An investigation into the development of brand communities in the convenience good sector

The first chapter aims to provide an introduction to the research problem as well as\ud identifying the objectives of the research. Rationale for this research is included to\ud give an understanding of the research topic and the need the need for it to be\ud conducted. While finally a time scale is supplied showing a detailed synopsis of each\ud step undertaken during the process of compiling the dissertation.\ud The Literature review presented in chapter 2 will endeavour to provide an evaluation\ud of the research that has been conducted to date. Firstly the foundation literature\ud comprising of previous writing in the areas of community, convenience goods,\ud relationship marketing and branding is provided. This is followed by a review of the\ud immediate literature surrounding the topic of brand community.\ud Chapter 3 offers an explanation of the methodology used during the research. This\ud section will begin with a justification of the mixed methodology (quantitative and\ud qualitative) research used for the study. Following this a close examination of the\ud qualitative method of in-depth interviews will be provided along with an inspection of\ud the quantitative method of email questionnaires. This chapter is a breakdown of the\ud methods used and it will act as a follow on from the findings established in chapter 2 .\ud Finally all research techniques will be examined and validated while the chapter will\ud be concluded by expressing the ethical concerns and limitations involved in carrying\ud out this study.\ud In chapter 4, the findings from the research process will then be compiled and\ud analysed. This chapter will provide analyses of the research objectives given in\ud chapter 1 under the findings obtained throughout the research process. Firstly, an\ud overview of the research respondents will be presented which will be followed by a\ud summary of the sampling techniques used to profile the respondents. The research\ud findings section of this paper ultimately aims to broaden the area of research on the\ud brand communities of convenience goods.\ud Finally, chapter 5 aims to set a number of conclusions and synthesis based upon the\ud findings unearthed during the process of both qualitative and quantitative research and\ud discussed in Section 4 of this study, as well the previous literature found on the\ud research topic that is examined in Section 2. This chapter looks at the brand communities of convenience goods, their significance to marketing, their development, the impact of social media on their growth and the contrasts in opinion\ud on them