Factors influencing consumers buying behaviour of Thai people in choosing luxury brands - Essay Example

Table of Contents Methodology 3.0 Introduction This section presents the strategy to be used during the research. Included in this section is information on research design and population, data collection procedures, sampling strategy as well as research instruments. It also encompasses how the variables will be measured, data analysis and technique for testing the reliability of research instruments. In using this research methodology, the researcher aims at achieving the following objectives: Identify the factors that influence Thai people to buy luxury fashion brands, determine consumer’s behavior and decision making on purchasing luxury goods and identify attitudes toward purchasing luxury good among Thai consumers. The researcher will also seek to identify consumer expectation toward luxury fashion brands. 3.1 Research design Positivism and interpretivist Positivism is a scientific approach whose methods are organized and measurable basing on the behaviors of the communities. The positivism principles rely on quantifiable facts that help the researcher make statistical analysis. Since the researcher seeks to identify human experience on luxury products, positivism design will help researcher find their consumption patterns and their interests. Since this research aims at determining purchasing patterns of luxury products among the women, social status is a paramount consideration for the consumption of luxury products. Therefore, this approach is very essential for this study. On the other hand, interpretivist approach inclines towards qualitative collection of data. Whereas positivism design seeks to identify the causes of buying behavior patterns, interpretivist methodology is more qualitative and seeks for commonness in consumption patterns. For the purpose of this study, the research inclines mainly to quantitative and not qualitative data collection. The researcher will base researcher understanding on “positive” verification of visible experience as opposed to intuition or introspection. This makes this approach applicable for the study. Quantitative and qualitative There are two main methods that researcher often use to collect the data which are quantitative and qualitative method. Whereas quantitative research depends on numbers and data, the qualitative research mainly focuses on people’s feelings, thoughts and their choices. Even though qualitative research is equally important, the researcher specifically attempts to quantify the data collected using questionnaires. This makes quantitative design more appropriate than design. The researcher will make use of quantitative design to collect the data. This will allow researcher to make conclusive findings from the sample. In essence, quantitative will help the researcher collect data in numerical form that will be used to create various categories or ranks. Since the researcher targets a number of respondents, there is need to categorize them according to their responses. This will be used to draw graphs and tables thus making the method very appropriate. Moreover, this technique allows the use of questionnaires with set of questions in which the respondents are expected to answer from the predefined selection. This design is very flexible in the manner it is conducted since they can be posted online. This is exactly what this study will adopt. 3.2 Target population Bangkok, the Thai’s capital, has a population of over 8 million persons. This makes the town one of the biggest markets of finished products in the whole country. However, the researcher will only target Thai women between the age of 18 and 60 years. These are the customers who are actively involved in extravagant lives thus influenced by fashions in the market (Chadha & Husband, 2003). Some are working class, in schools, while others in their retirement age. According to Penry (2008) and Krafft & Mantrala (2009), most women in this bracket look for self-identity and recognition; therefore, they are interested with products that exhibit their looks and appearances. Furthermore, Amine (1999) confirmed that most women are good in spending their money in luxury items as opposed to men who keep their money unutilized. They spend their money on luxury products that make them gain fame from their colleagues. This puts women at the top list of consumers of luxury products. Therefore, the researcher targets such a group with an outstanding characteristic in their expenditure. 3.3 Data collection 3.3.1 Primary data According to Bryman (2008), primary data refers to the information collected purposely for research project. Usually, primary data is undertaken when the researcher has gotten some insights about what is required in the field from the secondary sources. A researcher can use questionnaires, interviews, experiments or direct observations to accomplish. However, for the purpose of this study, the researcher will use online questionnaires which will be forwarded to various respondents via internet links. The use of questionnaires can only be achieved by quantitative technique. Since the researcher mainly focuses on quantitative issues and seeks to address particular research issues, primary data becomes a necessity. Furthermore, the need for the researcher to take great control of responses from respondents is enough to justify the use of primary data. Bangkok has many women who are computer literate and can access internet facilities. The use of online questionnaires would therefore reach many respondents within a given time. The questions are designed basing on the research problem and in line with views of other scholars presented in the literature review (Krafft & Mantrala, 2009). By relating the research objectives with the theory, the researcher will come up with several structured closed-ended questions. In the beginning, there will be general questions about luxury products e.g. definition of luxury. However, the researcher will send the questionnaire set into the test before posting them online for respondents to attempt. The researcher will mainly use online questionnaires for this study. These questionnaires will be distributed through the Facebook account to various respondents within a period of 1-3 weeks. The respondents, therefore, will be limited to this time to respond to the questions. Because the researcher mainly targets women living in Bangkok, researcher will send an e-mail link to them. At the same instance, the researcher will ask them to forward to their female friends, especially those who can afford luxury fashion products. When the respondents click at the link, and they are directed to the set of questionnaires. 3.4 Sampling strategy The researcher will use convenience sampling for this research. According to World Luxury Association (1998), convenience sampling is a non-probability sampling technique that draws a sample from the population at hand. The selected sample is convenient and readily available, thus providing an easy access to the researcher. This enables the researcher establish relationships between the variables. In this study, the researcher seeks to sample only women aged between 18-60 and is internet users. Out of the target population, the researcher will sample only 255 respondents to represent the entire population. This target group is accessed easily, now that the researcher uses them to represent the entire population. Although the use of such a sample may not be enough to justify the trend of the entire population, it is easier and convenient for the researcher. Like any other researcher, it would be better to test the whole population, but it is too large to accommodate individual views. This is the reason convenience sampling will be used because the subjects are already available, cheap and fast, given the limited time. 3.5 Research instrument 3.5.1 Questionnaires A questionnaire refers to a set of questions used by researchers to obtain information from the respondents. Questionnaires are cost effective and do not require a lot of efforts from the questioner. Their standardized structure makes them simple to be responded and compiled. Since the researcher will use online questionnaires, it will be easier for the respondents to respond. For instance, the researcher will respond by a single click, without necessarily giving own opinions. The use of closed-ended questionnaires was preferred because they are easier to analyze and compare the results since the responses attach meanings to the respondents easily. For this study, the researcher found closed-ended questionnaires much easier for respondents to provide alternative answers and also give researcher ample time to critically analyze the collected data. In doing so, discrepancies in results will be reduced. The use of the questionnaire method was preferred because in quantitative research, it is worth having many respondents so as to have reliable outcomes. 3.6 Measuring the variables Questions will measure respondent understanding about the idea of luxury, personal values; the demographic factors e.g. income, buying intentions and the concept of counterfeit products. Therefore, the researcher will have a set of questionnaires with five parts. This will be divided as follows: Part 1: Understanding the concept of luxury Part 2: Consumer personal values Part 3: Buying intention Part 4: Counterfeit products Part 5: Demographics All these parts shall have closed-ended questions for convenience and save respondents’ time. In most cases, closed-ended questions are measured by a 5-Likert rating scale to establish a question that is easy and unbiased. Classification The description below explains how the questions link the theoretical concepts. Research Question /Sub Objective Questions on instrument Literature source Factors that influence Thai people to buy luxury fashion brands. Understanding the concept of luxury The questions ask the respondents their understanding of luxury. This includes the definition, and respondents may choose more than option 1-20 (World Luxury Association, 1998), (Armstrong & Kotler, 2003), (Armstrong, G; Kotler, P., 2004), (Dubois & Duquesne, 1993) Consumer’s behavior and decision making on purchasing luxury goods. Consumer personal values This part shall have different questions pointing at respondents’ personal values like materialism, desire for uniqueness, conformity, ethnocentrism as well as vanity 21-26 (K.P., N., & Siebels, 2007), (Bouee, 2012), (Dubois & Duquesne, 1993) and (Schutte & Ciarlante, 1998), (Armstrong, G; Kotler, P., 2004) Attitudes toward purchasing luxury good among Thai consumers. Buying intention This section will have variables that measure buyers’ intention to luxury products; what do they really want to achieve. 27-29 (World Luxury Association, 1998), (Bearden, Netemeyer, & Teel, 1989), (Chadha & Husband, 2003), (Blackwell, Minard, & Engel, 2004), (BCG Corporation, 1994) Consumer expectation toward luxury fashion brands. Counterfeit products This will be the last section. The concept of Counterfeit products in Thai is inevitable and seems to dilute the value of luxury products. This part measures the respondents’ views on counterfeit products in relation to luxury products. 30-46 (Blackwell, Minard, & Engel, 2004), (Bearden, Netemeyer, & Teel, 1989), (Engel, Blackwell, & Miniard, 1990) Demographics This is the third part that measures consumers’ income in form of salary, allowances or pocket money. These variables are crucial because they determine the buyers’ decisions. 47-56 3.7 Data Analysis The researcher will analyze the above variables by use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program. Researcher will analyze as follows: i. Researcher will use descriptive statistics i.e. percentages, means and frequencies to provide an exclusive description of demographic characteristics and buying decisions of the respondents. This includes their educational level and their occupations. ii. Use inferential statistics (t-test) to establish the relations between consumer’s demographic characteristics and their buying decisions, and ANOVA to determine the relationship between their income, education and their buying decisions (Carmines & Zeller, 2009). iii. Use linear progression to test the hypothesis in relation to behavior of consumers and buying decisions, factors of marketing mix and buying decisions (Steers & Sanchez-Runde, 2010). iv. Content analysis to provide relevant recommendations. 3.8 Reliability and validity of the research instrument There is need to test the validity and reliability of the test. To accomplish this, the researcher will use Cronbachs alpha to ascertain how closely the set of items are. This formula will be used Where N = number of items C-bar = average inter-item covariance in the items V-bar = average variance A high alpha value does not necessarily mean unidimensional measure, but a measure of internal consistency. From the above formula, if the number of items is increased, there is a proportional increase in the value of alpha. Similarly, if average inter-item covariance is relatively low, alpha will definitely be low. If the number of items is kept constant, and the average inter-tem correlation is increased, Cronbach’s alpha will increase too. 3.9 Limitations of quantitative research design Although the researcher will use this design, it has the following weaknesses (Carmines & Zeller, 2009). Some information may provided out of integrity, especially if they are sensitive e.g. income. Some crucial respondents may not be reached, especially those who are computer illiterate or do not have Facebook and email accounts. Information from the questionnaires may be exaggerated, incomplete or inaccurate. The untested variables usually account to program impacts Biased to some respondents Bibliography Amine, A., 1999. Consumers1 true brand loyalty: the central role of commitment. Journal ofStrategic Marketing, 6, pp.305-19. Armstrong, G; Kotler, P., 2004. Principles of Marketing. 10th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Armstrong, G. & Kotler, P., 2003. Marketing. 6th ed. NJ: Upper Saddle Rive. Bayus, B., 2001. The consumer durable replacement buyer. Journal of Marketing, (5), pp. p42-51. Bearden, W.O., Netemeyer, R. & Teel, J., 1989. Measurement of consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence. Journal of Consumer Research, 15 (4), pp.473-81. Bryman, A., 2008. Social Research Methods. 3rd ed. New York, USA; : Oxford University Press. Carmines, E.G. & Zeller, R.A., 2009. Reliability and validity assessment. NY: Sage Publications. Chadha, R. & Husband, P., 2003. The Cult of Luxury Brands: Inside Asia’s Love Affair with Luxury. London, Boston.: Nicholas Brealey International. Krafft, M. & Mantrala, ‎.K., 2009. Retailing in the 21st Century: Current and Future Trends. London: Cengage Learning. Penry, J.T., 2008. Validity and Reliability Analysis of Coopers 12-minute Run and the Multistage Shuttle Run in Healthy Adults. ProQuest. Steers, R.M. & Sanchez-Runde, ‎.J., 2010. Management Across Cultures. Chicago: Cambridge University Press. Read More