Impact Of Perceived Quality On Customer Preferences In Retail Sector – Research Questions And Methodology

Research Questions

Discuss About The Consumer Behavior Pearson Higher Education?

The evolution observed in context of business environment has been characterized by the majority of influence on business performance being derived from customer behaviour and perception of brands. The element of service quality has become a major priority for customers to recognize the effectiveness of value proposition facilitated by organizations. The retail sector is expanding at exponential rates with the increasing opportunities for foreign direct investments being observed in many international markets.

The customer base targeted by the retail sector is inclusive of a wider share of population in any given market with the major dependency on groceries and apparel. Therefore, the perception of service quality by customers in the retail sector could be apprehended as a major influence on performance of companies in the sector (Albert & Merunka, 2013).

The following research proposal aims to illustrate the outline for a research activity that would resolve the impact of perceived quality on preferences of customers in the retail sector. The essential highlights that can be observed in this business research proposal include a justification for the selected research topic and derive research questions that would be relevant to the context of the research issue (Ballantine & Au Yeung, 2015). Furthermore, the proposal also provides a comprehensive review of the research methodology that could be implemented for resolving the research questions before reaching on a feasible conclusion.

The significance of research questions could be ascertained in a research activity as the major determinants of research objectives that would account as viable contributors to the research methodology. Research questions act as the guiding benchmarks for identifying relevant literature rather than engaging in confusion due to the diversity of aspects related to perception of service quality and customer choices. The following research questions could be presented within the context of the research activity:

How is retail service quality measured? The justification for this question can be observed in the outcomes for identifying the impact of the dimensions of service quality such as reliability, empathy, tangibles, assurance and responsiveness which are profoundly observed in retail sector (Dijk, Antonides & Schillewaert, 2014). Approaches for resolution of this question could lead to identification of the different scales used for determining service quality in the retail sector thereby obtaining a credible impression of its impact on consumer’s perception of service quality.

What is the effect of the store’s image on perception of service quality? The validity for this question could be provided on the grounds of identification of the functional and psychological implications of the image of a store on the choices of customers. The role of store image as a notable contributor to the positioning of a brand in the market can also be accounted as a relevant influence on customer choices (Fall Diallo et al., 2013). Therefore, this research question can provide a comprehensive impression of the impact of functional features in a store on the perception of the service quality by customers thereby leading to effects on customer choices.

Retail Service Quality Measurement

How could the perception of service quality be related to customer behaviour? The justification of the question could be provided on the grounds of the opportunity to resolve the primary research objective of identifying the relation between service quality perception and customer choices (Viktoria Rampl & Kenning, 2014). The approach for addressing the research question could provide viable insights into the diverse theoretical perspectives related to marketing and consumer behaviour.

It would also contribute to the recognition of various functions such as mental, emotional and physical activities that are utilized by customers for selecting, using and disposal of a product (Joy et al., 2014). The variety of products in the retail sector alongside the increasing competitiveness is responsible for profound complexities for customers to base their purchase decisions. Therefore, the identification of factors influencing customer behaviour and the relevance of service quality perception could be helpful for resolving the research objective.

The research methodology can be described as the collective term that comprises of the various approaches required for conducting a research activity. The process of research design is implemented for developing the research methodology which is responsible for providing a systematic design for resolution of the research problem. The research design relies on the evaluation of research problem to select the appropriate methodology for the research activity (Rani, 2014).

However, some of the essential highlights that could be included in a research design refer to definition of the population for the research activity, sampling, data collection and methods for data analysis. The population for a specific research activity could be identified in the combination of people or objects that share a similar characteristic and can provide reasonable information pertaining to the research activity. It is also essential to consider the specific sections of the target population which can be accessed by the researcher and is generally subject to the concerns of region, state or country. In the case of the concerned research activity, the population includes the retail sector customers in Australia (Kaswengi & Diallo, 2015). However, the researcher could have access only to a specific part of the population due to limitations of research costs or other restraints.

Furthermore, it can be clearly anticipated that all members of the population could not be adequately aware of the concepts pertaining to the research issue which creates the need for a sample design. The sample could be defined as a subset of the accessible population which comprises of people or objects that share a similar characteristic and can be accounted as credible participants in the research activity. The most commonly observed classifications of sampling include probability and non-probability sampling. Probability sampling can be defined in scenarios when every member of the population has a probability of being included in the sample (Nenycz?Thiel & Romaniuk, 2014).

Effect of Store Image on Service Quality Perception

On the other hand, non-probability sampling is reliant on the selection of participants according to a specific precedent. The distinct methods that can be categorized under probability sampling refer to random sampling, systematic sampling and stratified sampling. Non probability sampling methods include judgment sampling, snowball sampling and quota sampling.

The sampling method that would be most suitable for this research activity could be stratified sampling which assists the researchers in creating another subset within the selected population with a specific category (Pearson, 2016). The stratified sample that can be presented in this business research proposal would include retail sector customers in Australia at Myers (Solomon, 2014).

The integral aspect of every research activity is to collect accurate and adequate amount of data that could be used for addressing the research questions comprehensively. Data collection has always been a formidable setback in the case of research due to the inadequacy of data. The different approaches and methods implemented for collection of data could be classified into two broad sections referred to as primary data collection and secondary data collection. Secondary data collection for the research activity would be derived from the literary sources, journal publications and research studies related to measures for perception of service quality and the factors influencing customer behaviour (Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy & Pervan, 2015). The impact of the primary data collection is considered crucial for a research activity as it provides insights into practical or real-time data acquired from the field. Primary data collection could be realized through different methods such as interviews or surveys.

Surveys could be conducted through delivering questionnaires, observation, telephonic interviews or scheduling and the researcher could select an appropriate method depending on the sample size, access and available resources (Severi & Ling, 2013). The business research proposal would prefer to recommend the method of survey through questionnaires ( Appendix I) that would be distributed to customers at the retail stores of Myers. The method of conducting a survey through delivering the questionnaire through mail to customers could also be adopted by the researchers (Rindell, Strandvik & Wilén, 2014). Despite the advantages of primary data collection methods, the pitfalls such as inadequate response rate or the inappropriate design of questionnaire could be reflective of consequences for the final research outcome. 

Data analysis method would be deductive in nature that would involve the interpretation of the research outcomes in terms of the most influential factors on customer behaviour. Since the questionnaire would involve open ended questions related to the different aspects of store image that affect the customer’s perception of service quality, it is imperative to apply the deductive approach for analysis.

Relationship Between Service Quality Perception and Customer Behavior

The use of secondary data in the analysis would be crucial in the analysis process owing to the support of theoretical contexts in the deduction process. The analysis process would utilize graphical representation of the close ended questions in order to provide a visual illustration of the research findings (Schiffman et al., 2013). The understanding of the demographic details of the participants from the close ended questions would assist in determining the psychological and functional aspects of the retail store image which appeal to specific customer groups based on age or gender.

The research plan could be outlined in the form of the distinct activities involved in the research and the time required for completion of each task. The following Gantt chart would provide a viable interpretation of the research plan.

Activity	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7
Selection of Topic
Identification of research problem
Formulate research objectives
Literature review
Selection of population and sample
Primary data collection
Data analysis
Findings and recommendations
Final formatting and submission

Conclusion

It is also essential to include the ethical precedents and limitations of the research activity in the research methodology. The researcher should not include any questions in the survey questionnaire that demand personal information or make the participant uncomfortable in answering the questions. Another prominent ethical concern that should be addressed by the researcher refers to preserving the confidentiality of the data furbished by participants. The limitations which can be profoundly noted in the case of this research activity would imply references to the lack of resources in terms of time and financial resources. (Limitations were presented in conclusion section).

References

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