As the rest of the retailers, Marks & Spencer promotes its development through high levels of consumption, but given the unstable state of the environment, the governments militate for sustainable and limited consumption (Jones, Comfort and Hillier, 2007).
Another challenge is constituted by the need to adapt to the cultural values in the regions into which it expands and opens new stores (Amine and Smith, 2009). Also, the organization deal with financial and legal challenges derived from the international feature of business, such as the competition with local purveyors or the ability to combine and centralize the losses and profits of its international subsidiaries (Graetz and Warren, 2006).
2.5. Perceptions of Thai consumers over Marks & Spencer
The specialized literature on the particularities of Thai customers' perceptions and acceptance of Marks & Spencer in their country is fairly limited. This limitation virtually points towards the necessity and use of the future study which would explain an unexplored territory. In spite of this lack of sources nevertheless, valid information can be collected from informal sources, such as internet pages and forums, where the Thai consumers interact and reveal their perceptions of the British retailer.
An analysis of these secondary sources of information leads to the following findings:
Marks & Spencer does not operate large retail facilities in Thailand, but has focused on operating small outlets, strategically spread throughout the cities.
The customers look forward to purchasing from the British company as they appreciate its variety and different sense of style. The customers for instance complain about the limited choices which are offered by the local stores and look at Marks & Spencer for variety. One customer pointed out: "I am looking forward to the shopping as I think the clothes shops in NZ are awful!! After shopping in South Africa this place is seriously limited for choice" (Trip Advisor, 2008).
The Thai customers perceive Marks & Spencer as a source of good quality products, which serves a wide array of individual purposes. They nevertheless complain about the small size of the outlets, which reduces the offer and as such the choice opportunities for the customers. The customers estimate that the Marks & Spencer stores in Thailand sell about 20 to 30 per cent of what they sell in the United Kingdom.
The customers also complain that the prices Marks & Spencer implements in the Thai outlets are higher than the prices they implement in the UK stores. One particular customer argued that he observed a pair of boxers in the UK being sold for £5, whereas in Bangkok, the same pair of boxers was sold for £10. It is generally assumed that the higher price is due to excessive taxations by the Thai government (Thai Visa, 2010).
3. The research methodology
The methodology at the basis of the future research endeavor is a combination of qualitative research and quantitative research. Qualitative research has the advantage of assessing the population thoroughly, but the disadvantage of integrating the personal bias of the researcher. Quantitative research on the other hand implies tedious work, but conclusions which can be extrapolated as they rely on factual data. Bart L. Weathington, Christopher J.L. Cunningham, David J. Pittenger (2010, p.526) argue: "Whereas quantitative research is designed to empirically identify the presence and magnitude of differences between individuals and/or groups of individuals, qualitative research is typically more focused on sense-making in a purer sense."
The qualitative research stage would be completed throughout the analysis of various secondary data. The quantitative research stage would be completed with the construction and issuing of a questionnaire. The combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies -- generically know as triangulation (Downs, 1999) -- is a highly common practice within the academic community and the reasons for this popularity are given by the ability of the combination to maximize the advantages of the two different methods, while also minimizing their limitations. At a theoretical level, the triangulation of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies ensures interpretative validity and data trustworthiness (Maree, Maree and van der Westhuizen, 2009).
3.1. Secondary data
As it has been previously mentioned, the secondary sources constitute the qualitative research stage of the future research endeavor. At a primary level, qualitative research is constituted by the analysis of the population researched. The analysis and observation of the Thai consumers' population would be conducted with the aid of a wide variety secondary sources, including internet pages, previous research papers, books or articles. Each of these sources reveals its own benefits and limitations, but -- similar to triangulation -- their combination constructs data relevance and reliability through the maximization of the benefits and the limitation of the disadvantages.
One example of secondary sources benefits and limitations refers to the internet pages, such as forums, which have the main...
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