Summary ACCO mid-term 2020

Table of Contents
I. The inductive and deductive research process..............................................................................2
i. The seven-step DEductive research process..............................................................................2
ii. The seven-step INductive research process...............................................................................2
II. Defining the business problem......................................................................................................3
iii. What is a business problem?.....................................................................................................3
iv. What makes a good business problem?....................................................................................3
v. What is a variable?....................................................................................................................3
vi. Academic relevance...................................................................................................................4
vii. Managerial relevance............................................................................................................4
viii. Writing up the research proposal..........................................................................................4
III. Formulating problem statements and research questions........................................................5
i. A good problem statement........................................................................................................5
ii. Good research questions...........................................................................................................5
IV. Theoretical framework..............................................................................................................6
i. Variable definitions....................................................................................................................6
a) Overarching group labels vs. single variable names...............................................................6
ii. Conceptual framework / model.................................................................................................6
a) Dependent variable...............................................................................................................7
b) Independent variable.............................................................................................................7
c) Mediating variable.................................................................................................................7
d) Moderating variable..............................................................................................................9
e) Control variables..................................................................................................................10
f) Example of an entire conceptual model..............................................................................10
iii. Hypotheses..............................................................................................................................11
a) Phrasing testable hypotheses..............................................................................................11
b) Justifying a hypothesis.........................................................................................................12
c) Link with statistics: Null and alternate hypotheses..............................................................12

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 a) The inductive and deductive research process

a) The seven-step DEductive research

process
Works from theory to observations
1. Define the business problem
2. Formulate the problem statement
3. Develop a theoretical framework
4. Choose a research design
5. Collect data
6. Analyse data
7. Write-up

b) The seven-step INductive research

process
Works from observations to theory
1. Define the business problem
2. Formulate the problem statement
3. Provide a conceptual background
4. Choose a research design
5. Collect data
6. Analyse data
7. Develop theory

Deductive vs. inductive reasoning

Deductive reasoning works from theory to data to test theory vs.
Inductive reasoning works from data to theory to build theory

Major differences
Outcome
The purpose of the
literature review
Data collection
methods
Analysing the data

Examples
Inductive research
e.g. Post-disaster business
recovery: An entrepreneurial
marketing perspective.

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Deductive research
e.g. When it’s too good to be true:
Consumer’s reactions and firms’
responses to unintended price
mistakes.

b) Defining the
business problem

The actual situation is not seriously

c) What is a business wrong but can be improved
problem?

The actual situation is seriously

wrong and needs to be solved

d) What makes a good business

problem?
Feasibility
Is the problem demarcated enough?
Can the problem be expressed in variables?
Are you able to gather the required data?
- Existing data
- New data

Relevance
Academically
Managerially

e) What is a
variable?
Characteristics of a variable
Should vary at different times for the same person/firm, or at the same time for different
persons/firms
Should be measurable
Should be concrete

Different types of variables

Independent, dependent, moderating, mediating variables
Continuous and discrete variables
Overarching groups

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 f) Academic
relevance
Has the problem not already been solved in prior research?
Completely new topic
- No research at all, although the topic is important
New context
- Prior research is available but not in the same context
Integrate scattered research
- e.g. Different studies have focused on different IV’s / moderators; consequently, their
relevance importance is not clear
Reconcile contradictory research
- Solve the contradictions through introducing one or more moderators

g) Managerial
relevance
Who benefits from having the problem solved?
Managers (brand managers, supply chain managers, accountants, …)
- Of one company
- Of one industry
- Of multiple industries
End users
Public policy makers (government, EU, …)

h) Writing up the research

proposal
General introduction
Starting point of your research proposal
To-the point

The business problem

Introduce the business problem
With the use of business sources
End the formal business problem sentence with “In the current study …”

Introducing the variables and relationships

Introduce your variables
Main effect(s) in the first paragraph
Moderating effect(s) in the following paragraphs
Use academic reference

Academic relevance section

1. What has been studied in the literature so far?
2. Where is “the gap” in the literature?
3. Why is it important that this gap is filled?
4. How will your study fill this gap (partly)?

Managerial relevance section

1. Identify in one sentence
2. Explain how the stakeholder(s) can benefit

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 3. Use references to back up claims

c) Formulating problem statements and research

questions

i. A good problem
statement
Business problem (manager-focused) to problem statement (research-focused) is aided by
preliminary research: Organization/ context and extant literature.

Problem statements should be

formulated in terms of
- Variables, and
- Relations
 affect (how does A affect the relationship to B)
 the effect of depends on (what is result of B, being affected by A)
open-ended questions
stated clearly/unambiguously
[ managerially and academically relevant ]

ii. Good research

questions
Research questions
Should collectively address the problem statement
First theoretical, then practical research questions
- (T) Divided into context, relations and then (P) magnitude of relations, and implications.
Stated clearly / unambiguously

Theoretical research questions

Context question (e.g. “What is…”)
- Only if context needs elaboration

Conceptualization
- Only for the key variable(s) that need(s) elaboration

Relationship questions (e.g. “Which variables…”)

- “How does… affect …”
- “How does the effect of … on … depend on …”
[ all relationships in the problem statement should be covered ]

Practical research questions

Relationship questions (e.g. “To what extent …”)
- What is the (relative) magnitude of the relations?

Implication question
- How can practitioners implement your results?
- Open question

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Tips
The problem 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
oh-so-important. They determine the contents and the structure of your research report.

d) Theoretical framework
A theoretical framework consists of
Variable definitions
Conceptual model
Hypotheses

i. Variable
definitions
A good variable definition has the following properties
Informative variable name (short if possible)
Variable definition without jargon
- Based on a careful literature review
- Unless very obvious (e.g., sales, profits)
- Pitfall: Examples do not substitute for a definition
One of two supporting references per variable definition

[ use the exact same variable name throughout the entire research ]

e.g. Defining variables

The focal measure of private label success is the share of private labels in a product category and
country. This study specifies two groups of drivers underlying private label success, the brand
manufacturers’ marketing mix and country characteristics, each encompassing several factors. The
brand manufacturers’ marketing instruments comprises (i) the price gap with brands (i.e., the
difference in price between brands and private labels within the category; Dhar & Hoch, 1997), (ii)
innovation intensity (i.e., the number of new product introductions in the product category; Gielens,
2012), and (iii) advertising intensity (i.e., the extent to which brands within the category are heavily
advertised; Hoch and Banerji, 1993). The country characteristics comprise (i) its economic wealth
(i.e., the value of all resources possess by a country) and (ii) its market size (i.e., the number of
inhabitants).

e) Overarching group labels vs. single variable names

When to use which?
Study with many variables
- Use overarching group labels in
 Business problem
 Problem statement and research questions
 Managerial and academic relevance
 Names
- Use single variable names (e.g. RP’s 1&2)  Definitions
 From theoretical framework onwards  References
Study with few variables (e.g. RP’s 3&4)

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 - Use single variable names from the start

 Conceptual framework / model

A conceptual model / framework specifies how your variables are related to eachother and are
thus inter-related.
Different variables
Variables are the building blocks and can take on different roles
Dependent variables
Independent variables
Mediating variables
Moderating variables
Control variables

Relationships
Relationship are arrows and can have a
Main effect: A direct effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable
Direct/indirect effect (mediating):
Moderating effect

a) Dependent variable
A dependent variable is the phenomenon that you are trying to understand, explain or predict; thus
your variable of primary interest. A.K.A. criterion variable, DV

b) Independent variable
An independent variable is the phenomenon that influences the dependent variable in:
A positive way
A negative way
So, if X changes, Y changes too. A.K.A. predictor variable, IV

c) Mediating variable
Is situated between the IV and the DV. A
mediating variable explains why or how the
IV “X” has an influence on the DV “Y”. It
explains the mechanism at work between X
and Y. A.K.A. mediators or intervening variables. Typically, one or two mediators are studied. Seldom
more. Partial mediation is standard, where full mediation rarely occurs. However, full mediation
provides more information than partial mediation. Parallel mediation is standard, where serial
mediation rarely occurs.

Full mediation
The mediating variable fully explains the relationship between X and Y.

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Partial mediation
The mediating variable partially explains the relationship between X and Y.
Indirect effect
1 2

Direct effect
Total effect = direct effect + indirect effect

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4

Indirect effect 1 + + - - Direct and indirect effect in same
direction
Indirect effect 2 + - - +
Direct effect -Case 1 + -Case 3 + Examples showed graphically in
Case 2 Case 4
Total effect ?+ table, these are all moving in the
Indirect effect 1 -? ?- +?
same direction.
Indirect effect 2 + + - -
Direct effect + - + -
Total effect + - + -

Direct and indirect effect in opposite direction

Examples showed graphically in table, these are moving in the opposite direction.

The total effect within effects moving in opposite directions depends on which effect is larger; the
indirect or direct effect.

Notes
In the first table, case 3 and 4 may seem odd or not that different than case 1 and 2 of the
second table. However, notice that they are not, which is simply explained by math.
- In case 3 of table 1, both effects are negative
(making mathematically: - x - = + ), this is equal to the direct effect, making the total
effect positive.
- In case 4 of table 1, the second indirect effect is negative
(making mathematically: + x - =
- ), this is equal to the direct
effect, making the total effect
negative.
This is in the case of effects moving
in opposite directions not the case. There, the math equation of the indirect effects is not
equal to the direct effect, thus moving in opposite directions. This you can calculate yourself
in table 2.

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Parallel vs. serial mediation (models with >1 mediator)
Parallel multiple mediators
Multiple not related indirect mediators. The
sum of both mediators is called the total
indirect effect of X on Y.

Total indirect effect = Indirect effect 1 + Indirect effect 2.

Serial multiple mediators

Multiple related mediators, in which one mediator affects the other mediator.

Not often used, since it is hard to keep track of the effect of X on Y with serial multiple mediators.

d) Moderating variable
It captures WHEN or FOR WHOM the effect is stronger on the relationship between X and Y. Thus, it
may change the effectiveness of X on Y. It may make the relationship more positive, more negative
or reverses the relationship (positive to negative and the other way around) A.K.A. moderator or
interaction variable. Moderating variables often make a research managerially relevant.

Effects on relationship
A positive effect becoming stronger
The effect of X on Y becomes more positive when the moderating variable increases

Main effect +
Moderating effect +
Total effect Stronger

A negative effect becoming stronger

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The effect of X on Y becomes more negative when the moderating variable increases
Main effect -
Moderating effect -
Total effect Stronger

A positive effect becoming less strong

The effect of X on Y becomes less positive and may even become negative when the
moderating variable increases
Main effect +
Moderating effect -
Total effect Less strong or even negative

A negative effect becoming less strong

The effect of X on Y becomes less negative and may even become positive when the
moderating variable increases

Main effect -
Moderating effect +
Total effect Less strong

Extensions / special cases

A discrete moderator
A discrete moderator can take certain values, which influences the (magnitude of the) effect of the
moderator.

e.g. of a discrete moderator

The positive effect of number of hours of driving lessons on parking skills is more positive
(stronger) for urban areas than for rural areas. Then, the moderating effect would be
positive.
In the other way around: The positive effect of number of hours of driving lessons on parking
skills is less positive (weaker) for rural areas than for urban areas. Then, the moderating
effect would be negative.

Pure moderation
A MOD modifies the relationship between X and Y, but has no direct effect on Y.

Quasi moderation
A MOD modifies the relationship between X and Y, but also has a direct effect on Y.

e.g. of quasi moderation

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Multiple moderators
This is common, up to 6 moderators is no exception.

e) Control variables
Variables which can control a research on extraneous influences. They can be included in a statistical
analysis. This is referred to as covariance-analyses. It is not the focus of the research study, but its
existence has a certain impact on the dependent variable that cannot be ignored. It is a control
variable, because it is controlled or monitored. The goal is to filter out the impact of the control
variables and thus understand the researched relationships better.

f) Example of an entire conceptual model

A conceptual model where both mediators and moderators are present is called a conditional
process model.

b) Hypoth
eses A hypothesis is 1.) a
tentative statement 2.)
about the coherence 3.)
between two or more
variables

Properties of correctly
formatted hypotheses
Testable
(measurable
variables)
Derived from
theory
Unambiguously phrased

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Each RQ has one or more hypotheses, this is often related to the number of variables.

a) Phrasing testable hypotheses

Directional versus unidirectional hypotheses
A directional (or one tailed hypothesis) states which way you think the results are going to go. An
UNdirectional (or two tailed hypothesis) simply states that there will be a difference between the
two groups/conditions but does not say which will be greater/smaller, quicker/slower etc.

e.g. of a directional hypothesis

 Higher levels of workload leads to lower employee morale.
 The negative effect of employee morale on employee productivity is weaker (stronger) for
older (younger) employees.

e.g. of a UNdirectional hypothesis

 Level of workload affects employee morale.
 The effect of employee morale on employee productivity depends on employee age.

Formulation of main-effect hypotheses showed by means of examples

Keywords
The likelihood of
… is level when …
than …

… leads to …

The likelihood of
… is level if … is
level

… is pos./neg.
related to …

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Formulation of moderating effect hypotheses: When the main effect is directional

Formulation of moderating effect hypotheses: When the main effect is UNdirectional

H: When MOD equals …, X has a positive effect on Y.
And
H: When MOD equals …, X has a negative effect on Y.

Formulation of mediating effect hyotheses

e.g. The relationship between the actual delay and customers’ satisfaction with CAP is mediated by
the perceived delay.

b) Justifying a hypothesis
With argumentation
First argue why the hypothesis is plausible
- Based on literature, not because author XYZ said so, but their conclusion (and reference)
Then conclude with the hypothesis
- This leads to the following hypothesis
Notes
Always avoid undirectional hypotheses for mediators and moderators.
Use undirectional hypotheses for main effects sparingly
- When arguments for both directions are equally strong
- When one or more moderating hypotheses are introduced to explain when the main
effect turns positive vs. negative.
c) Link with statistics: Null and alternate hypotheses
Null hypothesis
- Expresses no relationship between variables
- Set up in order to be rejected (in favor of the alternate hypothesis)
Alternate hypothesis
- Expresses a relationship between variables
- = Research hypothesis

Null hypotheses are not presented in research reports!

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