Consumer Behaviour Research Proposal: Bogawantalawa Tea Ceylon

This research proposal investigates consumer behavior concerning Bogawantalawa Tea Ceylon Company, focusing on factors affecting low demand for climate-positive teas. The study aims to understand how competitors' pricing, promotional strategies, product quality, and consumer awareness influence buying intentions. The proposal outlines research questions, hypotheses, and methodology, including the identification of independent variables like product price and consumer awareness. The literature review explores existing research on consumer behavior within the tea industry, highlighting gaps such as the impact of carbon-neutral certification. The research will employ a mixed-methods approach, analyzing the impact of price, promotion, and consumer awareness on buying behavior. The proposal also outlines data analysis, sampling strategies, ethical considerations, and required resources, culminating in potential research outcomes and deliverables. The research aims to provide insights into effective strategies to revive and market climate-positive teas.

Running Head: Research Proposal
Research Proposal: A study on Consumer Behaviour for
Bogawantalawa Tea Ceylon Company
Table of Content
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Research Proposal
s
RESEARCH PROPOSAL: A STUDY ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR FOR BOGAWANTALAWA TEA
CEYLON COMPANY.............................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................3
PROJECT AIM AND OBJECTIVES..........................................................................................3
AIM..........................................................................................................................................3
OBJECTIVES..............................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW..........................................................................................................4
LITERATURE GAPS..................................................................................................................... 6
RESEARCH QUESTIONS.......................................................................................................7
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS......................................................................................................8
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE.............................................................................................................8
DEPENDENT VARIABLE............................................................................................................... 9
RESEARCH FRAMEWORK....................................................................................................9
HYPOTHESIS........................................................................................................................... 10
OPERATIONALIZATION..............................................................................................................11
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY..............................................................................................12
PHILOSOPHY...........................................................................................................................12
APPROACH.............................................................................................................................13
DATA ANALYSIS AND SAMPLING......................................................................................13
POPULATION.......................................................................................................................... 15
SAMPLING............................................................................................................................. 15
RESEARCH ETHICS.............................................................................................................16
REQUIRED RESOURCES.....................................................................................................16
IMPLEMENTATION...........................................................................................................17
RESEARCH OUTCOMES OR DELIVERABLES........................................................................18
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................18
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................20
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Research Proposal
Introduction
Bogawantalawa Tea Ceylon Company is considered as the pioneer of producing climate-
positive products in the industrial segment. The company has a global presence across
Western European, American, Japan, and Australian continents. The company sells high-end
products with perceived quality. There are some of the renowned brands that give tough
competition to the company. Some of the competitors of the company are Dilmah Ceylon Tea
Company PLC, Finlays Colombo PLC, Empire Teas Private Limited, etc. There is cut-throat
competition in the Tea industrial segment because Sri Lanka is known for exporting the
highest proportion of Ceylon tea to every corner of the world. Despite being a market leader,
the company is facing major consequences in getting desirable quantities of demand from the
consumers. The areas of concern will be covered in the research (Bogawantalawa Tea
Estates, 2021).
Project Aim and Objectives
The purpose of the research proposal is to present the areas that the researchers are
going to investigate further. The research aims at proposing an overview of the real problems
faced by Bogawantalawa Tea Ceylon Company and how it has negatively impacted the sales
volumes and demand for Ceylon Tea. The company is a market leader and holds an
immensely large market share. However, despite being the pioneer in the industrial segment,
the company has been unable to accomplish desired outcomes (Historyofceylontea.com.,
2021). Thus, the respective research aims at proposing the necessary data and information
that are needed for the evaluation and assessment of the project.
Aim
“To understand the factors affecting the low demand for climate positive teas and
prepare a business proposal and plan to revive and market the climate positive teas
effectively.”
Objectives
 To identify if the competitors’ product price influences the buying intention of the
consumers.
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Research Proposal
 To analyse if promotional approaches for the product influence the buying intention
of the consumers.
 To determine if the quality of the product impact the buying intention of the
consumer.
 To analyse the impact of price of the product on the buyers’ buying intention.
 To identify the role of consumer awareness in influencing consumers to buy the
product.
Literature Review
Competitors’ product price influence the buying intention of climate positive teas
There are different brands in the market that offer similar products as that of the
company to the customers. The products that are offered to the customers by competitors are
of low to medium price range (Adnan, Nordin and Rahman, 2017). It can be said that the
product price offered by the competitors to the customers can significantly influence the
buying intentions of the customers. Therefore, it is important for the respective company to
review the product prices of the competitors. This will help it in analysing the situation and
thus developing effective strategies to overcome the same.
Influence of promotional approaches for the product on the buying intention of the
climate positive teas
Effective promotional approaches should be adopted in order to attract the customers
to buy the products offered by the company. This is because different promotional activities
can influence the buying intention of the customers. Social media platforms have become one
of the most important things wherein the companies upload pictures and videos regularly so
as to enhance the overall engagement among customers. The type as well as the quality of
content that is posted on these platforms determine the level of interest among customers to
but the products (Batalla-Bejerano, Trujillo-Baute and Villa-Arrieta, 2020). Therefore, it can
be said that promotional approaches can influence the buying intentions of customers.
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Research Proposal
To determine if the quality of the product impact the buying intention of the climate
positive teas
Customers look out for high quality products that are offered by organizations at
affordable rates and that are not too expensive as well. companies that do so are able to attract
a greater number of customers and also reach out to new potential customers. When the
quality of the products and services offered to the consumer is not very good, they will not be
interested in buying the products and services (Di Talia, Simeone and Scarpato, 2019).
Therefore, it is important for the company to develop an understanding of the preferences as
well as needs of the customers. The respective company will have to focus on the quality of
its products and services if its wants to retain the existing customers and reach out to new
ones.
To analyse the impact of price of the product on the buyers’ buying intention of climate
positive teas
The perception of product prices among customers greatly affects the decision of
customers to purchase a particular product. It can be said that price is an important factor in
the purchasing decision. Price is an essential aspect inside the shopping choice, particularly
for merchandise that are often purchased, and in turn, impacts the selections of which save,
product, and logo to patronize (Srilankabusiness.com., 2021). The price you put for a
products or services has a totally big impact on how the patron behaves. If purchasers agree
with that the fee the company is charging is lower than competitors it may motive a chief
spike in income. Pricing is an critical selection making element after the product is
manufactured. Price determines the future of the product, acceptability of the product to the
customers and go back and profitability from the product. It is a device of opposition.
To identify the role of consumer awareness of climate positive teas in influencing
consumers to buy the product
The consumers don’t forget various matters like the traits of the product, price
charged, availability of the product at the desired place and plenty more (Rasmy et al., 2021).
The non-public elements encompass age, occupation, way of life, social and monetary status
and the gender of the patron. The look at of purchaser behaviour enables entrepreneurs to
recognize and forecast the purchase behaviour of the customers while they’re shopping a
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Research Proposal
product. The look at of consumer behaviour facilitates the entrepreneurs now not only to
apprehend what client’s buy, but helps to understand why they purchase it.
To determine the Future of Tea by year 2030
Tea 2030 is basically a project that will bring together all the leading companies
within the tea sector to collaborate. This will help in creating a more sustainable future and
this is because today, more than 3 billion cups of tea are consumed across the world.
Therefore, the respective project Tea 2030 is basically designed to stimulate an action by all
the different organization within the tea sector to deliver new and sustainable solutions. There
are different challenges that the industry is facing today, such as demographic changes,
climate change, resource constraints, competition etc. The consumers’ behaviour is changing
and they are looking for different sustainable options (Dixit, 2017). It is estimated that in the
future, customers will demand for clean tea with high sustainability standards and no kind of
residues or a negative impact on the overall environment. in response to this, the brewing
process has become much more sophisticated and T-quality brew machine has improved the
way in which tea was prepared in previous times.
HBR – Elusive green consumers
A green consumer is a purchaser who wants to buy things which have been produced
in a manner that protects the herbal surroundings: The standard inexperienced client will
simplest buy things which can be environmentally friendly. Millennial customers are
increasingly looking for brans that offer sustainable products and services. But only a small
percentage of these customers are willing to go through their wallets. By undertaking
different researches, it has been found that there are different measures that can be adopted in
order to promote sustainable consumption among the customers (do Paco, Shiel and Alves,
2019). For instance, social influence, shaping good habits etc. are some of the interventions
that can be used by the respective company. The momentum for sustainable green practices
has been increasing over the years and companies are adopting sustainable practices in order
to increase their market share.
Literature Gaps
While conducting the research, the researchers classified the unavailability of substantial
theories concerning the carbon-neutral certified Ceylon tea as creating a major literature gap.
The literature gap for the respective project leaves scope for further assessment and research
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Research Proposal
to find out if this particular category is impacting the consumer behaviour towards the
company products.
Behaviour of sustainability oriented green consumers of tea
Green consumers of tea, who are oriented towards sustainability have different types
of behaviour. For example, there are some men wo relate or associate sustainability with
femininity and this leads them to avoid the sustainable options. Social influence is one of the
greatest factors affecting the behaviour of sustainability oriented green consumers of tea.
Various economic as well as environmental measures can also be adopted to influence the
behaviour of consumers.
Research Gaps
The approaches adopted by the company have affected the buying decisions among
customers.
The sales volume of the company has been extremely affected because of its influence over
the customers.
There are no corrective measures to reduce the overall carbon emissions.
Research Questions
To conduct the research thoroughly, the researchers emphasized on covering the areas which
have not been examined before (Samarakoon, 2021). Hence, the research proposal constitutes
some unexplored questions and areas, which are as follows:
1. Does the competitors’ product price influence the buying intention of the consumers?
2. Do promotional approaches for the product influence the buying intention of the
consumers?
3. Does the quality of the product impact the buying intention of the consumer?
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Research Proposal
4. Does the price of the product impact the buyers’ buying intention?
5. Does consumer awareness play a key role in influencing consumers to buy the
product?
Research Hypothesis
The research hypothesis of the project provides a clear, prognostic, and testable statement
that will support the outcome of this research. The researchers have established two variables
for drawing the hypothesis for the project, which follows:
Independent Variable
In the given context of the problems faced by Bogawantalawa Tea Ceylon Company, the
price of the product is identified as the independent variable that drives the consumer
behaviour which is the dependent variable of the hypothesis.
1. Price of the product: The first and foremost factor that influences the buying
intention and behaviour of the consumers is the price. The herbal and flavoured tea
products are highly-priced than traditional or conventional teas. Thus, it is not
affordable and feasible for certain consumer base segments . Moreover, for the
working class, the conventional teas are worth the value, rather than consuming
highly-priced Ceylon tea.
2. Consumer Awareness: The more is consumer awareness, the more favourable is
consumers behaviour for the product. If the company can create a requisite level of
awareness about the product and what the product offers to the consumers, the users
tend to get attracted to such products. In this context, there is a lack of consumer
awareness about the benefits and pros of utilizing the Ceylon teas (ICRA., 2021).
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Research Proposal
3. Promotion: Promoting the product leads to increased awareness of the product.
Above all, a creative and effective promotional technique appeals to the consumer and
creates a positive impact on consumer buying intention.
4. The pricing policy of competitors: If the competitors offer a substitute to the
consumer base at a lower price, the consumer will be attracted to the substitute rather
than the primary product. The inconvenient pricing strategies of the company is
giving tough competition for the products (Reports, 2021).
Dependent Variable
Apart from the independent variables of the hypothesis, there are other variables namely the
dependent variable that also influences the demand for the product. The dependent variable of
the hypothesis is as follows:
Buying Intention: The buying intention of the product is a dependent variable of the
research hypothesis. The independent variables ultimately impact the buying intention of the
consumers. If the company products are highly-priced, it is less likely to attract more
consumers and vice versa. Due to lack of awareness among the consumers regarding the
product, the buying intentions of the users are negatively impacted, and so on (Zawya.com.,
2021).
Research framework
A research involves various activities such as data collection, analysis of the data,
developing hypothesis and identifying the appropriate research approach (Ting and et.al.,
2019). A research framework illustrates the structure of the research plan clearly and allows
the researcher to frame the research questions in an effectively. The research framework
comprises of the research concepts.
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Research Proposal
Hypothesis
Hypothesis checking out is one of the most important ideas in facts due to the fact it is how
making a decision if something absolutely passed off, or if positive remedies have high-
quality consequences, or if corporations fluctuate from every different or if one variable
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Research Proposal
predicts another. Based on the predictive statements drawn by the researchers with the use of
independent and dependent variables, the following hypothesis is formulated:
1. There is an inverse correlation between the price of the product and the buying
intention of the consumers.
2. There is a positive correlation between the level of awareness of the product and the
demand for the product/intention of buying the product.
3. There is a negative correlation between buying intention and the competitors' price.
4. There is a positive correlation between the quality of the product and the intention of
buying the product.
Operationalization
The operationalization is based on the four Ps of marketing strategies namely, the place,
product, price and promotion factors. Followed by the indicators of the four Ps of marketing
which are affordability, awareness, quality and accessibility of the product. The Likert scale
helps the researchers in justifying the impact of independent variables on the dependent
variables of the hypothesis.
Questions 5
Strongly
Disagree
4
Disagree
3
Neither
Or N/A
2
Agre
e
1
Strongly
Agree
1. Does the competitors’
product price influence the
buying intention of the
*
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Research Proposal
consumers?
2. Do promotional approaches
for the product influence the
buying intention of the
consumers?
*
3. Does the quality of the
product impact the buying
intention of the consumer?
*
4. Does the price of the product
impact the buyers’
intention?
*
5. Does consumer awareness
play a key role in
influencing consumers to
buy the product?
*
Research Methodology
The research methodology of the project states which methods have been implemented by the
researchers to conduct the respective research. The research methodology for this research is
quantitative and the information has been gathered from the respondents with the help of a
questionnaire. Quantitative research methodology is appropriate for this kind of report
because it will allow the researcher to present the results of the research in the form of
graphs, tables and numbers. As a result, the readers will be able to develop a better
understanding of the same.
Philosophy
In the given context, the researchers have used a quantitative data analysis for conducting the
research methodology. The researchers underwent certain consequences due to the
application of the said methods. However, the philosophical consequences faced by the
researchers resonate with the hypothesis drawn before regarding the impact of independent
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