Customer Buying Behavior Dissertation

Dissertation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Consumers are referred to be the most important asset of each and every organisation
where they are the only responsible parties who reflect their profitability index. A prior
understanding of buying behaviour is of utmost importance for the firms where it reflects as an
indicative mean for making a considerable work performance. It basically means to satisfy the
ascertained needs and demands of the users with a precise apprehension of their distinct choices.
Likewise, with a correspondent relationship with it, there exists such influential means that
clearly depicts the purchasing decisions of the potent buyers. A leading cause behind this study is
“To evaluate the purchase decision of students towards buying laptops”, with a sample size of
total 30 students who are enrolled in Chester University. This survey has used both primary and
secondary means of data collection and have analysed the integral content with some effectual
tools of research methodology. It is further depicted to be a deductive study with a positivism
approach and a descriptive design. Secondly, it has represented a qualitative type of the
investigation that has applied both the means of primary and secondary data collection of the
collected sample size. It has eventually formulated the summary of the overall research work
with a respectable and valid proposition of recommendation to all entities that has a similar
association of work.

TABLE OF CONTENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
CHAPTER 1....................................................................................................................................5
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................5
1.1 Background of the research..............................................................................................5
1.2 Research question.............................................................................................................6
1.3 Justification for the research.............................................................................................6
1.4 Methodology.....................................................................................................................7
1.5 Outline of the chapters......................................................................................................7
1.6 Definitions........................................................................................................................8
1.7 Summary...........................................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 2....................................................................................................................................9
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................9
2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................9
2.2 Concept of consumer behaviour which influences customer buying decisions...............9
2.3 Personal perception and opinion of students regarding selection of laptops..................10
2.4 Factors which influence the student at the time of buying laptop..................................11
2.5 Ways by which students buying behaviour can be improved........................................13
2.6 Summary of literature review.........................................................................................14
CHAPTER 3..................................................................................................................................15
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................15
3.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................15
3.2 Research approach..........................................................................................................15
3.3 Research philosophy.......................................................................................................16
3.4 Research design..............................................................................................................16
3.5 Research type..................................................................................................................17
3.6 Data collection................................................................................................................18
3.7 Sampling.........................................................................................................................19
3.8 Data analysis...................................................................................................................20
3.9 Ethical consideration......................................................................................................20

3.10 Research limitations.....................................................................................................21
3.11 Reliability and validity.................................................................................................22
3.12 Summary.......................................................................................................................22
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS.............................................................................................................24
4.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................24
4.2 Thematic analysis...........................................................................................................24
CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION........................................................................49
5.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................49
5.2 Conclusion......................................................................................................................49
5.3 Recommendations..........................................................................................................50
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................52
APPENDIX 1: Questionnaire........................................................................................................55
APPENDIX 2: PERSONAL INTERVIEW...................................................................................59
APPENDIX 3: STATISTICS........................................................................................................60

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the research
Consumer behaviour is a study of individual, groups or organizations and the method
which is used by customers to select, secure, use and dispose of resources to satisfy own needs.
In other words, it can be defined as an applied science that includes social, psychological,
economical, anthropological and statistical theories for individual actions (Solomon, Russell-
Bennett and Previte, 2012). Each and every aspect of consumer behaviour process is different
from another one and this feature influences the behaviour of service users at the time of
consuming products or services. Consumer behaviour is not always stable because it changes
over a period of time and nature of a commodity. In a particular situation, all service users are
not behaving in the same manner. The difference in individual behaviour is due to some internal
and external factors.
At the time of study of consumer behaviour, it assumes that customers are actors in the
marketplace. There are various factors which bring the changes in consumer behaviour during
selection of goods such as behavioural economics, preferences, market psychology, tastes etc
(Horner and Swarbrooke, 2016). Culture becomes crucial when it comes to understand the needs
and behaviour of individual one. In other words, it can be said that culture is one of the factors
which influence consumers’ behaviour. What an individual learns from his parents, friends and
relatives (society) throughout his life, it becomes his culture. This factor has made a significant
impact on each and every person buying decision. Study conducted by various researchers shows
that an individual involves in a social group easily persuade and changes its behaviour towards
buying a product or service. These reference or membership groups influence the image that the
individual has of himself as well as his behaviour (Young, Hwang, K. and et al., 2010).
On the other hand, social role and status is also a reason of alteration in consumer
behaviour and buying decisions. Some marketing factors such as price, product design,
promotion, positioning, packaging and distribution are also affecting customer behaviour either
in positive or negative manner (Korpysa, 2013). Along with this, personal factors like age,
income level, education, gender etc., can also be a prime reason of change in behaviour of

individual in the context of making a decision to purchase a service or a product (Solomon,
2014).
1.2 Research question
Aims
To assess the students purchase decision towards buying laptops: A case of Chester University.
Research objectives
 To evaluate the concept of consumer behaviour which influence customer buying decisions.
 To understood personal perception and opinion of students regarding selection of laptops.
 To determine those factors which influence the student at the time of buying laptop. To suggest the ways by which students buying behaviour can be improved.
Research questions
1. What is the meaning of consumer behaviour which impacts on customer buying
decisions?
2. What are the personal perception and opinion of students at the time of selection of
laptops?
3. What are those factors that influence students during buying laptop?
4. What are the ways by which students buying behaviour towards laptop can be enhanced?
1.3 Justification for the research
From the point of view of customers, they are in a tough spot. They are living totally in
highly developed and technologically advanced society. Consumer buying behaviour is linked to
one of the imperative influence among the consumers to services or products which are offered
by a company (Schiffman & et.al., 2013). On the basis of this, an organization set up some
strategies to make variation in consumer buying behaviour. The present dissertation is conducted
on assessing the students purchase decision towards buying laptops. In the present time, laptops
are just like a mobile computers and today in the world of technology, students are using these
objects to gain more and more knowledge from various sources. Using laptops for various
purposes give learners hands on experience to learn become technology savvy. As a student,
laptop facilitates numerous advantages in many aspects. There are different factors which
influence the learner purchase decision towards buying laptops (Gössling, Scott and et al., 2012).
So, with the help of this, the researcher wants to assess buying behaviour of students regarding

purchase laptops so that it becomes easy to identify those factors which bring changes in
consumer behaviour.
1.4 Methodology
To address the research questions, researcher will hereby use a research methodology. In
this context, a deductive research approach will be used because the study will start by analysing
consumer behaviour and end with a reasoning of student's buying behaviour for purchasing
laptops (Bauer, 2014). In this context, positivism research philosophy will be used by the scholar
because there be will no manipulation in the collected set of information. Further, disruptive
research design will take into the consideration in order to assess those factors which influence
student's purchasing decisions for choosing laptops. Apart from this, qualitative research type
will consider evaluating the gathering of information in the most effective manner. In addition to
this, primary and secondary data collection techniques will be used by the investigator to collect
data for the present research (Billig and Waterman, 2014). Along with this, random sampling
technique will include to select the proper sample for entire study and attain all objectives.
1.5 Outline of the chapters
The present dissertation will be based on the evaluation of student's purchase decision
towards buying laptops. Hence, the structure of the whole investigation is as follows:
Chapter 1: Introduction: The following section will provide the information related to the
background of study. It will include aim, objectives and research questions of the research.
Along with this, it will involve some factors which influence customer behaviour during buying
of a good or service. At the end of this chapter, research methodology, entire structure of
dissertation and definition of important terms will be given.
Chapter 2: Literature review and conceptual framework: This section will deliver an insight of
conducting the entire study in a directional format. This will include some previous studies of
other researchers based on consumer buying topic. In addition to this, different kinds of theories
will be used by the researcher to obtain the clear fasts related to subject.
Chapter 3: Research methodology: In chapter 3, different kinds of tools and techniques will be
used by the scholar to conduct research on the proposed objectives. On this basis, it will be easy
for the researcher to compare actual and expected outcomes on various aspects. Research
techniques, approach, data collection, sampling, ethical consideration etc., will be taken into
consideration by the researcher to attain objectives and answer the research questions.

Chapter 4: Findings: Here, the scholar will use various tools and techniques to evaluate the
collected data. Based on this, results will be presented in a variety of ways to enhance our
understanding of the consumer behaviour.
Chapter 5: Analysis and conclusion: The following chapter will state the meaningful analysis of
findings and conclusions of those outcomes to summarize the achievements. In this section,
some recommendations for future researcher will be given by the researcher to carry out similar
investigation on other aspects.
1.6 Definitions
Consumer: It can be defined as a person who purchases goods or services for personal use.
Buying behaviour: It is a purchase decision making pattern that is a complex mixture of desires
and needs of a person and influence by some factors either in positive or negative aspect.
Consumer behaviour: It is a psychological process that a consumer uses to recognize its needs
and wants for taking purchase decisions.
1.7 Summary
From chapter 1, it has been concluded that consumer behaviour has a crucial aspect of
study. There have been some factors which are influencing the buying behaviour of a person. In
the context of students, consumer behaviour has played an important role in the selection of
laptops. To carry out the following investigation, the researcher has considered different kinds of
methodologies. This has helped in attaining the study objectives and in answering of research
questions.