Cash or Card: Consumer Perceptions of Payment Modes - Scholarly ...

4.1: Chapter Overview
CHAPTER FOUR
Research Design and Methodology
Previous chapters reviewed the literature pertaining to payment mode and purchase decisions.
The review conclusions are that the antecedents of the variation in purchase behavior across
payment modes are not known. Further, that the explanations currently used to explain the
variation have not been scrutinized or substantiated. Accordingly, this study is designed to
ameliorate the situation by addressing the following questions:
Do the cognitive and emotional elements that people associate with a cash based
payment mode differ from those associated with a debit card based payment
mode?
Is there a link between these associations and payment mode choice?
Does the payment mode used affect the volume, value, brands/products purchased
in a single transaction? If so, how?
The study has two broad aims: The first is to ascertain perceptions of cash and debit card
payment modes and their relationship with payment mode selection. The second is to
examine the relationship between payment modes and actual purchase behaviour. To manage
these tasks, the study will be conducted in three phases. The first phase sits within the
subjective-interpretive perspective, requiring phenomenological based data that will be
acquired via focus group discussion and projective tests. The second phase is the
development and testing of an instrument designed to capture perceptions of cash and debit
card payment modes. The instrument will be developed from the data obtained in phase one
and will be used to compare participants’ normal or preferred payment with their perceptions
of current payment modes available. The third phase requires the identification and recording
of the amount spent and the characteristics of products purchased; participants’ preferred
payment modes and participants’ perceptions of payment modes. Essentially these are data
that can be quantified and statistically analysed.
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