Research Proposal on Impact of Social Media on Brand Loyalty

1. Produce a research proposal of 3,000 words in which, plausible research
questions are developed based on a critical literature review. A review of the
research methodology and an outline of individual research methods to be employed
and adapted with justifications should also be included in the proposal using the
template provided.
2. Evaluate the extent of plagiarism in UK universities and discuss the possible
solutions to eradicate this unethical behaviour (Approx. 1,500 words academic
report style using the template provided).
3. Identify and analyse the nature and use of “validity” when designing a
research questionnaire at master’s level. (Approx. 1,500 words academic report style
using the template provided)
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1. Produce a research proposal of 3,000 words in which, plausible research questions
are developed based on a critical literature review. A review of the research
methodology and an outline of individual research methods to be employed and adapted
with justifications should also be included in the proposal using the template provided.
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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Student Name : Pravin Mathew
Student ID : 1820430
Provisional Topic Title : The impact of social media on brand loyalty of E-commerce
business- A case study of Souq, UAE
Proposal structurally approved by workshop tutor: Yes
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Aims/Objectives/Research Questions......................................................................................
1.1. Introduction...............................................................................................................5
1.2. Aim:............................................................................................................................5
1.3. Objectives:..................................................................................................................6
1.4. Research questions:...................................................................................................6
1.5. Significance of the Study...........................................................................................6
1.6. Structure of the Study...............................................................................................6
2. Brief Literature Review............................................................................................................
2.1. Introduction...............................................................................................................7
2.2. Social media and Brand media community:...........................................................7
2.3. Marketing activities in social media:.......................................................................7
2.4. Brand trust and brand loyalty:................................................................................8
2.5. The conceptual framework.......................................................................................9
2.6. Gap Analysis..............................................................................................................9
3. Methodology:...........................................................................................................................
3.1. Research Philosophy...............................................................................................10
3.2. Research Approach.................................................................................................10
3.3. Research Methodology............................................................................................10
3.4. Research Instruments.............................................................................................11
3.5. Tools of Data Analysis.............................................................................................11
3.6. The Data Collection Method Chosen:....................................................................11
3.7. Sampling...................................................................................................................11
3.8. Validity and Reliability Issues:...............................................................................12
3.9. Ethical Issues............................................................................................................12
3.10. Research Limitations:..........................................................................................12
4. Resources you need/Access to primary and secondary data:..............................................
5. Project Schedule......................................................................................................................
6. References................................................................................................................................
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1. Aims/Objectives/Research Questions
1.1. Introduction
The particular study focuses on the e-commerce business named SOUQ and is based in the
United Arab Emirates. The e-commerce business has evolved considerably and with respect
to this, it becomes considerably crucial for the firm to ensure that it is successfully able to
take advantage of the different scenarios and aspects like the benefits of e-commerce and
build a large customer base through the given procedure (Muniz and O’Guinn ,2001). The
social media tends to have a considerable impact on the overall operations of the firm and
with respect to this, it needs to be understood that, all businesses have been directly impacted
by the operations of the social media as a brand and with respect to this, it becomes
increasingly crucial for all the firms to understand how the brand loyalty towards the firm
will be impacted by the overall working of the social media and their capacity to influence
the brand loyalty of the firm (Lang, 2010).
The Souq business has also been greatly affected by the overall changes in the e-commerce
segment and hence, with respect to this, it is important to understand the manner in which the
brand loyalty can be built with the help of the social media and how are the sales impacted
(Holmes, 2019). Various customers make use of the social media to gain the adequate
knowledge about the product and often end up in the formation of different communities
which then goes a long way in assisting the business to get its sales increased by influencing
the different customers through the medium of the internet and approaching them to increase
the overall brand image of the customers (Muniz and O’Guinn 2001). Hence, the primary aim
of the given proposal is to prescribe a manner in which the impact of the social media on the
brand loyalty of the firm can be understood. The aims and objectives of the study have been
provided which has then been followed by the overall analysis of the literature as present in
the academics. This will be followed by the methodology that will be followed in the study
and the schedule of the study along with the time table.
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1.2. Aim:
The dissertation is aimed at analysing the manner in which the social media
influences the overall operations of the e-commerce business Souq and also to ascertain the
marketing strategy to be taken by the firm in order to meet their overall objectives.
1.3. Objectives:
The main objective of this study is as listed below :
1. To investigate the association between social media marketing and brand loyalty for
Souq.
2. To considers the relationship between electronic word of mouth towards brand
loyalty.
3. To identify the significant influence of social media marketing towards consumers’
purchase intention for Souq
1.4. Research questions:
The two research questions will be a guideline of this study on how fast e-commerce
firms are influence with such marketing tool. By identifying the aim and the research
questions, the study will be able to fulfil the gap of this research study. The two research
questions are presented as follows:
1. How can social media marketing have an influence on the brand loyalty of the firm?
2. How does brand loyalty assist in increased customer repetition and increased
popularity towards the firm, Souq?
1.5. Significance of the Study
The study will aim to fill in the gap identified in the present Literature and present a
new analysis on the related topic which can be useful for the different firms and related
researchers.
1.6. Structure of the Study
 Introduction
 Review of Literature
 Research Methodology
 Analysis
 Findings
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 Conclusion and recommendations
2. Brief Literature Review
2.1. Introduction
The given section of literature review will be based on the topic of social media and
the manner in which social media tends to have an impact on the overall brand loyalty of an
organization. Hence, the literature as available on the topic like aspects of social media, brand
loyalty and e-commerce business will be discussed in addition to this, the concept of brand
trust will be also analysed which will then be discussed with the brand loyalty of an
organization.
2.2. Social media and Brand media community:
The social media can be described as a group of internet based applications which are
largely build upon the technological foundations of a web and will assist in the creation as
well as the sharing of the user generated content (Chiu, Huang & Yen, 2010). The e-
commerce may also be referred to as the consumer generated media that helps the various
users in achieving their objectives and fulfilling their overall needs.
The brand media community can be stated to be that aspect of the community that
may have a special interest in a particular brand and tends to provide a structure for the
communication that has to take place in the field of marketing between the customers and the
ambassador of the brand. In this manner, the organization will be able to impress the loyalty
of the customers and also uplift their overall commitment towards the brand (Chiu, Huang &
Yen, 2010). According to Elliott and Wattanasuwan (1998) all brands are characterised by
individual availability.
2.3. Marketing activities in social media:
The marketing activities in the social media can be described as the process in which
the company and the individuals can converse with one another and the different companies
will be successfully able to develop a strong relationship with the different consumers
(Holmes, 1991). The brand ambassadors will be required to build a long term and strong
relationship with the different customers which will then go a long way in assisting the firm
to gain success in the long run (Hagel & Armstrong, 1997). Customer satisfaction is believed
to have a significant impact on the future as well as the present of the organization. A
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satisfied customer will assist the company in advertising its products and will also assist in
grabbing the interest of all the customers as present (Holmes, 1991). A customer who will be
satisfied in nature will go a long way in ensuring that they tend to remain loyal towards the
firm. Hence, when the customer remains loyal with the product, they tend to remain loyal
with the brand as well and the customer satisfaction of the consumer with the brand also
tends to increase (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010).According to Lang (2010), marketing can be
defined as a relationship of the organization with the different consumers as present. The
main aim of all the organizations stands to ensure that they are successfully able to develop a
long lasting and ever lasting relationship with the different customers as present so as to
ensure that they are successfully able to remain loyal to the firm at large. Hence, Lang
(2010) suggests that the market orientation goes a long way in assisting a customer to
embrace a sense of commitment towards the service of the brand and the organization which
exists within the realm of marketing.
2.4. Brand trust and brand loyalty:
Chiu, Huang and Yen (2010) states that there are various researchers who are under
the belief that, there needs to exist an agreement between the creation as well as the brand
communities. Moreover, the different researchers are also under the belief that, the customer
experience along with the communities scope tends to establish and strengthen the customer
commitment towards the overall commitment of a customer towards the particular brand. It is
important that all the collective efforts which are undertaken by the different organizational
members can result in improving the overall relationship with the customers and build the
customer loyalty of the firm towards the organization (Holmes, 1991). The trust factor is
generally considered to be a very important part which tends to influence the brand loyalty of
the customer towards the organization and tends to ensure that, the customer remains
associated with the brand for a long period of time. According to Chiu, Huang and Yen
(2010), the customer tends to rely on the brand capability in order to rely on their official
duties. The position of uncertainty causes a sense of disturbance to the different customers
and with respect to this, it is required to be understood that when the interaction between the
employer and the customer tends to improve. There are various actions and steps which could
be easily adopted by the organization to build this trust like offering valued products,
providing long term services and others.
For this reason, it can be largely understood that in order to improve the overall
relationship between the performance of the firm and the customer loyalty, the firm would be
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