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recommendations and to thoroughly answer to the research question proposed the necessity of collecting data on this statement proposal has been considered pivotal.
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why the research is carried out. Moreover, the consideration of a specific philosophy will help in contributing a deeper and wider perspective of the research conducted (Carson et al., 2001). The philosophy of science chosen for this paper will be explained at three different levels: philosophical, ontological and epistemological. Furthermore, methodological details will be provided in the next Section 3.2.
As previously mentioned, it is important to appreciate an individual's position of reality (ontology) and its appreciation of what it is considered acceptable knowledge (epistemology), in order to be able to identify the rationale for the research approach (Bryman and Bell, 2011) and understand the reasons for carrying out the research. On one hand, ontology is in charge of describing a reality identifying what types of identities are taken to have existence (Mingers, 2003). On the other hand, epistemology determines the relationship between the reality and the researchers (Writepass Journal, Aug 2017), the forms of knowledge and knowledge creation the method uses (Mingers, 2003). This is realised in terms of where the model comes from and the form is represented i.e. is the world objective?, does it come from someone´s beliefs or is it an abstract viewpoint? (Mingers, 2003). According to Pizam and Mansfeld (2009), differences between philosophies are determined by the focus of interest, knowledge generated, subject-researcher philosophy, nature of reality and the goal of the research. Whilst positivist and post-positivist philosophies aim to explain causal relationships by means of objective facts and statistical analysis (Carson et al., 2001), interpretivists use a more personal process to understand a reality, concluding that the world is open to interpretation and is socially constructed by people who may be regarded as social actors (Easterby-Smith et al., 2012).
Considering that this research aims to investigate whether the development of multi-sensory strategies online enable luxury brands to create superior online customer experiences, thus complementing the in store perceived value, researchers observe a reality in which the world is objective but filtered through the experience of individuals. For this reason, the current paper will be founded on the post-positivism philosophy.
A post-positivist approach shares the same assumptions as positivism but from a more relativistic perspective (Writepass Journal, Aug 2017). By definition, a positivism philosophy aims to mirror
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scientific method, using deductive reasoning, empirical evidence and hypothesis11 testing (Writepass Journal, Aug 2017) however, the fact of analysing the behavior of luxury fashion brands and sensorial experiences of clients, enable the researchers to acknowledge that the reality might be biased by the context and cultural differences of respondents, thus suiting better to choose a post-positivist philosophy. Because all measurement is fallible, the post-positivism emphasizes the importance of multiple measures and observations to try to get a better bead on what's happening in reality (Trochim, 2006). Obtaining a realistic and representative sample of participants for the research will enable researchers to reduce the biases produced from the analysis of persona´s profiles and their different behaviours. Post-positivism also believes that all observations are theory-laden (Writepass Journal, Aug 2017). So in order to determine what is accepted as theory and knowledge and the way to go about collecting evidence that supports or challenges existing research, there is the need to identify the details of epistemological post-positivism beliefs. In terms of ontology, positivism considered that an external reality exists and it can be discovered and understood (Howell, 2012). Nevertheless, the fact of aiming to uncover the human behaviour through the analysis of its emotions and feelings, results in opposition to positivism beliefs, hence, leaving ontology to a combination between the post-positivism and interpretivism of how people behave. In this research, interpretivism will just be taken as a complement to the post-positivism approach, implicating a personal approach of the researchers to the understanding of the reality. Furthermore, the positivist epistemological position defends that the researcher and the external world (or what can be discovered) are totally separated and objectivity sought through scientific procedure. Nevertheless, post-positivist approach argues that reality or truth exists, but it can only be understood imperfectly or probabilistically, so the relation of the researchers with the reality will be based on beliefs and the world studied will be subjective.
3.2 Methodology
The following section aims at defining the way researchers will proceed to answer the research question proposed and obtain the information needed. Methodology is in fact defined as the researchers’ strategic approach, rather than the set of techniques and tools for data analysis ( this will
11 The paper on hand will deal with the acceptance and analysis of “propositions” that are considered as comparable to hypothesis testing. This need arouse from the fact that the research type selected does not allow researchers to test hypotheses through statistics due to the sample approached and the nature of the study.
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be covered in Chapter 4) (Wainwright, D. 1997). The methodology used along the project will be designed upon post-positivism, therefore mirroring the scientific method, but at the same time taking into consideration that the reality might be biased by the context and the cultural differences of respondents. The research approach undertaken within the paper will be abductive. Abductive reasoning refers to the logical connection made by researchers between data and theory, often used for theorizing about surprising ‘‘events’’ (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009, p. 89). The research process starts with surprising facts or puzzles and it is devoted to their explanation (Saunders, m et al., 2012). The context under analysis and the nature of the study itself adheres to the characteristics generally attached to a mixed approach. As a matter of fact, a broader selection of scientific material concerning sensory marketing, digitalization and their efficiency in the luxury field has been already provided by researchers offline. The same is true for the effects linked to the development of these strategies offline (see Chapter 2). Despite this, the downturn of the situation arises when considering these three elements online. Indeed, there is no relevant research on the effects of the development of technological and sensually stimulating tools inside digital platforms, originating a gap in the literature.
In line with Dudovskiy (2010) definition, an abductive research approach, arises from a combination of deductive and inductive approaches. In fact it deals with the arising of a “puzzle” that may emerge when researchers encounters with an empirical phenomena that cannot be explained by the existing range of theories (ibid). Inductive reasoning begins with detailed observations of the world, moving towards more abstract generalisations and ideas (Neuman, W.L., 2003). As a matter of fact inductive reasoning is often referred to as a “bottom-up” approach to knowing, in which way the researcher uses observations to build an abstraction or to describe a picture of the phenomenon that is being studied (Lodico, M.G. et al., 2010). On the other hand deductive means reasoning from the particular to the general. If a causal relationship or link seems to be implied by a particular theory or case example, it might be true in many cases. A deductive design might test to see if this relationship or link did obtain on more general circumstances (Gulati, PM, 2009). In addition, a deductive approach is concerned with developing an hypothesis (or hypotheses) based on existing theory, and then designing a research strategy to test the hypothesis (Wilson, J.,2010). The case proposed appears to be a mix between the two approaches generally adopted. Indeed, the research conducted is limited to a specific industry, therefore generalizations will be provided, but bounded to the field under analysis, therefore
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challenging the deductive approach testing the propositions on general circumstances. At the same time, the propositions developed will be based on the existing theory and redesigned for the purpose of the paper.
The chosen research approach enables researchers to structure a mixed research type. Therefore, the paper applies an explorative, as well as an explanatory approach in investigating the multi-sensory brand experience online. The combination of two approaches has proven a fruitful way to explore and explain this research domain (Hultén, B., 2009). Adopting an explorative approach in the first stage of the research facilitated an investigation of a research domain that has been relatively unexplored. As a matter of fact, the improvement of online sensory experience has been hardly researched by experts, and consequently there is no real application of this sensory marketing on digital platforms. After the research question formulation an explanatory approach was adopted. It is clear that an explanatory approach offers opportunities to develop a model that can explain a current phenomenon in a scientific way (Hunt, 2002, p. 86). In both the exploratory and explanatory stages of the present work, the research process was of an iterative character, allowing the researcher to work back and forth between data and theory (Hultén, B., 2009).
3.2.1 Consequences of research philosophies and methodology
The point of departure of the research on hand arises from a lack of empirical data in the field under analysis. As it has already been stated, a poor knowledge of online sensory marketing strategies meant to improve the brand performance, has been both studied and implemented by brands, which appears surprising due to the efficiency of those techniques offline especially in luxury. Anyway it has been possible to build up the research thanks to a priori knowledge, emerging from connected studies, gaps in literature, researchers’ background and trend analysis. A priori (or non-empirical) is knowledge which is possible independently of, or prior to, any experience, and requires only the use of reason (e.g.
knowledge of logical truths and of abstract claims) (Flynn et al, 1990). From this knowledge posteriori (or empirical), knowledge will be obtained only subsequent to certain experiences and world observations (Flynn et al., 1990), i.e. the results obtained. In addition, the use of reason will be necessary, in order to determine the effects on luxury brands of the development of online sensory
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marketing strategy, through the analysis and interpretation of the data collected in relation to the three propositions drafted. Additional a posteriori empirical knowledge will then be generated after the testing of the propositions.
The abductive research approach followed, enables researchers to build premises that can be used to generate testable conclusions (Saunders, M., 2009). Therefore, enabling the consultation of literature linked to the research question proposed and the building of propositions based on those premises.
Indeed, the necessity to build testable propositions within a domain almost unexplored, is pivotal for the achievement of empirical results, therefore justifying the approach selected. As a matter of fact the scientific propositions that will be developed will be based on empirical generalisations applicable within the same sector, i.e. luxury fashion, implemented through the same marketing strategies, i.e.
sensory marketing, but within a different context, the online world. Through this approach, the paper will be able to build generalisations from the interaction between specific and the general (Saunders, M., 2009). In fact, the exploration of the effects of the online development of sensory marketing strategies within the fashion luxury sector, is taken as a base for analysis. Anyway, the results obtained could be easily adopted also in different sectors both in the luxury and non-luxury industries. The philosophy of science permeating the study further stresses the importance of the selection of a flexible research approach, enabling researchers to explore and test new areas of expertise. Post-positivism emphasizes the importance of multiple measures and observations to try to get a better bead on what's happening in reality (Trochim, 2006), therefore further implying the necessity to adopt different research types (see Chapter 4). Methodologies and research philosophies adopted, are all meant to ensure the verifiability of the results obtained.