Factors Affecting Brand Switching in the United Kingdom Telecom Industry - Research Proposal Example

Introduction

Customers are crucial for the success of any ideal business organisation. Competition in the telecommunication industry is rife to the extent that organisations strive to capture the market share of their rivals by inducing their clients to switch over to their brands. It is prudent that customers have varied attitudes, behaviour and perceptions towards different brands. In that perspective, they will tend to switch from one brand to the other depending on their taste and preferences (Shin and Kim, 2008). The UK telecom industry has experienced different transformations due to factors such as competition and technology advancement.

Background Information

Brand switching is a phenomenon that occurs when clients switch from one brand to the other either due to changes in preferences and taste or as a result of being induced by better services and orders from alternative brands (BusinessWire, 2011). There are different types of brand switching that include permanent, temporary, aggressive and defensive forms of brand switching. Temporary brand switching is a phenomenon whereby a consumer will shift to another brand in the event the brand he/she is used to is not available in the outlet of choice. However, that client will retract to the previous brand once its stock is replenished. Permanent brand switching is when a consumer shifts to another brand permanently without plans of going back to his/her last preference. It is prudent that promotions and advertisement operations play a significant role in influencing client brand switching (Shin and Kim, 2008).

Brand switching phenomenon differs across industries since some markets are prone to high rates of switching while others are characterised by medium to low levels of brand switching. The telecommunication industry is one of the markets that experience high levels of brand switching owing to its competitive nature. Ideally, growth in the United Kingdom telecommunication sector has been on an upward trajectory over the years with an estimate of one hundred million mobile phone subscribers by the year 2020. Currently, the industry contributed nearly 6% to the GDP of the UK with its value being estimated to be nearly seventy-eight billion sterling pounds (BusinessWire, 2011). The United Kingdom telecommunication industry is dominated by four major players that include Vodacom, Three, Telefonica and Everything Everywhere. Telefonica is a global brand with presence in over twenty-five countries across Europe and Asia. The company is responsible for 12% of the UK telecommunication market operating under the O2 brand. Three is a late entrant in the UK market but over the years, it has been able to implement significant innovation that has seen its market share rise significantly over the years. T-Mobile and Orange are popular brands under the Everything Everywhere franchise in the UK. The brands have a significant presence in the market having to be in operation for close to thirty years now. Vodacom is the most famous and oldest brand in the UK telecom market (BusinessWire, 2011).

Rationale of the Study

Over the years, the UK telecommunication market has been characterised by immense competition as different firms are keen to outmuscle their competitors in a bid to gain additional market share. Given the fact that the industry is very lucrative more and more companies are eager to penetrate the market thus increasing the level of competitiveness in the sector. Conversely, the fact that most of the market players in the industry spend colossal sums of money on advertisement has facilitated the brand switching phenomenon. In that perspective, the firms ought to understand the factors that influence their clients to switch brands with the aim of enhancing customer loyalty to their brands. Thus, by analysing the factors that facilitate brand switching in the UK telecommunication industry organisation will leverage on the recommendation to curb the phenomenon.

Aims and Objectives

The purpose of the study is to examine the factors that influence customer brand switching in the United Kingdom telecommunication industry. In that regard, the research seeks to explore brand switching phenomenon in the UK as well as investigate the factors that can curb the tendency. Similarly, it is the objective of the research to outline consumer preferences of different cellular service providers in the UK in addition to coming up with recommendations that will assist telecommunication companies to enhance customer loyalty to their brands.

Research questions

1. To what extent does customer brand switching affect revenues of telecom companies in the United Kingdom?

2. What are some of the factors that influence consumer brand switching in the telecommunication industry in the UK?

3. What are some of the mechanisms that can be employed to deter customers from switching over to alternative brands in the telecom industry?

Significance of the Research

Technological advancement has caused massive transformation in the telecom industry a factor that has spurred competition. In that light consumers tend to switch to service providers that offer innovative and value added products thus enhancing brands changing behaviour. The study seeks to evaluate the factors behind customer brand changing with the aim of analysing specific brands to come up with recommendations that can solve the issue. The study is significant since telecommunication companies can leverage from the findings of the survey as well as the recommendation to assist them in addressing rampant brand switching behaviour.

Research Methodology

The study will employ a combination of positivism and interpretivism research philosophies to ensure the aims and objectives of the undertaking are accomplished. Ideally, the researcher opted for the two philosophies since interpretivism is concerned with the experiences and attitudes elements that are crucial in investigating brands switching among consumers (Davis and Cosenza, 2005). Similarly, positivism was favoured since it deals with existing theories thus ensuring the problem under research is investigated thoroughly. In that light, the factors influencing consumer brand switching in the telecommunication industry will be evaluated with the help of findings from previous studies coupled with the current experiences of consumers in the market.

Research Approach

The research will assume both deductive and inductive approaches to investigate the factors that influence consumer brand switching in the UK telecommunication industry. The deductive approach will be essential since it will evaluate previous models and theories concerning the problem under research while inductive approach will examine the issue from the UK telecommunication industry perspective (Cooper, and Schindler, 2003). Implementation of both techniques will allow the researcher to make concrete and logical analogies that will result in accurate findings. The research will also use the case study design by featuring a firm in the telecom industry in the UK to determine how it switches its brand to respond to different market changes.

Research Methods

Typically, scientific research involves two primary methods of research that are qualitative and quantitative methods. A qualitative approach tends to narrow down the investigation from broad issue to finer details as far as the study is concerned. On the other hand, quantitative approach is more generalist since is explores finer details with the aim of generalising the findings to a larger population (Bryman and Bell, 2015). For the purpose of this study, a mixed method approach will be employed whereby both qualitative and quantitative techniques will be used simultaneously. Ideally, qualitative methods will be utilised to develop the literature review for the study of perceptions, behaviour and attitudes of individuals in the society are investigated with the help of qualitative methods. On the other hand, quantitative methods will be employed to analyse the factors that influence consumer brand switching in the United Kingdom telecommunication industry by collecting first-hand data from the respondents.

The data that will be gathered through both techniques will be linked together to ensure the overall research flow coherently to meet its aims and objectives. Relatively, the analysis section of the study will feature primary data that has been collected being integrated with the literature review to ensure both techniques are optimised actually (Kumar and Phrommathed, 2005). In that light, the research will achieve coherence in the manner in which the findings will be presented.

Data Collection Techniques

To undertake the study, there are two sets of data that will be involved that is primary and secondary data. Primary data represent first-hand facts that the researcher will gather from the field. Ideally, this kind of data is reliable and valid since it has not been subjected to any manner of manipulation. On the other hand, secondary data include the facts and figures that had been collected in previous studies by other researchers. As much as the data may be employed to the current research, its validity levels may not be 100% since the data is subjected to statistical manipulation during the analysis phase (Ghauri and Grønhaug, 2005). For the purpose of this study, both primary and secondary data sets will be utilised to examine the factors that influence customer brands switching in the UK telecommunication industry.

Data Collection Instruments

The research will implement various data collection tools to ensure that it gather enough information for the purpose of investigating the problem under research. In that light, the study will use questionnaires, surveys, interviews and focus groups as some of the primary data collection instruments. The surveys will be designed in line with the research questions to ensure validity and reliability. At the same time, they will feature both open and close ended questions depending on the parameters that will be investigated. Similarly, the interviews will be structured since they will be guided by a questionnaire to ensure ambiguity is minimised and the study remains objective (Marczyk, DeMatteo, and Festinger, 2005). Due to limitations of time and capital, the focus groups will be limited to three people to both save time at the same time ensure the operations are within the budgetary allocations for the study. It is worth noting that the population for this particular research involves the entire mobile subscribers in the United Kingdom. However, it will not be imperative to collect data from all these individuals. In that perspective, random probability sampling will be employed to select a sample space of 80 subjects that will be used in the research (Malhotra, 2008).

Data Analysis

Data will be gathered through interviews and questionnaires and analysed descriptively. Similarly, the results from the surveys will be analysed systematically. The first stage will see the results being fed into MS Excel spreadsheets to enable conversion of the data into percentiles. The next step will involve the tabulation and generation of graphs for each question in the questionnaire. Ideally, findings from both secondary and primary data will be linked and a relationship between the two data sets established. For purposes of reliability and validity, the questionnaires and all other data collection instruments will be designed in a manner that they are linked to the primary research questions (Ghauri and Grønhaug, 2005).

Ethics, Validity and Reliability

The validity of the investigation is determined by the level of accuracy exemplified by the research instruments (Saunders, 2011). The study has been developed with an alignment methodology since each phase of the research is aimed towards the achievement of the objectives and goals of the investigation. The questionnaires were designed with consideration of the primary research questions. Similarly, the researcher will make an in-depth analysis of the secondary data to ensure the validity of previous studies for the benefit of the current research (Saunders, 2011). Relatively, reliability refers to the extent to which the findings of the study are correct and consistent. Ideally, the study can be deemed to be reliable since it will make use of valid and reliable data throughout its processes. It is worth noting that the data utilised for the purpose of the study is first hand and as such it has not been subjected to any form of manipulation whatsoever. Additionally, the findings from the study will be validated through the use of secondary data by exploring previous research works on the topic (Bryman and Bell, 2015).

Ethics will be employed throughout the research process since no individual will be subjected to either physical or emotional pain as a result of the study. All the research subjects will be furnished on the aims and objectives of the study to keep them aware of the intention of the investigation (Kimmel, 2009). Similarly, all the participants that will take part in the study will be as a result of free will since no manner of coercion or use of tokens will be employed to induce subjects to the study since it will jeopardise the quality of the findings.

Conversely, the researcher will maintain the confidentiality of the subjects as well as the information that will be collected from them for the purpose of the study exclusively. In that light, the data gathered from the research subjects will not be utilised for any other purpose other than the study without duly informing the subjects (Kimmel, 2009). The researcher will also properly acknowledge all secondary sources that have been incorporated into the research to avoid any form of plagiarism since it is not only a form of dishonest by it also jeopardises the objectives of the study.