Introduction The aim of this report is to understand the consumer’s behaviour and consumer’s perception on IKEA home office furniture and market strategies in terms of brand awareness, design, price and service. As the consultants of IKEA Company we found from the secondary research that the number of self employed people at home increasing steadily and most of them work at home (Mintel report 2006). The market trend is that people working at home, with technological advances and more businesses try to find more flexible working practices. For this reasons the demand for home office furniture has increased. Therefore, this research is trying to give some of marketing strategies of home office furniture business for IKEA Company in …show more content…
Data collection and analysis proceed in parallel and interact, and because of the nature of the material gathered, results cannot be subjected to tests of statistical probability. For this reason, organisations have been less inclined in the past to sponsor such research, even though the evidence produced may well reveal much richer data than that obtained through a simple quantitative questionnaire. Quantitative Research: Quantitative methods are those in which data are collected and subsequently analysed through a process sometimes mockingly referred to as ‘bean-counting’ (Daymon 2002). Normally this is kind of method use for surveys with questionnaires. . The Type of Research in This Project: From analysis above, both quantities and qualitative research have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore our decision is use both of them in order to improve the quality of our information. • Focus group: This project was started with the qualitative research. We conducted two focus groups. The participants were people who work at office and at home in UK. We had 8 members who were selected by us with experience and fully of knowledge about the home office furniture in each group, and the venue was in one of our project member house. A moderator leaded the discussion about our Ikea topic. We provided drinks and snacks to the participants. The focus group members felt comfortable and expressed a lot of useful
Qualitative research is flexible written form their results are ongoing and their conclusion can be changed while quantitative research is numerical, reliable, specific, data are collected by statistical analysis due to which quantitative are more accurate. Qualitative research uses open questions to find the depth of the information while quantitative research uses closed question, secondary data or experiments due to this it lacks the depth of the information and neglect the effect of the individuals which could be service provider, service users or other staff members.
According to Yin (2003), there are two types of research approach. This includes quantitative research approach and qualitative research approach. A quantitative research emphasizes on transforming the data to numbers, quantities and statistics to formulate facts and to uncover patterns in a research. It addresses research purposes through empirical analysis that involve numerical measurement, the relationship between variables and analysis approaches (Zikmund et al., 2010). The sample size being investigated is typically large (Anderson, 2006). Quantitative research mainly uses questionnaires, surveys and other equipment to collect numerical or measurable data (Anderson, 2006). On the other hand, a qualitative research typically emphasizes words more than numbers
As explained in the “bargaining power of consumers”, it is hard to substitute the products that are offered by IKEA. This is further intensified by the fact that IKEA has formed a brand perception that makes it stand out amongst its
Quantitative research is generally done using scientific methods, which includes the following steps: developing models, theories, and hypotheses of what the researcher expects to find, developing
Methods of quantitative research includes surveys and data, which is then presented as statistics. It is then collected by a big group such as the Census. The downfalls of quantitative methods of research include being that it offers less depth in information as they generally place emphasis on a much larger number of cases. The outcomes of quantitative research are more often than not, used to present findings to a wide or whole population (Punch, 1998). Qualitative methods of research is essentially gathering information and data, by creating focus groups, and conducting field research and intensive reviews.
The long term affect that is going to have is that if there are not as
Researchers will gain insight on numerical, statistical data when studying quantitative studies (Polit & Beck, 2017). Whereas, qualitative research will show human behaviors and experiences (Polit & Beck, 2017).
Quantitative research involves collecting data, which can be expressed numerically. The design is well structured with pre-determined outcomes. It frequently involves testing a hypothesis, which then can be analysed from the data deductively using statistical methods. Using numerical data is easier to analysis mathematical, so larger sample sizes can be utilised compared to qualitative research, therefore giving a better representative of the population; along with simplifying the process of making a generalisation. Another advantage is that studies can easily compare to similar findings (Kruger, 2003). The disadvantages are the results are limited and might not provide a proper understanding of the topic. Also, statistics and leading questions can be used to give a false representation of the data when summarising.
What strengths does the quantitative approach contain inherently? What strengths does the qualitative approach contain inherently?
Quantitative Research on the other hand focuses more on counting, classifying features and constructing statistical models and figures to explain what is observed (Experiment resources, 2009). Qualitative data cannot be mathematically analysed in the same comprehensive way as quantitative results and therefore can only give a guide to general trends. Quantative experiments if designed properly, rule out personal opinion and judgment, and provide results rather than observations that can be viewed as real and unbiased (Given, 2008). Quantative research also allows for replication, unlike qualitative research design, which is usually unique and cannot be exactly recreated. (Martyn Shuttleworth, 2008). Quantitative Research makes use of tools such as questionnaires, surveys and other equipment to collect numerical or measurable data and what will most likely appear in your discussion are tables containing data in the form of numbers and statistics (Experiment resources, 2009). Quantitative research design is also “an excellent way of finalising results and proving or disproving a hypothesis and because the structure has not changed for centuries, it is standard across many scientific fields and disciplines” (Martyn Shuttleworth, 2008).
The qualitative research is a totally subjective rather than previous method with lots of texts along the research process without any statistics and mathematics techniques. The planning process is supposed to be the time saving activity but analysis stage is regarded as a time consuming activity. Moreover, analysis phase is much difficult rather than in the quantitative method
Since 2001, NEXT has created the next day delivery service on most home shopping orders. Currently there are more than 2 million customers in the UK and over 70% of NEXT 's home shopping business is now transacted online (nextplc.co.uk, 2011). Additionally, in October 2007, Meadow Hall in Sheffield became one of the first concept stores NEXT had fitted out in the new style that is now commonplace throughout its UK outlets (careers.next.co.uk). These events highlight the firm’s consideration of its customers and ability to diversify the service to satisfy customers’ needs.
Quantitative research investigates social phenomenon through the employment of statistics, mathematical procedures or computational measurement (Given, 2008). Quantitative methods are considered “deductive in nature, in the sense that inferences from tests of statistical hypotheses lead to general inferences about characteristics of a population” (Harwell, 2011, p. 149). Quantitative data are usually in the form of numbers, percentages or various types of statistics. Often times, quantitative research is aimed at testing hypotheses on the particular cases studied. Quantitative research is assumed more scientific since quantitative researchers believe that numerical and statistical data are unbiased, more reliable, and can be generalized to bigger population. In other words, quantitative research is defined as a design to “show how all of the major parts of the research project—the samples or groups, measures, treatments or programs, and methods of assignment—work together to try to address the central research questions” (Trochim & Land, 1982, p. 1). Conclusions are drawn from the analysis and interpretation of data collected from samples are further discussed by researcher(s) and decided by readers to which degree the findings are
Unlike quantitative research that use numbers as data and statistics, qualitative methods rely on words and meaning. It seeks to understand the problem rather than quantifying it placing more emphasis on subjectivity rather than objectivity.
The financial statements are very useful to all this group of user. Explain each of them;