BUSINESS
RESEARCH
TECHNIQUES
Pre-master Strategic Management
,Chapter 1; introduction to research
What is research?
The process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of the
situational factors.
Business research
A systematic and organized effort to investigate a specific problem encountered in the work setting, which
needs a solution: it comprises a series of steps designed and executed with the goal of finding answers to
the issues that are of concern to the manager in the work environment.
The first step in research is to know where the problem areas exist in the organization, and to identify as
clearly and specifically as possible the problems that need to be studied and resolved. This entire process
is called research, which involves a series of well thought-out and carefully executed activities that enable
the manager to know how organizational problems can be solved, or at least minimized. The expected and
result would be a discovery that helps the manager to deal with the problem situation.
Identifying the critical issues, gathering critical information, analysing the data in ways that help decision
making, and implementing the right course of action, are all facilitate by understanding business research.
Decision making is a process of choosing among alternative solutions to resolve a problem and research
helps to generate viable alternatives for effective decision making. Knowing about research then will help
to discriminate between good and bad studies in professional journals, studies conducted by research
agencies, and between good and bad research proposals of research agencies.
Definition of business research
Business research is an organized, systematic, data-based, critical, objective, inquiry or investigation into a
specific problem, undertaken with the purpose of finding answers or solutions to it. Research provides the
necessary information that guides managers to make informed decisions to successfully deal with
problems. The information provided could be the result of a careful analysis of data gathered first-hand or
data that are already available; these data can be quantitative or qualitative.
Types of business research: applied and basic
To solve a current specific problem faced by the manager in the work setting, demanding a timely
solution. This is called applied research. The other, basic, fundamental or pure research is to generate a
body of knowledge by trying to comprehend how certain problems that occur in organizations can be
solved.
The main difference between applied and basic research is that the former is specially aimed at solving a
currently experienced problem within a specific organization, whereas the latter has the broader objective
of generating knowledge and understanding of phenomena and problems that occur in various
organizational settings.
Pre-master Strategic Management | Business Research Techniques | Nijskens M.W.G. 1
,The manager-researcher relationship
All in all, while hiring the researcher a manager should make sure that:
1. The roles and expectations of both parties are explicit
2. Relevant philosophies and value systems of the organization are clearly and constraints are
communicated
3. A good rapport is established with the researchers, enabling the full cooperation of the latter
Internal versus external consultants/ researchers
Advantages of internal consultants
1. The internal team stands a better chance of being rapidly accepted by the employees in the
subunit of the organization where research needs to be done
2. The team requires much less time to understand the structure, the philosophy and climate of the
organization.
3. They are available to implement their recommendations after the research findings have been
accepted.
4. The internal team might cost way less than an external team for the department enlisting help in
problem solving, because they will need less time to understand the system due to their
continuous involvement.
Disadvantages of internal consultants
1. In view of their long tenure as internal consultants, the internal team might possibly fall into a
stereotyped way of looking at the organization and its problems.
2. There is a scope for certain powerful coalitions in the organization to influence the internal team
to conceal, distort, or misrepresent certain facts.
3. There is also a possibility that even the most highly qualified internal research teams are not
perceived as experts by the staff and management.
4. Certain organizational biases of internal research team might make the findings less objective and
less scientific.
Advantages of external consultants
1. The external team can draw on a wealth of experience from having worked with different types or
organizations that have had the same or similar types of problems. This wide range of experience
enables them to think both divergently and convergently rather than hurry to an instant solution
on the basis of the apparent facts in the situation.
2. The external teams might have more knowledge of current sophisticated problem-solving models
through their periodic training programs, which the teams within the organization may not have
access to. External research institutions ensure their members are conversant with the latest
innovations through periodic organized training programs.
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,Disadvantages of external consultants
1. The cost of hiring an external research team is usually high and it is the main deterrent.
2. In addition to the considerable time the external team takes to understand the organization being
researched, they seldom get a warm welcome, nor are readily accepted by employees.
3. The external team also charges additional fees for their assistance in the implementation and
evaluation phases.
If the problem statement is a complex one, or if there are likely to be vested interests, or if the very
existence of the organization is at stake because of one or more serious problems, it would be advisable to
engage external researchers; if the problems are simple, then internal can be used.
Prejudiced research: subjective in nature.
Practice questions
1) Business research is ___
A. An organized, systematic, data-based, critical, objective, inquiry or investigation into a specific
problem, undertaken with the purpose of finding answers or solution to it.
B. A process of choosing among alternative solutions to resolve a problem and helps to generate
viable alternatives.
2) i) Applied research is to solve a current problem faced by the manager in the work setting,
demanding a timely solution.
ii) Pure research is research focussed solely on solving one problem currently being experienced
in an organization.
A. i is false & ii is true
B. i is true & ii is false
C. i and ii are both false
D. i and ii are both true
3) An advantage of having internal consultants is
A. The internal team stands a better chance of being readily accepted by the employees in the
subunit of the organization where research needs to be done.
B. The internal team might have more knowledge of current sophisticated problem-solving models
through their periodic training programs.
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,Chapter 2; the scientific approach and alternative approaches to investigation
Managers frequently face issues that call for critical decision making: managerial decision based on results
of “good” research tend to be effective, if is performed in a scientific way.
Scientific research focuses on solving problems and pursues a step-by-step logical, organized, and
rigorous method to identify the problems, gather data, analyse them, and draw valid conclusions from
them: it is purposive and rigorous.
Scientific research also helps researchers to state their findings with accuracy and confidence. Moreover,
scientific investigation tends to be more objective than subjective, and helps managers to highlights the
most critical factors at the workplace that need specific attention so as to avoid, minimize, or solve
problems. The term scientific research applies to both basic and applied research.
Researchers, however, do not always take a scientific approach to research, sometimes they have different
perspectives on what makes food research and how research should be done. Moreover, exigencies of
time, unwillingness to expend the resources needed for doing good research, lack of knowledge, and other
factors might prompt business to try to solve problems based on hunches (the probability of making
mistakes is high!).
The hallmarks of scientific research
1. Purposiveness
2. Rigor
3. Testability
4. Replicability
5. Precision and confidence
6. Objectivity
7. Generalizability
8. Parsimony
Rigor
A good theoretical base and a sound methodological design add rigor to a purposive study. Rigor connotes
carefulness, scrupulousness, and the degree of exactitude in research investigations. Rigorous research
involves a good theoretical base and a carefully thought-out methodology. These factors can enable the
researcher to collect the right kind of information from an appropriate sample with the minimum degree
of bias, and facilitate suitable analysis of the data gathered.
Testability
A hypothesis is tentative, yet testable, statement, if it predicts what you expect to find in your empirical
data. Hypothesis are derived from theory, which is based on the logical beliefs of the researcher and on
previous scientific research.
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, A scientific hypothesis must be testable, and vague statements cannot be tested. Scientific research thus
lends itself to testing logically developed hypotheses to see whether or not the data support the educated
conjectures or hypotheses that are developed after a careful study of the problem situation.
Replicability
Replication demonstrates that our hypotheses have not been supported merely by chance, but are
reflective of the true state of affairs in the population. The results of the tests of hypotheses should be
supported again and yet again when the same type of research is repeated in similar circumstances.
Replication is made possible by a detailed description of the research design details, such as the sampling
method and the data collection methods that were used.
Precision and confidence
Measurement errors and other problems are bound to introduce an element of bias or error in our
findings; however, we would like to design the research in a manner that ensures that our findings are
close to reality. Precision refers to the closeness of the findings to reality based on a sample: it reflects the
degree of accuracy or exactitude of the results on the basis of the sample, to what really exist in the
universe. Confidence refers to the probability that our estimations are correct, and reaching a confidence
level of 95% is important.
The narrower the limits within which we can estimate the range of our predictions and the greater the
confidence we have in our research results, the more useful and scientific the findings become.
Generalizability
Generalizability refers to the scope of applicability of the research findings in one organizational setting to
other settings. The wider the range of applicability of the solutions generated by research, the more useful
the research is to the users.
The more generalizability the research, the greater its usefulness and value. However, not many research
findings can be generalized to all other settings, or organizations.
The research sampling design has to be logically developed and a number of other details in the data-
collection method need to be meticulously followed. However, a more elaborate sampling design, which
would doubtless increase the generalizability of the results, would also increase the costs of research.
Parsimony
Simplicity in explaining the phenomena or problems that occur, and in generating solutions for the
problems, it is always preferred to complex frameworks that consider an unmanageable number of
factors. Therefore, the achievement of a meaningful and parsimonious, rather than elaborate and
cumbersome, model for problem salutation becomes a critical issue in the research.
Parsimony can be introduced with a good understanding of the problem and using a lesser number of
factors, that explain the variance far more efficiently, that influence it.
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