1.

Introduction:
The proposed study will be conducted on the topic: ANALYSES OF COMPETITIVE
INTERNATIONAL SALES FORCE STRATEGIES OF EUROPEAN AIRLINES FROM 2009 TO 2013. This
proposal is being written to understand the background of the research and to explain the
importance of this study, additionally, to develop research methods and explain primary
literature review.
2. Background:
3. Aims and Objectives:
3.1. Aim:
Proposed study will be conducted with aim to analyse the competitive International sales force
strategies of European airlines from 2009 to 2013.
3.2. Objectives:
In order to achieve this aim following core objectives will be achieved:
To identify the international sales force strategies of European airline companies.
To compare and contrast different strategies of European airlines from 2009 to 2013.
To understand impact of international sales force strategies to gain competitive
advantage
To develop the recommendations in the light of major research findings.
4. Primary Literature Review:
5. Research Methods:
Research methodology is combination of different approaches and methods that are used to
conduct a research.
5.1. Research Methods:
2

Research method is the overall foundation of the research methodology in which overall
method is selected to conduct a research (Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2007). There are two
important methods that are used to conduct a research quantitative research method and
qualitative research method (Creswell, 2008). Quantitative research method is basically used
for studies that require critical analysis of data and sample size is comparatively larger size. In
quantitative research experiment and questionnaire are used to conduct a research (Cohen,
Manion and Morrison, 2007). In quantitative research statistical analysis are used to analyse
the data and data is usually in the form of facts and figures. The second type is the qualitative
research which is used for the detailed analysis of phenomenon and the data is mostly in the
form of pictures and words. Generally sample size is large and the most suitable approach for
this method is the interview method. Proposed study is designed by using the qualitative
research method because this requires in-depth analysis and comparison of various
international sales force strategies of European airlines.
5.2. Research philosophy
Sunders et al. (2009) had defined many types of research philosophies like positivism,
Interpretism and realism. Positivism and realism deal with the natural sciences and the studies
which are designed to explore the underlying reality and truth about the phenomenon. On the
hand interpretive research philosophy is used to identify and explore the relationship between
different variables and extent of the relationship (Saunders et al., 2007). The study is designed
by using the interpretive research philosophy which will compare the competitive international
sales force strategies of European airlines from 2009 to 13.
5.3. Data types
Data is the raw facts and figures on which some analysis is performed to get the meaningful
information (Cooper and Schindler, 2006). There are two important types of data that are used
in researches first one is primary data and the second one is secondary data. Primary data is the
data which is collected from direct sources and these are the sources which are not explored
(Cooper and Schindler, 2006). Primary data is more close data to any research but in need more
3

time and expertise to collect the primary data (Creswell, 2008). It is having more flexibility as
well. On the other hand secondary data is collected from indirect sources and the sources on
which data is published by other authors (Creswell, 2008). Proposed study will be designed by
using the secondary data as it is used to form the theoretical base of the study in the literature
part and helpful to develop in-depth comparison in finding parts based on detailed analysis of
various company reports and manuals.
5.4. Sample & Sampling Technique
Sample selection is considered the most critical stage of any research methodology because the
base of research is based on the size of sample and its capacity to produce results. It is not
possible to accommodate all the European airline companies in this research. Therefore, 4
companies will be selected in this based on convenience sample method. Initial research will be
conducted to explore the various international sales force strategies of European companies
and based on that research top 4 companies will be included in data presentation and analysis
part.
6. Dissertation Structure:
This whole research will be conducted in five chapters and each will have its own importance to
achieve the overall research aim. The first chapter of the study will be introduction chapter. In
this the overview of whole research will be provided and aims to conduct this proposed
research will be defined. It will highlight the research rationale and limitations of the study. It
will also discuss the ethical considerations. Chapter two of the study will be literature review to
discuss the studies conducted previously about this topic. Chapter two will discuss in detail
different theories and models of internet advertisement and measures to check its impacts on
consumer buying behavior. The next chapter of the study will be research methodology in
which different research methods will be discussed in detail and their impacts will be justified.
Chapter will develop the research process. The fourth chapter of the research will be data
analysis to understand the data and measure the major research findings. Final chapter of the
4

study will be conclusion and recommendations to conclude the whole research and develop
recommendations for future researchers and company to overcome the deficiencies.
7. Timeline:
The whole research will be conducted in 12 weeks. The first three weeks will be used to have
literature review in detail. The literature review will be used to develop understanding of the
facts on concepts. The next two week will be used to develop research methodology in light of
research literature review and data collection will be started. The data collection will be done
till week seven of the study. In week eight data analysis and report writing will start. The report
will be completed till week nine of the study. The draft will be submitted for feedback and on
the basis of feedback the review will be done in week 10 and eleven. In week 12 final reports
will be submitted.
GANTT CHART
Week 1 Literature
Review

Week 2 Literature
Review

Week 3 Literature
Review

Week 4 Research
methods

Week 5 Questionnaire
Design
Distribution
Week 6 Distribution,
Collection
of Data

Week 7 Data
Collection
Data
Analysis

Week 8 Data
5

Analysis,
Report
Writing
Week 9 Report
Writing

Week
10
Draft
Submission
Feedback
Revision

Week
11
Feedback
Revision

Week
12
Final
Submission




6

8. References:
Armstrong, S., & Barrett, N. (2001). Advertising on the Internet: How to Get Your Message
Across on the World Wide Web. Kogan Page.

Brown, B. (2010). How to Use the Internet to Advertise, Promote, and Market Your Business Or
Web Site: With Little Or No Money (2 ed.). Atlantic Publishing Company.

Calder, B., Malthouse, E., & Schaedel, U. (2009). An Experimental Study of the Relationship
between Online Engagement and Advertising Effectiveness. Journal of Interactive Marketing,
23(4), 321-331.

Creswell, J. W., (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting and evaluating qualitative
and quantitative research, (3rd ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ. : Pearson Education

Cooper, D.R. and Schindler, P.S. (2006). Business Research Method, (9th Ed.) Boston: McGraw-
Hill Irwin.

Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. B., (2007). Research methods in education, (6th Ed.),
Routledge.

Drze, X., & Hussherr, F.-X. (2003). Internet advertising: Is anybody watching? Journal of
Interactive Marketing, 17(4), 8-23.
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East, R., Wright, M., & Vanhuele, M. (2008). Consumer Behaviour: Applications in Marketing.
SAGE Publications Ltd.

Kasi, P., (2009). Research: What, Why and How? A Treatise from Researchers to Researchers,
(1st Ed.), Bloomington: AuthorHouse.

Kim, C., Park, S., Kwon, K., & Chang, W. (2012). How to select search keywords for online
advertising depending on consumer involvement: An empirical investigation. Expert Systems
with Applications, 39(1), 594-610.

KissMetrics.com. (2012). Launch like Steve Jobs: 7 Ways to Build Buzz for Your Next Product
Launch. Retrieved 2012, from KissMetrics.com: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/product-launch-
strategies/

MacRury, I. (2009). Advertising. Routledge.

O'Guinn, T., Allen, C., & Semenik, R. (2011). Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion.
Cengage Learning.

Petley, J. (2003). Advertising. Black Rabbit Books.

Saunders. M., Lewis, And Thornhill, P., (2007). Research Methods for Business Students, (4th
Ed.), Pearson Education Limited, Harlow
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Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R., (2010). Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach,
(5th Ed.), Hoboken, N.J./Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.div.

Taylor, V. (2008). The Complete Guide to Writing Web-Based Advertising Copy to Get the SAle:
What You Need to Know Explained Simply. Atlantic Publishing Company.

Thorson, E. (2007). Internet Advertising: Theory And Research. Routledge.

Willits, R. (2011). As with all Apple advertising, the iPhone advertising strategy is extremely
clear. Retrieved 2012, from http://www.iphone5phone.com/iphone-5/as-with-all-apple-
advertising-the-iphone-advertising-strategy-is-extremely-clear.html

Yang, K. (2006). The influence of humanlike navigation interface on users responses to Internet
advertising. Telematics and Informatics, 23(1), 38-55.