Business research techniques volledige samenvatting
Module 1: The research process
Managers and Business Problems – Managers face various business challenges, such as
profitability, acquisitions, marketing effectiveness,
HR management, and webshop optimization.
Role of Business Science – Many business problems have already been studied
in business science, where researchers use empirical
methods to draw conclusions.
Ways to Utilize Research – Managers can:
Use existing research (by reading relevant studies).
Conduct their own research (for moderately complex problems).
Outsource research (to external agencies or internal teams for complex issues).
Importance of Research Knowledge – Whether consuming, conducting, or delegating
research, a solid understanding of business research
is crucial for making informed decisions.
What is business research: a systematic process of testing hypotheses through
carefully executed data analyses that are aimed to
help a manager solve or minimize a problem
Systematic process: several distinct but highly interrelated stages. It is
systematic because these stages are universally
agreed upon
Testing hypotheses: To find empirical findings, otherwise they’re just a
coincidence
Data analyses/collect and analyse data: Empirical, data can be collected in several ways
To help manager solve/minimize problem: Better decisions are evidence-based decisions:
decisions that rely on a thorough and painstaking
assessment of empirical data.
Example 1: Coca Cola C2
C2 was Coca-Cola's biggest launch since Diet Coke. C2 contained half the carbohydrates but
retained the full flavor of regular Coke. The consumer didn’t want it -> 50 million advertising
campaign turned out to be a mistake. THE MARKETING WAS BASED ON AN INTUITION,
NOT RESEARCH
introduction from a Harvard Business Review article on why most product launches fail:
As partners in a firm that specializes in product launches, we regularly get calls from entrepreneurs
and brand managers seeking help with their “revolutionary” products. After listening politely, we ask
about the research supporting their claims. The classic response? “We haven’t done the research yet,
but we know anecdotally that it works.” (Schneider & Hall 2011)
Conclusion: Intuition should never be a substitute for research. The more unprecedented the
challenges you face, the less you should rely on intuition and the more on evidence/research.
Why can managers' intuition be so wrong?
Managers (like all humans) are prone to cognitive biases.
,Cognitive biases = constantly unconscious thinking errors. It’s all about simplifying the world around
us by making ‘shortcuts’.
In total, over 100 cognitive biases affect how we process information. Two of the most common
cognitive biases that may affect managers' decisions are:
1. Confirmation bias
2. Availability bias
Confirmation bias: refers to the tendency only to consider information that agrees with
("confirms") our preexisting beliefs.
Availability bias: (also known as the availability heuristic) refers to a cognitive bias in
which we decide based on readily available information, even though
it may not be the best information to inform our decision.
The term cognitive bias was first coined in the 1970s by psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel
Kahneman. There are many more cognitive biases than those we just
discussed.
The term cognitive bias was first coined in the 1970s by psychologists Amos Tversky and
Daniel Kahneman. There are many more cognitive biases than those we just discussed.
Thinking Fast and Slow by Nobel-prize winner Daniel Kahneman (all the cognitive biases
explained).
Judging adademic-journal quality:
while some journals are legitimate, others are predatory. Their sole purpose is to make
money: they ask authors to publish for a fee without providing a peer review (the
independent evaluation of the work by experts). They publish almost everything they
receive, even complete nonsense articles.
How can you evaluate whether a journal is worthy of being considered?
You can check whether the articles in the journal are peer-reviewed. If they are not, the
journal is likely to be predatory.
You can look up the impact factor. While this is not a perfect measure, a journal with an
impact factor of at least 1.0 is less likely to be predatory.
In the field of business, you can consult the list of quality journals compiled by TISEM.
Judging article quality within peer-reviewed journals
Many people firmly believe that a study is worthless if it is not based on a very large, random
sample. However, a large sample is not always the first priority; other study characteristics may be
more important.
Judging popular-press articles
Sometimes a popular-press article is unreliable because it is based on flawed academic research. A
popular-press article is unreliable because it does not describe the underlying academic article
accurately; it does not get the story right.
Let's summarize the highlights:
You should be knowledgeable about business research:
To be able to EVALUATE business research.
,You should be able to judge to what extent academic and popular press articles can be trusted as a
basis for your decisions.
To be able to DELEGATE business research.
You should be able to interact effectively with your firm's in-house research department and/or
external research agencies that will conduct research studies for you. If you cannot steer business
research, you may end up with great answers from external researchers but to the wrong questions.
To be able to PERFORM business research.
You should be able to perform research studies yourself to solve the smaller problems that you will
encounter in your future jobs.
Module 1: Stages of the research process
Inductive research approach: researchers first collect data. Next, they try to find a
pattern in these data, after which they develop a
theoretical framework based on this pattern.
Deductive research approach: researchers first hypothesize relationships between
variables based on theory. These hypotheses are
then tested using data.
These two research approaches are not mutually competing. They are sometimes used in
combination, within a single research study (Wat hier bedoeld wordt, is dat de twee onderzochte
benaderingen niet tegenstrijdig zijn en
vaak samen kunnen worden toegepast in één enkele
studie).
The 7-step deductive research process:
Let's summarize the highlights:
Deductive research starts with a theory and then tests this theory using data.
Inductive research starts with collecting data and then develops a theoretical framework
based on the data.
The seven steps in the deductive research process are: (1) defining a problem, (2)
formulating research questions, (3) developing a theoretical framework, (4) choosing a
research strategy, (5) collecting the data, (6) analyzing the data, and (7) writing a report.
, Module 2: Demarcating the business problem
When does a business problem arise?
A business problem arises when a company faces either a threat (a difficulty to be
overcome), or an opportunity (a situation with the potential for improvement).
Let's summarize the highlights:
- A business problem must be demarcated or narrowed down before diving into a research
study.
Module 2: Problem relevance
Two types of relevance warrant consideration:
- Academic relevance
- Managerial relevance
Academic 4 mayor types of contributions:
- New topic (no prior research exists)
- New context (research exists in different context)
- Integrate scattered findings (Prior studies focus on different variables in
xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx. Isolation, hence relative impact is unclear)
- Reconcile conflicting findings (Prior research confirms different findings)
Managerial One or more parties benefit from having the problem researched
Managers
- One company
- One industry
- Multiple industries
End users
Public policymakers
Let's summarize the highlights
If you are to research a business problem, it must be academically relevant: the same
problem should not have been researched before.
If you are to research a business problem, it must be managerially relevant: the research
needs to benefit managers, consumers, and/or public policymakers.
Module 2: Formulating research questions
A good problem statement is;
- an open-ended question
- that identifies the study's unit of analysis, and
- that is expressed in terms of (i) variables and (ii) relationships.
A problem statement should be clear about the unit of analysis of the study. The unit of analysis is
the entity that the study wishes to say something about; it is considered the focus of the study. The
entities being studied are typically referred to as the subjects.
Any of the following could be the unit of analysis in a business research study:
individuals, such as consumers, investors, or CEOs
firms, such as publicly listed companies, multinationals, or SMEs
groups, such as boards of directors, alliances, or industries
Module 1: The research process
Managers and Business Problems – Managers face various business challenges, such as
profitability, acquisitions, marketing effectiveness,
HR management, and webshop optimization.
Role of Business Science – Many business problems have already been studied
in business science, where researchers use empirical
methods to draw conclusions.
Ways to Utilize Research – Managers can:
Use existing research (by reading relevant studies).
Conduct their own research (for moderately complex problems).
Outsource research (to external agencies or internal teams for complex issues).
Importance of Research Knowledge – Whether consuming, conducting, or delegating
research, a solid understanding of business research
is crucial for making informed decisions.
What is business research: a systematic process of testing hypotheses through
carefully executed data analyses that are aimed to
help a manager solve or minimize a problem
Systematic process: several distinct but highly interrelated stages. It is
systematic because these stages are universally
agreed upon
Testing hypotheses: To find empirical findings, otherwise they’re just a
coincidence
Data analyses/collect and analyse data: Empirical, data can be collected in several ways
To help manager solve/minimize problem: Better decisions are evidence-based decisions:
decisions that rely on a thorough and painstaking
assessment of empirical data.
Example 1: Coca Cola C2
C2 was Coca-Cola's biggest launch since Diet Coke. C2 contained half the carbohydrates but
retained the full flavor of regular Coke. The consumer didn’t want it -> 50 million advertising
campaign turned out to be a mistake. THE MARKETING WAS BASED ON AN INTUITION,
NOT RESEARCH
introduction from a Harvard Business Review article on why most product launches fail:
As partners in a firm that specializes in product launches, we regularly get calls from entrepreneurs
and brand managers seeking help with their “revolutionary” products. After listening politely, we ask
about the research supporting their claims. The classic response? “We haven’t done the research yet,
but we know anecdotally that it works.” (Schneider & Hall 2011)
Conclusion: Intuition should never be a substitute for research. The more unprecedented the
challenges you face, the less you should rely on intuition and the more on evidence/research.
Why can managers' intuition be so wrong?
Managers (like all humans) are prone to cognitive biases.
,Cognitive biases = constantly unconscious thinking errors. It’s all about simplifying the world around
us by making ‘shortcuts’.
In total, over 100 cognitive biases affect how we process information. Two of the most common
cognitive biases that may affect managers' decisions are:
1. Confirmation bias
2. Availability bias
Confirmation bias: refers to the tendency only to consider information that agrees with
("confirms") our preexisting beliefs.
Availability bias: (also known as the availability heuristic) refers to a cognitive bias in
which we decide based on readily available information, even though
it may not be the best information to inform our decision.
The term cognitive bias was first coined in the 1970s by psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel
Kahneman. There are many more cognitive biases than those we just
discussed.
The term cognitive bias was first coined in the 1970s by psychologists Amos Tversky and
Daniel Kahneman. There are many more cognitive biases than those we just discussed.
Thinking Fast and Slow by Nobel-prize winner Daniel Kahneman (all the cognitive biases
explained).
Judging adademic-journal quality:
while some journals are legitimate, others are predatory. Their sole purpose is to make
money: they ask authors to publish for a fee without providing a peer review (the
independent evaluation of the work by experts). They publish almost everything they
receive, even complete nonsense articles.
How can you evaluate whether a journal is worthy of being considered?
You can check whether the articles in the journal are peer-reviewed. If they are not, the
journal is likely to be predatory.
You can look up the impact factor. While this is not a perfect measure, a journal with an
impact factor of at least 1.0 is less likely to be predatory.
In the field of business, you can consult the list of quality journals compiled by TISEM.
Judging article quality within peer-reviewed journals
Many people firmly believe that a study is worthless if it is not based on a very large, random
sample. However, a large sample is not always the first priority; other study characteristics may be
more important.
Judging popular-press articles
Sometimes a popular-press article is unreliable because it is based on flawed academic research. A
popular-press article is unreliable because it does not describe the underlying academic article
accurately; it does not get the story right.
Let's summarize the highlights:
You should be knowledgeable about business research:
To be able to EVALUATE business research.
,You should be able to judge to what extent academic and popular press articles can be trusted as a
basis for your decisions.
To be able to DELEGATE business research.
You should be able to interact effectively with your firm's in-house research department and/or
external research agencies that will conduct research studies for you. If you cannot steer business
research, you may end up with great answers from external researchers but to the wrong questions.
To be able to PERFORM business research.
You should be able to perform research studies yourself to solve the smaller problems that you will
encounter in your future jobs.
Module 1: Stages of the research process
Inductive research approach: researchers first collect data. Next, they try to find a
pattern in these data, after which they develop a
theoretical framework based on this pattern.
Deductive research approach: researchers first hypothesize relationships between
variables based on theory. These hypotheses are
then tested using data.
These two research approaches are not mutually competing. They are sometimes used in
combination, within a single research study (Wat hier bedoeld wordt, is dat de twee onderzochte
benaderingen niet tegenstrijdig zijn en
vaak samen kunnen worden toegepast in één enkele
studie).
The 7-step deductive research process:
Let's summarize the highlights:
Deductive research starts with a theory and then tests this theory using data.
Inductive research starts with collecting data and then develops a theoretical framework
based on the data.
The seven steps in the deductive research process are: (1) defining a problem, (2)
formulating research questions, (3) developing a theoretical framework, (4) choosing a
research strategy, (5) collecting the data, (6) analyzing the data, and (7) writing a report.
, Module 2: Demarcating the business problem
When does a business problem arise?
A business problem arises when a company faces either a threat (a difficulty to be
overcome), or an opportunity (a situation with the potential for improvement).
Let's summarize the highlights:
- A business problem must be demarcated or narrowed down before diving into a research
study.
Module 2: Problem relevance
Two types of relevance warrant consideration:
- Academic relevance
- Managerial relevance
Academic 4 mayor types of contributions:
- New topic (no prior research exists)
- New context (research exists in different context)
- Integrate scattered findings (Prior studies focus on different variables in
xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx. Isolation, hence relative impact is unclear)
- Reconcile conflicting findings (Prior research confirms different findings)
Managerial One or more parties benefit from having the problem researched
Managers
- One company
- One industry
- Multiple industries
End users
Public policymakers
Let's summarize the highlights
If you are to research a business problem, it must be academically relevant: the same
problem should not have been researched before.
If you are to research a business problem, it must be managerially relevant: the research
needs to benefit managers, consumers, and/or public policymakers.
Module 2: Formulating research questions
A good problem statement is;
- an open-ended question
- that identifies the study's unit of analysis, and
- that is expressed in terms of (i) variables and (ii) relationships.
A problem statement should be clear about the unit of analysis of the study. The unit of analysis is
the entity that the study wishes to say something about; it is considered the focus of the study. The
entities being studied are typically referred to as the subjects.
Any of the following could be the unit of analysis in a business research study:
individuals, such as consumers, investors, or CEOs
firms, such as publicly listed companies, multinationals, or SMEs
groups, such as boards of directors, alliances, or industries
