Answer

Question 1: Evaluation of Literature

The literature review in the article is centered around the theory of planned behavior model. This model indicates that there are three considerations responsible for guiding the actions of human beings which include control beliefs, normative beliefs, and behavioral beliefs. The control beliefs are normally power factors while the normative beliefs relate to expectations of other people around the individuals and the level of motivations to act in accordance to these expectations. A favorable or unfavorable attitude towards the behavior is formed by behavioral beliefs while the normative beliefs result into perceived subjective norms or social pressure. The control beliefs on the other hand result into behavioral control. When the three are combined, a behavioral intention to purchase is formed. Generally, when the subjective norm and attitude are favorable, the person has increased perceived control. As a result, their intention to act in accordance to the behavior in question, in this case purchase of organic apparel grows stronger. At the end, it is expected that the individuals will carry out the behavior as long as they are given enough control over it and an opportunity is available to act. Therefore, the intention is the immediate behavior antecedent but due to the fact that there are various difficulties of execution for some behaviors, the perceived behavioral control is also factored in.

The theory of planned behavior indicates that when individuals undertake purchasing of organic apparel, they are guided by their personal attitudes, sense of control and social pressures. For instance, chances that individuals will execute their intentions to purchase organic products are higher than those of neglecting the plans if they have indicated interest more than once. However, according to literature, other than intention, purchase is also affected by socio-economic pressures such as income levels. As a result, price comes into consideration when purchasing the organic apparel.

The literature strongly brings out the theory of planned behavior and how it can be utilized in analyzing buyers purchasing behavior. Organizations can utilize this model in determining the consumers buying behavior for various organic products in order to establish their target markets.

The theory falls short since it does not explicitly have practical examples on the organic apparel. Since the literature focuses on general organic products, it poses difficulty in relating it to organic apparel. Besides, India being a developing country may highly inclines towards organic products when compared to developed nations. Therefore, the literature fails to evaluate the purchasing behavior of people in the developed countries limits the study to use only in developing nations.

Question 2: Use of Focus Groups Data Collection

A focus group describes a small group that is demographically diverse whose reactions are studied for a market research. Focus groups are conducted in either open or guided discussions about a product to evaluate the expected reactions about it in the larger population. Therefore, focus groups should be a true representation of the general population for them to give credible information. The qualitative data collection method questions people on their attitudes, beliefs, opinions, and perception towards ideas, products or services and opinions are given in an interactive session where participants can freely converse with one another. Selection of the focus group members should be carefully conducted to offer authoritative and effective responses.

When selecting the participants groups for the interview, the investigator conducted a purposive sampling where each group was homogeneous in that it consisted of either colleagues or students with work experience while the relationship between the groups was heterogeneous. Besides, an expert moderator as used to handle the discussions to ensure that only relevant information was subjected to analysis. Besides, with a post doctoral qualification, the moderator was able to probe the participants to give in-depth information on their purchasing behavior for organic apparel and the major underlying reasons why they prefer or do not prefer the particular products. To avoid inherent bias and reduce the impact of interaction effect on the discussion, participants did not undergo prior appraisal.

Focus group data collection as used in the study poses various strengths such as the reduction of cost and time spent. Since the interviews are conducted in four groups, it means that the researcher gather information from many people at the same time instead of questioning one after another. Besides, the focus groups also facilitate learning among participants who can gather information on why their counterparts prefer organic over inorganic apparel and vice versa. Also, since participants are chosen from similar educational levels and within a given age-group, their responses are well coordinated and can be relied upon as a representation of the general population with similar characteristics. Besides, the heterogeneous nature of the two groups enables the interviewer to understand variations across them.

However focus groups as used in the research is compromised as the participants are already known to the interviewer. This implies that the participants are not free to give information about their choice of clothing and may lie to please the investigator. Besides, the participants may offer non-credible information based on the influence of their known colleagues which makes the interaction not so free. Therefore, a combination of focus groups and individual participant interviews would have yielded better results for comparison and analysis as well as to eliminate bias.

Question 3: IRB exemption

            To qualify for exemption by the Institutional Review Board, research has to fall into various categories such as research done for educational purposes or when conducted to observe consumer acceptance for a product or service. This research qualified for exemption since it seeks to evaluate the purchasing behavior of Indian consumers for organic apparel. However, in conducting public behavior, it is required that the identities of participants be maintained anonymous. When research is exempted from IRB reviews, its approval process is less rigorous. Such research must prove that the processes involved are non-invasive and that it does not utilize vulnerable participants such as children. Besides, exempted research should not include total disclosure to the subject about all research information that may be perceived important to note. Also, no genetic information should be collected in cases of exempted research. Finally, exempted research should ensure that participants are unlikely to encounter loss of employment or insurance benefits or cause legal implications and stigmatization in the event the clause of confidentiality is broken.

Research exemption from IRB review does not imply that the the ethical considerations do not matter and should not be observed. To comply with ethical requirements, the researcher should furnish participants with information on the study and allow them to understand the extent to which their privacy and welfare is covered. The participants should make an informed personal decision to take part in the research without intimidation and no signatures are required to ascertain that the confidentiality information was issued.

The exemption clause is a strength in the study because it cuts on review costs. Approval process for the study is also quick since scrutiny is highly minimized.

However, the fact that the subjects were familiar to the researcher is a weakness of the study. Individuals could be easily pinpointed for their contribution.

Question 6:Outcome Critique

Critique of the study outcomes focuses on the results of the research in relation to its initially stated objectives. The objectives of this study were to explore the trend of consumer purchase intention for organic apparel and various factors that shape the attitude and intention to make the purchases. The study also aimed at giving appropriate recommendations to enrich future research to generate information on consumer behavior and preferences that is crucial for organizations seeking to establish target markets. The outcomes of the study clearly document how various identified factors affect consumer buying behavior. The findings from the focus group discussions are presented in the first part of the results discussion and are arranged according to the factors of the theory of planned as identified in the literature review.

On the intention to buy the products, the decision results indicated that people were driven by the comfort offered by organic apparel. Organic apparel is soft and friendly to the skin ans does not have any allergic reactions, Besides, brand consciousness also informed their purchase intentions with most individuals purchasing from boutiques, retail outlets and malls with branded stores. The reason most participants preferred branded apparel was because it guaranteed quality since the credible sellers needed ensure the product satisfied consumer needs to remain as a market leader. Based on the subjective norms, most participants agreed to influence by their inner circle on their organic apparel preference. The attitude of the respondent was also studied and the outcomes indicated that the proponents of the organic apparel were purely driven by environmental contribution while the opponents argued that by using organic apparel, there is no significant relationship between using organic apparel and environmental impact. Thus, the outcomes clearly discussed the objective of the study on the theory of planned behavior factors. Besides, various recommendations to be included in future research were given. For instance, it was recommended that in future research randomly sampled focus groups be utilized to ensure the data collected represented a true view of the larger population. Besides, the purchasing behavior of organic apparel in developed countries should also be evaluated for purpose of comparison and target marketing.

The presentation of outcomes is a strength in that various factors are individually analyzed based on their impact to purchasing behavior. Besides, results are analyzed to be in line with the literature review and match the objectives of the study.

However, the focus groups used in the research do not reflect the behavior of the general population. This is because they are limited in scope and size. As a result, the outcomes may not be a valid result to conclusively fulfill the study objectives.