Impact of Social Media Marketing on Aldi’s Business: A Study in the USA

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Acknowledgement

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Abstract

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 Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction 800 5

Chapter 2: Literature Review 3200 5

Chapter 3: Research Methodologies 1200 5

Chapter 4: Data Presentation and Analysis 2000 5

Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusions 800 5

References 6

Appendices 7

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Chapter 1: Introduction 800

1.1 Overview of Aldi

1.1 Research Background

1.2 Problem Statement

1.3 Research Aim, Objectives and Questions

1.4 Significance of the Study

1.5 Summary

This chapter provided a brief background to Aldi and social media marketing. The problem

statement was developed along with the research aim, objectives, and questions. The

introduction chapter clarified the significance of the study. The next chapter is the literature

review that aims to discuss the key theories and concepts presented by previous researchers on

social media marketing.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review 3200

Summary

This chapter provided an overview of the past literature presented by previous scholars and

researchers. The next chapter is the research methodologies. The research methodology chapter

aims to define the key methods and measures used in the project and provide rationale on why

these specific tools were used.

Chapter 3: Research Methodologies 1200

3.1 Introduction

This chapter aims to develop a framework consisting of key tools and techniques that are used in

the research to address the objectives. Additionally, the choice of key tools and techniques have

been justified.

3.2 Research Outline

The research outline establishes the primordial structure of a research project. For this specific

study, the fundamental outline is inclusive of the positivism philosophy, the descriptive design

and the deductive approach of research. Positivism adheres to the perception that only factual

information gathered through measurement and observation is reliable (Ryan, 2018). The scope

of the current study entails analysing the impact of real-life social media marketing practices of

Aldi on its business and therefore, the range of research is confined to the collection of factual

data and interpretation of the information objectively. The current study describes the attributes

of social media marketing and how they influence Aldi’s business. The descriptive research

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design is suitable as it assists in the identification of a phenomenon under study (Atmowardoyo,

2018). The current study employs a primary quantitative strategy to collect measurable data from

human participants indicating how different attributes of social media influenced Aldi’s business.

As argued by Woiceshyn and Daellenbach (2018), the deductive approach is useful in research

studies that aim to confirm the authenticity and reliability of a theory or a perception as it

emphasizes collecting facts based on perspectives in a waterfall format that operates from a

general to specific supportive deductions.

3.3 Sampling Method

This study employs a probability sampling method in the form of simple random sampling. This

type of sampling entails a whole population in the sampling frame and every member of the

population has equal opportunities of being chosen. The population for the survey was 200

employees working within the marketing and communications department of Aldi. However, the

sample size was brought down to 130 at a later stage based on the demographic attributes of the

respondents. An initial pilot survey was carried out that asked the gender, the tenure, and the

position of the members of the population. It was ensured that an equal number of male and

female members were selected for the study. Furthermore, any employee having less than 1 year

of experience or those who were interns in Aldi were excluded from the study. The results of the

pilot survey returned a population of 146. However, due to the unavailability of 16 candidates

within the population at the time of conducting the survey, the final sample size was 130.

3.4 Data Collection Method

From the perspective of research studies, data can be of two types including primary and

secondary. Primary data refers to information that is gained through first-hand or original

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research. For instance, focus group discussions, interview responses, and surveys are all

examples of primary data sources. On the contrary, secondary data refers to information that has

been collected by a secondary source. In this context, secondary sources can range from journal

publications, posts published on government websites, newspaper articles and online databases

among others.

There are two methods of data collecting including quantitative and qualitative methods.

Quantitative data refers to information that is numeric and can be measured using simple to

complex mathematical calculations. On the contrary, qualitative data refers to information that is

extracted from the perceptions or personal experiences of previous researchers, respondents,

journal publications and newspaper articles among others.

This study employs the primary quantitative method of data collection. As the current study

looks into the different characteristics of social media marketing and how these characteristics

influence the business of Aldi, the primary quantitative method of data collection is suitable

since it allows the researcher to gain insightful information from a large sample size in a

stipulated time. Additionally, the numeric attributes of the collected data mitigate the chances of

ambiguity or bias and enhance the authenticity, as well as, reliability of the collected data.

Furthermore, this method of data collection is also cost and time-efficient as the same sample can

be provided to a large number of population to gain their perspectives on the key issues,

problems, variables, and characteristics. In addition to that, the current issue under investigation

requires current and up-to-date data considering that the scope of the study lays on gaining a

comprehension of the current practices associated with social media marketing in Aldi and how

these practices have influenced their business in the USA.

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3.5 Research Strategy

3.6 Data Analysis

3.7 Research Timeline

Please refer to Appendix (N)

3.8 Summary

This chapter described and justified the tools and techniques used in the study. The next chapter

is data presentation and analysis that aims to analyse the collected data and present the key

findings of the analyses.

Chapter 4: Data Presentation and Analysis 2000

Summary

This chapter listed the key findings extracted from the performed data analyzes. The next chapter

is the discussion and conclusions that aims to establish a link between the findings of this study

and the concepts discussed in the literature review and conclude the research.

Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusions 800

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References

Ryan, G., (2018). Introduction to positivism, interpretivism and critical theory. Nurse

researcher, 25(4), pp.41-49.

Woiceshyn, J. and Daellenbach, U., (2018). Evaluating inductive vs deductive research in

management studies. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International

Journal.

Atmowardoyo, H., (2018). Research methods in TEFL studies: Descriptive research, case study,

error analysis, and R & D. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(1), pp.197-204.

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