Business

Research Methods

Topic 1:
Introduction to Business Research
 Business Research Defined

Business research is defined as the

systematic and objective process of
generating information for aid in
making business decisions.
 Business Research
• Research information is neither intuitive nor
haphazardly gathered.
• Literally, research (re-search) -“search again”
• Business research must be objective
• Detached and impersonal rather than biased
• It facilitates the managerial decision process
for all aspects of a business.
Why Study Business Research?
Business research provides
information to guide business
decisions.
Business research plays an
important role in an environment
that emphasizes measurement.
Return on investment (ROI) is the
calculation of the financial return
for all business expenditures and
it is emphasized more now than
ever before.
Business research expenditures
are increasingly scrutinized for
their contribution to ROMI.
 I don’t know
if we
Information should
offer on-site
Reduces child care?

Uncertainty
Research Should Reduce Risk

•The primary
purpose of research
is to reduce the level
of risk of a marketing
decision
What’s Changing in Business
that Influences Research

New
New Research
Research Information Technological
Technological
Perspectives
Perspectives Overload Connectivity
Connectivity

Computing
Computing Shifting
Shifting Global
Global
Power
Power &
& Speed
Speed Economics
Economics
Factors
Factors
Battle
Battle for
for
Analytical Critical Scrutiny
Analytical of Business
Talent
Talent
Government
Government
Intervention
Intervention
 “It ain’t the things we don’t
know that gets us in trouble. It’s
the things we know that ain’t so.”
Artemus Ward
Business Decisions and Research

• Häagen-Dazs Tactics
– Super premium
– Dozens of flavors
– Small packages
– Signature colors on
packaging
– Available in franchise and
grocery stores
Business Research Types

Basic research

Applied research
 Basic Research
• Attempts to expand the limits of
knowledge.
• Not directly involved in the solution to a
pragmatic problem.
 Basic Research Example
• Is executive success correlated with high
need for achievement?
• Are members of highly cohesive work
groups more satisfied than members of less
cohesive work groups?
• Do consumers experience cognitive
dissonance in low-involvement situations?
"The secret of success is to know something
nobody else knows. "
Aristotle
Onassis
 Applied Research
• Conducted when a decision must be made
about a specific real-life problem
 Applied Research Examples
• Should McDonalds add Italian pasta dinners
to its menu?
• Business research told McDonald’s it should
not?
• Should Procter & Gamble add a high-priced
home teeth bleaching kit to its product line?
• Research showed Crest Whitestrips would
sell well at a retail price of $44
 EXPLORATORY RESEARCH
• Conducted to resolve ambiguity
• Allows the researcher to gain a better understanding of the
concept
• Provides direction to subsequent and more structured and
rigorous research.
• Are less structured, more flexible in approach
• Eg. An informal survey conducted to identify problem in
the supply chain of a product.
• A review of market opportunities available to a
prospective entrepreneur
 CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH
• Tests and authenticates the findings and
propositions revealed by exploratory research.
• Usually quantitative in nature.
• Carried out to test and validate the hypotheses
formulated.
• More structured and definite.
• Eg. Testing the level of consumer satisfaction with
different insurance policies that an organization
has offered to consumers at large.
• Conclusive research can be further divided
into
– Descriptive Research
– Causal Research.
 Descriptive Research
• Undertaken to describe the situation,
community, phenomena, outcome or
programme.
• Main goal is to describe the data and
characteristics about what is being studied.
• It is contemporary, topical and time bound.
• Eg. annual census by Govt. of India
 Causal Research
• These studies establish the why and how of a
phenomena
• Explores the effect of one thing on another and more
specifically the effect of one variable on another.
• Highly structured and requires rigid sequential
approach to sampling, data collection and data
analysis.
• Eg. To study the impact of flexible work policies on
turnover intentions
 Scientific Method
• The analysis and interpretation of empirical
evidence (facts from observation or
experimentation) to confirm or disprove
prior conceptions.
• Both the research forms use scientific
methods in various stages of research
process
 Inductive Approaches

• In an inductive approach to research, a researcher begins by

collecting data that is relevant to his or her topic of interest.
Once a substantial amount of data have been collected, the
researcher will then take a breather from data collection,
stepping back to get a bird’s eye view of her data. At this stage,
the researcher looks for patterns in the data, working to develop
a theory that could explain those patterns. Thus when
researchers take an inductive approach, they start with a set of
observations and then they move from those particular
experiences to a more general set of propositions about those
experiences. In other words, they move from data to theory, or
from the specific to the general. to research.
 Deductive Approaches

• Researchers taking a deductive approach take the steps

described earlier for inductive research and reverse their order.
They start with a social theory that they find compelling and
then test its implications with data. That is, they move from a
more general level to a more specific one. A deductive approach
to research is the one that people typically associate with
scientific investigation. The researcher studies what others have
done, reads existing theories of whatever phenomenon he or she
is studying, and then tests hypotheses that emerge from those
theories. utlines the steps involved with a deductive approach to
research.
 The Decision-making Process
Associated with the Development
and Implementation of a Strategy
• Identifying problems and opportunities
• Diagnosis and assessment
• Selecting and implementing a course of
action
• Evaluating the course of action
 Evaluation Research
• Evaluation research is the formal, objective
measurement and appraisal of the extent to
which a given activity, project, or program
has achieved its objectives.
 Performance-monitoring
Research
• Research that regularly provides feedback
for evaluation and control
• Indicates things are or are not going as
planned
• Research may be required to explain why
something “went wrong”
 Determining When to Conduct
Business Research
• Time constraints
• Availability of data
• Nature of the decision
• Benefits versus costs
 Determining When to Conduct
Business
Availability of
Research
Benefits
Time Constraints Data Nature of the Decision vs. Costs
Is the infor- Does the value
Is sufficient time Is the decision Conducting
Yes mation already Yes Yes of the research Yes
available before of considerable
a managerial
on hand
strategic
information Business
inadequate exceed the cost
decision
for making
or tactical
of conducting Research
must be made? importance?
the decision? research?

No No No No

Do Not Conduct Business Research

 Value versus Costs
• Potential Value of a Business Research
Effort Should Exceed Its Estimated Costs
 Value Should Exceed
Estimated Costs
Costs
Value •Research
expenditures
•Decreased certainty
•Delay of business
•Increased likelihood
decision and
of a correct decision
possible disclosure
•Improved business
of information to
performance and
rivals
resulting higher •Possible erroneous
profits
research results
 Major Topics for Research in
Business
• General Business Conditions and Corporate
Research
• Financial and Accounting Research
• Management and Organizational Behavior
Research
• Sales and Marketing Research
• Information Systems Research
• Corporate Responsibility Research
 Business Research in the 21st
Century
• Increased globalization
• Growth of the Internet and other
information technologies
 Global Research
• Business Research is increasingly global
• Market knowledge is essential
• A.C. Nielsen - more that 67% international
business
 Global Business Research
• General information about country -
economic conditions and political climate
• Cultural and consumer factors
• Market and competitive conditions -
demand estimation
 The Internet
Is Transforming Society
• Time is collapsing.
• Distance is no longer an obstacle.
• Crossing oceans is only a mouse click
away.
• People are connected 24 hours a day, seven
days a week.
• "Instantaneous" has a new meaning.
 Internet Research
• Seeking facts and figures about an issue
• Surveys on Web sites