Communication Limitations of The Sampling Method

Communication Limitations of The Sampling Method Discussion

steban-Santos et al. (2018) conducted a quantitative study that adequately follows the established structure of a primary research article. The authors aimed to contribute to a better understanding of fashion bloggers as communication tools for fashion industry, defining their influence on the purchasing behavior of Millennials. They targeted the Millennial generation as they are the most influenced group by blogs, specifically the ones on social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube. I believe that the authors failed to establish the importance of the problem area in their introduction. They could have used more statistical information or noted gaps in the literature to justify the importance of studying this topic.

In the literature review, the authors appropriately cited current research and structured it in 3 cohesive subheadings that allowed them to provide conceptual definitions of key terms such as motivations to follow fashion blogs (information, entertainment, efficiency and social function seeking), dimensions of fashion blogs credibility, and types of amplified electronic word-of-mouth (overt and covert marketing). The researchers defined 3 objectives for their study: (1) identify the most valued motivations for Millennials to follow a fashion blogger, (2) measure the impact of fashion blog credibility on purchase intention and consumers’ attitude, and (3) test whether there is a different impact of covert and overt marketing in fashion blogs on purchase intention and consumers’ attitude.

Regarding the methods, Esteban-Santos et al. (2018) combined self-selection and snowball sampling through the use of Facebook and WhatsApp, which they considered beneficial due to the possibility of reaching a broader population of Millennials who are digital natives. A sample of 208 Spanish participants between 18 and 36 years old responded their online questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, such as Mean, SD and variance, hypothesis testing and other types of analyses. The authors concluded that: (1) information, entertainment, efficiency and social relation seeking are the principal reasons that lead Millennials to follow fashion blogs, (2) fashion bloggers recommendations are perceived to be honest and have credibility, which depends on the blogger’s trustworthiness and expertise and positively influences consumers attitude and purchase intention, and (3) covert and overt marketing in fashion blogs have a negative impact on credibility and behavioral intentions. Finally, the researchers provided implications for real-world fashion bloggers applications and only suggested that future research should consider the buying behavior of Millennials in other territorial context and cultural influences.

Please respond to at least one of the following questions and remember to cite at least one example/excerpt from the study in each response:

Q1: Authors surveyed a sample of 208 Spanish Millennial participants and provided a demographic profile that included 3 variables: gender, age and consumption habit of fashion blogs. Do you think that the description of the demographic data was accurate or that they failed to describe other relevant variables? If you consider the latter, what characteristics should they have considered to have more generalizable results?

Q2: Researchers used descriptive statistics and arranged them in 10 tables, which I believe were comprehensible. For instance, Table 1 provides means and standard deviations to show the most influential variables when deciding to follow a blog. Do you feel that the findings were cohesively described and discussed in an organized structure around the 3 research objectives?

Q3: In addition to the limitations of the sampling method mentioned by the authors, such as sample size and geography (only focused on Spain), what are other limitations that you consider this study to have?