Management of Canon - Research Paper Example

Paper [Department Table of Contents Company Background 3 ResearchObjective and Research Questions 3 Research Context 4 Research Methodologies 5 Qualitative research 5 Use of Qualitative Research 6 Orientations of Qualitative Research 6 Qualitative Tools 8 Focus Group Discussion 8 In Depth Interviews 9 Conversations 9 Semi Structured Interviews 9 Word Association 10 Observation 10 Thematic Apperception Tests 10 Limitations of Qualitative Tools 11 Quantitative Research 11 Use of Surveys 12 Advantages of Surveys 12 Errors in Survey Research 12 Random Sampling error 12 Systematic Error 13 Types of Survey Research 13 Personal Interviews 15 Pre-testing 16 Ethical Considerations 17 Analyzing the Data 17 Summary of Research Design 18 Bibliography 19 Company Background Canon Inc. is a multinational corporation based in Japan. It specializes in optical and imaging products such as camcorders, cameras, printers, photocopiers and even medical equipment. It is a public listed company and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange as well (Canon Inc, 2014). Canon focuses on three basic categories which are the foundation of its operations. These are: Imaging systems Office Supplies Industrial Supplies (Canon Inc, 2014) The Imaging system focuses on digital compact camera, inkjet printers, projectors, image scanners and interchangeable lenses. The complete product portfolio is extensive, but this research will be focusing on the imaging system business unit at Canon and more specifically, the camera ranges. This includes interchangeable lens digital camera, digital compact camera, digital cinema camera and cinema lenses (Canon Inc, 2014). Research Objective and Research Questions The research objective is to describe what factors influence camera purchasing behavior and consumer attitudes towards photography products by Canon. This entails analyzing their motivation behind their purchases and the factors they consider most important. This research also aims to pinpoint areas where Canon can either improve its products or brand image pertaining to its photography products. Research Questions: How important is brand loyalty when purchasing a camera? What are the factors which relate to this phenomenon? How important are lenses, megapixel resolution and sensor size when buying a camera? Are there other factors which are more important than the ones mentioned above? How is Canons delivery of the above factors perceived by the consumers? Where is Canon lagging in its delivery? Research Context Canons imaging products form the key foundation of its operations. In 2012, 6 Canon Cameras were awarded major awards by the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA). TIPA is a leader in the imaging press association. Various judges from Europe, South Africa and USA awarded the outstanding imaging products in various categories (Canon Inc., 2012). Canon managed to win awards in six categories which included: Best Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) Professional Best Professional DSLR Lens Best Professional Video Camera Best Expert Compact Camera Best multi-function photo printer Best Video DSLR So suffice it to say, Canons Imaging systems form a major chunk of its operations. Out of the three segments, the sales ratio for the imaging system category is 40.4% which shows how crucial this category is to Canon. In 2012, sales from this category amounted to over USD 160,000,000 (Canon Inc, 2012). Constant improvement in the product portfolio based on consumer feedback and insights is essential in order to maintain long term competitive edge. In order to ensure that Canon remains a trusted brand name, it is necessary to conduct research regarding the brand perception and any gaps which can be filled to provide better performance. Various studies have been conducted where the brand equity of Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras has been analyzed. The research findings of the paper aimed at finding the brand equity of DSLR cameras showed that Canon has the highest brand equity, followed by Nikon, Sony and Olympus (Suppapanya & Boonkert, 2010). Canon also had the highest score in terms of perceived quality and brand association. However, there was indifference in the attitudes of Canon, Sony and Olympus users towards brand loyalty (Suppapanya & Boonkert, 2010). This research aims to expand upon the initial research carried out and give further insights as to what are the factors that compel users to buy Canon products and how can the brand loyalty and customer retention can be improved. Research Methodologies To conduct an effective research, a combination of qualitative and quantitative research tools will be required. Qualitative research Qualitative business research is a research which addresses the research objectives through methods which allow the researcher to give various interpretations of the phenomena without heavy dependence on statistical analysis (Zikmund, et al., 2012). Its focus is on discovering inner meanings and insights. Such research is researcher dependent which means that the researcher must extract the meaning from unstructured responses. These responses can be in the form of an interview or collage representation or some experience (Zikmund, et al., 2012). Use of Qualitative Research Qualitative research is used when it’s difficult to develop specific actionable problem statements or if there are too many aspects pertaining to your research objective (Zikmund, et al., 2012). The use of this tool will allow for the primary themes to come forward regarding the human motivation. The documentation will also be more thorough and complete. The aim of the research is to learn the motivation of a phenomenon which occurs in a natural setting and depends on various factors. Questions such as: How do consumers actually use a product? What are the important factors when buying a certain product? ; can be better answered when using qualitative research tools. The research objective also involves the surrounding context and environment to a great extent which means that the research is context dependent; In this case a qualitative tool will allow for a comprehensive analysis of the situation. Orientations of Qualitative Research There are many tools which fall in the qualitative category; however, there are four main orientations under which the various qualitative tools fall. These are: Phenomenology Ethnography Grounded Theory Case Studies Phenomenology originates in philosophy and psychology. It’s a philosophical approach to studying human experiences and is based on the idea that one’s experiences are inherently subjective and context dependent (Joseph F. Hair, 2003). In such a research, the researched focuses on a person’s behavior and how its shaped by the environment; this includes the physical environment, objects, people and situations as well. In a phenomenological approach, hermeneutics are important. This is an approach to understanding phenomenology that depends on the analysis of texts that a person uses to tell a story about him or herself. The text itself is called a hermeneutic unit and this is connected to a key theme from within the story is provided by the researcher (Joseph F. Hair, 2003). Ethnography represents ways of studying cultures in a manner where the researcher becomes highly active within that culture. It depends on participant observation where the researcher becomes highly involved in the culture under study. They then draw data from their observations (Joseph F. Hair, 2003). Essentially it involves studying the consumer in their natural habitat which may mean that you observe the consumer test new products or see how they initially respond to a product and what are the things they notice when they are buying that product. Grounded theory involves an inductive examination in which the researcher asks questions about data provided by the respondents. This information can be taken from historical records or the researcher can derive this information. There is repeated questioning and probing in such a method and its aim is to derive deeper explanations regarding the phenomenon (Zikmund, et al., 2012). In a research regarding product buying behavior and motivation, a grounded theory based tool where the sales records and customer feedback is analyzed can provide some insight about the features in a camera which are more important than others and what is the real opinion of the consumers regarding the product. Case studies are documented history of a particular person, group or company. It may describe the events of a company when its facing a crucial decision or situation. The case studies can be analyzed for important themes (University of Missouri, 2012). Qualitative Tools Qualitative researchers use many techniques and change the tool to suit various situations; however the common tools used in such a research are: Focus Group Discussion A focus group discussion is a group discussion involving 5-7 people regarding the research question. It is led by a trained moderator who guides the focus group in an orderly and directed manner (Sekaran, 2006). This tool falls in the ethnography or case study approach and there are many advantages of this tool. It can be done quickly and is very flexible in accommodating various research objectives. Moreover, it can provide multiple perspectives and give detailed insights. The disadvantages include the fact that this method is very research dependent and at times the results of a focus group discussion cannot be generalized to the greater population. It can be difficult to use for some topics and at times can be expensive to conduct due to the high cost of hiring trained moderators (Zikmund, et al., 2012). In our research objective, this tool can be used to gain insight about how consumers react to DSLRs and what are some of the first things they look at in the product when they walk into a store to buy the product. A discussion about the most important factors in a camera and their contextual reasons for buying the camera can also give an insight about the core research objective of considering the research question about what motivates consumers to buy the product. In Depth Interviews These are one on one interview which employs probing techniques between trained researchers and respondents. This is ethnography and grounded theory approach and gives considerable insight from each individual. It’s good for understanding behavior but at the same times its very researcher dependent. The results cannot be generalized and it’s expensive to conduct. Interviews with experts in the field of photography and film making can give a greater insight regarding the research questions pertaining to the motivational factors and buying factors in consumer behavior (Joseph F. Hair, 2003). Conversations Conversations are unstructured dialogues between the researcher and the respondent. It allows for unique insights to be gained from the respondent and is less expensive to conduct than focus groups and interviews. However, the problem with such a tool is that its easy to drift off the research objective and the interpretation of the conversation is very research dependent. Conversations with camera enthusiasts can give knowledge about consumer behavior and motivation factors regarding a DSLR purchase and how the brand fits in to this purchasing decision (Zikmund, et al., 2012). Semi Structured Interviews These are open ended questions that ask for short essay type answers from the respondents. It allows for addressing more specific issues and the results are easy to interpret (Zikmund, et al., 2012). There are also cost advantages as semi structured interviews are easy to conduct compared to focus groups and in depth interviews. This tool however is not flexible and does not give unique insights. A semi structured interview with the regular users of cannon products can tell us what is their relationship like with the brand and its products and why they buy these products. Word Association Word association is a tool where the first thought that comes into the minds of the consumer in response to a stimulus. This is an economical tool which can be done quickly and easily. It does lack flexibility though and at times is difficult to administer (Zikmund, et al., 2012). A word association game with the key factors about the Canon brand can give information about what are the factors or adjectives consumers associate with Canon and how Cannon can capitalize on that to improve its operations, products and communication strategies. This activity can be carried out during the focus group discussion. Observation This tool involves recording the observed events without being unobtrusive so that actual behavior patterns can be observed. However, this can be a n expensive tool to use. In this research, observation of the consumers in a setting where they have been given some Cannon products can tell us exactly what their reaction is during the first and second moment of truth (Zikmund, et al., 2012). The first moment of truth is generally the initial contact with the product and its packaging and the second moment of truth is the contact with the product itself and its use. This tool can be made use of during the focus group discussions. Thematic Apperception Tests These tests involve the researching giving an ambiguous picture and the respondent telling a story about that picture. It is a projective technique which allows you to cover sensitive topics and it is very flexible (Zikmund, et al., 2012). For our research, pictures of various products by Cannon can be shown and the reaction and comments of the participants can be noted. These tests can be administered in the focus groups discussions. Limitations of Qualitative Tools Qualitative research is heavily dependent on the researcher’s interpretation of the subject matter. At times, there is too much interpretation of too few respondents. This led to forming flawed interpretations with a highly biased decision process due to premature actions of the researchers (Roller, 2010). Although some interpretations hold merit and there are some useful findings but at times, these interpretations can be misleading or too ambitious. Most qualitative research is not replicable since different researchers might have different understanding of the data. This can prove to be a problem when business decisions are to be made. Quantitative Research Quantitative research addresses the research objectives through empirical and numerical measurement and analysis. It provides quantitative data which is in the form of numbers which has been assigned to represent phenomena in an ordered and meaningful way. Using this research methodology, the researcher can obtain intersubjective certifiability. This means that different individuals following the same methodology will produce the same results or conclusions (Roberts, 2012). The main purpose behind quantitative research is to collect raw primary data. This is done using the survey method which relies on collecting primary data based on communication with a sample of individuals. A sample survey is another name of this tool and it shows how a subset of the target population is contacted to obtain responses (Zikmund, et al., 2012). Use of Surveys Surveys attempt to describe what is happening or to learn the reasons behind a specific activity. This is in line with our research objective and hence the use of surveys for this research will prove to be useful. It can also gather geographic, demographic, media exposure information and other factual data which can give a more comprehensive analysis of the research objectives. Advantages of Surveys Surveys provided a range of advantages for the researchers. Some of them are: They are quick to administer They are inexpensive They are efficient and accurate Are quiet flexible When used correctly, surveys can provide a lot of advantages but when surveys are conducted without any regard for research principles such as sample design etc. then even a well-designed survey is not helpful. Errors in Survey Research There are two major sources of error in surveys: Random sampling error and systematic error Random Sampling error A random sampling error is a statistical variation that happens because of chance in variation in the components selected for a sample. There are other sub categories in this type of error. This includes Respondent error which results from a bias due to the respondent action or inaction (Nielson, 2004). Non response error is the statistical difference between a survey that includes those who responded and a survey where those who failed to respond were also included. A response bias is a bias that occurs when the respondents either deliberately or unintentionally answer questions with a slant that distorts the truth. There can either be deliberate falsification or unconscious misrepresentation (Nielson, 2004). Systematic Error A systematic error is one that stems from some imperfect or wrong aspect of the research design that causes a mistake in the execution of the research. These are usually caused by carelessness, confusion or other human errors (Zikmund, et al., 2012). The four types of administrative errors are: Data processing error Sample Selection error Interviewer error Interviewer cheating A data processing error occurs because of wrong data entry or other procedural errors during data analysis. A sample selection error is caused by improper sample design or wrong execution of the procedure. Interviewer error is when the interviewers fail to record the survey responses correctly. Interviewer cheating is the practice of filling in fake answers in the survey while working as an interviewer (Joseph F. Hair, 2003). Types of Survey Research In designing a questionnaire for a survey or an interview schedule, there are four initial factors that the researcher must take care of. These are whether he is to use a structured or unstructured questions or whether he will use disguised or undisguised questionnaires. Structured questions impose a limit on the number of allowed responses whereas there is no such limit on unstructured questions (Zikmund, et al., 2012). Undisguised questions are straight forward questions that assume the respondent will answer readily and disguised questions assume that the purpose of the study must be concealed from the respondent. Surveys can be classified on a temporal basis, these classes are: Cross sectional studies Longitudinal studies A cross sectional study is a study where various segments in a population are sampled and the data is collected in a single point in time. A longitudinal study however takes a survey of the respondent at different times which can allow for an analysis of their responses continuity over time (Zikmund, et al., 2012). A tracking study is a type of longitudinal study where successive samples are used to compare developments and identify changes in variables such as brand awareness, consumer satisfaction or brand loyalty. A consumer panel is a longitudinal survey where a sample of individuals or households is interviewed about their attitudes or purchasing habits over time (Joseph F. Hair, 2003). In the case of this research, a cross sectional and consumer panel must be conducted in order to have an effective analysis of the variables. A survey questionnaire with a mixture of structured and unstructured questions about the factors that consumers consider the most when they are purchasing a camera can be administered (Zikmund, et al., 2012). Moreover, unstructured questions about brand loyalty can be asked such as, how important is the brand of the camera important when buying a camera and how high would you rank Canon amongst other companies and why. A consumer panel with the same sort of questions can also be effective in gauging why consumers chose Canon. It can provide insights which can help address the research questions. Personal Interviews A personal interview is a face to face communication in which the interviewer asks the respondent to answer the questions. There are many advantages of using personal interviews to gather data. One of the most important factors includes the fact that it allows for detailed feedback. A personal interview allows for feedback or clarification of the questions. For example, if the respondents are reluctant to answer openly or correctly due to their fear that their details might not remain confidential, t hen the interviewer can reassure the respondent and ensure that they answer correctly (Zikmund, et al., 2012). If there are any confusing questions in the questionnaire then the interviewer can clarify the questions for them. In a personal interview, there can also be more probing for complex answers. In case of answers that are too brief or unclear, the researcher might request for a more comprehensive or clearer justification or answer. The presence of a trained interviewer will ensure that the respondent will answer all the items on the questionnaire. This means that the respondent will not terminate the interview prematurely. It will allow for a more thorough and complete interview. It will also ensure for high participation since the presence of an interviewer generally increases the percentage of people willing to participate and complete the interview. People are more hesitant telling a person no face to face than they are over the phone or email (Sekaran, 2006). There are some disadvantages over the use of personal interviews though. Interviewer influence is a major factor which can skew the results of the personal interview. There is also lack of anonymity of the respondent. Because a respondent in a personal interview is not anonymous, he or she may be reluctant to provide sensitive information to another person (Zikmund, et al., 2012). Researchers often spend considerable time to phrase questions so as to avoid social desirability bias. An interviewer may show the respondent a card that lists the possible answers. Another issue is that personal interviews are expensive and more costly than mail, telephone or internet surveys. The geographic proximity of the respondents and the length of the interview, all increase the cost of the interview. For this research, a personal interview which has questions about the general brand awareness about the brand Canon and its camera product range can be used (Zikmund, et al., 2012). Overall a personal interview that is either door to door or a mall intercept interview, has the following factors which makes it a good choice for this research: Speed of data collection: Moderate to Fast Geographic flexibility: Moderate and possible urban bias (which is required for this research) Respondent cooperation: Excellent to very good Versatility of questioning: Very versatile Item Nonresponse rate: Low to medium Possibility of respondent misunderstanding: Low But at the same time, the following factors can limit the efficacy of this tool: Degree of interviewer influence: High Supervision of interviewers: Moderate to High Anonymity of respondent: Low Ease of call back or follow up: difficult Cost: High to moderate Pre-testing Pre testing is a screening process that includes a test run with a small sample of respondents to streamline the questionnaire and iron out any problems in the survey design. It will be necessary to conduct a pretest with the questionnaire which will be used in the personal interviews so that problems can be screened out (Zikmund, et al., 2012). It is not a viable option to conduct the interviews only to later find out that most respondents misunderstood some question. This would have a major impact on the entire research and skew the results of the survey as well. Ethical Considerations There are some ethical issues which do apply to survey research. These include: Respondents right to privacy The use of deception The respondent’s right to be informed about the purpose of the research The need for confidentiality Need for honesty in data collection The need for objectivity in data reporting While designing the survey questionnaire, focus group guides and activities to be carried out during the interviews and focus groups, it is necessary to keep in mind these ethical considerations. It will allow for a more ethically thorough research and also protect the researchers from any legal issues and claims (Zikmund, et al., 2012). Analyzing the Data The interview data will be collected using two main methods: Tape recordings and Note taking. The entire focus group discussions and in depth interviews will be recorded and transcribed so that the transcribed text can then be analyzed. Another option can be to record the interview and take notes at the same time. Later the tape can be reviewed and any missed points can be added to the text (Wood, 2010). The data will be analyzed using a Daily Interpretive Analysis method. The aim of this method is to collect and interpret the data collected (Wood, 2010). At the end of each focus group or interview, the notes and tapes will be reviewed and a report summarizing and interpreting the information will be made. The format of the report will consist of three parts: Record Analysis Conclusion and Concerns Using the record as the reference, the analysis should interpret the information and relate it to the main objective of the study. It will draw connections between different aspects of the interview and even add points which were not stated explicitly in the discussions. Any patterns or associations between the variables should be noted and analyzed thoroughly (NFER, 2013). Data from the survey can be entered manually into an excel spreadsheet and tabulated accordingly (NFER, 2013). Since ranking and scoring will be the primary method used in the personal interview surveys, the numerical data obtained will be analyzed using various bar and pie charts. Summary of Research Design The research design is as follows: Qualitative Tool Focus Group Discussion Conversations Semi structured Interviews Word Associations Observation Thematic Apperception test In depth Interviews with experts Observation Quantitative Tool Survey via Personal Interview Mall Intercept Sample size should consist of at least 300 respondents for the survey personal interviews. The respondent profile for the focus group discussions should be as follows: They can be either male or female Can be from any age bracket Are at least amateur level photographers Own at least 1 DSLR Have experienced photography from around 1-2 years. Bibliography Canon Inc., 2012. Canon News. [Online] Available at: http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/news/canon_wins_six_tipa_awards.do [Accessed 12 April 2014]. Canon Inc, 2012. Canon by the Numbers. [Online] Available at: http://www.canon.com/corporate/information/result/index.html [Accessed 12 April 2014]. Canon Inc, 2012. 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