The interview is composed of three stages, which are discussed in the following sections. There are two types of questions, namely open-ended questions and closed-ended questions, with the former one being dominant in the interview (see Appendix 2). Open-ended questions are preferred since they allow the interviewees to answer as little or as much as they choose, leaving more room for them to think of the issue (Breakwell, 2006). The questions may not follow the order as set in the interview schedule as the respondents will react to them differently. Also, the questions were learnt by heart before the interviews. As mentioned by Smith and Eatough (2006), it is better to have mental prompts rather than constantly referring to the interview questions in the course of the interview.
3.5.1 Stage one
In this stage, the main theme of the interview was introduced with the provision of general ideas about what the interviewees were expected to answer. The approximate length of the interview, say 30 minutes, was mentioned. The issues relating to confidentiality and record permission were already mentioned at the time when the appointment was made, so they were not covered here.
After the introduction, the interview began with some general questions regarding consumer spending habits on clothing. As suggested by Smith and Eatough (2006), a successful interview incorporates both general and specific questions which will move between each other fairly seamlessly. Questions 1
to 3 attempt to serve as ice-breaking as the interviewees may not be prepared to answer in-depth questions at the very beginning of the interview. Moreover, these can help understand their spending styles.
There are three questions in this stage and they are listed as follows:
1. How often do you buy clothes?
2. How much do you spend on clothing each month?
3. Which categories of clothes do you usually buy?
3.5.2 Stage two
This stage covers in-depth questions about their views to clothing brand image. Main issues covered in the literatures in chapter 2, including brand and brand equity, were discussed. In order to explore more information from interviewees’ responses, probing questions were asked if needed. The questions in this stage are as follows.
Question 4 attempts to find out the criteria of clothes selection in which the interviewees consider. It also intends to investigate whether brand is an important criterion for consumers to choose particular products to purchase as mentioned in the literature (Doyle, 1999; Mooij, 1998). Since this research is about the effect of brand image on consumer purchasing behaviour, further probing questions would be asked if the respondents mention something related to brand and brand equity.
4. What is it about particular clothes that make you buy them?
Questions 5 to 10 are brand equity-related questions. As mentioned in the literatures, brand equity is regarded as the summation of brand awareness,
perceived quality, brand loyalty and brand association (Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1993). These questions are to find out whether brand equity is as important as what has been noted in the literatures.
5. In what ways do you usually learn about clothing brands?
6. How do you judge the quality of the clothes?
7. Do you regularly buy the same brand of clothes?
8. Do you recommend brands?
9. Can you describe the image of your favorite brand?
10. Why do you like this brand?
Question 11 asks for the interviewees’ opinions about the new emerging online shopping mode whereas question 12 is about their post-purchase actions they took towards the clothes they had purchased. As mentioned in some consumer behaviour models, there are three stages for purchasing products or services, including pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase (Blackwell et al., 2006; Rayport and Jaworski, 2003). After finding out what the interviewees would do before making their purchasing decisions from the aforementioned questions, these two questions try to figure out their purchase and post-purchase behaviour.
11. Do you shop online for clothes?
12. What would you do if you are satisfied or dissatisfied about the clothes you purchase?
3.5.3 Stage three
In the last stage of the interview, the interviewees were asked to write a sentence which starts with the words ‘Brand is’. This serves as a summary of how interviewees perceive brands by providing their own definitions which may be similar or different from what is said in the literature. After the interviewees have finished writing the sentence, they would be thanked for providing their valuable time to attend the interview.
3.6 Administration
The interviews were conducted in the places such as rooms in the student accommodations or common areas in the university where the interviewees felt comfortable to answer the questions. They lasted for approximately 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the interviewees’ familiarity to the questions and their willingness to provide more fruitful responses. The processes were recorded with the use of MP3 player with the approval from the interviewees so as to facilitate the subsequent analysis. The interviews were then transcribed. The production and the use of transcripts are essential research activities that they involve close, repeated listening to the records which often reveal some unnoted recurring features, possibly attributing to important research findings (Atkinson and Heritage, 1984).