Answer To: Subject: Professional Project Code: BUSN20019 Student Name: xxxxxxxx Student Number: xxxxxxx...
Amar answered on Apr 19 2020
Running Header: Assessment of the Relationship between Digital Proficient of Luxury Brand and Brand Value –
Research Proposal 1
Assessment of the Relationship between Digital Proficient of Luxury Brand and Brand Value – Research Proposal 11
Assessment of the Relationship between Digital Proficient of Luxury Brand and Brand Value – Research Proposal
Table of Contents
Literature Review 3
Research Aim & Questions 7
Research Plan 8
Research Methods: Data Collection, Data Sources & Analysis 8
Gantt Chart 10
References 11
Literature Review
The advent of digital platforms and technologies have aided in building the parallel narrative for inductive doctrines wherein the focus lies in seeking for convergence amongst sectors, transforming the functional silos in the organizations using customer centric opportunities for even collaborating with the competition in the manner of developing co-operation focussed mind-set, co-ownership for investments by way of alliances / franchisees to aid scalable form of growth by way of lower levels comprising asset intensity, establishing relationships amongst the newer generation comprising customers who are inter-connected as well as involved within the co-creation of the services / products as well as the longer term orientation concerning the continuous form of learning by way of feedback for effectively improving overall delivery models for customers (Church & Oakley, 2017; Zhou et al., 2017; Hoffmann et al., 2014).
Retailers were faced with two different options over the ways they had responded towards these digital opportunities (Church & Oakley, 2017; Zhou et al., 2017; Hoffmann et al., 2014). The majority of the retailed have noted digital in being the enabler for effective forms of customer service, or else, increased operational efficiencies as well as have thus implemented various digital technologies for enhancing their respective performance over these various parameters (Church & Oakley, 2017; Zhou et al., 2017; Hoffmann et al., 2014). The said approach can be noted to be an incremental form of response towards the opportunities enabled by digital as well as noted to be driven primarily on account of the lower risk propensity in allocating the scarcer resources towards what could be the fundamental form of disruptor concerning business models of the retailers (Church & Oakley, 2017; Zhou et al., 2017; Hoffmann et al., 2014). Although, there seem to be smaller portion of the retailers who had truly leveraged over the possibilities offered by the digital platforms. These retailed have used digital in being the opportunity for shaping the longer term and sustainable form of business model that represents departure as against the conventional models (Church & Oakley, 2017; Zhou et al., 2017; Hoffmann et al., 2014).
The integral element to the digital approach concerns the standpoint of overall eco-system of retail in the form of network comprising suppliers as well as franchisees that support concerned central actors, that is, retailers, to orchestrate the business model using longer term objectives to maximize the lifetime value of customers as well as not being solely focused over the transactional approach (Walsh et al., 2016; Sullivan & Hyun, 2016; Rigas et al., 2017). These fundamental tenets concerning the approach refers to the collaborative form of mind-set wherein the concerned retailer shall be first amongst other peers within wider network and who shall invest in various capabilities and infrastructure concerning the overall network in being agile as well as responsive towards the needs of consumer. The attraction, acquisition as well as the retaining of the shoppers shall form a shared objective concerning the overall network as well as digital technologies aid in understanding the needs of consumer like cognitive aspects, offer greater form of assortment like for example visual merchandising, aiding the shoppers to decide like virtual trial rooms, lowering cost like process automations and robotics, increasing loyalties like using blockchain and enhancing the customer service like for example AI based systems for self-learning (Walsh et al., 2016; Sullivan & Hyun, 2016; Rigas et al., 2017).
Though, the overall risk lies in viewing digital solely by way of the prism involving the technology investments (Walsh et al., 2016; Sullivan & Hyun, 2016; Rigas et al., 2017). In its core for digital with respect to any of the retailer lies the wider ability for building the overall culture involving collaboration, capabilities concerning the use of data for breakthrough organizational as well as functional boundaries, overall approach to use the technology for unearthing newer possibilities to enhance the customer value as well as in this process reimagine completely a sales experience for the future (Walsh et al., 2016; Sullivan & Hyun, 2016; Rigas et al., 2017).
In this context, luxury brands have an unique position. Leading form of luxury brands specifically within fashion domain are established over exclusivity that up till now have meant to be minimal form of online digital presence (Walsh et al., 2016; Sullivan & Hyun, 2016; Rigas et al., 2017). Yet the dependence of shoppers over the internet as well as digital platforms — and slowing sales in luxury — haver pushed higher end of concerned retail market in reconsidering diving towards the digital. In adopting digital proficiency can provide significant value for all of them. Luxury retailers could employ digital proficiency in reaching their respective target consumers in a direct manner, as well as expand their overall audience towards customers who shall in other case struggle for finding them (Walsh et al., 2016; Sullivan & Hyun, 2016; Rigas et al., 2017). Their consumers shall enjoy increased levels of access towards some of the highly beloved brands. In the same manner, for the investors, the online engagement of brands with the luxury shoppers shall mean increased levels of robust sales as well as newer avenues towards growth by which the companies shall maximize their respective digital investments (Walsh et al., 2016; Sullivan & Hyun, 2016; Rigas et al., 2017).
The higher end brands continue in preferring for interacting at an in-person level amongst their respective shoppers (Miralles et al., 2016; Walsh et al., 2017; Karanges et al., 2018; Mosteller & Mathwick, 2014). The exclusive form of white-glove based service have conventionally formed part of an experience which various customers shall prize while they are shopping specifically for the luxury products, ranging across any products. However it has to be noted that over 60 per cent of the sales in luxury good are at present noted to be influenced digitally meaning that the shoppers have either undertaken online research as well as bought them in a store, shopped within the store yet purchases online, or else, purchased online directly as per various analysis undertaken by the studies (Miralles et al., 2016; Walsh et al., 2017; Karanges et al., 2018; Mosteller & Mathwick, 2014). Brands which have initiated over their respective digital journey have started seeing results already. To take an example, traffic of the site as well as sales with respect to higher end apparels, fashion, etc. company have enhanced after the re-launching of increased user-friendly websites in recent times (Miralles et al., 2016; Walsh et al., 2017; Karanges et al., 2018; Mosteller & Mathwick, 2014). It is further added that the brands taking aver omni-channel (offline / online) approach which shall fuse the brick and mortar stores to that online retail, like that of exploring the digital form of promotions for in-store form of products or else offering options of click & collect towards the customers who shall buy the same online and also pick the same in the local store, shall in addition most likely experience boost with respect to the store sales (Miralles et al., 2016; Walsh et al., 2017; Karanges et al., 2018; Mosteller & Mathwick, 2014).
The digitalizing of the business shall not happen in a short period and also not very simple. The development of digital competence refers to a process that is multiyear which requires an organizational form of change (Miralles et al., 2016; Walsh et al., 2017; Karanges et al., 2018; Mosteller & Mathwick, 2014). The adoption of the cross-divisional as well as company level digital strategy could be costlier, as well as requires the cultural form of openness in undertaking the business in a different manner. The investors hope in riding the overall wave concerning the digitalization of luxury brand could track the progress of company across four different proven areas concerning digital competency and shall involve [i] hardware comprising the luxury brands required in having suitable supply chain as well as the fulfilment of the infrastructure in serving their respective customers across each stage over the process of buying (Miralles et al., 2016; Walsh et al., 2017; Karanges et al., 2018; Mosteller & Mathwick, 2014). They shall in addition need to be able in adjusting their respective supply chains towards their responses based on seasonal data, [ii] software in terms of the fact that as they shall grow and expand their respective digital initiatives, the brands shall require scalable and flexible form of software which shall support the omni-channel processes. The updating of the respective software capabilities shall be easier and cost-effective based on the approach used (Miralles et al., 2016; Walsh et al., 2017; Karanges et al., 2018; Mosteller & Mathwick, 2014).
Research Aim & Questions
As described in the earlier section, it has to be noted that over 60 per cent of the sales in luxury good are at present noted to be influenced digitally meaning that the shoppers have either undertaken online research as well as bought them in a store, shopped within the store yet purchases online, or else, purchased online directly as per various analysis undertaken by the studies. Brands which have initiated over their respective digital journey have started seeing results already.
In this context, this study shall aim in validating that the digital proficiency of the luxury brands shall have positive impacts on the brand value of the said brand.
The hypothesis for validation of the same is as follows –
Null Hypothesis H0: The digital proficiency of the luxury brands does not have positive impacts on the brand value of the said brand.
Alternate Hypothesis H1: The digital proficiency of the luxury brands shall have positive impacts on the brand value of the said brand
Research Plan
Research Methods: Data Collection, Data Sources & Analysis
The research method employed with respect to data collection for the study concerns secondary data concerning the digital proficiency of luxury brands as well as the brand value of the luxury brands. The data shall be quantitative nature.
The data analysis shall comprise the establishing of correlation between these two variables and shall aid in assessment of the null hypothesis (H0), that is, The digital proficiency of the luxury brands does not have positive impacts on the brand value of the said brand, and, alternate hypothesis (H1), The digital proficiency of the luxury brands shall have positive impacts on the brand value of the said brand
Data Sources
Independent Variable: Digital Proficiency of the Luxury Brands
Sourced from Contactlab (2016)
Dependent Variable: Brand Value of the Luxury Brands
Sourced from Statista (2018)
Sampling
Sample Size: 10
Sample List: Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci, Cartier, Tiffany & Co, Burberry, Prada, and Dior
Gantt Chart
Research Tasks
Time Duration (Week(s))
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Research Proposal Preparation & Hypothesis Identification
One
Literature Review
Two
Secondary Data Collection
One
Data Analysis
Three
Outcome Analysis
Two
Report Preparation & Submission
One
References
Church, E. M., & Oakley, R. L. (2017). The Role of Social Media and Product Differentiation in Etsy Micro-Manufacturing Shops.
Contactlab. (2016). Digital and Physical Integration: Luxury Retail's Holy Grail. Retrieved from:
https://contactlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/LUXURY_GOODS_-_Digital_and_Physical_Integration___for_ContactLab.pdf
Hoffmann, C. P., Lutz, C., & Meckel, M. (2014). Digital natives or digital immigrants? The impact of user characteristics on online trust. Journal of Management Information Systems, 31(3), 138-171.
Karanges, E., Johnston, K. A., Lings, I., & Beatson, A. T. (2018). Brand signalling: An antecedent of employee brand understanding. Journal of Brand Management, 1-15.
Miralles, A. G., Rinaldi, R., & Bandinelli, R. (2016, April). Engagement as the Core of Social and Digital Media Strategy in the Fashion Industry. In Workshop on Business Models and ICT Technologies for the Fashion Supply Chain (pp. 283-292). Springer, Cham.
Mosteller, J., & Mathwick, C. (2014). Reviewer online engagement: the role of rank, well-being, and market helping behavior. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 31(6/7), 464-474.
Rigas, D., Hussain, H. A., & Riaz, N. (2017). Online Branding and Marketing: A User Perspective. In Advertising and Branding: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 31-44). IGI Global.
Statista. (2018). The most valuable luxury brands worldwide. Retrieved from:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/273135/most-valuable-luxury-brands-worldwide-by-brand-value/
Sullivan, P., & Hyun, S. Y. J. (2016). Clothing retail channel use and digital behavior: Generation and gender differences. Journal of Business Theory and Practice, 4(1), 125.
Walsh, G., Albrecht, A. K., Kunz, W., & Hofacker, C. F. (2016). Relationship between online retailers’ reputation and product returns. British journal of management, 27(1), 3-20.
Walsh, G., Schaarschmidt, M., & Ivens, S. (2017). Effects of customer-based corporate reputation on perceived risk and relational outcomes: empirical evidence from gender moderation in fashion retailing. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 26(3), 227-238.
Zhou, X., Song, Q., Li, Y. Y., Tan, H., & Zhou, H. (2017). Examining the influence of online retailers’ micro-blogs on consumers’ purchase intention. Internet Research, 27(4), 819-838.