Read the Chinese shopper article, link provided in week-1-2 folder and frame at least two research

problems with identified independent and dependent variables. Can you draw/suggest a conceptual
path/model between those variables?

1. Determine which promotional media are most likely to affect brand loyalty amongst Chinese
consumers.
 
Independent variable: The promotional material, such as television ads or in-store materials, that
appear in front of consumers and were deliberately manipulated by the researcher
 
Dependent variable: The brand loyalty of Chinese consumers and the likelihood that they will
purchase a certain brand as a result of the promotional materials
 
Promotional materials affect consumer awareness and perception of products. The article
mentioned that television promotions were a good way to build general awareness of the product,
while in-store promotions generated instant need to purchase. The study also mentioned that
buyers of products of loyalist categories were more likely to be recruited by targeted initiatives.
Thus, marketing researchers are able to track how the buyers' purchase decisions change in
response to changes in the promotional materials.
 
1. Determine the brand loyalty of Chinese consumers as product usage increases.
 
Independent variable: The amount of each product that the consumer purchases each year was
tracked by the researcher, and it affects the number of brands that the consumer purchases
 
Dependent variable: The number of brands that the Chinese consumer purchases changes as a
direct result of the amount of product the consumer purchases in a given amount of time.
 
People who frequently purchase a product are very familiar with its features, benefits, and
drawbacks. The study notes that, as consumers use a product more frequently, they are more
willing to experiment with different brands. Consumers are more accepting of making a "bad"
purchase if they view it to be temporary. Thus, marketing researchers are able to track consumer
brand loyalty by measuring the number of brands they purchase against the amount of product
they purchase. 
 1. Investigate the behavior of Chinese consumers and why they buy certain brands
2. Research how to get Chinese consumers to buy different brands

The independent variables would be the Chinese consumers and the dependent variables would be
the different brand choices. I would say that I would come up with two different market research
teams to only focus on the research problems that might be there.

Suggestion: My suggestion would be to have one or two marketing research teams that focus
mainly on the research problems. Allowing them to examine these issues in more depth to find
the best possible solutions to the problems. 

The independent variable is the shoppers and the dependent variable is the brands. I would create
two research teams in order to give each research problem adequate attention.