Research Methodology 75 Ph.D. Thesis CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction If I compare marketing to a long train with multiple compartments, then marketing research would comprise the dual roles of the engine that powers the train and the links that connect the individual compartments to form a cohesive functional unit. In other words, marketing research is the backbone of the marketing function in any organisation. A critical part of the marketing intelligence system, it helps to improve management decision making for product promotion and increasing sales by providing relevant, accurate, and timely information, by aiding the formulation of requisite strategies. A review of literature in the marketing domain shows a considerable body of work converging on the importance of the corporate brand. This has resulted in the need to manage a corporate brand effectively (Lane Keller, 1999) and identification of the need to reveal the processes involved in building and sustaining positive corporate reputations with wider shareholder audiences (Balmer, 1998, Ind, 1998, Macrae, 1999). This research thesis takes on the scientific method of exploring the concept of corporate brand identity in the minds of the consumers, thus identifying the determinants of corporate brand identity, the value of customer-centric branding and the need to improve consumer brand knowledge. An analysis of brand functions further helps devise a process for consumer segmentation. Design of an experiment helps formulate strategies for increasing consumer emotion for a brand by increasing the level of the consumer’s knowledge about the brand. 3.2 Research questions 3.2.1. Pilot study to calculate Brand association scores to reflect the degree the consumers relate the product brands to the corporate brand.
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Research Methodology
75 Ph.D. Thesis
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
If I compare marketing to a long train with multiple compartments, then marketing research
would comprise the dual roles of the engine that powers the train and the links that connect
the individual compartments to form a cohesive functional unit. In other words, marketing
research is the backbone of the marketing function in any organisation. A critical part of the
marketing intelligence system, it helps to improve management decision making for product
promotion and increasing sales by providing relevant, accurate, and timely information, by
aiding the formulation of requisite strategies.
A review of literature in the marketing domain shows a considerable body of work
converging on the importance of the corporate brand. This has resulted in the need to manage
a corporate brand effectively (Lane Keller, 1999) and identification of the need to reveal the
processes involved in building and sustaining positive corporate reputations with wider
This research thesis takes on the scientific method of exploring the concept of corporate
brand identity in the minds of the consumers, thus identifying the determinants of corporate
brand identity, the value of customer-centric branding and the need to improve consumer
brand knowledge. An analysis of brand functions further helps devise a process for consumer
segmentation. Design of an experiment helps formulate strategies for increasing consumer
emotion for a brand by increasing the level of the consumer’s knowledge about the brand.
3.2 Research questions
3.2.1. Pilot study to calculate Brand association scores to reflect the degree the consumers
relate the product brands to the corporate brand.
Chapter 3
Ph.D. Thesis 76
As stated in the introduction, the purpose of this dissertation is to open up the black-box of a
consumer’s perception of a brand which is done by exploring the consumer’s mind space and
improve product positioning in terms of the knowledge acquired about the brand. The study
began with the identification and exploration of the mental association constructs of
corporate-brand identity in the consumer mind space and identification of the factors
responsible for the development of the brand image in the minds of the consumers. This
involved an initial exhaustive study of the literature on corporate brand identity, thereby
signifying that corporate brand identity is a function of Brand Image and Brand personality.
Brand image is a function of perceived value by a consumer which results in brand
association (Aaker and Jennifer, 1997). In the above context, I try to link corporate brand
identity with the brand images of products in the corporate portfolio. Amongst other
parameters, Corporate Brand Identity is also a function of the ability of the consumers to
associate all other brands in the corporate portfolio with the corporate brand. This helped to
develop the conceptual framework for the theses.
3.2.1.1. Sampling
To illustrate the relationship between the brand association and the corporate brand identity, a
pool of 200 product brands was created. The pool created was a random selection of a set of
product brands across eight Corporates. The study was conducted by using the brand pool as
a research instrument. This was administered to respondents in urban Indian cities and only
those brands which could find recognition with the respondents were included in the pool.
The same was administered to a set of 100 respondents.
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The pool of 200 product brands (Table 3.1) is listed below:
Table 3.1: Pool of Brands
Dabur Promise, Kwality Wall's ice cream, Dabur Odomos, Lifebuoy, Real Active Fruit Juice, Amul Lite, Lux , Wheel, Jaguar, Sunsilk, Xenon, Mint-O, Amul Kool Café, Tata Indica, Bingo, Wills Life Style, Amul fresh Milk, John Player, Indigo Marina, Land Rover, Amul Gold Milk, ITC welcome Group, Breeze, Liril, Rexona, Aashirwad Aata, Hamam, Moti soaps, Pureit Water Purifier, Lipton tea, Tata Safari, Brooke Bond tea, Bru Coffee, Ultra Tech Cement, Tata Salt, Coorg Pure, Mysore Gold Coffee, Pepsodent, Close Up, Surf, Rin and Wheel, Dabur Odonil, Amul Kool, Vim, Sunfeast, Kitchen’s of India, Kissan squashes and jams, Annapurna salt and atta, Pond's talcs and creams, Vaseline lotions, Fair & Lovely creams, Vivel DiWills, Fiama Di Wills, Lakmé, Clinic Plus, Clinic All Clear, Sunsilk, Dove, Ala bleach, Domex, Rexona, Pears, Amul Mithai Mate, Amul Pure Ghee, Amul Shakti Toned Milk, Dabur Chyawanprash, Dabur Active Blood Purifier, Dabur Gulabari Rosewater, Hajmola, Dabur Pudinhara, Amul Lassi, Pond’s Chakra Gold, Tetley, Voltas, Westside, Amul shreekhand, Titan, Sagar Skimmed Milk Powder, Tanishq, Tata Tiscon, Masti Dahi, Lipton Tea, Amul Malai Paneer, Kwality Walls, Nutramul, Tata Sky, Star Bazaar, Virgin Mobile, Moti Soaps, Pure it, Vaseline, Sanifresh, Shilajit, Dabur Nature care, Modern Bread, Axe, Superia, Classmate, PaperKraft, AIM, Mangaldeep, Candy man, Amul Butter Milk, Amul Fresh Cream, Amul Shakti Toned milk, Amulya Dairy Whiteness, Amul Cheese Spread, Amul Pizza Mozzarella cheesse, Utterly Delicious Pizza, Amul Ice Cream, Amul Choclates, Amul Basundi, Dabur Amla Hair oil, Babool Toothpaste, Dabur Badam oil, Hingoli, Homemade, Dabur Lal Dant manjan, Dabur Lal Tail, Meswak, Dabur Shanka Pushpi, Sarbyana Strong, Satisabgol, Vatika Dandruff Control Shampoo, Vatika Fairness Face pack, Vatika Enriched Coconut Oil, Vatika Smooth and Silky Shampoo, Vatika Root strengthening Shampoo, Real Nature Fresh fruit juice, Dabur Red Tooth paste, Dabur Active Fruit juice, Sun Chips, Parle-G, Krackjack, Magix, Monaco, Kreams, Parle 20-20 cookies, Nimkin, Chox, Hide and Seek, Hide and Seek Milano, Digestive Marie, Parle Marie, Milk Shakti, Goldenarcs, Kreams Gold, Monaco Jeera, Melody, Mango Bite, Kaccha MangoBite, Poppins, Kisme Toffee, Kisme Toffee Bar, Mazelo, Kisme Gold, Orange Candy, Xhale, 2 in 1 Éclair, Golgappa, Melody Softy, Parle Lites, Musst Bites, Cheeslings, Sixer, Jeffs, Musst Stix & Musst Chips, Sixer Zeera, Aviance, Knorr, Olay, Oral B, Pampers, Pantene, Duracell, Gillette, Tide, Pringles Potato Chips, Old Spice, Clearasil, Whisper, Camay, Hugo, Lacoste, Naomi Campbell, Puma, Ariel, Vicks Healthcare, Braun, Dunkin’ Donuts, Rejoice, Ayush, Sunlight, Cadbury Dairy Milk, 5 Star, Perk, Eclairs, Celebrations, Temptations, Gems, Bournvita, Bytes, Halls, Bubbaloo, Head & Shoulders.
FILL YOUR RESPONSES BELOW
DABUR PARLE CADBURY HUL TATA ITC P&G
Gujarat Co-
Operative Milk
Marketing Federation (AMUL)
Total
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Ph.D. Thesis 78
From the set of above mentioned BRANDS identify the Corporate behind them. Put the
brand under the right corporate listed below (Columns).
The product brands in the brand pool were grouped on the basis of the brand name typology,
(Table 4.2 as indicated in the Result/Findings chapter).
For the purpose of this study, I define the following types of brand names:
(i)Family Brand Name-A family brand name comprises usage of the name of the corporate
brand which is used for all products produced or marketed by that corporate. By building
customer trust and loyalty for the family brand name, all products that use the brand can
benefit.
(ii)Individual Brand name-An individual brand name does not identify a brand with a
particular company.
(iii)Combination Brand Name-A combination brand name brings together a family brand
name and an individual brand name. The idea here is to provide some association for the
product with a strong family brand name but maintaining some distinctiveness so that
customers know what they are getting.
The above study thus details that the brand image is what is currently in the minds of
consumers, whereas brand identity is aspirational from the brand owners' point of view.
Further corporate brand identity is a function of Brand Image and Brand personality. Brand
image is a function of perceived value by a consumer which results in brand association. In
the above context, I try to link corporate brand identity with the brand images of products in
the corporate portfolio. Amongst other parameters, Corporate Brand Identity is also a
function of the ability of the consumers to associate all other brands in the corporate portfolio
with the corporate brand identity.
The inverse correlation figures illustrated in the chapter on Results and findings indicate a
significant gap between the corporate brand identity per se and the association of the
individual with the specific brand. This gap brings in the need to study the relevant literature
in the domain of corporate brand identity and its constructs.
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3.2.2. Identification of determinants for defining Customer Centric Brand Identity
The next step was to identify the determinants that make a brand customer centric. Brands are
so much more than a name, logo or image. They represent nothing less than a customer’s
complete experience with the product, service or company. As Kevin Keller said: The power
of a brand lies in the minds of the consumers and what they have experienced and learned
about the brand over time. Hence it becomes crucial to fix the determinants. There are many
projective (indirect) approaches to understand brand associations. The commonly used
methods are word association, picture completion, thematic appreciation tests, sentence
completion and story completion (Aaker, 1991; Kotler and Armstrong, 1996; Aaker, et al.,
1998). An exhaustive literature review and a mixed approach using word association and a
variant of Unique Corporate Association Valence approach (UCAV), (Spears, 2006) has been
used to identify the determinants.
Literature review in detail talks about the determinants and the six brand functions that a
brand performs in the minds of the consumer. An adaptation of the Unique Corporate
Association Valence approach was also used to extract the determinants and the functions
then were linked to the determinants.
3.2.2.1. Unique Corporate Association Valence (UCAV) approach
Spears (2006), integrates the quantitative and qualitative approaches with the specific intent
of capturing the primary benefit of the qualitative approaches-the ability to uncover what an
individual really knows about a company-while still offering quantitative assessment. The
measure is straight forward; it asks the respondents to write words or short phrases that
describe the focal company/brand as if they were telling someone else about the
company/brand. The goal is to capture the meaning of the company/brand for the individual.
I used a variant of the UCAV measure and asked a focus group of 25 respondents to identify
attributes associated with the above given set of 8 brands.
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3.2.2.2. Brand Attributes for defining Customer Centric Brand Identity
An exhaustive review of literature in the domain of branding was conducted along with
related topics such as corporate strategy, brand identity and brand attributes to extract the
attributes of brand identity. The literature review revealed that although there are several
studies on brand identity, there was still a need for a more elaborate operational definition of
the concept with respect to the attributes that define brand identity. The research aimed to
ascertain from a consumer perspective, the core components (determinants) of brand identity.
The research methodology adopted was primarily exploratory and correlational in nature. 57
brand attributes were extracted from literature review, catering to various dimensions of a
brand. These were used to develop an evaluation grid to link the diverse brand attributes to
the functions they perform in a brand. This was done by administering the same to a set of
respondents, (as a pilot study, the premise was to include the users of the brand) identified by
the sampling strategy. The list of the attributes was personally administered to the
respondents.
This helped me to develop the research instrument for the purpose of the study. The list of 57
attributes (Table 3.2) which was developed on the basis of literature review and discussion
with a focus group of 25 respondents is as mentioned below. The attributes extracted
described the consumer’s perception of a brand.
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Table 3.2: List of Brand Identity Attributes
S. No. Brand Identity Attributes
1 Active Engagement 2 Admirable 3 Advertising and Jingles 4 Appealing 5 Approachable 6 Association of Celebrity or Endorsement 7 Attitudinal Attachment 8 Authenticity 9 Behavioral Loyalty
10 Believable 11 Brand Resonance 12 Captivating 13 Cheerful 14 Conscientious 15 Contribution of Corporate Values to Brand Identity 16 Delivery of Benefits 17 Dependability 18 Durability 19 Dynamic 20 Empathy 21 Engagement 22 Excitement 23 Global Image 24 Glorification of "MY" Personality 25 Honest 26 Innovative 27 Intelligent 28 Intense 29 Likeability 30 Liking of Brand 31 Meaningfulness 32 Mesmerizing 33 Popular 34 Price 35 Product performance better than competitor 36 Recognition 37 Recognition of Logo
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38 Relevant 39 Reliability 40 Reliable 41 Sense of Community 42 Sensual Experience 43 Service Oriented 44 Serviceability 45 Social Approval/Social Respect 46 Social Responsibility of the organization 47 Sophistication of the product 48 Spirited 49 Stands for Something 50 Successful 51 Superiority 52 Sustainability 53 Trust 54 Unique 55 Visibility of Brand 56 Visual Appeal 57 Wholesome
3.2.2.3. Brand Customer Centricity Determinants
These attributes were used to develop the evaluation grid (Table 3.3). This was developed to
extract the corporate brand identity determinants as a result of the various attributes listed.
The study was oriented towards providing an operational definition, and so the grid aimed to
examine the perspectives of the consumers across six determinants which perform the
expected/probable six functions (Chapter 2 on Literature Review) a brand performs in the
Various viewpoints abound about the definition and scope of interactivity. One viewpoint
suggests that interactivity is a psychological user orientation viz. a customer’s choice to
interact, thus making it a characteristic of the people involved, (Schumann, Artis, and Rivera,
2001). As per another viewpoint, it is the characteristic of the medium being used
to communicate, to stimulate interpersonal communication between involved entities. Still
another view understands interactivity as a multidimensional concept, which is a combination
of user perception and features of the medium involved.
In the context of this research study, I define Interactivity as the ability of an online tool to
provide a 2 way interaction between the organization and the customer and use a
combination of user perception and structural features to calculate the level of interactivity of
a corporate blog. Interactive measures are added to capture and hold an audience's attention,
(McAdams, 1995) and are used to stimulate public discussions and draw thousands (or
millions) of people together in a virtual community. In the context of a marketing
environment, these web based interactions can be eventually used by organizations to refine
marketing efforts, educate the customer about their brand, develop new products and to some
extent, by responding to a customer comment, add an element of customization to improve
the customer relationship. Research has indicated that a sizeable number of customers leave
the patronage of a company product or service because of the perceived indifference of the
company. These web based interactions can aid in reducing the level of perceived
indifference of a company, and at the same time reinforce a customer purchase decision, by
offsetting the feeling of cognitive dissonance , (Mc Daniel, Lamb, Hair 2006).
i) User perception of interactivity of a corporate blog-
Psychology of users varies as I refer to their perception of what purpose the feature of
interactivity serves in a corporate blog. A corporate blog serves as a touch point between
organization and consumers where a bidirectional learning process can commence between
the two entities. Success of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) endeavors of
organizations depends on their ability to establish and manage interaction with their
customers. The greater the latitude of this interaction, the greater the organizational ability to
generate and manage knowledge about its customers. A corporate blog helps increase the
dimension of this interaction by helping the customer ask questions, get responses, look for
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Ph.D. Thesis 110
information, contact customer service, contact senior organizational executives, portray his
viewpoint, and at times access other forums related to the same organization/product/service,
while at the same time help the organization capture consumer information as also actionable
data to aid customization of offerings. (Sinha, Ahuja and Medury, 2011).
3.7.4. Validity in Experimentation
When conducting an experiment, a researcher has two goals
1) Draw valid conclusions about the effects of the independent variables on the study
group.
2) Make valid generalizations to a larger population of interest.
I will discuss the above stated experiment goals in the light of internal and external validity.
3.7.4.1. Internal validity
Internal validity refers to the manipulation of independent variables, which are responsible
for causing the observed effects on the dependent variable. In the light of internal validity, it
is important to examine the external variables, other than those already defined in the
experiment. One strategic variable, which I introduce here, is-level of internet savviness of
the participants. And the experiment was conducted on a control group where all the
participants display the same level of internet savviness.
3.7.4.2. External validity
The cause and effect relationships found in the experiment can be generalized. The results
cannot be generalized beyond the experimental situation. Hence, populations, settings, (The
pool of respondents was at the same level of internet savviness), independent variables
(CBK) and dependent variable (CBE) too which the result can be projected.
3.7.5. Sampling of respondent pool for the study
The sample for the experiment group was drawn from the original sample for the entire study.
In total, 40 respondents, 10 from each of the four different age groups (20-25, 25-30, 30-35
and 35-40) were made to participate in the study for calculating the internet savviness scores.
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This was done through an evaluation grid (Table 3.10). It was seen that the older age group of
35-40 had very minimal usage hours of the internet (less than 2 hrs) and their internet
savviness score was also less than 22. Considering the results, these respondents were not
included for the final experiment study.
For this, the respondent pool was selected by the process of matching. In the experiment
conducted, the test units (members of the focus group) were of similar age groups, the
internet usage hours of the test group were more than 2 hrs a day and the internet savviness
score of the test unit was more than 22 (Table 3.11).
Continuing with our research experiment, when respondents were asked to answer the
questions, for a particular corporate blog, before and after exposure to a blog, it was possible
to measure the variation in CBK, courtesy their sensitization to the blog. Sensitization would
imply degree of association/ exposure and ability to navigate the blog (Ahuja and Medury,
2010).
In the context of the Interactive Testing effect, the prior measurement of CBK levels impacts
the consumer emotion, and subsequent response to the independent variable. Hence consumer
brand emotion becomes a dependent variable (CBE) dependent on the independent variable,
CBK. Increased exposure to the blog (increased time) helps streamline the variation in the
CBK level.
3.7.6. Correlation between Delta Consumer Brand Knowledge and Delta Consumer Brand
Emotion Scores (∆ CBK and ∆ CBE)
The final step was to see the strength of association between the two metric variables, CBK
and CBE. It was done using correlation which aided in observing the degree to which
variation in CBK is related to the variation in CBE. This was done using the Karl Pearson
correlation coefficient (SPSS 17.0).
The results of the same have been clearly indicated under the chapter on Findings and Results.
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Ph.D. Thesis 112
Table 3.10: Evaluation Grid to evaluate Interactivity Scores
Answer the following questions. 1 What is your age?
2 Number of hours spent on the Internet per day?
0-2 hrs 2-4 hrs 4-6 hrs more than 6 hrs
3 Have you been using Internet for? Less than 1 Yr More than 1 Yr More than 2 Yrs more than 5 Yrs
4 Rate the following purposes for which you use the internet based on your usage and internet priorities. First rate these on a scale of 1-10, 1=L and 10=H and then rate these parameters individually on a scale of 1-4, 1=L and 4=H Rate (I) Rate (W)
1 Shopping 2 Chatting 3 Surfing for news 4 Searching or information gathering 5 Involvement in an online community or group 6 Downloading 7 Reservation 8 Banking Transaction 9 Gaming
10 Academic and Research purposes TOTAL
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Table 3.11: Interactivity Scores
Internet Savyyness Score Sheet
Respondent Age Group Usage Hrs/day Internet Savvyness Score
R1 20-25 more than 2 hrs 26
R2 20-25 more than 2 hrs 28
R3 20-25 more than 2 hrs 24
R4 20-25 more than 4 hrs 26
R5 20-25 more than 4 hrs 25
R6 20-25 more than 6 hrs 26
R7 20-25 more than 4 hrs 26
R8 20-25 more than 2 hrs 24
R9 20-25 more than 2 hrs 26
R10 20-25 more than 2 hrs 26
R11 20-25 more than 2 hrs 24
R12 20-25 more than 2 hrs 24
R13 20-25 more than 2 hrs 26
R14 20-25 more than 2 hrs 23
R15 20-25 more than 4 hrs 27
R16 20-25 more than 4 hrs 27
R17 20-25 more than 4 hrs 25
R18 20-25 more than 6 hrs 27
R19 20-25 more than 6 hrs 24
R20 20-25 more than 6 hrs 26
R21 20-25 more than 6 hrs 28
R22 20-25 more than 2 hrs 25
R23 20-25 more than 2 hrs 25
R24 20-25 more than 2 hrs 24
R25 20-25 more than 2 hrs 25
R26 20-25 more than 2 hrs 23
R27 20-25 more than 2 hrs 24
R28 20-25 more than 2 hrs 23
R29 20-25 more than 4 hrs 26
R30 20-25 more than 4 hrs 24
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3.7.7. Sentiword net
For the purpose of this research study I have used sentiword net version1.0. In this thesis I
describe SENTIWORDNET (version 1.0), a lexical resource in which each synset of
WORDNET(version 2.0) is associated to three numerical scores Obj(s), Pos(s) and Neg(s),
describing how Objective, Positive, and Negative the terms contained in the synset are. The
assumption that underlies our switch from terms to synsets is that different senses of the same
term may have different opinion-related properties. Each of the three scores ranges from 0.0
to 1.0, and their sum is 1.0 for each synset. This means that a synset may have nonzero scores
for all the three categories, which would indicate that the corresponding terms have, in the
sense indicated by the synset, each of the three opinion-related properties only to a certain
degree1. Opinion mining (OM – also known as “sentiment classification”) is a recent sub
discipline at the crossroads of information retrieval and computational linguistics which is
concerned not with the topic a text is about, but with the opinion it expresses. Opinion-driven
content management has several important applications, such as determining critics’ opinions
about a given product by classifying online product reviews, or tracking the shifting attitudes
of the general public towards a political candidate by mining online forums or blogs.