Chapter 4 Zikmund The Business Research Process

4
Business Research Methods 9e

Zikmund
Babin
Carr
Griffin
The Business
Research Process:
An Overview
Chapter 4
The Business Research Process:
An Overview
2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights

Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly
accessible website, in whole or in part.
LEARNIN
G
OUTCOM
ES
1. Define decision making and understand

the role research plays in making
decisions
2. Classify business research as either
exploratory research, descriptive
research, or causal research
3. List the major phases of the research
process and the steps within each
4. Explain the difference between a
research project and a research program
2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website,
4-2in
Getting (and Keeping) Up to Speed:

Hoovers Helps HP
Hewlett-Packard (HP)
must continue to
innovate in a
continuously changing
environment.
Hoovers is an integral
part of HPs customer
relationship
management (CRM)
strategy, with data
plug-in capabilities
that give sales reps
real-time information.
4-3in
Introduction
Key ways in which researchers
contribute to decision making:
1. Helping to better define the current situation
2. Defining the firmdetermining how consumers,
competitors, and employees view the firm
3. Providing ideas for enhancing current business
practices
4. Identifying new strategic directions
5. Testing ideas that will assist in implementing
business strategies for the firm
6. Examining how correct a certain business theory
is in a given situation
44in
Decision Making Terms

Business opportunity
A situation that makes some potential
competitive advantage possible.
Business problem
A situation that makes some significant
negative consequence more likely.
Symptoms
Observable cues that serve as a signal
of a problem because they are caused
by that problem.
45in
Decision Making
Decision making defined
The process of developing and deciding
among alternative ways of resolving a
problem or choosing from among alternative
opportunities.
Researchs role in the decision making

process
Recognizing the nature of the problem or
opportunity.
Identifying how much information is currently
available and how reliable it is.
Determining what information is needed to
better deal with the situation.
46in
Conditions Affecting Decision

Making
Certainty
The decision maker has all information

needed to make an optimal decision.
Uncertainty
The manager grasps the general nature of
desired objectives, but the information
about alternatives is incomplete.
Ambiguity
The nature of the problem itself is unclear
such that objectives are vague and
decision alternatives are difficult to define.
47in
EXHIBIT 4.1
Decision-Making Situations
48in
Types of Business Research

Exploratory
Descriptive
Causal
49in
Exploratory Research
Conducted to clarify ambiguous
situations or discover ideas that may
be potential business opportunities.
Initial research conducted to clarify
and define the nature of a problem.
Does not provide conclusive evidence
Subsequent research expected
410in
Cute, Funny, or Sexy? What Makes a

Mascot Tick?
Exploratory research
is helpful in
answering these
questions.
Mr. Peanut gets
positive comments
unless he has on
Bermuda shorts!
M&M characters are
referred to by their
color, so they dont
need names.
Women want a sexy
Brawny man!
4-11in
Descriptive Research
Describes characteristics of objects,
people, groups, organizations, or
environments.
Addresses who, what, when, where, why,
and how questions.
Considerable understanding of the nature
of the problem exists.
Does not provide direct evidence of
causality.
Diagnostic analysis
Seeks to diagnose reasons for market

outcomes and focuses specifically on the
beliefs and feelings consumers have about
and toward competing products.
412in
Taking a Swing at Business

Success
Pro golfer Greg Norman is
also a successful
winemaker.
Descriptive research
details what wine
consumers like to drink in
terms of where the wine is
from and where the
consumers are located.
This research gives the
vintner a better
understanding of the
international wine market.
4-13in
Causal Research
Research conducted to identify
cause and effect relationships
(inferences).
Evidence of causality:
Temporal sequencethe appropriate
causal order of events.
Concomitant variationtwo phenomena
vary together.
Nonspurious associationan absence of
alternative plausible explanations.
414in
EXHIBIT 4.2
The Spurious Effect of Ice Cream
415in
Degrees of Causality
Absolute Causality
The cause is necessary and sufficient
to bring about the effect.
Conditional Causality
A cause is necessary but not
sufficient to bring about an effect.
Contributory Causality
A cause need be neither necessary
nor sufficient to bring about an effect.
Weakest form of causality.
416in
Experiments
Experiment
A carefully controlled study in which the researcher
manipulates a proposed cause and observes any
corresponding change in the proposed effect.
Experimental variable
Represents the proposed cause and is controlled by
the researcher by manipulating it.
Manipulation
The researcher alters the level of the variable in
specific increments.
Test-market
An experiment that is conducted within actual
market conditions.
417in
Stages in the Research

Process
stages:
Process
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Defining the research objectives

Planning a research design
Planning a sample
Collecting the data
Analyzing the data
Formulating the conclusions and
preparing the report
Forward linkageearlier stages influence later stages.

Backward linkagelater stages influence earlier
stages.
418in
EXHIBIT 4.5
Stages of the Research Process
419in
EXHIBIT 4.6
Flowchart of the
Business Research Process
420in
Defining the Research

Objectives
Research objectives
The goals to be achieved by
conducting research.
Deliverables
The consulting term used to describe
research objectives to a research
client.
421in
Techniques
Previous Research
Literature review
A directed search of published works, including
periodicals and books, that discusses theory and
presents empirical results that are relevant to the topic at
hand.
Pilot Studies
A small-scale research project that collects data from
respondents similar to those to be used in the full study.
Pretest
A small-scale study in which the results are only preliminary
and intended only to assist in design of a subsequent study.
Focus Group
A small group discussion about some research topic led by a
moderator who guides discussion among the participants.
422in
Planning the Research

Design
Research Design
A master plan that specifies the
methods and procedures for collecting
and analyzing the needed information.
Basic design techniques for
descriptive and causal research:
Surveys
Experiments
Secondary data
Observation
423in
Selection of the Basic Research

Method
Survey
A research technique in which a

sample is interviewed in some form or
the behavior of respondents is
observed and described.
Telephone
Mail
Internet
In person
424in
Rolling Rock
Rolling Rock beer offered

a number of lower-priced
line extensions, but they
failed.
They conducted a
massive consumer study,
and results indicated the
consumers expected and
were willing to pay more.
4-25in
Sampling
Sampling
Involves any procedure that draws
conclusions based on measurements
of a portion of the population.
Sampling decisions
Who to sample?target population
What size should the sample be?
How to select the sampling units?
426in
Gathering Data
Unobtrusive Methods
Methods in which research
respondents do not have to be
disturbed for data to be gathered.
427in
Processing and Analyzing

Data
Editing
Involves checking the data collection forms
for omissions, legibility, and consistency in
classification.
Codes
Rules for interpreting, categorizing,
recording, and transferring the data to the
data storage media.
Data analysis
The application of reasoning to understand
the data that have been gathered.
428in
Drawing Conclusions and

Preparing a Report
Steps in communicating the research findings:
Interpreting the research results
Describing the implications
Drawing the appropriate conclusions for managerial
decisions
Reporting requirements
Conclusions fulfill the deliverables promised in the
research proposal
Consider the varying abilities of people to
understand the research results
A clearly-written, understandable summary of the
research findings
429in
The Research Program

Strategy
Research project
A single study that addresses one or a small
number of research objectives.
Uses specific techniques for solving one-dimensional
problems, such as identifying customer segments,
selecting the most desirable employee insurance
plan, or determining an IPO stock price.
Research program
Numerous related studies that come together
to address multiple, related research
objectives.
Because research is a continuous process,
management should view business research at
a strategic planning level.
430in

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4

Business Research Methods 9e

2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights

1. Define decision making and understand

Getting (and Keeping) Up to Speed:

Decision Making Terms

Researchs role in the decision making

Conditions Affecting Decision

The decision maker has all information

Types of Business Research

Cute, Funny, or Sexy? What Makes a

Seeks to diagnose reasons for market

Taking a Swing at Business

The Spurious Effect of Ice Cream

Stages in the Research

Defining the research objectives

Forward linkageearlier stages influence later stages.

Stages of the Research Process

Defining the Research

and intended only to assist in design of a subsequent study.

moderator who guides discussion among the participants.

Planning the Research

Selection of the Basic Research

A research technique in which a

Rolling Rock beer offered

Processing and Analyzing

Drawing Conclusions and

The Research Program

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