Methodological Assumptions

The positivist approach takes a fixed structure of the research and allows for “accurate answers” to research questions (Hudson and Ozanne, 1988, p.512). Positivists assume that true knowledge is scientific knowledge, which is described and explained by observable phenomena. The positivist uses quantitative methods. The positivist researcher should focus on facts by formulating hypotheses to test. The method includes operationalising concepts to be measured by taking large samples. Statistical and mathematical techniques are central in the research methods adopted by positivist researchers. Structured research techniques are used to examine single and objective realities. The research techniques adhere to the scientific protocol and take a step by step approach to the research design. The research design is a fixed structure which is used to find answers to research questions. The use of pre-test and a pilot test enables the study to evolve, and allows the design and the hypotheses to become fixed at some point.

A positivist approach to consumption has the aim to identify consistencies with law-like, causal effect on individuals’ actions (Fisher, 1990). Positivism aims to explain causal regularities which are believed to underlie human behaviour, characterised by the deductive approach. For example, the causal regularity is assumed in the relationship between acculturation, specifically life domains and the ethnic consumption. The condition (private or public life domain), the ethnic consumer (the object), and the purchase behaviour of ethnic products, will be chosen reflecting their choice in the private life domain which is influenced by the condition to purchase ethnic products. This is opposed to the condition of the public life domain which is influenced by consumption (the outcome).

However, positivism rarely considers perfect regularity (Fisher, 1990), and holds the position to accept close to universal law-like statements in most instances. For example, consumer acculturation has focused on assimilation documented in the first wave of theory (Luedicke, 2011), mainly to the adoption of immigrants to the host culture with a focus on socio-demographics (e.g. country of birth, ethnic identity). For instance, Desphande et al. (1986) showed that the strength of ethnic identity has an influence on acculturation outcome. However, regularities may not extend over time or between cultures (Fisher, 1990). The second wave of consumer acculturation research (Luedicke, 2011) has documented that the strength of ethnic identity is not a fixed position, and that immigrants “swap” between cultures and multicultural identities (Oswald, 1999, p.303).

Positivism is the dominant paradigm within consumer research (Anderson, 1986;

Bagozzi 1980; Hunt 1993; Peter and Olson 1983). Consumer researchers apply the methods of the natural sciences to the study of social beings (Ozanne and Hudson, 1989) and usually define their research goals as the discovery of ‘general laws’ (Hudson and Ozanne, 1988). Ozanne and Hudson (1989) indicate that in terms of research problem solving ability, positivist consumer research has "added to the bridge" of knowledge.

Interpretive researchers argue that consumers can be studied with a positivist approach, and generally hold that researchers must consider the meaning of the phenomena from the perspective of the consumers involved (Ozanne and Hudson, 1989). However, it can be problematic if the researchers’ national cultural characteristics influence the study, in which case this suggests ethnocentrism (Triandis, 1995; Engelen and Brettel, 2011).

Ethnocentrism refers to the tendency to use one’s own group standard (the researcher) as the only standard when viewing other groups (ethnic consumers), which results in the inability to interpret data from a cultural perspective correctly. In the context of this study,

the researcher would be biased in interpreting the data of the Turkish-Dutch consumers because the researcher might filter her own interpretation of data from her own culture through the cultural predetermination of the Turkish and Dutch cultures (Hall, 1989;

Cavusgil & Das, 1997). Although interpretivism offers potential in problem solving (Ozanne and Hudson, 1989), in this study it can be concluded that interpretivism limits problem solving.

Positivist social scientists have utilised scientific approaches to discover a number of regularities pertaining to consumer behaviour (Cleveland et al., 2011, 2013). These regularities have been empirically validated and have achieved the status of ‘law-like generalisations’ (Ehrenberg, 1982). Bass (1995) has defined empirical generalisation as

“a pattern or regularities that repeat over different circumstances and that can be described simply by mathematical, graphic or symbolic methods. It does require a pattern but the pattern needs not be universal over all circumstances” (p.7). This definition does not claim causality. Bass (1995) argues that researchers would agree that more precise generalisations are not superior to those that are less precise. In this perspective, Ehrenberg (1982) noted that “….the law like relationships of science are descriptive generalisations, often at quite a low level. But the variables which do not appear in the equation greatly aid our understanding (e.g. that the type of gas…). They are also the building-blocks of higher theory and explanation” (in Bass, 1995, p.7).

Consumer acculturation research has shown that differences exist between ethnic groups, and also among ethnic groups (Deshpande et al., 1986), which implies that patterns might not be universal over all circumstances.

This study is interested in the relationship between acculturation and consumption. The research question is: “What is the extent to which acculturation influences ethnic consumers in the Netherlands?” Consistent with the positivist epistemology, and the assumption of causality, this study has derived the phenomena from theory established in previous research to form this relationship. The positivist approach is evident here to follow research protocol. At all times, it is also important that the researcher remains distinguished from the subjects. The research output of literature review and the research concept attempts to establish the hypothesised relationship between acculturation and consumption. A pre-test and a pilot test in the positivist approach enable the structure of the study to evolve and to produce hypothesised relationships which become fixed (Hudson and Ozanne, 1988). This implies that the nature of reality is objective, real and stable (Bower, 1981). The positivist assumption in problem solving is consistent with the purpose of the study. According to Bower (1981) all basic science is to create theories that are generalisable.

The selection of the research strategy, methods and methodologies for a research project must be securely and appropriately linked to the research question and to the sources of data collected (Creswell, 1994). In view of this, a quantitative strategy is the most appropriate for this research study. By adopting the positivist approach, this research involves the development and use of scales, scale items and measurement of Immigrants’ consumer acculturation in a Turkish-Dutch setting deducted from literature.

The current study attempts to draw generalisations by studying the Turkish-Dutch in the Netherlands. The various roles of multiple cultures may result in an increased adoption to the new culture (Peñaloza, 1994). Arends-Toth and van de Vijver (2004) indicated that the Turkish-Dutch gradually adapt to the host (mainstream). Later generations are influenced by education, friends, and media within the host as a result of consumer learning processes (Despande et al., 1986; Askegaard, Kjeldgaard and Arnould 2005).

Although influential research of the past ten years (Askegaard et al (2005) has shown a post-assimilationist position, implying that ethnic consumers will not gradually adapt to the new culture. It is argued that the acculturation outcome is fixed for ethnic groups (Peñaloza, 1994; Askegaard et al., 2005), therefore assimilation, i.e. resisting the heritage culture, is not the outcome of immigration. It can be assumed that the second and third generation has similarities as well as differences. The ethnic identity (Xu et al., 2004), the negotiation between the private and public life domain (Jamal, 2003), and culture (Oswald, 1999) have an effect on consumption. All these factors are certain to have significant impact on the consumption patterns.