Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research
The chapter of qualitative research is to address the analysis and evaluation of the qualitative data collected from structured interview. This structured interview contains 11 interviewing questions, and these interviewing questions reveal the perception, motivations and behaviours of customers toward ethically sourced coffee. In the following, this chapter will give a brief of this qualitative analysis from sample structure to qualitative data method, address key themes of findings on consumer attitude and behaviours toward ethically sourced coffee, and summarise key insights from these qualitative data research findings.
Overview of analysis
There are 10 respondents participating in this structured interview. 6 female respondents and 4 male interviewees join this interview, and they have the age range from 20 to 55. Moreover, they have different education backgrounds, including the undergraduate, Master, the PhD students, and working professionals, and café owner. This diverse sample of these respondents to a great extent reinforces the representative of this qualitative data analysis results.
Thematic analysis method is applied to the identification and interpretation of this structured interview’s key themes. Braun & Clarke (2006) propose the appropriate thematic analysis framework of six step. The reason of why to choose this thematic analysis framework is that it offers relatively flexible approach to the exploration of the respondents’ attitude, experience and meanings on ethically sourced coffee.
Key themes of findings
The thematic analysis method of this qualitative data analysis finds several key themes around consumers’ perception and behaviours of ethically sourced coffee.
Theme 1: Awareness and understanding of ethically sourced coffee
This theme is to explain the familiarity and awareness of all respondents on ethically sourced coffee. The familiarity and awareness of all respondents underlines the possibility of the desired behaviours linked with the purchasing of more ethically sourced coffee. 90% of all respondents reported their familiarity and awareness on ethically sourced coffee, and this indicates that most interviewees have general awareness of this ethically sourced coffee term. However, these respondents have different understandings of ethically sourced coffee, such as fair wages, absence of exploitation, sustainable farming and environmental care. Mia understood the definition of ethically sourced coffee linked with fair trade, non-exploitation and environmental care, and Emma stresses the fair way to producing coffee bean while farmers obtain fair payment and child labour are prohibited. Meanwhile, Josh focused on the interpretation of fair and sustainable supply chain.
With respect to the partial understanding, some respondents with experience and knowledge are more likely to own more comprehensive understanding of ethically sourced coffee in comparison with young respondents. Tom as a café owner and Linda demonstrated comprehensive awareness of ethically sourced coffee that it not only concerns fair payment and trade, but also contributes to the communication of key selling point, supply chain and corporate responsibility from the holistic perspective. However, Lily and Emily as young student thought that ethically sourced coffee is not completely understanded. Experienced respondents are more likely to own the comprehensive meaning of ethically sourced coffee.
Furthermore, all female respondents argued that ethical is primarily linked with social justice (e.g. supports for women farmers expressed by Lily), and environmental stewardship (e.g. the protection of natural environment). Male interviewees have their major focuses on fair payment and economic fairness. This implies some understandings on the relationship of gender, age and occupation with different focuses and understandings of ethically sourced coffee. Different levels of the respondents’ awareness toward ethically sourced coffee suggest the knowledge and experience gap.
Theme 2: Trust and skepticism on ethical claims
Most respondents have their skepticism about the authenticity of ethical claims by these coffee brands. 80% of total interviewees thought that ethical claims linked with the usage of ethically sourced coffee are the marketing motives. Emma said that these coffee brands use ethically sourced coffee just for marketing promotion because there is evidence for confirming whether these coffee beans are ethically sourced based on the lack of fair trade certification. Moreover, Josh has only ‘60% confident’, and Jack said 50/50. Linda claimed ‘not very confident’ unless the coffee brands or shops offer clear proof of ethically sourced coffee beans. They explained that these ethical claims are more likely to be greenwashing, and this greenwashing means that companies and brands apply these ethical claims to foster and improve their brand equity and reputation while they do not take full accountability.
Most respondents believed that these coffee brands should offer certification labels of ethically sourced coffee, including Fair Trade, and Rainforest Alliance. For example, Grace stresses the importance of relevant certification like Rainforest Alliance. The availability of these fair trade and ethically sourced coffee certifications can increase the trust of these respondents on these coffee brands and shops. For instance, Mia stated fairly confidence when relevant certification is displayed. Most respondents have their intention to support ethically sourced coffee related coffee business, and however, they do not actually trust these coffee brands and shops because the existence of greenwashing and profit-driven motivations.
Theme 3: Motivations of selecting ethically sourced coffee
These respondents have strong motivations for selecting and purchasing ethically sourced coffee drinks even though they have the skepticism about ethical claims. There are several key motivations owned by these respondents, including moral identity, empathy and environmental responsibilities. The motivation of moral identity explains that most respondents choose and purchase ethically sourced coffee drinks because their personal values are aligned with ‘doing the right thing’. In this interview, Grace revealed that the purchasing of these drinks reflects personal values and lifestyles. In specific, Ben stated that his choice of ethically sourced coffee is to set ‘an example for my kid’ who can take responsible consumption and others. Morality underlines the choosing and consumption of ethically sourced coffee because their such behaviours are linked with their values, and expectations by others.
Another motivation of empathy is that most participants can emotionally perceive the living difficult of these coffee bean farmers through social media and other channels, and have strong empathy for them. For instance, Mia stressed that the reason of why coffee drinks are relatively cheap is that these coffee bean farmers are exploited. Lily interpreted that she watches short video of farmers stories via TikTok, and these farmer stories touch her emotionally. The empathy for coffee bean farmers can persuade these respondents into the support to ethically sourced coffee.
Referring to the final motivation of environmental responsibilities, most participants built and maintained strong connection of ethically sourced coffee to environmental responsibilities. The response from Josh suggested that buying ethically sourced coffee can improve the welfare of coffee bean farmers while the forests and other natural resources are not destroyed. Meanwhile, Mia said that the choice of ethically sourced coffee can reduce environmental harm. Strong connection of ethically sourced coffee to the protection of natural environment can motivate these respondents to choose and purchase ethically sourced coffee drinks.
Theme 4: Factors influencing the purchasing decision of ethically sourced coffee
When considering the actual purchasing of ethically sourced coffee, these respondents would like to consider some aspects determining their purchasing decision, including price, taste and convenience. First, the price of ethically sourced coffee is a key factor impacting their purchasing decision. Most respondents explained that they have relatively high degree of price sensitivity. Lily stated that paying additional 50 cents is affordable when purchasing ethically sourced coffee drinks. Furthermore, Emily indicated that price is the critical factor preventing the purchasing of ethically sourced coffee drinks because the student identity does not afford high price. The accepted price of ethically sourced coffee is 10-20% higher than ordinary coffee drinks.
Second, the taste of ethically sourced coffee is fairly important. In terms of the response of Josh, taste of coffee drinks is the priority of purchasing decision. Meanwhile, Jack has his focus on the quality of ethically sourced coffee. The good taste is a key enabler that motivates them to purchase ethically sourced coffee drinks. Third, convenience influences the purchasing decision of ethically sourced coffee. Based on the answer of Emma, the reason of why to choose ethically sourced coffee is that it is easily accessible on campus. The convenience of whether ethically sourced coffee is accessible is another enabler. Strong motivations do not always enable the choice and consumption of ethically sourced coffee. The factors of price, taste and convenience can become key enablers or barriers influencing the purchasing decision of ethically sourced coffee.
Theme 5: Effect of social media and campaigns
Most respondents agreed that social media is a powerful source of learning and understanding ethically sourced coffee, including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. 80% of total interviewees recognised that short videos on TikTok are inspiring emotionally. Mia stated that TikTok video show how coffee bean farmers and workers are exploited by cheap coffee without fair trade. From social media influencers, Grace argued that the content created by social media influencers profoundly influence her understandings of ethically sourced coffee. Some respondents prefer the information and comments from online communities, rather than social media influencers. Ben and Josh interpreted that the posts from LinkedIn and comments from Reddit are valuable because these user generated comments and contents have high level of credibility. Social media has its effect on the building of ethical awareness while various contents on social media seem to educate these respondents.
Theme 6: Recommendations
These participants highlight some expectations or recommendations on business practices of ethically sourced coffee, including educational initiatives, customer engagement, and authentic practices. The expectation of educational initiatives facilitates the respondents to learn why to engage the practices of ethically sourced coffee. The response from Grace suggested that infographic content is helpful because it can explain how ethically sourced coffee help local coffee bean farmers and workers through fair trade. Meanwhile, Linda emphasised that the storytelling content can effectively educate customers, rather than the simple slogans of marketing communication campaigns.
The respondents proposed that some practices and initiatives can be used for enhancing customer engagement, including the loyalty program and subscription for ethical product. Ben said that the subscription for ethical products can offer consistent commitment to ethically sourced coffee, and this transform his motivation into real habitual behaviour on the purchasing of ethically sourced coffee. Furthermore, they have strong expectation on transparency and authenticity. Jack explained that transparency linked with the source of coffee bean can be supported by the QR codes, and Tom proposed traceability technologies for enhancing the transparency. Improved transparency can increase the confidence of these respondents on the making of ethically sourced coffee purchasing decisions. These expectations and recommendations not only contribute to the reinforcement of these respondents’ awareness and perception toward ethically sourced coffee, but also support the implementation of the purchasing decision on ethically sourced coffee drinks.
Summary of key insights
Based on the results of thematic analysis, there are some key insights on the respondents’ perception and behaviours toward ethically sourced coffee.
1) Existence of awareness but trust gap
Most participants have their clear understandings on ethically sourced coffee from the awareness perspective. However, they question that ethical claims are treated as the greenwashing, and this exacerbates their trust and confidence on the commitment to the purchasing of ethically sourced coffee.
2) Practices-based motivation
These respondents agree that their moral values contribute to the formulation of their motivation toward the purchasing of ethically sourced coffee. However, the price and tastes of ethically sourced coffee have the powerful impact on the making of ethically sourced coffee purchasing decision.
3) Emotional and digital implications
These interviewees report that marketing communication campaigns on social media platform, particularly storytelling, contribute to the emotional connection to ethically sourced coffee. Furthermore, user generated content on online communities and social media platforms is more credible and trustful.
4) Transparency and authenticity of ethical business
Most respondents question the transparency and authenticity of ethically sourced coffee because ethical claims by coffee brands and shops may be not aligned with the actual sourcing practices. The traceability technologies should be applied to the demonstration of ethically sourced coffee, and this confirms the authenticity of ethical practice, rather than ethical claims.
5) Differences from diverse demographic profiles
The demographics of these respondents, including the age, gender, and occupation, have different understandings of ethically sourced coffee. The aged respondents with substantial experience are more likely to have the comprehensive understanding of ethically sourced coffee.
6) Existence of barriers
The respondents recognise the existence of some barriers or enables on the purchasing of ethically sourced coffee, including the price, taste and convenience. Based on the motivation, these respondents need to value these factors because they have the significant effect on their purchasing decision of ethically sourced coffee.
Questionnaire Design
This marketing research needs to design and prepare the questionnaire. The questionnaire is a set of well-designed questionnaires toward the collection of quantitative data. Different measurement scales, such as the Likert scale, single choice and others, can be used for the measurement of the respondents’ perception and behaviour toward ethically sourced coffee. Table 1 shows the purpose of each question in this questionnaire.
Table 1: Purpose of each question in the questionnaire
Questions Research Question
Question 1 Research question 2
Question 2 Research question 3
Question 3 Research question 2
Question 4 Research question 3
Question 5 Research question 1
Question 6 Research question 1
Question 7 Research question 1
Question 8 Research question 1
Question 9 Research question 1
Question 10 Research question 1
Question 11 Research question 3
Question 12 Research question 3
Question 13 Research question 3
Question 14 Research question 2
Question 15 Research question 3
Question 16 Research question 3
Analysis & Results
The chapter of analysis & results is to demonstrate and explain the statistical analysis results of the quantitative data drawn from the self-administered questionnaire survey. The development of research hypotheses facilitates the understanding of the potential relationship between these variables. The statistical analysis of the quantitative data can be used for testing these research hypotheses.
Research hypotheses
Research hypotheses address the building of the testable relationship between variables.
H1: The previous purchasing of ethically sourced coffee is positively associated with the willingness to pay extra for ethically sourced coffee (Q5-Q14, Nominal-Ordinal, Chi-square);
H2: There is mean difference of willingness to pay extra for ethically sourced coffee between men and women (Gender-Q14, Nominal-Interval, Independent sample t-test);
H3: There is mean difference between the motivation for environmental benefits and social/worker benefits (Q8_1-Q8_2, Interval-Interval Paired samples t-test);
H4: There are mean differences of the willingness to pay for ethically sourced coffee among main coffee purchasing locations (Q14-Q4, Interval-Nominal, One-Way ANOVA);
H5: Environmental and social motivations are positively linked with the likelihood of recommending ethically sourced coffee to friends (Q8_1, Q8_2-Q16, Interval-Interval, Multiple regression);
H6: There is a significant positive relationship between customer perceived trust in ethical sourcing certification and purchasing intention for ethically sourced coffee (Q9_2-Q17, Ordinal-Interval, Pearson correlation);
Demographic profile
There are 125 respondents participating in this self-administered questionnaire survey, and only 107 responses are valid. Figure 1 addresses that 59% of total participants are females, and male respondents account for 41%.
Figure 1: Gender
With respect to the demographic profile of age, Figure 2 explains that a considerable number of respondents have the age range from 18 to 28 because 43 respondents with the age between 18 and 28 join this questionnaire survey. There are 42 respondents with the age between 29 and 39.
Figure 2: Age Group
Figure 3 interprets that most respondents are students because there are 63 students participating in this questionnaire survey. 22 respondents own the occupation of workers, and 12 participants have other occupations.
Figure 3: Occupation
Testing of research hypotheses
Based on the collected quantitative data from the questionnaire survey, six statistical analysis methods can be applied to the testing of research hypotheses.
H1: Chi-Square Test
The testable research hypoThesis is that the previous purchasing of ethically sourced coffee is positively associated with the willingness to pay extra for ethically sourced coffee. The Chi-Square test is used for testing this research hypothesis. Table 2 shows that the value of the Pearson Chi-Square is 9.84 at the P value (.043). The result of the Linear-by-Linear Association is 5.66 at the P value (.016), and this suggests that this association has the positive trend. This means that there is a significantly positive relationship between the previous purchasing of ethically sourced coffee and the willingness to pay extra for ethically sourced coffee.
Table 2: Result of Chi-Square test
Crosstabulation (Q5xQ14) Definitely/Probably Probably/Definitely
Yes Neutral No Total
Yest (purchased) 31 18 10 60
No 5 7 10 23
Not sure 7 11 9 27
Total 43 36 29 107
Chi-Square Tests Value df Asymptotic Significance (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 9.82 5 .043
Likelihood Ratio 10.14 5 .037
Linear-by-Linear Association 5.66 2 .016
N of Valid Cases 107
H2: Independent-Samples t-test
The testable research hypothesis that there is mean difference of willingness to pay extra for ethically sourced coffee between men and women. The Independent-Samples t-test is applied to the testing of this research hypothesis. Table 3 demonstrates that the mean of male is 3.02, and female is 3.41. There are mean differences between male and female on the willingness to pay extra for ethically sourced coffee. As Table 3 shows, the result of the Independent-Samples t-test shows that t value is -2.04, and p value is .043. This mean difference is significant, and in particular, female respondents have higher willingness to pay extra for ethically sourced coffee than male participants. Therefore, the result of this research hypothesis is there is mean difference of willingness to pay extra for ethically sourced coffee between men and women.
Table 3: Result of Independent-Samples t-test
Group Statistics N Mean SD Std. Error Mean
Male 50 3.02 1.11 0.15
Female 60 3.41 1.07 0.13
Independent Samples t-test Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
F Sig. t df Two-sided p Mean Difference
Equal variances assumed 1.22 .268 -2.04 105 .043 -0.39
Equal variances not assumed -2.01 103.4 .47 -0.30
H3: Paired-Samples t-test
The Paired-Samples t-test method is applied to the testing of research hypothesis that there is mean difference between the motivation for environmental benefits and social/worker benefits. Table 4 explains that the value of mean difference is 1.82, and this shows the mean difference between motivation for environment benefits and social/worker benefits. However, the p value is .083 (>.05), and this means that this mean difference is not significant. Thus, there is no mean difference between the motivation for environmental benefits and social/worker benefits.
Table 4: Resul of Paired-Samples t-test
Paired Samples Statistics Mean N SD Std. Error Mean
Environmental benefits 61.24 107 20.24 1.94
Social benefits 59.42 107 22.32 2.15
Paired Samples Test Paired Differences Significance
Paired Samples Test Mean diff. SD t df Sig
Environment-social motivation 1.82 8.31 1.73 104 .083
H4: One-Way ANOVA
The One-Way ANOVA method is used to the examination of research hypothesis that there are mean differences of the willingness to pay for ethically sourced coffee among main coffee purchasing locations. In terms of Table 5, the F (3,104) = 2.04, and this suggests that there is a mean difference. However, the P value is .094 (>.05), and this mean difference is not significant. Therefore, the hypothesis that there are mean differences of the willingness to pay for ethically sourced coffee among main coffee purchasing locations is not supported.
Table 5: Result of One-Way ANOVA
Descriptives N Mean SD
Café 50 3.53 1.24
Supermarket 23 3.06 1.04
Specialty Store 21 3.41 1.15
Online 11 2.83 1.15
Other 2 2.57 .83
Total 107 3.27 1.23
ANOVA Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups 9.74 3 2.46 2.04 .094
Within Groups 126.42 104 1.25
Total 136.16 107
H5: Multiple Regression
The Multiple Regression method is applied to the testing of the research hypothesis that environmental and social motivations are positively linked with the likelihood of recommending ethically sourced coffee to friends. Table 6 illustrates that the F (3, 94) = 10.36, and this indicates that 17.5% of the variance in recommendation intention. This means that the relationship is positive. In particular, the P value is smaller than .001, and this positive relationship between environmental and social motivations, and the likelihood of recommending ethically sourced coffee to friends is significant. Therefore, the positive relationship between environmental and social motivations, and the likelihood of recommending ethically sourced coffee to friends is supported.
Table 6: Result of Multiple Regression
Model Summary R R2 Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate
1 .425 .175 .163 .64
ANOVA Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Regression 8.24 3 4.15 10.36 .000
Residual 38.57 94 0.41
Total 46.81 97
Coefficients Unstandardised B Coefficients Std. Error Standardised Coefficients Beta T Sig.
(Constant) 0.84 0.24 4.17 .000
Environmental motivation 0.025 .005 .321 3.15 .004
Social motivation 0.007 .005 .246 2.45 .013
H6: Pearson Correlation
The Pearson Correlation method is applied to the testing of the research hypothesis on a significant positive relationship between customer perceived trust in ethical sourcing certification and purchasing intention for ethically sourced coffee. According to Table 7, the r value is .415, and this confirms the existence of the positive relationship. Furthermore, the P value is <.001, and this explains that this positive relationship is statistically significant. Thus, the positive relationship between customer perceived trust in ethical sourcing certification and purchasing intention for ethically sourced coffee is supported.
Table 7: Result of Pearson Correlation
Descriptive N Mean SD
Trust in Certification 107 2.64 0.54
Purchase Intention 105 6.83 2.16
Correlations Trust in Certification Purchase Intention
Trust in Certification Pearson Correlation 1 .415
Sig. (2-tailed) <0.001
N 107 107
Purchase Intention Pearson Correlation .415 1
Sig. (2-tailed) <.001
N 107 107
In conclusion, Table 8 shows that the testing of research hypotheses finds that H1, H2, H5 and H6 are supported, and meanwhile, H3 and H4 are not supported.
Table 8: Result of research hypotheses
Hypothesis Result
H1 Supported
H2 Supported
H3 Not supported
H4 Not supported
H5 Supported
H6 Supported
Description and interpretation of results
The statistical analysis results offer some meaningful insights based on the testing results of these research hypotheses.
H1: Past Purchase and Willingness to Pay Extra
The positive association between the previous purchasing history and the willingness to pay is statistically significant. The prior experience toward the purchasing of ethically sourced coffee can support the willingness to pay extra for ethically sourced coffee. Vermeir & Verbeke (2008) argue that the previous engagement in ethical consumption can strengthen the future behavioural commitment. Thus, the coffee brands should engage and encourage customers to purchase and experience ethically sourced coffee by offering certain discounts, and this existed experience could positively influence their willingness to the future purchasing of fair trade linked coffee products.
H2: Gender Differences in Willingness to Pay Extra
The quantitative data result supports that there is mean difference of willingness to pay extra for ethically sourced coffee between men and women. In common, female consumers have strong motivations toward fair trade related consumption because of the existence of empathic and prosocial values (Bray et al., 2011), and therefore, it is predicted that female consumers would like to pay extra for ethically sourced coffee. Therefore, the coffee brands who are committed to ethically sourced coffee should develop the gender related communications, such as the storytelling of female farmers and family livelihoods that greatly inspire female consumers.
H3: Environmental and Worker/Social Motivations
The mean difference between environmental and worker/social motivations is not significant. Both environmental and work/social motivations have their similar impact on consumers’ attitude and behaviours toward ethically sourced coffee. The research of White et al. (2010) explains that environmental and social motivations toward sustainability are interrelated. Therefore, these coffee brands should integrate environmental and social motivations for reinforcing customer motivations, such as the sharing of ethically sourced coffee linked with the benefits of biodiversity and fair wages.
H4: Coffee Purchasing Locations and Willingness to Pay Extra
The mean difference in the willingness to pay for ethically sourced coffee across different main coffee purchasing locations is not significant. In other words, the factor of coffee purchasing locations does not influence the willingness to pay for ethically sourced coffee. High level of willingness to pay for ethically sourced coffee makes consumers to over the potential difficult linked with the long distance coffee stores.
H5: Relationship of Motivations to Recommendation
The relationship between two motivations (environmental and worker/social motivations) and the likelihood of recommending ethically source coffee to friends is supported by this statistical result of this questionnaire survey. Consumer motivation has its strong impact on the attitude and behaviour toward ethically source coffee because they think that their purchasing behaviours can protect natural environment and improve the living quality of farmers and workers (Darian et al., 2015). From the practical perspective, the coffee brands should still implement the marketing communication campaigns for detailing specific motivations behind ethically sourced coffee, such as the storytelling of coffee bean farmers in TikTok and other social media platforms.
H6: Relationship between Trust in Certification and Purchasing Intention
The results support the positive relationship between perceived trust in ethical sourcing certification and purchasing intention for ethically sourced coffee. Most consumers have their doubt about whether these coffee brands use ethical claims to implement greenwashing. When consumers can discern and learn the certification of ethically sourced coffee, they are more likely to trust these coffee brands and engage the purchasing of ethically sourced coffee. The research of Atkinson & Rosenthal (2014) argues that consumers who consider the purchasing of ethically sourced goods face the challenge of information asymmetry, and they demand the third-party certifications to improve customer perceived trust on fair trade. Thus, these coffee brands should take fair trade seriously, and introduce certification to enhance their transparency of ethically source coffee. This can gain customer trust and reinforce their purchasing intention to ethically source coffee.
Reference
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