The Research Process

Follow-up

Writing and
Presenting the Creation of
Report the Research
Design
Problem/
Opportunity
Identification &
Formulation Choice of Method
Analysis of of Research
the Data

Collection of the Selection of the

Data Sampling
Procedure

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Problem/opportunity identification and
formulation

Only when the Research PROBLEM has been clearly defined

research can be designed and conducted properly

¨ If the problem is misunderstood and ill-defined , all the effort,

time and money spent from this point on will be wasted

¨ No area of research requires more insight and creativity than

the process of MR problem definition

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 Assume that one of your
friends is working for a
restaurant chain and
wants help analyzing the
data he collected while
conducting a marketing
research study.

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Chain Restaurant Study

When you met him, he may present a copy of the

questionnaire and ask how he should analyze the
data. Your first question should be:

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Chain Restaurant Study
• Data analysis is not an independent exercise.

• Rather, the goal of data analysis is to

PROVIDE INFORMATION RELATED TO THE

PROBLEM COMPONENTS.

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Chain Restaurant Study

So before going any further, you

had to define the marketing
research problem.

If much of the data collected is not

relevant to the problem, the whole
study is a waste of resources.
A new study needs to be designed
and implemented to address the
problem defined.
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The Importance of Properly Defining the
Problem

• Properly defining the problem is the most important step

in the marketing research process.

• If the wrong problem is defined, all the remaining steps

in the marketing research process are wrong.

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 The Role of Symptoms in
Problem Recognition
• “We have a problem … we are losing money.”
– No! This is NOT a problem… it is a symptom.
– Managers must be careful to
avoid confusing symptoms
with problems.
• https://stevensoncompany.com/top-5-examples-market-
research-failure/
• http://trustedinsight.trendsource.com/trusted-insight-
trends/the-10-biggest-market-research-fails-of-all-time

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 Problem Definition Based on Symptoms
Can Be Misleading
Problem Definition

Firm Symptoms Based on Symptoms Underlying Causes

Manufacturer Consumers Determine consumer Color. The color of the

of orange say the preferences for drink is a dark shade of
soft drinks sugar alternative levels of orange giving the
content is sugar content perception that the
too high product is too
“sugary.”
Manufacturer Customers Determine the price Channel management.
of machine complain elasticity of demand Distributors do not
tools prices are have adequate product
too high knowledge to
communicate product
benefits to customers.
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Errors in Defining Market Research Problem

• Does Not Provide • May Miss Some Important

Guidelines for Components of the
Subsequent Steps
• e.g., Improving the Common Problem
• e.g. Changing Prices in

Errors
Company’s Image Response to a Competitor’s
Price Change

Problem Definition is Problem Definition is

too Broad too Narrow

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Problem Definition

A broad statement of the general problem and

identification of the specific components of the
marketing research problem

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 Tasks Involved

The
Problem
Discussion Interviews Secondary Qualitative
With decision with Data Research
makers Experts Analysis

Definition
Process Environmental Context of the Problem

Step I: Problem Definition

Management Decision Problem

Marketing Research Problem

Step II: Approach to the Problem

Analytical Specification
Objective/ Model: Verbal, Research of
Theoretical Hypotheses
Graphical, Questions Information
Foundations
Mathematical Needed

Step III: Research Design

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What Has Changed?

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The Seven Cs of Interaction

The interaction between the DM and the

researcher should be Characterized by the seven
Cs:
1. Communication
2. Cooperation
3. Confidence
4. Candor
5. Closeness
6. Continuity
7. Creativity

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Factors to be Considered in the
Environmental Context of the Problem

PAST INFORMATION AND FORECASTS

RESOURCES AND CONSTRAINTS

OBJECTIVES

BUYER BEHAVIOR

LEGAL ENVIROMENT

ECONOMIC ENVIROMENT
MARKETING AND TECHNOLOGICAL
SKILLS

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Management Decision Problem vs.
Marketing Research Problem
Management Decision Problem Marketing Research Problem
(The problem confronting the DM (entails determining what info. is
What the DM needs to do needed & how in the most
feasible way)
Should a new product be To determine consumer
introduced? preferences
and purchase intentions for the
proposed new product.

Should the advertising To determine the effectiveness

campaign be changed? of the current advertising
campaign.

Should the price of the To determine the price elasticity

brand be increased? of demand and the impact on
sales and profits of various levels
of price changes.
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ÖRNEK 1

• BİR ÖRNEK ÜZERİNDE TARTIŞALIM…….

• C&A NE TÜR BİR PROBLEMLE KARŞILAŞTI?

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STRATEGIC EVALUATION

C&A Temel Firma Göstergeleri

C&A Mode AG

Headquarters: Zug, Switzerland Batı Avrupa firmanın

Regional
involvement:
Eastern Europe, Latin
America, Western Europe,
temel pazarı : %67 (2014
satışlarının)
Childrenswear, apparel
Category accessories, menswear,
involvement: womenswear, hosiery,
footwear

World apparel
and footwear
value share
0.6% Ancak 2009 da oran %74
2014
idi….. Düşüş !!!!
-0.1% (2013-2014)
World apparel
1.9% CAGR (2009-2014)
and footwear
(at US$ fixed exchange
value growth
rates)
–Olası Sebepler Neler Olabilir ?
 Online Satışlardaki Artış

Makroekonomik problemler, zayıflıklar

Fast-fashion markaların başarısı (H&M)

2009—2014 %0 büyüme

Çin Pazarına Giriş, 65 mağaza (2015) ve hızlı artış

Şirket yeni mağazalar açtı
ama mağaza başına satışlar
düştü.
STRATEGIC EVALUATION

C&A Mode AG’s biggest markets

STRATEGIC EVALUATION

• Latin Amerika, daha

• Avrupa’da C&A markası genç, çok daha moda
aile alışverişine odaklı, odaklı, tüm aile yerine
konservatif bir imaja sahip. genç kadınların yöneldiği
(40 lı yaşlar) bir marka.
• 2012 …Cindy Crawford • Beyoncé and Shakira.
(30 lu yaşlar)
 -Perakende network (2000 -Batı Avrupa pazarında düşüş
-Marka uygun fiyatlı moda ürünü
mağaza dünyada )
imajını yitiriyor-H&M
-Latin Amerika (Brezilya önemli
Pazar-%27) -10 ayrı alt marka var. Marka imajı
ve konumu ?

SWOT
- Çin pazarı hızlı ve değer
-Etik itibar (Bangladesh 2013)
sunan ürünlere ve markaya
pozitif tepki veriyor. - Yeni mağazalar açsa da ölçek
-Online satışta Avrupa dışına sorunu (Inditex)
genişleme, hızlanma
 • Avrupa’da mevcut imajı H&M
and Zara gibi markaların başı
• 2015 kolleksiyonu… çektiği modaya yön veren bir
Kim Kardashian marka olmasını ve rekabet
etmesini önlüyor..
• Çin……….
• marka Uniqlo gibi daha genç
ve fast fashion markaya daha
yakın olarak konumlandı.
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Defining the Problem

Example :

DM : We have seen a decline in the patronage of our store

R : How do you know that?
DM : It is reflected in our sales and market share
R : Why do you think that your patronage has declined ?
DM : I wish I knew
R : What about your competition ?
DM : I suspect we are better than competition on some
factors and worse than them on others
R : How do the customers view your store ?
DM : I think most of them positively although we may have a
weak area or two.
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Department Store Project

Problem Definition

In the department store project, the marketing research

problem is to determine the relative strengths and
weaknesses of X, vis-à-vis other major competitors, with
respect to factors that influence store patronage.

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Proper Definition of the Research Problem

Marketing Research
Problem

Broad Statement

Specific Components

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Department Store Project
Specifically, research should provide information on the following
questions:

1.What criteria do households use when selecting department stores?

2.How do households evaluate X and competing stores in terms of the
choice criteria identified in question 1?
3.Which stores are patronized when shopping for specific product
categories?
4.What is the market share of X and its competitors for specific
product categories?
5.What is the demographic,psychological and behavioral profile of the
customers of X? Does it differ from the profile of customers of
competing stores?
6.Can store patronage and preference be explained in terms of store
evaluations and customer characteristics?

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The purpose of a written marketing
research brief

• Helps the initiator to be more sure of how

decision-making will be supported
• Agreement among all parties who may
benefit from research
• Helps to plan and administer research
• Helps to reduce disputes
• Forms the basis for negotiation.

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 Components of an Approach

Objective/
Theoretical Found.
Analytical Model
Research Questions
Hypotheses
Specification of the
Information Needed

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What is a Theory?
• Theory
– A formal, logical explanation of some events that
includes predictions or how things relate to one
another.
• Goals of Theory
– Understanding
– Predicting

3–34

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Research Task Role of Theory

1. Conceptualizing Provides a conceptual foundation and understanding of the basic processes underlying
the problem situation. These processes will suggest key dependent and independent
and identifying variables

key variables .

2. Operationalizing Theoretical constructs (variables) can suggest independent and dependent variables
naturally occurring in the real world.
key variables

3. Selecting a Causal or associative relationships suggested by the theory may indicate whether a
causal or descriptive design should be adopted.
research design

4. Selecting a The theoretical framework may be useful in defining the population and suggesting
variables for qualifying respondents, imposing quotas, or
sample stratifying the population

5. Analyzing and The theoretical framework (and the models, research questions and hypotheses
based on it) guide the selection of a data analysis strategy and the interpretation of
interpreting data results

6. Integrating The findings obtained in the research project can be interpreted in the light of previous
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research and integrated with the existing body of knowledge.
İTÜ
Theoretical framework

Theoretical framework is a conceptual model

which shows the relationships between factors
affecting a phenomenon.

It is based on previous research that are tested.

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When developing theoretical
frameworks…

1. Determine the relevant variables and define them

2. State the relationships between 2 or more

variables and their directions

3. Determine the direction of relationships among

variables

4. Explain why this direction of the relationship is

expected

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 A Basic Theory Explaining
Voluntary Job Turnover

©2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Department Store Project
Specification of Information Needed
Component 1
• The researcher identified the following factors as part of the
choice criteria:
• quality of merchandise, variety and assortment of
merchandise, returns and adjustment policy, service of
store personnel, prices, convenience of location, layout of
store, credit and billing policies.
• The respondents should be asked to rate the importance of
each factor as it influences their store selection.

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Department Store Project
Component 2
• The researcher identified nine department stores as
competitors to X based on discussions with management.
• The respondents should be asked to evaluate X and its
nine competitors on the eight choice criteria factors.

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Department Store Project
Component 3
• 16 different product categories were selected, including
women's dresses, women's sportswear, lingerie and body
fashion, junior merchandise, men's apparel, cosmetics,
jewelry, shoes, sheets and towels, furniture and bedding,
and draperies.
• The respondents should be asked whether they shop at
each of the 10 stores for each of the 16 product categories.
Component 4
• No additional information needs to be obtained from the
respondents.

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Department Store Project

Component 5
• Information should be obtained on the standard
demographic characteristics and the psychographic
characteristics of store loyalty, credit use,
appearance consciousness, and combining
shopping with eating.

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A STUDY ON CONSUMER ATTITUDES
TOWARDS COUNTERFEITS OF
LUXURY FASHION GOODS

• Stages of the Research

• 1. Literature survey

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 A Study on Consumer Attitudes
towards Counterfeits of Luxury
Fashion Goods
The aim of this research is to understand the factors, namely
the social and psychological factors including
• consumer susceptibility, personal gratification,
• materialism, price-quality inference,
• status consumption, integrity and value consciousness
affecting the consumers’ attitudes towards counterfeits of
luxury brands and purchase intention in Turkey which is the
second-largest counterfeit product market in the world.

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Social Factors
Normative Susceptibility
H1 ,H2 Attitudes
Informative Susceptibility
towards Purchase
H9 Intention
counterfeits

H3,H4,H5,H6,H7,H8
Personality Factors
Personal Gratification
Status Consumption
Integrity
Materialism
Value Consciousness
Price-Quality Inference

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You Can also Use The Models in the
Literature
An analytical model is a set of variables and
their interrelationships designed to represent, in
whole or in part, some real system or process.

In verbal models, the variables and their

relationships are stated in prose form. Such
models may be mere restatements of the main
tenets of a theory.

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Mathematical models explicitly specify the relationships
among variables, usually in equation form.

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Graphical Models
Graphical models are visual. They are used to isolate variables
and to suggest directions of relationships but are not designed
to provide numerical results.

Awareness

Understanding:Evaluation

Preference

Patronage

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Development of Research
Questions and Hypotheses

Components of the
Marketing Research Problem
Objective/
Theoretical
Framework
Research Questions
Analytical
Model
Hypotheses

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 Research Questions and Hypotheses

• Research questions (RQs) are refined

statements of the specific components of the
problem.

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Research Questions
Research questions should be specified

"They are refined statements of specific components of the

problem. Each component of the problem may have to be
broken down into subcomponents-(research questions)

The fifth component of the research problem ------

“profile of the customers in terms of behavioral factors.”

Is there a relationship btw preference and demographic

factors?
“Does adoption of specific credit cards affect the store loyalty?”

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Marketing Research Questions
Examples

Determining psychographic profile of department store

customers

• What is the level of store loyalty of customers?

•What sort of activities the customer engage in after the

purchase?

•What shopping means to customers other than getting

what is needed?

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 Department Store Project

• RQ: Do the customers of X exhibit store loyalty?

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Operationalization

The research questions are then further refined by

defining variables and determining how they are
to be operationalized.

How can we understand when store cards or credit

cards are adopted for transaction?

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 Adoption
• Most of the researchers define adoption as purchase or trial.

• Besides, adoption is a decision to make full use of innovation

as a best course of action (Rogers, 1983), or it means, to
use and continued use of a new item.

• Adoption involves commitment rather than purchase or trial

(Robertson, 1971).

• When any consumer decides to make full and regular use of

the innovation, it can be said that the consumer is at the final
stage in the adoption process.

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• How should the adoption of credit card X be measured ?

– Whether the customer holds a X credit card

– Whether the customer uses the X credit card
– The number of times the credit card X is used in a
specific time period
– The dollar amount charged to the store credit card
during a specified time period.

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• Perceived risk influences consumer’s information search
process by directing them to choose sources that reduce
risk. As Murray (1991) notes, consumers prefer more
personal sources as risk-reducing. Bansal et al. (2000)
state that as perceived risk increases, WOM is more
actively sought

• Perceived risk is measured by 4 items stating the

components of financial, performance, social, and
convenience loss on a 5-point scale anchored by low loss
to high loss, adapted from a scale by Murray and
Schlacter (1990).

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• Please indicate your degree of agreement with the
following statements.
(1- Strongly disagree….5-Strongly agree)

– Mobile phone I bought may not function as expected.

– My friends and relatives make may fun of me about
the mobile phone I bought.
– Mobile phone I bought may make me lose money.
– It may take time and effort to repair or replace the
mobile phone I bought.

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Hypotheses
• A hypothesis (H) is an unproven statement or
proposition about a factor or phenomenon that is of
interest to the researcher. Often, a hypothesis is a
possible answer to the research question.

– H1: Customers who are store-loyal are less

knowledgeable about the shopping environment.

– H2: Store-loyal customers are more risk-averse

than non-loyal customers.

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 Hypothesis Development

Theory
Research Research Hypotheses Research
Management Experience Design
Purpose Question
Exploratory Research

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 Hypotheses

Hypotheses are formulated in relation to the research

question on store loyalty

H1 : Customers who are store loyal are less

knowledgeable about the shopping environment

H2 : Store loyal customers are more risk averse than

nonloyal customers

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 Example
“The Factors Affecting Purchase Intention:
Brand awareness and Brand trust”
General Problem Definition-Aim of the Research:
What can affect purchase intention?
Preliminary Literature Review
Objectives
????
Depth Literature Review
Trust has two aspects:
1. Trust on the basis of prior knowledge
2. Trust at the time of decision-making

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Main Variables

Attitude Towards Brand

• Trust about the brand

• Attitude towards other brands
• Awareness about the brand
• Purchase intention

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Operationalised Definitions

• Brand awareness: The degree of prior awareness while

asserting a preference

• Trust: The degree of self-assurance while evaluating the

brand and other brands

• Attitude: The degree of liking or satisfaction about the

preferred brands

• Purchase intention: The degree of likelihood of buying

the same brand in the next ten shopping exercises.

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Hypotheses
H1 : The more the brand awareness, the more the prior-
knowledge based trust about that brand.
H2 : The consumers positive attitude towards a brand is
positively affected by brand awareness.
H3: There is a positive relationship between purchase
intention and prior-knowledge based trust
H4 : The purchase intention of a consumer is positively
affected by attitude toward the brand but is negatively
affected by the attitude towards competing brands

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İşletme
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 GSM’DE MÜŞTERİ SADAKATİ

Algılanan
K alite
K urumsal
G üven S osyal
Müşteri S orumluluk
B eklentileri

Müşteri Müşteri
Memnuniyeti Bağlılığı

F iyat

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İşletme
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