Module 1: The Research Process
What is (sound) business research?
Business research can be defined as
"a series of well-thought-out activities and carefully executed data analyses that are aimed to help a
manager avoid, solve, or minimize a problem."
I) Business research is well-thought-out: Wat is the precise problem?
II) Business research entails gathering and analyzing data
III) Business research is meant to help managers make better decisions
Decisions based on research is more effective than on intuition
And while some people have argued that intuition becomes more valuable in highly complex and
changeable environments, the opposite is actually true. The more unprecedented the challenges you
face, the less you should rely on intuition and the more on evidence/research.
Hallmark 1 Purposiveness
- Why is the research necessary?
Hallmark 2 Rigor (biasness) (motivation behind the research)
- Ensuring a sound theoretical base
- Ensuring a sound methodological design
Hallmark 3 Objectivity
- Drawing conclusions based on facts
Hallmark 4 Parsimony (simplicity)
- Shaving unnecessary details (do not use 50 variables when 5 will do)
- Explaining a lot with little
- “Things should be made as simple as possible, nut not any simpler” – Albert Einstein
Hallmark 5 Replicability
- Finding the same results if the research is repeated in similar circumstances
- Describe in great detail how you designed your research (samples, data collection, etc.)
Hallmark 6 Generalizability
- Being able to apply the research findings in a wide variety of different settings. (e.g. if a fond works on
a milk can, it may also work on a soda can. But, if plant-based KFC does not work on a Monday, it may
work well in the weekends)
, - This should hold for fundamental research
- But less for applied research
Fundamental vs. applied research
- Applied research (e.g. Satisfaction rate of employees)
- To solve a current problem faced by the manager
- Applied to a specific company
- Within firms or research agencies
- Fundamental research
- To generate new knowledge about how problems that occur in several firms can be solved
- Applies to several organizational settings
- Mainly within universities (and knowledge institutes)
Goal of fundamental research is that is can be applied by companies with their own problems
(generalizable conclusions)
Why should you be knowledgeable about business research?
1. In order to be able to PERFORM business research.
2. In order to be able to STEER business research.
3. In order to be able to EVALUATE business research.
The 7-step research process
1. Define the business problem
I) AH’s online grocery delivery is not taking of
2. Formulate the problem statement
I) Which factors influence consumers’ adoption of online grocery delivery?
3. Develop a theoretical framework (incl. hypotheses)
I) Consumer demographics, competing retailers’ offers, etc.
4. Choose a research design
I) Archival data
5. Collect data
I) Buy consumer panel data
6. Analyze data
I) Perform a logit analysis
7. Write-up
I) Which variables are (not) significant?
II) What does this imply for managerial decision making?
Deductive vs. inductive research
- Deductive research aims at testing a theory
- Inductive research aims at developing a theory
,Deductive research example
"If it rains outside, everything becomes wet." Theory
"It rains." Observation
"The car is outside." Observation
"So the car will become wet!" Conclusion
Quantitative vs. qualitative research
Quantitative researchers emphasize the importance of formulating hypotheses based on previous work
and well-supported theories. The reasoning behind quantitative research is largely deductive.
Qualitative researchers adopt the opposite approach: they use observations as a starting point and then
seek explanations for their observations. The reasoning behind qualitative research is largely inductive.
These two research approaches are not mutually competing. They can be used in combination, within a
single research study.
Module 2
Step 1: Defining a business problem
What should be investigated and why?
A business problem occurs when there is a difference in the desired state and the actual state. It should
be researched if there is something seriously wrong and needs fixing immediately, or when there is
something (not so seriously) wrong and can be fixed relatively easily.
Example
Desired state, Unilever want to sell products via Albert Heijn
Actual state, Albert Heijn boycotts Unilever’s product and therefor Unilever loses sales
, To find out whether a business problem is worth all the time and effert, you need to check the following
- is it feasible? Is it doable? (possibility)
- is it relevant? (importance)
Feasibility
1. Size (demarcation (afbakening))
2. Variables
3. Ability to gather data (existing or new data)
Relevance
1. Managerial relevance (is it beneficial?)
2. Academic relevance (is the problem solved in prior research?)
Step 2: Formulating a problem statement & research questions
Business problem = Manager focused Problem statement = Research focused
A good problem statement
- formulated in terms of
- - variables
- - relations
- open-ended question
- stated clearly
- managerial and academically relevant
A good research question
- should collectively address the problem statement
- first theoretical, then practical research question
- stated clearly
Theoretical research questions
- context questions
- conceptualization questions (explaining relevant concepts of the main question)
- relationship questions
What is (sound) business research?
Business research can be defined as
"a series of well-thought-out activities and carefully executed data analyses that are aimed to help a
manager avoid, solve, or minimize a problem."
I) Business research is well-thought-out: Wat is the precise problem?
II) Business research entails gathering and analyzing data
III) Business research is meant to help managers make better decisions
Decisions based on research is more effective than on intuition
And while some people have argued that intuition becomes more valuable in highly complex and
changeable environments, the opposite is actually true. The more unprecedented the challenges you
face, the less you should rely on intuition and the more on evidence/research.
Hallmark 1 Purposiveness
- Why is the research necessary?
Hallmark 2 Rigor (biasness) (motivation behind the research)
- Ensuring a sound theoretical base
- Ensuring a sound methodological design
Hallmark 3 Objectivity
- Drawing conclusions based on facts
Hallmark 4 Parsimony (simplicity)
- Shaving unnecessary details (do not use 50 variables when 5 will do)
- Explaining a lot with little
- “Things should be made as simple as possible, nut not any simpler” – Albert Einstein
Hallmark 5 Replicability
- Finding the same results if the research is repeated in similar circumstances
- Describe in great detail how you designed your research (samples, data collection, etc.)
Hallmark 6 Generalizability
- Being able to apply the research findings in a wide variety of different settings. (e.g. if a fond works on
a milk can, it may also work on a soda can. But, if plant-based KFC does not work on a Monday, it may
work well in the weekends)
, - This should hold for fundamental research
- But less for applied research
Fundamental vs. applied research
- Applied research (e.g. Satisfaction rate of employees)
- To solve a current problem faced by the manager
- Applied to a specific company
- Within firms or research agencies
- Fundamental research
- To generate new knowledge about how problems that occur in several firms can be solved
- Applies to several organizational settings
- Mainly within universities (and knowledge institutes)
Goal of fundamental research is that is can be applied by companies with their own problems
(generalizable conclusions)
Why should you be knowledgeable about business research?
1. In order to be able to PERFORM business research.
2. In order to be able to STEER business research.
3. In order to be able to EVALUATE business research.
The 7-step research process
1. Define the business problem
I) AH’s online grocery delivery is not taking of
2. Formulate the problem statement
I) Which factors influence consumers’ adoption of online grocery delivery?
3. Develop a theoretical framework (incl. hypotheses)
I) Consumer demographics, competing retailers’ offers, etc.
4. Choose a research design
I) Archival data
5. Collect data
I) Buy consumer panel data
6. Analyze data
I) Perform a logit analysis
7. Write-up
I) Which variables are (not) significant?
II) What does this imply for managerial decision making?
Deductive vs. inductive research
- Deductive research aims at testing a theory
- Inductive research aims at developing a theory
,Deductive research example
"If it rains outside, everything becomes wet." Theory
"It rains." Observation
"The car is outside." Observation
"So the car will become wet!" Conclusion
Quantitative vs. qualitative research
Quantitative researchers emphasize the importance of formulating hypotheses based on previous work
and well-supported theories. The reasoning behind quantitative research is largely deductive.
Qualitative researchers adopt the opposite approach: they use observations as a starting point and then
seek explanations for their observations. The reasoning behind qualitative research is largely inductive.
These two research approaches are not mutually competing. They can be used in combination, within a
single research study.
Module 2
Step 1: Defining a business problem
What should be investigated and why?
A business problem occurs when there is a difference in the desired state and the actual state. It should
be researched if there is something seriously wrong and needs fixing immediately, or when there is
something (not so seriously) wrong and can be fixed relatively easily.
Example
Desired state, Unilever want to sell products via Albert Heijn
Actual state, Albert Heijn boycotts Unilever’s product and therefor Unilever loses sales
, To find out whether a business problem is worth all the time and effert, you need to check the following
- is it feasible? Is it doable? (possibility)
- is it relevant? (importance)
Feasibility
1. Size (demarcation (afbakening))
2. Variables
3. Ability to gather data (existing or new data)
Relevance
1. Managerial relevance (is it beneficial?)
2. Academic relevance (is the problem solved in prior research?)
Step 2: Formulating a problem statement & research questions
Business problem = Manager focused Problem statement = Research focused
A good problem statement
- formulated in terms of
- - variables
- - relations
- open-ended question
- stated clearly
- managerial and academically relevant
A good research question
- should collectively address the problem statement
- first theoretical, then practical research question
- stated clearly
Theoretical research questions
- context questions
- conceptualization questions (explaining relevant concepts of the main question)
- relationship questions
