business opportunity A situation that makes some potential competitive advantage possible. business problem A situation that makes some significant negative consequence more likely. symptoms Observable cues that serve as a signal of a problem because they are caused by that problem. decision making The process of developing and deciding among alternative ways of resolving a problem or choosing from among alternative opportunities. Problem definition
A research problem can be defined as a gap or uncertainty in
the decision makers’ existing body of knowledge which inhibits efficient decision making. The gap could be academic & theoretical (basic) or real time and action oriented (applied).
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An example problem definition process
Symptoms: our clients are complaining, they seem unhappy
and we may loose them. True Problem: our clients began to perceive our products as low quality but still expensive. Research objective: to identify the ways to convince our clients about our products’ quality. Unit of analysis: individual buyers.
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An exemplary problem definition process Variables: customer satisfaction, re-buying intention, product characteristics, customers’ demographics, etc.
Research question: what are the drivers of customer
satisfaction, what are the relations among customer perceptions about the product characteristics, customer satisfaction, and re-buying intention?
Hypothesis: old fashioned products are percieved by the
young customers as low quality.
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Types of Research
Business research can be classified on the basis of either
technique or purpose. Experiments, surveys, and observational studies are just a few common research techniques.
The following section introduces the three types of business
research: 1. Exploratory 2. Descriptive 3. Causal
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Exploratory Research
➢ An exploratory research is undertaken when not much is
known about the situation at hand or no information is available on how similar problem or research issues have been solved in past . ➢ It is a preliminary research .
➢ Usually exploratory research is a first step, conducted with
the expectation that additional research will be needed to provide more conclusive evidence. Like news channels or people ask randomly question.
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Methodologies of Exploratory Research Primary research methods Survey Interviews Focus group Observations
Secondary research methods
Online research Literature review
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Descriptive Research Descriptive research is a research method describing the characteristics of the population or phenomenon studied.
It describes characteristics of objects, people, groups,
organizations, or environments.
This research describes the who, what, when, and where
regarding the current economic and employment situation.
Unlike exploratory research, descriptive studies are conducted
after the researcher has gained a firm grip on the situation
For Ex. Gender, age grouping, number of business courses
taken Faculty of Management Sciences, Indus University 10 Descriptive Research Methods Observational Method
It is the most effective method to conduct descriptive research
and both qualitative and quantitative observations are used in this research method.
Case Studies
Survey Research
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Examples of Descriptive Research Methods Causes of unemployment in abc company (Qualitative) Teachers attitude towards about using technology in the class room (Qualitative) Who are heavy consumer of organic food (Quantitative)
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Casual/Explanatory Research Causal research seeks to identify cause-and-effect relationships.
It is to connect the different ideas and the understand the
different reasons causes and their effect
Hypothesis testing is undertaken to explain the variance in the
dependent variable or to predict organizational outcomes.
For ex. If we increase the advertisement, it will effect on sells.
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Casual/Explanatory Research Methods Focus group research In-depth study of a every single problem Case analysis Literature review
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QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND CRITICAL THINKING Consider the following list, and indicate and explain whether each best fits the definition of a problem, opportunity, or symptom:
a. A 12.5 percent decrease in store traffic for a children’s shoe store in a medium-sized city mall. b. Walmart’s stock price has decreased 25 percent between 2007 and 2009. c. A furniture manufacturer and retailer in North Carolina reads a research report indicating consumer trends toward Australian Jarrah and Karri wood. The export of these products is very limited and very expensive. d. Marlboro reads a research report written by the U.S. FDA. It indicates that the number of cigarette smokers in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to increase dramatically over the next decade. What are the three types of business research? Indicate which type each item in the list below illustrates. Explain your answers.
a. Establishing the relationship between advertising and sales in the beer industry b. Ranking the key factors new college graduates are seeking in their first career position c. Estimating the five-year sales potential for CAT scan machines in the Ark-La-Tex (Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas) region of the United States d. Testing the effect of “casual day” on employee job satisfaction e. Discovering the ways that people who live in apartments use vacuum cleaners, and identifying cleaning tasks for which they do not use a vacuum What type of research design would you recommend in the situations below? For each applied business research project, what might be an example of a “deliverable”? Which do you think would involve testing a research hypothesis?
a. The manufacturer of flight simulators and other pilot training equipment wishes to forecast sales volume for the next five years. b. A local chapter of the American Lung Association wishes to identify the demographic characteristics of individuals who donate more than $500 per year. c. Caterpillar Inc. is concerned about increasing inventory costs and is considering going completely to a just-in-time inventory system. d. A food company researcher wishes to know what types of food are carried in brown-bag lunches to learn if the company can capitalize on this phenomenon. e. A researcher wishes to identify who plays bingo. A New “Joe” on the Block-case study
1. What are the top three key decisions faced by Joe?
2. What are the key deliverables that an outside researcher should produce to help Joe with the key decisions? 3. How relevant are the coffee taste studies cited above? Explain. 4. What flaws in the coffee taste studies should Joe consider in trying to weigh the merits of their results? 5. Briefly relate this situation to each of the major stages of the marketing research process. 6. Try to do a quick search to explore the question: “Are American consumer preferences the same all across the United States?” 7. Would it be better for Joe to do the research himself or have a consultant perform the work? 8. If a consultant comes in to do the job, what are three key deliverables that would likely be important to Joe in planning to launch the “A Cup of Joe” coffee shop? Reference
