Research Design

This chapter of the dissertation explores the methods and techniques utilised in undertaking the study. The section begins by providing an understanding of the different aspects of philosophy, the research approaches and the techniques chosen for the study, procedures for data collection, sampling, analysis, validity, reliability, ethics, and limitations of the study.

3.2 Research Philosophy

A research philosophy offers guidance on how a researcher will undertake data collection and analysis. Horrigan (2007, p. 107) observes that the philosophical point of view aids in understanding sciences of knowledge. The definition captures the nature of research as a science that seeks to improve knowledge through the investigation of subject matter. Epistemology defines three philosophical approaches; objectivism, constructivism, and subjectivism leading to theoretical perspectives. Subjectivism contends that reality is independent of human perception (Powers and Knapp, 2010, p. 168). The positivist and interpretive are the main philosophical approaches to research (Willis and Claudia 2014, p. 34). Positivist methodology offers the possibility of accessing new knowledge on an existing real world. The positive approach, therefore, considers the presence of a straightforward way to observe the real world and our perceptions and understanding of it (Finlay and Evans 2009, p. 18). On the other hand, the interpretive theoretical approach argues that it is not possible to remain objective while undertaking research owing to the influence of the researcher’s standpoint and identity (Finlay and Evans 2009, p. 19). The theoretical perspective influences data collection and orientation. The positivist paradigm has been associated with quantitative studies, while the interpretive theoretical approach has been associated with qualitative research (Belk 2007 p. 158). An interpretive paradigm is used in the current study. Gray (2014, p. 19), provides a clear relationship between epistemology, theoretical perspectives, methodology, and research methods as shown in the diagram below.

Figure 3.1 Relationship between epistemology, theoretical perspectives, methodology, and research methods

3.3 Research Approach

Research can be undertaken under two major approaches, deductive and inductive research approaches (Collins 2017, p. 42). The choice of research approach depends on the types of data collected and the researcher’s philosophy. The deductive approach means that a researcher has to come up with a given proposition based on a theory and then seek to test its trueness/validity (Collins 2017, p. 42). The inductive approach involves the development of generalisable inferences from observations that is from observation emerges a theory (Bryman and Bell 2015, p. 14). The current study takes an inductive approach as qualitative data is collected on the branding and celebrity endorsements to reach a conclusion on their effect on buyer behavior with a focus on Nike and Adidas. This basis is well highlighted by Gratton and Jones (2010, p. 36) that the focus of inductive research is data collection that then forms the basis for generating a model, theory, or explanation. In this study, secondary data will be reviewed to come up with the explanation on the effects of celebrity endorsements and personal branding strategies on the consumer’s buying behavior focusing on Nike and Adidas. The interpretive paradigm in the study also makes inductive approach appropriate.

Under the inductive research approach, the narrative design is selected to guide in the analysis of the data collected to form conclusions (Petrie et al. 2016, p. 418). Nguyen (2018, p. 53) describes the narrative design as a guide of reflection in the enquiry process to represent research for easier interpretation of facts and experiences. The focus of the study was on consumer experiences, hence the need to utilise the narrative design in structuring and organising these experiences into meaningful units from the data collected.

Figure 3.2 The Research process “Onion”

The figure above shows the research process as outlined in Dalcher and Brodie (2007, p. 61), which informed the decision-making on the research approach to follow.

3.4 Research Design: (Qualitative/Quantitative/Mixed Methods

The research design is crucial and determines the effectiveness of research in meeting the stated objectives. Almakis (2016, p. 290) states that the concern of research design is to achieve purposes, aims, plains and intentions within the cost, time, and location of the researcher. It is important to select an appropriate design to for use to gain adequate information and data to make valid generalisable conclusions (Privitera 2013, p. 17). There are different research designs that can be applied in undertaking research including:

Qualitative research design focuses on understanding issues through investigating them from their context and the individual meaning they display (Asmakis 2016, p. 290). Qualitative research provides a lot of information from the participant’s environment adding contextual benefits to the research study (Almakis, 2016, p. 290). There are different types of qualitative design, including grounded theory, field research, case study, ethnography, phenomenology, generic qualitative method, content analysis, action research, and historical research. Qualitative research has fewer rules reducing the chances of making mistakes or confusion while undertaking research (Bengtsson 2016, p. 8). However, qualitative research is very dependent on the abilities of a researcher, which could affect the reliability and the validity of research. There is a need to undertake research while paying close attention to biases for the qualitative approach to be effective. Alamkis (2016, p. 290) notes that using qualitative approach does not prevent the researcher from undertaking a disciplined, critical, and balanced study.

Quantitative research design involves coming up with a theory or hypothesis then putting to test and conclusions drawn with regard to the hypothesis following the collection and analysis of data (Almakis 2016, p. 290). According to Almakis (2016, p. 290), quantitative research utilises mathematically based methods in the collection and analysis of the information and the results can be generalised to the population.

The mixed methods research design is where both qualitative and quantitative research methods are used in a study to collect and analyse data to address a given research question (Roller and Lavrakas 2015, p. 288, Bellotti 2014, p. 23). Mixed research methods allow researchers to undertake superior studies to that undertaken using only one method (Sander et al. 2013, p. 18). The mixed research method offers researchers a basis to compensate for the inherent weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative research (Fiorini, Amanda and Jonathan, p. 39). The benefit of utilising a mixed research approach is that it allows a researcher to have a greater understanding of the research phenomenon than they would have achieved when using either qualitative or quantitative method (Asmakis 2016, p. 290).

Explanatory designs seek to use quantitative data as a basis for the understanding and explaining qualitative data (Asmakis 2016, p. 293). It focuses on why variables are related to one another (Salkind, 2010, p. 1254). The benefits of explanatory research design are that the research can pinpoint the relevant data to fit a specific project owing to its precise investigation (McNabb, 2010, p. 28). However, this method is time consuming owing to the need to select participants with pertinent information on the specific issue under study. Asmakis (2016 p. 293) describes the exploratory design as a method that utilises qualitative data in informing the quantitative process. This author contends that the researcher has limitations, including the possibility that the participants may not be unwilling to participate in both studies and its time-consuming nature (Asmakis, 2016, p. 293).

This study employs a mixed research approach to understand the effects of celebrity endorsements and branding on consumer behavior at Nike and Adidas. The study utilises both qualitative data representing the behaviour of individuals. The mixed research approach allows for comprehensiveness in understanding the effects of personal branding and celebrity endorsements on consumer behaviour at Nike and Adidas. The mixed method research is also appropriate because it offers a platform for the study to present quantitative data in tables and graphs for comparison while using qualitative information on the behaviour of buyers in response to celebrity endorsements and branding by Nike and Adidas.

3.5 Data Collection Methods

Data collection techniques offer a researcher systematic ways to collect information on the phenomenon under study (Cin 2013, p. 40). Data involves the facts that are collected for further analysis (Cin 2013, p. 40). According to Peersman (2014, p. 1), regardless of the type of evaluation, choosing and implementing research methods well is essential. The author calls for the determination of the most appropriate method to collect data to achieve the research objectives (Peersman 2014, p. 1). Cin (2013, p. 40) provides a clear discussion of the different research methods a researcher can utilise to collect the required data for analysis. These data collection methods include observation, questionnaires, tests, interviews, questionnaire, and uses available information. In line with the time available, resources, and the aims of the study, document review is used to access data for the current study.

Document review is a means to collect data through the review of existing documents (Nyuyen 2018, p. 54). The researcher considered several aspects to determine the appropriateness of document analysis in data collection, including the time and resources available. Document analysis as a data collection method also has advantages, including convenience due to lack of coordination between researcher and participants and the unobstructive nature of data collection (Biddix 2018, p. 114). The other benefits of document analysis are the data has already been transcribed and with the advance in technology access to a wide range of data is achieved improving breadth of the research.

The secondary sources used in the study include articles, journals, magazines, and books. The company websites for Adidas and Nike offered also a lot of data for the study. Websites, government publications, and brand analysis data were also used. The performance data for Adidas and Nike were also reviewed, including the brand equity and other performance measures to offer an understanding of the progress of the two companies. The statistics of the performance of competing industries in the apparel industry were also included in the research for comparative analysis and form conclusions in line with research objectives. The benefit of using secondary data for the research was easy availability at a low cost (Mulhern 2010, p. n.d.).

3.6 Sampling

Sampling entails the section of respondents for inclusion in the research. The sample size differs with the research and the researcher has to be careful in determining the right sample size that will help answer the research questions. Moule, Aveyard, and Goodman (2016, p. 19) underscores the need for clear sampling procedures since ineffective sampling could compromise research findings. Depending on the study, there are different sampling types, including probability sampling, random sampling, quota sampling, cluster sampling, and accidental sampling (Marlow 2010, p. 140). This study was primarily based on secondary data; hence there was no need to undertake sampling, which only applies to situations when a researcher has to collect primary data. Since the research cannot be undertaken on the whole apparel industry, the choice was made to base the analysis on Nike and Adidas. The choice of the two companies was purposive considering they are among the most successful firms not only in the apparel industry or the United Kingdom but globally. The companies also have a long client history and have for many years utilized celebrity endorsements and have developed strong brand identity at domestic and international level (Fiorini, Griffiths, and Houdmont, 2016, p. 56; Kolah 2015, p. 12).

3.7 Reliability

A failure to check the reliability of data sources could render a research undertaking useless owing to inaccurate analysis and conclusions. Aparasu and Bentley (2014, p. 39) defines reliability as the Reliable sources are those sources that have for long time presented accurate information (Verderber et al. 2013, p. 162; Almalki 2016, p. 288). A research that clearly relates the collected data to predict the outcome is considered reliable. In secondary research, reliability relates to the consistently of the approach taken to those of others researchers working on the same topic. There were various ways that reliability of the study was ensured:

a. Recording all the procedures in the performance of the research

b. Show a detailed record of how the project was undertaken to allow they will reflect positive performances.

c. Corrects for omissions, errors, and mistakes.

d. Evaluate the different sources through looking at the author’s credentials, purpose that could result in bias in reporting, the site for downloading the bible should also be meaningful. .

3.8 Validity

Validity measures the extent to which a measuring tool signifies the real differences of the objects or people measured (Kuiper 2009, p. 275). According to Verderber et al. (2013, p. 162), secondary sources have a wide range of accuracy, validity, and reliability. Silverman (2016, p. 365) considers validity as the determination if the data supports the inferences made by a researcher. Considering the study was purely based on secondary sources, it was important to understand and evaluate the validity of the sources before including the data in the research. One of the major aims of the research was to find accurate data sources and the books, journals, websites, magazines, or government publications contain reliable and valid data. Verderber et al. (2013, p. 162) considers sources that contain information that is factual as valid. Validity in research is the conscious effort by a researcher to put in place measures to check the accuracy of research findings.

Several measures were taken to ensure the validity of the research as outlined below:

Authority:

this was the first step to determine the validity of a source for inclusion in the research. The step involved seeking to understand the expertise and reputation of the publishing individual or organization (Verderber et al. 2013, p. 162). The professional qualifications of the authors were checked to ensure the sources were valid. The sources whose authors presented their information and their expertise, other published works, and excellent background were considered valid for inclusion in the research.

Objectivity: seeks to find information presented in an objective manner. The sources that have an inclination or bias towards a specific side of the issue under argument were included with only those sources that provided accurate factual data without any bias.

Currency:

this relates to the view that newer information is more accurate than older information. The researcher placed emphasis on the latest studies that would have more value to than those that are over five years. The view is that business conditions are changing very fast and the world’s changes with it, hence the need to incorporate only the latest studies and knowledge to generate better forecasts and conclusions.

The researcher also aimed at ensuring the validity of the study is maintained by being objective at all time to avoid any bias while selecting secondary sources. The development of a clear and operationalized goals and objectives also helped in achieving high research validity. The validity of the data was also improved by using other researches on the same subjects that have been completed. This allowed the researcher to understand the different research designs, data, collection and analysis options that would allow for faster project completion

3.9 Analysis

Inductive data analysis is a procedure that helps develop categories into a framework (Liu 2016, p. 132). The data analysis approach used for the study is inductive as conclusions are formed from the information collected. Under the inductive data analysis, framework analysis was utilised, which is used to check for similarities and differences in the data collected facilitated the use of inferred relationships to form descriptive conclusions (Nguyen 2018, p. 54). The steps in framework analysis are well articulated by Liu (2016, p. 132). Liu (2016, p. 132) provides five steps of the inductive data analysis process, which was adopted and utilised in this study. Inductive analysis involves reading the data, identifying data points that relate to the research objectives, create categories from these segments, minimize redundancy and overlap in the categories, and develop a model that involves the most important categories (Liu 2016, p. 132).

3.10 Ethics

Ethics is a very important part of research and offers ensures the research is undertaken within legal and moral dictates. The research was started after receiving feedback from the supervisor to proceed with the topic. A researcher must at all time act ethically and give credit to all the sources used to avoid plagiarism. All the work should be cited properly as a way of acknowledging the authors who developed the studies. Despite the lack of direct contact between the researcher and the participants in secondary research, the researcher maintained confidentiality and no information or changes would be passed on to third parties without their context.

3.1.1 Limitations of the research

The current study is faced with several limitations that could prevent the generalisation of the findings to the apparel industry. These limitations include:

a. The research is only based on secondary data to come up with conclusions

b. The focus is on the apparel industry; hence the conclusions made may not reflect the effects of branding and celebrity endorsements on consumer behaviour in other industries.

c. The research depends on other studies and books undertaken by others, hence the bias associated with these studies will be transferred t the current study

d. There are not tests and none of the data collected can be tested using covariance tests and other quantitative measures to determine the relationship between the variables included in the study.

3.2 Summary

The chapter has provided a detailed discussion of the different methodologies and procedures used in undertaking the study. The chapter has also provided different philosophies and designs in the determination of the right channel to assume in addressing an issue. Details including validity and reliability were also discussed owing to their relative importance in recent, years. A research that does not adhere to any guidelines will fail in its efforts to explain the phenomenon, hence the importance of this chapter in the current research. The next chapter will provide the analysis of the information presented. Chapter four will discuss the issues that emerged from the study.

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