The Issue of Cross Cultural-Consumer Behavior - Research Proposal Example

University Affiliation

Research Method and Design

Cross cultural consumer behavior has become an essential component in the modern business environment because of increased globalization. The significance of cross cultural consumer behavior in the modern business environment is also attributable to the role culture plays in decision making processes in marketing. Additionally, cross cultural consumer behavior is an important concept for multinationals and corporations as they expand to global markets. As a result of the significant role of cross cultural consumer behavior and increased globalization, marketing managers have specifically come under pressure to evolve eloquent strategies of wooing consumers. Marketing managers face a myriad of challenges and it has become important researchers and scholars to unravel cultural variations and norms that affect consumer behavior. This paper discusses the research methodology that will be employed to examine the issue of cross cultural consumer behavior in the modern business environment, particularly in relation to marketing managers.

Research Methodology

Research methodology is defined as the general plan of collecting and analyzing data which gives the best means of responding to questions (Hoffman & Patel, 2014). There are various research methodologies and approaches that are utilized to conduct a study. The three research methodologies utilized in conducting a research are qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods approaches. When conducting a study, the research methodology and design is chosen depending on the type of research issue to be investigated. This essentially means that the research issue or phenomenon to be investigated determines the type of research method and design adopted by the researcher. Therefore, a research method and design is selected after examining the nature of the phenomenon to be investigated or research issue.

Quantitative research methodology is an approach that is suitable for studies that require testing objective theories or hypothesis through evaluating the relationship between the research variables (Creswell, 2014). In most cases, quantitative research is employed in studies that involve numerical data that can be evaluated through the use of statistical methods and procedures. On the contrary, qualitative research methodology is an approach used for exploring and understanding the meaning associated with a human or social problem. This method is usually appropriate for researches that involve the use of words, which are examined to determine existing themes and patterns in the data. Mixed-methods approaches is an approach that utilizes both qualitative and quantitative methods on the premise that integrating the two approaches provides a complete understanding of the research problem as compared to using either of the two alone (Creswell, 2014).

The most suitable research methodology for this study is mixed-methods research i.e. integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches. The researcher will employ this research methodology because the integration of the two approaches will help in providing a complete understanding of the research problem. A qualitative research style is a logical idiosyncratic tactic that is often adopted to define the experiences of life and circumstances in order to give them sense. It concentrates on the capabilities of individual persons and puts more emphasis uniqueness of the person. It is as a system of social analysis that is centered on how individuals understand and derive the importance of their experience and the environment that they reside in. Researchers and scholars often adopt qualitative research methodology in order to unravel the behavior, viewpoints, experiences and emotions of people and accentuate the understanding of these elements. Additionally, quantitative research methodology stress objective dimensions and the arithmetical, calculated, or numerical analysis of data collected through by use of samples, questionnaires, and surveys, or by operating pre-existing statistical data using computational procedures. Quantitative research emphasizes on getting numerical data and simplifying it across groups of people or to explain a particular phenomenon.

Research Design

Descriptive research design will be utilized in this study since it’s an approach that involves gathering data from a certain region so as to explain the existing eminence of that population considering one or more variables (Mukhopadhyay and Gupta, 2014). This research design is suitable for this study because it has the capability to guarantee reduction of biasness and giving maximum in the consistency of evidence collected (Hoffman & Patel, 2014). Descriptive research design will enable the researcher to investigate the factors influencing cross cultural consumer behavior in an organization.

When conducting the research through this approach, the researcher will examine emerging trends and patterns from the collected data on cross cultural consumer behavior in an organization. In addition, the researcher will utilize questionnaires to collect data that will be analyzed to answer the research question. In this case, both close-ended and open-ended questionnaires will be augmented to compute the data. Moreover, the study will employ the use of interview schedules with a number of participants in the organization so as to espouse more on the factors influencing cross cultural consumer behavior.

Justification for Chosen Method and Design

As previously indicated, mixed-method approaches are utilized in studies where the research issue cannot be fully investigated using either quantitative or qualitative research methods. The selection of a mixed-methods research approach for this study or research issue is attributable to several factors including…

Complete Understanding of the Research Problem

The use of mixed-methods research helps in generating complete understanding of the research issue (Creswell, 2014). This research method has been selected for this study because the nature of the research issue requires integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches for a complete evaluation and understanding of the research problem. Without integrating these two approaches, it would be difficult for the researcher to conduct a comprehensive and complete analysis of the research issue. In essence, the use of either qualitative or quantitative approach would not generate conclusive answers to the research question. Therefore, the researcher will integrate qualitative and quantitative methodologies to obtain a complete understanding of the research problem or phenomenon being investigated.

Type of Data

The second justification for selecting mixed-method research approach is the type of data required to examine factors influencing cross cultural consumer behavior in an organization. The nature of the research problem requires collection both numerical and qualitative data, which implies that integrating the two approaches is the most suitable approach. In this case, the research will collect qualitative data i.e. non-numerical data and examine existing themes and patterns on the issue of cross cultural consumer behavior. Qualitative data will be collected through the use of interviews of the selected participants from the organization. Apart from examining the themes and patterns in existing data, the researcher will also collect numerical data through questionnaires and compute the data. Once the data is computed, it will be statistically analyzed to provide answers to the research question. The findings of both the qualitative and quantitative data will be integrated to provide a comprehensive and complete understanding and answer to the research issue.

Advantages over Other Research Designs

The researcher has opted to employ descriptive research design in this study because of its advantages over other research designs with regards to achieving the objectives of the research and answering the research question. One of the advantages of this research design in examining this research issue is that it has the capability to guarantee reduction of biasness and giving maximum in the consistency of evidence collected (Hofmann & Patel, 2014). Secondly, this research design reflects issues like the economy of the design, quick turnaround in data collection and its suitability for extensive research. Third, the descriptive research design provides a suitable framework for combining qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. In essence, a descriptive research design will enable the researcher to effectively collect data using interviews and questionnaires and integrate them to draw conclusions on the phenomenon under investigation. Therefore, the descriptive research design employed in this study will help in conducting a comprehensive research with credible findings and conclusions in comparison to the use of other research designs.

Strengths of the Research Method and Design

Mixed-methods research and descriptive research design have been selected for this study because of their various strengths in relation to the phenomenon to be investigated. As previously indicated, one of the strengths of mixed-methods research methodology is that it enable comprehensive study of an issue unlike qualitative or quantitative method alone. This ability emerges from the fact that the approach draws from the strengths of each of these approaches while minimizing weaknesses of both single research approaches (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). Therefore, when utilizing this methodology, the researcher will effectively bridge the division between qualitative and quantitative research approaches.

The second strength of mixed-methods research approach is that it enables the researcher to utilize rigorous processes in data collection and analysis (Wisdom & Creswell, 2013). Given the nature of this research issue, rigorous procedures in data collection and analysis is critical in drawing relevant findings and conclusions. Third, mixed-methods research approaches are associated with more meaningful interpretation of data since rigorous processes are utilized in the data collection and analysis stages (Hughes, 2016). In essence, this research methodology provides a framework for the researcher to have more comprehensive information and knowledge of the research issue/problem and obtain rich datasets. The other strength of this research method is it enhances the reliability and credibility of research findings. This emerges from the fact that the method enables a research to carry out triangulation of the varying evidence results.

Apart from the advantages of the mixed-methods research, a descriptive research design is associated with strengths that contribute to its suitability for this research. According to Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching (n.d.), one of the strengths of this research design is it enables the collection of rich data in huge amounts. In relation to the mixed-methods research, a descriptive research design will enable the researcher to obtain rich datasets that help in generating credible and reliable research findings. Secondly, the descriptive research design supports a multi-faceted approach for collecting and analyzing data, which makes it suitable for a mixed-methods study. In this regard, the research design enables the researcher to collect in-depth data or information that could be quantitative (questionnaires) or qualitative (interviews). Since the researcher intends to collect data using questionnaires and interviews, this research design is suitable for gathering in-depth information. The third strength of the descriptive research design is that it enables participants or subjects to be involved in the research within their natural and unchanged environment. This is an important component towards generating credible and reliable findings because it results in collection of credible data as compared to when the participants are in a different setting other than their natural environment.

Weaknesses of the Research Method and Design

Even though mixed-methods research approach and descriptive research designs are associated with certain strengths, they also have certain weaknesses that could affect the findings and conclusions of this study. One of the weaknesses of this research method is that it can be very challenging to manage because of the incorporation of both qualitative and quantitative measures in the research process. Secondly, while mixed-methods research supports rigorous data collection and analysis, these processes can be complicated and time consuming. The complexities and time consuming nature of data analysis emerge from the fact that the researcher needs to integrate data collected by both qualitative and quantitative data collection processes (Hughes, 2016). Additionally, the researcher experiences numerous difficulties in interpreting abstract data from the data collection measures. This essentially means that mixed-methods researches are complex to prepare and to conduct, which increases complexities of evaluations (Wisdom & Creswell, 2013).

The other weakness of mixed-methods research is its reliance on a multidisciplinary team of researchers to carry out the complex research processes. Generally, conducting a high-quality study using this research method often requires a multidisciplinary team of researchers. This can be a major impediment when the study is to be carried out by a single researcher, especially in a challenging research setting or environment. Mixed-methods researches require more time and resources to conduct because of the complex nature of the research processes. These studies are usually labor intensive, time consuming, and require greater resources in comparison to single method studies.

The other challenges that the researcher is likely to experience when conducting this study are attributable to the weaknesses of descriptive research design. One of the weaknesses of this research design is that it cannot be utilized to determine cause and effect or correlate different research variables. The researcher cannot determine cause and effect when using descriptive research design because it is beyond the confines of the statistics utilized in this approach (Knupfer & McLellan, n.d.). Secondly, participants’ honesty and confidentiality is an issue when utilizing a descriptive research design because they may not behave naturally despite being in the natural environment. This is a major weakness, particularly in studies where data is collected through observation Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching, n.d.). While the participants are observed in their natural and unchanged environment, they are more likely not to behave naturally since their confidentiality is an issue. Third, studies carried out using a descriptive research design are not repeatable, which implies that they cannot be replicated. The other weakness is that researcher bias may influence the research process and its findings may be subject to interpretation.

In conclusion, cross cultural consumer behavior has become an essential component in the modern business environment because of increased globalization. This study will focus on examining the issue of cross cultural consumer behavior on the premise of the numerous challenges facing marketing managers. The researcher will utilize a mixed-methods research approach and descriptive research design in conducting this study. The use of this research method and design is attributable to the fact that the research problem would not be suitable for a qualitative or quantitative research alone. Moreover, the research method and design will provide a platform for conducting a comprehensive analysis of the research issue.