Assessment 2: Consumer Marketing Research Report

Due: Sunday 4^th May by 10pm electronic copy submitted to Stream

Worth: 40%

Length: 2,500 words (+ or 10%)

Type: Individual Assessment

Purpose and tasks:

The purpose of this assignment is threefold. First you will gain knowledge about conducting academic research and writing a literature review. Second, you will expand your knowledge of consumer behavior theory. Third, you will understand how to develop a marketing research proposal. The assessment is worth 40 points towards your total grade and is divided into two parts: a literature review, and a marketing research proposal.

Part 1 Literature Review

The literature review section of your report will demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of an aspect of consumer behavior theory. A literature review involves a search of the academic literature available on a given subject area, and a synthesis and critique of that literature.

Your literature review will discuss ONE of three current topics (listed below). I have provided an article for each of the topic areas to get you started (Please ensure you use this article also). I have also posed a research problem/question that you will use in Part 2.

Please note that a literature review should only contain scholarly articles. It is expected that you will find and discuss ten relevant and current academic articles related to the topic.

1. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) How do consumers respond to DEI advertising?

Eisend, M., Muldrow, A. F., & Rosengren, S. (2023). Diversity and inclusion in advertising research. International Journal of Advertising, 42(1), 52-59

2. Sustainability How do consumers respond to brand messages about sustainability?

Bulmer, S., Palakshappa, N., Dodds, S., & Harper, S. (2024). Sustainability, brand authenticity and Instagram messaging. Journal of Business Research, 175, 114547.

3. Generative AI How do consumers respond to GenAI customer service?

Ferraro, C., Demsar, V., Sands, S., Restrepo, M., & Campbell, C. (2024). The paradoxes of generative AI-enabled customer service: A guide for managers. Business Horizons, 67, 549- 559.

Part 2 Marketing Research Proposal

You will outline a research proposal appropriate for the research problem/question stated as part of your topic outlined in Part 1.

In the proposal you will describe your intended research design and approach and explain your reasons for adopting that approach. You will outline your plans for data collection by describing the data collection methods or techniques you are planning on using, please explain why these are the most appropriate given your research design/approach and the posed research problem. Whichever methods you use, explain what they are, how you will

use them, and why they are appropriate. You will then design your data collection instrument (survey or interview/focus group schedule) and explain who will participate (sample) in the research and how you intend to identify and/or approach them. YOU DO NOT NEED TO COLLECT DATA. You will need to consider the analysis techniques you would use if you had and discuss ethical issues of conducting research. Please, support your decisions and explanations with relevant and appropriate references.

Report Outline:

Title page

Table of Contents

1. Introduction (200 words)

In this section you will outline the purpose of the report (this should outline the topic area and include a couple of relevant academic references) and provide an overview of the sections.

2. Literature Review (1,200 words)

In this section of the report, you will review academic research on the specific topic related to consumer behaviour one of the three outlined. Review and discuss 10 academic journal

articles. You will need to both synthesize and critique the literature you chose.

In the review you should define the key concepts and provide an overview of the current understanding of each area. You should use appropriate subheadings.

3. Marketing Research Proposal (800 words)

This section of the report is divided into four subsections.

• Research Design. In this section you will discuss your overall research design and approach as outlined above and justify why it is appropriate to your research


• Data Collection. In this section you will outline your data collection techniques and explain why This will include what techniques, how you will collect and from who (sample). You will also need to design your data collection tool (questionnaire or interview guide etc.) and attach as an appendix.

• In this section you will outline how you might analyse the data collected and why the analytical techniques selected are appropriate and will enable you to answer your research question.


• In this section you need to outline any ethical issues related to your chosen research design and approach and how you will address them.

4. Conclusion (300 words)

In this section you will briefly discuss how you think the research would contribute to

literature in your chosen topic (i.e., how will it build or extend current literature) and what implications there might be for marketing/brand manager

4.References

6. Appendix (not included in the word count)

• AI Planning IF you use AI for planning you MUST provide search words and output you used. This will be used to cross- check information used in the report

• Data collection tool (questionnaire, interview guide )

Referencing and Sources:

AI Planning only: AI may be used for planning, idea development and research. You MUST write these ideas in your own words independently and you MUST provide appropriate references to support the ideas and facts.

Sources: The majority of sources for this report will be gained from academic sources through relevant business journals

Referencing: All sources of information need to be accurately documented using APA 7th reference style for both the in-text citations and references. You can find a simple tool to help you with this on the Library page for the APA Interactive:

http://owll.massey.ac.nz/referencing/apa-interactive.php.

Plagiarism: See plagiarism rules from Assignment 1 brief.

Report Format:

Please create your report using the headings and subheadings as outlined above.

Title Page

This page should include the following information (in any order):

• Report title


• Student name and ID


• Course name and number


• Semester and year


• Word count

Font

Use Arial or Times New Roman - 22pt for the title, 16pt for main headings, 14pt for subheadings, and 12pt font for the body of the text. Line spacing should be 1.5 spaces. You may use colour font if you choose but dont go overboard- this is a professional document. You may use colour in your images, tables, and figures.