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Assignment: Data Collection – Interviews and Observations

Chapter 7: KYOTOMIDTOWNSHOPPINGCENTRE

KyotoMidtownisacompositeurbandistrictofmodernbuildingssurroundingahistoricJapanese garden.Itfeaturessophisticatedbars,restaurants,shops,artgalleries,ahotelandleafypublic spaces.KyotoMidtownaimstoofferauniqueshoppingexperiencewithabroadselection of outlets thatincludeJapan'sfirstflagship boutiqueand theworld'sfirstconceptshops. Fromplayful and trendsettingboutiquestoprestigiousbrandsvaluedtheworldover,itaspirestobeaplacefor peoplewhoappreciatethefinerthings in life.

Inthepastfewyearshowever,visitornumbershave declined.Forthisreason, themanagementof KyotoMidtownshoppingcentrefeelsthatitisimportanttodevelopa betterunderstandingofits shoppersin ordertotaketheshoppingexperiencetoanextlevel.Itwantstoknowwhatattracts customerstoitsstores,whatcustomersneedwhileshoppingandhowtheygoaboutshopping. Basedon theseinsights,itwantstodevelopstrategiesthatarecloselyaligned withitscustomers’ shoppingstrategies,needsandpreferences.

The management of theshoppingcentrehashired HoshimiKusunoki, aninternationalfull-time MBA studenttoproduceareportcompletewithpractical,hands-on recommendationsreadyfor implementation.Bornand raisedinanupper classfamily inYamanote,Hoshimi isfamiliarwiththe lifestyleandattitudes of people visitingtheKyotoMidtownshoppingcenterandthe high expectationsthattheyhave.

AkeyaimofHoshimi’sresearchprojectistofindoutwhatshopperswouldneedtoincreasethe frequencyofshoppingatthecentreaswellastounderstandhowitcomparestoothershopping centresinKyotocompetingforcustomers.Based on preliminaryresearch,Hoshimihasbeenable to developthefollowingspecific projectobjectives:

·      To establish theprofileof shoppers

·       TounderstandtheirawarenessandusageoftheMidtown Shoppingcentre

·      Tounderstandhowshoppers travel tothe shoppingcentre,howfar theyhavetravelledand howfrequentlytheyshopthere

·      To exploreshopperbehaviorandunderstandwhat theyhavepurchased orhadexpectedto

purchaseandaverageexpenditure

·      Tounderstandtheirexpectationsto theMidtown shoppingcentre

·      Tounderstandtheirattitudesto the Midtown shoppingcentre

Hoshimiwants toconduct structured facetofaceinterviewswith 100shoppersatthe shopping centreandacompetingshoppingcentre.Theinterviewswilltakeplaceduringthekeyshopping hours acrosseverydayof theweekamongarepresentativesampleofparticipants.

QUESTIONS

1.         Hoshimihasplannedtocarryoutstructuredinterviews.Howdostructuredinterviewsdiffer fromunstructured interviews? Which would be more appropriate for this study and why?

2.         What arethepossibleadvantages anddisadvantagesof usingfacetofaceinterviews in this situation?

3.         Theinformationobtained duringinterviewsshouldbeasfreeaspossiblefrombias.Howcan Hoshimiminimizebias introduced bytheinterviewer,theinterviewee,or thesituation?

4.         What advice would you give Hoshimiregarding theselectionof participants for her interviews?