IMPACT OF YOUTUBE ON POPULAR CULTURE

How Does it Influence the Purchase Decisions of Richmond

University (UK) Students
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Introduction

With the stellar emergence of online social media, uninterrupted readership and viewership are
no more exclusive to conventional media and its significance as an advertising tool continues to
dwindle. Businesses are increasingly leveraging the true potential of social media as an essential
step of their promotional and brand building exercises for the reason that albeit the online media
is rapidly getting integrated into the society, only a handful of organizations have met success in
this space ().

With the phenomenal rate at which Web 2.0 and social media are expanding, it has become less
complicated to exchange opinions about user experiences on products and/or services, thus,
making the task of influencing the purchase decisions of other people a lot easier so to speak ().
In 2008, Blythe argued that the social and physical environment of consumers have a colossal
influence on the purchase decisions that they are to make and could cause a considerable contrast
in their objectives and wishes for product purchases. One of the key variables in consumer
purchase behaviour is social time, that is, the quantum of time associated with the society’s
social processes and schedules, such as business hours, opening hours, food consumption hours,
and other institutionalized routines ().

1.2 Background of the Study

Consumers across the globe are becoming increasingly habituated with social media, including
YouTube, in an astonishing number to explore information, communicate without geographic
boundaries, along with expressing their thoughts or feelings (). Historically, people usually
depended on traditional print media or word-of-mouth to acquire information about the products
that they might be interested in (). The mighty World Wide Web has significantly influenced
both the quantity and quality of information accessible to end users and/or customers ().

Young individuals have migrated to online while the supremacy of traditional media channels
has waned considerably, effectively making way to viral campaigns that result in many more
engaged buyers more cost-effectively when compared to the old-school television
advertisements. Present research on usage patterns of the undergraduates with respect to social
media suggests that an astounding majority of college students possess a minimum of one online
account, which is inspected several times every day (). Consequently, advertisers and marketers
have started to target university students also, as the competition gets more intense in this
particular market segment (). Hence, the present study seeks to critically evaluate the impact of
YouTube on the purchase decisions of Richmond University (UK) students.

1.3 Problem Statement

There is a clear lack of uniformity in existing literature with respect to the impact of social media
on the purchase decisions of consumers, especially among the student community. Hence, it is
not possible to automatically infer that the former entity has a positive effect on the latter.
Therefore, a comprehensive study is required to either substantiate or falsify the argument that
online media has the capability to induce variance in customer purchase decisions in a
profoundly constructive fashion. The proposed research is to closely examine and either
disapprove or validate the statement that YouTube exerts a positive impact on the purchase
decisions of Richmond University (UK) students.

1.4 Rationale of the Research

While a considerable number of studies have been conducted on the impact of social media on
consumer purchase decisions, there are several inconsistencies and ambiguities for which a
conclusive and coherent inference is yet to be made, whether it is to be acknowledged as positive
or negative. Hence, thorough research work is required before announcing the final verdict in the
subject.

1.5 Research Aim and Objectives

The primary aim of the proposed study is to ascertain the impact of YouTube on the purchase
decisions of Richmond University (UK) students.

The key research objectives are listed below in brief.

1.5.1 To validate the level to which Richmond University (UK) students engage social media in
their purchase decisions?

1.5.2 To evaluate the degree to which YouTube has an impact on the purchase decisions of
Richmond University (UK) students?

1.5.3 To access the height to which social media has an influence on the purchase decisions of
Richmond University (UK) students?

1.6 Research Questions

The research questions for the proposed study are presented below.

1.6.1 What is the level of engagement of Richmond University (UK) students with social
media in terms of influencing their purchase decisions?
1.6.2 What is the extent of impact exerted by online media on the purchase decisions of
Richmond University (UK) students?
1.6.3 How severe is the influence of YouTube on the purchase decisions of Richmond
University (UK) students?

1.7 Justification of the Research

The proposed research is to help the business corporations accumulate a significant volume of
knowledge on the extent to which social media, such as YouTube has an impact on consumer
purchase decisions among the Richmond University (UK) students. Furthermore, the study is to
compute the level of popularity of the particular online platform among the same population.
The general public and consumers are to be benefitted from the research study by being able to
properly identify the most popular social platforms. The knowledge is to help them when they
are to decide what products to purchase, the brand choices that are to be made in the process, the
dealer choice, the purchase amount and the purchase time as well.

The study is to aid the academic community by offering a lucid explanation of the logical
association between popular social media, such as YouTube and consumer purchase decisions
among the students of Richmond University in the UK. Future scholars are to be benefitted also
from particular research when they intend to contribute further to the said topic.
1.8 Structure of the Proposal

INTRODUCTION

LITERATURE REVIEW

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.9 Summary

It has been increasingly argued that the impact of social media on purchase decisions of
consumers, particularly university students, is something that the businesses could not afford to
ignore anymore. The proposed study is to shed light on the matter and if the research outcome is
positive, then the same is to be further utilized by the companies to draft suitable marketing
schemes.
Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

The second chapter of the proposal collates the reviewed research literature. It states the
conceptual perspective of the study framework and closely examines the existing theories on
which the proposed research is to be based, the theoretical outline and empirical review, along
with the research gaps identified.

2.2 Conceptual Framework

The theoretical framework illustrated below defines the logical association between social
media (YouTube in this case) and consumer purchase decisions (students of Richmond
University in the UK for that matter). The former element is the independent variable whilst
the latter is the dependent variable, which is to be further subjected to critical analysis on the
basis of three constructs, namely, dealer choice, brand choice, and product choice. The
proposed research study is to be an honest attempt in explaining how these two variables are
mutually associated.
 INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

 Dealer Choice
YouTube
 Brand Choice

 Product Choice

Social Media Consumer Purchasing Decisions

Figure 1

Impact of YouTube on the Purchase Decisions of Richmond University (UK) students

(Source: Researcher)

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

Dealer
YouTube
Choice

Brand
Choice

Social Media Consumer Purchasing Decisions

2.3 Empirical Review

YouTube is a popular communication platform with a clear focus on video-based contents,

which is routinely utilized by umpteen numbers of users as an effective channel for keeping in
touch with friends, expressing thoughts, and promotes business messages. It is vital to
understand that not everything hosted on YouTube receives desired attention and barely a
fraction of all the multimedia posted on the platform is to have the potential to reach a large
volume of audience, especially the videos uploaded by online marketers anticipating views in
millions (). E-wom or electronic word of mouth is essentially any negative or positive statements
made by consumers (former, actual, or potential) about a brand or a product, which is introduced
to a massive number of institutions and people through the information superhighway.

The occurrence of communication in the YouTube comments section between the followers is to
have an influence on purchase decisions in such a fashion that it offers them an opportunity to
voice their opinion on the reviewed products. Alternative choices may be suggested.
Recommendations from friends may be regarded as a persuasive source of knowledge. People
are likely to be more open and unsuspecting to information received from their family and
friends (). Moore proposed that E-wom communication have an impact on the evaluation process
of consumers with respect to experiences related to consumption. Researchers posit that social
media have altered customer-to-customer communication, effectively transforming into a nifty
marketing tool ().

The O'Connor Study conducted in 2016 attempted to ascertain the impact of video content
produced by users on the decision-making process of the consumers (). The research made an
honest attempt in investigating the extent to which the Millennials are engaged with YouTube,
evaluated their attitudes on advertising on the particular social platform, drawn a detailed
comparison between the effectiveness of branded and peer-reviewed content on the decision
making process of the Millennial brigade and accessed the role of source ingenuity on their
purchase decisions. The researcher employed qualitative analysis techniques and opted for semi-
structured interviews to accumulate information. The key observations from the study are that
Millennials are to actively seek out peer suggestions by exploring a gamut of user-generated
content on YouTube. Additionally, one of the most significant findings suggested that the
Millennials are to trust people over companies or brands at the time of making purchase
decisions. The study recommended that the marketers must exploit these observations for
reshaping their present marketing plans targeted at the Millennials a.k.a. generation Y and post-
Millennials.

A study by Dehghani et. al. in 2016 assessed the impact of YouTube advertisement to attract the
attention of young consumers, namely, the students of the Sapienza University of Rome (). The
authors employed a descriptive framework for the survey. The research concluded that
customization, informativeness, and entertainment were the greatest contributing factors of brand
awareness and on consumer purchase intentions, as a consequence, whilst irritation shared a
negative association with YouTube advertising. The study inferred that perception of the
consumers with respect to YouTube advertising was anchored to purchase intention and that
YouTube advertising had a significant influence on advertising value by the virtue of
customization.

Yüksel conducted a research in 2016 and made an attempt to ascertain the factors that might
have a potential impact on the purchase decisions of people who were exposed to a considerable
gamut of product-related videos on YouTube for the purpose of the study (). The outcomes of the
study substantiated that product videos available on the particular platform have a measurable
impact on the purchase intention of consumers. Additionally, there are several variables that
influence the purchase intention of consumers and their outlook towards the purchase to varying
extent, including how helpful the available information is, as it is being perceived by the
prospective customers and/or end users. The research suggested that the consumers are to deem
the contents of YouTube helpful as long as they are to believe that the information included in
the videos is to improve their purchase experience and reduce the likelihood of making incorrect
decisions. Hence, the very perception that information available in the product video is useful
does have a significant effect on one’s intention and attitude before making a purchase.

Lepistö and Vähäjylkkä undertook a research study to understand the influence of YouTubers on
the purchase behaviours of the viewers. The sample population was comprised of women
lifestyle YouTubers of Finland who were sixteen to twenty-three year old. The outcomes of the
research concluded that while all the eight subjects experienced purchase, information
exploration, and need recognition, six of the participants recognized assessment of alternative
choices, along with seven respondents being able to identify a post-purchase behaviour. The
study further posited that all the YouTubers who are to recommend a product are to be
acknowledged as external influencers. This does imply that utilizing identical business content
for various YouTubers could potentially help to create a sense of trust among the viewers, who
are to be considered under the periphery of the impressionable prospects. If the viewers are to be
receptive of the suggestions being offered, it is to eventually result in being persuaded and
purchasing the recommended article.

In 2015, Wang tried to evaluate the underlying association among the factors having an impact
on purchase intention of items being considered, the perceived reliability of user-created content,
and the outlook of viewers towards user-produced content. The fundamental objective of the
study was to examine whether or not there exists any difference between the outlook of passive
and active YouTube with respect to user-generated content and if there is any scope of
contrariety between the purchase intentions of these two entities. The research considered a
population of one-hundred and seventy adult individuals in the age group of eighteen to sixty-
five years. The study revealed that passive and active users are to not only have diverging
outlook in matters of user-uploaded content and purchase intentions for all the products under
review, but the degree of prediction was found to be varied as well. While the parasocial
intention of the active users was most pertinent in interpreting most of the differentiating
purchase intentions, user activity had had the greatest impact on future buying patterns of
passive users.

2.4 Research Gap

While several comprehensive studies on the impact of social media on purchase decisions of the
customers are already available, very little research is conducted on the relevance and
significance of particular variables that are instrumental to the actual purchase decisions of
university students when buying products and/or services. The level of engagement of university
students with different social platforms pertaining to their purchase decisions has been
established by authors, such as Nyagucha and Ochieng albeit not exclusive of heterogeneous
findings ().
Most of the existing research work, including that of Ramezani and Sali, is focused on Facebook
use and its implications, while YouTube is found to be one (the other one being Instagram) of the
two social platforms that received an insignificant amount of attention in this respect in spite of
evidence on their increasing user engagement (). Furthermore, the present research on the impact
of YouTube (and Instagram for that matter) are yet to substantiate in an unambiguous fashion
precisely how the consumer purchase decisions are being influenced and the outcomes of the
conducted studies are as good as mixed. Also, research works undertaken by Nyagucha and
Ochieng did not offer an elaborate explanation of whether or not social media has any influence
on consumer purchase decisions.

Hence, a rigorous study on the impact of social media on consumer purchase decisions among
Richmond University (UK) students is imperative to either accept or repudiate the varying
perspectives on the particular subject of research, which is to further broaden the repository of
information in this regard.

2.5 Summary

The second chapter of the proposal explains the theoretical framework and the conceptual
landscape of the selected research topic. It is evident from the reviewed literature that there is a
clear lack of consensus in the matter of deciding if there is a beneficial impact of social media on
consumer purchase decisions or otherwise.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction

The concluding chapter of the proposal discusses the various research procedures and
methodologies that are to be employed in the proposed study. The scope of the final chapter
includes the design of the research, area of the study, target population, research techniques and
sampling methods, credibility and authenticity of the instruments, data gathering and data
procedures.

3.2 Research Philosophy

The proposed study is to make use of the philosophical framework of positivism. The reason for
selecting the particular paradigm is that the research work is to be based on the very assumption
that only factual information is valid (). The researcher is concerned with facts instead of
impressions () for the particular study. In sharp contrast to social constructionism philosophical
models that allow the consideration of subjection and human interest, the researcher is expected
to accumulate factual information only for the purpose of data interpretation in case of
positivistic studies (). The particular approach to research is to help the researcher explore the
realm of social reality, that is, the omnipresent social media along with its impact on the
purchasing decisions of the consumers among the university student population and beyond for
the proposed research case by engaging scientific techniques (). The researcher is to ensure that
the study findings are to be observable and quantifiable from the perspective of statistical science
().

The fundamental objective of the research is to establish the relation between the use of social
media and the purchasing decision of consumers among Richmond University (UK) students.
The research philosophy of the proposed study requires the hypothesis of the propounded work
to be exclusively founded on the existing studies that are applicable to the particular project. The
validation and affirmation/falsification of the hypothesis are to be performed by means of
statistical and quantitative procedures.
Remenyi et al. stated that the final research outcome could be implemented by utilizing the study
framework (). Hence, by employing the said approach in the research, the researcher is to be in a
favourable position for making generalizations concerning the impact of social media, such as
YouTube on the purchase decisions of the consumers specifically when considering the student
population of the Richmond University (UK).

3.3 Research Approach

The research approach defines the structured process of preparing wider assumptions in the
schematic framework of data collection, quantitative and statistical analysis, and interpretation. It
is imperative for any researcher to implement an appropriate research approach to better
comprehend and execute the proposed study (). There are two broad categories of approaches
that are widely practiced by the researcher community across the globe, namely, deductive and
inductive.
The former kind is recommended for cases when there is a rich supply of theoretical knowledge
and factual information on the area of research. Alternatively, the latter type of research
approach is to aid in the design process of the theory by applying sophisticated constructs of
specifications (). The research work being proposed is to fully leverage the deductive approach.
The selected approach for the said research is to make sure that the present theories and existing
conceptual paradigms on social media use and its impacts on people are to be implemented
better. Furthermore, the chosen research approach is to help facilitate the execution of the
proposed study within the prescribed period.

3.4 Research Design

The proposed research work is to employ descriptive design philosophy and utilize the
inferential analysis. The former tool is applied when there is a clear requirement of accumulating
data about the attitude and habit of the individuals, or any other kind of factors pertaining to
society and one’s education. Descriptive design paradigm is routinely utilized by the research
fraternity around the world for the very reason that it presents the data being examined in
precisely the same fashion that it was in the time of collection. Such kind of research studies
illustrates an exact profile of individuals, events or circumstances, narrating the prevailing
conditions and outlooks through exploiting various methods of examination and analysis (). The
particular design type is to typically seek an elaborate and honest illustration of a given system in
relation to critical variables where the key priority is to decrypt the inherent relationships among
the variables. By exploring the process of inferential analysis, the researcher is to be in a position
for unmasking the causal linkage among the variables and therefore, compute how does one
variable impact the other.

3.5 Data Collection Method

Data analysis is essentially the structured process of reducing the gathered data, making a
summary, examining the underlying patterns, and statistically evaluating the same (). It is
required for the approval or disapproval of the hypothesis (ibid). All the data that is to be
collected by the proposed study is to be further subjected to critical examination for ensuring the
integrity of the same and eliminate any errors that might have crept in during the gathering stage.
The researcher is to engage the SPSS or Statistical Program for Social Sciences for the stated
purpose. Furthermore, all the data that is to be accumulated is to be coded and grouped for
simplifying the process of analysis, conclusion, and interpretation of the same. Checking errors
prior to data analysis is to be done for examining the correctness of data fed to the system.

3.6 Research Strategy

The proposed research work is to primary data that is to be accumulated by a battery of

structured questions. The questionnaire is to be further grouped according to the topics of
investigation, which are to be anteceded by a section that is to be comprised of questions
pertaining to the attributes of student demographics. The questionnaire is to be self-administered
under the supervision of the researcher and is to be accompanied by a briefing letter that is to
intimate the participants about the identity of the same along with the key objective of the entire
exercise. The question battery is to be administered by means of delivering and collecting
afterward whereby, if a respondent is not to finish the same, follow up procedure is to be
executed since the fourth day by means of phone calls. Primary data is to be utilized as it is
deemed genuine and authoritative.

The format of the questionnaire is to be leveraged for the reason are usually employed as nifty
instruments to accumulate critical data concerning the population being examined when the
subjects are found to be easily accessible and they are affordable (). The participants of the
proposed study are to choose their answers using the Likert Scale, which is practically a chart for
registering psychometric responses of the respondents and commonly engaged to ascertain one’s
level of conformity with a given statement. A five-point scale is to be implemented for the stated
purpose to evaluate the following statements and the same is to help the subjects define their
respective perspectives on a specific issue being analyzed.

3.6.1 Strongly Disagree: One Point

3.6.2 Disagree: Two Points
3.6.3 Somewhat Agree: Three Points
3.6.4 Agree: Four Points
3.6.5 Strongly Agree: Five Points

The potential population for the research is to be all the undergraduates of the School of Liberal
Arts in the Richmond University (UK) for the reason that the particular school sports the greatest
number of enrolled students and hence, it is to offer an adequate sample size for optimum
generalization. Moreover, another reason to target the student community of the Richmond
University (UK) is that the same acknowledges the significance of ensuring engagement with the
social media not only for its employees but among the students as well. It is further affirmed by
the said university as it has published an exhaustive policy with respect to social networks, which
seeks to assist all the students and also the staff on the matter of social platform use both when
engaging personally in a fashion that may affect Richmond University (UK) and when
representing the university in question.

Additionally, examining the student population in a particular university is to allow the research
work to accumulate comprehensive findings, which is to improve the validity of the
generalizations that they are to make. The proposed study is to target the undergraduate
community from first to the final year of their degree programme considering that they are more
likely to enjoy free time and spend comparatively much time on social platforms than the
postgraduates are to. Hence, they are expected to be more acquainted with the relevant data as
per the requirement of the research.
A sample is defined as the chosen participant representing the population (). The fundamental
criterion for selecting the size of the samples is the degree to which its size is to represent the
population. A sample size that is deemed to typify a maximum of 30% to a minimum of 10% of
the entire population is to be considered adequate for any given research (). The study is to use a
sample size of 30% for the proposed research.
The study is to utilize stratified sampling for selecting the sample, as the same is to ensure that
the undergraduates in all consecutive years of their degree course are to be featured in the
research. Hence, the population being considered is to be stratified into four strata, representing
each of the years of study. The individual students are to be chosen from each group in a
randomized fashion.

3.7 Project Schema

Progression of Research Week Week Week Week Week Week Week

Plotted Against Time 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Research Topic Finalization

Presentation of the Research

Proposal

Research Draft
Formalization

Designing of Research
 Framework

Literature review

Finalization of Research
Design

Formalization of
appropriate procedures for
Research

Creation of Ethical
Considerations Guidelines

Gathering of Primary Data

Data Analysis

Data Interpretation

Results Inferred from the

Collected Data

Conclusion Formation
Based on the Accumulated
Data

First Draft Preparation

Presentation of Final Work

3.8 Ethical Consideration

The proposed study is to be performed under the purview of ethical guidelines of social research.
Specifically, the researcher is to comply with the moral and legal framework of social research
work as established by Bryamn in 2001, which is summarized below in brief ().

3.8.1 There must be informed permission.

3.8.2 There must be no deception involved.

3.8.3 There is no peril to the respondents.

3.8.4 There is no breach of privacy.

The researcher is to agree to act in an open and credible fashion for the purpose of preserving the
accuracy governed by the guidelines of objectivity and integrity. From the onset, the researcher
is to offer an introductory letter to the participants of the study, requesting access and
summarizing the objectives of the proposed project.

The secrecy of data that is to be sourced from the respondents of the proposed research work and
the anonymity of the subjects is to be honoured. The respondents are to be allowed to participate
voluntarily sans any coercion, any risk to the study participants is to be avoided, the
independence of the entire process is to be established, and any dispute of interest or bias are to
be made explicit (). Prior to the confirmation of consent, the subjects are to be informed of their
right in the ascertainment of how they are to involve in the data gathering procedure, including
the rights of ignoring any question or more than one, as well as the rights of declining to any
particular data request, and also those of withdrawing data that they are to divulge.
3.9 Summary

The various research tools and techniques discussed above are to assist the researcher in the
preparation of the most suitable research framework that is to be employed on the proposed
study.

REFERENCES