Research Topic: Influence of Store Reputation towards Customer
Patronage: A Case Study at the Tesco and Giant
Hypermarket.
1. INTRODUCTION
In this introduction, we will be discussed about the background of the case
study, problem statement, significant of study, objectives, hypotheses, variable,
research questions and limitation of the study.
1.1. Background of the case study
Tesco is a global grocery and general merchandising retailer
headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest
retailer in the world measured by revenues after Wal-Mart and
Carrefour and the second-largest measured by profits after Wal-Mart. It
has stores in 14 countries across Asia, Europe and North America and
is the grocery market leader in the UK, Malaysia, the Republic of
Ireland and Thailand.
The company was founded by Jack Cohen in 1919 and opened
its first store in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Edgware, and Middlesex. The Tesco
brand first appeared after Cohen bought a shipment of tea from T.E.
Stockwell and he used those initials and added the first two letters of
his own surname. Originally a UK-focused grocery retailer, Tesco has
diversified both geographically and into areas such as the retailing of
books, clothing, electronics, furniture, petrol and software; financial
services; telecoms and internet services; DVD rental; and music
downloads. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a
constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Tesco opened its first store in Malaysia in May 2002 with the
opening of its first hypermarket in Puchong, Selangor. Tesco Malaysia
currently operates 36 Tesco and Tesco Extra stores. Total store by
state in Malaysia is Selangor with 11 stores, Perak six stores, Johor
five stores, Kuala Lumpur and Penang four stores, Kedah three stores,
Melaka two stores, Negeri Sembilan and Kelantan one store. Tesco
partnered with local conglomerate Sime Darby Berhad, which holds
30% of the shares. Tesco also acquired the Malaysian operation of the
wholesaler Makro, which was rebranded Tesco Extra and provides
products for local retailers. Tesco Malaysia offers a value range, own
branded range, electronic goods, the loyalty clubcard and clothing.
Tesco Malaysia's clubcard introduced Green ClubCard Points in 2007
making Tesco Malaysia to be the first Tesco international business to
introduce the scheme Green ClubCard Points.
The Giant store brand was founded by the Teng family as a
simple grocery store in one of the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur in 1944. Its
mission was to offer a wide variety of food products at the lowest
possible prices. As its reputation grew, so did its business.Dairy Farm,
which acquired Giant in 1999, recognized that the key to Giant's
success had been its ability to continuously offer value for money
products. It retained this core principle even as it began transforming
Giant into a national and international brand.
After six years of effort, which included redesigning the stores,
the introduction of the non-food products into the Giant hypermarkets,
the implementation of international retail standards that includes safety,
cleanliness, structured training, and a vibrant shopping environment as
well as centralized buying functions and improved operations, Dairy
Farm has made Giant the undisputed leader in Malaysia’s retail sector.
In 1999, the first Giant Hypermarket store opened in Shah
Alam, Selangor. By 2006, the company had grown to operate a total of
86 hypermarkets/supermarkets in Malaysia with outlet size ranging
from the 350,000 sq ft (33,000 m2) hypermarket in Shah Alam to the
11,000 sq ft (1,000 m2) supermarket in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. The
chain also includes 6 stores in Singapore and 17 hypermarkets
inIndonesia. Giant hypermarkets offer a wide range of local
merchandise, such as fresh local fruits, vegetables, and seafood within
a wet market environment.
On December 3, 2005, The The Employees Provident
Fund (EPF) acquired the entire stake in Giant TMC Bhd’s property-
owning subsidiary Hartanah Progresif Sdn Bhd for RM382 million.
Under an agreement signed on December 1, the EPF will enter into a
leasehold agreement with Giant TMC for 10 to 15 years. Dairy Farm
Giant Retail CEO John Coyle (left) and EPF GM of Property
Investment Department-Operation Mohamad Lotfy Mohamad Noh
sealed the deal, witnessed by Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
Minister Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal and Dairy Farm Group chief
executive Ron Floto. On March 22, 2008, the first Giant Hypermarket
in Brunei Darussalam was opened on Gadong A, Brunei-Muara
1.2. Problem statement
The level of customer satisfaction may be influenced by various
attributes from internal and external factors. Customer satisfaction may
be identified as internal and external customer satisfaction of an
organization. From the literature review, researchers on external
customer satisfaction have been identified. The researchers also want
to research whether the store reputations or store image have big
influence towards customers patronage in Tesco and Giant
hypermarket.
1.3. Significant of study
Gathering of this data will lead to a better understanding of the
influencing level of the attributes on customer satisfaction. The results
of this study will not only contribute to the awareness of the relationship
between the variables but it will also direct managers in areas for
quality improvement to increase customer satisfaction. Through the
statistical analysis, a conclusion on the existence of a relationship
between qualities attributes of a goods service, products quality,
products availability and customer satisfaction will be more obvious.
1.4. Objectives
The main objectives of this study were to identify attributes that
influence customer patronage and determine their relationships with
customer patronage.
1.5. Hypotheses
To support this study, several hypotheses are developed and
constructed. These hypotheses are considered necessary to
statistically prove the various relationships within the study. The
hypotheses are:
1.5.1 If the quality of service is high, then store image or reputations
of the company will increase.
1.5.2 If the quality of products is high, then store image or
reputations of the company will increase.
1.5.3 If the products availability always good, then the store image or
reputations of the company will increase..
1.5.4 If the atmosphere of company always in good conditions, then
the store image or reputations will increase.
1.5.5 If the price of the products always competitive, then the store
image or reputation will increase
1.5.6 When the store image of company is high, then consumer
patronage will increase.
1.6. Variable
The variables included in this research are place, goods quality
and service quality as independent variables and customer satisfaction
as the dependent variable.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Figure 1: Relationship between Independent Variables and
Dependent Variables
INDEPENDENT VARIABLES
DEPENDENT VARIABLES
Store Image
- Products quality- Service quality- Good
atmosphere- Price
competitive- Products
availability
Customer satisfaction
1.7 Research Question
Research questions are divided according to factors that
influence customer satisfaction and their relationship.
1.7.1 Factor that influence customer patronage:
1.7.1.1 What level of store image that influence consumer
patronage in Tesco and Giant?
1.7.2 Relationship between customer patronages with their factors:
1.7.2.1 What the relationship between store images and
customer’s patronage?
1.8 Limitation of Study
There are some constraints faced by the researcher in completing this
study.
1.8.1 Location of the study
This study will be focusing on customers of GIANT Hypermarket and
Tesco Extra at Seksyen 13, Shah Alam. We need to separate our
group members to distribute the questionnaires to their customer.
1.8.2 Respondent Cooperation.
There are several problems that we have to face it.
1.8.2.1 Respondents not understand the questions.
1.8.2.2 Biases answer from the respondents.
1.8.2.3 Respondent that not shows commitment and fully
cooperation to answer accurately.
1.8.3 Time Constraint
The time given is limited and not sufficient in order to conduct this
research. Time management need to set in order to complete this
research due to the limited time.
1.8.4 Budget Constraint
The budget available for conducting this study is very limited.
Therefore, simple sampling method will be used in this study. The
small cope of study also will help in reducing budget.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
. This section discusses on the previous research related to this study. Many
studies in consumer patronage have suggested that shopping orientation and store
image are among the factors that influence the patronage behavior of the consumer
2.1. Service quality
Service quality is an attitude or global judgment about the
superiority of a service. To be globally competitive service industries
must achieve a quality service that exceeds customers’ expectation.
Service quality determines an organizations success or failure.
Companies and organizations that virtually every industry employs
customer satisfaction measures for the straightforward reason that
satisfied customers are essential for a successful business. Service
quality also determines a customer’s satisfaction. However, the
determinants of service quality are complicated with the dynamic
business environment. Therefore, this measurement dimensions
depend on the industry itself. Service quality is influenced by
expectation, process quality and output quality; in other words the
standards of service is defined by customers who have experienced
that service and used their experience and feelings to form a judgment.
In order to achieve a quality service organization, commitment
from employees and support from all levels of management is
necessary. Therefore, it is important for managers who provide goods
or services constantly to keep track of information about the company’s
well being as far as meeting its customers’ needs are concerned.
Service companies are trying to find ways to improve and provide
superior quality service to satisfy their customers. He also mentioned
that satisfying customers is an ultimate goal for every company, as
customers are the greatest resources, both short-term and long term
survival of the company.
2.2. Transaction-specific model
Figure 2: Transaction-Specific Mode
This model was suggested by Teas (1993) and later expanded
by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1994) – PZB henceforth. This
model posits a customer’s overall satisfaction with a transaction to be a
function of his or her assessment of service quality, product quality and
price. Transaction-specific satisfaction significantly influences overall
customer satisfaction. Customers are likely to consider specific aspects
of the transaction such as product features, service features, as well as
price to be satisfied with the overall market experience.
The full model was found to be significant. They further state
that the results suggested that the model satisfactorily explains
customer satisfaction and that full service market owners should focus
on three major elements, which are service quality (responsiveness),
price and goods quality (reliability).
Evaluation of Service Quality
Price
Transaction SatisfactionEvaluation of Product
Quality
2.3. Models Used to Evaluate Service Quality
A related theory to customer satisfaction that has been adapted
by Bartlett and Han (2007) in customer satisfaction is the SERVQUAL
model by Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry (1991). This model indicates
that there are five dimensions used in measuring customer service
quality. The dimensions included in this model are tangibles, reliability,
responsiveness, empathy and assurance. The tangibles include the
physical appearance of the facilities, equipment, personnel and
materials used to communicate with customers. Elements within the
tangibles dimension are cleanliness, space, atmosphere, appearance
of server and location. Measuring element of responsibility and
reliability are speed, willingness to respond, accuracy and
dependability. The dimension of assurance and empathy may be
measured using elements of knowledge, trained professional,
communications and caring.
Other models that have been used to evaluate service quality
are DINESERVE by Stevens et al (1995, cited from), Two-Way by
Schvaneveldt, Enkawa and Miyakawa (1991), SERVPERF by Corin
and Taylor (1992), Normed Quality by Teas (1994) and
QUALITOMETRO by Franceschini and Rossetto (1997) (cited from).
The theoretical background of the Two-Way model uses latent
evaluation factors: services quality is evaluated by answers given by
customers to questions about “objective” (quality attributes) and
“subjective” (satisfaction levels).
The SERVPERF model evaluates service quality by perceptions
only, without expectations and without importance weights. While in the
Normed Quality model, the problems for expectations become a
redefinition of this component and discrimination between ideal
expectation and feasible expectation. In the QUALITOMETRO model,
customer expectations and perceptions are evaluated in two distinct
moments.
Finally in the DINESERVE model, expectations were the
measure of this instrument. Quality evaluation according using this
model is carried out by means of a comparison between quality
expectations and perceptions profiles using MCDA. Although these
stated models use different response scales but all of them consist of
five dimensions which are tangibles, reliability, assurance,
responsiveness and empathy.
A research using the DINESERVE model as a basis was
conducted by Aigbedo and Parameswaran (2004). They used this
evaluation model in their research where it was a performance-only
measure. Their research was conducted in USA regarding importance-
performance analysis for improving quality of campus food service. An
example of a research conducted using the SERVPERF model is by
Soriano (2002) determining customer satisfaction factors in restaurants,
a situation in Spain.
2.4. Definition of products quality
The collection of features and characteristics of a product that
contribute to its ability to meet given requirements. Early work in
controlling product quality was on creating standards for producing
acceptable products. By the mid-1950s, mature methods had evolved
for controlling quality, including statistical quality control and statistical
process control, utilizing sequential sampling techniques for tracking
the mean and variance in process performance. During the 1960s,
these methods and techniques were extended to the service industry.
During 1960–1980, there was a major shift in world markets, with the
position of the United States declining while Japan and Europe
experienced substantial growth in international markets. Consumers
became more conscious of the cost and quality of products and
services. Firms began to focus on total production systems for
achieving quality at minimum cost. This trend has continued, and today
the goals of quality control are largely driven by consumer concerns
and preferences.
There are three views for describing the overall quality of a
product. First is the view of the manufacturer, who is primarily
concerned with the design, engineering, and manufacturing processes
involved in fabricating the product. Quality is measured by the degree
of conformance to predetermined specifications and standards, and
deviations from these standards can lead to poor quality and low
reliability. Efforts for quality improvement are aimed at eliminating
defects (components and subsystems that are out of conformance), the
need for scrap and rework, and hence overall reductions in production
costs. Second is the view of the consumer or user. To consumers, a
high-quality product is one that well satisfies their preferences and
expectations. This consideration can include a number of
characteristics, some of which contribute little or nothing to the
functionality of the product but are significant in providing customer
satisfaction. A third view relating to quality is to consider the product
itself as a system and to incorporate those characteristics that pertain
directly to the operation and functionality of the product. This approach
should include overlap of the manufacturer and customer views.
Quality control (QC) is the collection of methods and techniques
for ensuring that a product or service is produced and delivered
according to given requirements. This includes the development of
specifications and standards, performance measures, and tracking
procedures, and corrective actions to maintain control. The data
collection and analysis functions for quality control involve statistical
sampling, estimation of parameters, and construction of various control
charts for monitoring the processes in making products. This area of
quality control is formally known as statistical process control (SPC)
and, along with acceptance sampling, represents the traditional
perception of quality management. Statistical process control focuses
primarily on the conformance element of quality, and to somewhat less
extent on operating performance and durability
2.5. Definition of store image
Martineau (1958) was the first researcher to offer the following
description of store image: “it is… the way in which the store is defined
in the shopper’s mind, partly by its functional qualities and partly by an
aura of psychological attributes”. The more favourable the image, the
more likely it is that consumer would shop and buy at the store. The
researchers have conceptualized store image to include store
attributes. Many conceptualizations of store image have been
advanced in the past (Doyle and Fenwick, 1974; James et.al, 1976;
Kunkel and Berry, 1968; Marks, 1976). The dominant attitudinal
perspective that is taken in the literature treats store image as the result
of a multi-attribute model (Marks, 1976; James et.al., 1976.) According
to Bloemer and Ruyter (1998) store image is defined as the complex of
a consumer’s perceptions of a store on different (salient) attributes.
Different authors have identified different store attributes as part
of the overall image towards the store. Lindquist (1974) combined
models from 19 studies and came up with nine different elements:
merchandise, service, clientele, physical facilities, comfort, promotion,
store atmosphere, institutional and post transaction satisfaction. Doyle
and Fenwick (1974) distinguished only five elements: product, price,
assortment, styling and location. Bearden (1978) come with the
following characteristics: price, quality of merchandise, assortment,
atmosphere, location, parking facilities and friendly personnel.
According to Bloemer and Shroeder (2002) store image is the sum of
all the store’s attributes, in the way perceived by the consumer, through
his or her experience with the store. Burt and Carralero-Encinas (2000)
consider the retail store as the key success factor to a retail company.
The major source of competitive advantage for retailers can be found in
the value added delivered to customers, through the performance of
functions or activities. This value added must be based on consumer
needs and values. Thus it is fundamental that store understand the
store image importance in their positioning statement. For McGoldrick
(1990) the accumulated image is also an indicator of the asset
value of the “retail brand”, which represents the long-term results of the
marketing activities. To understand the image effects can lead to better
purchase decisions for consumers and to better strategies for retail
stores. As stressed by Osman (1993), customers’ patronage behaviors
towards a particular store depend on their image of that particular store.
The more favorable the store image, the higher the valence of the store
customers.
Fox et al. (2004), examined the relationship of price to grocery
shopping behavior and found that was less important in driving
consumer spending than promotion and store assortment. But Sieder
and Costley (1994), found price to be a major determinant of store
choice in the grocery shopping context. They also reported that
consumers had accurate perceptions of market pricing related to the
store that they considered in their study. According to Yavas (2003),
price is an important driver in store choice among a battery of
patronage motivations. Studies have also linked the pricing policies of
an organization to consumer value perceptions and ultimate shopping
intentions. (Biswas et al, 2002).
According to Schiffman and Kanuk (2007), retail store image
have images of their own that serves to influence the perceived quality
of products that carry and the decision of consumers as to where to
shop. These images stem from their design and physical environment,
their pricing strategies, and product assortment. As stressed by Alba et
al (1994), a study of retail store image based on comparative pricing
strategies found that consumers tend to perceive stores that offer a
small discount on a large number of items (i.e. frequency of price
advantage) as having lower prices overall than competing stores that
offer larger discounts on a smaller number of products (i.e. magnitude
of price advantage). Thus, frequent advertising that presents larger
numbers’ of price specials reinforces consumer beliefs about the
competitiveness of a store’s prices.
In the past, store displays were mainly used for promotional
purposes. But as consumers became more sophisticated, retailers
have discovered new roles for effective displays: communicating
product information and store image, assisting consumers in making
purchase decisions, and creating an exciting shopping environment
(Bell and Ternus, 2002). For the purpose of this study, store image is
defined as customers’ perception about quality, price and atmosphere
of the furniture store only as the main attributes. This was assessed by
the customers’ cognitive attitudes towards those attributes. Below is
store image components partly adapted from Giraldi et.al. (2005)
Table 2.1: Components of Store image
Component Details
Price Low price
Competitive price
Quality Good or poor quality
stock brand names
Atmosphere Sufficient number of employees
Well trained employees
High quality décor
Beautiful
Besides store factors such as merchandise, service, price,
atmosphere, promotion and people, retail stores also have images of
their own to influence the perception of the consumer. Their perceived
quality of products and others will subsequently lead to consumer
decisions to shop. This personalize self images that the store possess
are strictly associated with consumer personality and lifestyle.
Consumers tend to shop in stores that have images consistent with
their own self images (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007).
Baker (1998) posits that the store environment offers a rich set
of informational cues that consumers use to make inferences about
products and service. For example, customers who see a store with
marble floors and crystal chandeliers may expect merchandise quality
to be high, and prices to be expensive. Several studies have
empirically supported the notion that store environment cues lead to
consumer inferences and expectations about a store's merchandise,
service, prices and shopping experience costs (such as waiting time),
which in turn influence store patronage intentions (Baker,
Parasuraman, Grewal and Voss 2000; Baker, Grewal and
Parasuraman 1994; Chebat, Chebat- Gelinas, and Filiatrault 1993;
Grewal and Baker 1994; Mazursky and Jacoby 1986). They propose
that consumers' decisions to stay and shop in a store where they need
salespeople to help them through the shopping process (particularly in
a store they have not previously patronized) are based on the cognitive
inferences they make from in-store cues about waiting time and
perceived crowding, and from how they feel about the overall
atmosphere of the store.
Kotler (2000) argued that a retail store offers a unique
atmosphere that may influence the consumer’s patronage decision.
This influence is in part manifested through an inference-making
process, whereby consumers make judgments about what they don’t
know (e.g., product quality, price) based upon what they can observe in
the store’s environment (Baker 1998).
Specifically, we seek to determine if the number of customers in
the store (perceived crowding), number of employees in the store, and
presence (versus absence) of music, influence customer perceptions of
crowding, expectations about waiting time, and their evaluation of the
store's atmosphere, which, in turn, is proposed to influence customers
perceptions of value and store patronage intentions in past store
environment research (e.g., Baker, Grewal and Levy 1992; Darden and
Babin 1994; Donovan and Rossiter 1982, Donovan, Rossiter,
Marcoolyn and Nesdale 1994), posits that the physical environment
influences an individual’s emotional response to that environment.
Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1993) proposed that implicit
promises made by tangible cues (e.g., cues in the store environment)
may influence customer expectations.
The retail store atmosphere has been shown to have a positive
influence on consumers’ patronage intentions (e.g., Baker, Grewal and
Levy 1992; Darden, Erdem and Darden 1983; Donovan and
Rossiter 1982; Hui et al. 1997). The physical retail environment has
become a primary tool for differentiating one brand from another,
particularly as the product selections among competing retailers
overlap. In short, retailers attempt to control the look of their sales floor
as a way of encouraging purchases, creating value, and controlling the
mental representation of a store in the mind of the consumer (Baker,
Grewal and Parsasuraman 1994; Grewal, Baker, Levy and Voss
2002). Keller (1993), store equity is defined as ‘‘the differential effect of
store knowledge on customer response to the marketing activities of
the store.’’ It is important to note that equity in both Keller’s definition
and in this definition is a consumer based concept rather than a
financially based concept and is conceptualized at the channel of
distribution level. As such, corporate retailers may have different store
equities for different retailing distribution outlets including brick-and
mortar stores, catalogs, and electronic storefronts, even though store
images may overlap. Keaveney and Hunt (1992), suggests that a store
image is developed by comparing incoming information to existing
category information in memory, and, therefore, store image is not only
a function of the image of a particular store but also of the images and
associations in the memory of existing store and/or retail categories.
Thus, the most recent conceptualization integrates not only the
perceptions and beliefs about a particular store but also the macro
levels of general schematic associations including the perceptions and
beliefs of general categories of retailers (e.g., discount, department, or
grocery stores).
Store image is the second component of store knowledge, which
is the gestalt of perceptions and attributes linked to a store, as reflected
in associations held in the memory (e.g., Grewal et al., 1998; Marks,
1976, Zimmer and Golden, 1988). Although researchers have
investigated various attributes of a store image, store image scales
suggest that the important attributes include general attributes (i.e.,
merchandise), store appearance, and salesmanship/service (Manolis
et al., 1994) based upon functional, experiential, or symbolic benefits
(Keller, 1993). Because the preceding discussion detailed the
conceptualizations of store image, the following discussion will be
limited to how this conceptualization fits into customer-based store
equity. Based upon a customer’s experience with a specific store, store
category, or retailers in general, the attributes associated with a store
can vary according to their favourability, strength, and uniqueness
(Keller, 1993). Retailer store image is important because it is a factor
determining retailer strategic behaviour. Retailers try to position their
stores such as that a defendable and sustainable market position is
obtained that fits their firms’ larger goal and strategies. This strategic
process involves the necessary actions being taken to resolve
discrepancies between the stores’ desired and achieved position on
each of the retail mix variables. (Arnold et.al.,1983). Ghosh (1994)
considers store image to be composed of eight different elements of
the retail marketing mix: location, merchandise, store atmosphere,
customer service, price, advertising, personal selling, and sales
incentive programs. The decision to patronize a store usually starts
with a set of characteristics or attributes that consumers consider
important. Consumers often use these attributes to determine which
stores can cater to their needs. Patronage studies in the past have
attempted to identify determinants of store choice in relation to
attributes, such as price, quality, variety of merchandise, credit
availability, return policies, and well-known labels/brands. According to
Engel, Blackwell, and Miniard (1995) environmental dimensions such
as air quality, lighting, layout, carpeting, and aisle width and placement
are physical store attributes used to project store image and influence
store choice.
Lewison (1994) discussed the store environment relative to the
five senses (i.e. sight, sound, scent, touch, taste). The store and its
environment are important because 70-80% of purchase decisions are
made in the store while inspecting the merchandise. Retail
management should attempt to create a motivating, comforting store
environment, with exciting store interior and appealing merchandise
presentation. Lewison describes how a retailer can use sensory
appeals, sight, sound, scent, touch and taste appeal to affect a
favourable store image and a pleasant shopping environment. For
example, the retailer might use sight appeal to arouse the consumer’s
attention. The use of sight appeal can be accomplished by creating
harmonious, contrasting, or clashing visual relationships in display,
layout, or physical arrangement of the store. In general, harmonious
relationships are seen in quieter, plusher, more formal retail settings,
while contrasting and clashing relationships are found in more exciting,
cheerful, and informal stores. Yalch and Spangenberg (1988) studied
the effects of environmental music (i.e., foreground, popular top-40 with
lyrics, background, easy listening without lyrics, no music) played in
two men’s departments of a clothing store on consumers after they
shopped. Specifically, this study was conducted to examine the
relationship between types of music provided in a retail store and in-
store shopping behavior.
According to Holman & Wilson (1982) retailers should identify
store attributes, especially environmental dimensions that directly
impact the physical environment and result in positive responses from
their consumers, as well as those attributes that will affect future
patronage decisions. Shim and Kotsiopulos (1992a) used seven
factors to measure the importance of store attributes. These were sales
personnel, customer services, and visual image of the store, price /
return policies, easy access, brand / fashion, and quality / variety.
Price/return policies, brand/fashion, and quality/variety gave partial
explanations to the patronage of specialty stores. Shopping
orientations, information sources, and personal characteristics were all
found to influence the importance of store attributes. A group of
people categorized as appearance managers patronized
specialty stores and placed emphasis on the importance of store
attributes (Shim & Kotsiopulos, 1992a). Salespeople are a key
component of the retail environment. They serve as the primary social
agent in shoppers’ social experience with the store and can influence
customer satisfaction, store perceptions and patronage
intentions (Baker et al. 2002). Retailers can easily manipulate their
sales staff by hiring individuals who they feel will “fit” well with the
desired store image. Even once a staff member is hired, retailers still
exert control over appearance with dress and grooming policies. This is
particularly the case with retailers in the apparel industry. When
retailers hire employees who do not fit the store image, consumers
may experience dissonance from the resulting contrast. This reaction
can produce negative reactions such as negative effect, unfavorable
store evaluations and store avoidance (Babin and Babin 2001).
.
3. PROCEDURAL METHOD
This section presents an overview of the methods to use in the study. Areas
covered include the research design, population, sample and sampling techniques,
data collection and analysis.
3.1. Research design
The study will involve the evaluating the relationship between
customer patronage with the store image or reputation. Consequently,
the research will be designed to achieve the objectives set out by the
researcher.
3.2. Population
The population customers of Tesco and Giant are biggest and
involve several range of age. The ranges of age customer of Tesco
and Giant are children, teenager and adult. The target population for
this study are teenage and adult.
3.3. Sample and sampling technique
In order to conduct this research, we will use the simple random
sampling method. By using this sampling technique, it assures each
range of age in the population has an equal chance of being included
in sample have been choice randomly.
3.4. Data collection
There have two types of data collection; secondary data and
primary data. Secondary source of data can be collect by doing the
online information database and data thru the journals base on
journals, books and internets. Primary data is more accurate compare
to secondary data. However it is hard to get and it required more cost,
effort from researcher and timely. Researcher will use questionnaires
method to get the accurate data and it will be analyse thru the SPSS
software.
3.4.1 Secondary Data
Secondary data have previously been gathered by someone,
other than the researcher and/or for some purpose other than
the research project at hand. In this study, the researcher use
online information data base and journals.
3.4.1.1 Online information database
The data searchable by search engines online.
Some online databases are available free of charge
and are supply by as a service host organization.
The researcher gets the information to complete our
research by searching the internet to get the
information more detail about Tesco and Giant
Company.
3.4.1.2 Journals (Books, Journal and Internet)
A journal is the important information to support
understanding on the research project concern. It
also provides a supportive structure of solid
information and to discuss terrorized, comment and
offer opinions. In this research the researcher insert
a few journals to support and to make them better
understanding and confidence on the topic that they
want to study.
3.4.2 Primary Data
Primary data is the data collected for specific studies from the
original sources through surveys. There are several method of
collecting data, such as communication/questioning,
observation and experimentation. In this study, the researcher
use face to face interview and direct questionnaire. It is
collected from several sources by using survey instrument that
include questionnaires distribution to the respondents.
3.4.2.1 Questionnaires
The type of instrument use in this research is 5 point
likert scale questionnaire. The questionnaires are in
close question. The questionnaire was dividing into 3
sections. Section A included demographic factors
while section B tested the independent variables
(store image) and section C tested the dependent
variable (customer patronage). The five-point likert
scale assigned points 1,2,3,4 and 5 to terms of
strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree and
strongly agree as in the order of the numbers
Simple questionnaires will be giving to the customer
of Tesco and Tesco Extra as our respondents. All
the answer will be analyze to be the research data.
Researcher will wait the respondents answer all the
questions and assist them if they needs any help.
3.3 Frame of Work
Thesis Proposal Stage (week)L. Review & formulation of research modelGoal and objectives formulationMethodology developmentPilot studyData collectionData input and analysisFindingsWrite-upSubmission
4. REFERENCES
1. Dayang Nailul Munna Abang Abdullah & F.Rozario (2009). Influence of Service and Product Quality towards Customer Satisfaction: A Case Study at the Staff Cafeteria in the Hotel Industry.
2. Shirshendu Ganguli & Sanjit Kumar Roy (2010). Generic technology-based service quality dimensions in banking: Impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
3. Yam B. Limbu, Marco Wolf & Dale Lunsford (2011). Consumers’ perceptions of online ethics and its effects on satisfaction and loyalty
4. Patricia Huddleston, Judith Whipple, Rachel Nye Mattick and So Jung Lee. Customer satisfaction in food retailing: comparing specialty and conventional grocery stores
5. Binta Abu Bakar, Felix Mavondo and Val Clulow ( 2005). Customer satisfaction with supermarket retail shopping .
6. Alba, W.J. et.al.(1994), The influence of Prior Beliefs, Frequency Cues, and
Magnitude Cues on Consumers’ perception and comparative price Data,
Journal of Consumer Research 21: 219-35.
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