:28) groups. Additionally, the highOL group
shops for cosmetics four times as frequently (23.65 v. 5.70 times per year), and
buys products from the category three times as frequently (18.12 v. 6.10 times
per year) than the lowOL group.
H2e predicted that Hungarian opinion leaders were more likely than nonleaders to be market mavens. Our findings indicate that the overall mean on the
market maven scale for our sample is 2.66. As hypothesized, the highOL group
(x 3:65) scored significantly higher than either the medOL (x 2:63) or the
lowOL (x 1:72) group.

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Means and percentages

LowOL MedOL HighOL Overall
Scheffe
n = 106 n = 111 n = 104 n = 321 F-value test
H7. Personal sources used to find out
about new cosmetics
Salesperson company
1.66
2.92
Friend or acquaintance
1.85
2.87
Family member
1.73
2.91
Cosmetician
1.23
2.01
Salesperson store
1.58
2.14
Pharmacist
1.35
2.50
Know an opinion leader (%)
36.0
66.0
Find out about new brands
2.19
3.43
Evaluate different brands
2.17
3.32
Identify stores
1.67
2.62
H8. When choosing cosmetics products, I usually . . .
Read labels
2.18
3.65
Consider ingredients
2.16
3.43
Try to sample the brand
1.33
1.78

3.31
3.11
2.90
2.61
2.53
2.36
70.0
3.80
3.53
2.97
4.16
3.99
2.42

2.64
2.62
2.52
1.95
2.08
2.08
43.0
3.32
3.17
2.57

31.98***
23.21***
24.30***
28.09***
15.55***
23.46***
15.61***
17.99***
13.62***
11.05***

3.37 60.55***
3.23 39.52***
1.86 21.71***

a,b
a,b

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1301

a,b
a,b,c
a,b
a,b
a,b
a,b
a,b
a,b
a,b,c
a,b,c
a,b,c

Notes: a = LowOL different from MedOL at p  0:05; b = LowOL is different from HighOL
at p  0:05; c = MedOL is different from HighOL at p  0:05; * refers to p  0:05; ** refers
to p  0:01; *** refers to p  0:001

Demographic profile
Table IV includes a demographic comparison of the opinion leadership groups.
There is general support for H3: the highOL group includes younger, better
educated, more cosmopolitan women. For example, the highOL group
compared to the lowOL group was younger (41.5 years v. 53.7 years), more
educated (12.1 v. 11.2 years) more likely to be employed (52 per cent v. 23 per
cent), of higher household income (86,100 HUF v. 54,700 HUF), and more likely
to have traveled to Western Europe or the USA in the last two years (1.27 v.
0.29 times).
Brand preferences and choices
As predicted in H4 and shown in Table IV, opinion leaders named more brands
and purchased more brands than non-leaders; the highOL group reported more
than twice as many brands as the lowOL group (3.37 v. 1.48). Additionally,
opinion leaders are more likely to prefer Western, high end products (e.g. Avon,
Oriflame, L'Oreal), many of which have been introduced since the opening of the
markets in 1989. They also prefer Nivea, a German brand that was introduced in
Hungary in 1925. There are little or no differences in likelihood of preference
across the groups for products that are lower end (e.g. Fa, Ponds) and/or have
Hungarian or local origins (e.g. Helia-D). Additionally, the highOL group was
significantly more likely to agree with the statement, ``When choosing cosmetics
products, I usually buy a Western brand'' (x 3:76), than either the lowOL
(x 2:40) or medOL (x 3:21) group (F2=296 21:98, p  0:001).

Table VI.
Means for opinion
leadership groups and
ANOVA results for
H7 and H8

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Product knowledge and confidence in choices

H5a predicted that opinion leadership was positively related to product
category knowledge and H5b predicted that opinion leadership was positively
related to confidence in choice. Our results indicate that in general, Hungarian
women do not perceive themselves as being very knowledgeable about
cosmetics (x 2:40). However, consistent with our expectations, the highOL
group (x 3:06) was significantly more knowledgeable than both the medOL
(x 2:43) and the lowOL (x 1:70) groups. Additionally, the highOL group
(x 4:10) was more confident in their cosmetics choices than the lowOL group
(x 3:35). These findings, reported in Table IV, lend support to H5a and H5b.
Media sources of cosmetics information
H6 predicted that opinion leaders in Hungary would be greater information
seekers, including more active users of media. The results, in general, support
the hypothesis (see Table V). Across media types, the women in Hungary were
most likely to use TV ads, catalogs or brochures, and newspaper ads to find out
about new cosmetics; they were least likely to use ads in movies, billboards, or
radio ads. In general, opinion leaders were more likely than non-opinion leaders
to use each source of information to find out about new cosmetic products.
Magazines articles are of particular interest because of their greater relative
importance to the highOL group (x 3:09) compared to medOL (x 1:98) or
the lowOL (x 1:37) group. Similarly, magazines advertisements were
noticeably more important to the highOL group (x 2:85 compared to medOL
(x 2:31) or the lowOL (x 1:53) group. The high OL group reads more
fashion magazines (x 1:52) than the lowOL group (x 0:58). The Hungarian
women's magazine with the highest circulation, Nok Lapja, was equally
popular among the three OL groups. This magazine is in the women's service
category, and has articles on cooking, family and fashion. Two other
Hungarian women's magazines, Kiskegyed and Meglepetes (both of these focus
on popular culture), and the Hungarian or German edition of Burda (fashion)
and the Hungarian, German or US edition of Cosmopolitan were more popular
with the highOL group. The percentages of readers are reported in Table V.
Hungarian women cosmetics opinion leaders are more plugged into media
than non-leaders. Compared to the lowOL group, the highOLs read a daily
paper more days of the week (4.4 v. 2.9), and are more likely to own a VCR (76
per cent v. 51 per cent) and to have cable TV (74 per cent v. 46 per cent). Even
though the highOL and lowOL groups are equally likely to own a TV, highOLs
watch fewer hours per weekday of television than lowOLs (4.4 hours v. 6.0
hours); the groups watch the same on the weekend days (3.9 v. 4.2 respectively).
Personal sources of cosmetics information
H7 focused on personal information sources, predicting that opinion leaders in
Hungary were likely to be active users of others for information. Our findings,
reported in Table VI, indicate that overall use of personal sources in Hungary
to find out about cosmetics continues to be low. Nonetheless, we found support

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for H7. The three most important personal information sources reported by our
sample were a company salesperson (e.g. Avon, Oriflame), a friend or
acquaintance, and a family member. The highOL group reported each of these
sources to be more important to them in finding out about new cosmetics than
did the lowOL group. In general, Hungarian women viewed cosmeticians as
their least important personal source (x 1:95). However, they were the fourth
most important source for the highOL group, playing a significantly more
important role for them (x 2:61) than for the medOL (x 2:01) or the lowOL
(x 1:23) groups. The store salesperson and pharmacist were seen as less
important for finding out about new cosmetics. As expected, our findings
indicate that members of the highOL group compared to the lowOL group were
more likely to know an opinion leader (70 per cent v. 36 per cent), and to use an
opinion leader to find out about and evaluate brands and to identify retail
stores that carry certain products (see Table VI).
Personal investigation of cosmetics information
In our H8, our expectation was that Hungarian women cosmetics opinion
leaders would be interested in product attribute and other relevant product
information. We found that cosmetics products opinion leaders are
significantly more likely to read labels, consider cosmetics ingredients and try
to sample the brand than either the medOL or lowOL group (see Table VI).
Compared to the lowOL group, the highOL women were more likely to read
labels (4.16 v. 2.18, on a five-point scale), consider ingredients (3.99 v. 2.16), and
try to sample a cosmetic product before buying (2.42 v. 1.33).
Discussion
Since 1989 the popular press has discussed the enormous change that is
occurring in media, new brands, and in the structure of retailing in the
countries of Central and Eastern Europe. With a few exceptions (see for
example, Belk, 1999; Feick et al., 1995; Humphreys et al., 2000; James, 1995),
little academic research has focused on the changes occurring at the consumer
level. In this paper we have examined the incidence and characteristics of
women cosmetics opinion leaders, ten years into Hungary's transition to a
market economy.
Our study, while not cross-cultural per se, does use much Western literature
as a basis for considering opinion leadership in Hungary. From a cross-cultural
perspective then, our research has examined level-oriented and structureoriented generalizability (see van de Vijver and Leung, 1997). With regard to
level-oriented generalizability, which assesses the magnitude of variables
across cultures, the mean score (on a one to five scale) for our Hungarian
women on the opinion leadership scale is 2.16, and their average self-reported
knowledge is 2.40. These findings are low compared to what we might expect
in more established market economies, and likely indicative of the recency of
cosmetics product introductions in Hungary and the beginnings of opinion
leadership in the product category.

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Structure-oriented generalizability assesses whether the nomological

network of a construct is similar across cultures. Our findings offer support
regarding structure-oriented generalizability for the relationships between
opinion leadership and a set of antecedent and consequent variables, i.e. our
findings are consistent with research in more mature markets that we cited
earlier in the article. Specifically, the Hungarian woman cosmetics opinion
leader can be profiled as younger, more cosmopolitan and upscale, and more
involved with media. These opinion leaders (compared to non-leaders) are
involved with and more knowledgeable about the product category, as well as
more confident in their cosmetics choices. They are more active participants in
the cosmetics product category: they spend more and buy more frequently,
they use more cosmetics, they adopt new products earlier, and are more likely
to be market mavens. Additionally, we found support for the previously
untested relationship between opinion leadership and variety seeking,
indicating that opinion leaders look for new and different brands of cosmetics,
and in Hungary, seek out new and Western products.
Our findings have significant implications for Hungarian marketing
managers and firms interested in introducing and/or promoting the use of
cosmetics and personal care products to the Hungarian market. As we have
noted, the use of cosmetics is relatively new to women in Hungary and many
women lack confidence in cosmetics use, and product and brand selection.
Thus, Hungarian women cosmetics opinion leaders (who know more about
cosmetics, who are heavier users of cosmetics, and who know other cosmetics
opinion leaders) can serve as important conduits of information about not only
cosmetics products, but also about how to use cosmetics. Given that massive
increases in advertising have had a relatively small impact on cosmetics usage
rates for much of the population (brand manager, Proctor & Gamble Hungary,
1998), it would be very useful to target opinion leaders, who could have a big
multiplier effect on the dissemination of product, brand and usage information.
There are clear implications for reaching the opinion leaders from our
results: they are very active users of media, but differ from non-leaders most
markedly in their attention to print. They report 50 per cent more readership of
daily papers and 300 per cent more readership of fashion magazines than the
lower of the two non-leader groups. In addition to the very popular Hungarian
women's magazine, Nok Lapja, they read other domestic (i.e. Kiskegyed and
Meglepetes) and international magazines, particularly Burda (German) and
Cosmopolitan (American).
Our results also have implications for marketing managers in terms of
facilitating the development of manufacturer, sales, and retail personnel, as
well as for pharmacists and cosmeticians. Currently, these personal sources are
not important resources to Hungarian women, regardless of their opinion
leadership tendencies. Continued training to improve their knowledge of
cosmetics as well as improving their customer service skills could help to make
them more respected information sources. Ideally, marketing managers would
like these sales representatives to take on the role of opinion leader, and

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ultimately help to speed the diffusion of new and existing cosmetics products
and brands.
To summarize then, our findings suggest that a small segment of Hungarian
women have become established as opinion leaders in the cosmetics product
category, and that these women's behaviors are similar to their counterparts in
more mature markets. While limited incomes and the long entrenched norms
discouraging cosmetics use may impinge on Hungarian women's adoption and
use of cosmetics products, concerted efforts to develop and target opinion
leaders will likely impact on the rate at which a ``new woman'' emerges in
Hungary. A continued tracking of the development and importance of opinion
leaders and other personal sources over time will enable us to understand
better the evolution of the importance of personal sources in transitional
economies.
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