Business Research

Process Design
Business research process design
Theoretical model to measure the buying intention
 Framing Hypotheses

 Hypothesis 1: “Brand image” has a significant positive impact on

the buying intention.
 Hypothesis 2: “Brand awareness” has a significant positive
impact on the buying intention.
 Hypothesis 3: Lower “Price” has a significant positive impact on
the buying intention.
 Hypothesis 4: “Availability” has a significant positive impact on
the buying intention.
 Hypothesis 5: “After-sales services” has a significant positive
impact on the buying intention.
 The researcher can also test the combined impact of these five
variables on the buying intention. The proposed multiple
regression model will be

 Hypothesis 6: All the five factors in combination have a

significant linear impact on the buying intention.
 Types of Research

 All researches can be broadly classified into three groups:

exploratory research, descriptive research, and causal research.
 These three methods differ in terms of different aspects of
conducting the research.
Figure 2.3: Classification of different types of research
 Exploratory Research

 As the name indicates, exploratory research is mainly used to

explore the insight of the general research problem. This is used
for the following purposes:
A. Obtaining Background Information
B. Research Problem Formulation or Defining it More Precisely
C. Identifying and Defining the Key Research Variables
Figure 2.4: The refined theoretical model to measure the buying
intentions (obtaining inputs from exploratory research)
Methods of Conducting Exploratory
Research
 Secondary Data Analysis
 The secondary data are not only used for problem
understanding and exploration but are also used to develop an
understanding about the research findings.
 Expert Survey

 To get the authentic information about the problem, the

researchers sometimes consult the experts of the concerned
field. These experts provide authentic and relevant information
useful for the research, which otherwise is difficult to obtain.
 Focus Group Interviews
 The focus group interview is a qualitative research technique in
which a trained moderator leads a small group of participants to
an unstructured discussion about the topic of interest.
 Depth Interviews

 A depth interview is a probing between a highly skilled

interviewer and a respondent from the target population to
unfold the underlying opinions, motivations, emotions, or
feelings of an individual respondent on a topic generally coined
by the researcher.
 Case Analysis

 A case study research method actually combines the record

analysis and observations from individual and group interviews.
The case studies become particularly useful when one needs to
understand some particular problem or situation in great depth
and when one can identify the cases rich in information.
 Descriptive Research

 As evident from the name, descriptive research is conducted to

describe the business or market characteristics.
 The descriptive research mainly answers who, what, when,
where, and how kind of questions.
 It attempts to address who should be surveyed, what, at what
time (pre- and post-type of study), from where (household,
shopping mall, market, and so on), and how this information
should be obtained (method of data collection).
 It can be further classified into cross-sectional study and
longitudinal study.
 Cross-Sectional Study

 Cross sectional research design involves the collection of

information from a sample of a population at only one point of
time.
 In this study, various segments of the population are sampled so
that the relationship among the variables may be investigated by
cross tabulation (Zikmund, 2007).
 Sample surveys are cross-sectional studies in which the samples
happen to be a representative of the population.
 The cross-sectional study generally involves large samples from
the population; hence, they are sometimes referred as “sample
surveys.”
 Longitudinal Study

 Longitudinal study involves survey of the same population over

a period of time.
 There is a well-defined difference between a cross-sectional
study and a longitudinal study.
 In a longitudinal study, the sample remains the same over a
period of time. In a cross-sectional design, a representative
sample taken from the population is studied at only one point of
time.
 Causal Research

 Causal research is conducted to identify the cause-and-effect

relationship between two or more business (or decision)
variables. Many business decisions are based on the causal
relationship between the variables of interest.
 As discussed, the descriptive research is able to answer who,
what, when, where, and how kind of questions but not the
“why” part of the question. The causal research is designed to
address the why part of the question.
Data Preparation and Data Entry
 After field work, the collected data are in raw format.
 Before performing data analysis, it is important for a researcher
to structure the data.
 There is a specific scientific procedure to deal with the missing
data and other problems related to the data-collection process.
 Data Analysis

 After feeding the data in the spreadsheet, data analysis is

launched. These include univariate statistical analysis, bivariate
statistical analysis, and multivariate statistical analysis.
Interpretation of Result and Presentation
of Findings

 It has been already discussed that after applying data analysis

techniques, a statistical result is obtained.
 There is need to interpret the result and present the non-
statistical findings derived from the statistical result. A
meaningful interpretation of the result is a skilful activity and is
an important aspect of research.
 The researcher has to determine whether the result of the study
is in line with the existing literature.
 Management Decision and
Its Implementation

 As the last step of conducting a research programme, the findings

are conveyed to the decision maker after consultation with the
research programmer.
 The decision maker analyses the findings and takes an
appropriate decision in the light of the statistical findings
presented by the researcher.
 This is not a formal part of the research process. Here, it is
included as a step of the research process, because it is the
decision maker who will ultimately take the decision and is the
managerial implication of the research programme.