Impact of Brand Image and Product Design on Consumer Behavior in the Snowboarding Market: A Dissertation Study

Running head: DISSERTATION
Impact of Brand Image and Product Design on Consumer Behavior in Snowboarding Market
Name of the Student:
Name of the university:
Author’s Note:

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Acknowledgement
Thank you to all of those who have helped listened and encouraged me throughout this study. I am
indebted to my supervisor ......................... whose guidance, advice and patience have been
immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the............... [Mention your university/college
name], both staff and students, whose continuous support have made this thesis possible.
I would like to thank all of the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local Education
Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation, this research would not
have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose research work helped me to execute
this paper well.
Finally, I thank my family, without whom this thesis would not have been started or completed! Your
encouragement and support have never faltered; thank you.

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Abstract
The research seeks to analyze the impact of brand image and product design on consumer behavior in
snowboarding market. One of the ways to do this is to create a brand image of the firm in the minds of the
customers. If the brand image of the organization is good and respectable in the minds of the target
consumers, then it is likely the products will sale at a higher rate, thereby resulting in the higher margin of
profit for the said organization. The design of the product should be made appealing so that the target
customers are attracted to them and are compelled to purchase them. As a consequence, the design of the
product aids in the selling of the product considering it is found appealing to the consumers.
Issues in the product design have been encountered in the snowboarding products that have affected the
image of the brand negatively. Issues with product design in terms of durability and easy to use are
commonly identified along with issues such as reliability and specifications.
Positivism philosophy, deductive approach, descriptive strategy and interview research strategy has been
used for analyzing the impact of product design and brand image on consumer behaviour in
snowboarding market. In addition to, primary data collection process and qualitative data analysis
techniques has been used for considering the opinions of the consumers about product design and brand
image and its impact on their behaviour. Five consumers have been selected by using non-probability
sampling technique for this study.
It can be summarized that product design and image of the brands are crucial and plays a significant role
in affecting the behavior of the consumers. The main product specifications that consumers take into
consideration are the durability, reliability and easy to handle the product while snowboarding.
Additionally, quality and consistency are the main factors of brand image that affects the consumer
behavior that snowboarding market needs consideration.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction..................................................................................................................................4
1.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................................4
1.1 Problem statement................................................................................................................................4
1.2 Research aim........................................................................................................................................4
1.3 Research Objectives.............................................................................................................................4
1.4 Research Questions..............................................................................................................................5
1.5 Research Rationale...............................................................................................................................5
1.6 Research Structure...............................................................................................................................5
1.7 Summary..............................................................................................................................................5
Chapter 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................................................6
2.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................................6
2.1 Conceptual framework.........................................................................................................................6
2.2 Concept of product design and brand image........................................................................................6
2.3 Factors affecting product design..........................................................................................................7
2.4 Factors affecting brand image..............................................................................................................8
2.5 Concept of consumer behavior............................................................................................................8
2.6 Factors affecting consumer behavior...................................................................................................8
2.7 Impact of product design and brand image on consumer behavior.....................................................9
2.8 Summary..............................................................................................................................................9
Chapter 3: Methodology..............................................................................................................................10
3.0 Overview............................................................................................................................................10
3.1 Research outline.................................................................................................................................10
3.2 Research philosophy..........................................................................................................................10
3.3 Research Approach............................................................................................................................10

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3.4 Research design.................................................................................................................................11
3.5 Research Strategy...............................................................................................................................11
3.6 Sampling technique and size..............................................................................................................11
3.7 Data Collection Process.....................................................................................................................11
3.8 Data analysis technique......................................................................................................................12
3.9 Resources...........................................................................................................................................12
3.10 Ethical considerations......................................................................................................................12
3.11 Accessibility issues..........................................................................................................................13
3.12 Summary..........................................................................................................................................13
Chapter 4: Data analysis..............................................................................................................................14
4.0 Overview............................................................................................................................................14
4.1 Interview transcript............................................................................................................................14
4.2 Interpretations....................................................................................................................................16
4.3 Summary............................................................................................................................................17
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendations.............................................................................................18
5.0 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................18
5.1 Linking with objectives......................................................................................................................18
5.2 Recommendations..............................................................................................................................19
5.3 Future scope of the study...................................................................................................................20
References:...................................................................................................................................................21
Appendices...................................................................................................................................................23
Interview questions..................................................................................................................................23
Appendix 1...........................................................................................................................................23
Ethical review..........................................................................................................................................24
Appendix 2...........................................................................................................................................24
Appendix 3...........................................................................................................................................25
Appendix 4...........................................................................................................................................26

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