Investigating the role of brand loyalty in influencing consumer buying behaviour in the Sportswear industry

Running head: RESEARCH PAPER
Investigating the role of brand loyalty in influencing consumer
buying behaviour in the Sportswear industry- “A case study of
consumers in the United Kingdom”
Author name
[Course title]

RESEARCH PAPER1
Dissertation
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

RESEARCH PAPER2
Abstract
This research had examined the impact of brand loyalty on improving the consumer
behaviour in the market. It has considered gender, age and income as the moderating
variables in improving brand loyalty and impacting consumer buying behaviour. The analysis
of past web sources and news articles suggest that women are driving the growth of the
sportswear industry. The women sports apparel was valued at $26.8 billion, considering the
overall industry of $80.1 billion for the total market. However, women had been leading the
trends of sportswear products in the global market. Even though Nike, Adidas and Under
Armour were leading brands in the men’s segment, the women segment showed a completed
different scenario where other brands such as Victoria’s secret’s Pink, Athleta and Lululemon
are the major brands in the industry. However, few studies have addressed the purchasing
behaviour of consumers regarding sportswear products. On the other hand, none of the
studies has examined the differences in consumer behaviour concerning the demography of
the consumers. The study had used a quantitative research design to statistically examine the
influence of these variables. On the contrary, the examination of the data gathered was not
able to establish any moderating impact of demography on the consumer behaviour. In
general, the study was able to develop a relationship between consumer buying behaviour and
brand loyalty.

RESEARCH PAPER3
Acknowledgement
I would like to extend my thanks and gratitude towards my professor___________ as well as
my unit supervisor_________ who gave me the opportunity to work on this wonderful
project and topic. They have always been supportive of the work I have been trying to
achieve and have guided me in achieving the goals of the study effectively. I would also like
thank my family and friends for providing me with moral support and helping me in fulfilling
few of the activities.

RESEARCH PAPER4
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction..............................................................................................................6
1.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................6
1.2 Background of the study......................................................................................................6
1.3 Research problem.................................................................................................................7
1.4 Research rationale................................................................................................................8
1.5 Research objectives..............................................................................................................8
1.6 Research Questions..............................................................................................................9
1.7 Research Hypothesis............................................................................................................9
1.8 Dissertation Structure...........................................................................................................9
1.9 Summary............................................................................................................................11
Chapter 2: A Literature review................................................................................................12
2.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................12
2.2 Brand Loyalty.....................................................................................................................12
2.2.1 Dimensions of brand loyalty...........................................................................................15
2.3 Consumer buying behaviour..............................................................................................16
2.3.1 The Marshallian economic model...................................................................................17
2.3.2 Veblenian social-psychological model...........................................................................18
2.3.3 The Pavlovian learning model........................................................................................18
2.3.4 Consumer buying behaviour model and process............................................................19
2.4 Role of brand loyalty in consumer buying behaviour........................................................21
2.5 Demographic factors influence on loyalty and buying behaviour.....................................22
2.6 Conceptual framework.......................................................................................................24
2.7 Literature gap.....................................................................................................................24
2.8 Summary............................................................................................................................24
Chapter 3: Methodology..........................................................................................................26
3.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................26

RESEARCH PAPER5
3.2 Research philosophy and Approach...................................................................................26
3.3 Research Design.................................................................................................................27
3.4 Data Collection and Analysis.............................................................................................28
3.5 Sampling technique............................................................................................................28
3.6 Reliability and Validity......................................................................................................29
3.7 Ethical Consideration.........................................................................................................30
3.8 Summary............................................................................................................................30
Chapter 4: Results....................................................................................................................32
4.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................32
4.2 Reliability Analysis............................................................................................................32
4.3 Validity Analysis................................................................................................................34
4.4 Descriptive statistics...........................................................................................................35
4.5 Frequency Distribution.......................................................................................................36
4.6 Correlation Analysis...........................................................................................................41
4.7 Regression Analysis...........................................................................................................42
4.7.1 Linear Regression............................................................................................................42
4.7.2 Linear Regression keeping Gender as a moderating variable.........................................44
4.7.3 Linear Regression keeping Age as a moderating variable..............................................45
4.7.4 Linear Regression keeping Income as a moderating variable.........................................47
4.7.5 Linear Regression by combined moderating effect of three variables............................48
Chapter 5: Discussion..............................................................................................................50
Chapter 6: Conclusion..............................................................................................................52
6.1 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................52
6.2 Key Findings......................................................................................................................52
6.3 Recommendation................................................................................................................54
6.4 Future Scope and Limitation of the study..........................................................................54
References: Harvard Anglia.....................................................................................................55

RESEARCH PAPER6
List of Tables, Figures and Abbreviations
Figure 1: Structure of the paper...............................................................................................12
Figure 2: Consumer buying process.........................................................................................20
Figure 3: Consumer buying behaviour model..........................................................................21
Figure 4: Conceptual Framework.............................................................................................25
Table 1: Reliability statistics....................................................................................................33
Table 2: Item total statistics.....................................................................................................35
Table 3: Validity Analysis.......................................................................................................36
Table 4: Descriptive Statistics..................................................................................................36
Table 5: Descriptive Statistics..................................................................................................37
Image 1: Gender.......................................................................................................................37
Image 2: Age............................................................................................................................38
Image 3: Educational qualification..........................................................................................39
Image 4: Marital Status............................................................................................................40
Image 5: Employment status....................................................................................................40
Image 6: Income.......................................................................................................................41
Table 6: Correlation analysis...................................................................................................43
Table 7: Regression Analysis...................................................................................................45
Table 8: Regression Analysis...................................................................................................46
Table 9: Regression Analysis...................................................................................................48
Table 10: Regression Analysis.................................................................................................49
Table 11: Regression Analysis.................................................................................................50

RESEARCH PAPER7
Topic: Investigating the role of brand loyalty in influencing consumer buying behaviour in
the Sportswear industry- “A case study of consumers in the United Kingdom.”
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
Brand loyalty determines the relationship between a brand and the consumers by
highlighting the synchronisation between them. It can also be used to comprehend the
likelihood of a consumer in switching products or brands. Brands require loyal consumer
base to sustain in the global market and achieving brand loyalty has become one of the most
challenging factors for business entities. In light of the past literary, self-congruency has been
used in various cases to understand the ways consumers relate and connect to brands. Self-
congruency has been discussed as a factor affecting the various aspects of branding and
consumer purchase behaviour. Similarly, there are other approaches and models used to
understand the relationship between brand loyalty and consumer buying behaviour. This
research also aims to walk along with the work done by the previous authors and make a
valid contribution to the research topic by examining the loopholes and gaps in past
researches. The current investigation has chosen the sportswear industry in the United
Kingdom to examine the impact of brand loyalty on consumer buying behaviour.
1.2 Background of the study
Sportswear sales in the United Kingdom have been experiencing rapid growth in the
past five years. The increase in demand for sportswear products has resulted in a blurring of
the line between high fashion and athletic clothes. In the year 2014, the British sportswear
industry experienced rapid growth in the market, with a growth rate of 9.5 per cent
(Davidson, 2015). Female athletic attire sales volume was the main driving factor of industry
growth. Similarly, analysis of data collected by Mintel showed a considerable increase in
industry growth (mintel.com, 2016). The survey showed that more than 50% of the
consumers purchased sportswear products for non-sports use. Moreover, almost 40% of the
users purchased sportswear as fashionable products (mintel.com, 2016).
On the contrary, the athleisure market trend has been driving the interest of the
consumers in wellness and trends. The younger generations in the United Kingdom has
become more aware of wellness and health trends where the athleisure trend is dominating
the sector (Wightman-Stone, 2017). Sporting events have also acted as significant drivers to