Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
By
Kwok Keung Tam
2007
Page numbers
Abstract i
Acknowledgements ii
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
1.1 The importance of brand image on fashion clothing 1
1.2 Background information of China and the UK clothing markets 2
1.2.1 China clothing market 2
1.2.1.1 Chinese spending habits 3
1.2.1.2 Impediments to China’s clothing brand development 4
1.2.2 UK clothing market 5
1.2.2.1 British spending habits 5
1.2.2.2 Characteristics of the UK clothing market 6
1.3 Theoretical framework 7
1.4 Objectives of the dissertation 7
1.5 Outline of the dissertation 8
Chapter 3: Methodology 24
3.1 Introduction 24
3.2 Theoretical backgrounds 24
3.2.1 Review of different research traditions 24
3.2.2 Quantitative versus qualitative analysis 25
3.2.3 Reliability and validity of data 26
3.3 Justification of research method 27
3.4 Sampling 29
3.5 Interview schedule 31
3.5.1 Stage one 31
3.5.2 Stage two 32
3.5.3 Stage three 34
3.6 Administration 34
3.7 Analysis strategy 34
3.7.1 Grounded theory and its relationship to qualitative data 34
analysis
3.7.2 Within-case and cross-case analysis 35
3.7.2.1 Within-case analysis 36
3.7.2.2 Cross-case analysis 37
3.8 Summary 37
Chapter 5: Conclusions 58
5.1 Introduction 58
5.2 Conclusions 58
5.2.1 Significance of clothing brands on consumer purchasing 58
decisions
5.2.2 Brand awareness 59
5.2.3 Perceived quality 59
5.2.4 Brand loyalty 60
5.2.5 Brand association 60
5.2.6 Consumer buying behaviour 61
5.3 Limitations 61
5.4 Implications 62
5.5 Recommendations for further research 64
References 66
i
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Vicky Story, in assisting me to finish the
dissertation. She has given me support as well as valuable comments
throughout the consultation period so that I can manage to handle one of the
hardest subjects in my university life.
Last but not least, I would like to extend my gratitude to my family members,
especially my father Chun Shiu Tam who has devoted himself to the clothing
industry for nearly half a century. He has not only inspired me to do this
dissertation, but also encouraged me to face the challenge ahead. This
dissertation is dedicated to my family and I will try my best to do anything.
ii
Chapter 1
Introduction
Shopping for clothes is one of the popular pastimes among people from all
ages, different genders and cultural backgrounds. Owing to the proliferation of
brands in the clothing sector, consumers need to take serious consideration
during the buying processes. As mentioned by Rayport and Jaworski (2003),
the purchasing processes can be divided into three stages, namely
pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase. Each stage is of equal importance
that can alter the consumer buying decision. Once consumers make a
purchasing decision, consumers may need to recognize their personal needs,
read product information, decide which and where to buy, determine whether
to buy again from the same retailer, choose the buying modes, show
satisfaction to the services or product quality and finally be loyal to the brand.
These highlight the complication of buying processes and the potential impact
a brand could impose in between them.
Several brands, under the influence of globalization and concerted efforts from
media advertising, have become popular not only in their country of origin, but
also in other markets with high potential. Having a strong and remarkable
brand image could help establish an identity in marketplace (Aaker, 1996),
1
widen the profit margins, encourage greater intermediary co-operation as well
as increase the chance for further brand extension (Delgado-Ballester and
Munuera-Aleman, 2005). In accordance with Delong et al. (2004), consumers
appear to rely on the brand image as long as they have little knowledge about
the brand. In this way, managing brand image is of utmost importance. In order
to differentiate one brand from another, marketers would develop retail brands
with unique image so as to continue to gain popularity and market share
(Abend, 2000; Ailawadi, 2001; Corstjens and Lal, 2000).
The importance of brand image has inspired many marketing scholars and
practitioners to begin researching the concept of ‘brand equity’ (Aaker, 1991,
1996; Keller, 1993, 1998, 2003). Under this concept, brands are regarded as
valuable assets which can help the companies generate lucrative revenues.
In this paper, the concept of brand equity would be utilized as a theoretical
framework, which would be illustrated in the following chapters.
2
2005 (WTO, 2006). With the accession of World Trade Organization (WTO) in
2001, the development of clothing industry in China becomes even much
faster. It is believed that China could make use of its competitive advantages,
for instances low labour costs and large portions of usable land, to further
strengthen its position in the clothing sector. Nowadays, China plays a role as
a producer, wielding the techniques and human resources to finish the orders
placed by the foreign counterparts. As stated by Cui (1997), China is known for
the manufacture of basic goods in large volumes and foreign registered brands
are often designed elsewhere and produced in China. It is undeniable that the
entry of WTO would provide business opportunities for China. However, this
would also engender intense competition since foreign firms are allowed to sell
their products directly to China.
The HKTDC (2002) research also reports on the average annual spending on
clothing. On average, people spend 7.3% of their income on buying clothes
with women professionals having the highest demand and students’ spending
the minimal amount. This disparity is probably due to the fact that
professionals have higher spending power than the students’. Regarding the
criteria for buying clothes, respondents rank fitness as their prime concern,
followed by cutting, pricing, quality and finally trendiness. Chinese brands have
competitive advantage in fitness and pricing (Delong et al., 2004), however,
3
people still tend to buy luxury clothes produced in the foreign markets. This is
possibly owing to the fact that Chinese brands are confined to low- to
middle-priced range market without fully penetrating to the luxurious level.
Such findings provide insights to the future development of local brands in
China.
China has been connoted with the reputation of low-cost products in the
overseas markets for decades. The originally advantageous factors, however,
become a major hindrance to the global brands’ development process. Schmitt
and Pan (1994) state that Chinese customers could not be able to differentiate
between US and European apparel brands. Also, they often find Hong Kong
and Taiwan brand names confusing. The lack of brand knowledge is probably
attributed to the geographical and political differences. However, such
confusion does not affect the overall perception towards brands in other
countries. They tend to perceive US brands positively as US has a reputation
in technological development and high fashion. When it comes to the case
4
about the perception of China-produced foreign brands, it is ironic that most
respondents find that they are less authentic, regardless of their quality. The
image of China-produced products needs improvement in this sense.
5
to spend on clothes than males, with nearly half of female respondents saying
that they have at least one store card and nearly two-thirds of them own one or
two loyalty cards. This may possibly explain why shopping is a gendered
activity (Dholakia, 1999; South and Spitze, 1994), and occasionally, women
may even shop for men’s clothing (Dholakia, 1999).
Store cards and loyalty cards are common promotional tactics to solicit
consumer’s loyalty. However, the same research shows that store cards may
not be regularly used even though special offers are often given to the
cardholders (Weekes, 2004). This could be explained by the fact that store
cards sometimes have much higher interest rates than that of the credit cards
and personal loans (Mintel, 2002).
As far as the UK fashion retail sector is concerned, there is a trend for own
brand development, concentrated markets, strong competitive activities, a
polarized marketplace, short-life-cycle products, as well as fluctuating
consumer demand (Marciniak and Bruce, 2004; Siddiqui et al., 2003). As
mentioned by Moore (1995), fashion retailers tend to create product
differentiation in which they can distinguish themselves from their potential
competitors in terms of product features like design and price. Although the UK
is overwhelmed with fashion brands, the market is characterized by products
with small differentiation (Birtwhistle and Freathy, 1998; Moore, 1995). In
6
addition, the retailing sector is fragmented, composing of independent,
family-owed businesses and some large scale chain stores, with the later one
contributing to the largest proportion of market share (Easey, 2001; Marciniak
and Bruce, 2004; Mintel, 2003). Compared with other retailed sector, the
fashion retailing sector is found to incorporate the largest number of
indigenous chains such as Next plc (Marciniak and Bruce, 2004). Such
phenomena have stimulated the emergence of brand name development in
the competitive UK clothing market.
According to Aaker (1991), brand equity is mainly derived from four elements,
namely brand awareness, brand loyalty, perceived brand equity and brand
associations. The theoretical framework adopted in this dissertation would be
based on the concept of brand equity and the details of each element are to be
discussed and analyzed later in chapter four.
7
necessity with weak reference group influence on the product category but
strong reference group influence on the brand choice. In this way, results
obtained from the research on brand image could be more conspicuous.
Two assumptions are made throughout the dissertation. First, brand image
should have an impact on the consumer buying behaviour of clothing and
second, there are differences in buying behaviour for consumers in China and
the UK.
8
understandable in the forthcoming sections.
Chapter 5 would draw conclusions on the findings from the previous chapters.
Implications towards the business environment and research limitations are
also included. Recommendations would be made with regard to the limitations
so as to provide further directions in the future studies.
9
Chapter 2
Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
Consumer behaviour refers to the activities in which people acquire, consume
and dispose products and services (Blackwell et al., 2001). Owing to the
proliferation of brands in the recent decades, there is a growing number of
research conducted in the field of consumer buying behaviour. However, most
of them concentrate on a single country study, regardless of the importance of
cross-country comparisons which will inspire innovative ideas for
understanding the fast-changing consumer habits. This dissertation is going to
investigate the differences of British and Chinese in purchasing clothes under
the influence of brand image.
In this chapter, the literatures concerning the roles of brand and brand equity
are to be reviewed so as to provide a theoretical framework for the
aforementioned analysis.
Brand serves a pivotal role for distinguishing goods and services from those of
the competitors (Aaker, 1991; Murphy, 1998). The emergence of brand equity
underlies the importance of brand in marketing tactics and hence provides
useful insights for managers and further research (Keller, 2003).
Nowadays, consumers have a wide range of choice to choose from when they
enter a shopping mall. It is found that consumers’ emotions are one of the
major determinants which affect their buying behaviour (Berry, 2000).
According to a research conducted by Freeride Media LLC (1998) on shopping
habits, nearly one-forth of the respondents are likely to impulse-buy clothes
and accessories. When deciding which products to purchase, consumers
would have their preferences, which are developed in accordance with their
perceptions towards the brand. Successful branding could make consumers
aware of the presence of the brand and hence could increase the chance of
buying the company’s products and services (Doyle, 1999).
11
preference and loyalty. By doing so, the image of the brand could be well
instilled in the customers’ mind.
12
The above examples highlight the values of brand equity for both consumers
and the firm. For the consumers, brand equity could provide them with
information about the brand which influences their confidence during the
purchasing process. There is a high propensity for consumers with good
perceptions to buy from the same shop again than those with poor perceptions.
Past purchasing experiences and familiarity with the brand could be
attributable to the perceptions generated from the consumers (Aaker, 1991).
As for the firm, brand equity could also be a source for the firm to generate
cash flow. For instance, the merger between adidas and Reebok in 2005 not
only increased their market share so as to compete with Nike in the US sports
apparel market, but also attracted more people to invest in the bigger company
with high potential (Business Week, 2005). Besides, brand equity could also
allow higher margins through premium pricing and reduced reliance upon
promotional activities (Aaker, 1991). Owning to the positive image, consumers
no longer focus on the short-term promotion but the brand on the whole.
Brand equity is a broad concept which can be further subdivided into four main
areas, namely brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality and brand
associations (Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1998). These four main areas are to be
discussed in the coming sections.
13
set (Blackwell et al., 2001) and an increase in brand awareness is conducive to
a higher chance of entering the later set (Nedungadi, 1990). In this way,
brands with higher level of awareness would be more likely to be purchased
(Yasin et al., 2007). This could probably explain why consumers tend to buy a
recognizable brand rather than an unfamiliar one (Hoyer, 1990; Macdonald
and Sharp, 2000).
Several factors can alter the level of brand awareness. In case of China, its
geographical location and politics could affect the consumer brand awareness
level seriously. According to research conducted by Delong et al. (2004),
owing to geographical differences, Chinese consumers cannot distinguish US
apparel brand names from the European ones. In addition, brands from Taiwan
and Hong Kong are sometimes confused, due to their political separations. For
long time, Taiwan would like to become politically independent from China
owing to their different political standpoint whereas Hong Kong, being a special
administrative region since 1997, has once been a colony of the UK.
14
attractiveness, successful endorsement can associate the culture of the
celebrity world with the endorsed product (McCracken, 1989). This association
can raise the public awareness towards the brand.
15
purchased value (Ahmed and d’Astou, 1993). As mentioned by Srikatanyoo
and Gnoth (2002), consumers are inclined to develop stereotypical beliefs
about the products from particular countries. Hence, consumers could have
their preferences for products made from one country over another
(Papadopoulos et al., 1991). Moreover, price is one of the important cues to
evaluate perceived quality (Aaker, 1991). It is found that price is more relevant
in judging the perceived quality of a product given that a person lacks the
ability to evaluate the quality of a product.
16
recommend the same model of product. This suggests why word-of-mouth
communication is one of the most powerful tools in the marketplace (Henricks,
1998; Marney, 1995; Silverman, 1997; Bansal and Voyer, 2000). Consumers
usually depend on informal, as well as personal communication sources in
making purchasing decision rather than more formal and organizational
advertising campaigns (Bansal and Voyer, 2000). Finally, brand loyalty can
help provide ample time for the firm to response to competitors’ newly
launched products. Hence, the firm could make good use of the time lapse to
develop more superior products in order to compete with its rivals.
Due to the values obtained from brand loyalty, many firms would devise
different strategies to maintain and enhance the loyalty from customers.
According to Aaker (1991), it is important to treat the customer with respect in
order to keep them loyal. Moreover, customer satisfaction level needs to be
properly managed through conducting consumer research. Customers can
also be rewarded for their loyalty towards the firms so that they will continue to
buy the products. For instance, several airlines like Cathay Pacific, KLM and
chain stores such as TOPMAN provide club-cards or loyalty cards to reward
their customers with discounts and other benefits.
17
Keller (1993, 1998) further divides brand associations into three categories,
namely attributes, benefits and attitudes. Attributes refer to the specific
characteristics a product has. Attributes can be further categorized into
product-related attributes as well as non-product related attributes. For
product-related attributes, the overall features of the product or service are
concerned. As for non-product related attributes, price information, packaging,
user imagery as well as usage imagery are to be considered. Benefits are
another category in brand associations. They can be classified into functional,
experimental and symbolic. Function benefits signify the physical or basic
advantages a brand may have. For experimental benefits, they are related to
consumers’ emotional feelings. Symbolic benefits, on the other hand, refer to
the signal effect that a brand may impose on the consumers. Signal effect is
determined by the image of consumers and also the personality of the brand.
Consumers are attracted by the signal when they purchase a product in a
particular brand. Finally, attitudes are regarded as the consumers’ overall
assessments towards a brand. They incorporate summary evaluations of
information which represent how consumers feel in a long run, lying in a
continuum from positive to negative (Gabbott and Hogg, 1998).
18
unbeatable but it is quite difficult to achieve since consumer taste changes
quite rapidly. Third, brand associations may include some product attributes or
consumer benefits which encourage the consumers to purchase the brand.
Forth, some associations can engender positive feelings. For examples,
adidas slogan ‘Impossible is nothing’, Madonna appearance in H&M’s
collection advertisement can stimulate customers their positive feelings about
the products.
19
are selected using the rule of ‘survival of the fittest’. Therefore, consumers’
decisions can provide a clue for which industry to survive, which companies to
succeed, and also which products to excel. Second, through understanding the
reasons for consumers to buy the products and their buying habits, the firms
can make use of such information to devise corresponding marketing
strategies in response to the consumers’ needs (Blackwell et al., 2006). For
instance, tailor-made products can be made to enhance customer value and
thus facilitate repeat purchase (Gabbott and Hogg, 1998). Moreover, present
consumer behaviour studies regard consumers as important determinants of
organizational success and it is found that the most successful organizations
are customer-centric (Blackwell et al., 2006). The notion ‘the consumer is king’
should be deep-rooted in every business people’s mind that they should try to
please these kings using their innovative methods.
20
divestment (Blackwell et al., 2006). Rayport and Jaworski (2003) propose a
similar model with slight differences regarding the terms used. Blackwell et al.
(2006) add that most consumer research would primarily base on these seven
stages and how different elements affect each stage of consumers’ decisions,
regardless of the different terms and consolidation of stages.
Stage two is the search of information. The length and depth of search vary for
different customers and depend on variables like personality, social class,
income, size of purchase, past experiences, prior brand perceptions (Moorthy
et al., 1997), as well as customer satisfaction. As mentioned by Solomon et al.
(2006), search of information can further be divided into pre-purchase search
and ongoing search. Pre-purchase search is initiated when consumers
recognize a need and hence look for more information from the marketplace.
Ongoing search, on the other hand, is more likely to be based on personal
interest on a particular brand. Customers pursuing this kind of search would
like to obtain the most updated information about the designated brand.
21
these attributes can affect consumer decisions on brand or product choices
(Blackwell et al., 2006). According to Porter (2004), firms can create value by
providing lower price or unique offers to the customers so as to excel their
competitive advantages over the others.
Stage four refers to the purchase decisions made by the consumers after
evaluating the offers from different retailers. As stated by Blackwell et al.
(2006), there are two phases contributing to the decision making processes,
including retailer and in-store selection. Retailer selection is made by judging
which retailers to buy after investigating the attributes from the previous stage
whereas in-store selection is affected by the selling skills of salesperson, visual
displays inside the shops, as well as point-of-purchase advertising. In addition
to in-store purchase, Rayport and Jaworski (2003) further point out the
significant impact of internet on consumer purchasing decision. As pointed out
by Dholakia and Uusitalo (2002), this new kind of non-shop retailing format has
begun replacing the fairly established catalogue and TV shopping and its
development is rapid albeit it is more recently found in comparison with the
existing non-shop retailing modes.
Stage five, stage six and stage seven are under the category of the
post-purchase stage. In stage five, customers begin consuming the products
whereas in stage six, customers evaluate the consumption process. This gives
rise to satisfaction when consumers’ expectations are higher than the
perceived performance and vice versa (Blackwell et al., 2006). Last but not
least, stage seven comes to divestment, in which consumers dispose or
recycle the products and at the same time. The firms need to think about the
possibility of remarketing. This stage is crucial since customers could be
possible to make repeat purchases provided that they are satisfied with the
aforementioned stages (Rayport and Jaworski, 2003).
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2.5 Summary
This chapter provides a review about the major research and theories
regarding the consumer purchasing behaviour. Brands are so important that
they are regarded as the equity to a firm. Brand equity can be divided into four
dimensions, including brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty and
brand associations. All of them have significant contribution to the brand as
equity to the firm.
Nowadays, consumers seem to be more aware of the products they buy, and
at the same time, products are developed in an unprecedented way. Only by
understanding the consumer behaviour can the products or brands be
developed in a right way. In this dissertation, whether the brand image would
affect the consumers to purchase clothes is to be investigated. It is hoped that
by finding out the relationships of brand awareness, perceived quality, brand
loyalty and brand association with the consumer purchasing behaviour that will
provide useful insights for the development of the clothing sector.
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Chapter 3
Methodology
3.1 Introduction
With a view to finding out the underlying principles of certain phenomenon,
research is required. In terms of the science of knowledge acquisition,
epistemology is about the science of knowing, whereas methodology is
acknowledged to be the science of finding out (Babbie, 2004). During the
course of consumer behaviour research, data are gathered, recorded and
analyzed in a systematic and objective manner so as to apprehend and
foresee how consumers feel, think and behave (Arnould et al., 2004).
In general, there are two types of research methods, namely qualitative and
quantitative research. Each of them encompasses a variety of approaches,
which are determined on the kinds of data being collected. This chapter aims
at discussing different theories and research methods, as well as justifying the
most suitable approach for the research topic. The details of the sampling
would also be discussed.
24
Positivism makes use of the stance of realism in which the objective reality can
be understood by mirror of science. Added to this, it assumes that a social
world exists externally that should be measured objectively (Easterby-Smith et
al., 2002). In accordance to Fisher (2004), the majority of positivist research
incorporates the comparison of qualitative case studies to analyze if there are
any connections between variables.
25
and quantified data can lead to valid or generalizable social facts. That is why it
is suggested that qualitative research should be used more often at the early
or exploratory stage of a study (Silverman, 2000). Nevertheless, both of them
are not perfect in a sense that they need to serve as a complement to each
other. As suggested by Easterby-Smith et al. (2002), research needs a
partnership and it could be beneficial to collaborate rather than compete
between the different kinds of research methods.
Both the quantitative research and qualitative research have their own
advantages and disadvantages. Quantitative research surpasses qualitative in
a sense that it can analyze data based on representative samples from a large
population (Proctor, 2000), having a complete set of categorization for the
events or activities described (Silverman, 2000). In this way, quantitative
analysis is stronger than qualitative analysis in that it can persuade readers
with large-scale, numeric data.
26
useful findings or not.
This dissertation makes use of the qualitative research method and there have
been some discussions on qualitative research regarding its reliability and
validity. As mentioned by Saunders et al. (2003), the findings of qualitative
research are not necessarily repeatable since they reflect reality at the time of
data collection. This may affect the reliability of the research findings. Besides,
the research cannot be claimed valid so long as there are only few exemplary
instances reported, and the original form of the materials is unavailable
(Silverman, 2000). These underlie the importance of ensuring reliable methods
and making valid conclusions in the research process.
27
descriptive/ interpretative approach, as well as theory-building approach.
Language-oriented approach concerns the use of language and meaning of
words. In descriptive/ interpretative approach, the thorough description and
interpretation of social phenomena are the central focus. Finally,
theory-building approach tries to examine the connections between social
phenomena. Based on the descriptive and interpretive nature in this research,
interviews are chosen as the data collection methods. Qualitative interviews
refer to the interaction between an interviewer and interviewee on a topic
which needs not to follow particular order and words in questioning and
answering (Babbie, 2004). During the course of interviews, interviewers may
need to probe each answer and make use of the replies for further questioning
(Proctor, 2000).
One may argue why interviews but not the other types of qualitative research
methods are chosen in this research. For instance, focus group can also be a
useful kind of research method that brings together some interviewees, say
12-15 people, in a room to engage in a guided discussion on a common topic
(Babbie, 2004). Although focus groups are much more effective and cheaper
than interviews as one may see, researchers may find it difficult to assemble a
large group of people and the control over the interviewees is minimal
(Gamson, 1992). Thus, interviews are more controllable than focus groups in
this regard. Added to this, Breakwell (2006) points out that interviews are
flexible in that they can be used at any stage in the research process, ranging
from the initial stage for identifying areas to more detailed exploration.
However, Proctor (2000) notes that the usefulness of qualitative research
depends heavily on the researchers’ skills. In case of interviews, researchers
should show their ability to ask further in-depth questions based on the
answers obtained.
28
Structured interviews are characterized by their fixed nature and sequence of
questions or the fixed nature of answers allowed. Interviewees may find these
kind of interviews constrained as they are not free to provide information which
is important in their mind. Unlike structured interviews, unstructured interviews
do not have specific formats, leaving more room for the interviewees to
respond. Among different structures of interviews, semi-structured interviews
are chosen in this research. As pointed out by Smith and Osborn (2003), with
the use of a semi-structured format, researchers tend to regard people as
experiential experts on a specific topic under investigation. Such format can
enhance the sensitive and empathic facets of the findings, underlying the
importance human-to-human relationship of interviews (Fontana and Fry,
2000). Moreover, researchers can follow up some unexpected, interesting
responses emerged during the interviews. This can enrich the data collected
from the interviewing process (Smith and Eatough, 2006).
When it comes to the process of data collection, like other self-report methods,
interviews depend on respondents’ accurate and complete responses. This
gives rise to the possibility of unreliable and invalid data. In accordance with
Breakwell (2006), it is important to develop a systematic set of questions and
help the interviewees to understand the questions. These can help solicit
consistent responses and hence the reliability of data can be much enhanced.
Being reliable does not necessarily attribute to validity but it is found that
inconsistent responses may lead to certain inaccuracy (Davis and Bremner,
2006). It is suggested that interviews could be complemented with other types
of data such as observation and diary techniques so that the data obtained can
be more valid. In addition, it is suggested that interviewers be trained for a
specific study if necessary since their manner in questioning could impose an
effect on how reliable and valid the data will be (Proctor, 2000).
3.4 Sampling
As far as the sampling method is concerned, non-probability sampling is used
29
as the tool for this research. Unlike probability sampling which select samples
randomly in a pool of population, non-probability sampling looks for
participants on purpose (Babbie, 2004). In this research, as comparisons of
British and Chinese buying behaviour for clothes are investigated, 10
Nottingham University students were chosen to have face-to-face interviews.
This is a combination of quota sampling and convenience sampling under the
non-probability sampling classifications. As mentioned by Proctor (2000), in
quota sampling method, researchers deliberately look for participants so that
they are of equal distribution for comparison whereas in convenience sampling,
researchers tend to choose interviewees which are easier to be looked for.
Student samples are used in this research because they can enhance
homogeneity and it is much easier to control error during theory testing
(Goldsmith, 2002; Malhotra and King, 2003). Moreover, findings reveal that
homogeneous respondents can help reduce the possibility of measurement
model error (Assael and Keon, 1982). Hence, though a homogeneous sample
has lesser degree of external validity, this can be sacrificed for a greater
degree of internal validity (Carpenter and Fairhurst, 2005).
30
Table 1: Distribution of samples in terms of gender and nationality
Nationality
Chinese British
Sample particulars
Gender Male Female Male Female
Number of respondents 2 3 3 2
After the introduction, the interview began with some general questions
regarding consumer spending habits on clothing. As suggested by Smith and
Eatough (2006), a successful interview incorporates both general and specific
questions which will move between each other fairly seamlessly. Questions 1
31
to 3 attempt to serve as ice-breaking as the interviewees may not be prepared
to answer in-depth questions at the very beginning of the interview. Moreover,
these can help understand their spending styles.
There are three questions in this stage and they are listed as follows:
Question 4 attempts to find out the criteria of clothes selection in which the
interviewees consider. It also intends to investigate whether brand is an
important criterion for consumers to choose particular products to purchase as
mentioned in the literature (Doyle, 1999; Mooij, 1998). Since this research is
about the effect of brand image on consumer purchasing behaviour, further
probing questions would be asked if the respondents mention something
related to brand and brand equity.
32
perceived quality, brand loyalty and brand association (Aaker, 1991; Keller,
1993). These questions are to find out whether brand equity is as important as
what has been noted in the literatures.
Question 11 asks for the interviewees’ opinions about the new emerging online
shopping mode whereas question 12 is about their post-purchase actions they
took towards the clothes they had purchased. As mentioned in some
consumer behaviour models, there are three stages for purchasing products or
services, including pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase (Blackwell et al.,
2006; Rayport and Jaworski, 2003). After finding out what the interviewees
would do before making their purchasing decisions from the aforementioned
questions, these two questions try to figure out their purchase and
post-purchase behaviour.
12. What would you do if you are satisfied or dissatisfied about the clothes you
purchase?
33
3.5.3 Stage three
In the last stage of the interview, the interviewees were asked to write a
sentence which starts with the words ‘Brand is’. This serves as a summary of
how interviewees perceive brands by providing their own definitions which may
be similar or different from what is said in the literature. After the interviewees
have finished writing the sentence, they would be thanked for providing their
valuable time to attend the interview.
3.6 Administration
The interviews were conducted in the places such as rooms in the student
accommodations or common areas in the university where the interviewees
felt comfortable to answer the questions. They lasted for approximately 20 to
30 minutes, depending on the interviewees’ familiarity to the questions and
their willingness to provide more fruitful responses. The processes were
recorded with the use of MP3 player with the approval from the interviewees so
as to facilitate the subsequent analysis. The interviews were then transcribed.
The production and the use of transcripts are essential research activities that
they involve close, repeated listening to the records which often reveal some
unnoted recurring features, possibly attributing to important research findings
(Atkinson and Heritage, 1984).
34
different ways to code data (Dey, 1993). In addition, based on grounded theory,
methodology skills can be developed in a number of areas such as handling
and analyzing of large volumes of ill-structured, qualitative data as well as
interpretative thematic analysis of the qualitative data. Hence, these could
explain why grounded theory has gained much popularity in recent decades
(Henwood and Pidgeon, 2006). As mentioned by Strauss and Corbin (1990),
researchers could be both scientific and creative at the same time under this
theory, provided that they follow three rules. They include periodically stepping
back and asking, maintaining an attitude of skepticism, as well as following the
research procedures.
35
analysis. In this dissertation, the interviews conducted were investigated based
on these two approaches. The summary of these two approaches is shown in
Figure 1.
Within-case analysis
Cross-case analysis
36
illustrated for explanation if necessary.
3.8 Summary
In this chapter, the methodology used in this dissertation has been justified and
explained. Qualitative semi-structured interviews have been chosen as a mean
to collect data since they are found to be more appropriate for soliciting
responses in relation to attitudes, opinions and feelings. Besides, the sampling
method was covered. In the course of data collection, the combination of
convenience and quota sampling was being used. In addition, the schedule of
interview was discussed with a view to providing some general ideas about the
underlying reasons for asking such questions. The data collected would be
analyzed using the methods of within-case and cross-case analysis. The
research findings will be presented and discussed in the next chapter.
37
Chapter 4
4.1 Introduction
This chapter aims at presenting and discussing findings obtained from the
interviews concerning the effect of clothing brand image on consumer
purchasing behaviour. As mentioned in chapter 3, 10 people, including 5
British and 5 Chinese were interviewed. Each interview was recorded and
transcribed for the purpose of analysis in this chapter.
The first three questions try to solicit the interviewees’ response about their
clothing spending habits, asking about their shopping frequency, money spent
38
on clothes and also the types of clothes they purchased. Generally, many
respondents revealed that they buy clothes at a regular interval, ranging from
every week to three or four times a year. One of them was slightly different in
that she indicated that she is an impulsive buyer and hence she would buy
clothes based on her moods and feelings at the time of purchase. This could
probably be explained by the findings mentioned in chapter 2 that consumers’
emotion is one of the determining factors for buying clothes (Berry, 2000).
“I’m a sort of impulsive buyer…’Oh gosh! I really need to buy some clothes
now, let’s go’.”
Narinder, 27, British, Female
Besides, some of them pointed out that their financial status would have an
impact on their frequency of buying clothes. One of the respondents revealed
that he preferred buying clothes at special occasions like seasonal discounts
so that the prices can be much more affordable. These are in line with the
literature that students spend less than the other groups like working class as
far as clothes purchasing is concerned (HKTDC, 2002).
“…This year…not at all (buying clothes). Because I have been poor. But before
that, maybe one item every couple of month.”
Hannah, 24, British, Female
“…Maybe not often recently because I have not got a lot of income for clothes,
so I’ll buy them when I need them…probably, buy every 4 to 5 months, quite
rare.”
Mark, 23, British, Male
“In China, normally I buy clothes 4 times a year (for each season). In England,
maybe 3 times a year, I will buy clothes if there are discounts.”
Kevin, 23, Chinese, Male
39
When asking about the price range of clothes, more than half of them were
fond of buying clothes in the medium or high price ranges. Although it is
mentioned in the literature that more females would like shopping than males
(Dholakia, 1999; South and Spitze, 1994), it does not really mean that males
have less spending power. More male than female respondents manifested
that they would buy clothes in medium or above price ranges. One of the male
respondents revealed that he would spend about 50 to 250 pounds for clothes
each time, targeting to buy clothes in medium to high price ranges.
The above quotes illustrate that clothes purchasing behaviour varies from time
to time and from person to person. There could be two identical clothes in the
world, however, the reasons why people buy them vary. It could be as simple
as they are cheap and good looking or they are brand-named. As mentioned in
chapter 2, brand names can add tremendous value to the products, retailers,
as well as consumers (Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1993). In the coming section,
whether brand image would affect clothes purchasing behaviour is
investigated, with more emphasis being placed on the comparisons between
British and Chinese consumers so as to provide new insights for further
development of brands in the clothing sector.
40
examined in question 4, in which the respondents were asked about the
reasons of buying particular clothes. The results from both British and Chinese
respondents are illustrated in Tables 2 and 3 accordingly. The columns named
‘country of origin’ and ‘advert’ would be discussed in later sections.
41
As observed from Tables 2 and 3, all respondents from both nations regard
quality, style and price as some of the determining factors for buying clothes. In
this regard, the findings from literature that Chinese find these three as
important criteria for buying clothes (HKTDC, 2002) seem also applicable to
the UK respondents.
When it comes to the effect of brand on buying clothes, nine out of ten
respondents had not provided immediate answer to question 4 regarding this
issue until prompt was given. Moreover, the British and Chinese interviewees
showed some divergent viewpoints.
Some of the UK respondents revealed that they look for brand names in
buying clothes, in which one of them highlighted the importance of past
shopping experiences as mentioned in the literature (Aaker, 1991). However,
two UK interviewees stated that brand names do not initiate them to buy during
their shopping.
“Well, I wouldn’t buy something because it’s from H&M or because it’s from
ZARA. They are probably the shops I like. I wouldn’t specifically buy it because
it’s from there.”
Mark, 23, British, Male
“Never. Well, I mean I will buy clothes from a shop. Actually, I bought it (she
points at her top) yesterday from NEXT, but I do not particularly look for brand
names.”
Hannah, 24, British, Female
42
All Chinese respondents found that brand is one of the key factors for them to
consider when buying clothes. One of them mentioned that reputable brands in
medium to high price ranges connote to better quality and cutting. This is
consistent with the literature that brand-named products can be served as a
guarantor of reliability, as well as quality (Roman et al., 2005). In addition, one
of them pointed out that brands can help change her personal style, which is
coherent with the literature that brands are used to highlight personality under
different circumstances (Aaker, 1999; Fennis and Pruyn, 2006).
“Yes. For some T-shirts, I bought some big brands like designer labels. But
recently, I changed my purchasing habits to some cheap stuff like Primark,
H&M and Dorothy Perkins…It’s quick for me to dislike the clothes that I bought.
So, if I buy too many big brands, it costs me too much; if I buy cheap ones, I
can use less money, and buy more clothes to change. It can be in consistent
with my changing look and just lower the cost.”
Vanessa, 26, Chinese, Female
Based on the above findings, it seems that brands are more likely to have an
impact on Chinese than British interviewees. The UK respondents tend to buy
clothes they like but not merely because of the brands.
43
advertisement, peers, internet and shops. The results are shown in Tables 4
and 5.
44
mentioned that they became more aware of the brands through the celebrities
in the advertisements, which confirms with the literature that celebrity
endorsement can lead to product credibility (McGuire, 1978) and enhance
attractiveness (McCracken, 1989).
“It (Advertising) is important because the brand image is built up so that you
will choose (to buy them).”
“I used to play basketball and so I used to watch NBA games. During the game
break, they (basketball players) will show up. Like Coby Bryrant, he was the
representative of adidas previously…”
Vivian, 23, Chinese, Female
“The adidas ‘impossible is nothing’ advert with leading sportsmen like Michael
Jordan, Lance Armstrong, David Beckham, Zidane (is very
memorable)…because I know them through their sports achievement, you
know, they are familiar faces, so they associate themselves with brands, and
it’s easy to make connections.”
Neil, 24, British, Male
45
“Maybe they (my friends) buy very nice clothes, and from my mind, they are
nice to put them on. So, when I go shopping next time, I will consider them.”
Kevin, 23, Chinese, Male
“If I am training and I see a friend wearing a new T-shirt or something, I will ask
them what the brand is…my brother bought a Helly Hansen sportswear, that’s
cool.”
Neil, 24, British, Male
Other sources for raising brand awareness like internet surfing and shop
visiting are also prevalent among Chinese and British respondents. 4 British
interviewees revealed that they became familiar with the brands through shop
visiting, while 4 Chinese interviewees got their brand information via internet
surfing.
46
Table 6: Criteria for judging clothes quality (British respondents)
Criteria Materials Style Colour Durability Country of Others
Name origin
Hannah
Smith
+ + +
Mark
Morrison
+ -
Neil Performance
Bowley
+ + + -
Narinder Price
Sandhu
-
Michael
Kosciukiewicz
+ -
47
and Chinese respondents.
“In some of the countries like Japan, France or Italy, they represent better
quality.”
Jovi, 24, Chinese, Female
“It should all be good quality if they have a brand name on it because it’s what
the brand name stands for. For buying Puma shoes, I expect Puma quality
basically, so the countries don’t really affect it.”
Michael, 22, British, Male
When further question was asked about the issue ‘Which country’s clothes do
you think they’re of highest/ lowest quality?’ British and Chinese respondents
showed divergent views. The results are listed in Tables 8 and 9.
48
Table 9: Perception towards countries which produce clothes
with highest and lowest quality (Chinese respondents)
As shown in Table 8, just a few British respondents try to provide the names of
specific countries.
“I don’t have some preconception about it. Because I know from every country,
you can buy good or bad clothes.”
Neil, 24, British, Male
“They suppose to all be the same. If Puma gets its stuff from China, from
Thailand, they show up the same quality standard in all countries, they should
meet the required quality.”
Michael, 22, British, Male
For those who can tell the names of specific countries, many of them
mentioned that France and Italy can produce clothes in high quality. However,
only Chinese respondents made comments on countries which make clothes
in the lowest quality. 3 of the Chinese respondents could mention that some
less developed countries, including China, produce poor quality clothes. These
findings can be explained by the literatures in that China does not have
influential brands with phenomenal quality (Delong et al., 2004).
49
“I think the UK and US have top brands, Italy as well. Lowest (quality) maybe
China, or some of the developing countries. Actually, China don’t have very
famous brands, maybe it’s the reason.”
Vivian, 23, Chinese, Female
“China is good at manufacturing and Italy and France are good at design. If it’s
about big brands, I will prefer France or Italy ones; if I consider some basic
ones, I think those made-in-China are something good.”
Vanessa, 26, Chinese, Female
50
Table 10: Clothes purchasing habit (British respondents)
Name Regular buyer Recommend Club card owner
brands
Hannah
Smith
- - -
Mark
Morrison
+ - -
Neil
Bowley
- + -
Narinder
Sandhu
+ - -
Michael
Kosciukiewicz
- - -
As observed from Tables 10 and 11, more Chinese respondents tend to buy
the same brands, recommend brands to friends or relatives, and also hold the
club cards of their favourite stores than the UK interviewees. For those who
buy regularly from the same brands, they pointed out that they are quite
satisfied with the clothes they had purchased, whereas the others think they
need to take other factors like price and style into consideration and hence
they do not buy the same brands regularly. The quotes of regular buyers are
shown as follow:
51
“I do have a few brands that I prefer, so I will buy them more often. In the UK, I
like Fred Perry. In Hong Kong, there are quite many, for examples, CEU and
Vertical Club. They have quite a lot of varieties of different design for me to
choose from. There are casual wears good for everyday dress and they are of
reasonable prices.”
Jovi, 24, Chinese, Female
“I reckon the design fits me and these brands have high quality which is what
I’m looking for.”
Vivian, 23, Chinese, Female
“(I like buying from) Diesel for jeans, Topshop and All Saints. The Diesel jeans
fit me well. Topshop’s price is affordable and also I like the style from All
Saints”
Narinder, 27, British, Female
“I will if I visit some shops and they have good stuff. I will tell my friends, say
‘Go ahead! They are really good.’”
Vanessa, 26, Chinese, Female
“If it is excellent performance and if someone asks me, I will tell them.”
Neil, 24, British, Male
Surprisingly, none of the UK respondents have any clothing club cards even
though the shops take this chance to reward their loyalty in terms of discounts
52
as cited in the literature (Aaker, 1991). Some of them did mention the
drawbacks of applying these cards. The quotes for some non-club card owners
are shown below:
“No, store cards try to get more money from me when I don’t have more. Store
cards are dangerous.”
Narinder, 27, British, Female
“Because we have student cards and we can enjoy the offer, we need not
apply for the loyalty cards. Sometimes, it takes time to apply for it and maybe I
will not spend much money on the same shops…I tried to apply House of
Fraser and M&S (loyalty cards), they always make them like credit cards and I
don’t want to have one more credit card. That’s why I don’t apply for it.”
Vanessa, 26, Chinese, Female
“I like something that is simple and good for casual and everyday wear, not so
complicated design”
Jovi, 24, Chinese, Female
“I think it’s casual and good quality. The price is acceptable. It’s not stylish but it
is well made. It fits my age and my occupation as students.
Vivian, 23, Chinese, Female
53
“They do something stylish and good quality…sometimes good offer.”
Vanessa, 26, Chinese, Female
“Simple. For T-shirt, I prefer very colourful image. For shirts, I prefer some
simple image, like grid shirts. For jeans, I prefer blue jeans.”
Kevin, 23, Chinese, Male
“It’s just sort of reasonably well-priced and sort of good quality, fits my age.”
Mark, 23, British, Male
“They are practical, they work well, and they look good.”
Neil, 24, British, Male
“For Topshop, it’s a kind of like casual clothing. All Saints is a bit more
innovative.”
Narinder, 27, British, Female
“Basically, alternative sports, not like football, crickets but skiing and
snowboarding and surfing…”
Michael, 22, British, Male
54
Surprisingly, nine out of ten interviewees expressed that they had not bought
clothes via the internet due to several reasons. One of them mentioned the
poor internet security while the others revealed that they could not try the
clothes before paying for it.
“For clothes, no. Because I can’t try the clothes to see if they are suitable or
not”
Jovi, 24, Chinese, Female
“Not really. I will consider maybe it is not safe to shopping online, not right
colour, right size as well”
Vivian, 23, Chinese, Female
Even though some of the interviewees do not shop online for clothes, some of
them can point out the positive aspects of internet shopping, including the
varieties of choices, lower prices and informative websites. These signify the
fact that online shopping for clothes is not impossible but something need to be
done to improve it as far as the problems of fitting before purchasing and
online security are concerned.
“No, but I know many people do. To be honest, I am a little bit fat and if I put on
it, I can see how it looks like…so I never buy clothes online. The clothes online
are cheap, just like the clothes from the markets. If you can’t find (suitable
clothes) in the markets or in the shops, you can buy it online.”
Kevin, 23, Chinese, Male
“I don’t buy online. I’ll have a look and compare prices, but I don’t buy online.”
Michael, 22, British, Male
55
“(Shop online) Sometimes, maybe one or twice a month. It is good. The only
thing is that sometimes the delivery fee is not that cheap, almost everything is
quite good, good quality and good prices. These are what internet offers.”
Vanessa, 26, Chinese, Female
4.4 Results
In the last question, respondents were asked to provide their comments on
brand. The quotes below show their perceptions towards what brand is in their
mind.
“Brand is not a paper bag.” (It means brands are not easy to be broken up.)
Vanessa, 26, Chinese, Female
“Brand is just like the name of people. It may not be the spirit of clothes, but it
represents the taste and quality of them.”
Kevin, 23, Chinese, Male
“Brand is a way for people to identify each other, a way for companies to keep
consumers back to spend their money, and I’m not fond of popular ones!”
Hannah, 24, British, Female
56
“Brand is not something I would follow because of the name. My clothes
purchased tend to be based on the individual garment, rather than the
designer, manufacturer. I realized, however, that a brand can be a powerful
draw for many shoppers.”
Mark, 23, British, Male
4.5 Summary
This chapter presented the findings from the interviews of both British and
Chinese respondents. Some of the responses from interviewees were quoted
and analyzed so as to highlight the important findings for further brand image
development.
57
Chapter 5
Conclusions
5.1 Introduction
Based on the research findings in chapter 4, this chapter draws conclusions on
what has been analyzed and discussed, providing insights for comprehending
consumer purchasing behaviour and further investigations. The comparisons
were made between the British and Chinese respondents’ purchasing
behaviour throughout the last chapter. It was found that there are slight
differences between the Chinese and British consumers in terms of their
attitudes towards brand equity.
This chapter will provide an overview of the research findings, with the
inclusions of similarities and differences between the British and Chinese
consumers. It is then followed by the research limitations and
recommendations for further research.
5.2 Conclusions
The findings in chapter 4 do have some implications for the development of
brand image. They are presented under each sub-section as shown below.
58
As revealed from the above findings, brand can have a value-adding function
in that some respondents are fond of particular brands. Nevertheless,
consumers think of the other criteria as well. That is to say, if brand-named
clothes can incorporate the other criteria the consumers are looking for, it
could enhance the chance for consumers to buy the clothes.
In general, these methods for spreading the brand image are commonly
employed by both British and Chinese respondents.
In addition, many Chinese respondents had the preconception that China and
59
other developing countries produce clothes in poor quality, whereas they did
think that clothes from Italy and France normally confer to better quality.
However, the British respondents did not have strong feelings about where the
clothes come from. This brings out an important issue that Chinese brands
should get rid of their poor image on perceived quality at least to the Chinese
themselves. China does not have influential global clothing brands (Delong et
al., 2004), however, it is good at manufacturing (Cui, 1997). As brand can
provide guarantee of quality to consumers, by working on the brand
development, there would still be chances for China to produce well-perceived
quality clothes.
60
The establishment of such positive images can help enhance the brand values
and there are no significant differences between the British and Chinese
respondents in this regard.
Internet shopping is gaining its popularity (Dholakia and Uusitalo, 2002) but the
findings suggested that buying clothes online was not that common among the
respondents. In order to make it more prevalent for clothes shopping,
something should be done on the aforementioned drawbacks. In terms of
fitting, the details of the size and materials should be listed on the website to
reduce the chances of buying wrong clothes. For online securities, the retailers
should be more vigilant in the design of verification system, whereas the
shoppers need to be aware of the login procedures, not to divulge personal
information to unknown third parties.
5.3 Limitations
During the course of research, several limitations were found to hinder the
overall accuracy of the findings. There are three limitations regarding the
sampling method, time and also interpreting skills.
61
minor problems that are not obvious in a quantitative study (Proctor, 2000).
Students were used as the subjects for investigation and they tend to be more
susceptible to the views, ideas and products of other cultures than older
people (Netemeyer et al., 1991), having a propensity of getting deviated
results. In selecting the students, the combination of quota and convenience
samples was used. Such discretion of choosing samples may introduce a
source of bias since there is a possibility to omit some types of people,
especially for those who are difficult to contact (Proctor, 2000).
5.4 Implications
This dissertation attempts to find out the effect of brand image on consumer
purchasing behaviour. There are numerous brands around the world, however,
whether the brand is influential or not depends on how it is perceived.
62
Therefore, the study of brand can provide an insight for further brand
development.
Under the premise that brand is regarded as equity for marketers, four different
areas were investigated, namely brand awareness, perceived quality, brand
loyalty and brand association. Through understanding how customers behave
in these four aspects, marketers can think of relevant strategies. In terms of
brand awareness, owing to the fact that consumers will buy clothes after they
have known them well, marketers should make use good of the traditional
channels like advertisements and word-of-mouth and devise new methods to
communicate with customers. As far as perceived quality is concerned, having
mentioned that customers judge the quality mostly based on the factors like
materials, style, colour, durability, price and performance, manufacturers
together with retailers need to join hands to produce better clothes for the
customers to choose from. In addition, the investment in brand loyalty could
enhance the chance of repeat purchase and broaden the customer base. To
reward loyal customers, marketers can devise different reward methods in
different forms such as discounts. As for brand association, it is of utmost
importance to keep the customers’ positive perceptions towards the brands so
that the chances for repeat purchase would be increased. Such positive
connotations are achieved through working closely on brand awareness,
perceived quality and brand loyalty.
63
with a view to establish some strong national clothing brands among
themselves. This may change the buying attitude that Chinese are now
confined to buy luxury clothes produced in the foreign markets (HKTDC, 2002).
It is hoped that Chinese can have some influential global clothing brands by
doing so.
For the UK, since famous clothing brands are not uncommon in such
developed country, it should be more aware of the marketing strategies to
enhance the overall brand equity. For instances, it could think of making online
clothes purchasing more popular and also introducing varieties of benefits to
reward loyal customers. The use of club cards was found to be more common
among Chinese than the UK respondents for buying clothes. Marketers could
consider the feasibility of getting this idea widespread in the clothes retailing
industry as other retail sectors, like supermarkets, have done.
More samples should be interviewed as long as time and money are not
constraints. More interviewers could be hired and trained to collect as much
data as they can. This could provide much more conclusive results. Besides, in
addition to semi-structured interviews, other kinds of research methods such
as focus group and even some quantitative research methods could be used
so as to provide findings from different perspectives.
64
also be investigated since they may provide entirely different results as what
have been obtained from the student samples.
65
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Appendix 1: The 100 Top Brands 2006
Rank Name Country Rank Name Country
1 Coca-Cola U.S. 51 Nintendo Japan
2 Microsoft U.S. 52 Gap U.S.
3 IBM U.S. 53 L’Oreal France
4 GE U.S. 54 Heinz U.S.
5 Intel U.S. 55 Yahoo! U.S.
6 Nokia Finland 56 Volkswagen Germany
7 Toyota Japan 57 Xerox U.S.
8 Disney U.S. 58 Colgate U.S.
9 McDonald U.S. 59 Wrigley U.S.
10 Mercedes-Benz Germany 60 KFC U.S.
11 Citi U.S. 61 Chanel France
12 Marlboro U.S. 62 Avon U.S.
13 Hewlett-Packard U.S. 63 Nestle Switzerland
14 American Express U.S. 64 Kleenex U.S.
15 BMW Germany 65 Amazon.com U.S.
16 Gillette U.S. 66 Pizza Hut U.S.
17 Louis Vuitton France 67 Danone France
18 Cisco U.S. 68 Caterpillar U.S.
19 Honda Japan 69 Motorola U.S.
20 Samsung S.Korea 70 Kodak U.S.
21 Merrill Lynch U.S. 71 adidas Germany
22 Pepsi U.S. 72 Rolex Switzerland
23 Nescafe Switzerland 73 Zara Spain
24 Google U.S. 74 Audi Germany
25 Dell U.S. 75 Hyundai S.Korea
26 Sony Japan 76 BP Britain
27 Budweiser U.S. 77 Panasonic Japan
28 HSBC Britain 78 Reuters Britain
29 Oracle U.S. 79 Kraft U.S.
30 Ford U.S. 80 Porsche Germany
31 Nike U.S. 81 Hermes France
32 UPS U.S. 82 Tiffany & Co. U.S.
33 JPMorgan U.S. 83 Hennessy France
34 SAP Germany 84 Duracell U.S.
35 Canon Japan 85 ING Netherlands
36 Morgan Stanley U.S. 86 Cartier France
37 Goldman Sachs U.S. 87 Moet & Chandon France
38 Pfizer U.S. 88 Johnson & Johnson U.S.
39 Apple U.S. 89 Shell Britain
40 Kellogg U.S. 90 Nissen Japan
41 Ikea Sweden 91 Starbucks U.S.
42 UBS Switzerland 92 Lexus Japan
43 Novartis Switzerland 93 Smirnoff Britain
44 Siemens Germany 94 LG S.Korea
45 Harley-Davidson U.S. 95 Bulgari Italy
46 Gucci Italy 96 Prada Italy
47 eBay U.S. 97 Armani Italy
48 Philips Netherlands 98 Burberry Britain
49 Accenture Bermuda 99 Nivea Germany
50 MTV U.S. 100 Levi U.S.
(Data adopted from Business Week (2007))
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Appendix 2: Interview Questions
Name: Age:
Course: Year of study:
Nationality: Year of living in
your home country:
1. How often do you buy clothes?
12. What would you do if you are satisfied or dissatisfied about the clothes you
purchase?
(Note: Further probing questions would be asked after each of the above
question if necessary)
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Appendix 3: Interview Transcription
Chris: Hi, Kevin. I would like to ask you about your purchasing behaviour on
clothes. It would talk about 30 minutes. How often do you buy clothes?
Kevin: In China, normally I buy clothes 4 times a year (for each season). In
England, maybe 3 times a year, I will buy clothes if there are discounts.
Kevin: Yes.
Chris: Why?
Kevin: Because in China, I had a girlfriend who likes shopping. I was the
company.
Chris: How much do you spend on clothing each month? In case of China and
also the UK?
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medium-priced or low-priced?
Kevin: Medium-priced. I don’t buy very cheap clothes. I prefer higher quality,
good taste, so these clothes are more expensive.
Chris: What about the kinds of clothes you buy? Sports apparel, casual wear,
formal wear or others?
Kevin: The first two. I buy casual wear more frequently than sports apparels.
Sports apparels are just for doing some exercises, and I won’t wear sports
apparels on streets. But I buy trainers.
Kevin: There are not many chances for me to wear. I have one, just one.
Chris: What is it about particular clothes that make you buy them?
Kevin: I prefer quality as I said, and good taste…I prefer some grand
clothes…I like Jack and Jones, and Levi’s. For shoes, I like adidas and
Reeboks.
Chris: You have mentioned something about price before, so do you think
price is one of your considerations?
Kevin: Yes of course. My girlfriend likes to go to some markets where she can
find many cheap clothes. Some of them are on discount and some of them are
out of season, she is pursuing that kind of clothes.
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Kevin: I like buying shoes in a very good ground. I don’t like bargain with the
prices. Some clothes have the absolute prices.
Chris: So when you went to the market with your girlfriend, did you buy them?
Because normally we need to bargain in the market.
Kevin: If you go to some small shops, these clothes do not have ground, you
can bargain with the shop assistants. But in some shopping malls, some
clothes have ground, you cannot bargain with them. Because they are of fixed
prices and the quality is good.
Kevin: Shops.
Kevin: Um…I’m not sure which countries these clothes come from because
some are made in China, maybe the designers are from other countries. Most
of them I think they are from Europe.
Kevin: No.
Chris: If I divide the question into 2, maybe do you have any preference for the
country of manufacture?
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Kevin: As I said, most of them are made in China.
Kevin: Europe.
Chris: Do you have special preferences for the clothes made in Europe?
Kevin: Actually, we can’t find the clothes made in Europe, but in China.
Chris: What is the advertisement about? For Levi’s, why can it make you so
memorable?
Kevin: Because people who wear the clothes look very nice, look very
handsome with the clothes.
Chris: You mentioned some people appearing in this advertisement. Are these
people celebrities?
Kevin: No, just models. Some of them are Chinese and some of them are
foreigners.
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Chris: If some advertisements feature the celebrities, would it have an impact
on you to buy the clothes?
Kevin: Yes, it will, but the prices for these kinds of clothes are high, I can’t
afford it.
Kevin: TV, advertisements in the shopping mall, on the streets, they put
posters in the public areas.
Chris: What about peer influence? Do you know some brands from your
friends?
Chris: Do you talk about buying clothes with your friends frequently?
Chris: But you maybe affected by them. How can they affect you?
Kevin: Maybe they buy very nice clothes, and from my mind, from my
perspective, they are nice to put them on, so maybe next time I go shopping, I
will consider them.
Kevin: It depends. For summer clothes, I only wear them for one to two year.
For winter clothes, it may be longer. So it needs to keep the quality for that
period.
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Chris: So if it’s durable, then it’s of high quality.
Kevin: As long as it can, you know, keep the quality until out-of-date, I think
their quality is good.
Chris: So you judge the quality in terms of durability, by the colour, by the
feeling of texture and whether it will fade or not. Would country of origin affect
your perceptions towards clothes quality?
Kevin: As I said most of them are made in China, some brands have their own
manufacturing (plants) in China, these clothes are from very good brands and
they quality is conceivable.
Chris: Do you have some ideas that which countries’ clothes you think they
are of highest or lowest quality?
Chris: So you think these two countries produce the highest quality clothes?
Kevin: I consider brands more than the countries. I never compare which
clothes come from which countries.
Kevin: China…maybe.
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Chris: Why do you have such feelings?
Kevin: Actually for young people, we may buy some sport apparels like LiNing,
but for casual wear, we prefer clothes from other countries.
Chris: So you mean maybe China has some famous brands in sport apparels,
but it doesn’t have any brands in casual wear category.
Chris: So because of the quality and the appearance, you go to that shop
again to buy clothes?
Kevin: Ah, I think quality is not a problem for these brands, the appearance is
more important…the quality, of course, it’s high
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Kevin: No.
Kevin: I think every one has their own place, if I recommend my preference to
him or her, maybe they will ignore it, maybe they will keep in mind, I don’t
know.
Kevin: I prefer very simple image. For T-shirt, I prefer very colorful image. For
shirts, I prefer some simple image, like grid shirts. For jeans, I prefer blue
jeans.
Chris: So you mentioned something about colour and simplicity, how does
such image come from?
Kevin: I think its appearance. After I put it on, if it is fit to me, I will buy it.
Kevin: No, but I know many people do. To be honest, I am a little bit fat and if I
put on it, I can see how it looks like. I know many girls do that. Maybe girls can
find more suitable size than guys do. So, I never buy clothes online. The
clothes online are cheap, like the clothes from the markets. If you can’t find in
the market or in the shops, you can buy it online.
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Chris: So, it maybe the advantage of buying clothes online.
Kevin: Yea, that’s the main advantage. You can find some clothes which you
can’t buy in the shops or markets, maybe they are there.
Kevin: As I said, the size may not fit and the quality as well…
Chris: What would you do if you are satisfied or dissatisfied about the clothes
you purchased?
Kevin: If I am satisfied with the clothes I bought, I will wear it very regularly, at
least once a week. But if I’m not satisfied with it, of course I will wear it, but less
frequently, maybe take it as my pajamas.
Chris: If you are satisfied, would you go to the same shops to have a look
again?
Chris: If the shops do offer you some loyalty cards, would you apply for it?
Kevin: Yea, I have one from Kuhle and one from Jack and Jones. Normally, if I
buy clothes more than 40 or 50 pounds once, they will give me a VIP card. So
next time I go to these shops to buy clothes, they will give me 5 to 10 percent
discount or some credits. I can get some gifts from the accumulated credits,
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like some accessories, belts, glasses, sunglasses, wallet, something like that.
Chris: That’s all for the interview. Thanks very much. I would like you to help
me finish a sentence starting with ‘Brand is’.
Chris: So you said ‘Brand is just like the name of people. It may not the spirit
of the clothes, but it represents the taste and quality of them.
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