Abstract
The purpose of this study is to identify conceptual constructs of well-being consciousness and appearance management behaviors, and to examine the effects of these two variables on attitudes toward Korean herbal cosmetics for Korean and Japanese consumers. A survey was carried out among female consumers between the ages of 20 and 50, and a total of 500 responses were analyzed by descriptive analysis, reliability test, t-test, and confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling and multi group analysis. The results of this study were as follows: 1) The result of CFA and the reliability test on well-being consciousness and appearance management of Korean and Japanese respondents clearly showed factorial structures on each of the variant assessments. 2) In regards to the well-being consciousness, Korean and Japanese respondents highly tended to perceive well-being as a benefit to the physical health and an eco-friendly lifestyle respectively. In the area of appearance management, Korean and Japanese respondents had similar patterns that showed high scores of skin care and weight control. Both Korean and Japanese consumers showed favorable attitudes toward Korean herbal cosmetic products. 3) The consumers' well-being consciousness revealed to have positive influences on appearance management behavior. Both well-being consciousness and appearance management positively influenced attitudes toward Korean herbal cosmetics. 4) As a result of MGA, the well-being consciousness had more positive impacts on Korean respondents' attitudes toward Korean herbal cosmetics than the appearance management variable when compared to the Japanese respondents. On the other hand, appearance management had more positive impacts on Japanese respondents' attitudes to-ward Korean herbal cosmetics than well-being consciousness when compared to the Korean respondents. These results suggest that differentiated marketing strategies for Korean herbal cosmetics are crucial when targeting Korean and Japanese consumers.