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Methodology

In the following section, the authors of this paper are clarifying the method applied throughout this paper. The method chosen has been implemented to be able to answer the purpose conveyed in previous sections.

Research Philosophy

There are two main research paradigms to consider that guides how scientific research should be conducted; positivism and interpretivism (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The frame of the research philosophy for this paper will be carried out in an interpretive way. Interpretivism is argued to be based on the belief that social reality is not objective but rather highly subjective since it is shaped by our perceptions. It is referred to looking at the complexity of the social phenomena, which can be linked to this study researching consumers’ brand experiences in a storytelling context (ibid.). When the authors critically researched the topic, it was found that the influence of storytelling on the brand experience among consumers had not been emphasized enough. The nature of the research in an interpretive study is one of exploration and discovery (ibid.) and by applying the interpretivism philosophy, the authors were able to explore the field of how storytelling affects the consumer brand experience.

 Research Approach

When developing a research study, different approaches could be used, either an inductive, deductive or abductive approach. The abductive approach focuses on the empirical findings but does not reject the existing literature in the field which allows the researchers to go back and forth between the findings and the literature (Collis & Hussey, 2014).
Inductive research describes a study where theory is developed from the observation of empirical data, whereas a deductive approach can be described as a study where a conceptual and theoretical structure is developed first, and empirical observation is later employed. Deductive reasoning also includes the collection of specific data including variables the theories identify as important (ibid.).
Theory was gathered about the main components of study including storytelling, brand experiences, and consumer involvement. A conceptual framework was later developed in the study and used to guide the interviews conducted. The approach used in this study is therefore seen to follow a deductive approach by virtue of the development of a theoretical and conceptual structure first, and the guidance thereof when gathering the empirical data.

Research Purpose

In order to investigate the purpose of the study, there are three different methods to use, either a descriptive, explanatory or exploratory approach. Descriptive research questions are likely to begin with, or include, ‘where’, ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘when’. Descriptive research could be seen as a forerunner to explanatory research, where explanatory research aims to explain and answer the question of why (Saunders et al., 2016). The explanatory and descriptive approaches were not deemed suitable for the study since the amount of current research was limited in the field for the researchers, between the relationship of storytelling, brand experiences and low involvement products (Collis & Hussey, 2014).
In regard to the purpose of understanding and exploring if storytelling could be used as a marketing technique to enhance the brand experience among consumers when dealing with a low involvement product and contribute to the value of a brand, the researchers found that an exploratory approach was suitable for the research. The exploratory approach is suitable when the goal is to understand a problem, asking questions and from them gaining insights concerning the subject. Research questions in exploratory research are likely to begin with “how” and “what” (Saunders et al., 2016). A part of the exploratory approach is that the direction might change based on the data collected from interviews, where new insights may arise and benefit the research conducted (Collis & Hussey, 2014).

Research Strategy

There are several research strategies that can be of use to be able to carry out the aim of a research question and purpose, including ethnography, action research, grounded theory, and case studies, among others (Collis & Hussey, 2014). In this particular study, the authors found that the most suitable technique for the particular research was the use of a case study strategy to be able to answer the purpose. A case study is used to explore a case in a natural setting using different methods, e.g. interviews, to gain in-depth knowledge. The case may be a business, event, person or other phenomena (ibid.). Collis & Hussey (2014) identifies several different types of case studies, including descriptive, illustrative, explanatory and lastly experimental case studies. An experimental case study is plausible in this study due to its investigative nature in relation to the single variables of storytelling, brand experience, and low involvement products (Patel & Davidsson, 2015). For the authors to be able to investigate the effect of storytelling on consumer responses, the case study strategy allowed the researchers to use two experimental groups where the respondents were exposed to storytelling, as well as two control groups where the respondents were not exposed to storytelling (ibid.).
The possibility of requiring more than one case opens up for multiple case design, where the cases serve in a manner such as multiple experiments, with similar or contrasting results (Yin, 2009; Collis & Hussey, 2014). The researchers in this thesis found it suitable to test two cases of low involvement brands in order to gather more generalized data. Similar cases can help the authors to show whether the theory can be generalized (Collis & Hussey, 2014). Thus, the authors of this study carry the notion stated by (Lundqvist et al., 2012) that findings derived from case studies cannot be generalized directly to other cases, thus it can be used for further research directions as well as theory building purposes.

Case study selection

Two different brands were selected for this study, both operating in the low-involvement sector and based outside the country where the study was conducted. Chobani, an American-based dairy-processor specializing in Greek yogurt, and High Brew Coffee, an American-based coffee producer specializing in cold brewed coffee. The information about the brands chosen can be found in Appendix 1 and 2. The brands chosen have not yet been launched in the focal country.
The two selected brands were chosen due to the reason of both having built its marketing strategy around a company brand story. Both brands operate outside the country of study which is of great relevance in the research conducted to be able to investigate the brand experience of consumers. Since the brand experience is as explained by Ding and Tseng (2015) the consumer’s perception of their experience with a brand, and the research conducted aims to investigate if storytelling can enhance the brand experience, the authors emphasize that it would be beneficial for the research if the respondents do not retain any previous experience with any of the brands chosen for this study to be able to investigate the effect of storytelling on the consumer brand experience.

Research Method

There are two different approaches that researchers need to consider when conducting a study, whether to take on a qualitative or a quantitative approach. Quantitative research is normally described as research concerning measurement, more detailed as the capturing of aspects of the social world that are expressed in numbers, percentages, probability values, etc. Qualitative research aims to capture the aspects of the social world as well, although it does not rely on numbers as the unit of analysis (King & Horrocks, 2010). In qualitative research, the study often includes individuals or groups of individuals and is focused on describing, analyzing, interpreting and understanding the social phenomena. The ambition is to understand what drives the human behavior, decisions, and actions in the specific context (Skärvad & Lundahl, 2016). Since the research attempts to explore if storytelling can enhance the consumer brand experience with a low involvement product, a qualitative approach was chosen. Information was gathered and analyzed from a consumer perspective by conducting individual interviews, which made it possible for the authors to gain deeper knowledge in how storytelling can work as an antecedent to consumer brand experiences and contribute to the value of a brand.

Methods of data collection

Both document secondary data, defined by Saunders et al. (2016) as data that endure physically and digitally as evidence, and primary data was used in the research conducted. Document secondary data can be both text-materials and non-text materials and can include minutes of meetings, reports to shareholders, diaries, administrative and public records as well as the text of web pages and non-text content of web pages such as pictures (Saunders et al., 2016). The document secondary data was collected purposefully for the interviews. Non-text materials in the form of pictures as well as text-materials were gathered from the public websites of the brands chosen for the case studies conducted. Additionally, primary data was gathered in the form of interviews.

1. Introduction
1.1 Background
1.2 Problem
1.3 Purpose
1.4 Delimitations
2. Frame of Reference
2.1 Branding
2.2 Consumer involvement
2.3 Brand experiences
2.4 Content Marketing
2.5 Storytelling
2.6 State of literature and conceptual framework
3. Methodology 
3.1 Research Philosophy
3.2 Research Approach
3.3 Research Purpose
3.4 Research Strategy
3.5 Research Method
3.6 Methods of data collection
3.7 Sampling method
3.8 Data Analysis
3.9 Literature Review
3.10 Trustworthiness of data
3.11 Time horizon
4. Empirical findings
4.1 Brand awareness
4.2 Perceived quality
4.3 Brand associations
4.4 Brand loyalty
5. Analysis 
6. Conclusion 
7. Discussion 
7.1 Limitations
7.2 Future research
References 
Appendixes
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StorySelling An exploratory study on the effect of storytelling on the consumer brand experience with low involvement products