Business Research Methods 9e

Zikmund
Babin
1
Carr The Role of Business
Griffin
Research

The Role of Business Research

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 ESPN Hits a Home Run

• ESPN has information in

many databases.
• Business research
integrated it so they
could learn more about
how fans use their
media.
• Gaining intelligence had
bottom-line implications
for their own revenue
and their advertisers'

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 DIFFERENT KINDS OF RESEARCH.
1. Market research is learning about business markets so that
investment or business decisions can be made. The kinds of questions
that get asked here include:
 Who are the potential customers?
 What do the customers need?
 Who are the competitors?
 And what is the market environment?
2. Economic research has its own way of going about things. For
instance, it may involve specially constructed formulas and equations
that facilitate an understanding of the economic environment. It may
ask questions such as:
 Are the economic fundamentals in place?
 What are the economic trends in the manufacturing or mining sectors?
Of course, some of the questions economic research asks may be similar
to those market research asks.
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF RESEARCH.

3. Scientific research may involve a whole range of

sophisticated and specialist research instruments,
such as mathematical or chemical formulas and very
specialized methodologies.
4. Media research will involve looking at issues such as
media content and audience. Its own kind of specific
instruments – such as ways of measuring audience
preferences and its spending power – have been
developed for this. For example,
The Radio Audience Measurement Survey (RAMS) and
The Television Audience Measurement Survey (TAMS).
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF RESEARCH.
5. Social research is quite a broad term and may involve
different kinds of research: from gathering information on
the population (demographics) to the attitudes and
behaviours of people in a community or country.
Although many of these different kinds of research have
developed methodologies that are specific to their
particular discipline, there are basic research methods
that are common to most.
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 Basic Business Research
• Basic business research is conducted
without a specific decision in mind that
usually does not address the needs of a
specific organization.
◗Attempts to expand the limits of knowledge in
general.
◗Not aimed at solving a pragmatic problem.
• Example:
◗Does employee tenure with a company influence
productivity?

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 EXHIBIT 1.1 A Summary of the Scientific Method

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 Managerial Value of Business Research
• There are only a few business
orientations:
• Product-oriented
• Production-oriented
• Marketing-oriented

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 When is Business Research Needed?
• The determination of the need for research
centers on:
1. Time constraints
2. The availability of data
3. The nature of the decision to be made
4. Benefits versus costs (the value of the research
information in relation to costs)
◗ Will the payoff or rate of return be worth the
investment?
◗ Will the information improve the quality of the
managerial decision enough to warrant the
expenditure?
◗ Is the expenditure the best use of the available
funds?

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 Harley-Davidson Goes Abroad

• Consumers in different
countries have different
preferences.
• Even if consumers want it,
government regulations can
make it prohibitive (e.g.,
India).
• Harley is pursuing the U.S.
women’s market for bikes.

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 Business Class Success?

• Business-class travelers
want comfort, good food,
and convenient boarding,
but the price is hefty.
• Two start-ups offered
“discount” business-class-
only airlines but failed.
• Could more effective
research have determined
that these were not
feasible business
ventures?

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 Business Research in the 21st Century
• Communication Technologies
• Always “connected”—time, place, and distance
are irrelevant.
• Decreases in information acquisition, storage,
access, and transmission costs.

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 Business Research in the 21st Century
• Global Business Research
• Business research is increasingly global.
• Must understand the nature of particular
markets.
• Cross-validation
◗Verify that the empirical findings from one culture
also exist and behave similarly in another culture.

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 “Jacques” Daniels

• Research findings:
• Japanese use JD as a
dinner beverage
• Australian’s drink
distilled spirits at home
• British like to drink at
bars and restaurants
• Chinese prefer “knock-
offs” to save money and
enjoy it with green tea

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LEARNING
OUTCOMES

1. Understand how research contributes to business

success
2. Know how to define business research
3. Understand the difference between basic and
applied business research
4. Understand how research activities can be used to
address business decisions
5. Know when business research should and should
not be conducted
6. Appreciate the way technology and
internationalization are changing business
research

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