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CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
The chapter three is comprised of the research approach that will be applied in order to examine the factors of attractiveness of Kuwait shopping malls from the shoppers’ perceptions. In this manner, the current study aims to analyze the accessibility, parking, store tenant mix, atmosphere, orientation and infrastructure facilities of Kuwait's shopping centers and their relation to the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness. The current research will also enlighten the problem statement, research objectives and research questions. Afterwards, the research will incorporate the research design in accordance with its purpose and methodology. The structured questionnaire will be presented with respect to the sampling and data collection. Moreover, the overview of the data analysis techniques will be discussed in order to analyze the collected data.
3.2 Problem Statement
Kuwait, being one of the developed countries in the world, is indulged in a higher extent of imports and exports, which has resulted in the prevalence of the large number of distributors and retailers. The systematic retail business in Kuwait prevails in the form of shopping malls. These shopping facilities attract a large number of customers and comprehend a higher extent of yield to its businesses and investors (Zaidan, 2016). Shopping malls offer number of products and services along with the best shopping experience to its customers which eventually incorporates positive business prospects for the companies. However, the emergence of the online business has incorporated a high extent of threat towards the profitability of the shopping malls. The customer preference towards the online shopping facilities have been increased due to the availability, accessibility and variety of the products (Bhatnagar et al. 2015).
Therefore, in order to sustain the retail industry of Kuwait and maintain the market share of shopping malls in the retail industry, it is important to determine the factors that attract the customers to visit shopping malls, so that these factors can be addressed by the retail industry in order to retain their customers towards acquiring the best possible shopping experience offered by the shopping malls.
3.3 Research design
3.3.1 Research theoretical approach
The research accounts for the inductive and deductive approach in order to address the aspects of the academic research. The inductive approach incorporates the collection of the empirical data in accordance with the literature and then encompasses the theories in order to support the results that are acquired from the empirical data (Zikmund et al., 2012). On the contrary, the deductive approach utilizes the predetermined theories that are develop on the basis of research. These theories are used in developing the research objectives and question. In this research approach, the data collection is carried out by the researcher by using the different measuring tools, comprising of questionnaire, surveys, field study, observations and experimentation. The data acquired from the questionnaire is supported in accordance with the enriched literature of the study (Hair et al., 2015). The current study accounts for the deductive approach in which the data will be collected and after the assessment of the results, the data will be enlightened in accordance with the literature.
3.3.2 Research Methodology
The research methodology accounts for qualitative or quantitative study, in which the qualitative study is focused on the empirical tests that are required to be conducted after gathering the relevant data in the numerical format. The data is collected by using the structured questionnaire, experimentation and field survey. It is necessary that the information that is collected by the questionnaire should have coded answers and target a specific population by means of its sample size (Zikmund et al., 2012). The quantitative method in the research is incorporated in order to identify the statistical relations between the variables so that the conclusions and implications about the targeted population can be developed based on the sample of the study. The questionnaire are developed in a structured manner on the basis of the hypotheses that are formed on the basis of providing an adequate direction to the findings of the study. The qualitative research in this instance, encompasses the data from the sources, which mainly comprise of personal interviews that are considered credible enough to be coded and interpreted in accordance with the theoretical perspective (Zikmund et al., 2012). It comprises of the detailed information and the data is conducted personally by the researchers due to which it is considered more time consuming. It helps the researcher to determine the prevalence of the causality, incorporate explanation in accordance with the chronological flow of the literature (Hair et al., 2015). The current study accounts for the quantitative method, in which the data will be collected in the form of a structured questionnaire and will be tested in order to accept or reject the developed hypotheses.
3.3.3 Research Purpose
The research incorporates for three types of research purposes, comprises of exploratory, explanatory and descriptive. The explanatory approach is incorporated when the research problem already exists and is identified and it is required to identify the relation between the prominent variables in order to address the problem. In this manner, the results are found on the basis of their extent to which the variable are inter-related in accordance with the given cause and effect. On the contrary, when the research problem is new and unidentified, then it accounts for the explanatory research. This extent of research is facilitated on the basis of an extensive literature and incorporates the focus group interviews and experts (Zimund et al., 2012). Moreover, the descriptive approach is incorporated when the identified problem encompasses the some variables that provide clear facts and findings. It helps in the identification of the relevant consequences by analyzing the qualitative or quantitative information (Hair et al., 2015). Therefore, this research initiates from the exploratory approach, in which the extensive and credible literature is enlightened to acquire more detailed information and afterwards, the descriptive approach is comprehended in order collect data and enlighten the proposed relationship by using the explanatory approach.
3.3.4 Time Horizon
The time horizon in accordance with the research studies incorporates cross-sectional and longitudinal research. In cross-sectional research, the time limit and a strong sample prevails. However, the longitudinal approach encompasses the measure of the same dimension over a period of time, which eventually provides the consistent results and increases its accuracy (Hair et al., 2015). The present stud comprehends the cross-sectional approach because the data will be collected only once from the targeted population.
3.4 Research Objectives
The current study encompasses the following objectives:
3.5 Research Questions
The current study encompasses the following research objectives that are derived from the research problem:
What are the most prominent retail management sub-variables for the retail business managers?
What are the main factors that influence the overall shoppers’ perception of the mall’s attractiveness in Kuwait?
What is the impact of accessibility on the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness in Kuwait?
What is the impact of parking facility on the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness in Kuwait?
What is the impact of store tenant mix on the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness in Kuwait?
What is the impact of atmosphere on the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness in Kuwait?
What is the impact of orientation on the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness in Kuwait?
What is the impact of infrastructure facilities on the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness in Kuwait?
3.6 Research Hypotheses
The prevalence of the customer satisfaction on the basis of the customer accessibility because when shopping malls are accessible that are being liked and visited by a large number of population. Therefore, distance plays as a hindering factor in making the customers less attractive to the shopping malls that are difficult to reach due to the long distance, including the factors related to the long distance, which comprise of crowd and traffic jam etc. (Swoboda et al., 2013). Therefore, customers want to be facilitated from the shopping malls that are accessible for them and hence, in order to testify this notion, the following hypothesis was developed:
Hypothesis H1: Accessibility has a significant and positive influence on the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness
The availability of the adequate parking facility has been the major concern for the customers who travel by car and it is claimed that when customers are provided with the adequate and complementary parking facilities, then they are more attracted towards these shopping malls. Lack of parking facility can cause inconvenience for the customers due to which they can select to visit any other shopping mall that offers the parking facility and hence, it negatively effects the customers’ motivation to visit the shopping mall. In this manner, the shopping malls are required to possess adequate space in order to facilitate customers with the parking facilities and should be able to meet the parking requirements of the customers, by means of the parking design and parking space availability (Timmermans and Bruin-Verhoeven, 2015). Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed:
Hypothesis H2: Parking facility has a significant and positive influence on the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness
The store tenant mix incorporates the services that are offered by the shopping malls in order to develop the long-term relation with their customers. The store tenant mix comprises of merchandise value, product and personnel factors. It is inferred that when organizations develop relation with their customers, then the organization’s profitability increases and thus, the customers tend to develop rapport with the salesperson at the shopping malls due to which the interaction between them increases, which eventually increases the profitability. The product range and merchandise value depicts the variety and promotion services that are offered by the shopping malls (Garg and Steyn, 2014). These two factors make the customers loyal due to which the shopping malls enjoy a high rate of profitability. Therefore, the factors related to the merchandise value, product and personnel factors are addressed in the following hypothesis;
Hypothesis H3: Store tenant mix has a significant and positive influence on the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness
It is implied that internal environment of the shopping mall create impact on the customers due to which the customers’ behavior influenced and they become satisfied with the internal environment (Debek, 2015). In this manner, the emotional effects are generated in the buyers and it is likely that they will indulge in the buying behavior and hence, the following hypothesis is proposed in this respect:
Hypothesis H4: Atmosphere has a significant and positive influence on the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness
Orientation incorporates the suitability of the customers in which the factors related to the searching, locating and assessing the stores in order to find the relevant product are addressed. It is considered significant by the shopping mall management because it makes the shopping experience easy for the customer by the efficient utilization of the tenants and empty space. The extent of orientation effects the buying behavior of the customers and engage in the buying decision due to their preferred level of orientation offered by the shopping malls (Orth and Wirtz, 2014). Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed:
Hypothesis H5: Orientation has a significant and positive influence on the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness
The infrastructure of the shopping malls also attracts the customers due to the customers’ perception towards the high quality due to the infrastructure. The malls that are developed at the prime locations attract large number of customers due to the ease of access and exposure to a large number of population (Singh and Prashar, 2013). Therefore, considering the significance of infrastructure, the following hypotheses is proposed:
Hypothesis H6: Infrastructure facilities have a significant and positive influence on the shoppers’ perception of the mall's attractiveness
3.7 Data Collection Questionnaire and Source
The questionnaire helps in the collection of the relevant information in an effective manner by means of addressing all the variables that are emphasized in the study. The significant variables for the study are determined on the basis of the literature review and after the identification of the variables, the questionnaire and their measures are adopted from their authors (Zikmund et al., 2012). In this paper, the questionnaire incorporates the two sections. The first section incorporates the demographic information of the customers comprising of their age, gender, education, household income and preferred shopping malls whereas, the second section incorporates the respective variables and their measures which comprises of 63 items. These items are measured using the 5 point Likert-type scale and encompasses the Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree and Strongly Disagree. The questionnaire contents are illustrated in the Table 3.1
The current study incorporates the following assumptions:
The respondents read the questionnaires carefully and selected their responses on their own perspective.
The conceptual model of the study including the variables are significant for the current research.
3.9 Target Population and Sampling Methods
The target population of the current study comprises of the shopping malls’ customers in Kuwait because the study is aimed to analyze the factors that attract them towards the shopping malls. Therefore, the primary data will be collected from the customers and the sample size encompasses the total number of 200 respondents.
3.10 Data Analysis Method
The present research will incorporate the number of statistical tools in order to determine the relation between the variables and their effect on the customers’ attraction level. These statistical tools comprises of descriptive analysis, factor analysis, reliability measure, Pearson-Correlation, cross tabulation and multiple regression analysis. Moreover, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 will be used to analyze the data.
References
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Debek, M., 2015. What Drives Shopping Mall Attractiveness?. Polish Journal of Applied Psychology, 13(1), pp.67-118.
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Zaidan, E. A., 2016. Tourism shopping and new urban entertainment: a case study of Dubai. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 22(1), pp.29-41.
Zikmund, W., Babin, B., Carr, J. and Griffin, M., 2012. Business research methods. Cengage Learning.
