UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS

FACULTY OF LAW AND MANAGEMENT

SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS

MAY 2017

BSc (Hons) Management (Minor: Business Informatics)

BSc (Hons) Management (Minor: Entrepreneurship)

PROGRAMME
BSc (Hons) Management (Minor: Finance)

Level II

MODULE NAME RESEARCH METHODOLOGY IN MANAGEMENT

Tuesday
DATE 23 May 2017 MODULE CODE MGT2117(3)

TIME 09.30 – 11.30 Hours DURATION 2 Hours

NO. OF 5 NO. OF QUESTIONS 4

QUESTIONS SET TO BE ATTEMPTED

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

This paper consists of 2 Sections (A and B) and FIVE (5) questions.

Section A is compulsory and consists of TWO (2) questions. Each question

carries 20 marks.

Answer ANY TWO (2) questions from Section B. Each question carries 30
marks.
 Research Methodology in Management – MGT2117(3)

SECTION A – COMPULSORY

Question 1 (Compulsory) [20 marks]

Read the following section extracted and adapted from the study of Mayer et al. (2012)
published in the Academy of Management Journal. The title of the study is: “Who Displays
Ethical Leadership, and Why Does It Matter? An Examination of Antecedents and Consequences
of Ethical Leadership”

[…

A perennial question asked by managers, employees, business students, and the general
public is, What effect does leadership have on the behavior of followers? By now,
management scholars know this question has definitive answers, but those answers
largely depend on the follower behaviors and leadership variables being considered. Two
follower behaviors that have been shown to be influenced by leadership are ethical
behavior and interpersonal conflict (Brown & Treviño, 2006a; Ehrhart, 2004). Importantly,
both of these follower behaviors have been linked directly to bottom-line performance
(Detert, Treviño, Burris, & Andiappen, 2007; LePine, Piccolo, Jackson, Mathieu, & Saul,
2008). This article examines whether a new leadership construct, ethical leadership
(Brown, Treviño, & Harrison, 2005), may be particularly well suited to explaining
unethical behavior and interpersonal conflict in work units.

Brown et al. (2005) recently provided a new conceptualization of ethical leadership. They
highlighted three key building blocks of ethical leadership: being an ethical example,
treating people fairly, and actively managing morality. The first two of these building
blocks are reflected in the moral person component of ethical leadership, wherein ethical
leaders have desirable characteristics such as being fair and trustworthy. The last building
block is captured by the moral manager component, whereby ethical leaders encourage
normative behavior and discourage unethical behavior on the part of their subordinates
using transactional efforts such as communicating about ethics and punishing unethical
behavior (see Brown and Treviño [2006a] for a review). The conceptual basis for treating
ethical leadership as a distinct leadership construct has been presented previously (Brown
et al., 2005), but to date few empirical studies have directly examined the unique effect of
ethical leadership extending above and beyond the effects of related leadership constructs.
Furthermore, few studies have examined the relationship between ethical leadership and
ethical outcomes, because the construct is relatively new (for exceptions, see Brown et al.
[2005], Detert et al. [2007], Mayer, Kuenzi, Greenbaum, Bardes, and Salvador [2009],
Piccolo, Greenbaum, den Hartog, and Folger [2010], Walumbwa, Mayer, Wang, Wang,
Workman, and Christensen [2011], and Walumbwa and Schaubroeck [2009]). Finally, we
are aware of few tudies examining antecedents of ethical leadership. Our research
addresses all of these gaps in the management literature by examining why ethical
leadership matters, who engages in ethical leadership, and whether ethical leadership

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 Research Methodology in Management – MGT2117(3)

represents a distinct aspect of leadership that is not captured by other leadership

constructs.

In the present research, we examine antecedents of ethical leadership by testing whether

one source of motivation for leaders to exhibit ethical behaviors arises from a self-defining
knowledge structure that several writers (e.g., Aquino & Reed, 2002; Blasi, 1983, 2004;
Damon & Hart, 1992; Lapsley & Narvaez, 2004) refer to as moral identity. Our theoretical
model posits that moral identity motivates leaders to act in ways that demonstrate some
responsiveness to the needs and interests of others, an orientation that many philosophers
(e.g., Kant, 1948) and psychologists (e.g., Eisenberg, 2000; Gilligan,

1982) consider a defining characteristic of moral behavior. We also explore consequences

of ethical leadership at the work-unit level by drawing on social learning theory (Bandura,
1977, 1986). We focus on unit-level outcomes because group members exposed to similar
cues in an environment regarding norms for appropriate behavior tend to behave in a
fairly homogeneous manner (e.g., Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978). The specific outcomes we
examine include unethical behavior (i.e., behavior that is morally unacceptable to the
larger community [Jones, 1991]) and relationship conflict (i.e., interpersonal strife
associated with differences in personalities or matters unrelated to a job [Jehn, 1995]). …]

Required:

Discuss on the various stages that Mayer (2012) must have gone through so as to
successfully complete their research.
[20 marks]

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 Research Methodology in Management – MGT2117(3)

Question 2 (Compulsory) [20 marks]

A study was conducted to find out the influence of green advertising factors on
customers’ purchase intention of green products. Furthermore, the study hypothesized
that metro and non-metro users have varying perceptions with regards to the factors that
influence their purchasing intentions, namely, credibility, consumers’ trust, brand image,
the media, green education, reference group influence and perceived effectiveness of
environmental behaviour. Each variable is measured using a five-point Likert scale
ranging from ‘strongly disagree = 1’ to ‘strongly agree = 5’. Linear regression was used to
measure the impact of the aforementioned factors on purchase intention. Furthermore, a
series of independent samples t-test was used to assess the differences between metro and
non-metro users with regards to each determinant. Table 1 presents the descriptive
statistics and the summary results of the independent samples t-test. Table 2 presents the
findings of the regression analysis.

Table 1: Descriptive Findings for Metro and Non-Metro City

Variables Number Mean Mean t-value p-value

of Items (Metro (Non-
City) Metro
City)

Credibility 8 4.66 4.61 10.77 0.076

Consumers’ Trust 7 4.72 4.70 5.54 0.586

Brand Image 9 3.56 3.28 8.28 0.000

Media 5 4.20 4.79 18.08 0.000

Green Education 6 3.96 4.73 10.58 0.000

Reference group 6 4.12 4.18 12.27 0.023

influence

Perceived effectiveness of 6 4.35 4.14 15.05 0.000

environmental behaviour

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 Research Methodology in Management – MGT2117(3)

Source: Primary data

Table 2: Summary of Regression Analysis Results for Consumers Purchasing

Intentions and the 7 variables for Metro City

Variables Beta t-value Significant

Coefficient value

Credibility 0.298 15.41 0.029

Consumers’ Trust 0.394 49.72 0.553

Brand Image 0.310 23.60 0.000

Media 0.104 20.58 0.000

Green Education 0.235 18.96 0.000

Reference group influence 0.198 32.35 0.020

Perceived effectiveness of 0.308 25.12 0.000

environmental behaviour

R2 = 0.572; (F(3, 459) = 324.48, p = .000 < 0.05)

(a) Critically analyse the findings presented in Table 1.

[6 marks]

(b) Using Table 2, answer the following questions

(i) Identify the dependent and independent variables of the study.

[4 marks]

(ii) Interpret the regression model and comment on the nature of the statistical
relationship between each independent variable and the dependent variable.
Provide statistical evidence to support your answer.
[10 marks]

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 Research Methodology in Management – MGT2117(3)

SECTION B – ANSWER ANY TWO (2) QUESTIONS

Question 3 [30 marks]

(a) Reviewing the literature is a well-established academic tradition which is handed down in
many disciplines. A researcher reads and evaluates the literature in order to combine the
academic theories and ideas to form a critical review of the literature (Saunders, Lewis and
Thornhill, 2003).

Critically analyse the importance of reviewing the literature in research.

[15 marks]

(b) Critically explain how the literature can be used in the questionnaire design
process and how this can help in ensuring the validity and reliability of the
measurements.
[15 marks]

Question 4 [30 marks]

(a) Differentiate between Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research.

[20 marks]

(b) The technique of interview is of immense use and value in qualitative research
studies since they emphasize the in-detail and holistic description of activity or
situation. Focus group interview is one of the valuable tools for collecting qualitative
data.

Discuss the focus group interview as a qualitative technique for data collection.
[10 marks]

Question 5 [30 marks]

(a) Sampling methods are classified as either probability or nonprobability. Explain

the differences between these methods.
[6 marks]

(b) Give a detailed account of three different probability methods and three Non-
probability methods of sampling. Your answer should include a description of the
method, its uses, advantages, and limitation (if any).
[24 marks]

END OF QUESTION PAPER

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