Business Research Project Phases and Assessment

Business Research Project Phases and Assessment
Phase 1 and 2

Table of Contents
Phase 1: Problem discovery and definition.....................................................................................1
1.1 Title........................................................................................................................................1
1.2 Background of the study........................................................................................................1
1.3 Research aim, objectives and research questions..................................................................2
Phase 2 Review of Literature...........................................................................................................3
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................3
2.2 Description of search process................................................................................................3
2.3 Critical analysis of the literature............................................................................................4
2.3.1 Concept of ethical consumerism.....................................................................................4
2.3.2 Factors affecting ethical customers purchase intentions................................................4
2.3.3 Theory of planned behaviour..........................................................................................6
2.3.4 Attitude-behaviour gap...................................................................................................6
2.4 Implications and Conclusion.................................................................................................7
2.5 Summary reference list..........................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................11
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Flowchart of literature selection procedure......................................................................3

Phase 1: Problem discovery and definition
1.1 Title
The following title has been suggested for the research:
“Gap between attitude and behaviour of ethical consumers: A case of ShopHere’s fashion
products”
1.2 Background of the study
The concerns for environmental and social issues have become imperative among consumers
and organisations in the last two decade. The ethical consumption phenomenon is getting
more attention among scholars (Chen & Hung, 2016). Besides, the growing consumers’
interest in sustainable clothing has provided strong base for sustainable fashion industry
(Lundblad & Davies, 2016). It has been observed that deteriorating environment, animal
welfare, issues of social justice and health for workers engaged in production are among
major ethical concerns which might affect consumers’ choice of a clothing brand (Pollari,
2017). However, as in the case of ShopHere, it appears that there is contradiction between
“consumer attitude” and “purchase behaviour”. Even though consumers have increasing
intentions to buy ethical clothes, only a small fraction of those actually purchases the same.
Scholars termed this discrepancy as the “attitude-behaviour gap” (Lindén, 2017).
The communication advances such as internet and social media coupled with scientific
research in environmental and health concerns have resulted in increased number of ethical
consumers. Moreover, intense competition in apparel industry due to globalisation led to
growing attention of companies towards sustainable production. Besides, ethical marketing
strategy is instrumental in realizing organisational objectives like increasing consumers’
satisfaction while ensuring social welfare (Tey, Brindal & Dibba, 2018). This explains the
reason of why more and more companies give due consideration to ethics in formulating
marketing strategies. The increasing trend of ethical consumerism makes it essential for
retailers like ShopHere to understand the influencing factors affecting the purchase intentions
of consumers. On the other hand, investors of ShopHere might be interested in questions like:
What ethical consumers intend to do at the point of sell? Are they actually buying? How to
minimise the existing discrepancy? Limited research has been conducted to answer these
questions with regards to the apparel industry.
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1.3 Research aim, objectives and research questions
The research aim of this study is to analyse the gap between attitude and behaviour of
ShopHere’s ethical consumers and to recommend effective marketing strategy. The
ShopHere’s management is facing the dilemma of whether to promote ethical consumers or
not. The key here is to understand consumer behaviour because the preference of consumers
is essential for viability of a market. The consumers’ decision-making process should be
analysed to buy ethical products. This understanding would be helpful in understanding the
reason for existing discrepancy and guide the management for further strategy. Therefore,
this study is primarily focused on the research question: What are the key factors that
determine the attitude-behaviour gap in the ethical products purchase? The research has used
the theory of planned behaviour in order to understand the behavioural aspect of consumers
with regards to buying ethical products. With this in mind, following research objectives have
been formulated:
 To analyse the effect of ethical consumerism on marketing strategies of apparel
retailers.
 To examine purchase intention of ethical consumers by investigating the effects of
attitude on buying behaviour.
 To identify attitude-behaviour gap with respect to ethical consumers.
 To recommend ShopHere to minimise attitude-behaviour discrepancy.
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