Using word associations in online business research to explore Gen Z and Millennials' use of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) / Ruffin Relja, Anita Lifen Zhao, and Philippa Ward.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Relja, Ruffin, author.

Zhao, Anita Lifen, author.

Ward, Philippa, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Marketing research--Case studies.

Marketing research.

Business--Research--Case studies.

Business.

Generation Z--Case studies.

Generation Z.

Generation Y--Case studies.

Generation Y.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

London : SAGE Publications Ltd, 2026.

Summary:

Generation Z and Millennials are the two largest yet most elusive consumer groups in history. Given their importance, how can market researchers generate meaningful insights from these often hard-to-engage young consumers? One approach is by using projective techniques, where study participants transfer their beliefs or emotions to an ambiguous stimulus, such as a vague word or image. However, the degree of participant engagement required for specific projective techniques differs significantly. Our case study reflects on a methodological paper published in the International Journal of Market Research. It juxtaposes two projective techniques: word association (WA) and story stem completion (SSC). They not only represent different categories of projective techniques (association versus completion) but also vary in what they demand from participants (i.e., mental effort, creativity, and time) and how challenging they are to implement in online research. We compare how to design and implement studies using these projective techniques, discuss potential pitfalls, and highlight their benefits. We also present criteria that we used to evaluate the effectiveness of WA and that could be used for projective methods in various contexts. We confirm that WA findings align well with those from SSC, offering deep and rich insights from a low-intensity task. However, it remains uncertain whether the same constructs will consistently emerge over time, across different age groups, or in various countries and cultures, emphasizing the need for further research. Our most important learning is that researchers should expect unexpected or even negative reactions, as younger shoppers prefer engaging with content on their own terms.

Notes:

Description based on XML content.

ISBN:

1-03-624269-2

9781036242695

OCLC:

1565876011

Publisher Number:

T300733