TiSEM Premaster 2020 - Business Research Techniques
Lecture 1
Business research = A series of well-thought out activities and carefully executed data
analyses that help a manager to avoid, solve, or minimize a problem.
Well-thought out activities = As a business researcher, you need to know exactly what the
problem is that you want to solve. What is the decision that you need guidance on? Which
factors are involved in your problem?
Data analyses = Gathering data and carefully analysing this data.
Why should future managers know about business research?
• Managerial decisions based on;
- The result of ‘good’ research tend to be more effective
- Hunches, intuition, and past experiences are more likely to be wrong
• To be able to perform business research
- E.g. undertake research yourself to solve smaller problems you encounter
• To be able to steer business research
- E.g. interact effectively with researchers / research agencies
• To be able to evaluate business research
- To discriminate between good and bad research proposals of researchers /
research agencies
- To discriminate between good and bad published research studies
Mythes about business research
The ‘managers are from Mars, researchers are from Venus’ myth
• Myth: There is no need to do/study business research for future manager
• Reality: Managers with knowledge about research have an advantage over those
without
The role of a manager and a researcher are becoming vague. As a manager you should be
able to do a good research yourself.
The ‘most research is not read’ myth
• Myth: Business research ends up in the bottom drawer
• Reality: For a knowledgeable manager, research need not be intimidating
The ‘big bucks’ myth
• Myth: Business research is only for the wealthiest organizations
• Reality: Business research is very diverse – it can be cheap, it can be expensive.
Business research is not only for the biggest companies, but also for smaller decision
makings. It is very divers.
The ‘big decision’ myth
• Myth: Business research is only useful when you have a major decision to make
• Reality: For small decisions, the best managers carry out their own research.
There are different ways of doing research. There are different ways that help you making
a decision.
The ‘universal truth’ myth
• Myth: There is just one best way of researching a business problem
• Reality: There is no such thing as an absolute truth in business*
*This does by no way imply that any approach is good.
1
,Hallmarks of business research
1. Purposiveness.
o What is the purpose of your business research?
o Knowing the ‘why’ of your research. Why are you doing research? If you
know the problem of your research, then it has impact.
2. Rigor (exactness)
o Ensuring a sound theoretical base
o Ensuring a sound methodological design
3. Objectivity
o Drawing conclusions based on facts (rather than on subjective ideas)
4. Parsimony
o ‘shaving away’ unnecessary details
o Explaining a lot – with little
o Select the factors in your research which are necessary for you
5. Replicability
o Finding the same results if the research is repeated in similar circumstances
o You need to be transparent about your research set-up. If other researchers
would do your research again, they should come to the same conclusions.
o Describe your study design in detail!
6. Generalizability
o Being able to apply the research findings in a wide variety of different
settings
- This should hold for fundamental research
- But much less so for applied research
Fundamental vs. applied research
Applied research:
- To solve a current problem faced by a manager
- Applies 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)
First there is fundamental research which is generable. This fundamental research can later
be applied in applied research.
Inductive vs. deductive research
Inductive research:
• Data → theory (building theory). You start with data, then from observations you
develop a theory.
• A theory is based on observations. Qualitive data (words that express nuances, etc)
• Explorative
2
,Deductive research:
• Theory → data (testing theory). Based on an existing theory. You have data and
observations, in order to confirm this theory.
• A general theory is tested, so the data is often qualitive. You need to find evidence
of a theory based on numbers.
Example 1: Deductive or inductive reasoning?
• If it rains, everything outside becomes wet
• It rains
• The car is outside
The car will become wet
The example above is an example of deductive reasoning. You start with a general theory,
a rule (if it rains, everything outside becomes wet). The second and third bullet says it
rains and that the car is outside. These are your observations / data. When you apply your
theory / rule to your data, you deduct that the car will become wet. You confirm the theory.
Example 2: Deductive or inductive reasoning?
• The first duck in the park is brown
• The second duck in the park is brown
• The third duck in the park is brown
Every duck in the park is brown
The example above is inductive reasoning. You build a theory. The bullet points are three
observations. There is no existing theory here. The conclusion ‘every duck in the park is
brown’ is the theory that you formulate after your observations.
The seven-step research process
3
, Basic Research and Applied Research
Applied research:
o Used to answer a specific question that has direct applications to the world.
o Type of research that solves a problem.
Basic research:
o Driven purely by curiosity and a desire to expand our knowledge
o Fills in the knowledge we don’t have
o Not directly applicable to the world
o Example:
• Evaluation: Program evaluation is the meticulous look at the benefits, costs,
and outcomes of a program.
The difference between the two is what they will be used for. Will the research be used to
help us understand the real world problems and solve it, or does the research further our
general information.
- Basic research feeds applied research, and applied research feeds basic research
Lecture 2
An introduction to business problems
1. When does a business problem occur?
A business problem occurs when there is a gap between the actual state of a company,
and the desired state of a company.
Example:
Actual state → AH boycotts Unilever’s products
Desired state → Pfizer may increase profits by having its sales reps approach doctors
differently
2. What makes a GOOD business problem?
• Feasibility: Is it doable?
When is a business problem feasible?
o Is the problem demarcated?
o Can the problem be expressed in variables?
o Are you able to gather the required data? → Existing data and/or new data
• Relevance: Is it worthwhile?
o Managerial relevance → Who benefits from having the problem solved?
o Academic relevance → Has the problem not already been solved in prior
research?
Checklist whether a business problem is managerial relevance:
• Who benefits from having the problem solved?
o Managers (brand managers, supply chain managers, accountants, …)
- Of one company
- Of one industry
- Of multiple industries
o End users (consumers, investors, tax payers,…)
o Public policy makers (government, EU, …)
4
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