CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A hypothesis is a proposition a tentative assumption which researcher wants to taste for logical or empirical consequences. Thus, the research is of exploratory in nature. Thus the hypothesis is developed. 3.1 Hypothesis- (1) Facility (a) facilities provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air India. facilities provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air India. (b) facilities provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Jet Airways. facilities provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Jet Airways. (c) facilities provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Go Air. facilities provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Go Air. (d) facilities provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Spice Jet. facilities provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Spice Jet. 53

(e) Ho: There is no difference in satisfaction level of air travelers in regard to facilities provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Indigo. facilities provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Indigo. (2) Service (a) Ho: There is significant no difference in satisfaction level of air travelers in regard to services provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air India. services provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air India. (b) services provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Jet Airline. services provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Jet Airline. (c) services provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Go Air. services provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Go Air. (d) Ho: There is no difference in satisfaction level of air travelers in regard to services provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Spice Jet. services provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Spice Jet. (e) services provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Indigo. services provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Indigo. 54

(3) Safety (a) safety provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air India. safety provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air India. (b) safety provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Jet Air Ways. safety provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air Ways. (c) safety provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Go Air. safety provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Go Air. (d) safety provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Spice Jet. safety provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Spice Jet. (e) safety provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Indigo. safety provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Indigo. 55

(4) Flight Information (a) flight information provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air India. flight information provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air India. (b) flight information provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Jet Air Ways. flight information provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Jet Air Ways. (c) flight information provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Go Air. flight information provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Go Air. (d) flight information provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Spice Jet. flight information provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Spice Jet. (e) flight information provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Indigo. flight information provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Indigo. 56

(5) Hospitality (a) hospitality provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air India. hospitality provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air India. (b) hospitality provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Jet Air Ways. hospitality provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Jet Air Ways. (c) hospitality provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Go Air. hospitality provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Go Air. (d) hospitality provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Spice Jet. hospitality provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Spice Jet. (e) hospitality provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Indigo. hospitality provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Indigo. (6) Ambience (a) ambience provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air India. 57

ambience provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Air India. (b) ambience provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Jet Air Ways. ambience provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Jet Air Ways. (c) ambience provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Go Air. ambience provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Go Air. (d) ambience provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Spice Jet. ambience provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Spice Jet. (e) ambience provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Indigo. ambience provided by King Fisher Air Lines and Indigo. You can check that the program has used the right data by making sure that the means (1.81 and 1.66 for the t-test), number of observations (32, 32) and degrees of freedom (62) are correct. The information you then need to use in order to reject or accept your H O, are the bottom five values. The t Stat value is the calculated value relating to your data. This must be compared with the two t Critical values depending on whether you have decided on a one or two-tail test (do not confuse these terms with the one or two-way ANOVA). If the calculated value exceeds the critical values the H O must be rejected at the level of confidence you selected before the test was executed. Both the one and two-tailed results confirm that the H O must be rejected and the H A accepted. We can also use the P(T<=t) values to ascertain the precise probability rather than the one specified beforehand. For the results of the t-test above the probability of the 58

differences occurring by chance for the one-tail test are 2.3x10-9 (from 2.3E-11 x 100). All the above P-values denote very high significant differences. 3.3 Sampling plan The sample for study was taken in following manner. Samplings plan was designed in such a way that it represent the universe. 3.3.1 Universe This is first step in developing any sample design where the researcher clearly define and understand defines the set objectives. In the proposed study the set of objectives defined the universe is finite as only the population is considered the people who travel by airlines (domestic). The study was conducted at different domestic airport the main airport line Mumbai, Calcutta, Pune, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bhopal and Indore. The major airports were considered for conducting the study and further research. The sample was selected (in number) as per the research paper published mentioned in size of sample (3.4.2) A. The total number of sample were selected on few parameter like- age range from 17 years to 60 years and above and sexes were represented proportionately. The basic hypothesis was based on the premise that there should be significant difference between male and female, along with qualification and occupation was considered from matriculate to post graduate and occupation includes students, businessman, corporate executives, government officials, politicians, housewives, senior executives, defense services and others who travel by domestic aviation companies. For the study of second objectives Including frequencies of travel and on that basic rating of airlines- (1-7) - Air India - Go air - Kingfisher - Spice Jet - Jet Airways - Indigo 59

B. The study of third research objective was based on development of new corporate branding model. To study this objective audio-video interview were conducted at Mumbai, Indore and Delhi where the structured questions were asked to the senior executives of domestic aviation company. Video interviews were recorded and on the basis of recorded interview. The new corporate branding model was developed. 3.3.2 Sampling Unit a. In reference to the research objective number 1 To study the current corporate branding strategies of India domestic aviation organizations, the current information was collected from and through senior executives/ceos of Indian domestic aviation industry through personal interview (unedited transcript enclosed in Annex. II). The information was also gathered by visiting their corporate offices regarding current marketing plans, existing marketing strategies, and recent corporate branding strategies. b. In reference to the research objective number 2 To study the customer satisfaction of domestic aviation travelers (population), 500 respondents (sample size) were considered for the research purpose as representative sample. The sampling procedure adopted was stratified random sampling. The member of the population was first assigned to strata or groups on the basis of some characteristics and a simple random sample is drawn from each stratum. The individuals in all the samples taken together constitute the sample from given population. c. In reference to the research objective number 3 To study and develop new corporate branding model for domestic aviation organization, old models were referred and on the basis of literature available and by reviewing few research papers and publications, a standard questionnaire was developed. The instrument was tested and validated. The Audio and Video interviews were conducted of senior managers of domestic aviation organizations (Annex. III and enclosed CD). 60

3.3.3 Size of Sample The size of sample was 500 respondents. The date which was collected 446 respondents qualified, other questionnaire was not properly filled or responses was /were misleading. On the basis of research paper (Ref. R.V. Krejice and D.W. Morgen Determining Sample Size for Research Activities Educational Psychological Management 30.608 By Sage Publication (1970). Reprinted by permission of Sage Publication. As per the research paper- The larger population size, the smaller the percentage of population required to get a representative sample. As per table 4.1 sample size (s) required from given population (N) size. Thus, if 100000 (Ten thousand) 389 (s). Thus 500 samples were considered for this research, to full feel research objectives. 3.4. Data Collection Sources The data was collected from primary as well as secondary sources as explained in above sections. 3.4.1 Primary Sources Primary information has been collected with the help of questionnaire and designed proforma. A questionnaire consists of a set of well formulated questions to probe and obtain responses from respondents. Personal interview and online method was used to collect relevant information by structured questionnaire & proforma. To understand the concept of branding and mainly corporate branding as a business strategy in domestic aviation. Structured questions were asked to senior managers of Air India, Jet Airways at Indore and Mumbai. The responses were recorded on video camera. The answers and responses were analyzed for the construction of new corporate branding model for Indian domestic aviation. 3.4.2 Secondary Information The secondary sources of information collected from existing Literature which were relevant to study, further more secondly information were collected through journals, magazines, books and various web sides of domestic aviation organizations like- 1) Air India, 2) Kingfisher Airlines, 3) Go air, 4) Jet Airways 5) Spice jet 6) Indigo. 61

Few leading news papers were also referred for secondary data collection and interviews of senior executives of air line companies and government officials including the information collected from state and central government through their publications and websites. 3.5 Data Collection Method In this study data was collected in two phases through questionnaire and proforma and content analysis. (a) Research Methodology for Objective One To study corporate branding as business strategy in domestic aviation. The existing and current business strategies data collected through their official websites. Further through various news papers mainly Times of India (Calcutta, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore editions: Hindustan Times, Economic Times, The Hindu, Hitvada, Daily Dantti and other edition of Times publications. b. The researcher asked the structured questions to the senior manager of Indian Domestic aviation Air India. c. During video conferencing and video interviews, the senior executives where asked current marketing and branding strategies of their respective air lines. d. Some research papers were also referred to understand the current branding strategies of their airlines organization. e. Some video interviews which were telecasted on various commercial channels where also considered in collecting the data regarding existing branding strategies. (b) Research Methodology for Research Objective Second To Study satisfaction level of traveler of Kingfisher air line and compare with satisfaction level of travelers of other airlines. To study second research objective to study satisfaction level of air traveler- A standard open ended questionnaire was constructed. The demographic variables were 7 (seven) in numbers. The first variable decided was the age of air travelers The range of age was considered from 18 years to 60 years and above- Age up to 18 years, 19 years to 30 years, 30 years to 45 years, and 45-60 years and above. 62

Second parameter- Gender which describe male or female air travelers in numbers. Third parameter was qualification which described travelers educational qualification from matriculate to postgraduate and above. Occupation was next parameter- which describes the classification of travelers as student, house wife, corporate executives and government officials, political leaders (politicians), business man, defense services and others. The next parameter was to understand the Frequency of Travel- The objective of asking the questions to respondents was to know how frequently they travel i.e. the frequency of air traveler was asked to the respondenents and analyzed on once in weekly, once in forth night, six month, yearly, after every two years or even after every five years. Next parameter was to find out Reason to travel- The objective to ask the specific question to understand the reason to travel, whether for education purpose, business or government meetings for leisure and enjoyment i.e. vacations or holidays, medical emergency or for defense purpose/ or for defense meetings or for defense courses.. Next parameter was to know the earning or Income (Annual)- The objectives was to understand the income group (annual in Rs.) range from 1 lakh to 80 thousands, 10 lakhs and more of domestic air travelers. On the basis of these parameters the questions were framed to understand and collect the varieties of information which are responsible for selecting the particular domestic air line. The questions frame on various aspects include air craft punctuality, safety, hospitality by staff, security, ambience, flight information, In -flight entertainment etc. To study the customer satisfaction 41 questions were framed and respondent were asked to give their preference from scale 1 to 5 (Likert s Scale). On the basis of responses, respondents were asked to give their preference for different domestic aviation companies like 1) Air India, 2) Kingfisher, 3) Jet Airways. 4) Go Air, 5) Spice Jet, 6) Indigo Airlines. From range 1 to 6 as a preferred air line for their domestic travel. The final questionnaire is enclosed in Annexure for reference. 63

(c) To study the research objective third Develop researched new corporate branding model for domestic aviation companies. The various models were studied by researcher like a model developed by Parsu Parasaram, Valaire Zeithmai and Len Berry (1985). Known as SERVIQUAL Model was refereed to study customer satisfaction of domestic air travelers. 3.5.1 Phase I Survey through Questionnaire Conducted a survey through structured questionnaire for gazing their preference in selection of domestic aviation organization. Number of structured questions were asked in knowing their preference on Likert s scale Range from 1-10 Fire kale rating. 3.5.2 Phase II Video Interviews The main objective of second phase of study to find out existing branding strategy of aviation organizations & future strategies corporate branding in domestic aviation organizations (Annexure B Video Interview To encompass different type and class of domestic travel irrespective of age, gender, income, occupation on the basis of their frequency of travel gives preference to which airlines on the basis of 30 structured questions asked to senior managers of company. And on the basis of responses. Responses were analyzed and customer satisfaction level of Kingfisher were compared one to one with other prominent other fire air lines domestic player in aviation industry. Current branding of strategies of Indian domestic aviation organization like- Air India, Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways, Go air, Spice Jet and Indigo was studied through their web sites and personal video interviews of senior executives of companies were conducted along with literature available and from news paper like Times of India and Economic Times and other prominent newspapers of India. Phase II (Video Interview and Telephonic Interview) :- Keeping in mind the various domestic aviation companies of country. Response were collected. A structured questionnaire was prepared and questions were asked to the senior manager. And their responses were collected through video and telephonic conversation. 64

The responses were recorded and thus helped the researcher in preparation of corporate branding model. 3.6 Data Analysis Collected data has been analyzed with the help of following statistical tools SPSS and with Microsoft tool. Commonly used Attitude Measurement Scale- The objective of Attitude measurement was to Scale measure one or more aspects of an individual s or group s attitude towards some objects individual s responses. Ordinal Scale- This possess the attribute of magnitude only this means that various categories of items can be compared with each other only in order of rank assigned to these categories. However, these ranks only indicate as to which category is greater>or better, but does not indicate the magnitude of difference among them. Ordinal scale is also known as rating scale (Ref.: Research Methodology, Deepak Kumar Bhattacharya, III Edition, 2013, Printed by Excel Books. Pp.40-135). Likert s Summated Scale- A summative scale is a set of attitude statements of which all are considered or approximated as having equal attitude value and to each of which subjects respond with a degree of agreement or disagreement (intensity). Carrying different scores. These scores are summed and averaged to yield an individual s attitude score. Under this method, each respondent s ranking is found out by totaling his score on all statements. Likert s Type Scale Data- In this procedure, respondents are asked to respond certain number of statements. Reply to each statement is given in terms of five degrees of agreement or disagreement, viz. strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree. Each statement, thus, becomes a scale in itself having five points on it. At one end of this scale is strongly approve and other end is strong disapproval, between them, there are many intermediate points. The respondent indicates, with reference to each statement, where he stands on scale. The total score on all statement is taken as the measurement of his attitude. Statements may either favorable or unfavorable. For favorable statements values given are 5,4,3,2,1 and unfavorable values are 1,2,3,4,5. 65

Research Instrument s Reliability and Validity To study the research objectives, researcher has designed a structured questionnaire to develop a ordinal scale. A questionnaire was designed after reviewing a number of research papers/studies and literature available of different domestic aviation organization abroad. Like continental, Malaysian Air Lines, and Japan Air Lines to study consumer perception and satisfaction of air travelers. ------ A pilot study carried out for 100 respondents. The instrument was validated on their responses. ------ Some questions were deleted and final research instrument was designed with 41 questions. Conforming reliability instrument for seeking the responses of domestic aviation industries of India. The analysis of primary data has been done with the help of Ms Excel and SPSS and Microsoft tool. The collected data were analyzed and interpreted using statistical package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. Mainly rotated component matrix for identifying the major factors. Factorial Analysis For analysis of data, the statistical tool employed is frequency table, rated component matrix analysis, reliability analysis and some other tools. Mean- The opinion of respondent was reviewed through Likert Summated Scale and mean value was calculated on the basis of male, female as sex and other parameters like Income, occupation and frequency of visit and according the response gathered from 446 responses. Responses were recorded and calculated. Satisfaction level of traveler of Kingfisher Airlines was recorded and compare one to one with other five domestic airlines. The third research objectives were analyzed in the development of new corporate branding model. The old model developed by the behavioral model of Cyret and March was referred. The model development ACID TEST methodology developed by Johan Balamer and Soune (1995) was referred. 66

A- Actual Identity was identified through customer (air traveler) C- Communicated identity- through customers and other people. (Public) I - Ideal Identity- (through senior managers) D- Desired Identity- (senior executives of domestic aviation companies by personal and telephonic interviewed along with video recording of their interviews). A Actual Identity D Desired Identity Domestic Aviation Organization Kingfisher C Communicated Identity I Ideal Identity ACID Model (Johan and Balmer, 1995) The responses given by senior manager were unanimously of the opinion that culture plays an very important role in enhancing the corporate branding. Apart from Actual identity, Communicated identity, ideal Identity and Desired identity, new identity was derived as Cultured identity. Thus new corporate branding model is as follows: Thus new corporate branding model which has been constructed as follows:- 67

A Actual Identity C Cultural Identity C Communicated Identity Domestic Aviation Organization D Desired Identity I Ideal Identity (New A C I D C Model for Corporate Branding) Thus, the new model is ACIDC model were culture has very high impact for air traveler in giving the preferences in selection of the domestic air lines. 3.7 Scope of Study Some of the results in the research process suggest in trusting prospects for future studies. The finding showed different results compared to the general future research. Air travelers think differently depending upon gender, income, education, occupation, frequency of air travel. The air traveler think and act differently and this the main reason why research have not claimed that results are accurate ones. 68

This research provide with a general understanding of this subject and it is crucial to further more state that this subject can be further narrowed down even more, when it comes to psychological aspects. 3.8 Relevance of Study Corporate branding is a marketing strategy for Indian domestic aviation organization. Corporate branding helps organization to build their brand image and brand name. The corporate branding helps organization to enhance their brand equity. Although, it has been observed that corporate branding helps organization to create their specific image among the air traveler (customer) in giving the preferences and selection of airlines. Current marketing strategies are not more specific and relevant in current competitive environment. Thus, need is promote domestic aviation through corporate branding and create a new identify, as cultural identity. Thus, corporate branding as a marketing strategy for enhancing brand name in the mind of customer (air travelers). Corporate branding enhances corporate credibility in the mind of customers by changing their attitude towards the brand preference. On other hand, it clearly says that corporate branding can enhance positively or negatively in the mind of customer (air traveler) may affect the business of organization, and further the overall objectives of organization is maximize profit through customer satisfaction and customer delight. 69