1.1. What is business research?
1.1.1 Introduction
You need a firm grasp on of the fundamentals of business research the purpose of this course is to
get you acquainted with the fundamentals of researching a business problem.
1.1.2. 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."
-Well thought out
-Pinpoint the problem
-which factors are associated with the problem
-use excisting knowledge, and create un-excisting knowledge
-Gathering and analysing data
-collect data by use of
-survey’s
-experiments
-use of internal database – CRM information by example
-External information (CBS, Rabo cijfers en trends)
-web scraping
-interviews
-observations
-Helps make better decisions
-evidence based
-result of sound research
1.1.3. How about managerial intuition and experience?
-Decisions based on sound research tend to be more effective
-Intuition has a higher chance to result un brutal blunders
Intuition should never be a substitute for research
-you shouldn’t ignore instinct
-research is even more important in highly complex and unpredictable environments
-Managers with knowledge about research have an advantage over those without.
-For a knowledgeable manager there is no need to be afraid of research
-Business research is diverse, it can be cheap or expensive
-The best managers carry out their own research for small decisions
-There are a lot of ways to carry out research and to get to a good result
1.1.5. How to evaluate whether business research is sound?
-Purpose
-know why research is carried out
-know what the problem is
-Rigor
-ensure a sound Theoretical base
-having knowledge of excisting research can make research complete
, -it gives excisting drivers
-Have a sound methodological design
-you can only draw good conclusions if sample is representative
-make sure questions are not bias
-Objectivity
-draw conclusions based on facts
-No subjective ideas
-Parsimony
-shave away details that are not necessary
-explain a lot with little
-Better to include a smaller number of variables to prove research
-use the most useful an meaningful ones
-know what is necessary and what is not
-Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler
-Replicability
-finding the same result if the research is repeated in similar circumstances
-type of analysis
-type of data collection
-BE transparent about your methods
-Generalizability
-beig able to apply the research finding in a wide variety of settings
-holds only for fundamental research, not for applied research
Fundamental vs applied research
-applied research
-solving a problem that a manager currently faces
-applies to a specific setting / company
Fundamental research
-to genertie new knowledge about how problems that accur in several firms can be solved
-applies to several organisations
-mainly within universities and knowledge institutions
Let's summarize the highlights:
Why should you be knowledgeable about business research?
-1. In order to be able to PERFORM business research.
That is, you should be able to undertake research studies yourself to solve the smaller
problems that you will encounter in your future job as controller, marketing manager, project
manager, consultant, entrepreneur, ...
-2. In order to be able to STEER business research.
That is, you should be able to interact effectively with your firm's in-house research
department and/or external research agencies who will carry out research studies for you. If
you are not able to steer business research, you may end up with great answers but to the
wrong questions.
-3. In order to be able to EVALUATE business research.
That is, you should be able to judge whether research proposals and finalized research
reports from your firm's research department and/or external research agencies are any
good. After all, you would not want to make decisions based on bad research.
,1.2 The 7 step research process
1.2.1. Deductive research
Dedeuctive research will be focal in BRT
7: Write up
6: analyse data
5: Collect data
4: choose a research design
3: Develop a theoretical framework
2: Formulate problem statement
1: Define business problem
Examples per step →
-step 2 is too broad, next lecture will be more specific
-step 3: maak TK, make hypothesis, make expectations per variable
-step 7: confirm excisting theory (or not), managerial implications
1.2.2. Deductive vs inductive
Inductive research: creating a theory
-make observations and collect qualitive data
-find patterns in the data
-make a theoretical framework on the
basis of data
-seek explanation for observations
Deductive research: testing a theory
-hypothesise relationships between variables
based on theories
-test hypothesis with mostly quantitative data
The types of research can be used in combination in a single research
1.2.3. 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.
Let's summarize the highlights:
-Inductive research aims at developing a theory while deductive research aims at testing a theory.
-Inductive research starts with data (observations) and then moves from these data to broad
generalizations (a theory).
-Deductive research starts with theory and then tests this theory using data. The focus of this course
is on deductive research.
,2.1: Step 1: Defining a business problem
Many research studies don’t know what and why studies should be started
Knowledge clips
When does a business problem occur?
-With a gap between actual state and desired state
-2 types of problesm
-the actual situation is wrong and needs to be solved
-Have good profit, but want more profit
-The current situation is not per se wrong but should be inmproved
-make loss, but want to be solvent
What makes a good business problem?
Feasible
-is it doable?
-not impossible
-It is feasible when
-The problem is demarcated
-not to big → too long of research cant be carried out
-focus on smaller part of problem
-Express the problem in variables
-are you able to gather the required data
-existing data
-GFK, CBS etc.
-new data
-Relevance
-is it worhtwile?
-Mangerial relevance:
-there is someone benefitting form having the problem solved
-academic relevance
-Has the problem not been solved already?
Who can benefit from having the problem solved?
Managers
-of a company
-of an industry
-of multiple industries
End users
-consumers
-investor
-Tax payers
Public policy makers
-government
-european union
,When is a research academically relevant
Completely new topic
-no research is available
-A new topic doesn’t always mean its academically relevance
New context
-prior research is available but not in the same context
Integrate scattered research
-E.G. different studies have focused on different variables
Reconciles contradictory research
-solve the contradictions through introducing one or more moderators
Let's summarize the highlights:
-A business problem can occur in one of the following situations
-When the actual situation is seriously wrong and needs to be solved as soon as possible.
-When the actual situation is not seriously wrong but can be improved.
-A business problem has to be feasible and relevant.
2.2 Step 2: formulating a proble statement and research questions
First translate the business problem to a problem statement
Knowledge clip 1
Translate business problem to a problem statement
-business problem = probleembeschrijving
-Problem statement = centrale onderzoeksvraag
Preliminairy research
-organisational context
-extant literature
What makes a good problem statement
Formulated in termns of
-variables
-relations between variables
Open-ended questions
Stated clearly / unambiguous
-so it can only be understood in one way
Managerial and academically relevant
-if business problem is relevant, problem statement is most likely as well
Knowledge clip 2 From problem statement to research questions
What makes good research questions (deelvragen)
-Should collectively address the problem statement
-First theoretical, then practical research questions
-same order as in the report
-Stated clearly / ambiguisly
,Theoretical research questions
Context question (e,g, “what is”)
-only if the context needs elaboration
Conceptualisation question (e.g. “what is”)
-only for the key variable(s) that needs elaboration
Relationship questions (e.g. “Which variables” – “how does .. affect ..” – “How does the effect of ..
depend on ..”)
-all relationships in the problem statement should be covered
Practical research question
Relentionship questions (e.g. “to what extent does x affect y)
-ask about the magnitude of relationships
Implication questions
-how can practitioners implements your result
-open question
Third an fourth theoretical question helps formulate 1st and 2nd practical question
Final notes
The proble statement is the general question you try to answer in your research
-Research questions help to answer the overarching problem statement, step by step
-Drawing up a problem statement and research questions is difficult and time consuming, but
important
they determine the contents and the structure of your research report
Let's summarize the highlights:
-A sound problem statement is essential before embarking on any research study.
-The problem statement summarizes the general question you try to answer in your research study.
-Research questions are sub-questions that help lead up to the answer to the problem statement.
, 2.3 variables
2.3.1. Introduction
Variables can vary in two ways, namely across subjects or over time (or both).
2.3.2. Variables vary in two ways
The first way in which a variable can vary is across subjects
-persons
-firms
-industries
-countries
-products
-Like customer satisfaction is different per customer, company, branche, or product
Variables can vary over time
-persons
-firms
-industries
-countries
-products
-Like how customer satisfaction can change over time by different needs of customers or
change in the company
2.3.3. Variables should carry unambiguous names
Variable ways should not be able to be interpreted in multiple ways
-Not satisfactions, but customer satisfaction about service
Variable names should be as short as possible
-instead of size of a firm → firm size
Let's summarize the highlights
-A characteristic of variables is that they should vary in the context of your study.
-Variables can vary in two ways:
-across subjects
-over time
-Spend some time to think about a good variable name. A good variable name is unambiguous (but
not overly long).
-Finally, a variable is measurable (you should be able to gather the data)
